"Since you've said all that, how can I refuse?"
Himeko stood up from the chair.
"Although you're not my student, I still trust you."
"What do you want me to do?"
Himeko walked up to Takatsuki and asked.
"Just give me your hand. Speaking of which," Takatsuki looked Theresa in the eye and said, "Can I stand up now?"
Because of the previous interrogation, Takatsuki had been kneeling on the ground, looking like he was at fault, all to highlight Theresa's condescending posture.
But now Theresa had jumped down from the table herself. Even on tiptoes, she was only as tall as Takatsuki, making the condescending posture meaningless.
"You can stand up. Let's see if what you say is the truth."
Although her words were harsh, Theresa's eyes were full of anticipation.
"My method of treatment is to expel all external influences from the body, so there might be some pain."
Himeko said indifferently to Takatsuki's reminder, "As a Valkyrie, how could I be afraid of a little pain? Let's begin."
Saying that, Himeko extended her hand towards Takatsuki.
Takatsuki also stood up from the ground and took Himeko's outstretched hand with both of his own.
"If your eyes weren't so clear, I'd think you were taking advantage of me," Himeko said with a chuckle.
"Perhaps I am. But I didn't expect Teacher Himeko, who has been on so many battlefields, to have such good skin."
Just as Himeko was about to say something upon hearing Takatsuki's words, she suddenly felt a rough force surge into her body from her palm.
"Ugh…"
The sudden pain made her grunt.
Normally, the Horse Talisman's effect of expelling external forces wouldn't be so… brutal.
However, on one hand, this power was actually in Takatsuki's hands, and on the other hand, the Stigmata erosion on Himeko's body had already penetrated deep into her bones.
As the saying goes, illness leaves like silk being drawn, and erosion is the same.
Takatsuki didn't possess great wisdom, but he did have some cleverness.
He wanted to protect himself; a complete lie used to deceive others would eventually be exposed, and excessive honesty was like entrusting his fate to others.
So he chose to…
Change the subject…
Reveal some real things, hide some things he truly considered important, sacrificing pawns to save the king.
For example, the Horse Talisman.
He could completely separate the Talisman from his body and let Himeko treat herself. Not only would the pain be much less, but the speed would also be much faster than if he transferred the magic.
But he couldn't do that, because in that case, the healing ability would not be his personal ability, but the ability of an item. His own importance would decrease, and the Talisman would likely be taken away.
With the pain spreading throughout her body, Himeko clenched her fists, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out in pain.
Dense sweat seeped from her forehead, then grew larger and dripped, making Theresa, who was watching from the side, feel nervous.
Fortunately, this period didn't last too long. In just a dozen seconds, Himeko felt the power in her body recede like a tide, followed by a sense of ease.
The erosion that had plagued her for years, the subtle aching sensation in her body, had completely disappeared.
"Hoo… hoo… mmph…"
The pain hadn't made her cry out, but the sudden feeling of relief almost made Himeko utter a sound of comfort. Thankfully, she covered her mouth in time.
She hadn't forgotten that there were several young girls outside in the courtyard, perhaps eavesdropping on the conversation at that very moment.
"Himeko, how do you feel!"
Theresa asked impatiently.
"I feel…"
Feeling a sense of ease she hadn't experienced in years, Himeko almost forgot what it felt like to be free from pain. She usually had to suppress it by drinking alcohol, but now, those nagging pains had completely vanished.
But quickly, her expression changed.
"Theresa, quickly help me check my back!"
Himeko seemed to have suddenly remembered something and was about to turn her back to Theresa and Takatsuki to untie her clothes.
Thankfully, Theresa stopped her in time.
"You bombshell! Can't you consider the situation!"
Then she forcefully pushed Himeko into the nearby restroom.
The two didn't stay inside for too long, presumably not doing anything strange. However, when Theresa came out, she leaped and directly pounced on Takatsuki, who was sprawled on the sofa, once again grabbing his collar.
"How did you do that!"
"Uh, how did I do what? The treatment? Didn't I just explain it?"
Conversations with Theresa were always so strange. It was Himeko who walked over and explained, "My Artificial Stigmata has disappeared."
Only then did Takatsuki understand what Theresa meant.
"Oh, that. It's probably because that power judged the Artificial Stigmata as a harmful external force to you, like a stimulant. Although it can provide power and speed beyond the original, it is actually harmful to the human body. The effect of that power just now was to remove the negative effects brought by external forces."
Takatsuki explained. He wouldn't admit that it was because he wasn't skilled enough in controlling the power. In fact, the power of the Horse Talisman was to remove all effects brought by external forces. Without the Tiger Talisman, the power of other external Talismans would also be expelled indiscriminately by the Horse Talisman. Only with the Tiger Talisman, which balances yin and yang, was there something like a whitelist, allowing it to only remove harmful things.
"I see, if that's the case, it makes sense. But as a Valkyrie, not having a Stigmata won't do. This makes things troublesome."
Artificial Stigmata are surgically implanted, which means Himeko would have to undergo surgery again.
But the main point was, if Himeko were to transplant Stigmata again, how would she explain it to others, especially Otto, since surgery would definitely leave a record.
Himeko told Takatsuki about this possibility, as one of Takatsuki's requests was to help him keep it a secret.
Although they hadn't fully agreed yet, the two seemed to have already started considering Takatsuki's interests.
"In that case, why not just not implant Artificial Stigmata? Besides, Artificial Stigmata are harmful to the human body and will eventually be eroded."
Hearing Takatsuki's words, Theresa said with some dissatisfaction, "What's the difference between a Valkyrie going into battle without a Stigmata and seeking death?"
Valkyrie equipment uses Honkai Energy. It's not just the Honkai Energy in the air; without sufficient adaptability, just using the equipment can cause ordinary people to be eroded to death.
"That's not what I mean. What I mean is, I will install a new Stigmata for Himeko, a Stigmata without side effects. Of course, the number is also limited."