21. New Simulation! Bianka's Heart Flutters!
Bianka Ataegina's earliest memory is waking up in a French orphanage.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a blond doctor treating her.
According to him, Bianka was an orphan who had lost her parents in a Honkai incident.
Guided by this doctor, she chose her current name—Bianka Ataegina. "Bianka" means white and brilliant, while "Ataegina" is the name of the moon goddess in Lusitanian mythology.
After all, the only connection to her past was the crescent pendant she always carried with her, and Bianka's name was inspired by this pendant.
As one of the orphans victimized by the Honkai, Bianka and her companions began studying from a young age to become Valkyries in the future, fighting against the threat of the Honkai.
Bianka studied with exceptional diligence and always achieved the best results.
Instructor Ragna would often visit her and continued to look after her even after she became a Valkyrie.
Bianka didn't dwell too much on her past, and her thoughts about the future were equally simple:
Become stronger, keep growing in strength, overcome the Honkai again and again, and prevent her tragedy from befalling others—that was all.
In the seven years since she woke up, Bianka experienced many adventures, made many good friends, and grew increasingly stronger.
As for other thoughts, it wasn't that Bianka never had them, but she rarely wasted time on them. When the day came that the Honkai was no longer a threat to humanity, she would lay down her weapons, remove her armor, and embrace her own life.
But, in other words, Bianka still had some thoughts.
Whenever she fell asleep, in the depths of her dreams, she would often see vague yet strangely familiar figures, but she could never remember who they were.
She seemed to see a gentle white-haired woman holding her in her arms, comforting her tenderly, and a tall white-haired man lifting her up to play "airplane."
And finally, in her dream, she would always push open a door and, like a young swallow returning to its nest, rush into a sturdy chest, held in his embrace as he gently stroked her head.
After such dreams, Bianka always felt a sense of loss and melancholy. She didn't know if these were fragments of her forgotten past, but at times, she yearned for their care and warm embraces.
Just like—right now!
"Mmph—"
Warm, solid, and filled with a reliable sense of closeness—when Mr. Gao Qi, whom she had only met a few times, held her in his arms and gently stroked her head, those beautiful feelings, which only appeared in her dreams and faded upon waking, resurfaced in Bianka's mind.
However, a few seconds later, she snapped back to reality. She remembered who the man before her was and what had just happened.
Mr. Gao Qi—aside from knowing that he often worked out and was a friend of Alvitr, Bianka knew almost nothing about him.
And he had just turned around and hugged her... and she... seemed to have hugged him back?
At this thought, Durandal flusteredly let go and took half a step back.
Bianka is one of the three S-Rank Valkyries of Schicksal, but everyone knows that Durandal is an S-Rank Valkyrie only because S is the highest rank for Schicksal Valkyries—she could be a "Durandal-Rank" Valkyrie.
When facing various Honkai incidents, rather than carefully contemplating solutions, Durandal often prioritizes charging straight ahead.
To put it nicely, this is called "overpowering all methods with sheer force." To put it less nicely—everyone thinks Durandal is quite gullible and a bit silly.
Otherwise, back in New Zealand, when Theresa exposed Durandal's coordinates to the Anti-Entropy fleet, she wouldn't have been brushed off with the excuse that "Anti-Entropy is just here for tourism."
Rather than addressing her with reverence as "Lady Durandal," the Valkyries prefer to call her "Dudu".
Bianka, of course, doesn't know how the Valkyries refer to her, but as she looked at the slightly embarrassed man before her, her mind truly went blank.
She only felt that the embrace of the man before her held an indescribable familiarity, making her feel incredibly comfortable yet flustered.
She was immensely powerful, but that power was only useful against Honkai beasts—it meant nothing in human interactions.
When it came down to it, she was just a seventeen-year-old girl. And because she had always focused on combat, she was even more naive than the average girl.
Bianka looked seriously at Gao Qi, only to find the man equally serious as he gazed back at her.
As their eyes met, Bianka seemed to see a complex mix of emotions in Gao Qi's dark eyes—something reminiscent, something affectionate, tender yet tinged with a hint of sadness, appearing profoundly melancholic.
Thump.
Bianka suddenly felt her heartbeat skip a beat.
[No way, could this be what Rita taught me—'feeling butterflies in your stomach'?
Bianka's mind instantly began to wander, and her usually handsome and poised demeanor became somewhat adorable.
What she didn't know was that Gao Qi was also panicking internally at this moment.
[Crap, I mistook her for someone else! I'm dead, I'm so dead!]
Feeling the countless dagger-like glances around him, Gao Qi knew he had been a bit careless.
But there was no helping it. The moment he saw Bianka, Gao Qi was instantly reminded of his dear student and instinctively hugged her—that little girl from back then had truly grown up.
At this thought, Gao Qi's gaze toward Bianka carried even more nostalgia and tenderness, which made Bianka's heart flutter even more. Both their thoughts began to drift toward dangerous territory.
Fortunately, someone interrupted this somewhat frightening process in time. A pair of powerful, slender hands gently rested on their shoulders and quietly separated them.
"Mr. Gao Qi, suddenly attacking an underage Valkyrie is considered misconduct in Schicksal, you know?"
Huh, really? But I still want to get close to Bianka!
In reality, of course, Gao Qi wouldn't dare mouth off like that. He obediently took a step back.
"Well, Miss Rita, let me... uh, let me explain! It was just—a subconscious defensive move!"
Raising his hands, Gao Qi began his earnest... excuse-making.
"Actually, I came to apply to join the Immortal Blades with Miss Bianka. Recently, Alvitr kept mentioning that the technical team is short-handed, so they planned to transfer personnel from the logistics department... Is that alright?"
The topic took an abrupt turn. Rita narrowed her eyes, about to say something, but Bianka, her face flushed, already raised her hand and nodded vigorously.
"I—I approve! You can go to the HR department to handle the transfer procedures—Thank you for joining, Mr. Gao Qi. I'll leave the follow-up matters to Rita. I have to go to the North Africa laboratory now! Rita, goodbye! I wish you success on your mission!"
Bianka agreed almost instinctively, but then, her face red, she慌乱ly ran off into the distance—even pulling out a pendant she always kept close to her heart from her ample chest, unable to resist stroking it.
The warmth from the hug still lingered on her chest. Bianka was certain that all these years, not even her ever-present friend Rita had ever made her feel this way.
[Could it be... that I've really fallen in love at first sight?]
One thing was sure: this "Dudu" Valkyrie would be grappling with these feelings for a while.
Watching Bianka dash away, Gao Qi felt a bit awkward, but also a sense of pride in her growth. He then turned his gaze to Rita, who was dressed in her maid attire.
This Valkyrie, gentle and elegant to everyone, seemed... rather displeased with him. Gao Qi understood her perfectly. After all, Rita had practically raised Bianka herself. As fellow proxy guardians, he and she had a lot in common.
"Ahem—Miss Rita, please don't be angry. I trust in your wisdom and understanding. As the perfect and miss maid, you must see that I was just a little excited earlier... I was wrong, I'm sorry."
Gao Qi stopped making excuses and honestly apologized. Rita, however, raised a finger to her lips, tilted her head, and flashed him a radiant smile.
"I'm not angry at all. I will naturally follow Lady Durandal's orders. Welcome to the Immortal Blades, Mr. Gao Qi. In a few days, I have a mission in Skyline City and恰好 need some personnel. You can go for a field assignment—I liked how you addressed me earlier. But everything must be done by the book, right?"
Gently patting Gao Qi's shoulder, Rita grabbed his arm with a soft yet inescapable strength and pulled him toward the training ground.
"Of course, even the logistics technical team needs combat proficiency for assurance—Shall we go test your abilities now?"
Rita glanced back, her left eye, usually hidden by her hair, now visible. Her wine-red pupil gleamed with an alluring light.
——————
"Ouch, ahhh, it hurts, so tired..."
That night, Gao Qi returned to his dorm, rubbing his sore arms and grimacing.
Rita was a dutiful S-Rank Valkyrie and wouldn't do something like abuse her power for personal revenge. But as a test subject, Gao Qi was put through an intensely rigorous physical assessment.
An ordinary Valkyrie might find such a test exhausting, let alone Gao Qi.
Furthermore, during the combat skills test, facing a B-Rank Valkyrie, Gao Qi obediently let himself be taken down in one move—that girl was a big fan of Durandal and might have used a bit too much force. Rita thoughtfully provided him with some liniment afterward.
While he could have easily subdued her with his Inch Heart Fist, it was better to keep a low profile here at Schicksal headquarters.
Back in his dorm, Gao Qi tentatively snapped his fingers. Accompanied by a Honkai energy reaction far below the detection threshold, he felt a vibrant power surge within his body, alleviating most of his fatigue.
"Quite convenient."
Gao Qi hadn't expected the process of joining the Immortal Blades to go so smoothly—after all, Bianka had already given her approval.
And most importantly, a certain lolicon maid, wanting to protect the Durandal she had cared for over the years, absolutely did not want Gao Qi following her. Instead, she assigned him under her own command.
"Guess this counts as an unexpected stroke of luck?"
Lying back on his bed, Gao Qi took a deep breath.
In less than a week, Gao Qi needed to quickly adapt to his work in the Immortal Blades logistics team. Then, he would follow Rita to Arc City—during this time, Gao Qi needed to get as strong as possible!
"Wait for me, my precious daughter—although you probably don't know me yet."
Thinking this, Gao Qi closed his eyes. As the clock struck midnight, the simulation began.
[Simulator count has been reset. Simulation starting—]
[Simulation Time: 50,000 years ago, Previous Era.]
[Simulation Location: Fire Moth Headquarters.]
[Scenario Name: Serpent and "Infinity".]
[Simulation Start.]Note: I'm new to translating so please be kind and tell me any mistakes you all find, I will try to release a chapter a day but don't expect much
Please support the original author: warboss
Raw: 崩坏模拟器,你找的人是我么?