Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

Even if I don't say it, that person might be able to guess my thoughts, but directly presenting my choice might be a bad attitude.

There is no reason for me to accept these risks.

Besides, doing so would be meaningless to anyone.

Rita had her own considerations regarding whether the risks and benefits of having a vessel that could transform into a Herrscher at any time and a potentially outstanding Valkyrie that could be nurtured were proportional.

Sacrifice is inevitable on the path to fighting the Honkai. Even if she doesn't like it, Rita can't deny its correctness.

A nation that simply sings praises of love and peace cannot withstand the brutality of war. Destiny may not be the glorious and righteous organization she initially envisioned, but at least the world cannot exist without Destiny.

This colossal entity, with its network spanning the globe, wields most of humanity's power, coordinating all resources and pouring everything into the cause of fighting against collapse. The sacrifices and filth it produces are undeniable, but if it were to stop, the outcome would only be worse.

Shaking off her inner reverie, Rita continued to focus on the work at hand.

She has largely completed her observation of K423, which was not a very difficult task.

Next up is Su Qing'an.

If this boy is as good-looking and stylish as K423, then perhaps this few days at St. Freya Academy will truly be a relaxing and leisurely trip, just as the bishop said.

As the only male student in the entire St. Freya Academy, Su Qing'an appeared exceptionally detached from worldly desires, maintaining a casual attitude and habit of only scratching the surface, much like everyone else.

Himeko Murata is the only family he can be considered to have in this world. His parents served Destiny and made great achievements in some fields. They later died in an expedition to excavate ruins.

For this reason, Destiny transferred a large sum of compensation to Su Qing'an's account. If we were to describe the amount, it would be roughly equivalent to several years' worth of funding for St. Freya Academy—including the deficit.

After investigation, apart from the daily losses incurred by the coffee shop in Changkong City, there was no indication that the money had been squandered.

At this rate of spending, he estimates that he will only be able to spend the assets left to him by his parents in his lifetime, and the death benefit will be as meaningless as a passing cloud to him.

From this perspective, the purchase record of that Kawasaki H2R is perhaps quite rare, as it must be a rare preference of Su Qing'an.

Strangely, this motorcycle also played a crucial role in escaping the pursuit of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Ganesha.

Of course, individual ability plays a greater role in this.

She obtained in advance the data on the Hyperion's assessment of the Ganesha's route and requested the creation of a corresponding virtual scenario. Afterward, she meticulously verified the route against the previous aerial photographs and detailed maps of Changkong City.

Finally, Rita can draw a conclusion.

That means Su Qing'an is acting very strangely. Based on Ganesha's speed at that time, the Kawasaki H2R's horsepower and RPM would have to be pushed to the limit to escape.

Driving at such a speed on streets with extremely unstable road conditions is practically like dancing a close dance with death.

Such mental fortitude, motorcycle skills, and unwavering will should not be found in a 17-year-old whose life has been remarkably uneventful.

It can be confirmed that Su Qing'an must possess a very strong learning ability, which is likely inherited from his parents. His father, Su Jinyan, and mother, Chen Luoqiu, are both rare high-IQ talents, so this explanation does not seem far-fetched.

However, this learning ability is mainly biased towards the physical aspect, and it is exaggerated to an extreme degree, which makes it difficult for the reasonable inferences above to continue to explain this phenomenon.

The same applies to martial arts. With the physical abilities of an ordinary person and a sword of only average quality, Su Qing'an was able to kill multiple stages of assassins. This is something that only a Valkyrie who has been trained since childhood could do.

However, Su Qing'an had less than half a year between first learning martial arts and actually practicing it.

Rita frowned slightly. Perhaps she could test the waters to see if the so-called learning ability was really as exaggerated as it seemed during their interactions.

Even though the data alone could prove a lot, she still preferred to believe in the principle of seeing is believing.

But as His Excellency the Bishop said, this person is indeed somewhat different from others.

From a normal person's perspective, Su Qing'an is an absolute genius, but in a world where fighting against the Honkai is the main objective, he is just an ordinary person.

Su Qing'an's Honkai energy resistance and adaptability are just right at the threshold of not being infected by Honkai. Without the support of the Stigmata, in Rita's eyes, he doesn't even have the qualifications to become a B-rank.

His current experience can be described as having a lot of bad luck, and it is already remarkable that he has survived to this day.

Later, while searching for old friends in Changkong City, he used the reforged sword to kill multiple Rush-class Honkai Beasts and Death Soldiers. Finally, he luckily found them in a gap in the ruins. On the way back, he unfortunately encountered the birth of multiple Chariot-class Honkai Beasts.

As a result, Su Qing'an returned with serious injuries.

Although he survived, the wound showed signs of Honkai energy infection to some extent, and he had no choice but to undergo the transplantation of artificial stigmata to save his life.

It ended in success.

As for the girl named Sato Yuno, she also enrolled in St. Freya Academy.

Rita quickly reviewed the records she had obtained from the headmaster again, and logically there was nothing to doubt.

Even if Rita was incredibly intelligent, she couldn't have imagined that on that very day, this boy would drag Sato Yuno out of the abyss of her broken consciousness, thus giving birth to a pseudo-Herrscher with human will.

That's too absurd, it's utter nonsense.

The turning point and inertia of her thinking made her overlook the existence of Sato Yuno, and even the fact that she enrolled in school didn't seem particularly surprising to Rita.

The fact that Sato Yuno didn't become a suicide soldier shows that she has a certain resistance to Honkai energy. In addition, given the personality of the headmaster of this school, it's perfectly normal that she was able to enroll.

Rita's attention was mainly focused on Su Qing'an. After considering for a while, she wrote a sentence on the paper.

He is a very solitary person with almost no social circle, but he values ​​the relationships he has already established.

This is something you can learn from experience; as for the rest...

St. Freya Academy conducts regular psychological tests before and after enrollment.

Nishikujo Sara is the person in charge.

Rita found the results of the psychological test in the Far East branch's database.

The answer that was obtained was quite intriguing.

They have a certain tendency toward alienation, can be intensely obsessed with certain things, are calm and serious, and have a value system that leans toward normalcy.

Even after several fierce battles, he did not show any bloodlust or aftereffects.

If there is anything that can be considered a side effect, it is mild war weariness.

There's one last thing...

Severe self-destructive tendencies.

Rita investigated all the records of entertainment facilities at St. Freya Academy, and Su Qing'an's usage record was zero.

Running a coffee shop is his only form of entertainment.

The usage time of the other training and combat equipment is terrifyingly high, almost as insane as Durandal's training regimen.

But unlike that person's innate talent, Su Qing'an's efforts could only yield minor results.

Even the strongest learning ability can only broaden the scope of combat strategies, not significantly increase the limits of combat power.

Even though Lady Durandal always believed that she could reach her full potential through hard work, this idea seemed utterly ridiculous when applied to Su Qing'an.

Isn't Su Qing'an working hard enough?

Rita understood that this idea was too presumptuous for ordinary people, and that the idea that hard work would bring rewards was just a way for adults to trick children into working hard.

But when you become an adult, you'll expose this lie yourself, because you'll understand that hard work is just the most basic thing.

There are countless examples in this world of giving without receiving anything in return.

Perfect equivalent exchange exists only in utopia.

But assuming utopia truly exists, it will sooner or later drown in lies and newly bred filth.

Rita had no intention of correcting Durandal's thinking, but she understood it herself.

What she didn't quite understand was why Su Qing'an chose to stay at St. Freya Academy, and why he trained so hard.

Why would someone who loathes fighting crave power?

Why would someone who clearly has a tendency towards personality alienation care so much about the few people in their social circle?

There's also the contradiction between the will to survive in the face of an Emperor-level Honkai Beast and the tendency towards self-destruction.

There are too many unknowns and doubts that remain unresolved, but upon closer examination, they all seem insignificant.

But this successfully piqued Rita's curiosity.

Su Qing'an is someone whose psychological defenses cannot be dismantled by a frivolous attitude or by judging her by her appearance.

Rita drew a period on the paper, then relaxed and looked up at the warm orange light above her, her wine-red eyes slightly narrowed, looking somewhat languid.

She suddenly laughed and murmured:

“Su Qing’an, Your Excellency, just as you said, is an interesting person.”

100. Rita arrived as promised, martial arts.

The wind chimes swayed, and the silhouettes on the wooden floor swayed along with them.

The crisp, melodious sounds mingled with the quiet conversations and soft laughter of the girls, becoming mere embellishments.

The coffee shop's tables were scattered with people, where the youthful and beautiful Valkyries were enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Although most of the Valkyries at St. Freya Academy are orphans with no background, their average appearance is strangely high.

This place is less like an ordinary coffee shop and more like a tea party for aristocratic ladies.

Su Qing'an and Kiana, who were standing to the side, were the waiters.

In fact, although etiquette class at St. Freya Academy is not a required course in theory, the girls always enjoy it. Perhaps every girl has imagined herself as elegant as a white swan, exuding nobility and composure, and showing a confident smile to others.

But most of those moments exist only in the little theater of thought running wild in the mind before sleep; the real opportunity to shine belongs to only a small minority of people.

Theresa understood girls of this era very well.

It's like an ordinary boy on his 15th birthday, daydreaming in class about transforming into a superhero and saving the world, when a helicopter suddenly appears out of nowhere, ignoring all logic.

The roar of the propellers and the flow of air changed the world before our eyes.

A beautiful young woman, as sharp as a knife, stepped out of the helicopter.

As she draped her trench coat over his shoulders, she said to him in a serious tone, "Adults don't have time for you to waste at school. We have to go save the world."

It was like a dream come true in an instant.

Theresa is like that; she tries her best to perfectly fulfill all the fantasies a girl should have at this time.

Most Valkyries die on the battlefield, and even the logistics troops are in high-risk positions.

St. Freya Academy always has a large deficit every year. Theoretically, the funds provided by Destiny are generous enough that this should not happen every year.

All these unnecessary expenses that led to the deficit were spent on giving this beautiful fantasy and tenderness.

Some people at headquarters described Theresa as a spendthrift spendthrift, and that was indeed the case. She treated her students like her own children, giving them everything they deserved.