About three weeks later. St. Freya High School. Headmaster's Office.
In the office, Theresa looked at the supply list sent from headquarters on the light screen and casually clicked on one of the weapons.
"MagStorm—a tachi-type weapon. Let me see the description..."
"When the Honkai Energy particles in the electromagnetic field erupt, its power is comparable to a single strike from the Third Herrscher????"
Looking at this incredibly bizarre description, Theresa was a bit stunned.
Although she had gone to the Far East due to a conflict with Otto, it didn't mean she was ignorant of the research and development progress back at headquarters.
After all, her conflict with Otto was one-sided. Whenever a newly developed weapon suitable for Theresa was made, Otto would still send someone to deliver it to the Far East Branch immediately.
No matter what Theresa was dissatisfied with Otto about, she would never deny that Otto truly doted on her.
That was why Theresa found it quite strange that Schicksal could produce something like this now.
Logically speaking, the main weapon development project Schicksal was currently conducting was the major project of the [ Pantheon] Soulium armaments.
And this tachi, called MagStorm, was clearly not from the Pantheon series based on its name.
"Oh, is the supply from headquarters so generous this time?"
Seeing Theresa's surprised expression, Himeko walked over to her side and casually clicked on the description page of another weapon.
"Star Ring Vortex—the wrist is equipped with a small Honkai Energy reactor, capable of releasing a strong impact."
After looking at the weapon's appearance, Himeko immediately said to Theresa.
"This naming style and the weapon's external appearance are clearly things from Anti-Entropy."
"Ah, I remember now. I heard from a friend at headquarters that after ME Corp was abandoned by Cocolia, headquarters sent people to turn the place upside down, and they actually found some things."
"It seems these weapons were sent directly to us for testing after Lord Bishop Otto finished analyzing the data at headquarters."
"What the heck!"
Looking at the weapons on the list, Theresa stomped her foot in annoyance.
"Grandpa even said here that the MagStorm tachi is for Mei, the Star Ring Vortex gauntlets are for Leo Ash, and the Light & Shadow dual pistols are for Kiana... Huh, what about Bronya and Yuno's?"
"I swear, you..."
Looking at Theresa, who had frozen mid-anger, Himeko said helplessly.
"Didn't I say in the report I submitted to you that Bronya has her own suitable weapon, and Yuno gave up her application for powerful equipment because she felt she needed to train her Herrscher powers? She thinks carrying some ordinary weapons for emergencies is enough."
"And looking at you, you must think that Lord Bishop Otto plans to use these problem children as test subjects for weapons."
"That's right, Grandpa would definitely do something like that!"
Thinking of the heart-wrenching expression Leo Ash had shown her, Theresa felt the anger in her heart burn even hotter.
"Grandpa promised back then to give Leo Ash a Pantheon weapon. And the result—now he thinks he can just fob him off with some junk picked up from Anti-Entropy?"
"I'm angry! I'm really angry now!"
*Wow, that kid has been in your family for less than a month, and you're already doting on him this much?*
Looking at Theresa's expression, Himeko felt that Leo Ash...
Well, he was handsome and his personality was, in a way, very attractive. It wasn't strange that he could win Theresa's affection under these circumstances.
Even if Leo Ash himself had no such intentions, the feeling he gave off and the aura he exuded unconsciously made those who knew him feel a bit of heartache.
"Oh, I think you should calm down a bit first."
Opening the second page of the supply list, Himeko saw a message left by Otto in the electronic list.
"'My dear Theresa, when you see these weapons, you will surely think that Grandpa has broken his promise and intends to placate you with them.'"
"'But Grandpa promises, these are the most suitable weapons for Leo Ash and the other young ladies. They are just preparing to step onto the battlefield now. Giving them Pantheon weapons, they wouldn't be able to master them perfectly.'"
"'In my opinion, only after they can skillfully use these next-tier, or even weapons of the same tier as the Pantheon armaments, will they have earned the qualification to wield those Soulium weapons.'"
"'Moreover, these weapons were all obtained from ME Corp. For these weapons to return to the hands of Miss Raiden Mei and her companions is, in a sense, a return to their rightful owner'—that's what Lord Bishop Otto says."
"Hmph, he's just being stingy and making excuses."
"I wouldn't go that far."
After opening the other weapons and looking at their parameters, Himeko nodded slightly.
"I actually think Lord Bishop Otto is right. If they can't even skillfully use these weapons, giving them Pantheon weapons would be harming them."
"And if you look closely, you'll find that these weapons are indeed very suitable for them."
"This MagStorm tachi... heh, 'comparable to a single strike from the Third Herrscher' is definitely an exaggeration, but combining the magnetic storm with Mei's abilities can clearly multiply her destructive power in battle."
"Leo Ash's biggest problem right now is that he can only rely on his Stigmata's eruption for a temporary Honkai Energy boost. The Star Ring Vortex's wrist-mounted small Honkai Energy reactor can release shockwaves, which can in turn reduce Leo Ash's reliance on his Stigmata."
"As for the dual pistols assigned to Kiana, according to the description and combat footage, it says they can cause an explosive reaction between two mutually repulsive Honkai Energy particles through the compression of a strong electromagnetic field, instantly sucking away the surrounding heat."
"Of course, it's described so mysteriously, but in reality, it just releases cold air and ice bullets to attack the enemy. Kiana's Gun Kata itself relies heavily on intuition. If she can suppress the enemy first with freezing attacks, then Kiana can use her speed advantage to completely dominate the enemy with Gun Kata until they are defeated."
"Hearing you say that... these weapons do seem quite suitable for them?"
Listening to Himeko's explanation, Theresa's tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little.
Then, she looked at her friend suspiciously and threw out another question.
"Grandpa doesn't usually interact with you much, right? Why are you suddenly speaking up for him today?"
"I'm speaking up for Lord Bishop Otto, but it's not for his sake."
"I've been working with you for several years, it's not like I can't see it. On one hand, you have a conflict with him, but on the other hand, you really want to continue getting along with him."
"...Tch, if only Grandpa wasn't so unreasonable."
"Forget it, let's not talk about this."
Changing the subject, Theresa quickly walked over to the sofa and lightly jumped onto it.
"It's been three weeks. What do you think of those little ones now?"
"They are all good seedlings, of course—provided they can solve their own problems."
Sitting down on another sofa in a carefree manner, Himeko said helplessly.
"Their respective problems are all a bit difficult to handle, the kind of major trouble that we teachers can hardly intervene in."
"Especially Leo Ash. I finally understand now why those two little girls, Rita and Bianka, who rarely contact me, would both secretly ask me to keep an eye on him."
"Eh, they contacted you too?"
Hearing the news Himeko suddenly dropped, Theresa was stunned for a moment, then shook her head with a bitter smile.
"No wonder. That child is indeed very worrying."
In fact, Schicksal members like Leo Ash were not uncommon.
Many Schicksal members joined for revenge after their families were killed by the Honkai.
However, for most Schicksal members, they simply didn't have the aptitude to step onto the battlefield and could only do logistical work within the organization that suited them.
So for these people, unable to go to the battlefield, they were at least safe most of the time.
But Leo Ash was different.
He suppressed the Third Herrscher right after his debut.
Even with the help of the HSN serum, this achievement couldn't be simply dismissed.
With Leo Ash himself having this intention, Otto naturally wouldn't mind having another usable and daring pawn in his hands.
Under these conditions, Leo Ash, who was both capable and a vengeful demon, would inevitably face far more danger than other Schicksal members.
And now, the most troublesome problem was—Otto really thought highly of him.
If Otto thought highly of him, it was useless no matter how much others tried to stop it.
Schicksal was, to put it bluntly, Otto's one-man show. For example, now that Otto had requested Leo Ash to participate in the upcoming Jiuyou mission, no one had the ability to make Otto retract this idea.
It was precisely because Leo Ash was about to participate in this mission that Theresa hoped Otto would give him better equipment.
Looking at his current state, Theresa felt that even a slight increase in Leo Ash's survival rate would be a good thing.
"Alright, I know you're worried about those little ones."
Seeing the sorrow on Theresa's face, Himeko said to her with a smile.
"These little rascals can't be relied upon, but the team leader this time is Fu Hua."
"She's much more mature than these new recruits. As long as Leo Ash is really the type to follow orders properly, with Fu Hua watching him, you can rest a little easier, right?"
"I hope so... Sigh, Leo Ash."
*That child is a good child, but...*
*If his psychological problems aren't resolved, even if he doesn't die on the battlefield, he will sooner or later break down due to mental exhaustion.*
...
St. Freya High School. Training Ground.
On the training ground, Leo Ash and Fu Hua were still continuously sparring.
Ever since officially enrolling, Fu Hua had been coming to spar with Leo Ash every few days.
And during these spars, Fu Hua wasn't, as she claimed, there to settle a score with Leo Ash.
On the contrary, Leo Ash could sense that Fu Hua was feeding him moves, trying to teach him the Inch-Heart Fist Style she had mastered.
However, precisely because Leo Ash was dragged away by Fu Hua for combat training every day, rumors had already begun to spread in St. Freya High School that 'Sister Fu Hua has taken a fancy to Lord Leo Ash'.
Although these rumors had, to some extent, helped drive away some of the female students interested in him, Leo Ash still felt that...
—These people at St. Freya High School really have too much time on their hands.
Having the free time to create such rumors after class, they were just like ordinary high school students.
"You're distracted, Leo Ash."
Noticing that Leo Ash was distracted, Fu Hua took a step forward and punched him in the abdomen.
Only when she hit her target did she realize with a start that Leo Ash had, as usual, used his exquisite blocking technique to parry her sudden blow.
"Indeed, I was just thinking about something."
After blocking the blow, Leo Ash didn't launch a counter-attack but instead released Fu Hua's fist.
"My apologies, that was my fault."
"No, perhaps I was also a bit too..."
Fu Hua, who was about to say she was too impatient, suddenly shook her head, walked to the edge of the training ground, and picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from her body.
*His speed at mastering the Inch-Heart Fist Style is actually very fast.*
*Even without me feeding him moves like this, Leo Ash could have completed the training for these six moves on his own by relying on the techniques he remembered from that day's battle.*
*Now I can understand why Rita wanted me to watch over him and tell him not to be in such a hurry to go to the battlefield.*
*After mastering the power of his Stigmata, Leo Ash, with his terrifying talent, already has the qualifications to become a strong warrior.*
*But in this world, becoming strong is not necessarily a good thing.*
*Especially for someone like Leo Ash who seeks revenge on the Honkai. Once he becomes strong, he will only step onto more dangerous battlefields, and his probability of death will increase significantly.*
*Ha, what a contradiction.*
*After teaching him the fist style, I still want to find an opportunity to have him study the Edge of Taixu.*
*But giving him new power is equivalent to accelerating his process of becoming stronger.*
*This is tantamount to pushing him onto more terrifying battlefields even faster.*
Thinking of this, Fu Hua felt that perhaps she should pause this training for a bit.
"Let's take a day off tomorrow, Student Leo Ash."
Opening her water bottle, Fu Hua said to Leo Ash.
"After all, I don't think we'll be able to determine a winner anytime soon."
"Ah, I had a similar thought. Tomorrow... we should indeed rest."
Thinking about today's date, Leo Ash suddenly said to Fu Hua.
"Classmate Fu Hua, tomorrow happens to be a day off. Are you free?"
"I want to buy something. If you're free, I hope you can come to the mall with me, help me choose, and give me some advice."
...