Chapter 24: Morning Exercise

After saying goodbye to Mei at the door of the library, Kirataka returned to his dormitory.

This place will probably be his residence for a long time, and it is not an exaggeration to call it "home."

"Welcome back."

As soon as he stepped into the door, he heard a pleasant female voice.

Well, it doesn't feel bad to live with a beautiful girl with fox ears.

Kirataka walked into the living room while thinking.

He saw a cherry-colored girl sitting on the edge of the sofa, holding a Homu doll in her arms, her eyes fixed on the TV opposite.

—Well, that Homu doll is a standard feature of the dormitory. It was probably promoted throughout the school because of the personal taste of a certain school principal.

The content playing on TV is the currently very popular "Homu Three Kingdoms."

'Have she learned how to use the TV '

Kirataka pondered.

Although, nowadays, very few young people watch TV.

"Ms. Sakura, I brought back some books you wanted."

Kirataka piled all the books about Saint Kallen that he borrowed from the library on the coffee table.

"Thank you, Kirataka."

The cherry-colored girl stood up and walked over to the seat next to the books.

The cover of each book depicts the image of Kallen, but the styles are different.

Some are cartoon-like images, some are realistic in style, and there are also Ukiyo-e versions.

However, no matter what style it was, Yae Sakura could recognize at a glance that the person on the cover was indeed her old friend.

After being reborn after five hundred years, she didn't think that her old friend would still be alive, but she still desperately wanted to know what Kallen experienced after leaving Yae Village.

"Although it has been five hundred years, I think the evolution of writing is not that fast. You should still be able to understand it," Kirataka said with a smile.

At this time, he noticed that Yae Sakura's body seemed to have become more solid compared to when she was in Nagazora City.

"Ms. Sakura is your body..."

He inquired.

"Well, after coming here, my condition seems to be recovering to a certain extent because of the environment here," the cherry-colored girl said, raising her hand and looking at her arm.

Although the concentration of Honkai energy in St. Freya Academy is not as exaggerated as that in Nagazora City, as a training base for Valkyries, it is still much higher than where ordinary people live.

Therefore, in such an environment, her strength and body are slowly recovering.

After just staying there for a day or two, she was almost materialized.

—This cannot be considered a completely bad thing, but it is not a completely good thing either.

The good thing is that as she gradually absorbs Honkai energy, she will be able to exert more power. If a situation arises where she needs to possess Kirataka to fight, she can provide even more powerful assistance.

On the bad side, the malice of the Herrscher of Corruption who coexists with her will begin to spread as the Honkai energy increases.

Yae Sakura originally wanted to open a book to read the story about Kallen, but she remembered that Kirataka had just returned and had not yet had dinner.

—Because today is Kirataka's first day of school, she hasn't figured out the exact time and hasn't had time to prepare meals in advance.

"No, as for dinner... I can do it myself," Kirataka asked Yae Sakura, who was about to get up, to sit down obediently, and he ran into the kitchen.

Let's just take turns being responsible for cooking. It doesn't seem right to leave it all to Yae Sakura alone.

However, whether before or after coming here, he actually had no experience in cooking.

But as long as he is willing to try, he still believes that hard work will pay off...!

In short, Kirataka planned to start with the most basic fried rice.

However, even if we can keep going back and trying, there will always be things that we cannot do.

Using backtracking to cook is like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, isn't it?

After taking out the basic ingredients from the refrigerator, Kirataka opened the portable terminal, then opened the browser and started searching...

After completing the preliminary preparations, he began his attempt with full confidence.

[The first time, after a flurry of activity, you made something pretty bad. From the shape and color, it's hard to call it fried rice.]

"…"

Backtrack!

[The second time, the egg fried rice you made this time barely looked like egg fried rice, but after tasting a spoonful with chopsticks, its taste was still repulsive.]

"…"

Backtrack.

…

[For the thirteenth time, due to careless operation, you leaked a trace of electricity, causing the kitchen appliances to explode. Yae Sakura, who was reading a book seriously, stuck out her two fox ears to ask you if you needed help.]

"…"

Backtracking...

After countless failures, he finally produced two decent servings.

"...Do I have Kaslana's bloodline?"

Looking at the two servings of egg fried rice that could barely be considered of average to low quality, Kirataka made a self-deprecating comment.

In short, at this level, it should still be edible.

After bringing dinner to the table, Kirataka called Yae Sakura.

......…

The next day.

Thanks to the location of St. Freya Academy surrounded by forests, the mornings here are very pleasant.

There is plenty of moisture in the air. Just by taking a casual breath, you can feel the refreshing moisture and coolness.

In the forest surrounded by green, there is a faint white mist, and the light from the rising sun has become gentler.

In order to learn boxing from Fu Hua, Kirataka left his dormitory on time and came to the forest.

In the forest filled with the sounds of insects and birds, the sounds of punches breaking through the air were particularly eye-catching, so Kirataka found Fu Hua's location without much effort.

She was wearing a blue training suit—this should actually be the Valkyrie uniform of the Far East branch, but everyone can customize their own uniform, so she also chose a look that was more in line with the Shenzhou style.

The gray-haired woman stood facing the rising sun, performing a set of skillful boxing techniques.

Her punches were clean and sharp, her footwork was erratic, and the whole set of movements was smooth and flowing, which was a pleasure for Kirataka to watch.

Although, Fu Hua's Shenzhou-style dress and her habit of morning exercises always reminded Kirataka of the elderly people in Shenzhou who are used to taking a walk and exercising early in the morning...

'An old man doing morning exercises… wait, why an old man?'

While Kirataka was daydreaming, Fu Hua had already completed a whole set of moves.

After retracting her fists and feet, she turned around slowly and looked at Kirataka:

"You're here."

With her perception ability, she naturally knew that Kirataka had arrived nearby.

"Well, good morning, Class Monitor."

Kirataka also greeted the old senior.

Although she had just finished an intense exercise, there was no sweat on Fu Hua's face and her breathing was quite steady.

It seems that this level of training is already commonplace for her.

"I didn't expect you to actually come."

Fu Hua said with a faint smile.

"Of course, to be honest with you, Class Monitor, I have an urgent need to become stronger."

Kirataka answered honestly.

Although the current school life seems to be very leisurely, even if we exclude the various things caused by Cocolia and Otto, the world itself is actually only three or four years away from the end.

Coming to St. Freya Academy was not only to get close to the protagonists and observe future developments but also to give himself the opportunity to become stronger quickly.

Fortunately, with his special ability to look back in time, he does have a natural advantage in training and practicing certain skills or abilities.

—After all, since he can go back in time, he can always experience the same part dozens or even hundreds of times in order to master it thoroughly.

"Becoming stronger as quickly as possible means that you will be able to enter the real battlefield faster... However, I think it should not be a problem for you."

Fu Hua said.

She has been in Schicksal for quite some time—five hundred years.

Although her memories of the earlier times were already blurry, she had seen in the past ten years or so many girls who had excellent qualities during training but who collapsed and were unable to fight after actually entering the battlefield against Honkai.

This is a question of psychological endurance. Simulated combat and actual fighting are two completely different things.

Of course, for Kirataka, who himself survived the crisis in Nagazora City, this should not be a problem.

"I understand that if I can get to the battlefield faster, I can also accumulate combat experience faster."

Kirataka nodded and replied.

I have to say that Fu Hua is really a senior who cares about others very much.

This Immortal was good in every way. She had a good personality and strong fighting ability. As a pioneer, she had always been faithfully fulfilling her duties. However, there was one thing...

Kirataka's gaze naturally fell in her front.

Well...if she were to dress up a little, she would indeed have a kind of androgynous beauty that was difficult to tell whether she was male or female.

As if sensing something, Fu Hua narrowed her eyes and stared at Kirataka, her tone becoming slightly more serious:

"Kirataka, what are you thinking about?"

"Ahem, no, no, I didn't think about anything."

In order to avoid being "touched on the head by an immortal, and the power of an inch opened my soul," Kirataka quickly laughed and then got to the point:

"By the way, Class Monitor, what you were practicing just now, is that the same set of boxing you used on me yesterday?"

Fu Hua nodded without comment and responded:

"Certainly."

For her, this set of moves has been used for thousands of years and has become second nature to her.

"I'm really looking forward to it. It would be great if one day I could use it as skillfully as you, Class Monitor."

"You must first master the basic fighting techniques of the Valkyrie. Only with this foundation can you begin to learn my boxing techniques."

Fu Hua smiled faintly.

There was a reason why she wanted Kirataka to first master the basic Valkyrie fighting skills taught by St. Freya.

——The set of combat skills that the current reserve Valkyries are learning is essentially a simplified product of the moves based on Taixu Sword Qi after she began to cooperate with Otto five hundred years ago. Since then, it has been promoted internally within Schicksal.

It can be said that it takes the essence and removes the dross.

Although it is impossible to make all the Valkyries reach the strength of the Seven Disciples of Taixu, they can avoid the problem of being troubled by the divine sound and falling into the state of "being killed if possessed by the devil," and it also greatly lowers the threshold for cultivation.

As long as one can master the basic fighting techniques, one can enhance the practitioner's resistance and control over Honkai energy to a certain extent and grant the most basic combat capabilities.

Therefore, after mastering the basic fighting skills, it will be much easier to learn the orthodox Cunxin Fist or Taixu Sword Qi.

After all, this set of fighting skills originated from the martial arts of Shenzhou. As the first step in laying the foundation, it is an action that Kirataka is very familiar with——

Horse stance!

As expected of Chinese Kung Fu, this most basic posture is always indispensable.

Under Fu Hua's guidance, he began the simplest horse stance training.

Her requirements are quite strict and she has certain expectations for posture.

The feet cannot be spread too far apart, only slightly wider than the shoulders, and the posture is half-squatting. The whole body must be as stable as a stake and cannot move.

"Horse stance is the foundation of all martial arts. With a solid foundation, your method of using your abilities to improve your physical fitness will become more useful as your basic abilities improve."

Fu Hua warned.

Kirataka nodded and carefully maintained the horse stance as taught by Fu Hua.

This level of pain is much easier than experiencing death itself, and it is not a difficult thing for him.

'…He's a good warrior.'

Fu Hua sighed inwardly.

Although she cannot agree with many of Otto's actions, this huge organization is indeed the cornerstone of maintaining world peace today.

If possible, she also hopes that this organization can train more outstanding warriors to fight against Honkai.

However, there are not many people who can persist and continue to become stronger.

The last girl who impressed her with her hard work was Durandal, who was receiving training at the headquarters - well, at that time, she was not called this name, it should be Bianca.

She saw a bit of Bianca in this young man.

Kirataka was training seriously. Fu Hua suddenly felt a sense of familiarity and sadness in her heart.

The feeling of being a teacher again made her vaguely recall something.

"…"

she always feels like she has taught other children in this way before.

If she closes her eyes, she can still vaguely see the backs of those children.

When was it...

Ten years ago? Or five hundred years ago?

Or maybe both?

Unfortunately, she could no longer remember it, as the past had been completely burned to ashes.

(TL: If you want to read more chapters early, check out my Patreon for more advanced updates~

link: patreon.com/Elysia_Husband)