Show Of Force

"Hehehe~ This is so good! A cup of iced milk tea on a sweltering hot day is truly a treat!" Kiana greedily slurped the milk tea from her cup.

"Drink slower, if you finish your share, there won't be any left. These two cups are for Yae Sakura and Bronya!" Sheng Jiu looked at his meager wallet with a pained expression.

"It's okay, Sheng Jiu, if Kiana wants to drink it, she can have mine!" Yae Sakura smiled gratefully at Sheng Jiu.

"Don't be so stingy, I'll treat you next time, miss~" Kiana tugged at Sheng Jiu's sleeve, "Huh? What's that?"

Following Kiana's pointing finger, Sheng Jiu saw a "Hellcat"-class gunship docked at the nearby airport. The bustling crowd seemed to be transporting something, and a very short figure among them caught the attention of the four.

"Huh? Why is the Headmaster here?" Yae Sakura looked curiously at Theresa, who was walking towards them.

"You did good, kid!" Theresa happily ran up to Sheng Jiu and playfully tapped his head.

"Huh? What did I do?" Sheng Jiu scratched his head, completely bewildered.

"Do you remember what you told Headquarters about the Far East Branch lacking tactical equipment? He's arranged for twenty of the Demi-God Machine mechs you saw at Headquarters to be sent to the branch!"

"What? No way, I have to see!"

The group quickly arrived at the cargo center. Black mech frames were being unloaded by robotic arms, neatly lined up in a row, with matching armor plates piled up beside them.

A maid, holding a long black briefcase, stood before the gunship and gazed at the approaching group, a smile playing on her lips. "Mr. Sheng Jiu, we meet again."

"Hello, Miss Rita." After Theresa informed him that Rita was one of Schicksal's only three S-rank Valkyries, Sheng Jiu respectfully gave Rita a standard military salute.

What a joke! This is an S-rank Valkyrie. What kind of concept is that? She could kill Sheng Jiu in front of her as easily as crushing an ant. Sheng Jiu didn't want to offend this powerful figure.

Rita chuckled and waved her hand. "No need to be so formal, Mr. Sheng Jiu. Just call me Rita." Rita looked at the neatly arranged mech frames. "These are the twenty Demi-God Machine Mistletainns that Bishop Otto promised to transfer to the Far East Branch. Please inspect them."

"Huh? This... I don't need to do this, do I? This can be handled by the Headmaster."

"No problem. Lord Otto asked me to tell you that he always keeps his promises. And this, this is Jueying, which the Research Department asked me to deliver to you. I hope you like it."

"Please thank everyone for me." For some reason, being stared at by Rita made Sheng Jiu feel very oppressed, a sense of inexplicable panic. He took the briefcase from Rita, thanked her, and turned around, wanting to escape this place quickly.

"Please wait, Mr. Sheng Jiu." Rita's calm voice came from behind Sheng Jiu. A powerful sense of pressure emanated from Rita, making it difficult for Sheng Jiu to breathe. "Lord Otto asked me to convey a message to you. He hopes that after Mr. Sheng Jiu graduates from St. Freya Academy, he will directly take up a position at Schicksal Headquarters. He welcomes your arrival."

"Thank you, Rita. I think this is something Sheng Jiu should decide for himself after he graduates."

Theresa stepped between them, smiling as she responded to Rita on Sheng Jiu's behalf.

"...I apologize, Lady Theresa. It was presumptuous of me, Rita. This matter indeed requires careful consideration." Rita bowed apologetically to Sheng Jiu. "It's getting late, so Rita should be leaving. Classmate Sheng Jiu, Lady Theresa, we'll meet again~"

The gunship's hatch slowly closed, carrying Rita away from the Far East Branch and towards an unknown destination.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kiana looked at Sheng Jiu's pale face, her beautiful eyes full of worry. "You're even breaking out in a cold sweat."

After drinking the ice water Bronya handed him, Sheng Jiu's complexion finally began to slowly recover. "Phew... I'm better now. Just now, when I made eye contact with that woman named Rita, I felt like I was being stared down by a ferocious beast."

"Hmph, that woman was just trying to give you a show of force," Theresa scoffed dismissively. "This is the Far East Branch. If anyone dares to lay a hand on my students, even an S-rank Valkyrie has to think twice."

"So, what should we do with these mechs?" Yae Sakura broke the silence, picking up an armor plate and examining it closely.

"The first step is to remove the control chips, of course. Who knows if Headquarters has backups for these things? To be safe, we'll equip them with the Far East's own equipment, and then there won't be any problems."