As the saying goes, for every gain, there is a loss. Just as Otto obtained the Second Divine Key he had longed for, he lost Schicksal's budget and the sequel to his beloved "Kallen Fantasy."
Because… Ryn had lifted up most of the Thames River, Durandal had plowed the earth everywhere while fighting Armed Doll Kevin, and Armed Doll Kevin had vaporized the river water and destroyed the buildings on the bank…
The three of them had almost completely destroyed the London Tower Bridge and the surrounding area… The Thames River was facing a host of problems, including water loss, river diversion, and soil erosion.
In addition, with most of the river water vaporized by Armed Doll Kevin's power, the people of London experienced a heavy downpour that lasted for several days…
"Lord Overseer, the budget is not enough. Should we cancel the sequel to 'Kallen Fantasy'?"
Amber handed the Schicksal expense report to Otto, but he didn't even want to look at it. Some things are better left unseen…
"Amber, since you've put it that way… do I have a choice but to say yes?" Otto fought back tears of heartache, unable to bring himself to press the confirmation button on the approval form for a long time.
Amber sighed and, with sincere thoughtfulness, pressed Otto's hand down, helping him to confirm it.
"Lord Overseer, there is one more thing. Durandal has requested her salary for the past few years. She said she wants to renovate her residence and turn two-thirds of it into a cat room… Should this be rejected?"
"No… approve it." Otto closed his eyes, and unbidden tears streamed down his cheeks. More of his money was flying away. "But remember to tell Durandal that one room for a cattery is enough."
Amber nodded and prepared to leave with a large stack of approval forms. But after a few steps, she came back.
She spoke with a hesitant and embarrassed expression.
"Lord Overseer, also… Ryn has applied for funds to bring Kiana, Mei, and Kika to London for a vacation. This… how much should be allocated?"
"How much should be allocated?!" Otto's closed eyes flew open, and he stared at Amber in disbelief. "Amber, shouldn't you have just rejected this outrageous request immediately?!"
"Um…" Amber scratched her head awkwardly, not daring to meet Otto's gaze.
"Did Ryn bribe you with something again?"
"No, Lord Overseer… it's just that if Schicksal's operational strategy doesn't change, we'll really go bankrupt… The money Ryn gave us before might actually be what saves us when you end up on the streets…"
"Impossible! I am Otto! How could I possibly end up on the streets! Rejected, rejected, this is too ridiculous…" Otto pinched the bridge of his nose and, before he could faint from anger, cut off the panoramic communication with Amber.
After Amber left, Otto secretly pulled up all of Schicksal's financial statements. Seeing that the research department, mecha research department, and other departments were all in the red, his face turned black.
"…"
"This… maybe I should just give Schicksal to Ryn in the future. It wouldn't be right to burden Theresa or Bianka with so much debt…"
——————————————
Otto didn't approve the vacation, so of course Theresa wouldn't let them go. The family trip was off. Since Kiana and the others couldn't come, there was no need for Ryn to stay in London now that the mission was over.
Durandal and Rita helped Ryn pack his luggage and saw him off together.
Before leaving, Durandal handed the luggage to Ryn, who was on Little Zi's back.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a vacation, Ryn?"
"No, there are people waiting for me at home. I hope you two have a great vacation. Bye-bye." Ryn took the luggage with a smile and waved goodbye to them.
"Safe travels, Lord Ryn!" Rita smiled as she watched Ryn leave.
Of all the people present, Rita had the brightest smile. With Ryn gone, it was now time for just her and Durandal.
"Lady Durandal, next… Lady Durandal?" Rita turned to the side, only to find that Lady Durandal, who should have been beside her, was gone.
She turned around and saw that Durandal had already left and was some distance away.
"Lady Durandal, wait for me."
In the distance, Durandal scratched her head in confusion, looking at Stan in her arms. "Hmm? Little kitty, did you hear something?"
"Meow, meow meow." (No, you must have misheard. You've probably been working too hard lately. Let's go quickly!)
"I guess so… But we still have a few days of vacation, so let's have some fun!"
Durandal held Stan and happily thought about where to go next. With a little kitty for company, the rest of the trip was sure to be fun!
Seeing that Durandal hadn't heard her call, Rita was about to shout again. But just then, her communicator lit up. Otto was calling the all-purpose maid Rita for another mission.
After all, everyone thought the same as Durandal: how could Rita possibly have time for a vacation? She must be heading off to a mission right away.
"No—Lady Durandal!" Rita ran for a bit, but she still couldn't catch up to the distant Durandal.
In the end, she could only watch from afar as Durandal drove off with the cat in a small car, while she had to go back to work at Schicksal…
——————————————
In a small hideout in a corner of St. Freya High School.
Three white-haired furballs were hiding inside, eating delicious food and playing video games.
"You idiot Kiana, now I have to hide out here too. Theresa is running around everywhere with the Faux Oath of Judah, hunting for us!" Kallen said, knocking on Kiana's empty head in exasperation.
"Ouch, that hurts. It's not my fault… Ryn was talking, I couldn't just ignore him!" Kiana rubbed her head pitifully, then happily went back to her game. "But Ryn said he'll be home tonight. I haven't seen him in so long."
"I think when Ryn gets back, he'll string Kiana up and beat her first. After all, Kiana skips class every day, every single day…"
Judah shrugged. She didn't know why she was here either. It certainly wasn't because she wanted to avoid Theresa and didn't want to be used by her to smash things.
"I wonder if Ryn will bring back a lot of souvenirs. British chocolate is really good."
As soon as Kallen said that, she picked up her phone and sent a message to Ryn, telling him to buy more. Just as she put her phone down, a reply came from Ryn.
Ryn: Forgot. Next time for sure.
"Got my hopes up for nothing. Ryn didn't even buy any souvenirs…" Kallen shrugged in disappointment.
"No way… let me ask." Kiana also picked up her phone and sent a message to Ryn.
Kiana: Ryn, don't forget to buy some souvenirs! Kallen said there's a lot of delicious food in Britain!
Ryn: Don't worry, I bought lots and lots of souvenirs, enough for everyone! I also bought a lot of unique British delicacies, enough for Kiana-cat to eat for a long time. I also bought a lot of desserts, so many that even Kika probably won't be able to finish them all, so we might need Kiana's help.
Kiana: Yay!
"???"
Kallen stared at the chat history between Ryn and Kiana, lost in thought.
Am I not a person?
—————————————
Having just flown out of Britain, Ryn awkwardly put down his phone. The moment Kallen spoke, he knew he was in trouble, because all the souvenirs Rita had bought were trinkets, not food…
But since someone had asked, he might as well go buy some.
"Little Zi, turn around! We need to buy snacks for Kiana, and desserts for Kika, and…"
"Chirp!"
"Yes, yes, for you too. Now fly, or we won't have enough time!"