"Hm…"
A pair of scarlet pupils stared at the Moon high in the sky. Her eyes curled up in elation. The waves of satisfaction—and pleasure—swept her entire body like a tide. It wasn't as strong as the sensations inside the blood cocoon. She treasured it, nevertheless.
The President's Office had long been sealed off. She let go of everything, disregarding even her lack of clothing.
Rustle-!
Clothes appeared out of thin air. Theresa's mastery of Blade Mantra made her very adept in manipulating honkai energy. Creating a 'Battlesuit' is a trifle for her. A frilled black-red dress wrapped around her body. Her legs are tightly bound by a pair of black stockings. A pair of black-red heeled boots housed her feet.
Theresa teleported straight to the office's bathroom. She looked at her reflection in a daze. Her previous appearance was long gone. Replacing it was a mature woman 175 centimeters tall.
Her scarlet eyes sparkled with joy. Suppressed squeals came out of her mouth.
"It worked! It worked!"
No words can describe Theresa's feelings. It has been her obsession to see her grown-up self. It wasn't as strong as the time she was St. Freya's Principal, but now that she ran the entire Federation for more than thirty years, it flared up. She always imagined an elegant and mature grown-up self befitting of her age.
"Hm? Perfect timing!"
Her mischievous acts began. The first target was none other than Siegfried.
'I wonder how she is now…'
He had heard of Theresa's situation. She encountered an unexpected breakthrough inside her office. Nearly every member of the Federation's Council is worried about her. Who can find someone as efficient and as generous as Theresa?
Their salaries and benefits alone increased by fivefold over the past thirty years. Add to that her resume of aiding the Law Enforcement Hall's world-wide purge.
A mascot, generous, and effective leader.
'To think she will reach this point…'
Just then, Siegfried's eyes were drawn to the 'woman' who passed by.
'Is she the Secretary, Amber? No…'
He did a double-take on the woman's back. She resembled Amber down to her atoms. An absurd possibility came to his mind.
'No. There's no way…'
"I can read your thoughts, Ziggy."
"..?!"
Siegfried was startled to see the 'woman' in front of him.
"So?"
"So..? Do I know you?"
"..."
He swore he saw the woman's eyes twitch.
"Can't you recognize me?"
"..!"
At this point, even a dumbass can guess who she was.
The same immature tone.
The same appearance as Amber.
Most importantly…
He is inside the Federation's Main Headquarters.
"How did the midget…"
Slap-!
Rumble-!
Siegfried's "flight" was extremely comical. The slap on his face caused his body to rotate dozens of times before crashing into a wall. Everyone who was in the lobby suddenly looked at the 'woman' who caused it.
In mere seconds, a security team arrived. They were about to question her when she took out an ID card.
The guard who took it could not help but rub his eyes. His gaze went back and forth from the ID to the woman in front of him. He wordlessly scanned the ID with a scanner.
Beep-!
The scanner's screen confirmed her identity. The ID card will only show as valid when its valid holder possesses it within ten meters.
The security man blankly handed the ID card back to the 'woman', who then walked away. His jaw almost dropped.
When his colleagues asked him about it, his answer remained the same rambling:
"It's gone. The President we know is gone…"
*****
"Aunt Theresa..?"
Kiana did a double take at the mature woman sitting opposite of her. She went straight to Theresa's Office upon learning of her awakening.
'The soul frequency is the same. She is Aunt Theresa…'
"Ow… It feels very cold."
Flames flickered on Siegfried's fingertips. Half of his face got frozen and is in the midst of being defrosted.
The mature woman crossed her arms.
"Humph. You deserve it. My efforts in drinking Bitter Gourd Juice paid off, and that's how you will react?"
"I mean, that's how most will react… save for Cecilia. She will be happy seeing your growth."
The mention of Cecilia's name calmed Theresa down.
"Aunt, I heard Tian helped you with it?"
"...T-that's right."
Theresa's calm expression slightly faltered. A faint blush appeared on her ears. She relaxed once she saw it tucked behind her hair.
Unfortunately for her, it was this act that made Kiana suspicious.
"Anyways… I will personally talk to him once he's out." Theresa stated. "He's busy with the others… with Bianka."
The "sword conference" on the Sword Vein is common knowledge for the people who fought against the Honkai. The attempt to create another level of Blade Mantra involved the Imaginary Tree—a threshold so high Otto's five hundred years barely touched upon it.
'Aunt… Something's very wrong.'
Kiana's mind was on Theresa's abnormalities. She is more than certain something happened between her and Shi Tian.
'I will ask him about it.'
She passed on the chance to become a detective. Kiana knew Shi Tian would tell her about it—even if it involved another Official Partner.
"Oh, that's right. Kira invited me to her underground idol debut."
Siegfried took out five tickets and placed them on the glass table. He turned to look at Theresa. She wore a traumatized expression; Kiana also did.
"W-what's going on?"
"Ziggy… If you value your ears… no, if you value your Tao Heart, don't attend."
"Why? That girl's been clamoring to be an idol since a long time ago. It's not that bad, isn't it?"
It was Kiana's turn to dissuade him.
"Old man… She is the equivalent of you in cooking. Bianka and Miss Rita attended her debut once." She paused before continuing, "Her power to stir up Inner Demons are unmatched."
Seeing both of them reacting like this, Siegfried felt scared.
"What about the debut? This isn't her first time?"
Theresa shook her head.
"No major record labels will accept her again. Only the poor souls in the underground idol industry haven't heard of her notoriety yet."
'It shouldn't be that bad… no?'
Ultimately, his favors on Kira outweighed their reminders. She was a crucial member of Cecilia's team. Siegfried still planned on going…
A decision he will come to regret.