"Bouncing Judah!"
"May the Captain's supplies always hit pity, may the Captain's stages yield zero drops~"
"May the Traveler always hit hard pity, may the Traveler's artifacts roll all defense~"
"Big Bro Captain-Traveler, please whale another hundred 648 packs for little Theresa."
This Theresa has gone completely Klee-razy.
The first rays of the morning sun fell upon the white-haired nun, who was talking in her sleep. The dream-muttering came to an abrupt halt as a pair of cerulean eyes slowly opened.
"Ngh..."
Theresa Apocalypse—head of the Apocalypse family, director of the Far East Branch, principal of St. Freya Academy, retired S-rank Valkyrie, granddaughter of Overseer Otto, candidate for the position of Schicksal Overseer, and the world's number one super-legal loli—rubbed her eyes.
She looked around in a daze.
Ah, this was her room.
She placed the red-and-blue gaming console that had been resting on her stomach onto the floor, then glanced at the clock on the wall.
Oh, ten o'clock.
It was time for this principal to go to work.
"Time for work!"
Theresa stood up and placed her hands on her hips.
"And time to knock off with a flourish!"
Then she flopped back onto the floor, pulled a nearby blanket over her stomach, and picked up her game console again to continue her journey across the continent of Hyrule.
Hee hee, a wonderful day like this is best spent holed up at home playing games.
"Theresa!?"
However, before she could even start, the door to her room was violently thrown open.
"Ah!"
Theresa yelped in surprise, losing her grip on the console. It flew up and smacked her right in the face.
"Oof! That hurts!?"
She clutched her delicate face and rolled around on the floor.
"Himeko Squad... no, wait, Major Himeko, what are you doing? I was just taking a little break, I'll get to work in a minute."
Theresa rubbed her reddened nose and complained with a pout.
She didn't even need to look. The only person who would dare to barge into her room so rudely was her closest friend—Murata Himeko.
She looked up, and sure enough.
A voluptuous woman with beautiful long red hair stood in the doorway, looking helplessly at her friend who loved to slack off.
This principal was great in every way, except for the fact that she never did any actual work.
Himeko x Theresa.jpg
Seeing the shimmering light of a game reflected in Theresa's eyes, Himeko sighed helplessly.
"Theresa, I just checked your email. Overseer Otto sent you a message last night."
"Grandpa? What does he want with me?" Theresa tilted her head in confusion.
She had been cooped up here playing games all night; how would she have seen any message from her grandpa?
"What does Grandpa want? It's not another one of his nagging 'stay warm, eat well' messages, is it?"
She didn't pay it much mind. Usually, when Otto contacted her, it was about some trivial matter.
"No. Overseer Otto is in Nagazora City right now. He wants you to go there and pick someone up."
Theresa frowned.
What was her grandpa, who usually loved being a shut-in at the headquarters, doing in Nagazora?
Honestly, Grandpa came all the way to Nagazora without even telling me.
Wait a second!
Could he be here for a surprise inspection?
Theresa was instantly on high alert. If Grandpa cut the Far East Branch's funding, she would have to resort to acting cute and spoiled to get it back.
She fished her communication terminal out from under the sofa and, sure enough, saw a message from Otto sent last night.
After reading the email, Theresa's brow furrowed deeply.
"Siegfried's... daughter?"
Theresa stared at the name of the person Otto wanted her to pick up.
Her eyes widened, and her heart began to pound rapidly within her small frame.
Siegfried's daughter!?
Doesn't that mean...!
Theresa shot to her feet and turned to Himeko. "Himeko, I need to borrow your Hyperion! We're going to Nagazora City, right now!"
"Oh," Himeko responded nonchalantly. She looked at the agitated Theresa with some curiosity. She had known Theresa for a long time, and this was the first time she had ever seen her this worked up.
"But if we take the Hyperion, won't Overseer Otto think we're planning a rebellion?" Himeko voiced her concern.
The Hyperion was Himeko's personal aerial warship. After modifications by its captain, Himeko, it was now a battleship in the truest sense of the word.
She glanced at the petite Theresa. She knew her friend had no real ambition and held no interest in the position of Schicksal Overseer.
There really was a crown prince over forty years old in this world.
But whether Overseer Otto would see it the same way was another matter entirely. After all, throughout history, many emperors have been wary of their crown princes. Himeko wasn't familiar with Otto, so she had to consider the possibility.
"Grandpa won't care about little things like that," Theresa said, puffing out her Schicksal-brand flat chest, which could rival Shenzhou's own.
"Is that so..."
Since Theresa had said as much, Himeko didn't press the issue. The two of them boarded the Hyperion aerial warship and set off for Nagazora City.
Cleric.jpg
---o---
Slender fingers toyed with the strands of moonlight-white hair.
"I actually think you'd look better with your hair down, like Asakura Miyuki or Mei," Otto commented.
Kiana sat in a chair in the reception hall while Otto stood behind her, fiddling with her twin braids.
"Or maybe you could try a single ponytail."
Every change in her hairstyle signified Kiana's growth, as well as the pain she had endured. But in Otto's hands, Kiana's destiny had already deviated. Perhaps she would never have to experience those sorrows.
In a little while longer, he could pose her however he wished.
"Hmm..." Kiana hummed thoughtfully. She had worn her hair in this style since she was very young and had never changed it. It was simply very practical for getting around.
"Who are we waiting for here?" Kiana finally asked. After Otto had brought her to Schicksal's base in Nagazora, the two of them had just been waiting.
Waiting for the person to whom Otto was entrusting her.
They had been waiting for a full two hours.
Even Otto was beginning to wonder if Theresa was going to stand him up.
Kiana didn't want to leave. She was worried that once she left, she would never see Otto again. Because she had so little, the girl was plagued by the fear of losing it.
Otto was making her leave because something was going to happen in Nagazora that could affect her.
In that case, wouldn't she be just like a deserter?
I'll be safe, but what about you, Otto?
But Otto's firm insistence left her no room to stay.
Honestly, saying things like I'm his treasure and his only weakness... He's always saying stuff like that. What am I supposed to do if I actually start to believe him?
"Are you worried? It's alright. The person coming to get you isn't a bad person," Otto said with a smile, patting Kiana's head. "In terms of seniority, you could even call her your great-aunt."
Even though the Kiana before him was the clone K-423, a creation of the original Otto, he knew Theresa would not reject her. Because if Theresa rejected K-423, it would be the same as rejecting herself.
"Great-aunt?"
Kiana frowned. She had lived with her dad her whole childhood and had never heard of any great-aunt. She didn't even know if she had any family besides Siegfried.
"Siegfried never mentioned the name Theresa Apocalypse to you?"
Kiana shook her head, but then she caught a key detail.
"Apocalypse?"
That was Otto's surname, wasn't it?
A smile tugged at the corner of Otto's lips. He continued to play with Kiana's hair, as if trying to tie her two braids into a bow.
"That's right. Theresa is my granddaughter."
Granddaughter?
Kiana's mouth fell open. She was sure she had misheard.
She turned her head to look at Otto, who simply met her gaze with a smile and a nod.
"My great-aunt... is your granddaughter?" Kiana asked, stunned.
Otto looked like he was only in his twenties. How could he possibly have a granddaughter? And if he had a granddaughter... then Otto, he...
"I'm still single, you know," Otto said with a laugh. "Theresa is just my adopted granddaughter."
Oh, so she wasn't related by blood. That was a relief.
That's so criminal.
Still, Kiana figured that for a girl named Theresa to catch the eye of an old lecher like Otto, she must be a tall, beautiful girl with a curvy butt, large breasts, and long legs.
Hmph.
The experienced old driver, Kiana, shot Otto a look of disdain.
"Don't you get lonely when I'm not around," Otto said with a chuckle.
Kiana snorted through her nose. "Of course I won't be lonely."
She leaned her head against Otto's chest and looked up at his handsome face.
After a moment of silence, she spoke again, her voice laced with anxiety.
"Otto, you have to promise you'll come back for me."
"I will."