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

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she let out a cute sneeze. After wrinkling her delicate nose, she nonchalantly hugged her comic book and sank into the soft office chair.

This is not office time.

I'm sure.

Behind her office chair is Judas, which Theresa has recently gotten into the habit of carrying with her.

What happened a week ago made her feel very insecure, and the unease buried in her heart made this the only way she could stay calm.

The comic book "Houmu's Great Adventure" is the best way for her to relieve stress.

It has absolutely nothing to do with whether you slack off or not.

"Knock knock knock." With a knock on the door, the person opened it and walked in.

She was a woman wearing a white coat; judging from her age, she was probably only about twenty-five years old.

She actually had a great figure, with a well-developed body that could be described as having undulating curves, but the wide robes covered most of it.

As Nishikujo Sara entered the room, she suppressed her smoking habit, her beautiful face showing a hint of irritation.

She tossed her hair aside and tucked it over her shoulder.

Compared to a while ago, Nishikujo Sara's hair seems to have grown a little longer.

She glanced at the white dust drifting in the air, then casually shifted her gaze to Theresa, who was sitting upright and diligently working, and said:

"Headmaster, I'm here to talk to you about Su Qing'an."

Theresa smiled calmly and said:

"Long time no see, Nishikujo-sensei."

“I remember we met in the cafeteria yesterday at noon, but never mind, now is not the time to talk about this,” Nishikujo Sara tapped her fingertips on the desk and said, “Headmaster, didn’t you approve giving Fu Hua a set of high-fidelity virtual equipment a while ago?”

Theresa remained silent for a moment upon hearing this. She already knew why Nishikujo Sara had come, and she replied:

“That’s right, it’s a highly realistic virtual scene device designed specifically for special purposes. Fu Hua said it was for Su Qing’an’s training needs.”

“Training needs? Indeed, if we only consider the level of realism, that is definitely an advantage of this equipment.”

Sara Nishikujo frowned and said:

"However, it can affect the training of artificial stigmata in terms of the speed at which life is consumed, and from the perspective of the school doctor, please forgive me for not being able to agree with that."

"The erosion of the artificial holy marks has accelerated? How is that possible!" Theresa lost her composure, and her voice trembled as she spoke these words.

Nishikujo Sara said:

"Artificial stigmata are not such docile and obedient things to begin with. Headmaster, isn't it an oversimplification to expect that you can keep it obediently inside your body without using it in battle?"

"It's a well-known fact that intense mental stress can cause rejection reactions to artificial stigmata, which is probably one of the reasons why you deliberately created such a relaxed atmosphere at St. Freya Academy."

Theresa calmed down, but the way her fingertips pressed back and forth on the table showed that she was not at peace.

She said:

"Of course I know that, but this should only happen when the artificial stigma implanter reaches the middle or late stage of life. Su Qing'an used the artificial stigma twice in this mission, and according to him, the total time should be less than twenty seconds."

"He only had the artificial stigma implanted three months ago. With such a short usage time, it's impossible for his lifespan to be reduced to only five years, nor is it possible for the rejection factors to increase."

Sara Nishikujo opened the window, leaned against it, and took out an old-fashioned silver metal lighter from her pocket.

The woman lit a cigarette.

After a long silence, savoring the lingering taste of the tobacco in her mouth, she said:

“…Principal, you should understand that Su Qing’an is special.”

"But this special treatment doesn't bring any good things."

The woman's words filled the room with the smoke she exhaled, and the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Theresa did not speak.

Sara Nishikujo glanced at the girl's somewhat dejected face and couldn't help but sigh.

That stupid nun is still the same as ever, she hasn't grown at all, but that's also why I'm willing to stay at St. Freya Academy.

Nishikujo Sara couldn't help but say to her in a comforting tone:

"In short, although such signs have appeared, his physical report does not lie. It still shows that he can live for another ten years. The life he burned during this mission can be expressed in numbers as about two weeks of lifespan."

But then, she changed the subject:

"But if he continues to suffer such intense mental damage and pressure, no one can understand what the limit of the erosion rate of artificial stigmata can be."

"Given your personality, Principal, it's impossible that you didn't pay attention to their training. He experienced 237 deaths with 99% realism in just two weeks."

"This is the reason why his mental stress was so great that it affected the rate of stigma erosion."

"Su Qing'an is learning a technique that is impossible to use in reality. I have calculated his Honkai energy adaptability and Honkai energy resistance. After comparing his data in the virtual scenario for two weeks, I can be sure that Su Qing'an could not possibly use such a reckless skill in reality."

“I admit that Su Qing’an is very talented. I would even say that this student is a genius I have never seen before. Even with such poor Honkai energy adaptability, he learned such skills in a short period of time, which is simply unreasonable.”

"But that's all there is to it."

"Simply having talent can't break through the limits of the body. That's not a move prepared for him at all. It's even another matter whether there's anyone in the entire St. Freya Academy who can learn it."

Even Nishikujo Sara exclaimed in amazement at this technique, which she had never heard of before:

"As expected of someone who can reach the A-rank Valkyrie level in such a short time, just learning those techniques is already incredibly difficult. Just how difficult would it be to create one yourself?"

"Unfortunately, such a level of difficulty is impossible to promote. This is probably why she taught Su Qing'an without any reservations, but also had no intention of making it public."

Theresa, who was standing to the side, was speechless for a moment.

She has always respected students' self-will, but if students' self-will would harm them, should she, as their guide, step in to stop them?

She believed that Su Qing'an had made his own choice and also acknowledged and trusted Fu Hua's maturity and judgment, but the other party's physical condition also put Theresa in a difficult position.

Finally, with mixed feelings, she said:

"So you came to me to ask me to take back the right to use that equipment?"

Nishikujo Sara shook her head in response:

"Although I don't mind being the bad guy, it's better to guide than to suppress such things. Su Qing'an has always been very mature, but precisely because of this, once such a person makes a decision, he won't give up because of a few words."

"Fu Hua should have just gone on a mission yesterday. Although this equipment is for Su Qing'an, according to the rules, it was Fu Hua who applied for the equipment, so he will come to you today to apply for new usage rights."

"When the time comes, just use the excuse that only an A-rank Valkyrie has the authority to apply and let him obediently wait for Fu Hua to come back. At least this way, he can have a short, passive rest."

"Fu Hua, haven't she been going on a lot more missions lately?"

After making that remark, Theresa's expression turned somewhat subtle as she looked at the woman, and she said softly:

“Shaluo, you’ve actually talked to Su Qing’an about this, haven’t you? Otherwise, given your personality, it would be normal for you to do your best to stop his reckless behavior within your authority.”

Nishikujo Sara gazed at the vast, blue sky, smoke billowing from her lips, obscuring her face. No one knew what her expression was at that moment.

Will it be sorrow or indifference, will it be wavering or composure?

She habitually buried these secrets in the swirling smoke, and then they dissipated with the sea breeze.

Nishikujo Sara wasn't sad; she was just unhappy.

She said:

"...I told him, Su Qing'an, if you continue like this, you might lose a few years of your life, and that idiot seriously said he knew."

He said he wouldn't be satisfied unless he got hurt badly.

The woman laughed, a laugh of ambiguity, and her tone gradually lost its composure.

"Ha, that's hilarious. You're someone who joined the logistics unit after graduation, what are you training for?"

"Saving the world? Everyone has their own limits. The right thing to do is to live well and respect those limits."

“I can understand the transplantation of artificial stigmata; it’s a temporary measure to survive.”

"But what he's doing now only proves that this guy never subconsciously saw himself as a support or backup role from the very beginning."

"It was as if he wanted to use that tattered body to cross something."

"Just listen to those kinds of things like 'I won't be satisfied until I'm bleeding from my head.' This person is clearly the kind of idiot who wouldn't give up even if he banged his head against a wall to death."

After a long while, Nishikujo Sara's tone returned to calm.

Finally, she said this:

"Really...so naive and childish."

Theresa smiled helplessly.

She thought, "If that person's will really hasn't wavered at all, why would you say so much?"

Salo.

Even if you know that Su Qing'an's limit is just like that, wouldn't you inevitably feel a little bit of anticipation while worrying?

You expect that child's efforts to pay off; you expect him to actually overcome something.

And you feel that those things are clearly impossible to do, but you can't bear to completely cut off his options, so in the end you chose this half-baked approach, right?

You're such a half-baked amateur, it's completely unlike you.

But I have absolutely no right to say anything about you.

Sara Nishikujo put away her lighter and cigarette case, and looked at Theresa, asking:

"Headmistress, are you not going to tell Himeko anything about him?"

Theresa's expression turned somewhat somber, and she nodded, saying:

“Sara, you should understand Himeko’s situation. She has entered the late stage of artificial stigmata, and if possible, I don’t want her to know.”

Nishikujo Sara responded with a wry smile:

"Run away? There really is no better way, but as a doctor who can't save any of them, I'm the most useless one."

Before Theresa could offer any clumsy words of comfort, the woman waved her hand, opened the door, and chose to leave.

Before leaving, she left behind her last words.

"Headmaster, you've done a great job. This academy needs you. So during my occasional breaks, I'll turn a blind eye. Next time, don't tear up comics. Unless you can tear them to the quark level, even an idiot will notice."

The door was carefully closed by Nishikujo Sara.