Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Elysia Agrees to Make Changes
Eight years had passed since the Second Eruption ended, marking the same span since Cecilia's passing.
"Cecilia, our dream is about to come true. Valkyries in the future won't just be cold-hearted revenge machines against Honkai. They'll have more experiences, and the opportunity to chase their own dreams. I'll give them a less harsh childhood."
Sitting in the new academy's office for the first time, Theresa felt a subtle mix of emotions. It was once Cecilia's dream, now successfully realized in her hands, yet it all felt incredibly unreal.
"Theresa, here are the latest enrollment brochures ready to be sent out. Staff recruitment is almost complete, and the merchants have finished renovating their shops on the street. We're just waiting for the school year to start."
The red-haired woman entered the office, interrupting Theresa's reverie.
St. Freya Academy was about to open, and Theresa was still full of energy.
"Alright, are the acceptance letters ready? When will the students arrive?"
"Theresa, haven't you ever read the files? Don't enrollments usually happen in September? We still have at least three months."
"Oh... that long, huh..."
Theresa's gaze shifted to the manga under her desk. She hadn't expected it would take this long for students to arrive. Had she come too early?
"It seems you really lack relevant experience. I may not understand the lives of the wealthy like yours, but education isn't a trivial matter. Every action of ours could influence someone's entire life. So, I suggest preparing some lesson plans before the students arrive."
"But Himeko, I already have a teaching certificate."
Theresa felt she was a qualified teacher, especially after her combat experience during the Second Eruption. But now, after all this hustle, she just wanted to rest.
"Teaching and nurturing can't be summarized by what's on your teaching certificate. Honestly, I'm starting to worry about your future students."
The worry stemmed mainly from Theresa's carefree demeanor, making it hard to imagine she was once a Heroic Valkyrie who participated at the battle in the Second Eruption.
"We still have a few months, and I'm the principal. Teaching isn't my main job, right? I'll ask you to help me write some speeches when the time comes!"
With that said, Theresa left Himeko speechless.
Indeed, how many principals actually taught classes personally? At most, they oversaw the school's educational philosophy and occasionally gave a speech on stage.
The focus was on creating a comfortable environment.
"I really admire you. Fine, I'll go prepare the lessons myself. But you better think carefully about what you can offer your students."
Himeko was also constantly busy with managing the rest of the data for the school.
Watching Himeko leave, Theresa felt a subtle sense of boredom in the empty office. The school was just starting, but there was no students, so there wasn't much to do.
So Theresa opened her computer to check if there were any new volumes of her favorite manga series, "Homu Adventure." Whenever the author updated, it was always heavily promoted on social media.
"What! Another delay! And because of a game!? Even a donkey in the production team wouldn't laze like this!"
Unexpectedly, her beloved "Homu Adventure" had been delayed again, not due to illness or important matters, but because of a game?
She logged in to her game account skillfully.
Theresa wanted to see what kind of game had caused her beloved "Homu Adventure" to be delayed.
Undertale, a simple pixel cover, and incredibly high sales and consistent praise!
And next to it was the author's latest game.
"Spiritfarer"
A beautifully illustrated 2D side-scrolling game.
Looking at the two games, one big and one small, Theresa quietly turned her gaze out the window.
The current St. Freya Academy was so quiet, everything was just so peaceful.
So tere is nothing much to say; these two games combined aren't even worth a hundred and fifty.
Let's just get started!
She really wanted to see what kind of game could cause Homu Adventure to stop updating. How good could it be?
...
"Lord Otto, Lady Theresa's St. Freya Academy is ready; we just need to resolve the student issue."
In Otto's office, his personal assistant Amber intruded on Otto's rare leisure time.
Theresa had asked Himeko to send over the enrollment issue for St. Freya Academy, which would definitely be handled by Otto.
Otto set down his game controller.
"Wasn't the student issue already discussed? Just send over some ordinary students with a bit of Honkai resistance. Only the geniuses need special training; the rest can all go to Theresa."
"Yes, it's expected to start in September, but before that, the school has been idle all along. Lieutenant Himeko sent a message saying that Theresa might take a break and forget about the school until September due to losing track of time playing."
"That does sound like my granddaughter's style. Seems like this Himeko is quite perceptive and responsible... But didn't I hear that Theresa's favorite Homu Adventure has been delayed lately?"
"Sorry, Archbishop, I've been quite busy lately, I haven't been paying attention to the updates on Homu Adventure."
"I see..."
Did Otto want to give her a break?
That's out of the question.
If Amber took a break, who would do her work?
But one thing did pique Otto's curiosity.
That was, besides the so-called Homu Adventure, what other hobbies could Theresa have besides drinking bitter melon juice and watching magical girl anime?
In the remaining three months, what else could Theresa do?
Skillfully invading the principal's office computer at St. Freya Academy, Otto saw Theresa was downloading two brand new games from the familiar SBeam interface.
One was a hand-drawn fairy tale-style game called Spiritfarer, and the other was a pixel-art game called Undertale.
These two games were still very novel in today's gaming world.
Not Homu Adventure?
Check the sales again.
There seemed to be a trend of surpassing Kallen Fantasy.
Otto was referring to his old work Kallen Fantasy VI.
With the high technological prowess of Schicksal, exquisite 3D modeling, and top-notch music accompaniment, Kallen Fantasy was basically a technological blow to the entire gaming industry.
It was like during the 2008 era, the competition was low-quality games like Devil May Cry, World of Warcraft, and Grand Theft Auto 4; suddenly, a 3A masterpiece made with the Unreal Engine 5 emerged.
They were simply not on the same technological level.
It had the highest sales in the entire gaming industry, and the reviews were also the best. As for competitors trying to catch up with that level of technology, it was almost impossible.
So many developers gave up chasing and started slacking in the gaming industry.
But now, with such a small-scale game, it seemed to have a trend of catching up with Kallen Fantasy, breaking Schikcsal Entertainment's technological curse!
This did pique Otto's interest a bit.
Even the author of Homu Adventure had given it a good review, and even delayed updates.
Coupled with his granddaughter playing such games, Otto became interested in the two games that suddenly appeared.
Independent developer?
Haxxor Bunny Studio?
Let me see what you're capable of!
...
"The benefit of a developed network is that it allows my games to spread to all corners of the world. I didn't expect the First Herrscher to leave a comment. It seems that Undertale has brought him quite a bit of nostalgia."
After the banquet, Bronie received a Setsuna Signet, a Viscittude Signet, and even a Reviere Signet.
Of course, Kevin's Signet was also passed on.
Receiving too many Signets at once, Bronie suddenly felt dizzy. After sleeping for a while, she happened to see Elysia next to her.
"So you've actually released the game, huh?" Elysia looked at the panel projected by Bronie. It was the gaming platform called SBeam.
"With hundreds of thousands in sales and unanimous good reviews, but what's even more interesting is that First Herrscher, huh? Even though I'm not particularly interested in boys, he's a Herrscher fighting for humanity!"
"Being able to make money, and quite a lot of it, no one would ignore money, right?"
"But it's still amazing! Getting unanimous praise, it's well-deserved! But what about your health? Your body is still growing, and bearing the effects of so many Signets all at once."
Actually, during the banquet, Elysia wanted to stop Bronie from bearing so many Signets all at once.
But Bronie thought her body would be fine.
As a result, in a daze, she ended up bearing three Signets at once!
"When it comes to strength, you can never have too much. I only have Elysian Realm to train myself right now. If I want to go on adventures in the universe in the future, this level of strength is far from enough."
"I think you don't need to worry too much~" Elysia patted Bronie's head lightly, seeing that this time Bronie didn't avoid it, proving how really tired Bronie was at the moment.
"I actually feel okay now. The Setsuna Signet accelerated my reflexes, the Viviscitude Signet gave me boxing techniques as powerful as the ability to propel myself to the air, and the Reverie Signet made me feel stronger in scouting and treasure hunting. The powers these Signets bring me don't conflict too much."
The most important point is Setsuna Signet.
In the game, the fleeting Signet is similar to Aponia's Discipline Signet, increasing in layers over time, and the power becomes stronger and stronger.
Perhaps this is also the relationship between the Sakura and Aponia?
"By the way, where did you guys get in playing the game? And how long have I been asleep?"
There are few people entering the Elysian Realm, so the rest area is relatively empty. At least resting here doesn't feel uncomfortable.
The sofa is very soft, and the bedding is warm.
"Probably about eight hours? Maybe the burden of the Signets was too heavy, or maybe it was because there was too much food at the banquet, so you fell asleep very soundly. It took me quite an effort to bring you to the rest area!"
Simulations... Can it also transport the human body here?
Bronie hesitated slightly.
But then she decided not to think about such questions anymore.
"As for the game, Summer left, I met Astrid, and then sent off Alice. When sending off Alice, I felt that maybe sending them away to the Afterlife wasn't entirely a bad thing."
Elysia knew that Bronie liked to hear about game-related matters, especially made by herself so this time she also talked a lot about games.
When Bronie was resting, the Sim hardly needed to rest.
So Elysia also spent her time on games.
As Bronie said, if she want to savor all the details of the game, it will definitely take hundreds of hours.
Fortunately, there her Dear Eden by her side, who is much better at analyzing the plot than herself!
"Summer is a good teacher troubled by cancer, a lovely person who truly loves the earth, and a brave guy who dares to express her love. It's a pity that everything has an end, and her ending is also leaving in pain, right?"
"Just like Gwen, but she wasn't psychologically defeated by the illness, which is different from Gwen."
"As for Alice, she died of old age, right? Even until the end, she was still thinking about her daughter. She woke up first every morning, occasionally helped me pick some fruit, and sometimes made delicious snacks in the kitchen. She was a very kind old lady!"
Watching Alice calmly finish her life and then enter the Everdoor.
Elysia said that she and Eden bid farewell to them with smiles.
And it was because of Alice's deeds that Eden began to wonder what Stella had done before.
Whether it was Summer or Gwen, they both passed away from illness, but Stella accompanied them and watched them enter their final moments.
As for Alice, her departure seemed plain, but it also implied to have a very important connection with Stella.
This game seems to be not just about the deeds of the Spiritfarer's souls it ferried, but about Stella's life story.
"Alice is like a grandmother in many families, and she is also encountered a problem that all humans have to face. But when it really comes to that time, it always feels like there is nothing unacceptable, right?"
"Yeah, there's nothing unacceptable, and we've accepted everything."
So you don't plan to leave the Elysian Realm, right?
Bronie listened to Elysia say this and felt helpless.
"But you guys haven't really faced such problems. Your sims have eternal data, which is a different form of existence, and you can also create your own value and seek the meaning of your existence."
"Yeah, I know!" Elysia had heard Bronie say this many times and also took it to heart.
For Elysia, the significance of the Elysian Realm is like a storybook, telling future generations what the Flame Chasers of the past have done.
There is a beginning, and there is also an end.
But if Elysia were to give up this storybook, she would definitely not be able to accept it.
But people's temperaments are always reconcilable, aren't they?
The idea proposed by Bronie of finding one's own meaning of existence and creating one's own value does not conflict with preserving the Elysian Realm.
Perhaps, indeed, one can take that step forward.
But unfortunately, everything still relies on Bronie.
"So, in the end, it depends on your efforts~"
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