Sensing that the atmosphere was a bit off, Theresa frowned slightly and glanced at Ming Yu, who still had a calm expression, as if with a hint of dissatisfaction. *Although I arranged this, as the person involved, you should say something too.*
Receiving the Principal's signal, Ming Yu picked up a piece of chicken, chewed it, and then said with a slow, smiling tone, "Exactly, exactly. When you become official Valkyries, you won't be able to stay here forever either.
Besides, I'm only moving out of Teacher Himeko's apartment, not leaving St. Freya. It's not like we won't see each other again. Plus, the Principal doesn't live here either, but she never misses a chance to freeload a meal."
Ignoring Theresa's slightly annoyed glare, Ming Yu mercilessly exposed the fact that the Principal had been freeloading meals all this time.
As the granddaughter of the Schicksal Overseer, Theresa's status in Schicksal was undeniably high. With the current Overseer having no other close relatives, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the Schicksal Princess. Although she would never have the right of succession, her esteemed position was certain. As for those who were dissatisfied, they could only grumble behind her back; on the surface, they had to give the Overseer face.
If such a Theresa wanted to live a life of luxury and indulgence, no one could say anything. Just her luxurious private villa at St. Freya was a testament to a certain Overseer's doting. If anyone said such a Theresa had no one to take care of her, Ming Yu would be the first to disbelieve it.
Yet this Principal was always coming here to eat and drink for free under various pretexts, and even had the nerve to act like a young girl. It was simply too much!
Hearing Ming Yu's words, Kiana's mood improved a bit. She hadn't thought too much about it; she was simply reluctant to part with the companions she had spent so much time with.
In fact, if Kiana were more observant, it wouldn't be hard for her to notice the issue between Ming Yu and Theresa. After all, Kiana's IQ and EQ were not low. But when she could rely on Mei and the others, she turned into a Paramecium, with no intention of using her brain.
Mei and Bronya also realized at this point that they had been overthinking things. Ming Yu didn't look like he had been threatened at all; on the contrary, there was a faint sense of carefree excitement about him.
To be fair, Theresa treated them quite well. If it were any other organization, after getting a hold of them, they would probably be immediately trained for combat and thrown onto some battlefield.
But Theresa seemed to genuinely treat them as ordinary people, letting them complete St. Freya's courses like normal girls, training them to become Valkyries, and not even separating Kiana.
Apart from living in Himeko's apartment, there was basically no differential treatment.
To achieve this, there were only two possibilities. Either Theresa was very broad-minded and wasn't worried about them having ulterior motives because she was absolutely confident she could control the situation. Or, Theresa truly, as she said, wanted to train them into St. Freya-style Valkyries, teaching them to control the power of the Honkai.
From their time together, they were more inclined towards the latter.
Although Theresa's attitude towards Ming Yu was a bit concerning, it could only be attributed to Ming Yu's uniqueness. Whether it was the sudden appearance of Hiyokumaru or those two extraordinary katanas, it all indicated that something significant had happened in the Stigmata Space.
But neither Ming Yu nor Theresa had any intention of explaining all this to them. So, apart from being curious, they didn't ask what had happened. St. Freya High School might be a school, but it wasn't *just* a school!
Although they hadn't been at St. Freya for long, they knew what to ask and what not to ask. Not everyone was a Paramecium, and not everyone had a great aunt who was the principal.
With Himeko's and Ming Yu's explanations, the atmosphere at the dinner table livened up a bit. At least the oppressive and heavy mood had disappeared, as if everything just now had been an illusion.
"The Valkyrie Rank-Up Exam, what's that?" Kiana asked curiously, latching onto Theresa's words. After being at St. Freya for so long, she had been working hard to become an A-rank Valkyrie (if playing games with Bronya every day and finishing a table full of food made by Mei counted), but she was still just a Valkyrie trainee, far from being an official Valkyrie, let alone an A-rank one.
Now that there was a possible path to promotion, she naturally wouldn't let it go. In her plan, it would be incredibly simple for the genius Miss Kiana to become a Valkyrie. Once she became an A-rank Valkyrie, she could make Theresa tell her where her stinky old dad was.
"Oh, that." Theresa took a sip of bitter melon juice while pretending to explain nonchalantly, "It's the exam to become a Valkyrie. Only by passing this exam can you become an official Valkyrie."
Seeing Kiana's eyes suddenly light up, Theresa immediately threw a bucket of cold water on her, saying ruthlessly, "You can forget about it. With your current strength, it's impossible to pass. Just wait for the next time!
More importantly, the inspector from HQ who is coming this time will also be present at the exam. So, don't go up there and make a fool of yourself."
*Besides, it's not just about strength, but also the sensitive identity of Kiana Kaslana,* Theresa added silently.
If it were a normal exam, HQ wouldn't get involved. But because of Ming Yu, HQ would be shipping Abyss Flower over in a few days and naturally needed a legitimate reason to cover it up. The upcoming Valkyrie Rank-Up Exam was undoubtedly the best cover.
As for whether some people would find it too unusual for HQ to send someone to inspect a branch's Valkyrie exam and thus suspect the branch's loyalty, that was something for the Overseer to consider.
If it were any other branch, perhaps someone might think that way. But the Far East Branch's situation was special. No one would question a doting grandpa with a blonde granddaughter complex showing a certain degree of concern for his runaway, adorable granddaughter, even if it meant sending one of the organization's most precious assets, an S-rank Valkyrie, to check in on her.
Ultimately, a treasure of Abyss Flower's caliber was simply too important. If this news were to leak, there was no guarantee that someone wouldn't use it to stir up trouble. Even worse, if it led to Abyss Flower being lost, even a behemoth like Schicksal would feel the sting.
Back when Abyss Flower was lost at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, Schicksal had deployed countless personnel and resources and had never given up the search. Fortunately, it was eventually recovered; otherwise, who knows how much Schicksal would have grieved.
Although sending Durandal along would have perfectly solved this problem, this time the Overseer seemed to have no intention of dispatching the strongest Valkyrie, only having Rita, who was also an S-rank Valkyrie, transport this precious item.
The same item in Durandal's hands would be the deadliest weapon. But in another person's hands, it was just a precious treasure. Even if that person was also one of Schicksal's top S-rank Valkyries!
This was the power and uniqueness of a Divine Key, and also the reason Theresa had made certain compromises with Ming Yu.
Thinking of this, Theresa couldn't help but glare resentfully at Ming Yu, who was currently feasting with gusto. If it weren't for this guy messing around in that data space, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.