Shaking his head to clear his thoughts of White Knight: Moonlight, Ming Yu looked at Bronya seriously and said meaningfully, "Everyone has their own past and their own secrets. I don't want to deceive you; that would be foolish and unnecessary. You just need to know that I have no ill intentions. When the time comes, I will tell you. I'm just afraid you won't want to listen then."
Setting aside a Schicksal secret like White Knight: Moonlight, his own animosity towards Otto wasn't so easily explained. It involved too many things that were difficult to put into words. If one were to delve into it, Ming Yu himself wouldn't even know where to begin.
Bronya looked at Ming Yu and remained silent for a long time. Ming Yu was right. Everyone had their secrets, just as they had not told Ming Yu the truth of that night in Nagazora, hiding Mei's identity as a Herrscher. Instead of making excuses for himself, he had admitted to having secrets, which in itself was a form of honesty from Ming Yu. If she were to press further, it would be going too far and would be a clear sign of distrust.
"Bronya understands. Brother Yu should rest well," Bronya said softly, gently closing the door.
Though she still had her doubts, Bronya would not try to cross Ming Yu's boundaries. She understood in her heart that there was no such thing as kindness without a reason in this world, yet Ming Yu would occasionally show them an inexplicable concern, like that of a brother or a father, as if he had known them for a very long time.
After nearly a month of getting to know him, Bronya understood what kind of person Ming Yu was. Though he could be baffling at times, he was kind-hearted. A person like that would not harm them. And as long as she knew that, it was enough. As for those secrets, she believed Ming Yu had his reasons for keeping them.
With that thought, Bronya felt a sense of relief. At the very least, that inexplicable concern felt rather nice.
Watching Bronya close the door, Ming Yu felt a touch of melancholy. The wheels of history were constantly turning forward, one event after another would occur, and how much time did he have left?
Recalling everything from the data space, Ming Yu couldn't help but smile. What was wrong with him? He was someone who knew the future. Although his strength wasn't formidable yet, even a butterfly flapping its wings could cause a storm. With his involvement, the outcome would definitely be different!
When a hurried Himeko returned to the dormitory, listened to Kiana and Bronya's account, and then secretly glanced at the unnatural white hair on the sleeping Ming Yu, her expression couldn't help but darken.
"You're saying Ming Yu called that black sword Black Abyss?" Biting her thumb, Himeko's face grew more serious. "At HQ, the strongest Valkyrie Durandal's weapon is a black and white knight spear called Abyss Flower. It might be related. But I've only been to HQ a few times, so I don't know the specifics. In all of St. Freya, only Theresa would know more."
"Huh? Then let's call Auntie right away!" Kiana said anxiously.
"Sigh, it seems there's no other way. You guys are real trouble magnets, causing such a huge incident even during remedial lessons!" Himeko complained, but still sent a communication request to Theresa.
Suddenly receiving Himeko's call, Theresa, in her office, was so startled that she dropped the HOMU manga in her hands. No, wait, how could the world's cutest Theresa be slacking off at work? What she dropped was a confidential document.
Adjusting her chair height to appear more authoritative, Theresa accepted the call. A light screen instantly appeared in the air, showing the scene in the dormitory.
Seeing Kiana to the side, Theresa couldn't help but facepalm again. "Himeko, what trouble did Kiana get into this time?"
Her tone was filled with exasperation. This Kiana was just too much to handle. The academy's renovation costs had risen by thirty percent recently, and Kiana alone had kicked down more than six doors.
"It wasn't me this time! Something happened to Ming Yu!" Kiana didn't have time to complain and quickly interjected.
"Hm? Did you break down his door?" Theresa couldn't help but guess. Although Ming Yu's identity was still in question, his behavior had been exemplary, without too many outrageous incidents. Theresa couldn't imagine what trouble Ming Yu could have caused.
"Alright, here's what happened..." Seeing the conversation veering off track, Himeko quickly stepped in to explain.
After listening to Himeko's explanation, Theresa's expression also became grave. She wasn't a youngster like Himeko. As the head of the Apocalypse family, the granddaughter of the current Overseer, a warrior who had experienced the Second Honkai Eruption, the person in charge of the Far East Branch, the wielder of the Oath of Judah, the world's cutest girl... wait, some strange things seemed to have slipped in. But regardless, the things she had been exposed to were far beyond what an A-rank Valkyrie like Himeko could compare to.
In Schicksal's database, some important materials were saved in the form of data spaces to ensure their perfect preservation. But those data spaces were only for recording video data; she had never even seen a data space that could affect the real world. It must have been with the help of the black technology from the Void Archives. Plus, it was restricted to members of the Kaslana family. No matter how you looked at it, this was no ordinary matter; it must be something extremely important to Schicksal.
"You're saying Ming Yu is like this because he used the power of Black Abyss from within the data space?" Theresa said with a frown. As the wielder of a fellow Divine Key, she knew a great deal about Abyss Flower. Schicksal had possessed Black Abyss for a long time, but it had never played a significant role until hundreds of years later when they found White Lily. Only then did this Divine Key truly shine, becoming the exclusive weapon of the strongest Valkyrie of each generation.
"If that's the case, then it's an injury caused by Black Abyss, and only White Lily can heal it," Theresa said with a grave expression.
"Can't we borrow it from HQ?" Kiana said. After Himeko's explanation, she now understood what Abyss Flower was. In her mind, it was just a weapon, so borrowing it shouldn't be too difficult.
"It's not that simple. Abyss Flower is more than just a weapon," Theresa mercilessly shattered Kiana's naive thoughts. The very identity of Abyss Flower as a Divine Key was of immense importance. Even for the wealthy and powerful Schicksal, it was a crucial strategic asset. As the holder of the Oath of Judah, she knew the significance of a Divine Key better than anyone else present.
What's more, Abyss Flower was also the symbol of the strongest Valkyrie. To borrow it for the Far East Branch was easier said than done. A minor injury to a trainee was not worth making the strongest S-rank Valkyrie take a trip.
"Then what do we do?" Kiana asked, feeling lost. A glimmer of hope for treating Ming Yu had just appeared, only to be dashed. Although Ming Yu said it had nothing to do with her, could she truly feel at ease? As Kiana saw it, she bore an undeniable responsibility for how things had turned out.
"I'll try first. If it doesn't work, I will make it up to Ming Yu," Theresa said, rubbing her temples wearily. She could certainly hear the sentiment in Kiana's voice. Ultimately, this was the result of Kiana's willfulness. As Kiana's only current relative, she was the only one capable of taking the blame.
*She really is a handful,* Theresa thought, ending the communication and sighing as she stared at the ceiling.