"Ah. Captain. You are finally here." As the captain went in and leaned on the wall.
"It's good to see you too. Overseer. Or do you prefer to be called something else?" Captain crossed his arms as he was worried that calling her might bring unpleasant memories.
"It's fine. I don't mind being called as Overseer. Although I would honestly prefer you drop the formalities between us and call me like you usually do, Hajime."
"Ah... That's a no on calling you Teri-Teri then?" Captain gave her a smirk which caused Theresa to give him a blank stare.
"Don't make me use the Oath of Judah on you." He chuckled.
"All right. I was joking. Anyways, What was the reason that you needed me for? Is there a mission you need me to handle alone?" Theresa shook her head.
"No. As you know, Schicksal has been trying to reform and I have been doing my best to turn the old Schicksal into the new Schicksal where everybody can place their trust in us for protecting them from Honkai." Captain sensed something off with his Boss and decided to say something in the hopes she could carry on with the conversation.
"I am sensing a 'but' here..."
"But it will be very hard to do so when both the public and our valkyries, aside from Hyperion, don't trust us for that matter."
"... Is it because you are an Apocalypse? Or is it because Otto placed his faith in you to be the next Overseer?" Theresa nodded with a frown.
"Both." Theresa sighed. This prompted the captain to take a can of Bitter Melon Juice from the mini-fridge at the corner of her office and tossed it to her.
"Ahhhh... Thanks. I needed that." He nodded. He took one for himself and drank. Not because he liked it. It was because he wanted his Overseer to feel comfortable about the situation.
One of these days, I will figure out how to make a good cocktail out of this bitter juice drink. Or a mocktail at least.
Wait...
Did she say...?
"Wait... Our valkyries? As in St. Freya's and Schicksal's?" Theresa nodded.
"Yikes. Guess Otto toppled his own empire."
"Yeah. Valkyries are on high alert and they barely seemed to trust us with Schicksal-related cases anymore. Our AE partners has been doing their best to act as a middleman and hope that things don't escalate. But people like Welt even have limits."
"Did your board of directors come up with a plan for this?" Theresa shook her head.
"Due to the reformation, there were a lot of things that have changed and some of the directors have resigned due to their connections with grandfather. The medical director of St. Freya and Mr. Welt still seems to trust me so far. But after that, we are on our own. And considering I am now the head of Schicksal..."
"Any orders you issue, they will follow. In other words, The boards of directors don't get to make a decision anymore. You do..." Captain has recalled for the past few days of her being the Overseer. "That's not so bad... I mean, you have done well so far. You would make a better Overseer than your old man. What's the problem?"
"Unlike grandfather, I don't like issuing orders as I see fit. I need another perspective on things before I issue them." She held her head to ease her anxiety.
"Ah... So that's why you founded the board. You need a plan B just in case things go downhill." Theresa leaned on her wooden table in defeat with a groan while the captain smiled.
After that, the captain caught up on almost all of her thoughts.
"You sure it is a good idea to have me on this? Can't you just ask Fu Hua? Or Welt, since he is literally the former Herscherr of Reason? Or any other experienced official?"
"I have already asked Fu Hua and Welt. They told me that they trust your judgment and your instincts are always correct no matter how ridiculous they are."
"I wouldn't say always but carry on."
"So I am asking you a favor if you could help me with these as we are trying to build things from scratch."
"..." Hajime crossed his arms but this cued Theresa to continue.
"I know I am asking a lot and it is out of your job description."
"..." Theresa was nervous as he kept his silent stare.
"It is okay if you refuse this request and let's..."
"All right. I will help you" Thankfully for her, Hajime stopped her from rambling.
"Wha...?
"I said I will help you. Although my conditions working with you is that I need Fu Hua for her experiences in the Previous Era and Welt as a former herscherr of reason."
"Thank you, Hajime. That means a lot. All right. Let's proceed to another thing. Due to reformation, we are understaffed in the teaching department in St. Freya."
"You want me to scout ahead and find a suitable professor for each certain department?" Theresa shook her head with a smile.
"No. Not that. St. Freya won't start for a few months and I will deal with who will teach what soon." She shook her hand as if she was dismissing this idea.
"No... Hajime... I want you to become a teacher for St. Freya."
"..."Captain just stared at her for the longest time as if he couldn't comprehend what she just said.
Seeing his reaction made Theresa smile softly.
"Saywhatnow?" He slightly leaned to hear her correctly.
"I want you to become a teacher that mainly involves squad deployment, team coordination and defensive measures and maneuvers against Honkai waves. I trust that you know why?"
"Yeah... Valkyries may be strong on their own but strength and abilities would be useless if they are not handled right. And they will be a mess of a squad if no one's delegating their duties on the battlefield. Yeah. I get that. But why me? In case you forget, I am the captain of Hyperion that Otto approved. I doubt it will be a great idea to send a man who has connections with both Old Schicksal and Otto to a place where it is filled with Valkyries who are now very cautious of things associated with that." Theresa smiled as she could see her captain's opinion of why he shouldn't be a teacher in St. Freya.
"Himeko told me that you would make a great teacher as you mainly focus on each individual valkyrie's strength and weakness, emotional, physical and spiritual. And since I find it a great idea to have the Hyperion's captain to test their skills during combat simulation before deploying them to the battlefield, I decided to ask you as you fit the bill."
"Still... Wouldn't it be better to have the rest of the valkyries in the Hyperion teach them how to do that? I find it very unlikely that they will accept me on the spot."
"That's another thing. Due to lack of experienced fighters, we will be limiting down the numbers of who will assist you and the future generation of valkyries on the combat simulation to one valkyrie as most will be on stand-by for deployment. And said Valkyrie, who happens to be on Bridge duty in the Hyperion for the week, will be their opponent."
"Damn. We are not using simulations anymore?"
"Due to the increasing number of Different Emperor class Honkai Beasts, Quantum shadows and Imaginary constructs spawning, I am afraid that it will not be sufficient. And fighting the valkyries who have experience fighting such mobs would be ideal." The captain sighed.
"All right. I will relay the message to the girls. And hopefully they'll at least hold back for the pixies to learn." He was curious about one thing though.
"What made you so confident that I will make an ideal teacher for the pixies?"
"At first, I just thought that Himeko was just doting on you when she said that but I trusted her with my life. I had my reservations towards you for the longest time until I saw you in action. Unlike grandfather where he treats every valkyrie as a chest piece, You treat them as people and always prioritize their life and safety where you refuse them to sacrifice themselves on the field."
"I've lost two of my best valkyries though and almost lost the rest of the Hyperion's." Hajime frowned and Both Hajime and Theresa sighed.
Hajime didn't intend to make his boss upset for the past failures they have gone through ever since he started working as a captain of Hyperion.
So he decided to try something.
"When I was working as Schicksal's auditor, Himeko once reached out to me that she was surprised to see a little girl who was as tall as her waist to be her boss. Normally she would feel insulted by that notion because she was being handled by a child who seemed younger than her." Hajime lightened the atmosphere in the office. Realizing what he was trying to do, the overseer indulged him.
"I am guessing that she used to rant about how hard it is for her to deal with the cute Principal of St. Freya and so on?" She smiled and took another can of bitter melon juice.
"At first? Yeah. My cousin wouldn't stop talking about it. And being under the influence of alcohol certainly motivated her enough to do so."
"She wasn't exactly mad at her boss. But as time went by, she didn't realize it at first... But she finds it endearing as her boss walks around in her office, reading a certain volume of the Arahato series." Theresa pouted.
"She chuckled and said: 'You know what? If Theresa wants to look like a sister and acts like a cute child, I honestly don't mind being her 'Mama' figure.'"
"I AM THIRTY YEARS OLDER THAN HER! HOW DARE SHE?" Theresa was so offended that she forgot why she was upset earlier.
"Your sister get-up, fondness to bitter melon juice and child-like demeanor ain't helping your case, Teri-Teri san." She glared at the grinning red-head for the longest moment but Hajime wouldn't just budged. He kept grinning at the furious short silver haired.
Then Theresa just laughed to her surprise and that somewhat all of her stress was washed away.
"Ah... It's been so long that I laughed like that. Thanks Hajime. I needed that out of my system." Hajime gave a gentleman bow.
"I am guessing my past actions on the Hyperion solidified that belief?"
"That And how you provided your valkyries with certain support on their Winter and Mid-Year Exams, especially Kiana's." Hajime crossed his arms.
"I... I don't know what you are talking about." Sensing Hajime's hesitation, she decided to play with him a bit longer with a smile.
"Oh really? I specifically asked you not to help Kiana with her exam so she could be fully assessed by St. Freya and what rank she would be in for Honkai deployment without any issues."
"You did. And I followed on your word. And I already knew that Himeko was more than capable of teaching Kaslana about the basics to, at least, pass her exam. So what are you getting at?"
"Oh, nothing really. I am really glad that she passed. Her scores weren't enough at first to look at but her high combat ability was more than enough to keep her as a B rank Valkyrie. I just find it odd that her results always ended up a point higher than passing and all her subjects seemingly have the same scores with each other. "
"W...Well. Good for her. I am just sad that I wasn't there to celebrate both of her victories."
"Yeah... It is a shame that you were bedridden twice at those times. The doctor told me that you overexerted to the point of exhaustion during Winter and you had a severe case of fever in Summer."
"Uhmmm...Well... I was very busy in Schicksal's. It was a very demanding job as an auditor especially during Winter. And Unlike you guys being Honkai resistant, I am more prone to things like mosquito bites and such."
"Summer can do that to you, you know? So I apologize if I didn't get to be there for your summer beach party."
"Yeah...It is honestly a pity too. It would have been more fun if you were there. But... It is what it is..." He internally sighed in relief as Theresa didn't catch him on his little lie.
"Oh yeah! I can't believe I forgot about it after all this time. I initially planned to return these notebooks to you right the day before the party." He gulped.
"I found them in Kiana's dorm room. I knew it was yours because it had your handwriting and signature on it. Maybe you forgot that you left them there? " He mentally clicked his tongue as Theresa waved the notebooks in the air with a smirk.
Damn. She caught me.
Theresa chuckled as Hajime took his notebooks back.
"But... All in all? I am really grateful that you helped my niece when Himeko and I had problems dealing with her." Hajime chuckled.
"Kiana may be a handful but she got what it takes. She always does. She just needs guidance from time to time." Theresa nodded at his words.
"Before you leave, I heard there was a huge Honkai energy spike from Amber. Did you resolve it?"
"Not really. The guys at the AE said that upon analysis, there was no certain consistency found at the spike but it wasn't exactly dangerous towards humans. Dr. Tesla said that 'It felt like someone playing a game with their energy readings'."
"There was nothing about it in the PE?"
"The guys quadrupled-check and Fu Hua confirmed it as well."
"Hmmm... That is odd. What do you think, captain?"
"...For now?... We lay it low. If it decides to come out, we will be there hopefully to get a precise reading. If it wants to play and doesn't want to harm anyone, we might as well let it. You can't exactly catch a fish by pulling in too early. This will be just a waiting game for us."
"All right. That's what we're going to do." Both nodded to the idea. Captain Hajime was about to leave but his overseer asked him one last question.
"Say... Hajime? What do you think about the idea of St. Freya Homecoming?"
"I mean... I..." He was suddenly interrupted by the alarm in his phone.
"AI-chan. What is going on?"
"Amber has an urgent message for you."
"All right. I have Overseer with me. Have Amber patch her communication link with Overseer's instead."
"Understood." A huge holographic screen was displayed in front of Theresa while Hajime was looking at the opposite side of the screen.
"A possible Honkai wave has been found." The captain raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms tighter than usual to ease his anxiety.
"Is it the same Honkai Wave spike that we have been detecting recently?"
"No, Captain." Theresa sighed in disappointment.
"I see. Where is it located?" Amber has sent them the location of the map per Theresa's order.
"Huh. It is located a few miles here in Soukai City. That is something you don't see everyday." Hajime began to ponder as he commented.
"While we are waiting for the Captain's orders. Have all available Hyperion valkyries gathered here in my office."
"Understood, Overseer."
"Amber?"
"Yes, captain?"
"I want to see the general scope of the area and where its possible spawning points for the Honkai wave. I am curious about something."
Amber showed both of them the general areas of Soukai city that are possible for Honkai spawning points.
What caught Overseer's eye was a certain Anti-Valkyrie protesting area.
"Why? Just Why..." Theresa clutched her head in defeat.
"Worst case scenario, We are going to have a difficult time cleaning up the floor there." Hajime joked with a smile.
"THAT IS NOT FUNNY, HAJIME!" Amber sweatdropped at the sight of Theresa yelling at the captain.
After a while, the sight of a nearby orphanage on the screen caught the Captain's attention.
"Hmmmmm... All right. Thanks Amber. Like Overseer said, Have all Hyperion valkyries gathered here in her office. Also..." The captain texted Amber a list of things for her to distribute to the valkyries. "Have this list of texts sent to them."
"Ehhhh?" Theresa was flabbergasted by the text he made. "Wha... Why... Where are you going, Hajime?" As the silver haired saw her red haired captain leaving her office.
"I AM GOING TO FIND ME A FLYING LIMOUSINE AND A BLACK SUIT!"
"WHAT FOR?"
"I AM GOING TO BE A CHAUFFEUR FOR YOU GIRLS!" Theresa was left confused by her captain's sudden declaration as he left out of her sight.
This was the text he had sent to the valkyries.
-To Durandal
Have her use her Valkyrie Gloria suit and use other weapons aside from Black Abyss, more preferably weaker one.
This is a good opportunity for her to train to become a stronger valkyrie. Heavily reliant on your usual weapon of choice would leave certain strengths unnoticed and untrained.
Also I would rather not have the whole half of Soukai City in the process. So please forgive this stupid captain.
- To Rita
Due to Durandal's usage of her Valkyrie Gloria battlesuit, Have her use her Argent Knight Artemis Battlesuit.
It may sound odd from what I usually deploy since it would be more preferable to have Rita use the Spina Astera battlesuit but such Honkai beasts would possibly spawn in the possible places in Soukai and I would like to send a message.
Another thing: If it's possible, wear a light blue dress cape that cannot be frozen by any means. Ask Dr. Einstein and Dr. Tesla if you would like. As I said before, I would like to send a message.
-To Vodka Girls, and Seele
Inquire me for more information when we have reached our destination.
-To Fu Hua
Inquire me for more information when we have reached our destination.
Also Have her use black version of the Night Squire Battlesuit.
-To Kiana and Bronya
I may be asking a lot but Do not bring your weapons and Have Project Bunny hidden from the Public. You are however allowed to turn into your herrscher form when the honkai wave starts.
For what reason?
I would like to send a message to the people of Soukai. And we are also doing this for the kids. So forgive this stupid captain for asking a lot.
Unsurprisingly, Rita caught on what he was intending to do and decided to indulge him.
"My. My. Captain. You sure know how to make things interesting." Rita smirked while Bianka raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Rita? Is he sure about this?"
"Yes. Master Durandal. He is sure."
"I don't know about this, Rita. This seems like he is sending us to our deaths here."
"The captain never sacrifices our lives on the battlefield. That is what kind of man he is."
"Then why though, Rita?"
"As he said before, he would like us to send a message to the public." Durandal, having experiences being Otto's head valkyrie, understood what Rita was trying to say and trusted him.