That night, inside Kiana's room.
Bronya, who had been forcefully dragged into Kiana's room, looked speechlessly at Kiana and the other two, and could only think...
—Leo Ash, what a sinful man.
But right now, she couldn't say much to Kiana.
Everyone knew that Bronya came from Anti-Entropy, but Theresa and Himeko hadn't revealed any more details, and Bronya herself hadn't said anything, so they naturally didn't ask.
Thinking about what her own adoptive mother had done to her dorm mates, Bronya felt it was better to be obedient.
Whether it was to win them over or to atone, Bronya felt she should help them achieve what they wanted.
"Alright, everyone's here. The strategy meeting will now commence!"
After Kiana said this, she looked at the others around her awkwardly, realizing that their reactions to Leo and Fu Hua going out together weren't actually that strong.
"I'm serious, aren't you guys curious?"
Seeing the calm yet somewhat puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, Kiana tapped the bed in dissatisfaction and said to them.
"Senior Leo and that bookworm Class Rep Fu Hua are actually going out together tomorrow—and it was Senior Leo who asked her out!"
"That... isn't really a big deal, is it?"
Mei looked at Kiana's agitated expression and said cautiously.
"Who Leo asks out, not to mention it's just going out together, is his own freedom, right?"
Beside them, Yuno immediately chimed in.
"Yeah, as long as Senior can relax a little, it doesn't really matter who he goes out with."
...Why is everyone so zen about this?
Looking at the calm Bronya and the indifferent Mei and Yuno, Kiana started to doubt herself.
Could it be that the one who's not right isn't them, but this young lady herself???
"Besides, Kiana."
Seeing Kiana starting to doubt herself, Mei said with great concern.
"Teacher Himeko was right. If you want to become a Valkyrie, you really need to put some effort into your academic subjects."
"Sleeping all the time... really isn't appropriate."
"Ugh, just talking about that makes me mad."
At the thought of those classes, Kiana said huffily.
"Why do Valkyries have to study subjects like geography, history, chemistry, biology, and physics!"
"Do you really need to learn these things to fight the Honkai—why are you all looking at me like that?"
Being stared at by the three of them as if she were an idiot, Kiana suddenly asked uneasily.
"Don't tell me... this stuff is actually useful?"
"Well, for example—let's use myself as an example."
Mei pointed to the area near her heart and said to Kiana.
"Sooner or later, I will master the power of the Herrscher of Thunder. And the power of the Herrscher of Thunder is related to electromagnetism. As the Herrscher of Thunder, physics is indeed useful to me."
"And my ability is related to biology."
After making a flower bloom in her hand with her Herrscher power, Yuno placed the flower in front of Kiana and said.
"Knowing more about biology can help me when I release plants and develop Herrscher toxins."
"As for Bronya, she also has to consider external factors when using her weapons, so Bronya has already self-studied these courses."
"Big Sister Kiana, Bronya knows you're a practical combat type. But a lot of the time... knowledge is still quite important."
At this moment, a hint of helplessness had appeared in Bronya's eyes as she looked at Kiana.
"Bronya wants to become a higher-ranking Valkyrie quickly, so I specifically went to ask Class Rep Fu Hua about related matters."
"And she told Bronya that after becoming an A-rank Valkyrie, you often have to lead a team as a captain."
"You never know where the next mission will be, or what kind of predicament you'll face. So under these circumstances, knowledge reserves are even more important for a Valkyrie."
"Eh, is that so?"
Listening to Bronya's explanation, a drop of cold sweat trickled down Kiana's temple.
"It's more important than you imagine, because we Valkyries are not only responsible for ourselves, but also for our companions on missions and the civilians we need to protect."
Recalling the information Fu Hua had told her, Bronya said very seriously.
"Studying is a habit. And after these basic courses are over, the subsequent courses we learn will only become more complex."
"Even if Big Sister Kiana, you manage to barely pass the exam this time, if you continue to be so careless in the future, then Big Sister Kiana will only be left further and further behind by Big Brother Leo."
"...I, I get it."
Listening to Bronya's words, Kiana felt herself becoming more and more flustered.
According to Kiana's own thinking, as a self-proclaimed genius, she wouldn't have cared about her scores in these academic subjects.
But now, after hearing Bronya's analysis and advice, she just felt cold sweat breaking out all over her body from worry.
For a moment, she didn't seem to care as much about Leo and Fu Hua going out together anymore.
"Besides, Big Sister Kiana, you gathered everyone here because you want to secretly follow Big Brother Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua tomorrow to see what they're doing, right?"
"—That's not it!"
Hearing Kiana's denial, Mei and Yuno glanced at each other, a hint of helplessness in their eyes.
Her guilt is way too obvious.
Forget fooling us, she'd probably have a hard time fooling a three-year-old.
On the other side, Bronya ignored Kiana's denial and continued.
"Bronya doesn't recommend that Big Sister Kiana resort to such a reckless method. Big Sister Kiana, you've probably forgotten the identities of Class Rep Fu Hua and Big Brother Leo."
"As an A-rank Valkyrie and a martial artist from Shenzhou, Class Rep Fu Hua not only has ample experience in counter-tracking, but she can also rely on a martial artist's powerful perception of their surroundings to detect if someone is following her."
"And Big Brother Leo himself is a Schicksal agent. For a seasoned agent, counter-surveillance and counter-tracking should be basic skills."
"Both of them are professionals in this regard, while you, Big Sister Kiana..."
Looking at Bronya's very calm gaze, Kiana already understood Bronya's unspoken words.
*It's a 100% certainty that they'll discover you. If you go and secretly follow them, it will only make things awkward for everyone.*
"But... but this young lady is really curious!"
At this moment, Kiana suddenly pleaded with Bronya.
"Bronya, you're so smart, you must have a way, right!"
"Help me, Bronya!"
"If Big Sister Kiana can promise Bronya to study hard from now on, then Bronya will help Big Sister Kiana fulfill this wish."
"Okay! I promise you!"
After shouting this, Kiana quickly covered her mouth in alarm.
"Mm, okay. Please remember your words, Big Sister Kiana."
"As for the solution, it's actually quite simple. Big Brother Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua are the type who are hard to follow, so we just won't follow them."
Placing the laptop she had brought with her on the desk, Bronya lightly pressed the enter key, directly opening a software.
And in front of the three of them, within the software Bronya had opened...
—Images from various locations in St. Freya High School's commercial street actually appeared!
"There are surveillance cameras all over the commercial street. As long as we hack into the surveillance system, although we won't be able to see exactly what Big Brother Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua are planning to do, we can at least know their route."
Before today, Kiana had always thought that although Bronya had that robot for assistance, she wasn't a powerful warrior due to her average physical strength.
But now, Kiana suddenly felt that her past thoughts were quite foolish.
Bronya wasn't a powerful warrior, that was true, but her specialty wasn't in direct combat to begin with.
In terms of academics, Bronya had not only learned the material in advance but had also inquired about future courses and made a study plan.
In terms of other technical skills—she could easily hack into the commercial street's surveillance system. What more needed to be said?
"Bronya, you're really smart."
Looking at the screen in front of her, Mei felt a little uneasy.
"But this... isn't very appropriate. It would be hard to explain to the Headmaster, and besides, what Leo and Class Rep Fu Hua are doing is their personal privacy..."
"That's true, so Bronya also hopes everyone can keep this a secret for Bronya."
"As for the privacy issue... that problem does exist, but Bronya can assure you that we are doing this for Big Brother Leo's sake as well."
Recalling her recent observations, Bronya said to the three of them.
"Bronya has noticed that Big Brother Leo has been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding the three of you lately. And judging by the way you look at him, he's probably annoyed that you're always pitying him for his tragic past."
"He is a warrior with dignity and doesn't need others to pity him all the time—Bronya thinks that's probably the reason he started avoiding everyone."
Looking at the three who were now deep in thought, Bronya continued.
"Big Brother Leo is a man, after all, and the kind of person who would rush to the battlefield without his family's knowledge. Instead of pitying him all the time and pushing him away, isn't it better to see what he likes and needs in private?"
"Only then can everyone better help him overcome his difficulties, right?"
After saying all this, Bronya realized that she had been talking a lot lately.
She wasn't usually this talkative, but now, for the sake of her mother who was getting dangerously closer to death, Bronya felt she had to take action.
By winning over her companions with words and actions, she would naturally make them grow closer to her.
And if everyone else was close to Bronya, her implicit score in the eyes of Himeko and Theresa would naturally increase.
If she wanted to leave a way out for Cocolia, Bronya had to get promoted to A-rank as quickly as possible to have the most basic say in decisions concerning a sworn enemy of Schicksal like Cocolia.
Assisting her companions, improving her superiors' impression of her, and thus enabling her to be promoted to a high-ranking Valkyrie faster—this was the fundamental reason why the usually quiet Bronya had been so talkative lately.
As for why she wanted to secretly observe Leo, to put it bluntly—how could The Silver Wolf of the Urals possibly believe everything Leo had said at that time?
She had to observe Leo carefully and gather more information about him to determine whether his words were sincere or just a ruse to fool her.
*There's really too little time.*
And now, Bronya also had to pray that Mother Cocolia didn't have any ideas about starting other major incidents recently.
The things she had already done were outrageous enough. If she wanted to cause even more terrible things next...
Then by that time... before Bronya could climb high enough, Cocolia might be dealt with by others.
.
Next day. Himeko's house.
Inside Himeko's house, Kiana looked at Fu Hua, who was wearing casual clothes in front of her for the first time, her eyes filled with shock.
In the past three weeks, the Fu Hua Kiana had seen was basically always in her dorm pajamas or the St. Freya school uniform.
And because of that, she felt that this bookworm Fu Hua didn't have much feminine charm and wasn't that much of a threat.
However, today, looking at Fu Hua's casual outfit, Kiana felt that her past judgment was completely and utterly wrong.
At this moment, Fu Hua had taken off her obnoxious red-framed glasses and changed into a green outer coat and dark-colored pants.
Compared to her usual uniform, which resembled a martial arts uniform, this casual outfit highlighted Fu Hua's side as a young maiden.
And the green beret on her head added a touch of playfulness to the usually serious Fu Hua.
Now, looking at Fu Hua, Kiana had to admit that Fu Hua didn't even need to dress up; just by changing her clothes, she had completely transformed into a beauty that caught everyone's eye.
Miscalculation! Such a grave miscalculation!
I used to think that the bookworm class rep had no advantage in this area, but now that I look...
—She's this beautiful just by changing her clothes, so what if she were to dress up a little?
If this continues, isn't Senior going to be completely snatched away by her!
I was too careless.
It turns out my greatest rival isn't anyone else...
—But Class Rep Fu Hua, who has been hiding her charm all this time!
.