Perhaps because fruit wine tasted more like juice, people wouldn't be as cautious drinking it as they would ordinary alcohol, or perhaps because Himeko Murata and Evan were too relaxed while chatting—either way, she was now drunk. She didn't throw a drunken fit, just lay lazily on the table, nodding off.
After asking the female attendant running the stall, Evan confirmed that this drink stand would stay open until the evening. So he didn't try to send Himeko back to sleep, letting her nap on the table while he himself slouched in his chair, looking up at the sky.
Evan felt a sense of relaxation. It wasn't that the sky above St. Freya Academy had anything special; it was the same blue sky and white clouds as before the Honkai erupted over Nagazora City. What had changed was Evan's state of mind.
When he had first arrived in the Honkai world, he was just an ordinary person. Apart from being male—something rare enough to be treated like a protected species—he had no real power.
But now, Evan could undoubtedly fight most Honkai Beasts and zombies on his own.
Once the original pressure had mostly dissipated, what replaced it, besides a bit of relief, was fatigue.
The physical and mental exhaustion in his body had mostly been healed during his earlier coma by St. Freya's advanced medical technology. What made him feel tired now was his heart.
Back then, his life had seemed calm on the surface, but he had been desperately pushing himself. Otherwise, even with power and weapons, he couldn't have guaranteed that he wouldn't be injured in battle against Honkai Beasts and zombies due to a moment's carelessness.
The human body was fragile. Even an A‑rank Valkyrie could be injured by an ordinary zombie if she wasn't wearing armor. Evan's combat strength didn't come from a combat suit, but from those special Stigmata that broke common sense and fused into his body. His physical fitness surpassed that of an unarmored A‑rank Valkyrie. But without techniques like redirecting force or dodging, taking a direct hit from a giant Honkai Beast would leave him half-crippled if not outright dead.
That super-giant Honkai Beast which served as the trigger for Raiden Mei's awakening as a Herrscher—if Evan hadn't seriously trained himself after gaining his powers, he might really have been hit by that ambush and smashed into a cripple. Seven low-level Stigmata that hadn't even been fully strengthened were nowhere near enough to tank such an attack head‑on.
Evan hoped to learn more techniques for fighting giant Honkai Beasts and special high‑level zombies at St. Freya Academy. He had never believed that his current power was enough. He always yearned to gain more knowledge and become even stronger, not just rely entirely on the Supply System.
As Evan spaced out, staring at the sky, the sleeping Himeko Murata finally woke up. She mumbled, still half‑dazed:
"It hurts… my whole body hurts… I need painkillers again."
She subconsciously reached into her clothes pocket, took out a small pill bottle she carried with her, poured a few tablets into her palm, then began looking around for water to wash them down. Only then did she finally realize she was still at the drink stand, with Evan sitting opposite her. She sobered up instantly.
Himeko's first instinct was to stash the pills away again. Although her half‑asleep muttering had a high chance of being heard by Evan, as long as there was no undeniable evidence, she could still find an excuse to gloss things over.
But—
"This is warm water I asked the attendant to prepare when I saw you drunk. Please, use it."
Evan pushed a glass of water in front of her.
Himeko opened her mouth, but no words came out. After a while, as the pain in her body grew sharper, she couldn't endure it any longer and washed the painkillers down with the water.
The specially prepared strong painkillers worked well. Himeko quickly felt much better. She fell silent for a moment, glanced at the drink stand attendant standing not far away, and then spoke to Evan.
"Come take a walk with me?"
"Mm."
Evan knew Himeko wanted to talk somewhere without people around. He readily agreed.
In a relatively secluded path at St. Freya Academy with no other pedestrians, Himeko Murata found a bench by the roadside and sat down. She patted the spot next to her, signaling Evan to sit beside her.
Himeko, her mind clearly elsewhere, didn't realize just how intimate it was for a man and a woman to sit so close together. Evan raised an eyebrow but said nothing, sitting down next to her.
At a closer distance than at the drink stand, Evan could faintly feel Himeko's body warmth.
"Evan, do you know where a Valkyrie's power comes from?"
"I'm all ears."
"Besides weapons and combat armor, the main source is Stigmata. It's a powerful force that exists in the bloodlines of a very small number of people. According to Schicksal's data, it's an extremely important legacy left by the Previous Era so descendants could fight the Honkai, passed down generation by generation through blood."
"..."
"As I said, very few people have Stigmata. Of the ones I know, those suspected of possessing Stigmata can be counted on one hand. These are natural Stigmata—rare and powerful. People who have Stigmata are born warriors against the Honkai. But the world is big and Honkai erupts in many places. Relying on just a few people is far from enough. So artificial Stigmata appeared. They're imitations made based on natural Stigmata, and of course they have flaws. One of them is that they cause Valkyries to feel pain. But you don't have to worry—I've long gotten used to it."
Seeing that Himeko seemed to want to gloss over the matter, Evan, who had been playing the role of a good listener, finally spoke.
"Pain never comes for no reason and without harm. Since it's reached the point where you need medication to endure it, Miss Himeko, I'd prefer you explain it more clearly. Maybe I can help."
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