"Hehe~ This is so good! A chilled milk tea on a hot day is such a treat!" Kiana greedily sucked down her milk tea.
"Slow down. Once you finish yours, there won't be any more. These two are for Yae Sakura and Bronya!" Sheng Jiu glanced sadly at his near-empty wallet.
"It's all right, Sheng Jiu. If Kiana wants more, she can have mine!" Yae Sakura smiled gratefully at Sheng Jiu.
"Don't be so stingy. I'll treat you next time, okay~" Kiana tugged at Sheng Jiu's sleeve. "Huh? What's that over there?"
Following Kiana's pointing finger, Sheng Jiu spotted a Hellcat-class gunboat parked at the nearby spaceport. People seemed to be carrying something back and forth, and one particularly tiny figure caught all four of their attention.
"Hey? What's the headmistress doing here?" Yae Sakura watched Theresa walk toward them, curious.
"You did a great job!" Theresa cheerfully jogged up to Sheng Jiu and hopped up to lightly tap him on the head.
"Huh? What did I do?" Sheng Jiu scratched his head, completely bewildered.
"Do you remember telling headquarters that the Far East Branch lacked tactical equipment? He arranged for twenty Demi-God Machine mechs—the ones you saw at headquarters—to be sent to the branch!"
"What? Seriously? I have to go see!"
The group quickly arrived at the freight depot. Mechanical arms were unloading one black mech frame after another and lining them up in a neat row. Compatible armor plates were stacked nearby.
A maid stood before the gunboat, holding a long black case by its handle. She watched the group approach and smiled. "Mr. Sheng Jiu, we meet again."
"Hello, Miss Rita." After Theresa told him that Rita was one of Schicksal's only three S-rank Valkyries, Sheng Jiu respectfully gave her a proper military salute.
You've got to be kidding me! She's an S-rank Valkyrie! Do you know what that means? Killing Sheng Jiu would be as easy as squashing an ant. He really didn't want to offend someone that powerful.
Rita chuckled and waved a hand. "There's no need to be so formal, Mr. Sheng Jiu. Just call me Rita." She turned to the neatly lined-up mech frames. "Are these the twenty Demi-God Machines the Overseer promised to send to the Far East Branch? Mistletainn, please inspect them."
"Huh? Th-this isn't something I need to do, is it? The headmistress can handle it."
"Of course. Lord Otto asked me to tell you that he always keeps his promises. And this is for you as well. The Research Department asked me to deliver Shadowless to you. They hope you'll like it."
"Please thank everyone for me." For some reason, under Rita's gaze, Sheng Jiu suddenly felt oppressed, with an inexplicable sense of dread. He took the case from her and thanked her, then turned to leave, wanting to get away as quickly as possible.
"Please wait, Mr. Sheng Jiu." Rita's calm voice came from behind him. A powerful pressure emanated from her, making it hard for Sheng Jiu to breathe. "Lord Otto asked me to pass along a message. He hopes that after you graduate from St. Freya Academy, you'll go straight to work at Schicksal headquarters. He would be very pleased to have you."
"Thank you, Rita, but I think this is something Sheng Jiu should decide for himself after he graduates."
Theresa stepped between them and smiled as she replied on Sheng Jiu's behalf.
"...My apologies, Lady Theresa. I was out of line. This matter really does require careful consideration." Rita bowed apologetically to Sheng Jiu. "It's getting late, so I should be going. Until we meet again, Sheng Jiu, Lady Theresa~"
The gunboat's hatch slowly closed, carrying Rita away from the Far East Branch and off toward some unknown destination.
"Hey, are you all right?" Kiana looked at Sheng Jiu's pale face, her beautiful eyes full of concern. "You're covered in cold sweat."
After drinking the ice water Bronya handed him, Sheng Jiu's complexion finally began to return to normal. "Phew... I'm feeling better. When I looked into that woman Rita's eyes just now, it felt like a wild beast was staring me down."
"Hmph, that woman was just trying to intimidate you." Theresa curled her lip in disdain. "This is the Far East Branch. Anyone who dares lay a hand on my student—S-rank Valkyrie or not—had better think twice."
"So, what should we do with these mechs?" Yae Sakura broke the silence, holding up an armor plate and examining it closely.
"The first step is to remove the control chips. Who knows if headquarters made backups of these things? To be safe, we'll just equip them with the Far East Branch's own equipment."
Before you continue