Chen Tiannuo ended up joining St. Freya Academy in such a casual way. Still, at least they were allies—so, nothing wrong with that.
As he followed Himeko toward the rest area, he thought to himself, St. Freya Academy is full of girls, huh~ now this is promising~
Before long, the warship docked. Himeko directed the ship's medics to transfer the injured girls to the academy's infirmary, and then led Chen Tiannuo to the principal's office.
When he saw the academy principal—barely tall enough to peek over the conference table—Chen Tiannuo couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. He knew Theresa was short, but he had still overestimated her.
"Himeko, you're back. I can't believe you didn't do anything reckless this time. That armor's still in development, you know! A ton of parameters haven't even been calibrated, and you still tried to wear it into battle." Theresa pointed her finger accusingly.
"I didn't end up using it, did I? Here's the report." Himeko pulled the report from between her breasts and handed it over.
Theresa glanced at the report and asked, "So the one who stopped the Herrscher… was this guy behind you?"
Himeko smiled. "That's right. Didn't expect someone to wield such power without any armor support."
"That energy wasn't Honkai-based. It's a power more likely to trigger taboos—like Orokin body experiments." Chen Tiannuo said lazily, slumped on the nearby couch.
"Huh? Not Honkai energy?" Theresa shot a surprised look at Himeko.
"It's true, not Honkai." Himeko nodded. "A completely unfamiliar energy source."
"Then… why'd you bring him here?"
"He said he wanted to join St. Freya Academy."
"Oh, so he's joining the academy." Theresa scratched her head. "How'd you rope him in?"
Himeko glanced at the reclined Chen Tiannuo and sighed. "I just invited him. He said he had nowhere else to go, so he agreed."
"There are a lot of pretty girls here, and seriously, I've got nowhere else to go," Chen Tiannuo said with pitiful eyes.
"…" If it weren't for the first part, they might've actually believed him.
And so, he officially became a member of the academy.
Himeko led him to the dorms. When they arrived at the dormitory building, she brought him to the far-left room on the first floor. It was separated from the other side.
She told him, "This will be your dorm. Remember—that side is the girls' dorm. Don't wander over."
"Got it." Chen Tiannuo glanced over. Yeah, he knew the difference between one glance and a long stare.
…
After delivering Chen Tiannuo to his room, Himeko returned to the office.
"Himeko, are you sure it's okay to let him join so quickly?" Theresa asked uncertainly.
"I don't know. But I don't think he means us any harm. Let's keep observing him for now."
"Alright."
…
Chen Tiannuo spent two days getting familiar with the academy. During that time, he ran into Mei and Bronya.
"Oh hey, you two recovered?" Chen Tiannuo asked.
"Thanks to you, I wasn't seriously injured. Just felt a bit weak, but I've recovered." Mei gave him a grateful bow.
"Bronya was not harmed. Project Bunny will always protect Bronya," Bronya said, expressionless.
"Uh… you guys joined the academy too?" Chen Tiannuo asked without much thought.
"Yes."
"Kiana hasn't woken up yet?"
"Not yet." Mei gave a faint smile. "She's still badly hurt. It'll take some time for her to recover."
"Um… we're heading back to our dorms now. See you."
"Right, see you."
Chen Tiannuo gave a casual reply and headed toward Theresa's office.
He needed weapons and Warframes, and for that, he needed a Foundry. He had no choice but to ask Theresa for help.
When he reached the principal's door, he knocked gently.
"Come in," Theresa called, hastily hiding her manga and sitting up straight like she was busy working. Seeing that it was Chen Tiannuo, she let out a sigh of relief. "What's up, Chen Tiannuo? Need something?"
"Principal, I'd like to request a Foundry."
"A Foundry?"
"A special kind of fabrication room. Do you have anything like that?"
"How special are we talking?"
"It's hard to describe. I have a blueprint—you can just build it according to this."
Would revealing tech from another world cause problems? Chen Tiannuo figured, they'll find out eventually anyway—especially since I'll be using it a lot.
"May I take a look at the blueprint?" Theresa asked with curiosity.
"Sure, nothing to hide." Chen Tiannuo handed over the Foundry blueprint.
Theresa studied it and was immediately stunned. The technology detailed in the blueprint was completely different from anything they had.
She asked, "Chen Tiannuo, would it be okay to share a copy of this blueprint with the academy?"
Hmm? They're interested in the Foundry tech? Chen Tiannuo pondered for a moment but casually replied, "Sure. If you're going to use it, just help me build one too."
They want to analyze the tech? Chen Tiannuo figured it was no big loss. After all, that thing was practically standard issue on Orbiters.
"No problem." Theresa took the blueprint, planning to hand it over to the equipment department. A fabrication room with completely different technology could be highly valuable for research.
"Then I'll be off." Chen Tiannuo turned to leave, nothing more to discuss.
"Wait, Chen Tiannuo," Theresa suddenly called out, "You've been registered into the academy system. Don't forget—you do have to attend class."
"Uh, alright." Chen Tiannuo suddenly remembered—he still looked like a teenager. Guess I'll just roll with the whole 'going to school' thing.
…
A month passed in the blink of an eye. Although the girls at the academy had initially been uneasy about having a new male student around, they'd grown used to him by now.
Chen Tiannuo looked exasperated. Here he was, once again memorizing all sorts of material. Sure, as a former student from the University of Geosciences, memorization came easily to him—but he was lazy.
"Chen Tiannuo, you're a transfer student too, right? You've only been here a little while and there's already an exam. Aren't you worried?" a classmate asked—though he couldn't recall their name.
"Eh, this stuff's pretty easy~" Chen Tiannuo shrugged with both hands.
"Are all transfer students this good at studying?"
"It's talent. Totally normal," he replied offhandedly.
Spotting Kiana and the others, Chen Tiannuo walked over to greet them. "Kiana, you better take this exam seriously. It's the Valkyrie qualification test, after all."
"Don't worry! I'm a genius, remember? With my talent, this'll be a piece of cake," Kiana said with confidence.
To be fair, since they'd all escaped from Changkong City together, he did have a good relationship with them.
"Kiana," Fu Hua approached them calmly, "confidence is a good thing, but don't underestimate the Valkyrie exam."
"As the saying goes: 'An arrogant soldier is doomed to fail.' You may be naturally gifted, but don't rush to succeed. Haste makes waste."
"Hmph, of course I know that."
"Ah, then I've spoken too much." Fu Hua nodded and turned to leave.
"Hey, class rep," Chen Tiannuo called out, smiling. "You better watch that top spot of yours. Might not be yours for long."
Fu Hua sighed. "Chen Tiannuo, you should worry more about controlling your energy. Don't blow up the testing grounds again."
"Uh…" Chen Tiannuo scratched his head awkwardly. That one time he'd asked Fu Hua for pointers, he overdid it and left a massive crater in the training field.