Having ruled out the possibility of Mei taking the stage as a teacher, Bronya immediately arrived at the only other logical conclusion.
Sister Mei was invited to speak as an exemplary member of Fire-Moth.
As a core member of Fire-Moth's First Pioneer Squad, Mei possessed an incredibly illustrious reputation. It made perfect sense for her to be invited to deliver an inspiring speech to these future "flowers" of Fire-Moth.
But that raised another question... Natasha was the Principal. If Bronya's guess was correct, Otto was definitely involved in establishing this place—Principal Theresa was living proof of that.
Add Joachim to the mix, and the faculty roster of this academy was essentially a gathering of immortals. Their political backing was so solid they could probably mass-produce Divine Keys, or at the very least, confidently face down a Herrscher.
So, why Mei?
If they wanted a role model to deliver an inspiring speech... wouldn't Shu be the best candidate? It wasn't like they couldn't invite him.
Unless...
Bronya looked at Mei on the podium, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Unless Sister Mei was here in Shu's place.
The Academy had originally invited Shu, but Shu had rejected the offer. Mei had stepped in, taken over his task, and delivered the speech for him.
Well, well... the idiot Shu has finally learned how to say no...
"Hm? Did Bronya just think of something happy?"
At some point, Rozaliya had slinked over and glued herself to Bronya's side. Nose twitching, she stared at Bronya with blatant suspicion.
"Liliya saw Bronya suddenly smile. Liliya hypothesizes that Bronya has discovered something highly amusing and chosen to hoard it all for herself." Liliya, ever the pragmatist, assumed the absolute worst of human nature.
The Vodka Girls rested their heads on Bronya's left and right shoulders, respectively, staring at her in perfect, copy-paste unison.
"Heh..." Bronya gave a soft chuckle, offering zero explanation.
After all... Rozaliya and Liliya weren't that close to Shu. They simply couldn't comprehend the monumental, gold-tier significance of Shu actually declining a task.
Compared to Theresa's preceding psychological warfare, Mei's speech was like the choir of angels. Although her content was heavily formal and academic, the audience was entirely composed of children—what did they understand?
They just cheered blindly for Mei, letting out choruses of awe whenever she casually cited one of her actual combat experiences.
"Ugh—the examples I gave were all real too!" Down below the stage, Theresa angrily bit down on her handkerchief, glaring up at the wildly popular Mei with sheer envy.
"Hah..." Natasha chuckled awkwardly beside her.
"It must be because my speech wasn't long enough... I knew it, I really do need to consult Grandpa for advice!"
Absolutely do not do that!
Natasha sucked in a breath of cold air.
Otto's speeches came in two flavors. One was the kind that, if delivered in a beer hall, could somehow rationally explain why a loaf of bread costing 500,000 Marks was a good thing. The sheer manipulative brilliance of those speeches was undeniable.
The other kind of speech... Otto personally referred to as "stand-up comedy."
And unfortunately, that was the exact style Theresa had adopted. It was a form of agonizing torture so severe it could drive Fire-Moth's most fiercely loyal employees to attack their own friends just for an excuse to escape the room!
Mei's speech strictly adhered to standard academic conventions. A few minutes later, having flawlessly executed a formulaic thematic elevation, Mei stepped down from the podium, officially signaling the end of the speech segment.
Shenzhou-style opening ceremonies rarely bothered with flashy gimmicks; the speeches were the main event.
Once the designated speakers had said their piece, the children—who had absorbed absolutely nothing from the actual content—were finally free to officially begin their school lives.