Night, early morning.
The night air was thick with moisture, and as it brushed against the skin, one could feel a momentary chill.
Yunduo woke up in the middle of the night, but when she tried to go back to sleep, her drowsiness had vanished.
She rubbed her groggy head and walked out of the bedroom.
At this hour, the living room was dark; Mei and Kiana had fallen asleep long ago.
Only a sliver of light shone from the gap in Bronya's door; she was likely still playing games.
Coming to the living room, she opened the fridge; the top shelf was filled with drinks.
Homu Coke, houmi Bitter Melon Juice, Hou-Spicy Lemon Juice... Bitter melon juice was usually only drunk when Theresa visited, and normally no one but Yunduo drank it.
Yunduo took a bottle of coke, opened it with a click, and sat on the balcony bathed in moonlight, watching the night view while drinking quietly.
Suddenly, she heard a faint sound of footsteps. Turning her head, she saw Kiana walking slowly toward her in a nightgown, not even wearing slippers.
"Kiana, is something wrong?"
Yunduo was a bit surprised.
She had seen that Kiana should have been asleep long ago, so why was she up in the middle of the night?
Hearing her words, Kiana pursed her pink lips and sat down beside Yunduo without saying a word.
It was very strange.
Her eyes were clearly open, so she didn't seem to be sleepwalking, but when Yunduo asked again thinking she hadn't heard, Kiana still didn't speak.
Seeing this, Yunduo placed the coke on the balcony table and blinked as a signal.
The next moment, Kiana quietly reached out her hand like a nimble little snake; her fingertips caught Yunduo's left hand and pulled it to the side of her thigh.
While doing this, she used her other hand to block the view and then reached for the coke can; the entire movement was smooth and fluid.
From a third-party perspective, it would certainly look like Kiana was reaching for the coke, not making a secret move.
Yunduo's hand rested by Kiana's leg, her fingertips touching the side of her warm, rounded, and slender jade-like thigh; the soft sensation was like mutton-fat jade, warm and smooth.
Because it was a nightgown, a corner of the hem's folds was also accidentally pinched in Yunduo's palm and gripped in her fist.
The youthful scent of gardenia faintly wafted from Kiana's body.
Yunduo didn't think much of it; she could only feel a tingle in her palm.
Kiana's index finger slid across her palm; it was a bit itchy, much like a slick snake slithering into her hand.
Three seconds later, Kiana released Yunduo's hand and left silently.
Meanwhile, Yunduo frowned because Kiana had written four words in her palm.
"Herrscher of the Void?"
"She's already awake?"
Yunduo murmured softly, instantly understanding.
No wonder Kiana was acting so strange; it was for this reason, she was worried the Herrscher of the Void was eavesdropping.
If it were before, perhaps she would have to worry about the Herrscher of the Void.
But now, is the sword of Incarnation not steady enough, or is my True Red blade not sharp enough?
As long as the Herrscher of the Void dared to appear, Yunduo would dare to beat her up!
...The night passed in silence.
The next day, the annual exam began as scheduled.
Kiana successfully passed the first round of testing with a high score.
"Did you see that, Bronya? This lady won with total ease!"
Kiana stood with her hands on her hips proudly, speaking to Bronya beside her.
"Do you understand now? This lady's strength is beyond your imagination!"
"...Has Kiana's brain finally completely broken down due to Honkai Energy?"
Hearing this, Bronya gave a faint sigh.
When the second round of testing arrived, Theresa suddenly announced: "During this intermission, I'd like to introduce Miss Rita Rossweisse, an inspector from headquarters."
"She has come to St. Freya Academy to observe the Valkyrie examination, so perform your best."
After she finished, Rita, dressed in a black maid outfit beside her, said politely: "Pardon the intrusion, Lady Theresa. The students you teach are indeed teeming with talent." Seeing her, Kiana instinctively looked at Bronya and whispered in her ear: "Hey, hey, Bronya, isn't this what we talked about last time? You don't think she told Schicksal Headquarters and they're here to hunt us down, do you?"
Yunduo heard Kiana's voice and couldn't help but find it a bit funny. She turned her head and said, "Keep your whispers down. I can hear you from all the way over here. If she hears you, even if there wasn't a conflict, you'll talk yourselves into one."
"Stupid Kiana, don't get close to Bronya, you'll infect me with idiot germs."
Bronya backed away two steps in disgust, grabbed Yunduo's sleeve, and hid behind her, as if getting close to Kiana really would turn her into an idiot.
Of course, not everyone knew Rita's background.
Among the ordinary Valkyries of St. Freya Academy, no one knew that this polite and refined maid was actually a Schicksal S-Rank Valkyrie.
Because it was an examination, all the Valkyries in the same class had to undergo testing in the examination room.
While one person was being tested, everyone else would stare at the projected screen to watch their battle.
In Theresa's words, the benefit of doing this was to make the naughty children who usually don't train properly or even skip classes feel ashamed, as a form of punishment.
Though that naughty child didn't feel it was a punishment at all, but rather an opportunity to show off.
Each person's exam required defeating the examiners Bronya and Fu Hua before proceeding to the final test.
However, not everyone was as nervous as Kiana had been before.
Some Valkyries, though lacking in strength, had no desire to go to the battlefield anyway, so they looked quite calm.
These people huddled together, stealing glances at the smiling Rita.
"She looks like such a beautiful and gentle person. Is she really a Valkyrie?"
"She's clearly a maid. It must be so blissful to sleep on her lap."
"Exactly, that mature and considerate vibe makes me really want to tease her."
"Forget it, you teasing her? Didn't you hear she's an inspector from headquarters?"
"Hmph~ Can't I even think about it? If only my girlfriend was like her."
Inside the examination room, many Valkyries were chattering and discussing among themselves.
All eyes were focused on Rita... as everyone took their turns for the exam.
A pair of eyes woke up from within Kiana's body.
The Herrscher of the Void's face was ice-cold, her heart suppressed with endless rage.
She only now realized that she had been tricked by Kiana!
She had thought it was strange; how could a normal person become more twisted than herself?
After she had fallen asleep, some fragments of Kiana's Remembrance flowed into the Herrscher of the Void's mind. Although they weren't important memories, she still understood that there was a space within the Academy that could predict the future.
Kiana's act was clearly a way to fish for information and check on the state of her power after awakening.
She had even wasted what little Honkai Energy she had left to construct dreamscapes for eating... The Herrscher of the Void was beyond frustrated, wishing she could tear everyone present into ten thousand pieces!
With Theresa's announcement, the final round of the examination officially began.
"Next is the final round of the exam. Candidates whose names are called, please put on the Synchronized Immersion Device!"
"The Virtual Trial Program responsible for the simulated combat will select appropriate virtual modules from the database as opponents."
"Good luck, everyone!"
Watching Kiana connect to the device, the Herrscher of the Void's eyes shifted.
Since her existence was already known, there was no longer any need to hide.
The Queen had slumbered long enough; it was time for all living beings to hear the God's teachings!
"Loading rate 98.6%"
"Access synchronization rate 100%, generating hostile module..."
"Access synchronization rate 120%, gen-gen-generating hos-hos-hostile module——"
"Access synchronization rate 111222%..."
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