Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Valkyrie

Just as Shen Liang seemed to have stepped into the "inner world," at the same time, on the continent of Teyvat...

Coral Palace.

Coral Palace Ryuka is listening to the report.

"The head of the World Chamber of Commerce applied to the Coral Palace for protection of their island. They are protesting the Coral Palace's laissez-faire policy for nearly a year. The near loss of Tengdouzhai in the Battle of Tengdouzhai has terrified them." Sihe read the memorial from the border troops. "The Second Division rejected the request and told them to leave if they wanted to, but they dare not pass through the front line, so they are still protesting."

Coral Palace Song remained unmoved.

"Among the civil service, a faction of civil officials represented by the Accounting Bureau insisted that they should seek peace with the shogunate at all costs. Meanwhile, the Gagakuryo, Genbanryo, and Funeral Services Bureau, having been detached from the Coral Palace for a long time and without real power, have developed disloyal intentions, and many bureaucrats are already trying to find ways to escape from Umijima."

Coral Palace Ryuka remained unmoved.

Sihe, after all, had been a priestess who had followed Coral Palace Ryuka for twenty years. She said in a low voice, "Nowadays, most of the high-ranking officials on Haiqi Island are considering how to make peace, and the lower-ranking officials are afraid of war and want to immigrate. Lord Coral Palace... are you not going to do anything about it?"

"What about the Military Affairs Bureau?" Coral Palace Ryuka only asked about military matters.

“The Military Command and the Coral Palace are always of one mind, as you know. The Coral Palace can delegate power to other departments and bureaus, but it will never have any disloyalty to the military, and there will be no unrest even now,” Sihe said. “Of course, the military also hopes for peace.”

"In other words, everyone on Haiqi Island now wants peace, even if it means handing over the benefactor of the entire island," Coral Palace Ryuka said slowly. "We talk about revenge, righteousness, and unyielding spirit, but now we live like maggots, twisted and grotesque. It's truly nauseating."

Coral Palace Xin Hai, who was doing clerical work nearby, also looked somewhat gloomy upon hearing this.

"Then let's go along with their wishes. If they want to make peace, fine, then let's make peace." Coral Palace Liuge was too lazy to listen anymore. She casually looked at Coral Palace Xinhai and said, "Xinhai, spread my message: Coral Palace forbids the outflow of people. Anyone who violates this rule will be beheaded. If any official holds an objection, their family will be confiscated and their clan exterminated, and their female relatives will be used to support the army."

Coral Palace Xin Hai was stunned, and looked up at her aunt, "This is... a request for peace?"

Banning population outflow? What kind of peace is that?

“Yes, peace.” Coral Palace Ryuka smiled. “Really, once the news gets out, Coral Palace is prepared to sue for peace and stop fighting. These demands are just to avoid panic on Haigi Island and prevent the loss of talent; they have no special meaning. Once the peace treaty is signed, these will naturally be withdrawn.”

Using the excuse of avoiding talent loss... Coral Palace Xin Hai vaguely felt that her aunt had something to say, but she also knew that even if she asked, she wouldn't say anything, so she could only put away the documents and take her leave.

Coral Palace Ryuka watched her niece leave, then looked at Sihe and asked, "What's next?"

After so many years together, Coral Palace Ryuga knew that Sihe still had something to say, because Coral Palace Heart Sea was here...

There are some things that cannot be told to Xin Hai.

"The shogunate is demanding our prisoners." Sihe stared at her. "This is the first step of the treaty. The shogunate army demands the return of all 216 prisoners, and also the return of as many of the shogunate army corpses near Fujito Fortress as possible that have not been recovered."

"Prisoners?" Ruka Sangokami frowned. "They're not dead yet?"

Sihe's expression changed slightly.

“That’s perfect. Tell the Third Division at the front that those two hundred prisoners should be hung up on the city wall, their hands and feet cut off and castrated, stripped naked, and left to freeze to death in front of the Shogunate army.” Sangomiya Ryuka said lightly. “As for the corpses, tsk, there are too many. Cut off their heads, gouge out their eyes and cut off their tongues, and pile them up on the city wall. Remember to find a good angle so that the Shogunate can see them clearly.”

Sihe sighed heavily; she knew this would happen.

"Lord Coral Palace, you're doing this..."

"Is there something wrong?" Coral Palace Ryuka turned around and smiled sweetly.

"No, it's nothing." Sihe sighed softly and smiled. "Lord Coral Palace, you've always been this crazy."

“Am I despicable? Selfish?” Coral Palace Ryuka said, “I will use everything I have to tie this island to a pirate ship with my goal as its objective. Many people will die in the process. Some of them may have completely different goals from mine, and some may just want to live a peaceful life for a while... What about dignity? What about the future? They may not necessarily care about it.”

"But you won't change your goal."

“Yes, if I made the wrong choice, then I’m sorry,” she said softly, “but I won’t change it.”

Many days later.

The orders from Coral Palace were passed down layer by layer. The overt orders made the whole island jubilant. Even though some people suspected that the "prohibition of population outflow" seemed a bit suspicious, they could only swallow their questions amidst the jubilation.

Meanwhile, on the front lines far from Haiji Island, the Third Division stationed on Hachiyun Island coldly and rigidly carried out orders from the shadows. One by one, prisoners were hung naked on the city walls during the coldest season, their heads piled up into a five-meter-high mound on the city wall, echoing the sands of Futaba. The gruesome deaths made the shogunate soldiers' eyes widen in horror.

The air ahead was thick with barely suppressed murderous intent, while those behind remained oblivious, basking in jubilation.

Coral Palace Ryuka stood atop the highest peak of the entire island, gazing upon the peaceful homes of countless families as they celebrated the impending peace.

She suddenly missed Shen Liang very much.

----------

After discovering that Shen Liang didn't even recognize Honkai energy, Raiden Mei's expression changed several times, but she was still speechless.

She didn't know what the Shaniat family was thinking. This guy was allowed into St. Freya Academy, yet they hadn't even taught him the most basic common sense.

They've clearly already stepped one foot into the extraordinary realm! They should at least understand some of the basic rules of this world!

"You've never seen a Valkyrie?" Raiden Mei asked, puzzled.

"That is?"

“A type of human being that is specially named based on the use of Honkai energy, and they are mostly female,” Raiden Mei explained. “There are some humans in this world who can absorb Honkai energy and use this ability in various ways depending on their talents. These abilities manifest as various ‘special skills’ or ‘superpowers,’ such as mastering lightning.”

As she spoke, Raiden Mei casually lifted Muramasa, and a distinct blue-green electric current appeared around the blade.

"A special model stun gun?" Shen Liang looked at the knife with considerable skepticism.

Raiden Mei simply pinched a ball of lightning into her hand.

"Of course, most Valkyries only utilize Honkai energy to enhance their physical bodies, like Kiana in front of you." Raiden Mei patiently explained, "Currently, most Valkyries in the world who have developed other functions are doing so by chance. Those that are not by chance are often from schools or bloodlines that have been passed down for thousands of years, such as Chinese Taoist magic, Romanian vampires, and Japanese Onmyōdō."

“And the saintess of the Shaniat family!” Kiana quickly added.

“Yes, and the German Schariac Bloodline.” Raiden Mei added, “In short, there are quite a few.”

Chapter Sixty-Eight: A Family Full of Beautiful Girls is Amazing!

Shen Liang digested this knowledge.

This was the day he truly came into contact with the extraordinary world. Although he had some vague guesses before, he finally confirmed it today!

The "inner world" not only exists, but it's also quite legitimate!

All the extraordinary beings not only share the common name "Valkyrie," but also generally understand that the abilities they use come from "Honkai energy."

This shows that the study of extraordinary individuals has been going on for a very long time; the society of the underworld is not something that has emerged overnight, but rather something that has existed since ancient times.

This is a brand new world that has never been opened to ordinary people...

Shen Liang had heard a saying, "Stand users are attracted to each other," and now it seems to be true. If you are special and related to the "supernatural," then a "supernatural" life will come to you.

To put it bluntly, if he were really just an ordinary person, Kiana would never have revealed this information to him. He would never have known about Valkyries or Honkai energy in the world... This is mutual attraction; humans will always find a circle they can fit into.

"But why a Valkyrie?" Shen Liang asked, frowning. "Why... are the vast majority of extraordinary beings women?"

“As expected, every man who comes into contact with this kind of thing asks this question…” Raiden Mei didn’t mind and smiled gently at him. “The specific reason is unknown, but it should be a genetic issue. Honkai energy basically only favors women, and strictly speaking, it’s not just women, but females. Currently, it has been found that Honkai energy also favors female animals, while there are basically no precedents found for male animals.”

Shen Liang thought to herself, "Wow, she's a feminist."

"So what exactly is Honkai energy? How do you obtain it?" Shen Liang was particularly concerned about this question.

But this problem stumped Kiana and Raiden Mei.

After considering her words for a moment, Mei looked somewhat apologetic and said, "I really don't know how to answer this question. For those who can sense Honkai energy, this ability is innate. Whether it's Mei or Kiana, they've been able to sense this power in the world since childhood. As long as they work hard to integrate it into their bodies, they can gradually become stronger... Valkyries cannot be replicated. Currently, even countries don't have a way to artificially create Valkyries; they almost exclusively rely on..."

"talent?"

“Yes, talent. Of course, some families are exceptions, such as Miss Kiana from the Schariac family in front of you... The Schariac family has members who can sense Honkai energy for generations, and is known as the ‘Saintess Family’. Being born into this family means…” Raiden Mei wanted to say “means being born extraordinary”, but was interrupted by Shen Liang.

"Does that mean you're 100% a girl?" Shen Liang looked Kiana up and down, a strange expression on his face. "Then your family... doesn't have a single male member?"

Kiana looked desperate. "Yeah! The entire Schariac family, the main branch has over two hundred members, and they're all girls! From my mom to my sister to the maids to the bodyguards to the cleaning lady, they're all girls! I don't even dare call myself a pretty girl there, afraid they'll laugh me to death. Even someone my age looks more like a young lady than me! If I don't run away and stay, my mom will compare me to other kids every day, saying how other people's kids are, but when it comes to my Kiana, she's like this and that... I'm going crazy!"

Shen Liang felt a chill run down his spine at the thought: three women and a thousand ducks; how many ducks would there be if more than two hundred women were together every day...?

"It's not that bad. As far as I know, the Schariac family might still find a husband to continue their lineage," Raiden Mei comforted Kiana, who was still teary-eyed. "You can just live with your father..."

"You can tell from my surname that my dad married into the family, right?" Kiana pouted.

Raiden Mei wisely kept quiet.

The three teenagers were chatting enthusiastically, unaware that two little girls behind them had suddenly brightened up and were whispering to each other.

"Sisters, sisters, it's a family full of beautiful girls!"

"Rosalia saw manga with this kind of setting on her brother's computer! The keywords were things like family, step-sister, common sense... Damn it, it's all in Japanese, I can't understand it!"

"There's actually a member prettier than Kiana... It's decided, Kiana's position next to my brother is unshakeable! Even Bronya can't take Kiana's place!"

"Hmm, speaking of which, what has Bronya been up to lately?"

"It seems she's taken on several orders from different companies and is working hard to earn money! She said she wants to support her brother as well, so she has to earn enough money now to support him and us for the rest of our lives!"

"But I only need my brother to support me."

"Silly Rosalia, Bronya wants to use money to establish her dominance in the family. Then, no matter how many girls are around brother, she'll still be the eldest brother... Hmph, Bronya is too foolish. Brother is a man who responds to gentleness but not force. We just need to obediently be his little sisters, and we'll naturally become his most important women!"

"Who cares about 'us'! I'm the most important woman to my brother!"

When Raiden Mei turned around, she saw the two super cute little girls shouting inexplicable slogans and fighting. She blinked in confusion, and then realized that although the Arlene sisters' fight looked like they were throwing punches wildly, they were actually not hurting each other, and they were indeed using force.

This is a very sophisticated technique for generating power; a thirteen-year-old girl couldn't possibly learn it.

Then there's only one possibility.

—As expected, St. Freya Academy has a deeper meaning. Shen Liang is not completely ignorant about the extraordinary side... These two younger sisters prove that he had already stepped into this field long ago.

“Actually, you might not understand even after all this explanation,” Raiden Mei said, withdrawing her gaze. “The best way to understand our world is to join the official organization, Schicksal. Currently, Valkyries from various countries are basically affiliated with Schicksal’s various branches. Of course, our Far East Branch in Japan is an exception. Japan is too small and there are too few Valkyries, so the Far East Branch not only recruits Valkyries from Japan but also recruits from all over the world.”