"So that's why you all came back so late?"
In the villa, five people stood before Theresa, being lectured by her: "If something came up, didn't you think to tell us?!"
The reason there were five people was because Fu Hua had also come along. After their practice session, Mei invited Fu Hua to eat with them, citing the late hour, and Fu Hua did not refuse.
And when the five returned, they were scolded by Theresa, whose stomach was already growling with hunger.
"Alright, alright, Theresa, everyone was just training, it's not like they went out to play."
Himeko said from the side, while drinking alcohol.
"Principal, this is my fault, please don't blame them."
Fu Hua proactively stepped forward to take responsibility, though she also felt it was strange; she rarely saw Theresa look so "dignified," but the petite and adorable Theresa didn't exude much authority even when angry.
"Since Fu Hua said so."
Theresa's face fell.
"Then let's have hotpot tonight!"
Then she suddenly pulled out a large hotpot from under the table, placed it on top, and said with a smile.
"Oh, I saw that you weren't coming back for a long time, so I figured we wouldn't have time to cook tonight. So Himeko and I prepared a lot of ingredients."
Theresa said with a smile while taking out many pre-processed ingredients from the kitchen: "And drinks."
Then she poured everyone a glass of green drink.
"..." x 5
"Ugh… Aunt, this missy doesn't want to drink this!"
As soon as Kiana saw the bitter melon juice, she wished she could jump ten meters away, evidently one of the victims.
Bronya, on the other hand, chugged the bitter melon juice in one gulp, then slowly collapsed to the ground.
"Principal… why does she always like to drink this kind of thing…"
Mei's mouth twitched awkwardly, then she realized that the only drinks in the house, besides beer, were bitter melon juice.
But thankfully, there were fresh fruits to make juice. After preparing the juice, the group finally began their dinner.
"Oh, Fu Hua, do you want to move in with us?"
During dinner, Theresa suddenly asked Fu Hua.
"Me?"
Fu Hua hadn't expected Theresa to suddenly bring this up and was unsure how to respond, but remembering the new mission she had received a few days ago, she still nodded.
"Yes, you see, this villa is too spacious. It's good to have more people."
Fu Hua looked at the others. Kiana was still happily eating her dinner, completely oblivious to the conversation here, while Mei, upon hearing it, smiled at Fu Hua: "If it's the class monitor, I have no objection."
"Bronya also has no objection."
Takatsuki, who had been eating his dinner, minding his own business, saw the others looking in his direction: "I have no objection either, but Principal, why did you suddenly think of this?"
"Hmph! It's all to keep an eye on you, you rascal!"
"???"
Takatsuki was speechless: "It's not that bad, is it…"
And so, at the dinner table, with a few words, the arrangements for Fu Hua were settled.
Soon, everyone finished dinner, and then Theresa said to Takatsuki: "Next, we're going to the hot spring, you know that, right, Takatsuki!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm going back to my room first."
Watching Takatsuki go back to his room alone, Fu Hua looked towards Theresa, wondering if it was just her imagination, but she felt that Theresa seemed to be somewhat targeting Takatsuki.
"Fu Hua, you probably don't have bedding, do you? I'll take you to get some."
Theresa turned and said to Fu Hua.
"Let me do it."
Mei stood up, ready to show Fu Hua the way, but Theresa immediately interjected: "You all go to the hot spring first, you've had a day of classes."
Then she hurriedly pulled Fu Hua upstairs, which struck the others as strange.
Himeko leaned back on the sofa, shook her head at Theresa, and took another sip of beer.
"It's right here."
Theresa led Fu Hua into the storage room and then closed the door.
"Principal?"
Seeing Theresa's unusual behavior, Fu Hua asked with confusion, but then she saw Theresa's serious expression.
"Fu Hua, what do you think of Takatsuki?"
Theresa looked at Fu Hua seriously and asked.
"Takatsuki, as a teacher, he's quite responsible, but as a warrior, his talent isn't particularly good."
Fu Hua thought about the events of the evening and gave her assessment.
"Then, Fu Hua, have you heard of Hamon and Haki? Before this."
Fu Hua shook her head: "I've never heard of them. In fact, I asked Takatsuki about them earlier."
After telling Theresa the answer she got from Takatsuki, Theresa nodded: "Although it sounds like there's no big problem, it's not very credible, is it?"
"Principal seems to… have some opinion about Takatsuki?"
"It's not that I have an opinion about Takatsuki, but after talking about some things with Grandpa, plus the unusual things he's shown, it makes me very suspicious of his identity."
Theresa sighed. Originally, her first instinct was that Takatsuki was related to Cecilia, but when she sold Hamon as a bargaining chip to Otto for funds, Otto seemed to have seen that Theresa was hiding something.
Although he didn't directly point it out, he still subtly prompted Theresa to conduct her own investigation.
And the deeper the investigation went, the more suspicious Theresa became. On one hand, Takatsuki's records were very sparse, for example, he appeared in a certain country, but what he specifically did, and when he entered and left, were completely unrecorded. The most detailed record was only a few months before the Third Honkai in Changkong City.
Theresa felt as if Takatsuki had appeared out of thin air in this world.
Coupled with the series of strange things she saw after arriving at the villa, it made Theresa even more perplexed about Takatsuki's identity.
"Takatsuki is a very strange person. His background is almost untraceable, as if he appeared out of nowhere in Changkong City, and then came into contact with the Third Herrscher and Kiana. I don't know what his purpose is, especially since he actively requested to join St. Freya Academy, but his help to the academy is indeed substantial, and Kiana and Raiden Mei, those two little girls, also trust him very much. So, I hope you can help me monitor him in your daily life. If he makes any bad moves, tell me, and it would be best if you could stop him directly."
Fu Hua nodded: "I understand, I'll keep an eye on him, but Principal, you're being too obvious with your hostility."
Unlike me…
Fu Hua thought of the mission Otto had given her to watch Kiana; she had always observed her subtly, never actively approaching or distancing herself.
"I can't help it. All my beloved students are in the academy, and I'm always worried about accidents."
Theresa sighed: "In short, I've already instructed others to help me keep an eye on him. If you help, Fu Hua, then there shouldn't be any problems. But you're right, I really shouldn't be so hostile towards him."
"Alright, Fu Hua, get some bedding yourself, I'll take you to the hot spring. Although Takatsuki's origin is somewhat suspicious, the things he brought are still good."
Fu Hua had been wondering what a hot spring was since the beginning, and only understood when she saw it with her own eyes. Moreover, according to Theresa, this hot spring was actually created by Takatsuki.
Creating a hot spring out of thin air, and the fruit trees nearby that supposedly yield a harvest every day, it's no wonder Theresa was suspicious.