When getting the various cities to purchase the Honkai Inhibitor Devices, how to act righteously and build St. Freya Academy's image as a savior in the eyes of ordinary people? How to further promote the academy while installing the related devices to bring economic benefits, fame, and tangible or intangible interests? These were all things Evan considered. It might sound a bit despicable, but it was actually essential.
The ordinary people of the Far East needed to know that St. Freya Academy was protecting them. Building a sense of identity was crucial. Only then could St. Freya Academy reduce resistance and even gain external support when facing natural disasters like the Honkai, or man-made disasters originating from organizations like Schicksal in the future.
The economic benefits could become funds for upgrading the Valkyrie Squad's equipment. Originally, the combat battlesuits owned by St. Freya Academy—even for an A-rank Valkyrie like Himeko Murata—were products of Schicksal. After St. Freya Academy broke away, lacking the corresponding equipment and specific technology, they could only perform basic maintenance and couldn't enhance them.
If they had enough money, they could not only purchase those devices but possibly even poach some talent from Schicksal.
That Lord Overseer wasn't the type to lower himself to cultivate a sense of belonging among the organization's personnel. In Otto's eyes, aside from himself and Kallen, everyone else was a pawn.
Although he hid it well, the lack of human touch must have been felt by the people of Schicksal to some extent. Those kind Valkyries who were willing to sacrifice themselves to protect others gathered in Schicksal not because of Otto's personal charisma, but simply because Schicksal was the organization that fought the Honkai and protected the people.
The 3rd Eruption, which broke out in St. Freya Academy's sphere of influence, formed a perfect contrast with the 2nd Eruption previously handled by Schicksal. Whether in terms of battle losses or results, St. Freya showed superiority. Even though the main reason was that Raiden Mei wasn't a truly perfect Herrscher, the vast majority of the outside world didn't know that.
The timing now was just too good.
Evan thought about many things and specifically wrote a detailed plan.
Originally, he intended for Theresa to find someone with long-term vision in St. Freya Academy to discuss the details. However, after confirming the various intentions of the plan, Theresa directly approved it without hesitation, showing no reservation about Evan wanting to poach talent from her own grandfather's organization.
Although she showed great trust, it also confirmed from another aspect that St. Freya Academy really didn't have any talent in business management.
Compared to Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, St. Freya Academy was ultimately lacking too much, and not just in terms of scientific technology and personnel combat power.
Evan deeply realized that what he needed to consider wasn't just how to improve his own strength.
When Evan left the Principal's office, the entire morning had quietly passed.
Evan arrived at Himeko Murata's residence and exchanged a glance with Himeko, who was leaning back on the sofa, leisurely drinking beer.
All previous calculations vanished, replaced by warmth.
They smiled at each other, everything understood without words.
The noise of Evan's arrival caused Raiden Mei to poke her head out of her room. Seeing Evan, she revealed unconcealed joy and quickly brought over a plate of snacks that had obviously been prepared long ago.
"You probably haven't eaten, right? I heard from Himeko that you were talking with Principal Theresa the whole time?"
It seemed Himeko had said something earlier, as Raiden Mei, who had always used the address "Teacher Himeko," was now directly calling her "Himeko."
"Yeah, I helped process some documents and said some things that came to mind."
Evan didn't intend to tell Raiden Mei and Himeko the details of his plan. The duty of a Valkyrie was to fight; that alone was enough. Evan wouldn't add to their burdens.
"What things? I heard from Theresa that she plans to make you the Captain of the Hyperion in the future."
Himeko spoke from the side in a teasing tone, revealing something Theresa had originally intended to keep secret. Facing Evan, with whom she already had an intimate relationship, her attitude had changed slightly, though not too noticeably.
Raiden Mei didn't notice; her attention was completely attracted by the content of Himeko's words.
"Captain of the Hyperion? Isn't that your position, Himeko?"
"That's right. So, being replaced makes me quite disappointed."
With the smile on her face, Himeko didn't look disappointed at all.
Just as Raiden Mei was worrying that Himeko might harbor negative feelings toward Evan and wanted to offer comfort, Evan added fuel to the fire.
"By the way, the matter I discussed with Theresa earlier was expanding St. Freya Academy's recruitment scale. There should be some new students enrolling soon. I hope Teacher Himeko will continue to teach them knowledge about the Honkai when the time comes."
Himeko, who only knew Evan had been talking to Theresa but didn't know the specific content, raised an eyebrow, looking slightly confused.
"...Expanding recruitment scale?"
"When the 2nd Eruption happened before, only you, a single A-rank Valkyrie, and one Hyperion came to handle it. Such power is too weak. Even if A-rank Valkyrie isn't a level easily reached, we should at least send an aerial fleet over. So, St. Freya Academy needs talent, without a doubt."
"Aerial fleet? Aren't you being a bit too whimsical? Evan, do you know how much the maintenance cost of the Hyperion is?"
Himeko revealed a laughing-crying expression, but Evan didn't mind.
"One must still have dreams; what if they come true? Anti-Entropy has Titans, and Schicksal should have other trump cards besides Valkyries. It's not excessive at all for St. Freya Academy to form a true aerial fleet. Although it's indeed hard to achieve in a short time, let's work hard slowly."
Evan knew exactly what level Anti-Entropy's Titans had reached, and that Schicksal was also quietly researching mechs. besides these two organizations, there was also World Serpent.
As long as it was power, one could never have too much of it, regardless of its form.
Taking a bite of the dessert Raiden Mei offered him, Evan gave a thumbs-up to the girl who was dumbfounded by his previous statement.
"Delicious as always. Nice."
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