After Fu Hua left, Theresa and Himeko decided on the future development direction of the Saint Freya Academy.
First, it was necessary to eliminate the hidden agents of Otto within the academy.
Theresa had always known that these hidden agents were sent by her grandfather to monitor her. However, because it hadn't been important before, deliberately eliminating them might have attracted Otto's attention, so she had ignored them for various reasons.
Now, due to the emergence of the mysterious phenomenon known as the Q&A space, Theresa naturally couldn't allow Otto's spies to roam around freely in front of her.
All relevant management personnel were transferred to idle positions, and the Valkyries who had been sent out were given reasons to be packed off and reassigned to other branches.
Although they were all Valkyries of at most B-rank, Theresa believed the African branch would still welcome them.
Kiana was adapting to life in St. Freya Academy.
Because the days were relatively peaceful, and the people around her were acting deliberately gentle, the psychological trauma left from the Q&A space had largely been healed. At least on the surface, Kiana had returned to her carefree self.
Although Theresa's actions were relatively covert, based on her experience, how could these minor moves escape Otto's eyes?
One afternoon—
"My lovely Theresa, long time no see. How have you been recently?"
Otto's voice came from the other end of the video. He was holding a cup of steaming black tea, and there were several simply bound books on the table. He greeted her with a smile.
In the past, Theresa would have smiled and chatted warmly with Otto during such moments.
She might have even joked or complained occasionally.
But now, after learning about Otto's true nature in the Q&A space, Theresa felt conflicted when she looked at that ever-gentle face.
Still, to avoid revealing any flaws and being discovered by her grandfather, Theresa deliberately behaved as she always had.
"Not bad, but a lot of things have been happening recently, and it's a bit overwhelming."
"Well, now I finally understand my grandfather's hard work."
She made a bitter face and pretended to be very tired.
In response, Otto stroked his chin, a bit of relief appearing in his eyes.
"Well, it seems my lovely granddaughter has grown a lot during this time."
In addition to being relieved, he didn't forget to add:
"However, if you're feeling tired, you can always come back to headquarters. You're always welcome here, my lovely Theresa."
"No, I still prefer the atmosphere here over that of Schicksal's headquarters."
Theresa naturally refused without hesitation.
Otto had expected this, so he didn't press the matter. He simply smiled and shook his head slightly.
"Grandpa, is there anything else? If not, I'll hang up now. There are still a lot of things to handle here."
Theresa had no interest in prolonged conversation. She just wanted to get away from her grandfather's gaze as soon as possible.
Being stared at by those eyes that seemed to see through everything made her afraid she might slip up and be exposed.
"Is that so?"
Otto sounded a little regretful.
"I haven't seen you for a long time, and I wanted to catch up with my lovely Theresa."
"Since there's no time, let's get to the point."
Hearing this, Theresa's heart skipped a beat.
Otto chuckled.
"My lovely Theresa, don't you think the changes at St. Freya Academy have been... a bit too drastic lately?"
"...Y-Yes..." Theresa answered with a guilty conscience. Although she had considered the possibility of being questioned, she really didn't know how to respond.
"As the principal of St. Freya Academy, I assume you're aware of everything, right?"
Seeing Theresa's clearly flustered expression, Otto smiled faintly and shifted the topic.
"But you don't have to panic, my lovely granddaughter."
"Everyone deserves a little privacy, don't they?"
Otto leaned closer to the screen, chuckling.
"You're not a child anymore. It's normal for you to have your own ideas."
"In theory, I shouldn't interfere too much. After all, adults have their own world."
"However, the changes that have taken place at Saint Freya really pique my curiosity."
"I'm particularly interested in the source of the soulium technical data."
Otto stated his true intent directly.
This immediately made Theresa's heart sink.
Damn it, I gave the soulium technical data to the institute's most trusted researcher—how did Grandpa find out?!
Otto noticed the confusion and suspicion on Theresa's face and smiled playfully.
He stayed silent, waiting for Theresa to respond.
After a long pause...
"Grandpa, I don't know what you're talking about!"
Theresa decided to play dumb to the end.
As long as she didn't admit anything and kept denying it, she believed nothing would happen—Otto loved her too much.
Otto naturally saw through Theresa's thoughts, but he didn't expose her.
He simply gave her a meaningful glance and left her with one sentence.
"Take care of yourself."
Then, he abruptly ended the video call.
"Huh..."
As soon as the video call ended, Theresa, who had been enduring the immense pressure of speaking with Otto, let out a long sigh of relief.
She hadn't felt it before, But now, every conversation with Grandpa was incredibly stressful.
...
[The third set of radio gymnastics, "Hope Sail"! Starting now!]
The authentic Shenzhou-accented broadcast echoed throughout the St. Freya Academy square from the nearby speakers.
In the square, almost all the students of St. Freya Academy had assembled.
This included Kiana and the others.
Under Himeko's strict supervision, Kiana followed the music and performed the standard movements unwillingly, muttering.
"Why do I have to do this every day?"
"Stop complaining, Kiana."
Next to her, Mei stretched with the music, perfectly showcasing her graceful curves.
"This is apparently a program prescribed by the principal. Instructor Himeko said that as long as you follow it and do it once a day, it's more effective than ordinary physical training."
"I still think it's sketchy..."
Kiana muttered, and unintentionally glanced at Mei performing the exercise beside her. When her gaze swept over Mei's prominent chest, her pretty face flushed slightly.
She secretly gave a thumbs-up in her heart.
Even if this so-called physical improvement doesn't feel obvious, when you think about it… this radio gymnastics thing isn't bad at all.
At least she gets to enjoy the view, right?