Rita's Worries

Upon hearing this, Gwen had already suppressed his surprise, smiled slightly, looked at Rita across the screen, and said softly.

"You really are... Well then, Rita will accept your blessing..."

Hearing Gwen's words, Rita's smile deepened, and she bowed slightly to Gwen again.

"I look forward to the day we meet again."

"Yes, that day won't be too far away."

Gwen smiled and nodded, agreeing with Rita's suggestion.

I'll bring you a birthday present then—

"I just hope you don't mind that we arrived too late."

"Hehe, how could that be?"

Rita's gaze softened further, and she didn't stand on ceremony with Gwen, simply smiling as she spoke.

Rita will be looking forward to that day...

According to Far Eastern culture, shouldn't Rita say something now—

May you have great success in your military campaigns!

"Thank you for your kind words."

Gwen smiled, raised his hand, and clenched his fist, gesturing with strength.

After the two fell silent, Otto smiled and nodded to Rita, gesturing for her to sit down again. Then he turned the camera back to her and asked with a smile:

"So, besides Rita, Gwen, is there anyone else you need me to greet?"

"...

No need, Your Lord Bishop. We are still on a mission, and I have already overstepped my bounds.

Furthermore, I don't want my own affairs to interfere with everyone's lives and work.

Gwen shook his head at this, looking like a complete airhead.

"Ha ha..."

Otto smiled upon hearing this, gave one last instruction, and then hung up the call.

"By the way, I just entered the contact information for all levels of the Far East Branch into Moonlight. Gwen, you can contact us anytime you need to make a transfer—"

I look forward to the day you return, Gwen.

"..."

The communication projection disappeared. Gwen blinked, took a deep breath, and then exhaled a long breath, his expression somewhat complicated.

If Gwen hadn't already known Otto's true nature, he probably would have truly regarded him as a caring and reliable superior or even an elder.

Or perhaps, to ordinary people who are not involved in Kallen's resurrection, Otto is a similar person?

"Oh...

However, none of that matters to me anymore...

Lying on his back in bed, gazing at the soft glow emanating from the ceiling chandelier, Gwen murmured to himself,

"I was originally just a pawn. Although my growth was better than expected, after connecting with Kiana, I became more useful..."

Lost in thought, Gwen patted his cheeks, pulling himself out of this inexplicable emotion—

"Don't overthink it. If you want to change those tragedies in the story, you'll inevitably have to go up against that old bastard Otto..."

With his gaze hardening again and his emotions calmed, Gwen opened his attribute panel—

Gwen 7

Power – S911

Durability - C612

Dexterity - D599

Spirit – SSS1999

Energy - SSS1782

Energy system: None

Development capabilities: Nourish Body with Soul, Nourish Soul with Soul, Ten Directions Bearing, Scorching Infinity, and the Five Elements Mutual Generation.

Although he hadn't had any systematic training for over a month, Gwen's spirit had rapidly reached its maximum value again during his practice of "Spirit Awakening Scripture," and his other attributes were increasing under the effect of "Nourish Body with Soul."

After the battle in the Sea of Quantum, Gwen's already impressive energy attributes surged even further after absorbing quantum energy.

Gwen that he could max out his energy attribute before leaving Changkong City.

"After upgrading to LV8, the only thing that can really affect me in the Schicksal's virtual training room is probably the Emperor-class, which can't be fully simulated..."

Should we try to reveal Eden's existence to Kevin and attempt to enter the Elysian Realm?

Hmm... I almost forgot, there's another planet with Void Pawn and Fragmentum Monster that Cocolia, but it costs points to get there, and the logistical support is definitely not as good as Schicksal's Virtual Training Room and Elysian Realm...

Or perhaps... we should use Kiana and Mei, letting them try to master the power of Herrscher?

Gwen pondered his future direction, but for some reason, when he thought of Mei and Kiana, a scene suddenly flashed through his mind—

He was sitting in a jeep when he crashed, while Kiana ran ahead of him...

"Puff..."

Even Gwen couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this scene.

Without getting lost in this nonsensical fantasy, Gwen quickly washed up, went to bed, and drifted off to sleep...

Meanwhile, in the bishop's office at Destiny Headquarters, Rita was in a good mood, but not entirely at ease, and certainly not as relaxed as Gwen.

"If Gwen hadn't reminded me, I would have almost forgotten that tomorrow is your birthday, Rita."

Otto glanced at the clock, which still showed five o'clock in the afternoon, and smiled as he looked at Rita had come to report on her work earlier but had been interrupted by Gwen's communication lock.

"Your Lord Bishop is very busy, so it is normal for you to make some oversights."

Rita shook her head gently, her smile unchanged, but her heart was not as calm as usual.

"You are a good child, but good children shouldn't be ignored just because they are obedient and well-behaved..."

Looking at the graceful Rita, Otto smiled and wagged his finger, then made a couple of gestures on the computer.

"I noticed you haven't had much vacation time lately, so I've approved three days off for you. It's your birthday, so go back and spend time with your parents and relax—"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Lord Bishop."

Upon hearing this, Rita's pretty face lit up with surprise, and she gave Otto a graceful bow.

But beneath that radiant smile, a greater worry quietly arose...

Chapter 182 Rita's Worries

After leaving the archbishop's office, Rita strolled down the wide corridor. Every now and then, passing Valkyrie or staff members would greet Rita, and Rita would respond with a flawless smile, just as she had for countless days before.

In last month's assessment, Rita met all the requirements for promotion to S-rank and passed the final assessment, successfully becoming the first S-rank in the post -Second Honkai War era.

Having achieved this, Rita's reputation naturally rose to a new level, and even other staff members who did not have direct work contact with her before came to know this S-rank Valkyrie who often referred to herself as a maid.

However, at this moment, the heart of this first S-rank of the new era was not as calm as his outward appearance suggested—

As the only person who knew that Gwen's true identity was not simply that of Caslana descendant who had been separated from the world, and that he was not even from this world but had been brought back from the Sea of Quantum by Durandal, and who had also noticed early on the similarities between Gwen and Otto in appearance and other aspects, Otto's previous words took on a more unusual meaning to Rita—

Rita is a good girl—good girls should be obedient, so Rita shouldn't do anything that's not allowed;

When you have time, go home and spend time with your parents— Rita, you're not alone; you have parents and relatives. You'd better listen to them.

Although she wished it were just her overthinking, her personality prevented Rita from burying her head in the sand like an ostrich and pretending nothing was wrong. Instead, she thought things through carefully and tried to avoid any oversights.

Back at her home, Rita changed into an apron and began preparing breakfast as usual.

Durandal is out on a mission today, Gwen is in the Far East, and even Anna isn't at headquarters, so Rita doesn't need to prepare much.

Even though her sharp knife skills still meticulously prepared the ingredients, the shadow in Rita's eyes did not disappear; instead, it grew even stronger.

Judging from Otto's attitude towards Gwen over the past few years, Rita has basically confirmed her previous suspicions.

Otto may have confirmed, through some channel he himself was unaware of, that Gwen, who came from the Sea of Quantum, did indeed have some kind of relationship with him.

Moreover, this relationship is probably quite special and close, so special that Otto even gave an attitude similar to that he had towards Theresa.

However, Rita still doesn't know whether Gwen is the new Theresa or whether he received similar treatment because of a relationship and unknown plans that she is unaware of.

The former is certainly better, Rita can put aside most of her worries about Gwen.

However, if it's the latter...

Rita, noticing a slight burnt smell, quickly put aside her thoughts and began to prepare the dish that had become irritated due to her distraction.

A moment later, looking at the slightly burnt dish on the table, Rita, who hadn't made such a mistake in a long time, sighed softly:

"No, I need to get myself in the right state over these three days..."

"I can't become part of the trouble before I've even helped him..."

Muttering to herself, Rita glanced at the photo on the table beside her—

The photo is a group photo taken last year on Rita's birthday. Rita, wearing a small crown, is held in the middle by Gwen, Durandal sits to her left, and Anna is on the right, mischievously helping Gwen hold Rita down. The bright sunlight shines on the faces of the four young people, making their smiles look particularly radiant.

"Well..."

With a deep sigh, the first S-rank Valkyrie of the new era of Schicksal felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Despite being a renowned S-rank, Rita, who was well aware of Schicksal's size and power, had absolutely no confidence in fighting him. At this moment, she could only pray that Gwen hadn't gotten involved in Sirin Project...

It certainly wasn't the planned sacrifice.

Otherwise, Rita would probably have to face a choice between family and friends...

"Gwen ...I hope you can continue to grow until...the moment you are strong enough to escape the Lord Bishop's grasp..."

While Rita worried that Otto might implicate Gwen in some future daring deeds, Otto, unaware of what the obedient boy was thinking, was carefully examining the log records that Moonbeam had sent back to the server—

Even though it was only a small part mainly about location errors, Otto still wanted to see what the secret was that Gwen believed could only be told to him after returning to headquarters.

Looking at some of the data, Otto's brows furrowed, forming a deep frown.

This part of the data gave Otto a very familiar feeling.

After Otto searched his database, his gaze instantly sharpened—

"This is...

He couldn't have gone back to...

Thinking about that possibility, and the potential implications behind it, Otto's initially good mood instantly soured.

Noticing Otto's change in mood, the Void Archives after Gwen left headquarters, suddenly spoke up—

"Although it's incredible, he did come from the Sea of Quantum after all."

Given the limited understanding of the Sea of Quantum by current civilization, it is normal that we have not been able to discover any quality in him that could connect to or even enter the Sea of Quantum.

After all, that was a realm that even Previous Civilization could only dabble in to a limited extent.

"..."

Otto remained noncommittal to the question about the Void Archives, his fingers lightly tapping the table, producing a crisp sound as he pondered in that inexplicable rhythm.

Based on the error data returned from the logs, the accident Gwen encountered earlier was very likely related to the Sea of Quantum. In other words, Gwen may have previously connected to or even directly entered the Sea of Quantum.

If this happened to someone else, Otto would be overjoyed.

After all, even with the Sirin Project, Otto wasn't going to put all his hopes into it. He hadn't stopped exploring the untapped blue ocean of the Sea of Quantum, but he had been struggling with a lack of manpower. If he could find a high-quality lab rat, Otto wouldn't mind training and utilizing him.

But what if this person is Gwen...?

The situation unfolded in a way that far exceeded his plans, which reminded Otto of some painful memories from the past.

Fortunately, although Gwen's life had been arranged, Otto also left room for dynamic adjustments.