Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 378 The Raven's Fear

"So, you failed all your final exams, right, you dead gray hair?"

"It's absence from the exam, not failing the course!"

"You'll have to retake the exam anyway, right?"

At Theresa's house, Sora, who had "escaped" from the Hyperion with a long face, complained to Kiana, Bronya, and Seele about her frustration (Mei was cooking). "He didn't do it on purpose, so why won't Himeko be more understanding?"

At least he had an A-level rating!

What left Qiong speechless was that this paramecium was actually gloating? She herself probably wouldn't pass either and would have to retake the exam, right?

"You dead gray hair, you've finally met your match! Hahahaha..."

Qiong couldn't understand why Kiana was so happy to hear that he had gotten the lowest score in the final exams that she was lying on the sofa with a stomachache... He suddenly had an urge to grab those two braids and teach the little bug a lesson.

Forget it, don't be angry, don't be angry... He'll settle accounts with Kiana, settle all the scores! He'll get it back with interest then. As for now, don't confront this husky head-on, or she'll just get more and more worked up.

Thinking of this, Qiong patted Comrade Xiao Bu on the sofa.

Bronya, wanna play video games?

"Okay, Brother Qiong."

Bronya, who was already playing a game, squeezed closer to Seele and patted the empty space to signal Qiong to sit down.

Seeing that Sora was ignoring her, Kiana, feeling bored, took the initiative. She grinned and moved behind Sora, wrapping her arms around Sora's neck.

"Hey, Gray Hair. Aren't you going to study a bit? What if your period gives you a make-up exam in a few days... Do you really want to take it without any preparation?"

Slightly annoyed, Qiong pushed Kiana away.

"That's none of your business! And instead of worrying about me, Kiana, have you finished your homework? I heard from Seele that Himeko is going to collect the review questions you gave out before the exam!"

As for him... he "thanked" some lousy maid, and that was most of the job done.

Hearing what Sora said, Kiana scratched her cheek.

"Well... no rush! Wait a minute, just a minute! I'll write it in a bit!"

"Come on, with your level of focus on homework, you probably won't even pick up a pen before the last night."

Based on the previous provocation, Qiong began to retaliate without mercy, and elbowed Bronya, who was changing "Houmu Brawl" into a two-player battle.

"That's right, you idiot Kiana, you've been late with your homework time and time again. You've lost all credibility in this area."

"Kiana, Himeko-sensei called you out and told you to take your homework seriously..."

Incited by Qiong, Bronya and Seele echoed Qiong's words and began to attack Kiana.

"You guys... Ugh! Couldn't you have waited until Mei finished her homework before saying that?"

"Wait until Mei finishes her homework?"

Kiana gave her a "what a joke" look—Kiana's reason was too far-fetched. Mei is self-disciplined and hardworking, and she wants to do homework together?

No, when doing homework together, it should be done together, not waiting for Mei to finish her homework!

"Brother Qiong, you probably don't know, but these past few days while you were gone, Kiana has been secretly copying Mei's homework! Bronya tried to stop her, but she could only protect Bronya and Seele's homework... Mei can never keep her homework safe..."

Of course, Seele and the others, who had recently moved into the headmaster's house because Himeko's house was still under repair, did not proactively report this to Theresa, Himeko, or Siegfried, otherwise it would be a different story...

Looking at Mei in the kitchen, Sora felt both annoyed and amused by the uncomfortable white fluffy ball.

He never copied Mei's homework!

"Kiana, you haven't been copying Mei's homework all this time, have you?"

After a brief moment of awkwardness, Kiana put her hands on her hips and regained her composure.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid! If I made the exact same mistakes as Mei, Aunt Himeko would have noticed long ago! I deliberately copied a few questions wrong to greatly increase the realism!"

Qiong: ...

Well, she's somewhat clever, but not much. Why can't she use that cleverness for good?

It has to be said that having seen Kiana's shamelessness so often, Qiong could no longer associate her with the End Worm, and naturally wouldn't be as at a loss as she was when facing the End Worm.

However, it was inevitable that his heart would race (from anger). After all, Natasha was still a beautiful girl whose looks were sealed by her braids. She had a bad temper, but she could still be described as cute and spoiled—although he personally felt that she was far less sweet and gentle than Seele.

"Brother Qiong, you lost. The game is like a battlefield, and no one will let you off just because you're distracted!"

"what?!"

Somewhat distracted, Qiong snapped back to his senses and looked at the screen. He was incredulous: he had only been distracted for a moment, and Bronya had actually emptied his health bar.

"That doesn't count, let's play another round!"

"Let's play another round!"

"Again!"

"Again! My eyes, my eyes have deceived me! One more round, this time I'll show you the true level of skill that can crush an S-rank A-rank Valkyrie!"

Bronya: ...

Twenty minutes later, after being repeatedly beaten by Bronya to the point of despair, Sora finally pulled off a last-minute comeback (Bronya held back a little... well, just a little). Having won the game, Sora decisively threw the game controller to Kiana and Seele: rather than continuing to fight against a loser like Bronya, it would be better to ask about Xiaoxing or watch Mei cook.

It's definitely not because I'm afraid of losing!

Bronya Zaychek expressed her utter contempt for Sora's childlike tendency to run away after winning, but...

Why has Qiong-gege become so weak? His skills are rusty, like he hasn't played games in ages...

Just last week, he could barely hold his own against Kiana and Seele even when they teamed up and he was holding back! How come he's become so bad after just one week of not playing games?

Moreover, setting aside her gaming skills, her combat power has actually skyrocketed, to the point that she can even rival an S-rank Valkyrie.

Bronya watched Sora's retreating figure as she headed towards the kitchen, her brows furrowing slightly. The scan data from Heavy Bunny couldn't be wrong; Sora's reaction speed had indeed improved remarkably in a short time, and her operational proficiency had returned to Kiana's level after losing three games, but…

"Sister Bronya?"

Seele keenly noticed that Bronya's attack rhythm had slowed down.

"fine."

Bronya looked away and gripped the game controller tightly again.

"Seele, it's your turn—hmm, what's that sound?"

--------------

"The sunset is so beautiful..."

Walking along the path in the academy garden, Sora gazed at the sky and sighed. Beside him floated Bronya, who had come out after hearing the commotion, and Seele, who insisted on following him.

"Brother Qiong, shall we go and check where that loud noise came from?"

"No rush, no rush, I'll take you to a nice place."

"A good place?"

Seele repeated softly, a hint of doubt in her eyes: Does St. Freya have some secret base they don't know about?

"Yes, it's said to be the flower bed where our dear Himeko goes to slack off."

"Himeko-sensei, slacking off?"

Seele couldn't believe that Himeko, who was usually so serious and responsible, could also slack off, and even had a secret base for doing so.

Qiong nodded mysteriously.

"That's right, Kiana told me."

The final version of Kiana is also Kiana.

"The scenery there is beautiful, the flowers grow exceptionally well, and most importantly, because it's a dead end, it's usually very quiet and no one goes there, making it perfect for slacking off!"

Bronya and Seele exchanged a glance, both somewhat curious about Himeko's favorite spot for slacking off...

Under Qiong's haphazard directions, the three of them wandered around the garden for most of the day—there was nothing he could do, he had only heard about it from the End Worm, he had never been there before!

But perseverance pays off. The three of them found a row of flower beds that few people frequented, where colorful flowers were in full bloom, filling the air with their fragrance... To be honest, the quiet environment was indeed perfect for slacking off.

It's a pity it wasn't daytime; only a few streetlights provided any light. Otherwise, Qiong would probably have decided to stay longer. She's only here now to verify whether what someone said is true or false.

"Wow, so many flowers! Bronya, look!"

Seele was delighted to see so many blooming flowers and was the first to go over.

"Yes, Seele, Bronya saw it too... Who is it?"

Bronya's gaze slowly swept over the dark flowerbed at the end of the road, and with the help of the Heavy Bunny, she immediately looked into the deeper shadows.

"Who? Who?"

"Brother Qiong, it's..."

In response to Qiong's question, Bronya pointed to the shadow and then used her Heavy Bunny to shine a searchlight.

The bright light instantly illuminated the shadowy area, revealing the figure of a woman in overalls with short gray hair under the spotlight.

"You must be students? Hello! I'm Nata, the cleaner..."

"It's you!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the woman, who had closed her eyes due to the heavy-duty rabbit searchlight, suddenly opened them, revealing her red eyes and snake-like pupils to the three men. Because of her snake-like pupils, she was not actually afraid of bright light; closing her eyes was merely a disguise the mercenaries used to deceive them.

What's going on? Has the Lord arrived?

Looking towards the source of the sound, Natasha Ciora, a World Serpent executive codenamed "Raven," smiled somewhat awkwardly: she saw her lord's blue eyes staring intently at her, and he had even pulled out a lance—what's going on? Has the boss already infiltrated this place?

"Ah? Yes, it's me! It's been a long time..."

Upon seeing "one of their own," Raven's lips curled into a pleased smile—why didn't you say so earlier! Her boss had mentioned before that she would personally make a trip if necessary, and here she is? But since she's already infiltrated the mission location, why not lend her a hand?

Is it to test her abilities?

"Brother Qiong, do you know her?"

Qiong? Is that the name she's using...?

"Yes, I know her, of course I know her! Seele, Bronya, come behind me! With this blazing fire—"

With gritted teeth, Qiong shielded Bronya and Seele behind her, her lance flaming with purple flames. Raven raised an eyebrow at the sight: "My lord, so you seem as cold as ice, but in private you're just like those big shots who like... No, no, no, don't raise the gun!" She swore on the character of Jackal and Gray Serpent that she would never reveal this secret!

The raven coughed softly.

"I won't tell anyone."

As soon as she finished speaking, Raven's tall figure gracefully rose from the shadows. The outline of her neat short hair was no longer visible even with the Heavy Bunny's searchlight: the light of the purple flames illuminated the path ahead.

Raven suppressed her gossipy impulses, brushed the grass clippings off her work clothes, glanced at Bronya and Seele who had been pulled behind her by Qiong, and finally her gaze settled on Qiong, who was standing ready.

Speaking of which, this Lord... there's something a little strange about him?

It must be because I stumbled upon his secret, right? That's why there's such a murderous aura about him—but I only accidentally witnessed my boss having an affair with a younger woman, so it shouldn't be enough to warrant being killed to silence him, right?