December 28th, 8:30 am, Phillip's Bedroom

"These books are so boring!"

"Kiana-chan, you need to study for the coming semester," Mei explained, her nose still stuffed in the brown history book. "Phillip-kun, would you explain it to her? I need to focus on my own studying for a moment."

Phillip's eyes twitched in irritation as he kept his voice calm. "For what it's worth, why are you two in my room right now?"

He had awoken this morning between the two girls, Kiana clinging onto his right side as she slept while Mei was awake and studying at his left. After shaking the heavily sleeping Kaslana awake, the taller girl had presented the two with schedules for studying, starting with that morning. They had managed to get several minutes in before Kiana gave up and spoke her tantrum.

Mei sighed and shut her book. "I'm trying to ensure we're ready for the coming school years. While we've gone through normal high school, we can't assume they're demanding the same things." Mei then sent Phillip a slightly concerned look. "You've been in the medical bay for ten days, so you'll need to start soon if you don't want to be ready?"

Phillip breathed a sigh at the reminder of how long it took him to recover. It only took six days for his body to recover from the self-inflicted wounds, but the medical division and Theresa wanted him to stay an extra four days to deeply analyze every aspect of his body. He needed an admission from Gabriel before Theresa relented to her insistent scavenger hunt for more damages.

"Fine. You've explained your end." Phillip then pointed his left hand at Kiana. "How about her?"

Kiana looked up at him with a pleading look while not dropping her tight hold around Phillip's abdomen as she rested her head on his chest, pinning his right arm. "What? Can't a girl make sure her boyfriend is alright?"

Phillip pinched the bridge of his nose at Kiana's explanation. He might have bought the excuse if it wasn't her explanation to anyone who asked why she was in his medical bed for each of his days there. He wasn't sure if the girl was actually attracted to him or if she was constantly suffering an aphrodisiac effect from his chakra.

"Look, you two," Phillip said as he crossed the index and middle fingers of his left hand to summon a clone at the foot of his bed. He swapped places with it and stretched out his right arm as he traveled over to his wardrobe in search of today's outfit. "I appreciate your concerns over my health and situation, but I've stayed in bed for ten days straight. I need to move."

Phillip picked out his standard uniform and closed the doors to look at the girls. Mei had ducked back under the book, though the skin seeable was flushed red, while Kiana showed her barely contained lust as she greedily stared at him. Phillip moved to Mei and tugged the book down with a single finger to lock eyes with the heiress.

"You and I can study later in the day," Phillip said as he folded the book shut and placed it on top of the stack Mei had between her and Kiana. "Right now, I need to move a bit more than tossing around some pages."

Mei was rooted in her spot, not even her arms moving from the position she had while holding the book. Her blush, once isolated to her face, now spread to the rest of her body until a spurt of blood burst from her nose, and she fell back onto the bed.

"I... think you overdid it there."

Phillip sent a flat glance toward Kiana when she said this. He picked up the book stack and handed it to the white-haired girl. "Take those back to Mei's room and then carry her back. I'll go change in the bathroom."

"...Could I come?" Kiana's question was answered by a flick to her nose. "Owie!"

"Just take care of Mei for now," Phillip stated as he moved to his door to change. "I'll see you two later tonight."

8:50 am, in the Gymnasium, located South-East of Himeko's apartment.

So, you want to restart my pain-tolerance training, right?

Phillip arrived at the campus gym in one of the buildings closer to the dormitories. Several apparatuses littered the matted floor, including punching bags, dumbbells, and weights. Anything needed to improve one's body was found in this one room which, hopefully, meant Phillip could do what he needed here.

"We need to re-adapt your body to the stress caused by opening the gates," Gabriel explained as Phillip reached one of the several standing punching bags in the gym. "Ever since you've found stronger forms to use without backlashes, your body rewired itself to not needing the insane sufferance needed for the form. Take in your enhanced senses, and even opening Gate 6th is enough to shut your body down."

Phillip hummed at this as he traced the outline of the punching bag, trying to feel out any wear and tear it had endured. So, we need to go back over what Gai-sensei taught me, but here's the thing: nothing here will accomplish that task.

"They will. We just need to be creative in our approach. Once we've accomplished what we can here, we'll move to the more interesting facilities to compensate."

Phillip groaned at this and laid his forehead against the punching bag. How long do you think this is going to take?

"If we do this consistently, it will probably take a year and a half. This will place us before any major events occur in this timeline."

Fine. Phillip scanned the floor, trying to predict the first task the angel would suggest. Do you want me to run around the campus with the heaviest dumbbells?

"First, set your coat to the heaviest it can go." Phillip pulled off his jacket and turned it so the opening faced him. He channeled some chakra to the gravity seal there for a solid minute before placing it back on. He left out an "oof" as the weight settled onto him. The equivalent of 40 trucks now rested on his shoulders, so he visibly slumped over at the weight.

"Good. Now you can pick up the heaviest weight and start running laps. We'll stop at 5:00 pm."

Phillip sluggishly moved towards the weights, taking a step every minute. By the time he reached the weights, he was sweating up a storm, and his shoulders were in agony.

"Oh, I'm gonna hate this."

10:00 am, along the Eastern Coast,

"What are you doing?"

Phillip groaned as he twisted his body painfully towards the voice at his left, the weights in his hands held out to either side of him. Theresa looked over him with curiosity and bewilderment, obviously disturbed by the sweaty boy struggling to run around the beach edge of the island for the past couple of hours.

"Training," Phillip said through panted breaths. "There are some things I need to fix, and this is how I'm doing it."

Theresa raised a brow at this. "Uh-huh. Because taking training equipment from the gym to walk around the island is common practice."

"We're training pain tolerance," Gabriel explained to the young-looking principal. "The equipment will be returned to its proper place once we're done."

"Well, I have a better way of doing that," Theresa responded before pointing over her shoulder, aimed at the large cathedral at the island's northern end. "I've got a special place to do my own training, and you can use it too if you want."

Phillip opened his mouth to accept the offer, but Gabriel jumped in before he could. "We'll reach that place before long, but Phillip needs to get his tolerance to an acceptable level before we start."

Theresa looked confused at this statement before shrugging it off. "Well, whenever you get there, let me know. I'll take you there myself." With this, the principal took off, going the opposite way of where Phillip was pacing. Phillip wanted to slump over in exhaustion at this but continued on his trek around the island.

"You know, if you want to, you can take your shirt off to get more comfortable. I won't punish you for it."

Phillip immediately stopped at this, dropping the weights with a thud to relieve his now reddening hands. After a moment to flex and stretch his fingers, he unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off, stopping it with a catch before it could embed itself deep within the Earth and laying it gently onto the ground instead.

His shirt beneath was utterly drenched in sweat, even considering his jacket's air conditioning and the chilly weather of late December. Gripping the hem of his shirt, Phillip quickly pulled it over his head and tossed it over his shoulder.

A wolf whistle sounded out from his left, bringing his attention to find the source.

It didn't take much, as at least half of the female populace was beside him, including both Kiana and Mei. Kiana and the vast majority were salivating uncontrollably at the sight before them, while the shyer students like Mei had blushed faces that they tried to hide behind their palms.

Phillip grew a disgruntled face at the scene and made his thoughts known to Gabriel. You knew they were there, didn't you? You're trying to force me into a harem again, aren't you?

"I wasn't the one locked onto his feeling of touch. Now, let's get going."

Phillip shook his head and grabbed his jacket to put it back on, much to the dismay of the Valkyries in training. Ignoring them, he picked up the weights and continued to finish his training for the day.

5:45 pm, Back at Himeko's apartment

Phillip pushed through the apartment door hard and took slow and careful steps inside, hoping not to agitate his throbbing body. Every muscle screamed heavily at him, even with his regeneration healing him, as he stumbled into the living room. He would have continued onwards to his room had he not noticed Himeko and the girls sitting down at the dining room table.

"... And so, we need you three to fill out these forms for our development teams."

This is what Phillip heard as he grew closer to the table. Seeing how they were all enraptured with what Himeko was talking about, he cleared his voice to gain their attention.

"Phillip-kun!" Mei was the first to react to the sound, standing up from her seat and rounding the table to wrap her arms around him. However, it only lasted for a second before she pushed herself off him with a scrunched-up face. "You need to take a shower."

"I just got here. Give me a second," Phillip complained, though the smile he had said he didn't mind the request. He looked over at Himeko, who had several papers in her hands. "We have forms we need to fill out?"

"Only the girls," Himeko stated, gesturing with a shake of the papers. "These custom battlesuit forms are needed for alternative suits after they get outfitted with their preliminary suits. We can only build you one due to the rarity of the materials needed."

Phillip accepted this answer with a nod, understanding the undertaking the scientists must have taken in creating his battlesuits. With his curiosity sated, Phillip moved to head up the stairs, only to stop at Himeko's following comment.

"Mei-chan, why don't you start making dinner for us? Then we'll-"

"Hold on."

Everyone once again turned their attention to Phillip as he turned to Mei and locked his eyes with hers.

"Mei, how many times have you cooked?"

Mei fidgeted at the question and under his gaze. "W-Well, it's not like I dislike cooking for them..."

Phillip's steely gaze didn't waver at this. "Just answer the question, Mei."

"I've done it for quite a while now," Mei admitted weakly, an index finger scratching her cheek in embarrassment.

Phillip rounded back to Himeko at this. "Mei shouldn't cook for us all the time; she already does most of the chores." He raised his hand to silence Himeko when she opened her mouth to disagree. "I get that she's probably the best cook here, and she enjoys doing it, but we shouldn't rely on her for everything."

Himeko crossed her arms with a huff. "Fine then. What's your suggestion?"

"Let me clean up, and I'll fix dinner tonight," Phillip demanded, only frowning when a Himeko let out a click of her tongue.

"Sorry, kid, but I don't think anyone here wants-"

"I'll take it!" Kiana's exclamation silenced Himeko's rejection. The white-haired girl had her tongue come out from the side of her mouth while her eyes shone in excitement. "Sire, he's no Mei-senpai, but his food is still really good."

Bronya raised her hand to make her own opinion heard. "Bronya wishes to sample Subject Phillip's cuisine. Kiana Idiotka isn't known for making sound judgments, but Mei-neesama deserves some rest."

"What does that mean?!"

As Kiana and Bronya began their daily arguments, Himeko sighed and looked back at Phillip. "I guess you win. You'll be cooking tonight."

Phillip nodded at this and continued from his last sentence. "I'll make a schedule to make us all do some cooking. That way, no one is feeling overburdened on cooking."

Himeko brought a finger up to scratch her cheek at this, obviously embarrassed by the suggestion. "Could I be, I don't know, exempt from the equation? I'm not the best cook in the world."

"If it's awful, I'll teach you how to cook." Himeko didn't seem to relax at Phillip's words, but she nodded at the statement, at the very least. "Alright then, I'll clean up. I'll be back in a couple of minutes."

6:15 pm,

Once Phillip cleaned up properly, he returned and started cooking. He created some lasagna, something Kiana drooled violently at. Both Himeko and Bronya were a little resistant to the idea, mainly because it was apparent that Mei's cooking was still superior, but they dug in when it passed their personal tests.

Once the pan was robbed of the pasta (Kiana was busy licking her plate clean to enjoy every morsel), Phillip began preparing the scheduling for how they'll do cooking from this point forward. It only took thirty minutes before he had presented it to the others.

"Alright," Phillip stated, holding the paper schedule out with his left and pointing a pencil at one date with his right. "This is today, and I took that day as mine. From here, I expect Kiana, then Bronya, and then Major Himeko. Mei can pick any day in-between Himeko and me."

Mei seemed a little dissatisfied with this suggestion. "I'd rather be the one to cook. I don't wish to be a burden here."

Her sullen expression quickly disappeared and was replaced with confusion when Phillip reached across the table and tapped the center of her forehead.

"You've done more than enough," Phillip stated matter-of-factly. "From what Himeko told me in her visits, you've been doing most of the chores while they"- he gestured over to the other two girls, who sat down at the TV to play video games - "haven't been too helpful."

"Hear that, Bratnya!" Kiana exclaimed with a wide grin on her face. "Phillip called you lazy!"

"Idiotka Kiana must be facing sensory delusions," Bronya said without tearing her eyes from the television. "Subject Phillip was clearly stating your inabilities for proper cleanliness."

"I was talking about the both of you," Phillip shouted back, but it fell on deaf ears as Kiana screamed out when Bronya managed to win one of the battles. He looked back at Mei and Himeko with a flat look as he gestured at the gaming girls with a flat palm. This incited a giggle from Mei and a shrug from Himeko.

Phillip sat back down fully and continued. "If we're going to be here for the year, I want everyone to pull their weight. So, after this, I'll start creating chore charts for everything else needed here."

"Well, if you're determined to help out, here's another thing to add on," Himeko said loud enough to be heard over the gaming between Bronya and Kiana. "Theresa and I had a discussion earlier today, and we decided all of you are going to pay rent."

"WHAT?!"

Kiana was the one to yell this out, dropping her controller to make haste back to the dining room table and stare down Himeko. "Why are we paying rent?! Aunt Teri said we'll be fine!"

Himeko crossed her arms and stared coldly up at the standing Kiana. "We're not made of money, kid. We can't just harbor your group here while the other students rough it out with whatever jobs they can."

"B-But I get out of that, right?" Kiana asked with puppy eyes and a pout. "I'm Aunty Teri's favorite niece, ya know."

"No special treatment here, sugar plum. Either get a job or get out."

Kiana visibly slumped at this, shocked her connection to Theresa wasn't enough to secure her comfortable placement for long. Mei stood immediately and wrapped Kiana in a light hug.

"Don't worry, Kiana-chan. The four of us will go down into the city and look around. There's bound to be some places you'll like to work at."

"Actually, Mei-san, you're set." Mei looked back at Himeko, obviously confused by what the older woman was saying. "When your father was deemed innocent, all of his assets were returned to him. Since then, well, let's just say he's been sending some generous gifts here to pay for your stay."

Mei dropped her hug out of shock at this information before a gentle smile graced her face as her eyes shifted to the floor. "Father..."

"Similarly, Bronya over there" - Himeko pointed to the still gaming girl with her thumb - "was the first to learn of this. We were suddenly sent enough gold to pay for the year."

Bronya paused the game at this and turned her head to face the group. "Project Bunny runs a stock trading system. In the current market, Bronya has amassed 1 million gold."

This caused a variety of different reactions from the group — jealousy (Kiana), surprise (Mei), and impressed (Himeko) - but Phillip kept a more stoic face at the situation.

"So, that just leaves Kiana and me then," Phillip stated and laid a hand on Kiana's shoulder, earning her attention. "We'll leave early tomorrow then, as I'm sure we'll be out all day."

Kiana pulled away from his grasp and pouted at him. "What's that supposed to mean?! I can find a job, ya butt!"

Phillip shook his head at this. "I do not think you won't, but I wouldn't have had a job if Mei's father didn't help me out. If anything, you'll be helping me get a job more than you will find yourself one."

Kiana's eyes widened as realization settled in. In the back of his mind, Phillip had hoped the girl would say something uplifting as, upon admitting his problem, a pit of guilt formed in his stomach. He didn't want her to feel pity towards him, and Kiana was good at attempting to make Mei feel better during their trek through Nagazora, so maybe...

"So, you're dead-weight."

...Of course, it was also an expected answer.

"You don't get to say that," Phillip snorted before he decided to gather the kitchenware that lingered on the dining room table to avoid any action Mei might take. "I'll clean up the kitchen; you all can move on with your evening."

Once Phillip was in the kitchen, he turned on the sink to drown out Mei's admonishment to Kiana. Taking up and soaking a nearby yellow sponge, Phillip started the task of clearing the plates of any remnants of dinner.

After a couple of minutes and the final dish was placed away in the cabinets above, Phillip felt a light pang in the back of his head. He knew exactly what it meant and allowed himself to receive Gabriel's announcement.

"Okay, so my appeal came back," Gabriel stated swiftly. "You'll be happy to know we've had one restriction lifted due to training requirements. You've been given back your limitless funds for now."

Okay, and the reason you didn't alert me ten minutes ago was that...?

"I wanted to see how you'd react to normal circumstances." Phillip pouted at this, earning a light-hearted chuckle from the angel. "You passed with flying colors, so don't be so fretting. With this, you can stick to the training regimen without interference."

Phillip leaned back slightly to gaze back into the dining room. There, Mei was still giving Kiana a minor scolding for her wording from the prior conversation. Kiana seemed to be taking the words hard, seen with her pushing her fingers together and the sheepish look on her face.

...Would it be okay if I paid Kiana's rent as well?

A momentary pause settled between Phillip and Gabriel before the angel breathed a deep sigh. "Only if it's the only generous thing you do here. Honestly, I know God likes that about you, but you need to tame that side of yourself."

Phillip thanked the angel for his blessing and walked into the dining room with intent. "Would you mind if I borrow Kiana for a second? I need some help in the kitchen."

"Huh?"

"Absolutely," Mei chimed in, sending Kiana a side glance that made it known there was no use in fighting back. Kiana slumped over at this, grumbling about almost beating Bronya in the game as she did. Nonetheless, she followed Phillip back into the kitchen.

Once Kiana entered the kitchen, she stood tall and looked around, noting a strange lack of dishes to clean. "Hey, what exactly did you..." Her eyes widened as something seemed to enter her brain in faux-realization, and a light blush spread over her cheeks. "I mean, if you wanted to do something in secret, we could have just gone upstairs."

"Please keep your fantasies in check," Phillip said with a flat expression before changing to a more serious tone. "I wanted to let you know that I'll handle your rent. " - Phillip quickly leaned forward and pressed a finger against Kiana's lips to prevent any outbursts- "if you make sure to keep it secret. Also, it's only rent, so any extra things you want are something that comes out of your own pocket."

Kiana seemed to contemplate this for a moment before glancing down at his finger. She quickly opened her mouth to take this finger in her mouth, but Phillip slipped it away at the last second.

"Nice try," Phillip said calmly, forcing down the smirk that would have appeared at the pouting Kiana. "That's all I really wanted to take to you about. You can go play your games again."

Kiana did just that, swiftly exiting the kitchen and returning to the living room. She and Bronya recommenced the fighting game brawls while Mei slipped in as an audience member and Himeko stayed at the dining table with a beer in hand.

Phillip wrapped up what little was left in cleaning the kitchen—counter clearing, sweeping, and a spot of mopping—before joining Mei in watching the two gremlins fight it out virtually, Kiana getting more and more grumpy with each loss (which soon grew into the triple digits). Soon, Kiana demanded Phillip join in on the fun, much to his chagrin.

Nonetheless, Phillip joined in and, much to Bronya's unexpressed surprise, began to take wins from the girl. Bronya still showed superior gaming skills but soon gained a sizable loss streak from the sudden upset. Soon, the gaming devolved to the point where Kiana was removed from the equation – her character would always be defeated first, and she started to get even more ticked off with each match—just so Phillip and Bronya could have a go at each other.

By the time they called a stop to the gaming, and thus the day, Phillip held 42 wins against Bronya while she had 56 against him. All the while, Mei held an odd mix of amusement, intrigue, and confusion at the display. The two placed their controllers down and decided to retire for the night, starting the walk towards the stairs.

Before they reached too far, however, a now thoroughly drunk Himeko called from the dining table in a celebratory tone. "I forgot to say, but happy birthday, kid!"

All of them stopped at this. Both Mei and Kiana looked at each other for a second in visible confusion before looking back at Bronya, who shook her head at this. "Bronya's birth date resides in August, not December." With that, all three turned their attention to Phillip, who gazed at Himeko with a mix of curiosity and annoyance.

"How did you learn about that?"

"Bio scans at the school entrance," Himeko explained with a wave of a hand and another swig of her beer. "We have them to help the injured and make sure no one has too much Honkai energy. When you guys got here, we basically knew everything we needed to know about you."

Three differing emotions were running through Phillip at that moment. He wanted to be impressed with the technology here, annoyed by the lack of privacy, and dismayed by Himeko saying something he was trying to hide away. All of this, however, was dispersed when Kiana let out a yell.

"Why didn't you say something?"

Phillip groaned and rubbed his forehead, now wholly annoyed at this. Now he had to explain to the mental child his reluctance to celebrate his birthday.

Well, at least the beginning of the day went well.

Schicksal HQ,

"Can you explain this to me once more?"

Otto stared intently at the screen that held Yae Sakura, finding the most recent report to be far too impossible to be accurate. Her mission, after all, had been relatively simple: keep an eye on the boy that came with Third Herrscher and K-423 and acquire samples when possible. They had delayed the mission for some time during the boy's recovery period, hoping to instill some level of comfort, and started once he left the medical facility.

However, for whatever reason, there had been some rather odd problems that showed themselves at this.

"I told you before, I couldn't find him," Sakura explained with a huff. "I tried tailing him earlier this morning, only for him to slip past me at some point. I found traces of him near the coast–a group of troubled females and your granddaughter talking to the air as if she was speaking to him–but I couldn't find him until he returned home. Considering my reputation with that group, I doubt I'd be well received."

Otto leaned forward, allowing his head to fall into his left hand and rub away the growing headache. The boy had some supernatural abilities, that much is known, but to have disappeared entirely to only one person in existence was unheard of.

Otto pried his hand from his face to glower at Sakura. "Nothing? You couldn't hear him?" A shake of her head was his answer. "Any footprints left in the sand?" Another shake. "What about-"

"Anything you can think of, I've tried," Sakura responded sourly. "I'm making this report to alert you of what happened, not to be admonished for something I can't control."

Otto leaned back in his chair and breathed a hefty sigh. "Right. Of Course." He tapped a couple of times on his chair arm, prompting multiple-colored buttons to flash at his touch. "Try to win the girls' trust first, then aim for the boy. Maybe his guard will lower at some point."

With Sakura's nod, the screen shut off, and Otto was left to his peeving thoughts. It wasn't that he was angry at Sakura - her being Kallen's remaining legacy made sure of that – but the operation they had begun was something that needed to happen. So, he decided to make a minor sacrifice to compensate.

"Yes, Master Otto?" A velvety voice sang out this question.

Otto looked up at his screens once more and found one of them on with a new woman displayed. "Glad to see you respond so promptly, as always. Another agent is having trouble with her mission, so I want you to wrap up your current assignment and join her at St. Freya."

"Of course. Would you like me to stay there to aid Miss Theresa also?"

Otto shook his head at this, an amused smile on his face. "I doubt my dear granddaughter would appreciate the concern you would provide. No, I'll only need you to lend aid to that agent, and then you can use the remaining time for yourself."

"Very well. I'll leave post-haste."

"Thank you, Rita."

Well, hello again.

I should probably explain the Cocolia scene at the end. It has nothing to do with Phillip, as it is something Cocolia has made before. For context, read the mangas "Anti-Entropy Invasion" and "Moon Shadow" for context. I was simply setting that up.

On another note, this is probably going to feel like a filler chapter. I'm sorry if it does.

Thank you to everyone that's enjoying the story and reviewing it. I'll see you in the next one.