Everyone could tell that something very special had happened in the virtual reality. It was special enough that someone could use hacking techniques to obtain higher permissions in Schicksal's database than Theresa herselfsomething that even Bronya,
an undoubtedly top-tier hacker, couldn't figure out. It was special enough to make the normally study-averse Kiana show a significant level of diligence.
But since Hua Yi didn't elaborate, the others didn't push. As long as they were safe, that was all that mattered.
Kiana, who had just been thinking about working hard to become an elite warrior like Kallen and upholding the glory of the Kaslana family, helplessly picked up her books to continue studying. She planned to pass her makeup exams first.
Similarly, Kiana had received a promise from Theresa: as long as she studied hard and achieved a passing score of sixty in her worst subject, History, to prove her learning ability, she could self-study other subjects during the holidays without attending extra tutoring sessions.
As time passed, Hua Yi finished dinner with the girls and didn't stay long. He quickly found an excuse to return to his own residence. Almost without pause, he hurriedly opened his virtual interface.
Hua Yi had been at St. Freya Academy for a few days now. He earned a good amount of Friendship Points every day and had performed several Friendship Supply draws. He had also saved up a lot of gold coins, but those weren't important for the moment.
Hua Yi hurriedly opened the detailed information screen for [Jizo Mitama: Void]. Since returning to reality and losing the ability to feel the blade's presence, he could only use the virtual interface to see if [Jizo Mitama: Void] had changed.
Originally, the information screen for [Jizo Mitama: Void] had been completely blank. Now, a single line of small text had appeared:
"A maiden's soul sleeps within."
These few words allowed Hua Yi to relax instantly.
Kallen had truly been brought out of the virtual reality by him.
And it's her soul...
The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart since leaving the virtual reality vanished completely. Hua Yi collapsed onto his bed, totally relaxed, and let out a long breath.
"Grandpa, are you hiding something bad in Schicksal's database?"
The matter had reached a conclusion, but Theresa had no intention of letting things settle quietly. She contacted the Bishop of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse, questioning him in a tone filled with accusation.
Her niece Kiana and Hua Yi, who had just ended the Third Eruption, had almost met with danger inside the Schicksal database. There was no way Theresa would do nothing. She suspected that Schicksal had discovered them and attacked, or perhaps her grandfather had left some malicious traps within the virtual database.
Otto, who had initially seen Theresa contact him and thought his cute granddaughter wanted to say "goodnight," finally realized she was here to interrogate him.
Hiding something bad in Schicksal's database?
Could it be that his order to have the Technical Department develop the Kallen Fantasy game series at any cost had been discovered? Or perhaps his secret tampering with Honkai Kingdom's game data to directly obtain ultra-rare equipment had been exposed? Or maybe Theresa had found out about him banning the account of a player in Homu Brawl who dared to take his number one spot on the rankings?
That shouldn't be right. He had been very discreet.
In that split second, Otto thought of many possibilities.
While he had extremely important plans and arrangements for K423no, for Kianathose plans were only in their early stages. Theresa wasn't asking about real-world events either. Otto felt quite innocent.
Even the most "serious" of those three things was just banning a player's account. Otto didn't recall Theresa being that into gaming. Her biggest hobbies were sleeping, drinking bitter melon juice, and smashing people with the [Oath of Judah], wasn't that right?
"Theresa, it hurts my heart to hear you speak to your grandfather in such a tone."
Otto put on a pained expression, dabbing at a non-existent tear in the corner of his eye.
Theresa was one of the very few beings in this world for whom Otto was willing to display various emotions. As for everyone elsewhether they were Schicksal subordinates, Valkyries,
Anti-Entropy traitors, or ordinary peoplethey were nothing more than ants. One or two ants might be exceptional enough to qualify as chess pieces, but in the end, they were still just pieces.
"...Grandpa really didn't do anything wrong?"
Theresa's eyes were full of suspicion. Otto simply smiled. He had done so many things; who knew which one Theresa was talking about?
"My dear granddaughter, if you ask me directly without any context, how am I supposed to know where the problem lies? Did you encounter a problem in the Schicksal database? Were you muted by some blind fool,
or were you trying to access some files but couldn't because your permissions were too low? Tell me about it; Grandpa will settle the score for you."
Otto was not foolish enough to store his core plans in the Schicksal database. He trusted no one. Even when he needed personnel to execute a specific part of a plan, he would only give them the information relevant to that single part.
However, there was indeed data in the database that Theresa could not be allowed to knowexperimental data on Artificial Stigmata, the placement of the [Gem of Desire], and various other things. Given Theresa's kind personality, she would certainly find those things unacceptable.
That kindness is just like Kallen's...
Otto shook his head slightly. Although he held such kindness in contempt, it was precisely because of this similarity to Kallen that Otto doted on Theresa so much.
Wait, Kallen...
A distant memory was gradually unearthed from the depths of his mind. Otto looked at the young girl in the communication screen and asked in an unruffled voice:
"You, or perhaps someone else from St. Freya Academy... did any of you enter the virtual reality used to store historical information?"
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