Not long after Kallen left, Kael's personal terminal received a direct communication request from Bishop Otto, whose background seemed to be her incredibly luxurious Bishop's Office.
"Kael~ my dear Captain," Otto's voice came through the earpiece, with a hint of laziness and an undeniable sweetness, "Recently, headquarters needs to prepare for a joint exercise with the North American branch, as well as a preliminary exploration plan for a newly discovered Honkai Energy reaction point in Antarctica, and… hmm, some trivial daily affairs.
I think it's time to give Theresa some more 'substantial' training."
Kael's heart sank, a premonition of ill omen: "Bishop, what do you mean?"
"What I mean is—"
Otto said the most "cruel" words with the gentlest tone, a smile playing on his lips.
"Starting tomorrow, seventy percent of headquarters' daily administrative documents, including departmental reports, budget approvals, preliminary reviews of personnel transfers… will be temporarily transferred to Theresa for her to handle.
You will be responsible for assisting and… supervising her from the side.
This is to cultivate her overall perspective and decision-making ability, Captain Kael, you must 'help' her well."
Kael: "…"
He could almost imagine Theresa's reaction upon hearing this news—she would definitely explode on the spot!
He tried to struggle on Theresa's behalf: "Bishop, Theresa… her personality might not be suitable for handling these tedious paperwork, and her own combat missions are also very heavy…"
"Oh, Kael, you just spoil her too much."
Otto interrupted him, his tone tinged with a slight reproach, "It is precisely because of her lively nature that she needs more tempering!
I will appropriately reduce her combat missions.
It's settled then, the documents will start transferring this afternoon.
I believe that with your 'help,' little Theresa will definitely 'happily' complete this task~ Oh, by the way, don't forget to remind her that documents must be reviewed on time and not allowed to pile up~"
The communication was cut off cleanly, leaving Kael staring at the terminal screen, looking utterly resigned.
He seemed to already see the scene of Theresa being buried by documents, letting out desperate wails, and his own tragic fate of inevitably serving as the "fire brigade leader" for a period of time in the future.
Sure enough, that afternoon, when Theresa hummed a song and strolled into Kael's dormitory again, intending to ask him to play the newly arrived two-player game, what she saw was not Kael's warm smile, but his solemn, hesitant expression.
And… behind him were document boxes piled almost halfway across the living room, still being continuously delivered by logistics robots, forming a small mountain!
"Wh-wh-what is this?!" Theresa's voice changed pitch, pointing at the mountain of documents, her fingers trembling.
Kael sighed heavily and told her Bishop Otto's "training" plan in its entirety.
The color drained from Theresa's face at a visible speed.
She widened her eyes, as if she had heard something out of a fairy tale: "Grand—Bishop Otto, has he gone mad?! Letting me handle government affairs?! And seventy percent?! He clearly knows I get dizzy when I see too many words!
He's definitely doing it on purpose! Revenge! This is blatant revenge! Just because I called him a narcissist?!"
She was so angry that she stomped her feet on the spot, her white ponytail almost flaring up: "I won't do it! I refuse! I'm going to confront him!"
Kael quickly pulled her back: "Theresa, calm down! This is a direct order from the Bishop, resistance is useless.
And… he said this is to train you."
"Train? This is clearly murder! Mental murder!" Theresa cried, looking at the ever-growing mountain of documents, feeling her future was bleak.
She tried one last struggle, pointing at the boxes, "So many! I can't even finish reading them, let alone processing them!"
"I'll help you," Kael comforted, though he himself felt his scalp tingle, "We'll look at them together, we'll get through them."
Nevertheless, when Kael brought the resigned Theresa to the temporary office that had been assigned to her, originally used as a small archive room, and opened the filing cabinet to try and organize things first, the real disaster struck.
Theresa wanted to pull out a seemingly thinner copy of the "Headquarters Daily Management Regulations (Summary)" from the middle shelf of the cabinet to understand the "rules."
She pulled hard—
Perhaps the documents were too tightly packed, or perhaps it was fate's arrangement.
The moment that book was pulled out, it seemed to trigger a chain reaction switch.
The documents on the upper layer, due to changes in friction and center of gravity, cascaded down like an avalanche!
"Waaah!" Theresa shrieked, and before she could react, she was completely buried by the documents crashing down on her!
It wasn't over yet.
The tumbling documents, like dominoes, knocked over several boxes stacked nearby.
The papers inside, like a white waterfall, instantly submerged the small office, completely burying the poor Theresa in a sea of documents, leaving only one foot in a small leather shoe flailing helplessly outside.
"Theresa!" Kael was startled and rushed over, frantically digging through the pile of documents, "Are you alright? Theresa!"
With great difficulty, he dug out Theresa, who was covered in dust, her eyes blank, and a few request reports still hanging from her hair.
Theresa stared blankly at the mess before her, as if the weight of the entire world had fallen on her small shoulders.
She slowly raised her hand, pointed at the sea of documents, her lips trembling, and finally let out a desperate, mournful wail that echoed throughout the entire floor:
"Grand—Grand—! I'm not done with you—!!!"
This accusation, full of blood and tears, seemed to be faintly heard even by Otto, far away in the Bishop's Office.
He picked up his teacup, took a leisurely sip, and a pleased smile played on the corners of his lips.
"Heh heh, young people's energy should be used in the 'right' places, after all."
And Kael, looking at Theresa, who was slumped in the pile of documents as if she had lost her soul, and then at the room full of "heavy burdens," could only sigh helplessly and resignedly begin to clean up the mess.
It seemed that his anticipated "easy" days were completely ruined for the foreseeable future.
He now only hoped that Theresa could find a little "fun" in handling government affairs before being driven mad by the documents, to help him share more—though this hope was extremely slim.
In the following days, the living area of headquarters saw one less lively white figure and one more "overtime worker" who spent all day with documents, had dark circles under her eyes, and exuded resentment.
Theresa's temporary office became Kael's third regular haunt, besides the Asgard bridge and his dormitory.
He not only had to handle his Captain's duties and look after Sirin, but also devote a large part of his energy to "tutoring" Theresa.
"Theresa, this is a report from the logistics department requesting an increase in the purchase of cooking oil for the kitchen.
You need to verify the inventory data and budget…" Kael held a document, patiently explaining.
Theresa lay lie on the table, weakly poking the paper with a pen: "Oil… why do I have to approve it? Can't they buy it themselves…"
"This is the procedure.
You see, you need to sign here to confirm."
"Sign, sign, sign! I almost don't recognize my own name anymore!" Theresa irritably ran her fingers through her hair, drawing a crooked signature at the bottom of the document, pressing so hard she almost tore the paper.
"And this one, the R&D department is requesting access to Asgard's Lab Three for testing a new type of energy weapon…"
"Test it then, what does it have to do with me…" Theresa didn't even look and wanted to sign directly.
Kael quickly pressed her hand: "Wait! This requires an assessment of the potential impact and risks to the battleship!
You can't just approve it!"
"Argh! This is so annoying!" Theresa threw her pen down, clutching her head, "Why are there so many documents! Why are there so many rules! I want to go chop Honkai Beasts! I don't want to stay here!"
Seeing her like this, Kael felt both distressed and amused.
He picked up the bitter melon milk tea Theresa had brought, which was now cold, and held it to her mouth: "Alright, take a break, have something to drink.
You've already handled quite a bit today."
Theresa took a weak sip from Kael's hand, and even her usual favorite bitter taste seemed to have lost its flavor.
"Kael… am I useless? I can't even do these things well…" Her voice carried a hint of grievance and self-doubt.
"How could that be?" Kael gently ruffled her head, his voice soft, "You're just not used to this way of working.
You are an S-Rank Valkyrie, one of the most reliable partners on the battlefield.
Handling documents is just another form of battle, requiring patience and meticulousness.
Just take your time."
His comfort made Theresa feel a little better.
She looked up at Kael's gentle eyes, then suddenly reached out and hugged his waist, burying her face against him, and mumbled: "Then… then you can't leave! You have to stay with me always! Until all these damned documents are destroyed!"
Kael's body stiffened, feeling the girl's dependence and vulnerability in his arms, but he eventually softened and patted her back: "Okay, I'll stay with you."
However, this tranquility did not last long.
The office door was knocked, and Sirin, holding her horm doll, timidly poked her head in.
"…Brother… you said you'd… help me with the new puzzle tonight…" She looked at Kael buried in documents and Theresa clinging tightly to Kael, her large golden eyes carrying a hint of unease and anticipation.
Theresa instantly sprang up from Kael's embrace like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her previous vulnerability replaced by familiar wariness: "Little brat! Can't you see Kael is busy with important matters?!"
Sirin was startled by her and shrank back, but still looked at Kael persistently.
Kael immediately felt a headache.
He looked at the mountain of documents piled on the desk, then at Sirin at the door, eagerly looking at him, and then at the pouting Theresa next to him… Just as he was in this dilemma, his terminal rang again.
This time it was a communication from the Asgard bridge, and the adjutant reported that there was an urgent engine parameter that required his immediate confirmation.
Kael: "…"
He took a deep breath, feeling like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings, exhausted from rushing between documents, children, the battleship, and… various complex "interpersonal relationships."
He first quickly gave instructions to the adjutant on the other end of the communication, then walked to the door, squatted down, and softly said to Sirin: "Sirin, be good, Brother has something urgent to deal with right now, just a little bit later, just a little bit, I'll go play puzzles with you, okay?
You play by yourself for a while first."
Sirin looked at Kael's tired but still gentle face.
Although a little unwilling, she still nodded sensibly, holding her doll and leaving, looking back three times.
Kael closed the door, turned around, and met Theresa's "See, she's bothering us again" gaze.
He sighed helplessly and sat back down in front of the mountain of documents.
"Come on, Theresa, let's continue.
Let's try to finish this stack before going off duty."
Theresa looked at the faint bluish tint under Kael's eyes, and her jealousy was slightly replaced by distress.
She mumbled: "…Then you have to play games with me tonight to compensate me!"
"Okay, okay, I'll play with you." Kael picked up the next document, resignedly agreeing.
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