Time always seemed to fly for those who lost themselves in games—or rather, in wasting time.
Before she realized it, a whole week had passed since C.C.'s conversation with Welt.
She'd already purchased the travel pass for the Guilty Crown world, and now she was saving up points for a return ticket.
All while waiting for news from the leader of Anti-Entropy.
Her dazzling golden eyes stared at the teacher standing at the podium.
C.C. mused to herself: If the professors in my previous life's university were even a tenth as good as Aunt Himeko, I bet no one would've dared to skip class!
Crimson hair like a waterfall cascaded down Himeko's back, gleaming eyes the color of molten gold sharp with intelligence and spirit.
The tight, jet-black office outfit hugged her shapely figure, accentuating every curve.
Her slender legs, wrapped in sheer black stockings, traced a perfect line down to her calves, finishing with a pair of five-centimeter high heels.
That mature, seductive beauty, combined with the subtle allure of her "teacher" status, gave her an irresistible charm.
C.C gave a small shake of her head, pushing away certain... improper thoughts about her teacher that tried to sneak into her mind.
She had no impure feelings toward Aunt Himeko.
Whenever she pictured the crimson knight burning away her life force while swinging the Godslayer Blade, any trace of desire in C.C's heart dissolved, replaced by the sincere admiration a little sister feels for her older sister.
Lowering her gaze, she hid the spinning purple hexagrams in her pupils.
C.C. was carefully analyzing Aunt Himeko's body; in her eyes, that sharp office outfit may as well not exist at all.
But what made her brows knit together was the pure whiteness of Himeko's skin—it told her the harsh truth:
Aunt Himeko didn't have much time left.
Under these eyes—far more precise than any professional medical scanner—every tiny detail of her body's condition appeared clearly in C.C.'s mind.
Beneath the polished surface lay a body battered and failing.
It wasn't just Himeko; almost every Valkyrie implanted with artificial Stigmata suffered the same fate.
Artificial Stigmata, Otto's grand creation after years of research, were man-made antibodies designed to resist Honkai corruption.
But they came with terrible flaws—not only were they vastly inferior to natural Stigmata in performance, they also drastically shortened the host's lifespan.
Even knowing they would likely fall in battle—or at best die before their mid-thirties—the girls still chose to bear them.
Or rather, they had no choice at all.
Such was the fate of the Valkyries in this world.
In that sense, Theresa deserved praise.
Building St. Freya Academy—a sanctuary where these girls could forget pain, if only briefly—was indeed a noble deed.
But Himeko, who had received her artificial Stigmata as a teenager and fought ever since, had clearly reached the end of her road.
Perhaps because they were both "rogues" in a way, Himeko had always gotten along well with Nagami.
And so, for many reasons all swirling together... C.C. found herself with a growing desire to save Himeko's life.
As for how to do that... there were many methods—but if she were to try, she wanted to make it a perfect, permanent fix.
First, she ruled out simply extending Himeko's life with Stigmata.
That would work, yes—but not for long.
It wouldn't solve the problem.
Of the remaining options, using the Super Evolution Factor or directly turning her into a Herrscher both seemed ideal—not only would they grant unbelievable longevity, but they'd also skyrocket Himeko's combat abilities.
But with Nagami around, there was no way a Herrscher of Flamescion could be born.
Besides, C.C. and Nagami still needed to visit the Honkai Gakuen 2 world to lend a hand.
A Herrscher's power would surpass any fusion warrior—so the Gem of Plague would be the perfect tool to awaken Himeko's Herrscher powers.
Of course, there was also a simple reason—C.C. currently had no way to produce a Super Evolution Factor serum herself.
So in truth, only one path remained.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to turn St. Freya into a true Herrscher Academy?
But… C.C. frowned slightly.
She had stolen Duck's driving license—so how was she supposed to Herrscher-ize this body now?
Well… that could wait.
Once she obtained the Herrscher of Reason's Core, she could stabilize Himeko's deteriorating condition—or even start to heal her.
After all, Welt could reshape bodies by understanding the Herrscher of Reason's powers.
For C.C., who wielded the Alpha Stigma eyes, healing the damage caused by artificial Stigmata would be child's play.
Though it might take a lot of time.
And that Core, combined with the Alpha Stigma eyes, would unlock incredible possibilities.
Even Bronya's legs could be completely restored!
As C.C.'s thoughts swirled wildly, the teacher standing at the podium changed—from Himeko to Professor Welt Yang, the history lecturer.
"Since some new students have recently joined us, we'll slow down the pace of our curriculum today and review past lessons to help everyone catch up," Welt said with a gentle smile as he laid his history textbook on the desk.
But in his eyes gleamed a faint, knowing light.
"Now then, C.C., would you—"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing at the sight of a certain white-haired girl sleeping soundly on her desk.
More importantly, Welt had already read the message in those dazzling golden eyes—she knew his true intention.
A vein pulsed at his temple as he threw a glance toward the dignified the heiress and the true Kiana sitting properly on either side, suppressing his curiosity about their origins for the moment.
Instead, he stared at the slumbering insect drooling onto her history textbook.
"Kiana... why don't you answer this one?" Welt said.
The rest of the class didn't even turn to look, as if this scene was already routine.
Only the true Kiana and the heiress Kiana gave her a slight side glance.
Welt's face darkened, no different from a homeroom teacher catching a student napping.
A piece of chalk slipped from his fingers like a bullet fired from a gun—striking Kiana squarely on the forehead.
"Who!? Who dares to ambush the great me!?"
The sudden jolt of pain made the sleepy bug spring up with a loud shout.
But as the fog of drowsiness lifted, a gradually sobering Kiana quickly grasped the harsh reality.
Both the the heiress and the true KIana raised their hands to their foreheads in perfect sync, sighing deeply.
This stupid tuna is using their face, after all...!
Swallowing the words that had risen to her throat, Kiana shrank her neck sheepishly and slowly turned her head toward Welt like a rusty old machine.
Scratching the back of her head with an awkward grin, she chuckled.
"Hehe... Sensei, I..."
"Kiana~"
Welt's darkened expression left no room for excuses.
Without missing a beat, he pointed straight toward the sports field.
"Double laps today."
"Ugh... Yes, sir...!"
Under the familiar, unconcerned gazes of the class, Kiana straightened her back like a soldier and marched stiffly out of the room.
Only Mei looked genuinely worried, her brows creased in concern.
As for the other two Kiana? They wanted nothing more than to grab that tuna by the scruff of her neck and throw her to the zombies for dinner.
Honestly...! Every day she embarrasses us in front of C.C. like this. If this keeps up, even our image might suffer by association...
When the bell signaling the end of class rang, C.C. put on her flawless business smile with practiced ease, graciously accepting yet another love letter from a girl in the neighboring class—much to the helpless sighs of the three white-haired girls beside her.
They didn't grind their teeth in anger anymore—just sighed in resignation.
After all, they knew C.C. would never say yes.
Though every time, the green-haired beauty would carefully read each letter and gently, kindly refuse... only attracting even more admirers in the process.
No matter how hard Kiana and the others tried, they just couldn't stop it.
When they neared the dormitory, C.C. smoothly excused herself, claiming she'd forgotten something in the classroom, and slipped away from the three white-haired bundles of trouble.
Instead of heading back, she took a detour—toward Welt's faculty apartment.
She reached for the doorbell—only to find the door unlocked.
Clearly... he was expecting her.
C.C. pushed the door open and strode confidently inside.
"Hope I'm not interrupting~"
In the living room, steaming teacups were already set neatly on the low table.
Welt sat properly on the sofa, straight-backed and tense.
"You're here."
"Well? Have you thought it over?"
Without the slightest hint of formality, C.C. casually picked up a teacup, crossed one long leg over the other, and slouched back against the sofa with lazy elegance.
Steam curled softly from the cup, framing her curled lashes and the dazzling golden eyes beneath them—eyes as bewitching as jewels.
"Let's be honest... I never really had a choice, did I?"
Welt's expression grew solemn, his voice sinking low with frustration and resignation.
With the combined power of C.C. and Nagami, plus two S-rank Valkyries—and especially Judah, the Valkyrie who could deploy an anti-magic barrier—
If all of them came for him, he wouldn't stand a chance.
Even without everyone acting at once, his wounded body would give out before he could resist.
Welt was painfully aware of that.
And he didn't doubt C.C. could rally the others.
With her information network, striking a deal with Otto for their support was child's play.
Escape was impossible.
Ever since their last secret conversation, he'd felt the constant, open surveillance—no longer even bothering to hide.
The source of that gaze was Nagami.
These two had him completely in their grasp.
Between getting beaten half to death and surrendering the Herrscher Core in exchange for information and powers beyond this world...
It wasn't really a choice at all.
"Don't sound so bitter. For someone dedicated to fighting the Honkai, I'm being very reasonable," C.C. said with a teasing smile.
From Welt's demeanor, she could tell—it was a done deal. The Core would be in her hands today.
Settling this without violence... was a very pleasant outcome indeed.
"If your leader hadn't agreed, I would have half-killed you," she added lightly. "But since we're all fellow warriors against the Honkai, I thought I'd show some mercy~"
"Well thank you so much for your kindness," Welt muttered through gritted teeth, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"You're welcome~"
"So... let's discuss the details of our trade."
Welt took a deep breath—then his eyes flared crimson.
A crystal-like object shimmering with pure light appeared in his hand.
Brilliant blue light—tinged with an otherworldly sci-fi glow—bathed the entire room like a rising tide.
The Core of the Herrscher of Reason!
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