The girl opened her eyes. It was Saturday, and as usual, she hadn't set an alarm. On weekends, her roommates wouldn't bother her for sleeping in until lunchtime.
But today would likely be an exception for her friends. The White-haired Clump sprang out of bed, quickly dressed, neatly combed and braided her messy hair, and swiftly finished her morning routine in the bathroom.
Kiana quietly opened the door. The hallway was silent and empty; it seemed everyone was enjoying a lazy weekend morning. The only exception, Class Monitor Fu Hua, had likely already left for her morning training.
"Whew—looks like everyone's still asleep..."
Kiana gently closed the door and slipped out of the dormitory.
If you truly wish to see them, go to the cemetery at St. Freya Academy. They lie in the first row...
Why should I linger for one who lacks resolve?
Sirin thinks this must be Lady Hermit's trial for Big Sister.
The voices from her dream echoed in Kiana's mind, solidifying her resolve.
"Will I find my answers in that cemetery...?"
Pushing open the main gate, Kiana sprinted toward her destination, then abruptly stopped.
"Uh... isn't it customary to bring flowers? Got it!"
As she pondered, her gaze fell upon the white blossoms blooming in a nearby flowerbed.
"You'll do!" Kiana plucked the white flowers, quickly arranging them into a simple bouquet. After admiring her handiwork, she continued her dash toward the cemetery.
-
The cemetery gates stood wide open, unguarded, allowing visitors to come and pay their respects freely. Each tombstone in the graveyard bore the name of a Valkyrie and her epitaph.
Passing through flowerbeds planted with verdant pines, Kiana reached the cemetery's deepest section.
Behind the black memorial monument, twenty-odd nameless crosses stood on the verdant grass, bearing neither names nor epitaphs.
"...?" Clutching the bouquet, Kiana stood in confusion.
"If you're here to mourn them... you can place the flowers beneath that black monument."
A familiar voice broke through Kiana's bewilderment. It was Houraiji Kyuusyou. The tall woman, who had appeared without warning, offered a gentle reminder to the bewildered girl standing before the sea of crosses.
"Uh... Kyuusyou, what are you doing here?"
Two years had passed. While Kiana herself had barely grown, her companion had long surpassed the 1.72-meter mark. With the passage of time, Kyuusyou's vibrant purplish-red hair had faded to a deep purple.
Facing Kyuusyou, who towered nearly half a head taller and exuded an imposing aura, Kiana instinctively shrank back.
"Sneaking out early in the morning, your face full of worries... As your friend, why wouldn't I follow you to check on you?"
Kyuusyou smiled, gazing at the white-haired girl before her.
"So, you're curious about those who rest here, the founding seniors of the academy?"
Kiana nodded earnestly, her blue eyes turning to Kyuusyou, as if anticipating her explanation.
"Then come here and look at this black monument..." Kyuusyou's gaze shifted to the towering obelisk nearby, her expression solemn. She strode quickly to her companion's side, following her gaze to the obelisk. More than twenty names were carved crookedly into the stone. Unlike the meticulously engraved, artistic lettering on the tombstones outside, these looked more like a child's clumsy scribbles.
"You're wondering why the names on the obelisk are like this, right?" Kyuusyou asked, shrugging slightly.
"It's simple, really. They carved these names themselves. Of course, they're different from the ones on the tombstones outside, which were engraved by the academy's craftsmen."
"Kyuusyou, you're saying they carved these themselves? But aren't tombstones...?" Kiana's voice was filled with disbelief and confusion.
"Only after death would someone else carve it? ... Doesn't everyone fear their own mortality? ... But they were different. They had long since lost their fear of death."
"Because they had already died once—as the most unfortunate survivors of the Second Eruption, they had already died once."
"They bore too much suffering: friends who vanished, families whose whereabouts remain unknown... I truly wonder what state of mind they were in when they carved this epitaph..."
"Epitaph?"
Hearing Kyuusyou's words, Kiana turned back to examine the obelisk. She quickly spotted a line of neat, upright characters. Though not as polished as the carvings outside, which were the work of a professional sculptor, the careful effort put into them was clear.
"—To fight for all that is beautiful in the world."
"...Having endured life's hardships, confronted the darkness of humanity, and suffered the setbacks of fate, the epitaph they left behind wasn't a lament for life's trials or a curse against destiny's injustice, but a vow."
"This vow has inspired generations of students at this academy to walk the path of the Valkyrie, ultimately becoming the first line of St. Freya Academy's motto."
"They were warriors, warriors fighting for the world, warriors bearing the fate of humanity on their shoulders..."
Silence fell over the cemetery once more.
"You don't seem as preoccupied as you were this morning... Has your heart already found its answer? Though I don't know what was troubling you, it seems they've resolved your confusion and doubts..."
Kyuusyou tilted her head to look at Kiana, who was staring intently at the obelisk, deep in thought. She reminded her—
"What's the matter? You brought the flowers—aren't you going to place them as thanks?"
"Ah? Oh, oh, oh, oh!" The White-haired Clump snapped out of her daze and solemnly placed the white bouquet at the foot of the memorial. Turning to Kyuusyou, she gave a slight bow of gratitude.
"Thank you for your explanation, Kyuusyou! Hmm... next time, I'll treat you to some snacks I make myself!"
As if she had spotted some formidable foe, Kiana fled in a flash.
"You really don't need to repay kindness with malice like that..." Houraiji Kyuusyou's eyebrow twitched, recalling the catastrophic explosion that had followed Kiana's last venture into the kitchen. Her lips twitched.
"Kyuusyou, where did Kiana get those flowers...?" The Headmaster, who had seemingly materialized from nowhere in the cemetery, stared at the strikingly familiar blossoms beneath the memorial stele, her forehead creased in a vein-throbbing tic.
"Ah? I think she plucked them from the flowerbed near the dormitory entrance. When I came out, a whole patch of white flowers was missing... Uh, Headmaster, safe travels?"
Watching the Headmaster storm off in pursuit of Kiana, Kyuusyou shrugged. Huginn swooped down from a nearby branch to perch on her shoulder.
"My Lady, may we continue tonight?"
"Of course... A sharp sword must be constantly forged and honed."