Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 381 Kiana's Request

Xing glanced thoughtfully at the Valkyries competing against each other on the field, her fingertips unconsciously stroking her baseball bat.

"Oh, brother."

She suddenly nudged Qiong next to her with her elbow.

"How long do you think it will take them to become fully-fledged Valkyries?"

"It depends on the person."

Qiong slumped back in her chair without any regard for appearances, her attention completely detached from the sword fights and gun battles between the girls.

"People like Kiana should be able to reach or even surpass Rita's level within a year or two. But others may need a long time to hone their skills..."

Of course, it's more likely that by the time most Valkyries reach retirement age (thirty), they still won't have climbed to S-rank...

"One or two years? Qiong, are you really that confident in Kiana and the others?"

The voice from behind made Xingqiong and Fu Hua turn around at the same time. When that familiar pink color came into view, Xingqiong knew who it was.

She should have calmed down by now, right?

"Yae-sensei, shouldn't you be by our beloved headmistress's side?"

Qiong sat up straight and looked towards the judges' table. Poor Theresa was struggling to defend herself against the slutty maid's increasingly aggressive teasing under everyone's watchful eyes...

A hint of pity flashed across Qiong's face: Poor headmaster, abandoned by her own secretary...

A smiling pink fox walked over and sat down in the sky.

"Don't worry, Miss Rita said she will protect the headmaster."

Qiong raised an eyebrow. To Theresa now, Rita was the greatest danger—the danger of damaging her non-existent authority once again…

Oh, thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem dangerous. After all, Rita can't diminish Theresa's prestige since there's no real person to speak of her.

Seeing that Qiong didn't speak and didn't react as expected, and Xing and Fu Hua were also staring at her silently... Feeling uncomfortable all over, Yae Sakura unconsciously twirled the ends of her hair with her fingertips, her gaze drifting towards Rita, who had just given her courage.

Yes, be brave! Let's take Ms. Rita's advice!

"Hey, Qiong! I heard that you've been to the infirmary a few times lately because of your food preparation work and some minor accidents, and even had to be rushed to the emergency room... You must be very tired right now, right?"

"What? Repeated visits to the infirmary?"

Fu Hua was stunned. Qiong had only gone to pick someone up. She hadn't expected him to be in such a critical condition that he needed emergency care.

Is that why Qiong is so unmotivated today?

"Ah... I'm alright."

Under Fu Hua's surprised gaze, Qiong casually scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.

How can you be okay! If you're okay, then how can I...? Go for it, Yae Sakura, you can do it! Do as Rita says!

Yae Sakura took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and silently recalled the modern methods Rita had just taught her. A touch of tenderness appeared in the smile in her eyes.

"I know you're just pretending to be strong and won't tell me, right?"

With her heart pounding, Yae Sakura lifted her already short skirt and patted her thighs.

"If, I mean if! If you're tired, you can lie down and rest... no, I'd be more than happy to offer you a lap pillow!"

(P.S.: No one can resist a lap pillow, whether adult, child, man, or woman — Rita Rossweisse)

"what!"

Upon hearing Yae Sakura's words, the three of them were immediately stunned. Fu Hua stared wide-eyed at Yae Sakura in shock. Xing was even more dizzy; although she didn't know what a lap pillow was, her rational mind told her it was definitely not a good thing!

As for Sora himself... to be honest, he never expected Yae Sakura to suddenly pull this stunt. After all, Yae Sakura was from five hundred years ago, and even the conservatives of the modern era who were with her were considered progressive. How could she have learned about the "lap pillow" concept and wanted to put it into practice on him?

"Um, Yae-sensei..."

Qiong instinctively wanted to refuse, but when he looked at Yae Sakura's fleshy, exposed thighs, he hesitated for a moment.

Those legs... cough cough, how is that possible? He's an upright person, how could a gentleman do such a thing? Isn't the lesson from Kiana enough?

"elder brother--"

"Qiong-kun, I think I told you before..."

But before Qiong could answer, Xing and Fu Hua appeared behind him. Xing poked him in the back with a baseball bat, while Fu Hua walked over and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Oh dear, you don't think... uh, you can't trust me a little more, do you?"

Qiong smiled apologetically and looked back; the expressions of the two were full of warning.

Upon hearing what Qiong said, Xing looked at Fu Hua, and after a moment of contemplation, Fu Hua nodded in agreement with Qiong's statement.

"That's right! How could a gentleman like me do such a thing? Yae Sakura, stop messing around and get out of here at once!"

As Qiong spoke righteously, his peripheral vision involuntarily swept over the pink-haired fox's inner thigh—it must be said, in a different setting, Yae Sakura's shrine maiden outfit was indeed a bit of a test of one's self-control...

Fortunately, he had a baseball bat and a fist on his back that could be held to his neck at any moment, and under the influence of this threat, he rationally and perfectly controlled the situation.

"Random, chaotic?!"

Yae Sakura's courage was instantly swallowed up by Sora's words of rejection, and her face turned bright red.

"No, no! I just... I just care about you!"

A slightly flustered Yae Sakura looked towards the judges' table, just in time to meet Rita's encouraging gaze, while the elegant maid nodded slightly in return.

"care?"

Xing snorted and crossed his legs to bolster his imposing aura.

"A lap pillow... that's not something an outsider should do, is it?"

As if he had thought of something, Xing immediately put down his crossed legs and patted his thigh.

"Brother, lie down if you need to! I'm your sister, I can manage!"

Fu Hua pushed up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses sharp as a knife.

"Mr. Yae, as a teacher, you should be mindful of your words and actions. Although St. Freya's school rules do not prohibit teacher-student relationships, Sora does have a girlfriend after all."

"I……"

Yae Sakura opened her mouth. Although she was over 500 years old, she was really a girl in this respect, not to mention that she was in the wrong to begin with.

"Kiana Kaslana wins her group! Kiana Kaslana wins her group!"

Suddenly, the referee's announcement resounded throughout the arena. The trio, led by the white-fuzzy ball, stood in the center of the arena, waving vigorously at the audience members with bright smiles on their faces (except for Bronya). Seeing this, Qiong suddenly had an idea.

"Squad leader, did you see that? They won their first battle! Haha, those three are truly amazing..."

Qiong took the opportunity to stand up and casually straightened her collar.

"I don't feel very comfortable sitting here... I'm going to congratulate Mei and the others, do you want to come along?"

However, Yae Sakura suddenly reached out and grabbed the hem of Sora's clothes.

"and many more……"

Yae Sakura's voice was very soft and trembling.

"I'm sorry, I... I know my suggestion was rash. But I meant it! My husband, can you give me a chance?"

"Yae-sensei, you..."

Fu Hua, stunned, stared at Yae Sakura's actions and didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Over the past five hundred years, I've learned one thing—some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever. So please give me this opportunity!"

Yae Sakura glanced hurriedly at Rita in the distance, and the maid gave a meaningful smile... Incidentally, Theresa had finally broken free from her "clutches" and was frantically tidying up her disheveled hair.

Xing and Qiong exchanged a glance.

go?

go!

Qiong didn't say anything, or rather, he knew he should refuse but didn't know how to refuse tactfully, so he decisively ran to the front row with his little sister.

If Yae Sakura is so capable, she should go after him! Unless she wants to die, otherwise—well, she'd probably be afraid of dying, right?

"Qiong, wait a minute!"

Without looking back, Qiong grabbed Xing and rushed forward, the two of them like two nimble raccoons, weaving through the aisles of the audience. He could feel a burning gaze on his back... or maybe several?

In short, don't look back.

Yae Sakura wanted to chase after her, but Fu Hua took a step forward and shook her head.

With Fu Hua blocking her way, Yae Sakura's courage completely vanished, leaving only disappointment in her eyes.

Fu Hua stood beside Yae Sakura, wanting to say something, but in the end, all she could do was sigh.

ding ding ding-

She didn't know how much time had passed, but Fu Hua had already left, and Yae Sakura was all alone, heartbroken. Suddenly, her phone rang.

Was it the headmistress calling for help? Or was it work-related? Or was it the leader of the alliance calling to see her?

Forcing herself to compose herself, Yae Sakura answered the phone. Life had to go on, no matter what—that was what Sora hoped for her.

But when Yae Sakura took out her phone to answer the call, she froze.

The caller ID on the screen was someone she had never added before: Otto Apocalypse.

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"Xing, don't underestimate Miss Rita. She's one of the three S-class combatants in Schicksal right now. She's an unattainable peak for many Valkyries, including us!"

In the rest area of ​​the practical assessment, Mei enthusiastically taught her unfamiliar younger sister about the common sense of destiny—maybe one day in the future, Hoshi will also become a Valkyrie?

Kiana, on the other hand, didn't care as much about the stars. She preferred to show off her achievements to someone else rather than this newcomer.

"Hey, you gray-haired bastard, did you see that? I, along with Mei and Bronya, won!"

Bronya made a victory sign in front of Qiong without any expression.

"Mmm! I saw that! That's amazing! If it weren't for me and the class monitor in the practical assessment, you would definitely have come in first place!"

Qiong's response was somewhat perfunctory, and she gave Kiana a perfunctory high five.

"Then, if I get first place in the actual combat, could you grant me one small request?"

Kiana's voice suddenly lowered, and her usually bright blue eyes were unusually serious at that moment.

"I heard from my aunt that after this competition, one of us will be chosen to go to your team to carry out a mission..."

"Hmm, so what?"

This wasn't a secret; Himeko had already told him that the team members would be assigned after the competition. Incidentally, Himeko also said that if he failed the final practical exam, he was finished…

"My condition... well, you can take it as a request! I want to join your team, all by myself."

"what?"

The air seemed to freeze. Mei's eyes widened slightly, while Bronya turned her head away expressionlessly. Even Hoshino sensed something was wrong and quietly moved a little further away.

"Hey! Gray Hair, you know, it's a three-person team!"

Kiana's voice carried a rare hint of unease.

“From now on, missions will be carried out in groups of three. I heard from Anna that she’ll definitely be in your team! I just wanted to fill the last spot…”

Kiana didn't dare look Mei and Bronya in the eye at that moment; she felt that what she was doing was no different from being a traitor.

But she had to do it! If she were given the choice, even a fool would know that Sora would pick Mei to form a three-person team. Plus, Anna had already taken her spot, and she probably wouldn't even get to see Mei during her Valkyrie training period. How could she compete with Sora for Mei if she couldn't even see her? She couldn't very well ask Sora not to team up with Mei, could she? That would be too stupid!

Between two evils, choose the lesser. Rather than waiting to be killed, it's better to take the initiative! As long as I snatch this position, Mei won't be able to get in, and at least it won't allow Sora and Mei to get closer...

"Kiana, you..."

"elder brother."

Just then, Xing suddenly tugged at Qiong's sleeve.

"what happened?"

Xing pointed to the empty stands.

“There are a few strange people over there who have been watching us. They’ve been there since the beginning.”

Following the direction the star pointed, everyone saw the white-haired, purple-eyed Serim and the expressionless Lamp holding Donigor, watching them with great interest. Noticing their gazes, Serim smiled slightly.

"Oh, that one! That person is the owner of the dessert shop near the school gate, Sister Deng, and her employee dog, and..."

Kiana scratched her head. Had the lamp recruited another pretty older sister as a shop assistant?

"It seems like she's an agent from an entertainment company?"

Mei did have a vague memory of Serim; it was when she went on a date with Sora at Houmu Paradise. Speaking of which, since it's almost vacation time, shouldn't she go on a date with Sora?

"Don't worry, Xiaoxing, they shouldn't be strange people."

Qiong nodded in acknowledgment to Serim's smile. If Baiji hadn't told him not to have any contact with them, he would have been willing to catch up with these women... From any perspective, they were his friends, or rather, family members who had accompanied Xing for many years.

After everyone moved on from this little incident, Bronya felt something was off:

St. Freya Academy does have open days under Principal Theresa's supervision, but the final exams are clearly not during those times... How did these people from outside the academy get into the school? And they even brought that talking dog?

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In other timelines, the expansion would proceed smoothly, but the Black Tower would fall, perhaps even transforming into Rupert III...

Or perhaps, he brushed past Xingxiao, and then Jingliu became the eighth Extinction Lord, representing reproduction, to attack Fengrao.

They might even encounter the Burning Wind, responsible for destroying nothingness, which could wipe out the entire train crew... But Old Yang actually managed to withstand two attacks from the Burning Wind's white hole using a black hole? (Although he still couldn't hold out, and the train was blown up.)

Compared to these, Onpharos didn't seem so bad after all...