On the training grounds of St. Freya Academy, Himeko watched Snow's devilish grin, Kiana's dazed state, and the growing crowd of students, her brow twitching.
"Ahem! Reserve Valkyrie, Kiana Kaslana!"
"Here!" the dazed white-haired girl responded instinctively.
"Return to your squad and resume training immediately!"
"Uh..."
"Hmm?"
"Yes, Teacher Himeko!" The white-haired girl glared at the blonde girl, shook her fist at her in a show of defiance, and darted back to her squad to rejoin her bestie.
The Valkyrie Patrol Squad and students who had gathered to watch the commotion scattered like startled birds at Himeko's sweeping gaze.
Having dispersed the onlookers, Murata Himeko turned her attention back to the blonde girl.
"Honestly... is this really that amusing...?" Himeko asked with a sigh, her eyes fixed on the blonde girl's persistent smile.
"Hmm... Imagine you're me, and that white-haired idiot is your adorable Headmaster... Do you get it now?" Snow asked the red-haired Valkyrie, her smile fading as she considered her words.
"Uh... Pfft! I think I understand," Murata Himeko nodded, a chuckle in her voice as Snow's words seemed to spark a mischievous idea.
"It's always fun to tease a fool now and then," Snow said, watching Himeko suppress a smile. Even the usually stern Valkyrie instructor nodded in agreement.
"I'll take you to find Theresa. She probably isn't in her office right now. Come with me, Snow... let's catch that slacker off guard!" Himeko glanced at the time, remembered something, and leaned close to whisper in the blonde girl's ear.
"Off guard? Hmm... How about we change our outfits first? Our current attire is a bit conspicuous, don't you think?" Snow, intrigued by Himeko's suggestion, glanced at their attire.
One person wore a pristine white hospital gown, while the other was dressed in a formal military uniform, exuding an air of lethal authority—clearly not ideal attire for a surprise attack.
"Hmm, you're right. Come with me. There's a commercial street on campus where we can buy some new clothes."
"Don't worry about money. I just got paid yesterday," Himeko said with a dismissive wave, tugging at Snow's arm.
"Uh... the academy's currency should be interchangeable with the outside world, right?"
"Of course. Creating a separate currency system would be too burdensome even for Schicksal. Why do you ask?" Himeko glanced curiously at the girl beside her.
Snow fumbled in her pocket and produced a black card with gold patterns and a laser-engraved golden single eye.
"...Is it too late to kidnap you now, Miss Snow of... whoever's family you belong to?" The red-haired Valkyrie stared at the inconspicuous card in the blonde girl's hand. It was the Black Card from Schicksal United Savings, Schicksal's largest financial institution in the secular world. The laser-engraved single eye was the emblem of the Apocalypse Family, one of Schicksal's three great houses.
"Can I shout 'Save me!' now?" Snow asked, striking a melodramatic pose to match Himeko's words.
"Forget it... If someone holding a card like that were confirmed kidnapped, Schicksal Headquarters' Supervisory Council would dispatch an elite Valkyrie Squad for rescue."
"Your adoptive father definitely has some connection to destiny, though I don't know exactly which one. Speaking of which, Theresa also has a card similar to yours, but that little rascal always manages to max it out before the end of the month, hitting United Savings' credit limit..."
"What exactly does that little dwarf keep buying every day...?"
"Maxing out the credit limit on that card?!" Snow stared at Murata Himeko in disbelief.
"Who knows? You don't need to tell me—I know the weight that card carries. So what exactly is Theresa buying every day..." Himeko scratched her head, looking troubled.
Probably Homu manga, fan merchandise, custom collectibles, and those "global limited edition XX" things... But isn't the "Homu's Great Adventure" IP drawn by Mr. Welt Yang, the leader of Anti-Entropy?
Isn't this basically funding the enemy...? Snow thought with a peculiar expression.
"Enough about that! Since a certain young lady is treating, I won't hold back!" The red-haired, mature woman scooped Snow up from the ground into a princess carry and sprinted toward the commercial district at full speed.
"Hey—!" Snow's startled shout was swallowed by the wind and vanished into thin air.
"So... this is what you meant by 'shopping street'?" Snow's brow twitched as she gazed at the seemingly endless street stretching before her. Rows of shops lined both sides of the street, their sheer scale making "shopping district" a more fitting term than "shopping street."
Since it wasn't yet break time, the pedestrian street was sparsely populated. Only a handful of non-combat personnel—logistics staff and researchers—strolled through the shops, making purchases.
"Impressive, isn't it? Let's get you changed first. Theresa's probably hiding in some corner café right now, slacking off. We'll give her a good scare when we get back," Himeko said, pulling Snow into a high-end clothing store that looked promising.
"Choosing clothes... Irene, help me look, uh..." Snow gazed at the dazzling array of garments, her eyes momentarily overwhelmed. Instinctively, she called out for her former maid, then suddenly remembered that the perfect maid was no longer by her side.
"Sigh... I guess I'll just put together an outfit in the old style," Snow murmured to herself, reaching for a hanger. "I need to think of a way to trick Irene into coming over from Europe."
"Achoo—"
"What's wrong, Rita?" The golden-haired beauty with cascading waves turned to her companion with concern.
"My apologies, Lady Durandal," Rita replied. "Someone must be thinking of me."
-
"That'll be all..." The girl placed her chosen clothes on the counter, handing over the black card with a devil-may-care expression, which earned her a look of disbelief from the clerk.
"Alright... that'll be 300,000 euros," the clerk said, her hands trembling as she returned the card to the golden-haired heiress. Snow, however, didn't take it back.
"Keep it here for now. Charge Miss Murata Himeko's purchases to this card as well. I'll go change first," Snow nodded to the clerk and turned to enter the dressing room.
The clerk stared at the card number, which consisted entirely of repeated "3" digits, lost in thought. She'd only ever seen such a uniform, sequential number on Headmaster Theresa's card.
"Hey, Lyle, what's wrong?" A mature female voice snapped her out of her reverie. A red-haired woman stood before her, holding a set of clothes.
"Miss Himeko! The golden-haired girl from earlier, she..."
"Snow? What about her...?"
"The card she had... the card..." Lyle stammered, her voice catching in her throat.
"That's the highest-tier Black Card from Schicksal United Savings, right? She showed it to me before. You've probably seen Theresa use it countless times here, haven't you? I think she secretly ordered a dress from you last time... she wouldn't even let me see it." Himeko looked at the clerk with suspicion.
"That's not it, Major Himeko. The card shares the same account number as Lady Theresa's—a sequence of repeating digits. Store Manager William told me that only Schicksal's Cardinals possess such numbers..."
"...Huh?!"
"Forget it, Lyle. That girl is dangerous in more ways than one."
"U-understood!"
"Just whose illegitimate daughter from Schicksal is that little brat anyway? It can't be Theresa's grandfather, could it? How would we even calculate their generational relationship then?" Murata Himeko thought maliciously.