Chapter 169: Cross-Branch
"Theresa... my precious Theresa!"
The anguished wail of a five-hundred-year-old man echoed through the pristine, sterile confines of the Overseer's office.
Otto Apocalypse stood before a massive wall of holographic monitors, his hands planted flat against his desk. Through the surveillance feeds discreetly placed throughout St. Freya Academy, he witnessed the unthinkable. Theresa had actually brought Rovel into her private residence, and the two were entirely alone.
"You really have some nerve, Rovel... I truly underestimated you."
Otto's flawless Soulium face contorted with genuine, unadulterated fury. His fingers curled inward, clenching so tightly that the synthetic joints emitted a sharp, metallic creak under the immense pressure.
"Amber," Otto called out, his voice dropping to a dangerously quiet register. "What is the modification progress on the Godsbane Battlesuit Hell Knight: Moon Ember?"
A holographic projection flickered to life beside his desk, revealing his loyal assistant. "Reporting to the Overseer, the Godsbane Battlesuit Hell Knight: Moon Ember will require approximately three more weeks to complete," Amber stated evenly.
The Knight: Moon Sky was a prototype all-domain combat armor, widely considered a failed experimental product within Schicksal's R&D division. In a practical sense, it was designed to serve as the foundational blueprint for the Bright Knight: Excelsis. Although riddled with design flaws, its core architecture remained that of a genuine fourth-generation Godsbane Battlesuit.
The primary issue lay in its over-engineered nature. The first iteration used such an overwhelming density of experimental materials and complex neural feedback loops that absolutely no one could safely pilot it. The finalized template for Bright Knight: Excelsis would eventually incorporate the latest artificial intelligence technology to handle the calculations, effectively reducing the neural burden on the user by more than fifty percent. But according to current data simulations, Durandal was the only Valkyrie physically and mentally capable of wielding it.
Therefore, converting the Hell Knight: Moon Ember into a high-firepower suppression-type combat armor required not only a complete overhaul of its targeting focus but also severe reductions and adjustments to its core functions.
Hearing the three-week timeframe, Otto's eyes narrowed. The delay displeased him immensely.
"What if the safety reduction intensity is adjusted from thirty percent down to ten percent?" Otto inquired, his tone cold and detached.
"Overseer, while that would theoretically preserve a much higher combat output... eighty percent of the data processing would then rely entirely on the user's brain," Amber warned, her voice laced with rare caution. "The resulting massive data stream is highly likely to cause severe, irreversible neurological damage to the user."
She paused, consulting a data pad. ", since the latest quantum technology components were installed just a few days ago, the operational difficulty will be a full step higher than even the original prototype."
If the suit were delivered in that state, it would essentially be a ticking information-stream bomb—the kind that could violently overload and fry a human brain at any given moment.
"Let it be so," Otto decided, waving a hand with an air of absolute finality that brooked no argument.
Amber bowed her head. "Understood, Overseer. If we proceed according to those adjusted requirements, it can be completed by tomorrow at the earliest."
"Excellent. Have Rita come to see me."
Amber nodded and severed the connection.
A short while later, the heavy oak doors of the office glided open. Rita Rossweisse stepped inside, her maid uniform immaculate, her posture the picture of elegant subservience.
"Overseer, please give Rita your instructions," she said, offering a graceful, sweeping bow.
"Tomorrow, a set of Schicksal knight armor is to be transported directly to St. Freya Academy," Otto instructed, turning his chair to face her. "You will personally oversee this delivery, Rita. The designated recipient is a Descender named Rovel."
With a flick of his wrist, Otto projected a high-definition photograph of Rovel into the air between them.
Rita blinked, a flicker of genuine surprise breaking through her usually unflappable demeanor. "A Descender?"
She certainly hadn't expected a Descender to surface within a Schicksal branch, let alone St. Freya. She was intimately aware of Otto's general disdain and outright rejection of the Descender population. Yet now, the Overseer was not only gifting a set of highly advanced armor to one of them, but he was also dispatching an S-Rank Valkyrie to act as a glorified courier?
Given the sheer importance the Overseer was placing on this task, Rita quickly deduced the truth. The cargo had to be a Godsbane Battlesuit.
"Yes, this mission is of the utmost importance," Otto continued, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. "Try your best to uncover his true background and his ultimate goals. You do not need to hold back. Do exactly as you see fit."
Otto sighed, his expression shifting into one of exaggerated, grandfatherly concern. "By the way, he has been getting quite close to Theresa lately. I truly hope my lovely, innocent granddaughter isn't being deceived by a Descender's sweet talk."
He delivered the line casually, as if it were merely a passing thought.
The effect was instantaneous. The polite smile vanished from Rita's lips, and her eyes turned into chips of freezing ice.
"I understand completely, Overseer."
Rita was, above all else, fiercely protective of Theresa. Otto was well aware of her deep-seated devotion, making Rita the absolute perfect instrument to investigate the boy. also, by explicitly telling her to do as she saw fit, Otto had given her a blank check. If Rovel crossed even a single line, Rita had full authorization to eliminate him.
Far away from Schicksal Headquarters, inside a cozy, sunlit bedroom...
"Mmm..." A thin trail of drool slipped from the corner of Theresa's mouth.
Even in her sleep, she could smell a particularly pleasant, warm scent. It was comforting, inviting, and gave her a sudden, inexplicable urge to take a little bite out of whatever was in front of her.
She slowly fluttered her eyes open, her vision blurry for a fraction of a second before snapping into sharp focus. She was entirely tangled up in Rovel's arms. Rovel was awake, looking down at her with a perfectly innocent, slightly amused expression.
A high-pitched scream tore through the bedroom.
Theresa scrambled backward, violently shielding her chest with one arm while her free hand fumbled blindly across the mattress. Her immediate instinct was to grab the Oath of Judah and send this brazen Descender straight to the afterlife.
Instead of heavy, divine metal, her fingers sank into something soft and fluffy. She looked down to find herself aggressively wielding a giant Homu plushie.
She whipped her head around. The Oath of Judah was resting quietly on the complete opposite side of the massive bed.
The realization hit her like a physical blow. Rovel hadn't crossed the line. She had rolled all the way across the oversized mattress and practically glued herself to him in her sleep.
Her murderous anger evaporated in an instant, replaced by a furious, burning flush that crept all the way up to the tips of her ears.
"Headmaster, your sleeping posture is really... a bit cute," Rovel remarked dryly. He glanced down at his shirt, which was now sporting a highly suspicious, soaked patch right where her face had been resting. His mouth twitched.
Theresa's bed was enormous. It genuinely took effort to wriggle her way across that much distance just to use him as a body pillow.
"Don't... don't you dare tease the Headmaster!" Theresa stammered, frantically trying to defend her dignity. "This was just an accident! A complete accident! I usually have a very dignified sleeping posture!"
She clutched the giant Homu plushie like a shield, glaring at him with a look that clearly screamed, 'If you don't believe me, you're dead.'
"I understand, I understand completely," Rovel said, quickly raising both hands in a gesture of total surrender.
Seeing his compliance, Theresa finally lowered the plushie and let out a light, huffy breath, trying to smooth down her messy silver hair.
"By the way, Headmaster, I actually wanted to ask you something," Rovel said, shifting the topic to safer ground. "Besides waiting for the standard September exams, is there any other way for me to become an A-Rank Schicksal Knight ahead of schedule?"
Theresa paused, tilting her head in confusion. "Hmm? Why are you in such a rush to ask about that?"
"I heard that once someone becomes an A-Rank Schicksal Knight, they are authorized to carry out missions entirely on their own," Rovel explained, his expression turning serious. "I don't want Himeko to keep taking risks because of me. After all, as you know, Himeko took me on three field missions, and massive accidents happened on two of them."
It was a perfectly crafted excuse, but it held a core of truth.
"I'm a Descender," Rovel continued, his voice softening. "It's fine if I die a few times. I can handle it. But Himeko is different. She doesn't have that luxury."
He appealed directly to her emotions and her deep sense of responsibility.
Theresa's gaze softened, successfully moved by his genuine concern for her friend. "...Actually, there is a way."
She crossed her arms, slipping back into her authoritative Headmaster persona. "Exams can be conducted across different branches. Since the testing schedules differ for each Schicksal branch, if a student misses their local exam due to illness or extenuating circumstances, they can travel to another branch and take the exam alongside the Valkyries stationed there."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I remember... at the end of February, the Oceania Branch should be holding their annual Valkyrie qualification exams."
Rovel smiled brightly. "Thank you, Headmaster Theresa! Consider this a small token of my immense appreciation. Please accept it."
With a flourish, Rovel produced a pristine, limited-edition copy of Homu's Great Adventure: Snowfield Encounter and handed it over.
Theresa blinked, tilting her head as Rovel swiftly exited the room. She meant to ask him how he planned to get to the Oceania Branch, but her gaze was already hopelessly locked onto the glossy cover of the rare manga book in her hands.
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