"Ahem… so you want to find a place that can shield Honkai energy reactions because creating weapons makes a lot of noise…" Sitting at her desk, Theresa put down the various messy documents in her hands, reached out her small hand, and held the teacup on the desk, which was emitting wisps of steam.
"There is such a place in the academy…" Theresa glanced at Li Xuan, who was sitting on the sofa with an expectant look, then picked up the teacup and took a gentle sip of the warm bitter melon juice, affirming his thoughts.
"Forget it… I'll take you there." Theresa sighed. She felt that this guy, Li Xuan, was about as much trouble as her own foolish niece… He never stayed quiet for more than a few days.
"Thank you~ Principal Theresa!" Li Xuan said with a smile. As expected, there was nothing Theresa couldn't handle! Li Xuan felt that his backer was quite indestructible.
"Mhm." Theresa's face turned slightly red, either because the teacup was a bit hot or for some other reason. She picked up the teacup and drank all the steaming bitter melon juice in one go.
"Sniff, sniff~" Li Xuan wrinkled his nose and sniffed the strange smell lingering in the air, asking with some confusion, "Principal Theresa… what are you drinking?"
"Oh~ this…" Theresa straightened the thick nun's habit she was wearing and jumped down from her office chair.
"This is bitter melon juice…" Theresa held the teacup and turned its mouth towards Li Xuan, letting him see the little bit of green liquid remaining in the cup… "Want some?" Theresa said with a mischievous smile.
"N-no, thank you…" Li Xuan felt goosebumps rising… Drinking bitter melon juice… Just the thought of drinking the juice of that face-scrunching vegetable made him feel a bit nauseous…
"Hmph~ Let's go." Theresa said softly, putting down the teacup in her hand with a hint of boredom. "If there's a place in St. Freya High School that can cover up Honkai energy reactions, it would only be…"
"The underground laboratory…"
As a front-line fortress against the Honkai, St. Freya High School naturally conducted various experiments related to the Honkai… However, a considerable number of Honkai energy detectors were installed inside St. Freya High School… Once a Honkai energy reaction exceeding a specific value appeared in the academy, an alarm would automatically sound…
Therefore, for safety and other considerations, the academy authorities simply built an underground laboratory beneath the school grounds. The laboratory was surrounded by lead bricks, which were very expensive, to insulate the Honkai energy. There was even a layer of crushed obsidian surrounding the underground laboratory…
Theresa led Li Xuan through a series of twists and turns in the academy until they arrived at a place that looked like a subway entrance, then entered the passage inside. To Li Xuan's surprise, the underground space of St. Freya High School was not small at all. The corridor was lined with closed rooms, and some rooms even emitted strange, beast-like roars…
"This is it…" Theresa stopped and pointed at the alloy door in front of them.
"Ahem, ahem...." As soon as Theresa pushed open the door with her small hand, a thick cloud of dust billowed out from the room… causing the two of them, who were caught off guard, to inhale a few mouthfuls and couldn't help but cough.
"How long has it been since this place was cleaned…" Li Xuan said, swallowing, as he saw the various strange bottles, jars, and ancient antique-like things placed inside the room.
"Sigh~ It's all because of those experimenters, each one more of a geek than the last…" Theresa pouted and said helplessly. "What you're seeing is actually not that bad… There was once a laboratory where, after an experiment, the researcher forgot to clean up and throw away the takeout boxes and other things that had accumulated for a week…"
"As a result..." A look of terror appeared on Theresa's face. She felt that she would never be able to forget that scene for the rest of her life. 'Four otakus steaming a goose is truly disgusting.'
"...…." Li Xuan couldn't imagine such a terrible outcome… Probably when the door opened, there would not only be dust but also various strange powders and smells, right?!; Looking at this room again, Li Xuan suddenly felt that it wasn't dirty at all…
"Principal Theresa… can this place really cover up Honkai energy reactions?" Li Xuan said with some uncertainty. The commotion from his Gate of Vows every time it produced a guaranteed golden light was not small…
"Mah~ Don't worry, with half-meter thick lead plates and obsidian surrounding it, how could there be a Honkai energy reaction?!" Theresa said with certainty. Lead plates and obsidian were specifically for insulating Honkai energy, how could they be useless?!
"I'm afraid my commotion might be a bit big…" Li Xuan said uncertainly.
"It's fine, I'll help you if anything happens~" Theresa waved her small hand and said, taking on all the responsibility. Little did she know that she had just set up another flag…
"Ahem… thank you very much then, Principal Theresa!" Li Xuan said with a gentle smile to Theresa. Theresa had been incredibly good to him… she had really helped him with a lot of things.
"Mhm, I'll be going then… you can let yourself out when you're done…" Theresa nodded and said. She didn't know why, but whenever she saw this guy, Li Xuan, her mood would inexplicably become quite good…
'How strange…' Theresa twitched her little nose and turned to walk out. If it weren't for Li Xuan, she wouldn't have gone outside in the middle of winter.
"By the way, Principal Theresa… it's cold outside." Li Xuan suddenly said, taking the warm black scarf from his neck and draping it around the neck of Theresa, who had her back to him and was about to leave.
"...." Theresa turned around in surprise and looked at the grinning Li Xuan, opening her mouth as if to say something.
"No need to thank me~" Li Xuan, in a great mood, closed the door directly. "Just remember to return it to me…"
"..." Theresa stood there, a little dazed. The warm scarf felt like a warm, large hand hugging her… 'Are you an idiot…' would a Valkyrie's body be afraid of mere low temperatures? Theresa silently retorted in her mind.
"Forget it." This was, after all, a student's kind gesture. As an adult, she should reluctantly accept it~ Theresa thought.
"Homu, Homu~ We defeat the bad guys… and save the world! ☆~" Theresa turned and walked out, softly humming an out-of-tune, and even somewhat tone-deaf, anime song.
.....................…..
"Well then, it's time to prepare…" Li Xuan looked around, found a barely clean spot to sit down, and did so. His right thumb gently caressed the silver ring.
In the next moment… a small golden door appeared out of thin air in his hand… The door's frame, as if cast from pure gold, was covered in all sorts of peculiar golden patterns and symbols… In the very center was a gray, misty mirror.
This was—the 'Gate of Vows'…
(End of chapter)