Himeko jumped off her seat as she immediately grabbed her blade and blocked the location my finger was pointed to.
In the meantime, I just had an amused smile on my face as I kept my finger pointed there.
"Are you still going to arrest me now?" I teased.
A smile appeared on Himeko's face as well, realising that she'd just been tricked. "I guess I fell for it." She put down her blade as she sat back down in place.
"So you wanna talk about the third Herrscher huh?" I asked, my back straightening.
"That is correct." Himeko placed her blade back down. "I apologise for all of this really. The situation is a bit tense for us right now so I'm a little on edge."
"I understand."
She wasn't lying.
I didn't attack in the first place because I could tell that her threat was more of a simple jest of frustration more than anything.
But after all of that, I've gotten some important information about this woman.
Her temper wasn't great at first, but it could be as a result of being in a high stress situation right now.
Being able to deescalate so easily despite my fake attack shows restraint and was a contradiction to having a bad temper though.
A bit sensitive about her age and she was quite a serious person.
She can apologise when she was wrong though, which was surprising to me.
Most of the time, these people from military-esque places, tend to be very, very hot headed given their positions.
And given her response…
That means she can be negotiated with.
If it was anything else…
Then I might need to spill a bit of blood today.
I sighed. "I just feel a bit frightened right now though. I was nearly arrested despite being a law-abiding citizen~"
Himeko crossed her arms and legs as she leaned back. "A minor that can fly and fight a Herrscher?" She picked up the tablet and showed it to me. "That's you no?"
I squinted my eyes as I looked at the blurry figures on the screen.
"Does that look like me to you?"
She shrugged. "Not really. But the information gathered makes it most likely you. After all, before there was a sudden Honkai spike in Chiba Academy, several other students told us that you could, and I quote-" She cleared her throat. "Aura farm with glowy eyes and teleport around."
"... Did they really say that?"
"Yes."
A smile of satisfaction appeared on my face.
"That meant I looked cool. That's good enough."
"Is that really what you think of?" Himeko raised an eyebrow. "Looking cool?"
"Of course. Life is no fun without a bit of showing off." I said. I threw the remote onto the sofa in frustration as I couldn't get the TV to work.
"By the way. We jammed the signal nearby." She said, "Don't be alarmed. It's just to prevent any leaks in our conversation."
"Uh huh…"
I gave an expression of not looking very convinced.
In spite of that, I could still tell that she wasn't lying.
Very forthcoming.
"But getting back onto topic- the Third Herrscher." Himeko looked me in the eye. "We know that Raiden Mei is the most likely candidate."
"What gave that away?"
The armoured woman did not speak but she just kept looking at me.
Ahh
She was getting used to my BS.
With a sigh, I rubbed my hair, pretending to be a bit stressed. By the small changes in her face however, I think there was a fair chance she fell for it.
"What do you want to do with information then? Kill her?" A look of outrage appeared on my face. "I won't let you do that!!!"
That made her frown.
"You are mistaken. We do not kill little girls."
"Then what about-" I gestured towards everything. "All of this?"
"Merely a safety precaution. You should understand better than anyone how dangerous she is."
Good.
That's the response I want to see.
I 'sneered'. "If that's all, then you can leave. Mei is fine now."
Seeing this, Himeko sighed. "If only it were that easy…"
"It is that easy." I pointed at the door. "Just walk out."
"Gojo Satoru. You have to understand that we cannot let what is the living equivalent to a nuclear bomb walk around unchecked right?"
"She won't hurt anyone." I stood up, 'outraged'.
"The students?" She raised an eyebrow. "The same ones that she knocked out?"
"They're still alive…"
My voice came to a low as I looked away.
My eyes were still glancing at her to check what her reactions would be though.
A bit of lethargy and wariness, but there were some sprinkles of what I assumed to be determination?
"They're alive, but she still had an outburst." She stood up, arguing back as she looked up at me. "What if you're not there next time? What if she snaps for real?"
Perhaps she was feeling that she was getting through to me at this time.
But this was slightly concerning, yet not unexpected to me.
Schicksal's really good at gathering information huh?
I 'gritted' my teeth. "Then what do you want to do to her huh?!" I swung my arm to the side. "You expect me to watch as you take her away and keep her like a pet under surveillance?"
I looked panicked on the surface, but my gaze was a hundred percent focused on her.
This was the biggest test.
If she really does to trap Mei like that…
"No!" Himeko met my gaze with a stern expression. "We do plan to relocate her, but we will not keep her trapped!"
Oh?
Her momentum kept building as her volume increased. "Let us train her, and the rest of you as well!
"We can make her a warrior capable of taming that force! And the rest of you to fight the Honkai!"
"If anyone wants to do anything to them like what you speak of, I'll be the first to stand in the way!"
She looked at me confidently and held out a hand.
"Please. Take my hand. We can protect all of you and fight for all that's beautiful together."
I looked at her hand dully.
She stretched out her hand a bit more, trying to urge me to take it.
However, I was not particularly impressed.
"What you're saying is to just work under you? To be soldiers under your command to throw ruthlessly at any threat?"
Himeko was stunned.
She opened her mouth to reply, but she could not come up with an answer.
After all…
Was I wrong?
I glanced at the room at the side, seeing a combo of white, gray and dark purple.
I guess they somewhat agreed as well.
If I weren't here, I assume they would be convinced by these platitudes and enthusiasms. Children of this age could be quite… malleable in spite of their intelligence.
This wasn't about being smart or not.
This was plain experience diff.
Himeko sighed. "There… isn't much of a choice. Schicksal does ask for Valkyries to fight in exchange for the resources given…"
"And that's the crux of the issue isn't it?" I asked. "You're asking to train us for the good of the world, but you want us to work for you too?"
Now I'm switching logic around a bit here.
I'm making it seem that they're trying to hire us in order to train us. However, it really is more of a, 'I give you a scholarship, you work for us for a while after you graduate' type of deal.
She remained silent for a few moments as she glanced at the direction I did as well. The girl's there quickly realised their folly as they shrunk their heads.
Didn't matter though since she saw them already.
"I understand your point of view. But still…" She said hesitantly. "I don't mean to threaten you, but you must realise that the other branches will not stand for this…"
"I understand that…" I closed my eyes. "In that case, why don't we compromise?"
"I'm listening."
A smirk appeared on my face. "Why don't you just exempt us from taking missions? Just categorise it as an expense to save the world or something?"
This was a bit calculated on my part.
I don't deny the usefulness of the training she was offering.
The thing I didn't want was to be bogged down by bureaucratic nonsense and chain of command stuff.
If Kiana and the others wanted to save the world in the future, they could.
If they didn't, then they would not have to.
I would be there to stop any major brainwashing.
"I will report this request to my superiors." She sighed. "What a pain in the ass you are, kid…"
"Oh yea! Another thing!" A smile appeared on my face.
"What is it…"
"Those are just my conditions! We need to ask the others for theirs as well."
>.<
—-----------------------------
Standing in the field behind my home, I laughed. "Wow! The backyard's been renovated nicely!!"
Its size has been increased quite a bit.
Kiana, Bronya and Mei were following closely behind me.
Despite hearing my concerns, they seemed actually quite excited to join after hearing Himeko's dazzling speech.
Their reasoning to me was: "You can handle it right? We trust you to have our backs!"
It was touching, but a bit worrying as well.
"What do you want now?" Himeko sighed as she arrived. She rubbed her neck. "I really just want to drink a bottle of beer now…"
"Beer? I have tons of those!" I pointed to the direction of my kitchen. "Knock yourself out."
"Nice try kid." Himeko deadpanned. "I'm not getting drunk on the job…" She stretched her limbs. "Seriously. Why did you bring me back here? You're not going to try to kill me then bury me here right?"
"Hmm… tempting…"
"Wait… seriously?"
"Nah." I laughed. "I just wanted to offer a spar."
"Spar? With you?"
"Yes." I nodded. Then, I gestured towards the others. "And then as well."
"?"
"As students, we have to see if our teacher is up to stuff , right guys?"
"Yup!" Kiana shouted. Bronya gave a firm nod while Mei…
She was just feeling a bit embarrassed about the whole situation.
"I haven't told you I was a teacher yet…" Himeko pointed out.
"You just did!"
"..."
"So we jump her guys?" I looked at them.
The smiles that formed on the faces of the girls were absolutely maniacal.
(A/N: I suppose the last chapter was a bit short so this chapter is a bit longer.
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