Chapter 10: Oh, Isn’t That Yae Sakura?

"Damn it, that jerk! How dare he humiliate me like that!"

Kiana gripped her stomach, now growling with hunger because she skipped breakfast. She poured all her resentment onto Ye Feng.

It was his fault! She ate too much sausage and drank too much milk last night, so she had no appetite when she saw them again this morning. Kiana tried to comfort herself by thinking that it was just a dream and didn't count.

But now it was affecting her real life—nothing is more unbearable for Kiana than being hungry.

And...

"That was Mei's breakfast she made for me. I left so much and just ran off. Mei must be really sad."

After all, no one feels good when the food they make is left uneaten.

It's not that she disliked it. No, in fact, Kiana loved Mei's cooking the most. But this morning, she just couldn't stomach sausages and milk.

"It's all that jerk's fault!"

Why call him a jerk? Because Ye Feng always released sticky, fishy-smelling stuff on Kiana, and she hated that smell. It was awful. But that jerk always produced so much of it that sometimes it even got into her nose, making the entire inside of her nose stink.

Well, that was natural since Yefeng always stored up a terrifying amount of energy for 100 days before releasing it.

"Good morning, Kiana."

"Aunt Himeko?"

On her way, Kiana ran into Himeko Murata, carrying a large sword on her back. She was wearing her Valkyrie armor, with steam rising off her body. Her clothes were soaked in sweat, making her look shiny and slick.

Himeko slung her arm around Kiana's neck and playfully drilled her fist into her temple.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me teacher at school."

It wasn't important whether she called her teacher or not; the key was not to call her "Auntie."

"Ow, ow, ow! Okay, okay, Teacher Himeko!"

"Now that's more like it."

Himeko let go of Kiana and patted her shoulder, then looked at her stomach. Himeko's eyes flickered slightly, and she led Kiana to her office.

Kiana stood there uneasily, nervously glancing at Aunt Himeko, wondering if she had done something wrong again.

Himeko took off her jacket, revealing her pale shoulders, which were steaming a bit before the heat quickly dissipated in the early summer morning. She hung her jacket on the coat rack and then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the fridge. After taking a couple of swigs, she immediately looked refreshed.

"Theresa told me that you've been having strange dreams, Kiana?"

"Ms. Himeko knows too?"

"Yep, Theresa only told me. I rushed back after hearing the news, even sweeping through Honkai beasts overnight."

"No wonder I haven't seen Teacher Himeko these past few days; you were on a mission? When can I ride the Hyperion to fight Honkai beasts?"

"The Valkyrie exam is coming up. As long as you become a B-rank Valkyrie, you'll qualify for frontline combat. I have high hopes for you."

"Yay!"

Kiana cheered, "B-rank Valkyrie? Ms. Himeko, you're underestimating me. I'm aiming to become an A-rank Valkyrie!"

"Then you'd better work hard. Alright, lift up your shirt and let me take a look."

Himeko closed and locked the door, then turned around.

"Huh?"

"Your...uh, Stigmata."

"Oh, right."

Kiana lifted her shirt, revealing a pale abdomen marked with bright red lines.

Himeko was slightly stunned at the sight, immediately realizing that the person named "Ye Feng" in Kiana's dreams was not very serious.

But she was somewhat relieved. If it were a Herrscher, they wouldn't have left this kind of mark.

So what was happening with Kiana? Was it a natural Stigmata?

Natural Stigmata were very mysterious and extremely rare, with many unsolved mysteries.

Hopefully, Kiana wasn't being influenced by a Herrscher.

Himeko stared at Kiana's abdomen in a daze, while Kiana, feeling shy under her gaze, shifted nervously.

She lightly tapped her toes and asked, "Teacher Himeko, that guy said something about your body..."

"Oh, the Valkyrie experiments, huh? That 'Ye Feng' seems to know quite a lot."

Himeko took a few more swigs of whiskey, laughing, "He really underestimated me. If anyone knows my body, it's me. I can even wrestle an Emperor-class Honkai beast. Alright, get ready for class."

"Huh? We have class now? Teacher Himeko, I'm really hungry…"

—

Kiana never noticed before, but she always gave off a goofy impression. Her twin braids looked pretty outdated, and her personality was far from perfect. Among all the beautiful girls in the two-dimensional world, she didn't really stand out.

But now, Ye Feng found Kiana more and more appealing.

Since Friday, in just two days, Kiana had surpassed Theresa in the number of times they... and was closing in with Adult Bronya.

Ye Feng looked down at Kiana, her fair skin marked with red lines, her flat stomach slightly bulging. He couldn't help but recall last night, where just lifting a finger and pinching that little bulge would make Kiana squirm like a fish out of water.

Especially her waist, the most perfect Ye Feng had ever seen. When she squirmed, it was even more tempting, like a mermaid.

Just like in her swimsuit in the Herrscher of Finality, even though it's a fire-element suit, it could still produce plenty of water.

But NPCs don't respond; there's no feedback. NPCs only react reflexively when the pink progress bar reaches the heart, and their behavior is very limited.

Thinking about Kiana, Ye Feng almost wanted to shout that Kiana was the cutest in the world.

Ye Feng gazed at Kiana before "changing her outfit" into the Herrscher of Flamescion.

Honestly, before the Flamescion, Ye Feng couldn't get excited about Kiana.

But now, even if Kiana wore her "White Comet" uniform with those old-fashioned twin braids, Ye Feng still found her charming.

Aesthetic appreciation really is a strange thing.

Ye Feng considered whether to add a little something to Kiana. She would surely feel a big surprise when she came back in.

Just then, two new names appeared in the NPC list: "Yae Sakura and Shigure Kira?"

Not only that, but the "map" also expanded to include "Thousand Feathers Academy."

In this never-ending, repetitive world, finally, something had changed.

Under the clear and high summer sky, in the empty playground,

A giant, fierce fox appeared, its size nearly half that of a soccer field, but even more noticeable was the girl beneath it.

She was a shrine maiden with long cherry-colored hair, wearing white knee-high socks and red wooden sandals, with long fox ears standing up, gazing blankly at this world...

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