The air instantly froze, and everyone's gaze snapped toward the suddenly appeared Kevin. Even Theresa, who had still been sulking a moment ago, subconsciously shrank back behind Otto.
After all, this "Savior" from the Previous Era carried an aura that was simply terrifying.
Otto calmly straightened the collar of his clothes, wrinkled by the chains, and once again put on that infuriating smile. Stepping forward to shield Theresa, he said, "Lord of World Serpent, please calm yourself. The so-called 'Herrscher of Binding' was merely a misunderstanding. My granddaughter was just in a bit of a mood. It has already been settled."
Kevin let out a cold snort. The flames of Judgment of Shamash flared a little brighter, casting an even sharper chill into the frost in his eyes.
Kiana quietly tugged on Mei's sleeve and muttered under her breath, "Oh no, oh no, Grandpa Kevin isn't going to just attack outright, is he?"
Mei clenched her fists nervously and didn't dare reply, after all, if a fight really broke out, who here could stop it?
Hearing Mei's unspoken thoughts, Fu Shi rolled her eyes and stepped forward with her arms crossed, "Hey, Kevin, this is St. Freya, not World Serpent. You wanna fight?!"
Kevin frowned, looking at Fu Shi with suspicion. He then swept his gaze over the onlookers nearby, his eyes lingering on Fu Lin for a moment before he finally withdrew Judgment of Shamash.
Only after Kevin had completely left did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Kiana patted her chest and exclaimed, "That scared me to death! I really thought we were about to fight!"
Fu Shi curled her lip, "Hmph, you've got the numbers advantage, what's there to be afraid of? Besides, I'm here. Didn't you see how he got scared off by me?"
Fu Lin followed along smoothly, "Exactly. With Lady Herrscher of Sentience here, Kevin is nothing special."
Fu Shi immediately puffed up with pride, hands on her hips and chin raised as she laughed, "Hahahaha! Of course! Just look at who I am. Even if Kevin has Judgment of Shamash, do you really think he can beat me, now that I've broken free from Finality's restraints?"
Kiana held back her laughter and chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, Sister Fu Shi, you're the strongest. Kevin must've been terrified of you when he left!"
Mei quietly tugged at Kiana's clothes, her eyes full of helplessness that said don't encourage her, yet she couldn't help but curve her lips into a smile.
After all, Fu Shi's smug expression really was hard not to laugh at.
Otto turned to look at Theresa, a smile in his eyes, "Alright, Theresa. You can finally enjoy your vacation now, yes?"
Theresa turned her face away and muttered softly, "...Three months of vacation, and three servings of bitter melon juice every day. No backing out!"
"Absolutely no backing out," Otto replied with a smile, though inwardly, he added, Worst case, I'll have Amber cover the paperwork for a while, then quietly dump it all back on Theresa later...
The farce at St. Freya finally came to an end. Only the mountain of documents piled up at Schicksal Headquarters remained, silently waiting for their former Overseer to "return in triumph."
Just as Otto was secretly plotting how to dump the work on Amber, the communicator rang at the most inopportune moment. Amber's voice came through, "Lord Otto, Overseer Theresa has already approved three months of long leave for me in advance. All Schicksal affairs will be in your hands."
The smile on Otto's face instantly froze, while Theresa proudly lifted her chin, "Hmph, I knew Grandpa would try something sneaky. I was guarding against this the whole time."
Siegfried burst out laughing on the spot, "Hahahahaha, Otto, so even you get outplayed sometimes!"
Fu Hua shook her head helplessly, though the corners of her mouth lifted slightly in a faint smile.
Otto sighed and resignedly rubbed his forehead, "Fine, fine. It seems my 'retirement life' was nothing but a pipe dream. Remember to tell Kallen, I won't be coming back tonight."
....
Staring at the mountain of documents, Otto felt that the next three months might be even harder to endure than fighting the Honkai.
After all, Honkai could be fought. Documents could only be approved page by page.
Otto slumped into the office chair buried under paperwork, pinching the bridge of his nose, regretting for the first time how tightly he had once grasped the authority of Schicksal's Overseer.
From action reports of various branches to logistics supply requests, even the model number of newly replaced tableware in the Valkyrie cafeteria had to be personally approved by him.
"If I'd known, I should've left some authority unused. With Amber gone, why did I force myself into this paperwork prison..."
He muttered softly to the air. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the communicator on the desk suddenly light up, and a flicker of hope flashed through his dim gaze.
"Did Kallen miss me?" But when the screen lit up, it wasn't a message from his beloved, it was a photo sent by Theresa.
Theresa, wearing a straw hat, held up a cup of bright green bitter melon juice. Behind her was a sunlit beach lounge chair by the sea. Below the photo was an annoyingly smug caption, "Grandpa, work hard~ We're all going on vacation! Oh right, Kallen is here too~ She looks super pretty in her swimsuit. Too bad you can't see it, hehe~"
Otto ground his teeth in anger at the smug little expression on Theresa's face in the photo, yet the image of Kallen in a swimsuit surfaced in his mind, making him unconsciously curl his lips into a smile.
He casually picked up a document. Just as he wrote the first word, a light knock sounded at the door.
"Come in." He said without looking up, assuming it was another subordinate delivering paperwork, but when he raised his head, it was Li Sushang.
Li Sushang placed a cup of hot tea on his desk. After sweeping her gaze over the mountain of documents, she smirked teasingly, "Well, Rakshasa, looks like you'll be busy for the next three months."
"All thanks to my wonderful granddaughter," Otto said, taking a sip of tea. Then, as if remembering something, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Why didn't you go on vacation with them?"
"Just came back to pick up something," Li Sushang paused, then added with half-serious teasing, "And to check on you, after all, if you collapse from exhaustion, wouldn't Schicksal fall into chaos again?"
Otto chuckled and glanced at her sideways, "What, am I really that fragile in your eyes?"
Li Sushang didn't answer. She simply pointed to a small corner of the document pile, "I noticed it when I came in. Not sure who put it there."
Otto followed her gaze and saw a delicately wrapped bitter melon cake, Theresa's absolute favorite flavor. A small note was pressed beside it.
The handwriting was crooked and childish, clearly from a certain little troublemaker, "Grandpa, if you're tired from approving documents, eat some of my favorite bitter melon cake. You're not allowed to secretly throw it away!"
Otto picked up the cake, the helplessness on his face slowly melting into a gentle smile.
After taking a few bites, he picked up his quill again, took a deep breath, and faced the mountain of documents before him, "Fine. It's just three months. I've endured five hundred years, what's three more months?"
Meanwhile, on the seaside beach, Theresa sipped on her drink through a straw, watching Mei blush furiously as Kiana chased her around.
Bronya and Seele sat side by side under a parasol, quietly chatting while playing games. Fu Hua stood nearby, seriously grilling meat.
Fu Shi and Fu Lin squatted by the shore, splashing water at each other nonstop, laughter ringing out as the water sprayed everywhere.
But in the very next moment, Kiana☆ suddenly appeared between them, her face dark like a storm cloud as she stared straight at Fu Lin and asked word by word, "Fu Lin, is the beach fun?"
Fu Lin instantly snapped to attention, eyes darting away as he stammered, "K-Kiana☆! Why are you here?!"
Fu Shi, never one to shy away from drama, quietly shuffled two steps aside, crossing her arms with a raised brow, "Oh? Kiana☆, that expression of yours, don't tell me Fu Lin forgot to bring you along, and you're here to settle the score?"
Kiana ignored Fu Shi completely, still staring at Fu Lin as she rubbed her temples, "If I hadn't shown up, would someone be having the time of his life here, completely forgetting about me and Little Star, just splashing around without a care?"
Fu Lin shrank his neck and tried to play dumb, "...Uh, I remembered! I really did! I just, just came out to get some air. I was about to head back right away!"