"Then we shall shut her out."
Hearing Evan's words, Theresa responded quickly, as if she had already entertained the thought and considered the consequences.
"Although St. Freya Academy has nominally cut ties with Schicksal, in reality, we still turn to Schicksal for help when facing difficulties we can't handle. For example, during the 3rd Eruption in Nagazora City—if Himeko and I hadn't been able to handle it properly, we would have requested reinforcements from Schicksal. And Schicksal likely wouldn't have refused; Valkyries would have been sent over very quickly... Under such a relationship, I can't bluntly shut Rita out."
Theresa was full of vigilance toward her grandfather, Otto. Years ago, she had deeply realized that her grandfather had emotional issues. He was too indifferent, seemingly placing himself in a different position and viewing everyone else through eyes that didn't see them as kin.
Even his doting on her, his granddaughter, wasn't limitless. Back then, he had ignored her attempts to stop him, even her tearful pleas, and fired Honkai Fission Missiles at Siberia.
But Theresa didn't harbor excessive suspicion toward the other Valkyries of Schicksal. Even though she hadn't had much contact with Rita before, Theresa was still willing to choose trust.
As for the relationship between St. Freya Academy and Schicksal, it wasn't that Theresa still had any lingering attachment to the organization. After the 2nd Eruption, Theresa had completely despaired of her grandfather.
She was simply adhering to the principle of prioritizing the people of the Far East. When necessary, she would put aside the rejection in her heart and seek help from Schicksal to solve disasters in the Far East that St. Freya Academy couldn't handle alone.
Theresa knew that being like this made her seem high-sounding yet fickle, perhaps even a bit hypocritical. She felt pathetic, but she was powerless to change it.
However, Evan's previous plan allowed Theresa to see the possibility of St. Freya Academy truly achieving independence, allowing her to prove her ideals and beliefs. This was why she granted Evan, whose current status was still a student, such great authority.
Seeing Theresa's complex expression, Evan also recalled some things.
Himeko Murata's battlesuit, the Schicksal database still open to Theresa, and the fact that St. Freya Academy's funding chain hadn't broken despite Theresa's lack of business acumen.
The relationship between St. Freya Academy and Schicksal indeed couldn't be severed so simply.
Actually, when Evan said that sentence earlier, he didn't really intend to shut the beautiful maid out. Instead—
"Since we can't stop her, let's just accept it frankly. Even an S-rank Valkyrie can't discover hidden secrets with just her naked eyes, right?"
"True enough."
Theresa nodded and began to silently ponder the possibility of Rita discovering that Raiden Mei was the 3rd Herrscher, and how Schicksal would react once that fact was uncovered.
Evan, on the other hand, was thinking about whether Rita, whose original purpose should just be to observe Kiana's situation, would notice him due to his physical capabilities far exceeding that of ordinary people, thus bringing him officially into Schicksal's field of vision.
As for Raiden Mei... In Evan's view, her identity as the 3rd Herrscher had never been unknown intelligence to Schicksal. On the contrary, Schicksal clearly knew of Raiden Mei's existence and understood that she wasn't a Herrscher in the true sense, which was why they hadn't taken action against her all this time.
Because Raiden Mei's value wasn't that great in Otto's eyes.
"Rita will arrive at St. Freya Academy the day after tomorrow. When the time comes, how about I, as the Principal, along with A-rank Valkyrie Himeko, and you and Fu Hua as student representatives, receive her together? Fu Hua is the class monitor, has excellent grades in all subjects, and was originally a Valkyrie sent by Schicksal, so she shares the same origin as Rita. You, on the other hand, are an outstanding student comparable to Fu Hua. If I deliberately hide your existence, it might make the other party suspicious instead."
Although not good at business management, Theresa's wisdom shouldn't be underestimated. The current arrangement was already extremely perfect.
Evan didn't object.
"Alright."
Seeing Evan agree so readily, Theresa rolled her eyes and asked with a hint of curiosity.
"By the way, do you regret performing too outstandingly? If your grades after enrollment hadn't been tied for first place with Fu Hua, I wouldn't have let you appear for Rita's reception this time."
"I think a beautiful girl like Rita shouldn't be some fierce monster, right? It doesn't matter if I have contact with her. As for the Overseer of Schicksal, we can only deal with whatever comes our way. If we keep too low a profile, we won't be able to do anything; we'd just be marking time for the sake of our own safety."
"You've praised Rita twice in this short time. I didn't realize it before, but are you actually a guy who judges people by their appearance, Evan?"
There was scrutiny in Theresa's gaze. Evan coughed lightly and said seriously:
"Theresa is the world's number one cutie. Theresa is the world's number one cutie. Theresa is the world's number one cutie! Important things must be said three times. I praised you three times; do you feel a bit more balanced now?"
"Tsk."
The joy of being praised, mixed with the embarrassment of being praised three times in a row like a repeater, made Theresa click her tongue. She decided not to dwell on this aspect anymore.
"Regardless of whether Kiana passes the makeup exam this time, I plan to make her a trainee Valkyrie like Raiden Mei and have her undergo special training for a period. After that, I will let you lead the Valkyries on missions in the capacity of the Hyperion's Captain."
"Has an urgent mission appeared that needs handling?"
"Not an urgent mission, just an ancient ruin. There might be some nice things inside... Well, we'll talk about that later. For now, we need to handle Rita's visit first."
"Understood."
To be honest, after hearing from Theresa that he would become the Captain of the Hyperion—truly setting the matter in stone—Evan did feel an emotion called joy in his heart.
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