Just like how Raiden Mei had never imagined that the people who would one day shake the world would gather in a small villa to play video games, bicker over food, and occasionally reward Tesla with a few whacks of a riding crop (whip), she also hadn't expected to find a semi-retired Valkyrie hanging out in a dorm room with a regular high school girl.
"Ah, you must be 'Mei,' right? Come on in. This isn't where I live; I just don't have anywhere else to go, so I'm crashing at my friend's place," Ana Schariac said with a warm smile.
'A chestnut-colored mushroom cut?!'
Raiden Mei's lips twitched, deciding to ignore her other self's strange commentary.
Perhaps it was because she was getting used to hanging around with everyone, but Raiden Mei had noticed that her other self was becoming increasingly shameless.
"There can be only one Queen!" is the rule of His Majesty The Emperor. Take the Herrscher of the Void. She has taken many great pains because she always referred to herself as Queen.
Naturally, Mei's shadow-self wouldn't dare reveal her peculiar linguistic preferences in front of everyone, lest she violate some taboo and get lectured.
Those pink eyes looked exceptionally beautiful. Raiden Mei easily etched this pretty girl into her memory.
That was one good thing about Academy City. Aside from the humans fighting each other a bit too fiercely, the conflicts related to the Honkai had been suppressed to a minimum by Noldrei.
Even Valkyries had time to set aside their burdens and hang out with their normal friends.
Ana was clearly one such Valkyrie. She may have realized that the Valkyrie life wasn't quite what she'd expected, but she was supported by the duties, responsibilities, and wills of generations past.
She was also the A-rank Valkyrie of this generation of the Schariac family, while the real hope of the Schariac lineage was Durandal. The original sacred-blood families had long declined due to the Stigmata curse. If not for Otto's almost cheat-like educational abilities, Ana might not have been able to persevere.
Inside the room was a golden-haired girl. Golden hair and golden eyes made her look like a beautiful doll.
"My name is Shiina Mahiru. Welcome. This is our school dorm. It's not as nice as where the Valkyries live, so please don't be offended," Shiina said.
Mei quickly returned the greeting. After a complicated exchange of words, the three finally sat down to discuss business.
Just that issue of etiquette took up so much time that even Mei's shadow-self thought they were being inefficient.
'It's weird. Even Emperors don't have this much etiquette. Do these people who get told what to do all the time have some kind of problem that they have to make everything so formal?'
Mei's shadow-self's words were, in fact, Mei's own inner thoughts. However, Mei mostly just thought it was a bit cumbersome and troublesome.
Actually, Raiden Mei thought the her other self was absolutely correct.
People who have encountered too much etiquette tend to think it's annoying, while people who have ended up in a place with no etiquette tend to think that the lack of etiquette is also annoying. Sometimes, Mei thought she was a woman who wanted it both ways. She was amazed that she could face others with two such different personas.
"My name is Raiden Mei. You can just call me Mei."
"Oh?! Someone from the Raiden (ME) Corporation?" Ana immediately understood Raiden Mei's background and identity.
Raiden Mei didn't hide anything and nodded in agreement.
Shiina Mahiru served tea and asked, "Should I excuse myself? Since it's about Valkyrie matters."
"It's okay. These things aren't exactly top secret, and Mei's questions are mostly common knowledge anyway. I just didn't realize Mei has been using her real name as her online handle all this time," Ana said, knowing those things weren't secrets, and didn't stop her friend from learning about them.
"Yes, I wanted to ask what kind of choices I should make if I want to become a Valkyrie, since I naturally possess a Stigmata."
Raiden Mei had originally wanted to ask Siegfried about this, but Siegfried had disappeared to do something. Perhaps he had some work to do with her father. He hadn't shown his face in a while.
And Noldrei didn't care about these things at all.
Kiana? That idiot understood mandatory education, but her actions kept getting closer and closer to Noldrei's goals.
Even Fu Hua had been sent out to work by Noldrei, mainly to protect the girls who had been corrupted by Honkai energy and prevent them from being exploited by shady people.
Mei didn't know how Noldrei had figured out that Fu Hua had this ability, considering she herself had been exploited so many times.
Raiden Mei had wanted to ask Theresa about it, but seeing how afraid Theresa was to come near Noldrei, she gave up on the idea and could only take the initiative online.
Ana seriously considered Raiden Mei's question. She hadn't expected to encounter someone with a natural Stigmata in this day and age. Centuries ago, someone with a natural Stigmata would have been an envied powerhouse. Many of the heroes of the past had only qualified to fight the Honkai after obtaining a Stigmata.
Before artificial Stigmata, Schicksal's position had been earned by the sacrifices of these people.
"It's hard to say. Someone like you would basically be snatched up by any organization fighting the Honkai. Even in the Valkyrie ranks, you'd be a rare individual who would be carefully nurtured. People like me with a diluted bloodline are mostly led by Valkyrie squad leaders and only occasionally receive a few lessons from the Overseer."
"Someone like Durandal is the one who truly receives close guidance from the Overseer. If you go, as long as you can show sufficient personal qualities, you will definitely become an excellent candidate for the Valkyrie forces."
"But..." Ana shook her head. "I have no idea why you want to become a Valkyrie. Things are already so… competitive these days. There are even A-rank Valkyries who have to retire early. What's the point of you going? The future will surely belong to Stigmata suits."
'After all, I don't want to get dragged into that one-eyed eyeball's dream every day and get interrogated for no reason.'
Mei's shadow-self was very stable. She had grown accustomed to the torture in the Kaslana Stigmata space.
Unlike the wills of other Stigmata suits, who would test their hosts, she directly faced Kiana's gaze and would get interrogated for no reason. All of this was thanks to Mei's shadow-self, who had shouldered these things for Raiden Mei.
Therefore, Mei's shadow-self wanted to stay away from Kiana more than anyone right now.
'Poor you, the other me!'
Mei felt sorry for her other self, so she decided to find a place with a lot of Valkyries to properly train.
She replied to Ana, "I just want to find a quiet place to train and hone my skills."
Ana slapped her forehead and said with a wry smile, "Then St. Freya is the only place to go right now. The atmosphere there is more suitable for you. The headquarters has too many problems, and Durandal doesn't really care about those guys."
Raiden Mei was a bit shocked.
'Anti-Entropy split up, and now your Schicksal Valkyries are following suit?'