Seeing Levi bring her up, Theresa couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Kiana!"
"You quiet down for me!"
"Oh."
Levi immediately sat down obediently, legs together, hands placed on his knees, lowering his gaze to watch Raiden Mei fight the Honkai beast.
But what Theresa didn't expect was that her speaking out actually confirmed the truth of what Levi had said even more.
Especially when she noticed Kiana's hair color and eye color, exactly the same as Theresa's.
The Valkyries could almost fully confirm, Theresa was Kiana's aunt.
And what was Theresa's identity?
Schicksal's one and only Overseer.
The one and only true grandchild personally designated by Otto Apocalypse.
Theresa was Otto's granddaughter.
Theresa was also Kiana's aunt.
Subtract the overlapping parts… Theresa is Kiana's aunt. Kiana is Otto's granddaughter.
Cough cough cough… Anyway, in the eyes of the Valkyries, rounding up, basically all of Schicksal belonged to Kiana's family.
———
[Monitoring Room]
Seeing Levi finally quiet down, Theresa slumped into her chair, eyes empty.
"Himeko, do you think I've… maybe been a bit negligent in educating Kiana?"
If she had gone to find Siegfried earlier, brought Kiana back from his side…
Would Kiana not have turned out like this?
In her eyes, that appearance Kiana just had, that was the real Kiana.
What she'd seen before was just a disguise.
After realizing the environment was safe, her real nature immediately burst out, completely unrestrained.
Looking at the "gentle and refined" Kiana on the monitor, Theresa's expression grew complicated.
If she had taken her away from Siegfried earlier… would Kiana really have turned out like that?
"It's not too late now…"
It's never too late to teach someone well.
The only fear is that the person doesn't want to be taught.
But as far as her interactions with Kiana went, Kiana's nature clearly wasn't bad. With just a bit of proper guidance, she would definitely become the "perfect young lady" Theresa expected.
…Wrong, "proper young lady."
"Speaking of which, Fu Hua's strength seems a bit too much compared to the other Valkyries."
"It's normal since she was sent from HQ," Theresa replied.
Schicksal HQ and the St. Freya Academy she founded, or rather, every branch in the world, had fundamental differences in their Valkyrie training policies.
Other places trained Valkyries as weapons to fight Honkai.
They had to be ready to sacrifice themselves anytime in order to complete missions.
And Theresa hated that kind of education that turned a living person into a weapon.
It was far too cruel to girls who were still basically children.
So Theresa left Schicksal HQ, abandoning its comfortable life.
She founded a branch in the Far East and created St. Freya Academy.
Her intention was to teach Valkyries to protect themselves so they wouldn't fall into becoming cold, cruel machines.
Of course, there was another reason.
To fulfill her promise with Cecilia.
("Let's build a school together in the Far East, and in the future let Kiana study and live there…")
Now, it seemed it had already come true.
Seeing Theresa's expression gradually darken, Himeko changed the topic.
"I heard the rule banning Honkai energy use this time was something you suddenly proposed?"
Himeko laughed.
"Don't tell me you did it specifically for Kiana?"
"Mm." Theresa admitted directly. "With her strength, this Valkyrie exam would lose all meaning."
And it might even expose that Kiana was a Herrscher.
If that attracted the attention of certain people, who then reported it to her dear grandfather…
That would be troublesome.
———
"Exam finished!"
The announcement sounded.
Raiden Mei looked at the fallen Honkai beast in front of her, panting.
Even though she'd prepared thoroughly, facing a monster like this for the first time was still difficult.
"Mei, you were amazing!"
The moment Raiden Mei sat down, Levi's praise reached her ears.
"If it had been someone else, they probably would've lost a long time ago!" Levi said sincerely.
He wasn't exaggerating.
During Mei's exam, there were multiple times when she almost got hit by the Honkai beast's attacks.
If she hadn't stayed calm and reacted fast, she would've been declared "exam failed" early on.
Bronya soon finished her exam as well. As for how she finished, Levi, who'd been messing with Mei the whole time, didn't see it.
He only heard two loud booms, and then the exam was over.
Bronya slowly walked to Levi's side. Noticing the strange looks from the surrounding Valkyries, she tilted the corner of her mouth at a forty-five-degree angle like Levi.
"Bronya thinks you are all idiots."
Humanity's greatest inventions were sitting unused, and they insisted on using cold weapons to crash into Honkai beasts.
There was a giant rocket launcher just lying there, yet they were staring at knives, spears, and sticks.
'Trying to show off their toughness, huh?'
Soon, it was Kiana's turn.
After giving Mei an OK gesture, Levi picked up the longbow he had obtained from the weapons department under Theresa's name and entered the testing field.
"A bow?"
Seeing the weapon in his hand, Theresa froze.
This kind of weapon was extremely, extremely rare among Valkyries.
Mainly because it was inconvenient to carry, and ammo was also a problem.
If normal arrows were used, they probably couldn't even pierce a Honkai beast's hide.
As for using Honkai energy…
Forgive Schicksal's outdated technology, they still couldn't create arrows made from Honkai energy.
However, because Honkai energy was banned for this exam, all those Honkai beasts and deadwalkers had their defenses lowered to the point where normal weapons could injure them.
This was considered balance.
Honkai beast, 'This is not balanced for me.'
Theresa, 'Honkai beasts have no human rights.'
"But wait, shouldn't Kiana be using guns? Didn't Siegfried teach her?" Theresa said.
The Kaslana family's most famous technique, Kaslana Gun-Technique.
She originally wanted to see how well Kiana had learned her family's signature technique, but Kiana pulled out a longbow instead.
'You really forgot your ancestral heritage, huh.'
Without saying more, Levi stood in the center with the quiver on his back, and the environment around him immediately changed.
The mechanical walls were covered in snow scenery, and a massive Honkai beast appeared before them.
Seeing what kind of Honkai beast it was, Levi froze a little.
"Liliya… Rosaliya?"
'Why did this thing appear as the random spawn?'
'Hehehe… Kiana, try to defeat this one.'
Kiana, '? You're telling me to fight that?'
Levi, '? I didn't say anything!'
Kiana & Levi, '? What the hell is that noise?'
———
[Outside the Field]
Seeing the blue-and-purple Honkai beast, Raiden Mei looked worried.
She had never seen this type before, but its aura alone made it clear, it wasn't easy to deal with.
'I hope Kiana can pass safely.'
Seeing the simulated emperor-class Honkai beast Aesir, Theresa's jaw dropped.
"Himeko…"
"I saw it… remember to dock the tech department's pay."