Kiana and Benares gazed at the puppet in Snow's hand, lost in thought. The Dragon Girl curiously pinched the puppet's cheek, only to feel the same pinch on her own face a moment later.
"Huh? This... wait, the puppet shares my senses?" Bella stared at the puppet in fascination, taking it from Snow's hand.
"More precisely, she's now part of your body, Bella. Try sensing her body and controlling her," Snow instructed, watching Bella hug the puppet and examine it closely.
"Sense it...? Um..."
The Dragon Girl's body stiffened, losing consciousness as the tiny Bella puppet opened its eyes.
"So short..."
The newly awakened Bella looked up at the two figures staring down at her, her first words a complaint about the puppet's height.
The Armed Puppet Bella strained her neck to look up at Snow and Kiana. Snow's lips twitched.
"This puppet can fly. Stop standing there like an idiot... It's not tiring for you to crane your neck, but it's exhausting for us to keep looking down..."
"It can fly? I'll give it a try... Whoa—!"
The small, blue-gray puppet seemed to have activated something extraordinary. With a whoosh, a shriek, and a sonic boom, it vanished before Snow and Kiana's eyes.
"...Is this flight mode really that intense?" Kiana asked, turning to her companion with a stunned expression.
"That's the supersonic cruise mode," the blonde girl replied, shrugging nonchalantly. "Let her mess around with it for a while; she'll figure it out. This dragon might be goofy, but she's not stupid..."
"Alright, then. But how am I supposed to take this mini-Bella back later? Speaking of which, this is the Stigmata Space, right? Why can you create things here... and even simulate the physical effects of a sonic boom cloud for supersonic Bella?"
Kiana watched Bella, who was swooping and soaring overhead, her tail streams and sonic booms filling the air as she grew increasingly enthralled with the game. The corner of Kiana's mouth twitched.
Even though it's in the Stigmata Space, it's basically the same as a Divine Realm... No wonder it can do all these impossible things.
"As for this Dragon Girl who's gotten completely carried away... I'll ask Rita to take her to St. Freya Academy later."
"Miss Rita...? Won't that maid be discovered by Otto...? Wait a minute... is she one of your accomplices too?"
"What do you mean my accomplice? She's your accomplice too. We're all in this together. Can't you speak properly?"
"I suspect my sister might be involved too..."
Kiana eyed the girl suspiciously.
"Your sister Durandal doesn't know yet... But when you flee to Arc City, I'll make sure she understands everything..."
The golden-haired girl shook her head and refocused her gaze on Kiana.
"Anything else you want to ask...?"
"Hmm... Snow, do you know where my dad is? I haven't seen him in the later stories..." Kiana asked, a hint of worry crossing her face as she mentioned her father.
"He's still alive, but he'll be captured by the World Serpent later... He's been trapped in the Stigmata Space ever since he failed to awaken the true form of the Kaslana Stigmata..."
"I'll get your dad out. You just keep moving forward... I'll figure out the rest."
"Then... that's all for now. You should go back..."
Snow gazed at the white-haired Knight, waved goodbye, and the Stigmata World gradually began to crumble and vanish from Kiana's sight.
"Wait! When will you come back?!"
The Knight suddenly remembered something and shouted after the fading Snow.
"When the Serpent returns..."
With those words, the space completely collapsed, and the girl's consciousness was hurled back into her body.
-
The pungent smell of disinfectant stung the white-haired girl's nostrils, forcing her eyes open once more.
As her still-dazed gaze cleared, Mei's familiar voice rang out:
"Thank goodness! Kiana, you're finally awake... Stay put, I'll go inform the Headmaster and Teacher Himeko right away."
"Kyuusyou, I'm leaving Kiana in your care for now."
The black-haired girl hurried out, leaving the purple-haired girl and Kiana to exchange glances.
"You've been asleep all day," Kyuusyou explained. "They tried everything to wake you, but when nothing worked, they rushed you to the Medical Department's intensive care unit."
"Ah, you must have met her already and even passed her Valkyrie Trial, right?"
Without waiting for Kiana to speak, Kyuusyou continued, her tone both explanatory and assertive.
Kiana opened her mouth to speak, but found her throat too parched to utter a word. Instead, she nodded at Kyuusyou.
"Excellent. From the look in your eyes, I can see you've become a true warrior now."
Kyuusyou nodded with satisfaction, helping the girl sit up and handing her a glass of water.
Kiana took the cup and drank deeply to soothe her parched throat. Then she asked Kyuusyou,
"So, nothing particularly special happened today, right?"
Kyuusyou pondered for a moment, then looked at Kiana with a sudden expression of sympathy.
"Well, there is one thing..."
"?" Kiana tilted her head, confused.
"Today was the cultural studies exam for the Valkyrie Assessment at St. Freya Academy... You'll need to retake it next week. All eight subjects."
"And I remember you barely ever studied before... Uh, just ask, and everyone will help you review."
Seeing Kiana's "kill me now" expression at the prospect of cramming eight subjects in a week, Kyuusyou rolled her eyes.
"That's not so bad..." The white-haired girl nodded with lingering dread, recalling her last Valkyrie Assessment cram session.
"And Snow probably already told you... Tone down that sharp look of yours. I like it, but others won't."
"Act a bit more clueless, at least pretend. Yeah, yeah, just like that."
Kyuusyou nodded approvingly as Kiana, prompted by her advice, repeatedly reminded herself to adjust her demeanor to a more naive state.
"It feels so strange reverting to this..." the white-haired Knight Princess muttered softly.
"Just fake it for a month or two at most," Kyuusyou shrugged nonchalantly.