Narrator PoV
It's been a few days since Shiroi and the others lived in the dorm with Himeko and Theresa. They slowly get used to their life in St. Freya.
''997... 998... 999... 1000...'' Shiroi swings his wooden training sword, which weighs over 300 kg, for his daily training. He's been doing this early every morning since he's been living in the dorm. He does not use Mana or Honkai energy to strengthen his body, as training under these conditions was more effective.
Shiroi wiped his sweat after two hours of training and put his wooden sword back in his pocket dimension.
Shiroi goes to shower and changes into a simple white shirt and black jeans. He goes then into the kitchen and prepares food for the others while they are still sleeping since it is only 6:00 in the morning.
*Sizzle*
Shiroi plans to cook a simple chicken fried rice and soup for breakfast for the girls as they need energy for the enrollment test.
''Good morning, Shiroi... You always wake up so early.'' A dark purple haired girl came out of the stairs and greeted him with a sweet smile and of course Shiroi greeted her back. ''Let me help you.'' Mei offers him her help.
''Alright, can you prepare the soup and make some fluffy pancakes?'' Shiroi said while cooking in the wok, elegantly tossing his wok back and forth with nothing coming out of the wok. Shiroi was so good at it that he could easily get an uncle title from Uncle Roger.
''Of course, Shiroi leaves it to me.'' Mei said enthusiastically, put on her apron and start cooking. They both seem like professional chefs as they work together efficiently and help each other without communicating.
The two have cooked together many times, but it looks like they have been working together for several years, although before the second Honkai outbreak they had only cooked together for a few months and not even every day.
After a while everything is almost ready and Theresa and Bronya are already sitting at the dining table and waiting for the food. Shiroi asks Mei to wake up Kiana and Himeko and she nods and goes up the stairs to Kiana's room to wake her up first.
She knocks on the door before going in. ''Kiana-chan, wake up... Breakfast is ready~'' Then she saw that Kiana was still sleeping and next to her was a red-haired woman who had the habit of sleeping in the Kiana or Shiroi room after wasted at a dive bar, but since Shiroi has now taken a measure against Himeko's habit in his room, she could now only go to Kiana room.
Kiana slowly opened her eyes as she heard Mei's sweet voice and saw Himeko's face just inches away from hers. ''Honey,give mama a French kiss~'' Himeko sleep talks, and leans her face closer to smooch Kiana.
Kiana was startled and smacked Himeko on the head, causing her to fall onto the bed, screaming in pain as she rubbed her head.
''Stop invading my bed every time you're drunk! Instead, go to your own bed or to Bronya or Aunt Theresa, you Drunkhead!'' Kiana then notices Mei and smiles brightly at her. ''Mei-senpai, did you come here to wake me up?''
''Yes, Shiroi asks me to wake you both up as breakfast is ready now.'' Mei said sweetly, smiling at them.
''Ok~!'' Kiana and Himeko said in unison and the three girls walked into the dining room together.
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''Chicken fried rice, miso soup and pancakes for dessert... I haven't had that for a while.'' Himeko said as she looked at the food Shiroi and Mei cooked before taking the first bite of the chicken fried rice. Happiness and joy could be seen on her expression and then she tried the miso soup, which made her melt even more. ''This tastes just like Mom's cooking... oh dear, I think I need more of everything.''
The others also eat happily and with satisfied expressions on their faces. ''I really missed your food, Shiroi.'' Theresa said with a satisfied look on her face as she continued to eat.
''Glad to hear it, Auntie.''
''If you had been born a few years earlier... I would have marked you as mine already, Shiroi~'' Himeko said flirtatiously while looking at Shiroi.
Kiana choked on her food when she heard that, and Mei may have looked normal, but had a somewhat dark aura as she stared intently at Himeko.
''I'm sorry, but I have no interest in a drunkhead who can't do housework and is a good for nothing except fighting and drinking beer all day.'' Shiroi replied politely without looking at Himeko and continued eating.
Himeko was struck on her head by an imaginary arrow and suffered further emotional damage at Shiroi's hand when he chose violence again.
''And besides... I see you as my big sister... who can be very reliable sometimes.'' Shiroi said before continuing to eat, trying to hide his blush. Himeko has a happy expression on her face and walks over to Shiroi, hugging him and burying his face on her chest.
''I didn't know you would think this way about me, my sweet little brother~ Let your Oneechan pamper you~'' Himeko said while press his face against her breasts even more, make Shiroi blush as she is only wearing a large shirt and panties as she was very revealing.
''Let me go, you good for nothing drunkhead! You still smell like alcohol.'' Shiroi said annoyed and managed to push her away before he sighed and then saw the others holding Kiana as she tried to jump on Himeko and teach her a lesson.
''LET ME GO!!! Oniichan belongs only to me!''
Shiroi sighed again and sat back in his seat. ''Today will also be a hard day, huh...'' Shiroi thought and continued eating, ignoring everything around him for now.
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St. Freya Training Cabin
''You girls will all start school tomorrow and start training to be Valkyries, but first we need to measure your ability to know your current level.'' Theresa said, standing in the middle between Himeko and Shiroi in the arena. This training cabin can be used by students, but you must have permission from Theresa.
In this arena, opponents from your memory or Honkai and demonic beasts are simulated for training. It is made of data and is not as strong as the real ones, but should not be underestimated since the simulator can even generate an enemy that can cause problems for a an S-rank knight and Valkyrie.
''This training cabin can simulates your previous opponents and Honkai or demonic beasts. They may not be as strong as the originals, but they can still kick your butt if you don't take it seriously, girls.'' Theresa said with a smile before she snaps her fingers and a Seraph Class Honkai Beast appears, Codename: Archangel.
''Pretty neat, right? A simulator that can generate anything, even us.'' Himeko said before she slashed at the archangel with her Greatsword, cutting it in half.
Kiana and Mei are amazed by the technology. The two of them didn't know that the technology was so advanced. Bronya is still stoic as ever, having seen something similar before.
''In this ability test, you girls will first fight zombies as a warm-up, so to speak, and then we'll increase the difficulty with each wave to see what your limits are.'' Shiroi said, using his magic to create many different weapons on the ground. ''Choose your weapons and then we can start the test if one of you is ready to go first.''
''Da, Bronya would like to take the test first, Niisama.'' Bronya then chooses a knife with a gun. ''Can Bronya use Project bunny?''
''Since Project Bunny is a part of you... sure.'' Shiroi said, looking at Himeko and Theresa before they also agreed.
Shiroi and the others go to the spectator area and will watch how Bronya does from there. ''Bronya are you ready?'' Theresa ask her and Bronya confirm with a nods. Theresa then signals to her employee in the control room to start the simulator.
Bronya is doing well and didn't have too many problems until the sixth wave. Bronya's strategy was very efficient, luring all the enemies into one place and then using Project Bunny to bomb them all away at once. Still, she had to dodge a lot, but her bodies were nimble enough to avoid it easily.
''She's good... I think she can make Valkyries or B Knights run for their money.'' Theresa said.
''Bronya is very smart for her age and always thinks ahead. But...'' Shiroi looks at Bronya, who is having trouble on wave 8 as she is already getting tired and her project bunny is being overwhelmed by Honkai beasts. ''Since she is only 13 years old, her body is still underdeveloped and therefore reaches its limits quickly, even if she could control her Honkai energy well... the result remains the same.''
Bronya barely made it through wave 8 and gives up because she has no energy left for wave 9. Shiroi goes to Bronya and carries her bridal style back to the audience area.
''Pretty impressive... She completed 8 out of 10 waves in 10 minutes and 11 seconds... She was even better than me when I first took the test.'' Himeko's comment and was impressive from Bronya.
''Yeah... She is a rare genius...especially her ability to think and make decisions.'' Theresa adds another comment.
''Bronya-chan is really strong... I know she was strong, but now that I see everything, I'm just amazed.'' Mei praises her with a sweet smile, making Kiana jealous as everyone praises how good Bronya was. Kiana sees Bronya as her rival and wants to beat her as she loses everything against her from game to fighting.
''Hmph! I'm going to show that I'm even more awesome than that Bratnya!'' Kiana said proudly, desperate to beat her in this test. ''I'm going next, aunt Theresa!'' Kiana said, jumping out of the audience area and standing in the middle of the area.
''This girl is just as hot-tempered as her father.'' Theresa said and sighed.
''Ah-hahaha... Kiana-chan is just Kiana-chan.''
''She is the opposite of her brother... She acts before she thinks.'' Himeko said, having such an impression of Kiana after knowing her for a about 5 days now.
''That's how Kiana is... with her bubbly and silly personality, she brings color into many people's lives.'' Shiroi said smiling and placing Bronya on a seat. Everyone smiled and couldn't deny it as the dorm is always very lively when Kiana is there.
''I'm ready, bring me the punching bag!'' Kiana screams from the arena and the simulation begins, creating zombies.
Kiana easily defeated them all with her Gun-Kata technique. Not only did her weapons include a double pistol, but she also carried a sword at her hips.
''Oh? She is proficient in Gun-kata... Not bad at all... Did you teach her Shiroi?'' Theresa asked Shiroi and he nodded at her.
''Yes, our father taught her first, but after his disappearance I continued to teach her Gun-Kata, but also the sword, since swordsmanship is my forte... I also train her in hand-to-hand combat for self-defense, but I choose not to teach her how to use the Honkai energy in her body.'' Shiroi said and Theresa raised an eyebrow, looking curious as to why Shiroi hadn't decided to teach her how to harness the Honkai energy in her body.
''Why didn't-''
''I have my reason, Aunt... Please don't ask any more.'' Shiroi interrupted Theresa as he said it seriously and everyone looked at him and heard that his tone was very serious compared to his usual tone. Shiroi looked at them and sighed. ''One of the reason was she is not ready... And the other reason... I would like to remain silent because the time is not yet ripe.''
Theresa knew how stubborn he was, she could only sigh heavily. ''Fine, I won't stick my nose in any further... But if you want to tell me, you can come to me anytime, Shiroi.''
''I will.'' Shiroi answers and everyone looks back in the arena.
Kiana was already in wave 6 and still using the same tactics. Rush towards your opponents and beat them was her tactics. With her quick reflexes and nimble body, she can easily dodge and escape the attacks of Honkai and demonic beasts. Her tactics may be reckless but she makes up for it with her gifted talent in combat.
''I think, as you would expect from a Kaslana, she is a genius in combat... But no matter how talented and strong you are, at some point you will quickly reach your limits if you rely only on your physical ability.'' Theresa said, watching Kiana struggle at Wave 7 as the Honkai beasts worked in coordination and caused her many problems.
''Fight me 1 on 1, you stupid beasts!'' Kiana screams at the Honkai beasts.
''And her hot temper will also cause problems for her teammates in the future.'' Himeko said as she drank her beer that she picked up from the fridge before going in Training cabin.
Shiroi just sighed and shook his head when he saw Himeko already drinking in the morning. Shiroi continued to watch as Kiana was now in wave 8 and was panting heavily. She throws away her pistol because it no longer works properly against the Honkai beasts and uses her sword from her hip.
She slashes the Honkai beast one by one while quickly dodging its attacks. She was also good with swords as she imitated Shiroi... But in the end it was just an imitation as she couldn't do anything like Shiroi, as her mastery of the sword doesn't match his level, her physical abilities, or her mind.
She defeats the final Honkai beasts of Wave 8 and falls to her knees. She tries to keep going but her body can't do it and then falls to the ground and lies there panting heavily.
''Good job Kiana, you completed wave 8 in under 9 minutes and 32 seconds!'' Theresa said, impressed with her niece.
''Hahahaha! Eat this Bratnya, I win!'' Kiana shouted as she lay on the floor tired, but she didn't care because she's just happy that she beat Bronya for the first time ever.
Bronya didn't answer, but her face looked a little annoying as she had a small pout. Shiroi saw it and stroked her head with a kind and warm smile. ''Is alright, Bronya, you are still 13 years old, you can still improve a lot.'' Shiroi said, trying to cheer up. Bronya nodded and enjoyed Shiroi's petting and Mei smiled warmly at both of them.
''Kids these days are really talented.'' Himeko said and they both clearly exceeded her time as her test time was 13 minutes and 10 seconds and she could only get through wave 7.
Shiroi goes to Kiana and for some reason Kiana regains her strength, jumping onto Shiroi's arm and clinging to him while rubbing her face into his chest.
''Her brother complex seems to give her some strength as she shouldn't be able to move in her condition after her reckless act.'' Theresa said, gasping in surprise.
Shiroi came back and placed Kiana next to Bronya and Kiana looked at Bronya smugly as she beat her time. ''You can call me Kiana-neesama or Oneesama, from now on Bronya since I'm better than you... Hohohohoho!'' Kiana said arrogantly, laughing at her.
''Bronya still has 48 wins while Idiotka only has 1 win.'' Bronya retorts, making Kiana stop laughing.
''That's all in the past, all that matters is now, Bratnya. So that means I'm better than you.'' Kiana contradicts Bronya's statement and they both start arguing again.
''Are you ready, Mei?'' Shiroi asks her while Mei looks nervous. She wasn't really confident when she saw how amazing Kiana and Bronya were.
She has always seen herself as the weakest link in Nagazora and still does. She even asked Shiroi if he could train her three days ago, but even after training with him, she is not confident in her abilities.
''I don't know Shiroi... I'm not great as Kiana-chan or Bronya-chan... I'm just a normal girl with no special talent before being the hostess of the Herrscher within me... I'm just a weak g-'' Shiroi flicked her in the forehead, interrupting her as she lets out a soft and yet cute noise.
''Believe in yourself, Mei. I know you are strong, I have seen your abilities first hand and I can say that you are not inferior to either Bronya or Kiana... You are Raiden Mei, my best friend and a person I respect from the bottom of my heart for who you are... You just have to believe in yourself.'' Shiroi said as he looked into her eyes and showed her how much he believes in her.
Mei couldn't help but believe Shiroi's word and pulled herself together. She will do her best to show Shiroi that he won't regret believing in her so much. ''Thanks Shiroi... I guess I needed that.'' Mei smiles brightly at him, very happy to have someone like Shiroi in her life.
''No problem, after all, friends are there to encourage each other.'' Shiroi smiles at her as they both stare at each other before both blush and look away.
''It seems there is something going on between the two of them.'' Himeko whispers to Theresa and she nods while Kiana and Bronya were still arguing about who is better.
Shiroi composes himself and fake coughs. ''Anyway, good luck Mei... show us what you're made of.'' Shiroi said in his usual tone, giving her a thumbs up to wish her good luck.
Mei smiles and then walks into the area. She breathed in and out to get rid of her nervousness. She wants to show Shiroi, Kiana and Bronya that she is no longer the weak person in Nagazora... She wants to show Shiroi that she is strong enough to fight alongside him and no longer needs his protection. ''I'm ready.'' She said with confidence while her eyes were full of determination.
The simulation begins and creates some zombies. Mei swiftly kills them all with a lightning-fast slash with her Katana while empowering her body with Honkai energy.
Shiroi smiled slightly as he saw how good she was with her katana and how well she could use her Honkai energy efficiently after he gave her a crash course on how to properly use Honkai energy to strengthen the body. ''You are always strong, Mei... You just need a little push.''
''Woah, Mei-senpai is so strong and cool!'' Kiana said enthusiastically as she watched Mei and even squealed like a fangirl.
Mei continues to slash everything in front of her as she is already in wave 8. She was panting a little but still had the strength to fight through wave 9.
''I can't believe we get three rare geniuses at our school... As expected from me! I have such a good instinct for finding people with talent.'' Theresa praises herself and the others simply ignore her and continue to watch as Mei fights Wave 9.
''She's definitely already A-rank Valkyries material... not only in combat skills, but also in tactics.'' Himeko said before sighing. ''I feel pretty average even though I was a genius when I enrolled in this school... But when I think about it, there is also a genius in my generation who graduated in one year.'' Himeko said grinning and looking at Shiroi. Shiroi didn't notice as he was too focused on watching Mei.
''She even exceeded my expectations... I didn't think she would beat wave 9.'' Shiroi said in surprise as he looked at Mei, who was kneeling from fatigue and unable to move any further.
Shiroi walks towards Mei with a proud expression. ''Like I said, you're strong, Mei... you just need to believe in yourself more.'' Shiroi said with a smile, carry her bridal style as she blushing in his arms.
''Y-you don't have to c-carry me like that, Shiroi.'' Mei said stuttering as her face turned red. Still, she was very happy... She felt very comfortable in his arms and even wished deep down that she could stay in that position forever.
''I don't think you have the energy to move. You have used up almost all of your Honkai energy, causing muscle soreness as your body is still not used to get strengthened with Honkai energy.'' Shiroi replied and is now back in the audience seat and gently places her on the seat next to Bronya.
''Congratulations, Mei... you completed wave 9 in 10 and 57 seconds. It's actually one of the best times too.'' Theresa congratulates Mei with a smile while clapping at her.
''one of the best times? Who's having the best time, auntie?'' Kiana asks curiously, wanting to know as her face screams with curiosity.
Theresa grins and looks at Shiroi. ''Of course, my cute nephew has the best record in school history.''
''Da, It should be clear who is having the best time since Niisama graduated from this school, Idiotka.'' Kiana sticks her tongue out at Bronya and childishly looks away from her.
''I think he completed all 10 waves in under 8 minutes when he was 10 years old.'' Himeko said nonchalant and drinking her beer.
Mei gasp in surprise. she knew Shiroi was strong, but the fact that he was so strong at 10 years old surprised her. Everyone wondered how strong Shiroi was now since none of them had ever seen him use his full strength.
''As expected from Oniichan! Oniichan is the strongest!'' Kiana jumps on Shiroi and hugs him tightly. Shiroi gently pats her back and looks and the others, still looking at him with curious looks.
''Shiroi, how about you take the test again? Your cute auntie is also a bit curious about how strong you are now.'' Theresa said and the other nodded and wanted to know too.
Shiroi thought for a while and agreed with his aunt. ''Sure, I could use some training again.'' Shiroi said and Kiana let go of him so Shiroi entered the arena. Shiroi uses a simple sword to make it fair.
Everyone was tensed and can't wait to see Shiroi fight. The simulation begins and what happens next shocks the girls. It was a completely one-sided massacre by Shiroi, as he literally killed them all in a flash when they appeared in the area... Shiroi destroys all 10 waves in under 30 seconds. The funny thing was that he lost most of his time because he had to wait for the Honkai beasts to spawn in the waves because Shiroi was just too fast.
''I knew he would defeat everything very quickly... but I never thought this would happen.'' Theresa said, still doubting this situation.
''As you would expect from the greatest genius of this century, I would say.'' Himeko adds her comment, she couldn't even drink her beer as she was simply stunned by Shiroi result.
''Niisama is like an overpowered DLC character that everyone wants to use, or a character with max level and gear.'' Bronya said and Kiana could only nod at her, completely agreeing with her.
Kiana is a little frustrated because she wanted to catch up with her brother as she saw Shiroi's abilities and the gap between them was like heaven and earth. Mei feels the same way too, but now that she knows how strong Shiroi is, she wants to work even harder to be someone who can fight by his side and also protect him.
''So... He's Shiroi Kaslana, huh... He's even stronger than his father.'' A man with brown hair and matching brown eyes wearing glasses watched near the exit, impressed by Shiroi's astounding skills. ''The saying really fits... The newer generations will surpass the old.'' He pushes up his glasses and leaves the training cabin.
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A-kun: I hope you enjoy the chapter! See ya, Reader-chan!
Chibi Shiroi loves you all