Thanks for the invitation! I am in Honkai, still connected

Chapter 407 67 - An Inevitable Encounter

St. Freya Academy's shopping street had some rather high-end clothing stores.This was easy enough to understand.

St. Freya Academy was built to cultivate the strength to fight against the Honkai. Because the designer of the Stigmata Project—Dr. Mei—had "GG'd" after only completing the plan corresponding to females, the Honkai energy resistance of males in the Honkai world was generally weaker than that of females.

Therefore, St. Freya Academy could basically be considered a Kingdom of Women.

And since girls are naturally more conscious of their appearance, all sorts of clothing and cosmetic shops naturally sprang up to meet the demand.

These people are so rich.

Looking at the dazzling array of products, Miss Raven, whose entire income was being used to buy a villa on an island and who was living quite frugally, felt a slight pang of jealousy as she watched the large crowd of beautifully dressed girls.

Once my villa is finished, I'll have enough money left over to buy pretty clothes and makeup for myself, Raven thought.

"This outfit… is so cumbersome!"

The girl, who usually wore sportswear for ease of movement—sometimes even just a tube top, shorts, and a jacket—uncomfortably tugged at her clothes.

"Please be a little more ladylike, Lady Durandal."

Miss Raven, who had been contemplating what clothes to buy after her villa was built, furrowed her slender brows. She then turned her dark red, snake-like eyes toward the girl who, at her suggestion, had returned to her proper form.

Hmm, still a golden-haired, blue-eyed tsundere, but at least she's taller now, and her chest isn't so flat anymore.

Well, I guess you could call it a preliminary escape from the 'loser dog' image.

Recalling Durandal's conflicted expression from before, wondering whether she should revert to her original body, Miss Raven felt the urge to facepalm.

This girl could undo the magic potion she had taken at any time using the power of her World Bubble, but the reason she hadn't was supposedly because the Director didn't seem to like girls who were too much of the mature, "onee-san" type.

Please, if the Director really hated onee-sans, your adjutant wouldn't always be coming out of his office with a flushed face, sometimes even needing him to carry or support her out!

The former World Serpent executive—Raven—who was constantly teetering on the edge of being permanently silenced, let out a sigh.

If he doesn't like you, it's ultimately because you have too few moe points.

Miss Raven mused, then began to size up the girl who was said to be the same age as the Herrscher of Reason. Her expression gradually became a little strange.

But speaking of which, do girls really develop this well these days?

An illegal onee-san?

Raven, who had a great figure herself but certainly hadn't been on Durandal's level at fourteen, found her expression growing increasingly peculiar.

"Is something wrong, Miss Xiola?" Miss Dull Goose asked, taken aback by the odd way Miss Raven was looking at her.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking that the food at Schicksal must be really nutritious."

"Um, the food at Schicksal HQ is actually terrible."

The girl, whose impression of the headquarters' cafeteria consisted of endless sauerkraut pork knuckle and Stargazy Pie imported from Great Britain, suddenly turned pale.

Durandal suspected that if Rita hadn't been there to take care of her, she might have actually been killed by the Schicksal cafeteria.

Shocking! The cause of death for the Strongest Valkyrie in history was actually this!

You're not a true Schicksal member if you don't click! The reason Lady Bianka's body is growing weaker and weaker is because—

"If it weren't for Rita, my meals would probably be awful."

Trading a green hat for three square meals a day?

Perhaps because her skills were good enough to easily handle Judgment-class Honkai Beasts, Xiola, who often stumbled upon certain… situations, found her gaze toward Miss Dull Goose growing even stranger.

Sensing that Xiola's stare was becoming more and more off, Durandal frowned, feeling that something wasn't quite right.

However, she thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out why she was being looked at that way.

After spacing out for a while, she decided to change the subject.

"By the way, Miss Xiola, what should I do next?"

The girl, who for once was wearing a beautiful summer dress instead of her usual sportswear, looked at the woman who exuded a noble and aloof air and inquired about their next move.

She really didn't want to admit it.

But she actually cared about, and even liked, that certain scumbag.

However, just walking up to the Captain and confessing her feelings was too outrageous.

The moment she thought about that guy making her hand pastries to Fu Hua, and how he didn't even help her out when Raiden Mei invited her to be a bridesmaid, Miss Dull Goose's stomach filled with rage.

I really want to punch him in the face until he cries for his mommy.

She had even tried to attack him before, but the guy ran so fast she couldn't catch him no matter what, leaving her feeling a little helpless.

But speaking of which, it was quite strange that the Captain had only run away without fighting back, not even using his Authorities while fleeing.

Wanting to avoid a physical fight was understandable.

But given his usual style, shouldn't he have just used a set of space portals to throw her into the distance, or escaped using his so-called "Wind" incarnation?

Why didn't he use his Herrscher or Divine Authorities?

The girl furrowed her brow, vaguely remembering that the Captain had once said he had made certain vows that could not be broken—that doing so would result in universe-destroying damage.

And then—

Her face flushed red.

Hey, hey, hey, it couldn't be… that vow, could it?

It was unknown how many vows the Captain had made, but one of them was precisely: "Unless it is beneficial to a lover, he will never use his Authorities targeting them."

It was said that the Captain had originally intended to vow against using any physical force at all.

But because Vows were such bastards, a vow against "force" would have also forbidden actions like pinning a girl down or applying certain kinds of magic, so he had made some modifications.

But just as quickly, her expression turned ashen.

The Captain, being the rotten person he was, had only made that vow because he was worried he'd become an even bigger bastard in the future, so he placed it upon himself as a restraint.

He had forcefully stopped himself from sliding further down, but only in matters of romance.

And only in matters of romance.

She, who was not his lover, was clearly not within the protective scope of that vow.

So, what the hell was that guy playing at?

Could it be that he wanted to mess with her mind, make her overthink things, and then just give herself away for free?

Durandal couldn't help but scorn him in her heart.

"Let's go buy some cosmetics next."

Due to Durandal's generous payment, Raven's objective had shifted from guarding Chaldea to acting as Dull Goose's wingman. She took her arm and started walking toward the other shops.

But after just a few steps, Miss Raven stopped moving.

The reason was simple: Miss Dull Goose had stopped dead in her tracks. Miss Raven, whose physical strength was no match for hers, looked up, a bit stunned.

Did something happen?

Sensing that something was amiss, Raven froze and followed Dull Goose's line of sight.

A young man with brilliant golden eyes was carrying a small bag, walking out of a gift shop.