On the Hyperion.
Theresa, who had never expected this operation to go so smoothly, returned to the bridge.
"Himeko, set sail immediately! We're returning to the Far East Branch!"
The most important objective had been achieved, and she had even managed to snag the vessel of the Gem of Conquest along the way.
The crisis in the Far East island nation was resolved, and Theresa had no intention of fighting a real war with Anti-Entropy.
The best choice, of course, was to run away immediately.
"Yes, Lord Branch Head." The military-uniformed beauty with fiery red hair issued commands in an orderly manner, causing the massive warship to turn in mid-air and fly towards the Far East Branch.
Once they entered the jurisdiction of the Far East Branch, they would be the ones calling the shots.
Without a direct order from the Schicksal Overseer himself, not even a Herrscher could take a single person from the Far East Branch.
But that was conditional on them getting back to the Far East Branch.
"Theresa, they're here."
A boarding request was patched through to the bridge, and the atmosphere immediately grew heavy.
The Immortal Blades truly lived up to their name as Schicksal HQ's strongest Valkyrie squad. Even with all the forces Cocolia had deployed in the Far East island nation, it hadn't taken them long to deal with it.
Now, they were here to complete their original mission.
Inside the airship's cabin, Durandal and Rita were outnumbered, but their presence was no less imposing.
"Lady Theresa, we're on official business. I must trouble you to hand over Miss Raiden Mei." The charming Valkyrie stated her purpose directly, but her gaze was fixed squarely on Theresa, this half-ton, white-haired old hag.
It was unsettling.
"Hmph! Rita, Raiden Mei is a member of my Far East Branch. On what grounds do you think you can just take her away!"
Brian's group of four had been on the Hyperion for less than half an hour and didn't even know where the Far East Branch was.
Yet in the mouth of the shameless Theresa, they had become members of the Far East Branch.
This legal loli was dead set on being unreasonable!
"In that case, Lady Theresa, please show us the proof. Empty words cannot be taken as evidence." Rita said with a smile on her face.
This back-and-forth with Theresa gave her a long-lost sense of pleasure, the kind a lolicon would feel.
It couldn't be helped. Her own silly goose had grown up too fast.
In the blink of an eye, she had gone from a flat-chested little girl to a young woman who surpassed her. In another two years, she was bound to become a tall, busty, slender-waisted, long-legged bombshell.
It was truly distressing for a lolicon like her.
Upon hearing this, Theresa's delicate little face showed an expression of confident certainty.
She ordered, "Himeko, show them the proof."
"Yes, Lord Branch Head." Murata Himeko entered the cabin and presented four documents to Rita and Durandal.
They were, in fact, the enrollment forms for St. Freya High School.
Rita didn't bother looking at the documents. The fact that Theresa dared to produce them meant the legal loli had made all the necessary preparations. Wasting time on them was pointless.
Compared to that...
A dangerous glint appeared in her wine-red eyes.
The Valkyrie said, "Lady Theresa, this mission was assigned directly to the Immortal Blades by the Lord Overseer himself."
"You should know, the Far East Branch..."
Theresa cut her off immediately: "Rita, I am the Branch Head of the Far East Branch!"
"The Far East island nation is my jurisdiction! Even if a mission concerning it arises, I should be the first to know!"
Theresa, as if she had found the key, began to speak with righteousness.
"Your Immortal Blades are a unit under HQ. Even if you have an urgent mission to complete, you must notify our Far East Branch!"
"Your unauthorized entry into the Far East Branch's jurisdiction is a violation of regulations!" Theresa slammed the table, feeling that victory was in her grasp.
As long as she stuck to principles and procedural justice, she would surely win!
Even if her grandpa appeared before her, she could put up a fight by clinging to that old coot's leg.
Rita's expression didn't change. She simply and unhurriedly pulled up a directive from the Schicksal Overseer on her terminal.
"Lady Theresa, I believe you recognize the Lord Overseer's handwriting?"
Theresa: "..."
Her face turned uncertain.
It wasn't that Theresa had a problem with the directive.
Rather, it suddenly occurred to her that since Kiana had used the Herrscher of the Void's power in front of Durandal, it meant her grandfather had likely already received the news.
Given that old coot's character of stopping at nothing to achieve his goals, his true objective had probably shifted to Kiana.
The Gem of Conquest in Raiden Mei's body was important, but K-423, who had escaped from his lab, was perhaps even more important.
Just then...
"Ms. Theresa, let me handle this."
A hand rested on Theresa's shoulder, signaling her to give up the center stage.
The young Brian, making his grand debut!
In an instant, Rita Rossweisse's expression changed.
If she could... she wouldn't want to be in the same room with this man for a single moment.
Just making eye contact with him made Rita feel like she could get pregnant on the spot.
This man... was too dangerous!
Too f*ckable!
Beside her, Durandal, who had been an observer due to her lack of skill in negotiation, noticed something was wrong. "Rita, what's wrong?"
"I'm fine."
"..." Durandal looked at the two of them suspiciously, unable to figure out what was happening.
The young man seemed to be an ordinary person, handsome and easy on the eyes at best, but he was less attractive to her than the equipment in a gym.
Why would Rita react like this?
Durandal didn't understand.
Rita dared not let her understand.
The second round of negotiations began!
The sunlight from the window shone on the young Brian's back, casting his front in shadow.
The man propped his hands up, crossed at the wrist, in a classic pose, putting unprecedented pressure on Rita.
Control of the situation had shifted without a word being spoken.
"Rita, I think before we begin, perhaps we should have a good chat about our past."
Past?
The essence of humanity is repetition and gossip.
Raiden Mei felt a pang of jealousy upon hearing this, but she still pricked up her ears. Aside from Kiana, who was still unconscious, everyone else waited with bated breath.
They were all very curious to know what kind of past existed between the mysterious young Brian and the S-rank Valkyrie, Rita Rossweisse.
But to the intelligent S-rank Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse, that sentence had a completely different meaning...
Rita, you wouldn't want what happened before to be known by others, would you?