A long time had passed since the last make-up exam. Theresa, who had been half-angered to death by her dear niece, was preparing to treat herself well.
After pushing some documents that needed to be processed to her secretary, Theresa sat in her office, watching a recently popular anime on the office screen.
At the same time, she held the newly released `hoom adventure` in her hand. On the table next to her were concentrated bitter melon juice made by Inaba Tsukiyo, and hellishly spicy potato chips newly developed in Europe, which she had managed to get her hands on with great difficulty.
This feeling of slacking off made Theresa very happy. Ever since Kiana and her friends came to St. Freya Academy, she hadn't slacked off for a long time. Sure enough, a good Headmaster should know how to slack off.
However, Theresa, who had originally thought she could slack off for several days, suddenly received an urgent report. This report came from Schicksal.
In Canghai City, Guangzhou Province, on the Divine State continent, there were suspected reactions of a [Judgment-class] Honkai Beast.
The words '[Judgment-class]' startled Theresa. One should know that there weren't many [Judgment-class] Honkai Beasts in this world, and now such a report came from the Divine State.
Realizing the urgency of the situation, Theresa stopped slacking off and looked at the report with a serious expression.
Although it was still just a guess, she could somewhat deduce the identity of this [Judgment-class] Honkai Beast: Chiyou, who had been sealed thousands of years ago.
The name Chiyou reminded Theresa of Ji Xuanyuan, who had fought against Chiyou, and the weapon in Ji Xuanyuan's hand, the divine key — xuanyuan sword.
Although Chiyou had been sealed for thousands of years, it was still a Divine Beast that Ji Xuanyuan had sealed with her life. If it broke the seal this time, it would definitely bring disaster.
"Since Schicksal has received this information, then those people from Anti-Entropy must also know about Chiyou. The divine key — xuanyuan sword, we cannot let them take it."
If Anti-Entropy's group were to seize the divine key, there's no telling what insane things they might do.
After all, the divine key represents too many things, and even if those guys knew that Schicksal would intervene this time, they definitely wouldn't give up. Instead, they would deploy even more combat power to seize the divine key.
"It seems… I'll have to ask her for help this time. She used to operate in Russia, and if the intelligence is correct, she should be able to assist."
A while later, Inaba Tsukiyo arrived at Theresa's office. As Inaba Tsukiyo was still in her assessment period, even if Theresa trusted her, Himeko still harbored some reservations.
If Inaba Tsukiyo could help with this matter, she would also gain everyone's trust. There was absolutely no doubt about that.
"What's wrong? Has something unsolvable happened that you need me to handle?"
Before Theresa could speak, Inaba Tsukiyo had already guessed why Theresa had called her over.
Theresa had never actively summoned her to the office before; she had always come on her own.
Given this person's personality, she must have had a reason to call her here.
"Yes, I have a mission I'd like to entrust to you this time. It's about a mission in Divine Realm. Before we depart, I'd like you and Fu Hua to go first. Himeko will follow once she's ready."
After briefly explaining the Honkai reaction detected in Canghai City to Inaba Tsukiyo, Theresa continued.
"As students, you shouldn't normally be given such dangerous missions. However, Anti-Entropy personnel might appear this time. So, I need your help."
"Oh? Anti-Entropy? Then, will that witch Cocolia also appear on this mission?"
The moment she heard "Anti-Entropy," Inaba Tsukiyo thought of that old woman Cocolia, that old woman who constantly hurt the people important to her.
"Hmm? You know Cocolia?"
"Hehe~ How could I not? A head worth tens of millions. That woman did a lot of 'good deeds' in Russia back then. Who knows how many people want her dead."
Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but chuckle. Practically every mercenary in Russia knew about Cocolia, the person with a bounty of tens of millions.
She couldn't reveal Cocolia's and Bronya's identities yet, so she could only use this excuse to deal with Theresa.
Theresa didn't suspect anything, nodded, and then explained.
Originally, Theresa was planning to go with Fu Hua and Himeko, but to prevent Chiyou from awakening, she had to stay on the Hyperion to prevent unexpected situations.
Therefore, this mission would be undertaken by Fu Hua, Inaba Tsukiyo, and Himeko together.
These three could already be considered the highest combat power of St. Freya Academy, and even if Anti-Entropy sent a large number of mechs, they could handle them.
"Oh, by the way, I've been meaning to ask you, Tsukiyo-chan. Do you want a valkyrie armor? Do you want specially crafted weapons?"
Although the mikazuki munechika in Inaba Tsukiyo's hand was known as a national treasure in the Far East, it was still a bit too difficult to deal with Honkai Beasts.
For this mission, Theresa could give Inaba Tsukiyo some special weapons that could increase her combat ability.
"Thank you, but I don't need these things. Besides, Headmaster, you don't wear valkyrie armor either, and you're called an S-Rank Valkyrie just by wielding Judah."
Her wearing valkyrie armor? Although those armors were indeed very fast, she wasn't used to wearing such things. This armpit-baring miko outfit was most suitable for her.
As for weapons, she needed them even less. She had Magic Power Release, so as long as the Honkai Beasts weren't too fierce, she would cut down as many as came.
Theresa really wanted to tell Inaba Tsukiyo that she was different from her, but considering Inaba Tsukiyo's uniqueness, she finally sighed and nodded.
"Oh, right, Director Theresa. Since you want me to do a mission, shouldn't we discuss the remuneration properly?"
"Eh? Remu… remuneration? You still want such a thing?"
Completely unprepared for Inaba Tsukiyo to ask for remuneration, Theresa was utterly bewildered, staring blankly at Inaba Tsukiyo.
"Yes, although my identity is a student of St. Freya Academy, I haven't become a Valkyrie yet, so I naturally don't need to go out and follow orders. Since you're giving me a mission, it's only natural for me to collect remuneration, isn't it?"
She walked step by step to the desk, opened her eyes, and asked with a grin, looking at Theresa who was sitting in the office chair.
"How… how is that possible! This is just to get you used to the feeling of becoming a Valkyrie! It's like a job shadowing experience outside! And you're actually asking me for remuneration?"
"Job shadowing? Don't talk nonsense, Director Theresa. Even for job shadowing, there's a process. And who said job shadowing doesn't come with a salary? Plus, this mission is so dangerous, are you really not going to show some appreciation?"
"Uh… then… what do you want? If the request isn't too excessive, I can consider it."
Cornered, Theresa had no choice but to agree to Inaba Tsukiyo's outrageous demand. The money she had originally thought she could save now seemed to be beyond hope.
Inaba Tsukiyo didn't care about money. During her time as a mercenary, the missions she completed had earned her a considerable sum.
Her initial help at the martial arts hall in Changkong City was merely to give herself a legitimate identity. After all, she wasn't some unemployed rich girl inheriting an inheritance, always staying at home.
"An not excessive request… I haven't thought of that yet. Let's defer this request for now. I believe the world's cutest Director Theresa wouldn't lie to me, right? After all…"
[Click!]
[Then what do you want? If the request isn't too excessive, I can consider it.]
Inaba Tsukiyo held a voice recorder, playing back what Theresa had just said.
Theresa, who hadn't expected Inaba Tsukiyo to have such a trick, was completely stunned, directly super-evolving into "Theresa the Fool."
"You… you… you actually…"
"Don't blame me, Director Theresa. After all, Ms. Secretary and Ms. Himeko told me about you. To successfully get my remuneration, I could only resort to such means."
This voice recorder was given to her by Bronya. When she asked Bronya for a voice recorder, Bronya knew to open a desk drawer and casually took out a pen and paper to hand to Inaba Tsukiyo.
Although she didn't know why Bronya prepared so many voice recorders, this voice recorder also helped Inaba Tsukiyo this time.
With a smiling face, Inaba Tsukiyo approached Theresa, leaned down, and whispered in Theresa's ear.
"Don't worry, I have no reason to make things difficult for you. It's just… I want this matter to be our little secret."
Saying that, before Theresa could react, she pulled out the "Haxxor Bunny (Homu) Adventure" and the hell-spicy potato chips that Theresa had hidden under the documents on her desk.
"Now, we have one more little secret between us. Hehe~ A Headmaster who doesn't slack off isn't a good Headmaster. It seems Director Theresa, you really are a good Headmaster."
Gently stroking Theresa's face, which had turned red from embarrassment, Inaba Tsukiyo bowed and left Theresa's office.
After Inaba Tsukiyo left, Theresa finally breathed a sigh of relief, touching her flushed cheeks, not understanding why she had reacted that way.
Clearly… clearly, even when facing Himeko and the secretary, she wouldn't have such a reaction. Why, when facing Inaba Tsukiyo, did she always fall into a passive state? And… "Why… do I always want to act spoiled towards Tsukiyo-chan? Clearly… clearly, I'm older than her, and I'm also the Headmaster. Why do I have such thoughts?"
Truly, this was the first time Theresa had felt this way, just like when she was first adopted by Otto and acted spoiled towards him.
However, this feeling should only be for family. Why did she feel this way towards Inaba Tsukiyo too?
While Theresa was troubled by this, Inaba Tsukiyo leaned against the office door, recalling the feeling from earlier, and shook her head, a little strangely.
Ever since Kallen was released last time, Theresa would act very strangely around her, always wanting to rub her head and even having a desire to bully her.
"What's going on?"
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