[How long have I been asleep...]
[It seems I've lost so much... my sister, my father, my clan...]
[Only... only that smile... I once tried my best not to lose it...]
[And... the warm embrace and the lover I have now...]
Two figures appeared before Theresa's eyes. She could vaguely make out a white-haired girl and a black-haired boy. For some reason, a reluctance welling up from her heart made her want to reach out and grab their hands...
But her outstretched hands could not reach them, and they only grew more distant...
"No, don't disappear!" Theresa suddenly reached out and shouted, her vision abruptly turning pure white...
The midday sun shone on St. Freya High School. In the principal's office, Theresa, leaning back in her leather office chair, had a trace of tears on her delicate face...
"Hey, you had another nightmare..." Himeko's voice suddenly sounded in Theresa's ear, slowly bringing her back to her senses.
"Hiss~ My head hurts so much..." Theresa didn't answer Himeko's question, instead clutching her head in pain.
"Have the memories from the Stigmata still not gotten better?" Himeko walked up behind Theresa, her warm hands gently touching Theresa's small head. Her fingers, calloused from years of holding a sword, gently massaged Theresa's temples to relieve her headache...
"No... In the days since I returned from Nagazora City, I've been dreaming strange things as soon as I fall asleep... It must be the memories from the Stigmata," Theresa said helplessly.
"By the way... why did you come here?" Theresa looked up in confusion at Murata Himeko, who was massaging her head.
"It's because your adjutant, Yuudachi, was a little worried about you... She was afraid you'd overwork yourself, so she asked me to cover for you..." Murata Himeko said in an annoyed tone, but there was still a hint of concern in her voice.
"I think you should take a day off... This old lady will be kind enough to help you with your paperwork for a day... You'd better be grateful." Murata Himeko suddenly stopped, reached under Theresa's arms, and easily picked her up.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! Put me down!" Theresa struggled in vain, but her small body was ineffective. She didn't dare use her full strength for fear of accidentally hurting Himeko.
"Alright, alright... Just be good and listen. Go out and have some fun, relax a little." Himeko said teasingly, reaching out to pat Theresa's head like she was coaxing a child, messing up her snow-white hair.
"Well then, bye-bye~" Himeko said with a smile, slamming the door shut.
".Hey, open the door..." Theresa stared blankly at the closed door, never expecting Himeko to turn the tables on her and throw her out.
"...Sigh~" Theresa helplessly covered her forehead. The warmth, nostalgia, and even the reluctance and helplessness she felt in her dreams rushed into her heart like an overturned bottle of mixed spices.
"Tsk... What is the person who gave me the Stigmata trying to tell me... It always lingers in my dreams," Theresa wondered, looking at the azure sky outside the window.
"I always have this feeling that I want to go back to Nagazora City..." Theresa lowered her head, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "This probably isn't my own idea... It must have come from the Stigmata. Could there be something in Nagazora City that the person who gave me the 'Stigmata' wants to tell me..."
"..." Theresa stood dazed in the academy hallway, pondering this question.
".Well, I can't think of anything no matter how much I try!... I've decided! I'll go to Nagazora City and take another look!" Theresa shook her head, tossing aside the messy thoughts in her mind. She decided to go to Nagazora City herself. As an S-Rank Valkyrie, she wouldn't get hurt unless she encountered a Herrscher.
"I'll just fly a ship over... I'll go to Nagazora City and be back before nightfall!" Theresa said, as if to comfort herself.
"Nagazora City?!..." A voice suddenly came from behind Theresa, startling her. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.
"Classmate Li Xuan... why are you running around instead of being in class!" Theresa puffed out her cheeks and said sternly.
"Oh, the teacher had something to do today, so we were given free time..." Li Xuan said confidently. It was supposed to be a Honkai creature class, but for some reason, the teacher suddenly had an emergency and left, so they had free time... Li Xuan didn't have many friends at the moment, so he could only wander around the academy...
As for Mei, Kiana, and the others, they disappeared as soon as class was over... Who knows what they went off to do.
"Oh, then you can just do your own thing... I have something to do, so I'm leaving. Bye-bye~" Theresa said with a gentle smile, waving her small, fair hand, then turned and walked away.
"..." Li Xuan silently watched her figure disappear around the corner, then tiptoed after her, making sure to keep a certain distance.
"Principal Theresa is going to Nagazora City..." Li Xuan muttered to himself, a strange look of anticipation in his eyes... Since coming to St. Freya High School, he hadn't had any opportunity to get Honkai energy crystals...
He now knew that processed, pure Honkai energy crystals were being used by the academy as a new type of energy source, mainly for the Honkai energy reactor on the 'Hyperion'.
The academy's Honkai energy crystals were generally collected by upperclassmen during their daily missions... Only second and third-year students could accept missions from the academy to earn a small amount of money and, most importantly, school credits...
So, as a first-year student, he wasn't yet qualified to participate in missions... And that was the problem... Without Honkai Crystals, Li Xuan hadn't been able to make any wishes recently... His strength had stagnated, which made him feel a bit anxious and frustrated...
Just as Li Xuan had previously described his belief in a certain 'Railgun' from an anime who could shoot cannons with a flick of her finger... 'The golden glow that blooms from a wish is the unchanging pursuit of my life...'
"For the sake of Honkai Crystals, I have to go to Nagazora City too..." Li Xuan muttered with certainty. Where were the most Honkai Crystals?! Of course, it was in Nagazora City, where the Honkai outbreak occurred... After all, the place was crawling with Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts...
...." Li Xuan's right thumb gently touched the silver ring on his finger. The next moment, a diamond-shaped, azure crystal appeared out of thin air in his hand...
"As long as I'm careful, I shouldn't be discovered, right?" Li Xuan thought, staring at the azure, diamond-shaped crystal. The wish weapon in his hand was...
A five-star Divine Weapon... [Ciel's Flash Crystal].
(End of this chapter)