She forcibly steadied herself and said, "So the 'information' you mentioned, Bishop, is actually very important, and certain related matters aren't as easygoing as St. Freya's academic system?"
The girl stepped forward.
"The situation there is either very dangerous or very complicated, right?"
Otto gave an awkward laugh, trying to cover it up.
"What danger could St. Freya possibly have? You should know that Theresa was once an S-rank. Safety there is very well guaranteed."
Durandal automatically filtered out that excuse.
She began considering how to find out about the Far East Branch, especially now that she had once refused to join St. Freya.
Use a vacation as an excuse? But specifically going there for a vacation would be far too deliberate.
Pretend to pass through while carrying out a mission?
First of all, all Honkai incidents in the Far East were handled by the Far East Branch. It would be more suspicious if she went poking around nearby for no reason.
The Third Honkai War had only ended recently. The Far East Branch had already recovered and was gradually taking over the local aftermath.
Given her status, appearing there would be too conspicuous. She would easily be watched at all times, making any investigation impossible.
How about asking Rita for advice?
No, that would make her misunderstand Durandal's intentions. Besides, as Bai Yan's superior, Rita also had to avoid suspicion in certain matters.
What should she do...
Durandal sank into deep thought. After a brief silence, Otto spoke.
"Speaking of which, Bai Yan's Collapse Energy adaptability is quite high. With proper training, he has a promising future ahead of him.
"I remember that during his evaluation, he had every chance of becoming A-rank. Even S-rank wasn't impossible.
"It's just a pity that he himself doesn't seem willing to go to the front lines, and his performance in the rear has been exceptionally good...
"Actually, Bianca, the matter of you wanting him to become your companion needs to be considered from other angles..."
Just as Otto tried to guide the girl's thoughts in another direction, she seemed to be on an entirely different server, lost in thought. Then she suddenly slammed a fist into her palm.
"Bishop, aren't you worried about the Far East Branch's combat strength? Especially in an environment like St. Freya, the Valkyries trained there may very well lack the ability to fight under high-pressure conditions."
"Uh..."
After being interrupted mid-cast, Otto slightly adjusted his train of thought.
His adorable granddaughter was indeed reluctant to see him, but she had not truly broken away from him.
It was simply difficult to show concern for her normally.
Otto had never considered anything like teaching quality. St. Freya was merely a place for his granddaughter to play house.
As for its significance to his plans, it was only coincidentally suitable.
To cultivate someone who bore a mission, a true protagonist of the world, one could not force growth or rush for results.
Once she had lived a full life and learned the truth, she would one day cast off such low-level interests and contemplate the meaning of her own existence.
But before then, finding a perfectly suitable excuse to visit St. Freya would let him see Theresa on one hand, and observe K423's growth on the other. That sounded rather good, didn't it?
With that thought, Otto nodded. "Indeed. The scale of training results is often inversely proportional to casualty numbers. Inspecting and guiding some of our branches is also one of headquarters' duties."
Otto cleverly used the word "results" rather than "level of hardship."
Back when Sirin had been so terrifying, could effort and sweat alone have been enough?
Of course, Dumb Goose did not know those details and failed to notice the bishop's subtle wording.
Her attention had been completely drawn to the words "inspection and guidance."
"Bishop, I am willing to participate in this inspection and guidance work!"
She declared it righteously, without the slightest shame over using public business for private purposes. Instead, she was delighted by it.
This way, she could investigate Bai Yan's situation while also helping colleagues at the various branches improve. It was truly the best of both worlds.
Seriously, why had she never thought of this before?
"Of course." Otto nodded, his gaze shifting slightly to the screen. "I think we can consider using competitions or similar methods that lean as close to actual combat as possible to get a clear picture of each branch's situation."
"Looks like we'll have to bring Ragna along. After all, she happens to be responsible for training newcomers right now.
"This will be a fairly large-scale event, so before that, we'll need around two months of preparation..."
In reality, Otto planned to dump all the remaining inspection work onto Ragna after visiting St. Freya.
And if that did not work, he could toss Amber over to Ragna as well to help out.
What a perfect little plan.
"Bishop, I remember that Raiden Mei is also at St. Freya. Could Bai Yan's mission have something to do with her?"
"Of course not. His mission is to get close to Kiana Kaslana—"
Otto immediately put on an expression of "ah, how careless of me," yet did not correct himself or try to conceal it.
Durandal frowned.
"Kiana Kaslana..."
She did not press further, because she believed the bishop had deliberately stopped there, and she was not someone who liked to pester others endlessly.
But at that moment, she had already listed Kiana Kaslana as a key target for special attention during this "inspection and guidance."
Bai Yan: What the hell!
Inside the hotel room, Bai Yan put down his communicator.
"Looks like this can't be settled peacefully. With Dumb Goose's stubborn personality, she's probably really going to crank up the pressure on me."
"She clearly knew the reason after that incident. As expected, she just couldn't save face."
Before the incident in Egypt back then, Schicksal had been in something close to a combat-power vacuum.
Earlier, at the Taj Mahal, Bianca had already witnessed brutal sacrifices.
The Second Honkai War had taken away too many elite fighters who opposed the Honkai. The high-end combat forces alone had nearly been wiped out: Sigfried had left, Cecilia had died, and Fu Hua had been crippled.
Among the five A-ranks of the Snowwolf Squad, four had died and one had gone missing.
The countless other dead could not even be listed one by one.
Therefore, before Durandal officially advanced to S-rank, Schicksal was likely at its weakest point since Otto had formally taken power.
As a member of the logistics department, Bai Yan's work was not simply material dispatching and record-keeping.
After the battle in Egypt ended, Bai Yan went with his logistics colleagues to the emergency treatment center, where the wounded had just been transported back.
Some of the wounded were not handled by the medical team.
"So it's that kid from logistics... That means I really am about to die..."
Her entire body was wrapped in bandages, with only half her face exposed, yet she was smiling as she looked at Bai Yan.
"Heh, just as expected of you. You even know my tastes so well."
She took the large cup of warm milk tea, greedily sipping it with a satisfied expression.
After draining it, she handed the cup back and said, "I was planning to make a move once you grew up a little more. Hehe... cough, cough, cough..."
Bai Yan placed a hand on her head and gently stroked it.
"Oh my, you're only making me regret it more. You're so young, yet so thoughtful..."
"It's a little cold. The heater's on, right?"
The boy nodded.
"Then I need to hurry—say, do people in Shenzhou believe in reincarnation? You know, after someone dies, all their memories are washed away, and then they are born into this world again."
The boy nodded again.
"If I reincarnate now and begin a new life, will the Honkai already have been defeated by then? My new life should be able to begin in an era without Honkai, right?"
"It can."
"Haha, you're actually that certain..."
Soon, her expression became flippant again.
"Hey, what if the new me became part of your family? Wouldn't our forms of address be reversed? The new, little me would run over and call you 'Uncle' or something. Hahahaha..."
She had clearly held a grudge over being called "Auntie" before, yet could find no way to retaliate.
Bai Yan suddenly smiled. "What if she calls me Dad?"
The Valkyrie laughed even harder. That joke made it impossible for her to keep a straight face.
But gradually, her voice faded, and her eyelids grew heavy.
"I... I..."
She stretched out her hand, and Bai Yan immediately took it.
"You... live... well..."
That hand slowly slipped down. Bai Yan gently placed it upon her chest.
He closed the white sheet and rose to his feet.
"Little Yan, this work isn't something you have to do..."
"It's fine. Maybe after they're gone, seeing that I'm a decent person, they'll quietly bless me."
"..."
"Where are the autopsy reports?" Bai Yan asked again.
"The first batch has already been compiled. As for handling the bodies..."
"Leave the makeup to me."
"But..."
"Remember to bring over a batch of needles and thread too. The demand will be very high this time."
"Fine."
The memory was interrupted by a notification sound. He picked up his communicator again and discovered that someone who never replied had sent him a message.
Anna: Where are you?
Bai Yan curled his lips and casually replied.
Bai Yan: Carrying out a mission. I can't return to headquarters anytime soon.
Anna quickly sent back a crying emoji.
Anna: I just received an order to return to headquarters. Apparently there's some special mission.
Bai Yan: Then be careful.
Anna: This is strange. Did you really ever write me a love letter and confess to me?
Bai Yan: I did.
Anna: Why do I have absolutely no impression of that?
Bai Yan: I'm not very cultured. I'll write another one after I improve, and you can give it a ruthless review.
Anna: ??? Hey, can you be serious?
Seeing this, Bai Yan could not help laughing, while also sighing inwardly.
"Kaslana Genes are really strong~"
Just look at the Kiana sisters. They clearly had Saniate Genes in them, yet neither was the least bit gentle!
That was some seriously recessive inheritance.
The older sister's mind was filled with power, while the younger sister's was filled with food and power. Neither had inherited their mother's personality at all.
After chatting with Anna for a while longer, he saw that the time had come, checked out of the hourly hotel room, and returned to St. Freya.
Before you continue