"Ragna?"
Tian Shi's question seemed to jog Bianka's memory. No, not just Bianka, Rita also showed a nostalgic look.
"No, Ragna, she's not my resident counselor." Bianka shook her head.
"She simply went to the orphanage as a volunteer. She's a kind of volunteer counselor."
"Lady Ragna seems to be working part-time all the time."
Rita showed a nostalgic smile.
Thinking back then, Ragna, who had saved her from the Honkai beast in a maid outfit, was doing social practice.
Bianka looked at Rita with some surprise, as if she didn't expect her to also know Ragna.
After all, this was barely the first time she had worked with Rita, and she knew very little about her past, only the standard information on paper.
Rita, on the other hand, probably learned about Bianka's orphanage experience from Otto, so there was no surprise on her face except nostalgia.
"Back then, her main job was as a combat instructor under headquarters, and she was also a captain of the Valkyrie assault troops."
"It sounds like the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards," Tian Shi said half-jokingly.
Bianka rolled her eyes at Tian Shi and continued: "The Valkyrie assault troops are the special forces of the Valkyries, or death squads. That's why, at first, we all thought she was a terrible soldier who only prioritized discipline and training."
"I understand. That impression of a demonic instructor, right?"
"Yes, that's it." Bianka nodded.
"But, unexpectedly, the tutoring program this assault soldier brought us... was a very peaceful and comfortable gardening class. To be honest, it's probably hard to imagine an assault soldier smiling, patiently explaining flowers, and teaching us poetry..."
Bianka looked at Shakespeare.
"It was a coincidence... I later learned that the poetry she taught us was from Shakespeare's Sonnet No. 18."
Shakespeare rubbed her nose shyly: "Although it's a bit narcissistic to say that, but... I think it's the most beautiful poem I've ever written ~"
After saying this, Shakespeare sang softly:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
"..."
The poem sung by Shakespeare once again touched Bianka's memories. But soon, Bianka's expression was lost.
"The next year... that is, last summer, the lilies she taught us to plant bloomed one after another. However, she herself passed away last winter. In a tragic battle, only one person from the entire assault team survived, and as a result, the team disbanded."
"I'm sorry. Please accept my condolences." Shakespeare didn't know what to say at this moment.
"It's nothing." At this moment, Bianka showed extraordinary maturity.
"In fact, last spring, the survivor visited our orphanage. But, surprisingly, she didn't remember much of the assault soldiers. Instead, she was promoting a school where she taught... Yes, I thought she was using her identity to advertise for enrollment."
Bianka was lost in her own memories.
"I was naturally indignant at this behavior, but in response to my question, that woman replied:
'That person's death... As her comrade-in-arms, I cannot accept it no matter what. But there is no benefit in letting you experience this pain and sorrow again. If you truly respect her and share her ideas, then you should make her dream come true. In the end, what the world recognizes is not empty words, but a true struggle.' "
"So, not long after, I signed up for Valkyrie training. I also hesitated whether to go directly to the academy where that person taught... but its school system was too relaxed and would only make me waste time."
Bianka was one step away from becoming Kiana and the others' senior student.
That said, it's not surprising that Bianka will become that kind of hard worker in the future; Ragna's death and what Himeko said may have already put a lot of responsibility on the young girl's shoulders.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you my boring and sad memories... But as an active A-rank Valkyrie, I'm also a soldier who has seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood! Don't underestimate me!"
In the end, Bianka strongly shook her fist, as if to prove her strength.
"Yes, that's the spirit we need. The future Bianka should be better than Miss Ragna, right?"
"Speaking of which, do you also know Ragna, Mr. Guardian Angel?"
"Who knows?"
Tian Shi said ambiguously.
He had a premonition that he might really get to know this assault soldier who had left a significant mark on the lives of the three Valkyries: Bianka, Rita, and Himeko.
"What kind of statement is that..."
Although they said it, Bianka and even Rita had begun to suspect that Tian Shi had a relationship with Ragna in their hearts.
[Rita and Bianka Compatibility +10%]
[Rita Compatibility: 26%]
[Bianka Compatibility: 31%]
"Well, well, let's leave this topic for now! As captain, do you mind if I assign you some work? "
Shakespeare wanted to lift the slightly depressing atmosphere.
"Of course, we can't always eat and drink for free on your ship."
Neither Rita nor Bianka disagreed with Shakespeare's proposal.
"By the way, is today February 29th?"
Bianka, who was helping the crew divide the sea monster's corpse, suddenly heard Tian Shi murmur something incoherent beside her.
"The 29th? Yes, it was the 29th when we came in."
Bianka replied while working: "What's wrong? Is it a special day?"
"No, today is nothing, but tomorrow... well, it seems to be Rita's birthday, isn't it?"
Rita's birthday is March 1st.
"How did you know? She didn't even tell me." Bianka looked at Tian Shi with suspicion.
"She hadn't told you, but did you know?" Tian Shi tapped Bianka on the head.
"That's because Bishop Otto showed me Rita's profile..."
"Then I'm still both of your Guardian Angels."
"Yeah... that's right." Bianka couldn't find any reason to refute for a moment: "So, do you also know my birthday?"
"January 1st." Bianka's birthday is really easy to remember. "1998... no, January 1st, 2001."
"What does that have to do with 1998?"
Bianka pouted, just taking it as a slip of Tian Shi's tongue, not taking it seriously, "So, have you prepared a birthday gift for Rita?"
"I have some ideas, but I'm not sure... But what about you, Bianka?"
"I plan to carve something with the Leviathan's tusk... but I don't know how it will turn out."
Bianka scratched her cheek, showing an embarrassed expression.
"Speaking of carving..." Tian Shi suddenly looked at Bianka with a very uncomfortable gaze, "Tell me, if I carve a bone doll of you and give it to Rita..."
"Are you crazy!?"
Bianka spat at Tian Shi with a disgusted face, but the attack didn't end.
"I think if you really trust your carving skills, you'd better carve Rita directly. After all, what does it matter if you carve me and give it to someone else? Whoever doesn't know would think it's my birthday."
"Yeah, if I really did that, it would make me look like a pervert."
Tian Shi nodded, "Then I'll go in and see if there are any suitable teeth. Bianka, don't run around."
Even if Tian Shi holds out longer, he cannot escape the fifty-meter movement limit.
"What a convenient ability."
Bianka murmured with some envy.
"Help me find a suitable one too!"
"Look, what do you think of this?"
Bianka and Tian Shi sneaked back into the submarine and returned to their room, avoiding Rita like thieves.
Later, Tian Shi threw a tooth as white as jade to Bianka.
"I thought the teeth in the sea monster's mouth would smell a bit more."
Bianka touched the tooth and had to admit that, in terms of appearance, the tooth was exactly what she wanted.
"I took care of it when I got back," Tian Shi said.
"Thanks." Bianka was not pretentious.
After thanking him, she stared at the sharp, white-jade-like sea monster teeth in her hand.
"To be honest, the texture of this tooth is very similar to ivory."
"Wouldn't it be better to have a pendant with some pattern?"
Bianka knew her own ability.
It would be good if she could carve a good pattern on it. If she wanted to carve a shape... it would be a bit difficult for her.
By the way, this Guardian Angel seems so confident; he must be very good at carving, right?
Bianka secretly looked in Tian Shi's direction.
She discovered that Tian Shi chose a small but very straight tooth.
She didn't know when, but the bottom part had been flattened, and the entire tooth lay still on the table.
(Where is the... um, Angel?)
Bianka can no longer feel Tian Shi's position.
Is he not going to carve it anymore?
She wanted to carve a Rita doll, and if he postponed it, it would surely be too late: after all, tomorrow was Rita's birthday.
The next moment, something happened that stunned Bianka: Suddenly, without warning, cracks appeared in the teeth on the table that were originally as white as jade.
"Huh!?"
Crack... Crack...
Valkyrie hearing allowed Bianka to clearly hear the crack still extending within the tooth.
"What, what should I do? How could this tooth suddenly break!"
Bianka panicked, what if Tian Shi came back and thought she was the one who destroyed it?
But who could explain why a tooth would crack for no reason?
"Don't panic."
Tian Shi's voice sounded, and Bianka breathed a sigh of relief.
"How about you touch that tooth?"
"Touch...?"
Bianka looked at the tooth on the table; it was already covered in cracks, and dust fell from time to time, making people worry that it would break into pieces upon touching it.
But Bianka quickly thought of a possibility, and something immediately seemed to be wrong when she looked at the tooth.
"Hey, you must be kidding."
Bianka felt incredible and reached out to touch it tentatively.
Swish--!
The moment Bianka touched it, the outside of the tooth turned into powder and accumulated on the table.
At the same time, a realistic mini maid holding a scythe and smiling calmly was revealed.
"Hum ~ how does it look?"
"Cool!"
After a brief silence, Bianka's eyes lit up, "This is too cool! How did you do it?"
"This is the secret of a ghost."
Tian Shi said in a mysterious tone. It's simply a novel way to play with high-level tricks.
"Hmm... this pretentious tone is really annoying."
Bianka pulled the corner of her mouth.
Well, if it's a special function of a ghost, then there's nothing we can do about it.
But after a brief period of novelty, Bianka discovered that something was wrong.
"Hey, Tian Shi, did you remember wrong? Rita isn't that big here."
Bianka pointed to Mini Rita's breasts and said in an inexplicable tone.
"This is a wonderful blessing for Rita's future."
Looking at Rita, whom he had sculpted according to her mature figure, Tian Shi explained without blushing: it was because he had spent more time with the future Rita.
However, the appearance is still the current Rita, so it's not enough to arouse suspicion.
"Best wishes...?" Bianka had a look of doubt on her face.
Apparently, Bianka is still a bit astute. If it were the future Dodo Goose, she would probably have nodded and said something like "so that's it" with a look of understanding.
"If you want, I can carve one for you. Anyway, the crew won't mind one or two teeth. Many even broke during the fight."
"Hmm... I always feel like you have bad intentions... Are you one of those who secretly look at Rita with that obscene gaze?"
Thump
Tian Shi gave Bianka a pat on the head.
"Do you want it or not?"
"Hmph~"
Little Bianka turned her head.
One could tell she was a little moved, but she was still stubborn.
"But I'm not surprised that Rita will grow like that in the future... You'd better forget it."
"Yes, yes, but Bianka-chan, have you decided where to start the cut yet?"
"What kind of name is that?"
Bianka looked like an angry kitten, but then she turned her head awkwardly.
"But... well, I really don't have any reliable ideas in my mind. After all, I'm quite stupid."
"How about I help with the consultation?"
"Well... I, I don't mind..."