At the same time, on the tree-lined path outside St. Freya Academy, Van let out a big yawn, the fatigue on his face was visibly noticeable.
Recalling last night's scene, Van immediately felt a wave of pain coming from the back of his waist – commonly known as "kidney pain."
Time goes back to last night.
———
[Flashback.]
Originally, after a tug-of-war, Mobius, Himeko, Raiden Mei, and Fu Hua had finally agreed to leave together.
The result was that because Van had spoken too much and asked whether he should see them off, it ended up with the four of them dragging things out from 8 p.m. until nearly dawn.
Considering they had to attend school and class the next day, Van figured those four could have dragged it out all night.
———
Thinking of this, Van wished he could travel back in time and give himself a big slap.
'Why did you open your mouth when there was no need?'
'If this continues, probably before everyone regains their memories, I will be the first to return to the embrace of the Imaginary Tree.'
Whenever he thought that even more troublesome beings might regain their memories in the future, Van felt that his upcoming life was getting increasingly hopeless.
Thinking of this, Van rubbed his temples, cursing Ai-chan in his heart.
'This damned cabbage head, others regain memories and along with it recover some of their past abilities, but me, the savior, ended up with only some flashy but useless things…'
Recalling the four women's energetic state last night, Van couldn't help but feel sorrow rising from within.
"What kind of logic is this? Didn't they say there's no land that can't be tilled? Why does it feel like I've become a bull that's worked to death?"
Just then, while Van was considering whether to just blow up at Ai-chan directly, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that Fu Hua beside him seemed a bit off today too.
Usually, she always kept her gaze straight, but today she seemed absent-minded while walking?
"Hua, what's wrong?"
After getting closer to Fu Hua, Van asked with concern, "Didn't rest well? Or feeling unwell?"
Fu Hua gently shook her head, her face full of hesitation.
Seeing this, Van paused, then jokingly said, "Could it be you're still worried about yesterday's video?"
Fu Hua suddenly stopped in her tracks, looking at Van with a shocked expression.
Fu Hua's expression made Van's smile freeze instantly.
'No way? Did I really guess correctly? I was just speaking casually...'
Here, Fu Hua, who stood in place silently for a moment, finally opened her mouth:
"I've actually been thinking, if Ivana regains her memory and comes looking, how should I face her... Although the current world and the previous world are different, and there is no Honkai, but no matter what, she is still my..."
Fu Hua continued speaking, but Van couldn't hear any more.
At this moment, he really wanted to comfort Fu Hua. 'Hua, stop worrying about whether Ivana will regain her memory in the future. Because... That girl Ivana has already regained her memory!!!'
Thinking of this, Van once again felt a dull pain in his kidneys.
There are already four women in the current dormitory, and it's already messy enough. If another troublemaker like Ivana shows up... that scene would be just too beautiful, Van didn't even dare to imagine it.
Thinking of this, Van couldn't help but secretly feel glad about last night's decision.
'Luckily, I didn't talk much with Ivana last night, and to avoid trouble, I even blacklisted her phone number. Now she definitely won't be able to find me, right?'
Looking at the falling cherry blossoms not far down the path, a hint of guilt suddenly flashed through Van's heart.
'Although Ivana can be noisy sometimes, and is a bit stubborn... Even a troublemaker, but after all still...'
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but silently apologize in his heart, 'Ivana, although this is a bit unfair to you, the situation right now is just too complicated. Forgive me. Once things here are resolved, I will definitely make it up to you…'
———
St. Freya Academy, in the academy director's office, a fierce quarrel had erupted.
Himeko braced both hands on Theresa's desk, speaking emotionally, "Theresa, are you seriously planning to let that woman become a guest professor?"
"Himeko, don't react so strongly~"
Theresa, sitting on the leather seat, swung her legs and spread her hands innocently, "She's an academic authority, isn't it a good thing for her to come to our school?"
Saying this, Theresa took a sip of the bitter melon juice on the desk through a straw, and then said, "You don't know, the board members were so happy when they heard Mobius was coming to our school as a guest professor, they couldn't stop smiling."
Himeko of course knew Mobius's status in the academic world, but she was even more aware of the dangerous nature hidden beneath that lab coat.
Thinking of this, Himeko tried to argue with reason, "She... has problems with her academic style, her experimental methods are radical, I'm afraid the students won't be able to adapt..."
"Ah~ Himeko, geniuses always have a few quirks~"
Theresa waved her hand indifferently, "Besides, she's only here as a short-term guest lecturer, the position won't last more than three months."
'Three months? In three months, that woman could probably cook raw rice into cooked rice!'
"Theresa, you don't know that woman's real purpose for coming here is actually…"
Here, seeing Himeko hesitating to speak, Theresa tilted her head and asked, "What is it?"
"Nothing…" Himeko swallowed the words back down. Because she couldn't possibly tell Theresa that the woman's real purpose for coming to St. Freya Academy was to steal a man? And even to steal him from herself.
If she really said that, never mind whether Theresa would believe her, she'd probably think Himeko was drunk.
Since things had already come to this, Himeko didn't dwell on it further.
After turning to leave the office, Himeko decided to use the free time between classes to go talk to Raiden Mei.
After all, compared to the dangerous Mobius and the already far-ahead Fu Hua, Raiden Mei clearly stood in a similarly awkward position like herself.
Theresa looked at Himeko's departing back, tilting her head in confusion.
"Why does it feel like Himeko has been acting all mysterious lately..."
But soon, Theresa's thoughts were drawn to another matter. "Right! It's about time, I almost forgot about this…"
After speaking, Theresa gulped down the remaining bitter melon juice on the desk, then leapt down from the tall chair and hurriedly ran out the door.
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