Helia was taken down by Anna in just a few exchanges.
That's right, although both were A-rank, there were still disparities between A-ranks. For example, Theresa's A-rank was just that tiny bit different from Himeko's A-rank.
Of course, there were quite a few individuals who possessed S-rank strength but lacked the official S-rank title, such as Mei, Bronya, Sirin, Cecilia, and Siegfried. Taken individually, they were all Herrscher-level combatants, yet none held the S-rank title.
The reasons for this were varied. Some had retired, like Siegfried and Cecilia. Some found the title inconvenient due to their Herrscher identities, like Mei and Sirin. And some, like Himeko, simply found it too troublesome and had no desire to become S-rank in the first place.
In short, to those with real power, Schicksal's S-rank title was actually a rather arbitrary thing.
Furthermore, Schicksal already had four S-ranks now, one of whom was the T1 combatant Durandal. That was already sufficient to solve the vast majority of the world's problems. So, unless someone had a strong desire for the S-rank title, they generally wouldn't actively apply for it.
And someone like Anna simply didn't want her Herrscher identity to bring her more trouble, plus she considered herself unworthy.
"Helia, she's a girl who learns quickly."
Anna looked at Helia practicing alone. "Did you teach her that swordsmanship? It surprised me for a moment, but she's not quite adapted to it yet."
"Yeah, just taught her."
Jun An looked at Anna. For Helia, Anna was a suitable opponent.
If Jun An were her opponent, letting her strike him would, at most, draw a little blood. There was no danger, so it couldn't really be called combat.
But Anna was different. Due to the Herrscher trait of high attack and low defense, an A-rank Valkyrie's attacks could still injure her... provided they could actually land a hit.
Clearly, Helia hadn't managed to hit her even once.
After all, the defense of the Herrscher of Ice was something even the Third Divine Key, the Seven Thunders of Retribution, could barely break through. The Xuanyuan Sword, with the weakest power output, stood even less of a chance.
But Anna was a good teacher. She at least gave Helia the illusion of "almost landing a hit" when Helia tried a surprise attack, and then praised her properly.
Having received recognition from the veteran Anna, Helia became even more convinced that it must be thanks to the enhancement the Captain gave her yesterday!
And so, she trained even harder on the Honkai energy application methods Jun An had taught her.
Anna asked curiously, "You think highly of her?"
"Somewhat."
Jun An nodded. She was one of the protagonists of the second act, after all. If helping her increase her strength could sufficiently aid the progression of the second act's plot, it would be worthwhile.
Considering this world's damn tendency to buff enemies, Jun An really couldn't help but worry about Helia and Coralie, those two little girls, getting killed by the monsters in the second act.
Although he had the power of the Herrscher of Rebirth as a safety net, his grandpa was right: the soul can choose a new vessel, but it cannot make the vessel gather scattered consciousness.
Even with the power of the Herrscher of Rebirth, absolute death still existed, including for Jun An himself.
So, helping them as much as possible was the way to go.
Jun An shifted his gaze from Helia back to Anna.
"Anna, I was in such a hurry to ask for your help earlier that I forgot to ask, what brings you to the Far East Branch? Are you looking for Himeko?"
Even now that Jun An had returned, Himeko was still the person in charge of the Far East Branch.
And Jun An benefited from his "officially dead" status; as long as he could hand over his public grain, he no longer had to work overtime staring at a computer and mountains of documents every day.
"No, I came specifically to find you."
Anna said somewhat shyly, "Do you have time?"
"Yeah, I do have time."
Jun An's main goal recently was finding a way to scrape together a hundred million. If Susannah's body wasn't so fragile, Jun An really would have wanted to grab her and start earning money non-stop.
That's right, several million a day wasn't Jun An's limit, but rather the limit of Susannah plus another girl. After all, his opponents were human; it was normal for them to not be able to keep up with Jun An.
If it were just Susannah alone, Jun An's daily income would probably shrink considerably.
"That's great!"
Anna immediately beamed. "Then why don't we go on a date?"
"A date?"
"Mhm, you wouldn't be unwilling, would you? Or are you worried Susannah will see?"
Anna's tone held a hint of complaint, but Jun An remained completely unaffected.
"Well, I wouldn't say that."
Jun An felt he wasn't doing anything wrong, so he wasn't worried about Susannah figuring anything out.
Anyway, he could just shut her mouth later. Susannah was incredibly easy to coax.
"Speaking of which, I haven't really been on a date since I got back here."
Jun An recalled the past half-month or so. First, he was forced upon at the Far East Branch, then forced upon in the Elysian Realm, then went to Salt Snow Holy City to make a deal with Vita, then went to Froth to do business with the seven Little Vitas, and upon returning, he was treating his "side effects" with Big Griseo and Prometheus No. 17.
The only thing that remotely resembled a date was "transacting" with Vita in various corners of Froth.
But that couldn't be considered normal either.
Just...
"Why did you come looking for me?"
Jun An felt a little puzzled. "The distance from Schicksal HQ to the Far East isn't exactly short. Is there something important?"
Jun An remembered that his relationship with Anna wasn't actually that deep, although she herself didn't seem to think so.
"Mhm, consider it thanks for saving my life once. I want to thank you properly."
Anna didn't shy away, adding with a blush, "Besides, I also want to continue talking with you about some things."
Jun An didn't refuse. After all, his phone had been destroyed by Sa, and he needed to buy a new one. If possible, Jun An also planned to buy a bed.
Because thanks to Himeko and Theresa's joint decision, Jun An's room currently didn't even have a bed.
Whenever he wanted to sleep at home, he had to go to Himeko's bed and dutifully hand over his public grain.
And the so-called date actually consisted of the typical young people's activities: shopping, eating and drinking, watching movies, and sightseeing.
Incidentally, Anna also chatted with Jun An about her experiences over the past year.
Time quickly passed, and night fell.
Since autumn had arrived, the evenings were quite cool. Perhaps due to the height difference – one tall, one short – the two gave off absolutely no dating atmosphere throughout the day, often being mistaken for siblings.
Jun An was originally planning to head back, but Anna insisted on keeping him there after booking a double room.
"Anyway, Captain, that bed you bought won't be delivered until tomorrow. Just stay here for today."
Jun An thought about it but still shook his head. "I still need to go earn money tonight."
Ten thousand US dollars a minute, and besides, Susannah and Helia were already urging him.
"I'll pay!"
Anna took out a bank card she had prepared earlier. "Just chat with me a little longer."
Seeing Anna show this level of sincerity, Jun An naturally refused.
"We don't need money just to chat a bit, right?" Jun An asked back. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Captain, have you ever loved anyone?"
"People I've loved, huh? Yes, quite a few, it seems."
Jun An sipped his hot drink, recalling the partners he couldn't even count on both hands. He certainly liked all of them; otherwise, he wouldn't be going through all the trouble of arranging weddings for them.
But if he had to name the very first girl he truly fell in love with...
"Could I be one of them?" Anna suddenly asked.
"Pfft—"
Jun An sprayed out his hot drink. "Wait, what?"
"Captain, you have more than one woman, right?"
Anna looked at Jun An complainingly. "So what does it matter if I'm one of them?"
After Susannah and Misteln's deliberate invitation, she could tell it wasn't just a simple invitation to a lewd party.
And judging by the situation, Jun An was definitely not someone who could adhere to monogamy. Otherwise, the Earth would probably have another Holy Grail War break out in some corner.
If that were the case, forget Susannah, even Anna, the Herrscher of Ice, whose strength was among the top tier of humanity, felt her chances were slim.
And if Kiana descended with her divine authority, then there would be absolutely no chance at all.
Jun An wiped his mouth and put the hot drink aside just in case. "Miss Anna, this isn't like buying vegetables at the market. How can you be so casual about it?"
"Why not?"
Anna frowned and asked, "It's not like I can't afford the money."
Money?!
"Wait, what kind of person do you take me for?!"
Was this about money?
"Isn't it? You clearly did it with that girl from this afternoon too, right?"
Anna complained discontentedly like a neglected wife. "When she was fighting me, she kept muttering something about how 'this ten thousand dollars a minute was really worth it'."
Seriously, Helia, out of everything you could mutter, you had to mutter that?!
"Alright."
Jun An instantly felt helpless against his damned charm, but thankfully, he had sturdy kidneys. "Speaking of which, this is really strange. How come nobody ever confessed to me before I died?"
"Because everyone was so tense back then, probably."
Anna sat on the edge of the bed, reminiscing, "Although we met infrequently, during the Ramani Collapse, I could tell you were actually very busy, right?"
"That's true. After all, my power was always just barely enough. It really didn't allow for any relaxation."
Jun An sighed helplessly. He was probably the only star-destroying level protagonist to ever get himself killed.
"Perhaps it was that sense of urgency about you that made everyone afraid to slow you down."
Anna recalled her experiences during the Ramani Great Collapse. "Remember when we first met? Neither of us was that strong back then, and I was just a B-rank Valkyrie."
"If it had just been me alone, I probably couldn't have done anything. If it weren't for your arrival, the Snow Lotus Squad might have ceased to exist."
In Anna's eyes, Jun An was the hero who had saved her twice. Once during the Ramani Great Collapse, and once after she became a Herrscher.
Twice, especially the second time, Jun An had pulled her back from absolute despair, saving her when she had already resolved herself to sacrifice.
Back then, the girls needed to consider how they could help share the burden on the hero's shoulders.
But now, with world peace, she no longer needed to consider so many things.
"So I love you!"
Anna pushed Jun An onto the soft hotel bed, her face flushed like a shy girl deeply in love. "Tonight, can you stay and keep me company?"
"Just tonight, stay just for me, okay?"
Jun An looked at the deeply affectionate girl before him and silently nodded. Then, he sent a message to Susannah and Helia: Closed for business tonight.