Enoxia was knocked out of the arena. She lay on the ground for about a minute before she [painfully] picked herself up:
“Ah, Class President, you’re just too amazing. I concede! (devoid of emotion)”
Fu Hua herself was confused:
“Hold on…”
“Class President, you didn’t think correctly predicting your every move was easy, did you? All that mental exertion has pushed me to my limit too.”
Looking at Enoxia, who showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever, no one from Fu Hua to the examiners believed for a second that she had reached her limit.
But it was also a fact that she had been punched out of the arena by Fu Hua. According to the rules, Fu Hua had indeed won.
After the two rounds of competition ended, Rita approached Theresa again.
“Pardon the interruption. Lady Theresa, the students you instruct are truly a galaxy of talent. It makes me want to interact with them myself.”
Theresa was taken aback by this:
“Interact?”
Rita nodded slightly:
“During the assessment just now, the performance of several Valkyries truly surprised me.”
“Please forgive my impertinence, but I would like to have a sparring match with one of them.”
“…Hmm… welcome, Miss Rita, for personally stepping in to guide combat skills. So… which examinee is so fortunate as to be worthy of guidance from an S-rank Valkyrie?”
Rita looked around. As far as she could see, there were enthusiastic gazes and ardent expectations. Subconsciously, her gaze settled on Enoxia, who was looking down and playing with her fingers, but ultimately, she shifted her focus from Enoxia to Kiana.
“That white-haired Valkyrie, Kiana Kaslana…”
“Kiana? Why would she pick Kiana?”
Rita looked at Kiana thoughtfully and said:
“Kaslana… Hmm?”
Theresa quickly explained:
“No, no, no, it’s not that Kaslana family, it’s just a coincidence.”
Kiana, sitting below the stage, pointed at herself, puzzled:
“Huh? Me? Fight against an officer from headquarters? Fight over what?”
Rita smiled slightly:
“I believe Miss Kiana must be somewhat tired of competing against other Valkyries. How about we go to the simulation lab and see who can kill the most monsters? What do you say?”
“Bring it on! You think I’m scared of you?”
The two of them, led by the staff, headed to the simulation lab. No one else knew the final result, only that when they returned two hours later, the usually lively and active Kiana was staggering, sweating profusely while panting heavily, her face flushed as red as a ripe apple.
“Phew… phew… I… phew… didn’t call stop! We can keep going… phew…”
“Your face is written with the word ‘exhaustion’. Please get some rest. I’ll take my leave now.”
After Rita left, Mei immediately ran over and helped Kiana back to the dormitory.
“Alright, alright. Both rounds of assessment are complete. Results will be announced shortly. Students who do not pass will have their B-rank Valkyrie status revoked. Students who performed exceptionally well will participate in the final round of assessment tomorrow. Outstanding performance in the final round will serve as one of the important reference criteria for future promotion to A-rank Valkyrie…”
After the announcement, Enoxia turned to leave but noticed Theresa beckoning her, so she followed her to the office.
“What’s the matter, Principal?”
Theresa sighed:
“It’s just us two here, so I’ll be blunt. I want to do some promotion for St. Freya Academy to expand our student intake. Do you have any good suggestions…”
Enoxia spread her hands:
“Since the Principal is being direct, I’ll be direct too. The simplest and most straightforward way to expand St. Freya’s student intake is naturally to directly modify the perceptions of all eligible individuals, making them spontaneously want to come here…”
“Absolutely not!”
“Oh, so I’m not allowed to use Herrscher powers. Then there was no need to specifically call me. You could have just asked any other student, right? St. Freya is this big, with this many students. There are plenty more enthusiastic and proactive people than me…”
Enoxia lifted her foot, making a move to leave, but Theresa immediately stopped her:
“Wait, let me finish…”
“What you said does make some sense… but you also know, at St. Freya Academy, whether students or teachers, most of their time is spent on work or study related to combat. Combat includes a lot, not just how to eliminate powerful enemies, but also how to repair damaged equipment with limited parts in the shortest time, how to get supplies from the rear to the front lines under extreme conditions, how to build good relations with local people of different faiths and cultures…”
Enoxia interjected:
“The academy needs to recruit new students, but the PR department is understaffed. So you want me to use legal means to get St. Freya more attention, right?”
“…Yes. I want to try promoting the academy through mass media platforms. Probably no one in the world understands this better than you.”
Enoxia smiled:
“Principal, is your goal purely just to get more attention for St. Freya?”
“What do you mean?”
“If that’s the only goal, it’s very easy. I wouldn’t need to use any powers. Just post a short introduction video about St. Freya Academy where it should be posted, use a cover like this, and give it a title like this.”
Enoxia snapped her fingers, and the computer on Theresa’s desk automatically switched pages. Theresa looked closely: the cover was a freeze-frame of Fu Hua punching Enoxia flying. The text above it read:
“SHOCKING! A beautiful young girl beaten in public, yet the onlookers students cheer? Life is set at St. Freya Academy.”
“This…”
“I know what the Principal is worried about. Since you want to play by the rules, we’ll play by the rules. Without using my powers and without paying extra fees to the platforms, the more controversial the title, the more likely people are to click, and the more likely the platform is to promote it.”
“As for false advertising? Don’t worry. If clickbait titles counted as false advertising, who knows how many people on major mainstream platforms would be out of a job. Doing things honestly and earnestly will never get you more attention than sensationalism…”
“Self-media, so-called, is about finding ways to convert your public credibility into a general equivalent. By the time your public credibility is mostly used up, it’s time to take the money and run, and reincarnate elsewhere.”
“Looks like I was right to come to you. But I won’t do this.”
“St. Freya Academy was established carrying the beautiful hopes of Cecilia and myself. Even if this method could gain more attention, it would be self-defamation for the academy. I won’t stand on a moral high ground and condemn others for doing this, but at the very least, I can restrain myself.”
“Enoxia, thank you. Your words have made me believe even more firmly that for an academy, compared to attention, it’s more important to focus energy and resources on improving the quality of education.”
Enoxia left Theresa’s office feeling gratified. Having Theresa as the principal of St. Freya was an honor for all its faculty and students.
