Chapter 92: A Relaxed Academy
Hate. Harbor that hatred and take your revenge...
With your own hands, you will push this ugly world toward its final destruction...
This is a fate you cannot escape...
This is your true destination!
"Little Bai, be good... leave here. Leave the Zhou Family... and never, ever come back!"
The voice in the dream echoed, a haunting refrain from a past that was growing hazier with each passing day. Her face, once so clear in his memory, had become a blur. He couldn't tell if it was the dream itself fading or if his own tears had clouded his vision.
His body moved on its own, a puppet running forward, desperate and uncontrolled. Yet he could only watch, helpless, as she drifted further and further away, a ghost swallowed by the encroaching darkness.
"Brother..."
A soft voice sliced through the nightmare, pulling Rovel from the depths of his subconscious and back into the waking world.
He opened his eyes. Sunlight streamed through the window, already high in the sky.
Yuki was sitting by his bed, her expression etched with concern.
"Yuki... why are you here?" Rovel rubbed his brow, a dull ache throbbing behind his eyes. It had been a long time since that particular dream had visited him.
"Did you have a nightmare, Brother?" Yuki asked gently, thoughtfully handing him a glass of water she had prepared.
Rovel took the glass and drank it all in one go. The warm liquid traced a soothing path down his throat, easing the dryness and rasp in his voice.
"I just dreamt of some things from the past," he said, forcing a reassuring smile after taking a moment to compose himself. "I'm fine."
"Brother, you're so amazing!" Yuki deftly skipped over the somber topic, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Breaking out of an encirclement of millions of people! My admiration for you has just leveled up again!"
Rovel blinked, momentarily stunned. "Huh? How did you know about that, Yuki?" Elysia had definitely cast a cognitive obstruction spell to mask his identity. On top of that, Changkong City was blanketed in a powerful magnetic field; video recordings should have been impossible. How could she possibly know?
"In my eyes, only my all-powerful brother could pull off something that incredible!" Yuki declared, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Really?" Rovel looked at her, his gaze full of suspicion.
"Alright, fine," she conceded, pouting slightly. "Someone drew a picture of Raiden Mei, and as soon as I saw her, I knew the mysterious Descender had to be you, Brother!"
She explained, then added with a triumphant little smile, "And that's not all! The Funahiki Family has also extended an olive branch. If I'm not mistaken, it looks like they're planning to help you cover this whole thing up."
"The Funahiki Family? Helping me?" Rovel couldn't help but let out a short, incredulous laugh.
From Yuki's few words, he could already piece together the general situation. It had to be that guy, Funahiki Shin, trying to curry favor with him. As for Funahiki Gyō... Rovel had personally broken every bone in his body. There was no way in hell he'd be helping anyone, least of all him.
It seemed that by crippling Funahiki Gyō in the game, he had inadvertently paved the way for Funahiki Shin to become the family's temporary heir. That was the only explanation for this unexpected turn of events.
What Rovel didn't know was that Funahiki Gyō's situation was far worse than he imagined. Not only was he imprisoned in the real world, but his game account was effectively banned. And to top it all off, he was now a daily test subject for Jackal's twisted experiments—a truly satisfying fate.
"I was originally going to sneak into your bed last night to give you a surprise," Yuki confessed, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "But you looked so tired, I didn't want to disturb you. Did I do the right thing?"
"Not disturbing me was definitely the right thing to do," Rovel said, giving her a thumbs-up. "You get a gold star."
"But my intentions are worthy of praise, too!" Yuki puffed out her cheeks, a mask of adorable dissatisfaction on her face. "Now that Changkong City is gone, do you have anywhere to go, Brother? Raven is heading there on a mission. I could have her bring you back to World Serpent on her way."
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "You're so amazing, Brother! I'm sure World Serpent would welcome you with open arms!"
Rovel felt a pang of guilt seeing her so hopeful. "I actually joined a new organization yesterday, the 'Special Training Academy.' So... I'm sorry, Yuki." He patted her head, trying to soothe her obvious disappointment.
"Damn it! Was I a step too slow?!" Yuki clutched her head in theatrical despair. "I was going to wait until you joined World Serpent, then we could... you know... see if doing it in the game would cause any problems in the real world..."
"Yuki, I can hear you," Rovel said, rolling his eyes.
"So what?!" she shot back, her confidence returning in a flash as she met his gaze without a hint of shame. "Yuki's love for her brother surpasses anyone else's in the entire world!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he sighed, unable to stay annoyed with her. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Soy milk with rice noodle rolls," she answered instantly.
"...Hey," Rovel's head snapped toward her, his eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Did you plant a bug on me?"
"...Hehe~" Yuki tried to deflect with a cute giggle, but her attempt to play dumb crumbled under the merciless assault of Rovel's tickle punishment. A few breathless moments later, she confessed the bug's location.
"I can't believe you actually modified my shirt button into a listening device." Rovel plucked the tiny bug from his collar, shaking his head.
Yuki's face was flushed a deep crimson, and she was panting for breath, her chest heaving. A faint, dazed smile lingered on her lips, and her eyes were a little glazed over. She had clearly been thoroughly defeated by the tickling torture.
After sharing a perfectly normal breakfast and spending a perfectly normal morning together as siblings, Rovel logged back into "Honkai."
He pushed open the door to his dorm room. Across the hall, Fu Hua's door was also open. She stood before her vanity mirror, a hair tie held between her teeth as she expertly gathered her long hair.
"Morning, Classmate Ruo Bai." Fu Hua secured her hair into a neat ponytail and turned to greet him.
"Morning. Did you just get back from exercising?" Rovel asked, his gaze drifting to the bathroom, from which steam was still faintly billowing. The clean, fresh scent of body wash hung in the air.
"Yes. The plan for the day is made in the morning," Fu Hua nodded, her expression as serious as ever. "On the path of cultivation, one must never be slack."
"Hearing you say that, Fu Hua, I suddenly feel motivated," Rovel said with a smile. "By the way, how are the courses here arranged? I just arrived, so I don't really know much about St. Freya Academy yet."
"Hmm..." Fu Hua considered for a moment. "Allow me to take you on a tour. I can explain the academy's situation as we walk. It will help you familiarize yourself with the campus more quickly."
"I'd be most grateful," Rovel nodded.
As they strolled through the carefully kept grounds of the academy, Fu Hua began her explanation.
"Classes run from nine in the morning until six in the evening. There is a two-hour break at noon for lunch and a nap. St. Freya operates on a two-day weekend system, so there are no classes on Saturday or Sunday."
She gestured towards a large, ornate clock tower in the distance. "The academy has one-month vacations for both winter and summer, typically in April and October. Besides those, there are shorter holidays for events like the Shenzhou New Year and the Far East's Golden Week."
"Every September, there is an annual assessment," she continued, her tone unwavering. "This serves as the qualifying test to determine if we are ready to become official Valkyries or Schicksal Knights."
Fu Hua recited the details with an effortless precision, as if reading from a deeply memorized text.
"How should I put this..." Rovel mused aloud, looking around at the peaceful, almost idyllic campus. "It's... unexpectedly lax."
No wonder someone like Durandal had no interest in coming here, he thought. The academic atmosphere was far too relaxed for a true warrior.
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