Fu Hua was gone.
St. Freya Academy returned to its usual tranquility, but beneath this calm surface, hidden undercurrents were surging.
Theresa was working diligently to bring St. Freya firmly under her own control. She replaced those in more important positions with trusted aides she had cultivated herself, while the Valkyries sent by Otto were dispatched to other locations under various pretexts.
Kiana and the others were also training hard. Bronya, in particular, after seeing her future self repeatedly getting defeated, reflected on her pain and intensified her training regimen.
Theresa had been careful to hide the changes at St. Freya, but ultimately, she could not escape Otto's notice. And so, one morning, Theresa received a video call from him.
"My dear granddaughter, it's been a month. Have you missed me?"
Otto sat in his chair in the Overseer's office, leaning back, a cup of freshly brewed black tea in his hand.
"Grandpa, why did you think to call me now?"
Theresa gently clenched her fist under the desk, then put on her old act, looking at Otto with an adorable expression.
"Isn't it because I missed my dear granddaughter? Hehe, it's been a month, and you seem to have gotten a little chubbier. It looks like the funds Schicksal allocated to St. Freya haven't been wasted on that little stomach of yours," Otto teased with a smile.
"Grandpa! I haven't gotten fat!" Theresa's face flushed with embarrassment as she quickly denied it. After all, no woman would ever concede on the issue of weight.
"Hehe, alright, alright, I'm just teasing you. My little Theresa is the cutest in the world. Even if you gained a little weight, you'd still be the cutest."
They chatted for a few more minutes, mostly the usual lighthearted banter, which allowed Theresa's tense nerves to gradually relax.
"My dear granddaughter, it seems there have been some rather big changes at St. Freya Academy recently."
Just as Theresa thought this would be a routine conversation, Otto suddenly dropped that sentence, nearly startling her out of her chair.
"Eh... eh? H-have there? I haven't noticed," Theresa could only bite the bullet and play dumb.
But her acting was truly a bit rushed. However, perhaps Otto wasn't paying close attention, or maybe he was just asking casually, because he didn't expose her. Instead, he smiled and said, "My dear granddaughter, then you're being a bit of a negligent Principal, aren't you? Were you slacking off to read manga again? Didn't St. Freya add a new class recently? I've looked into it. That skill set called the 'Six Styles' is quite good. If you agree, I'd like to disseminate it throughout all of Schicksal for all Valkyries to learn. What do you think?"
"Oh-oh, that. That was something Fu Hua gave me. I didn't expect you to notice, Grandpa. My original plan was to test it out at St. Freya first, and if it worked well, I would pass it on to Schicksal HQ," Theresa stammered.
"Hehe, my granddaughter is so thoughtful. When you come back to Schicksal HQ, Grandpa will give you a reward," Otto said with a soft chuckle.
"Grandpa, you said it. You can't go back on your word."
Seeing that Otto had no intention of making things difficult, Theresa finally calmed down and slipped back into her usual persona.
After they chatted for a little while longer, Otto ended the video call, using work as an excuse.
"Whew..."
The moment the call ended, Theresa let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if she had broken out in a sweat.
She couldn't help it. Chatting with an old fox like Otto was one thing in the past, when she knew nothing and could act spoiled without any pressure.
But not anymore.
Now she knew Otto's true face. Although he was still as doting as ever, Theresa knew that this affection was no different from the fondness one has for a pet. In the face of his grand plans, she, Theresa, was nothing more than a passing cloud.
Thankfully, Grandpa wasn't paying close attention. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to fool him.
While Theresa was congratulating herself on her good luck, she had no idea that at that very moment, in Schicksal HQ, a playful smirk had appeared on Otto's face after he ended the call.
"Little Theresa has really grown up. She knows how to gather her own power now, and she's even started lying to me. How interesting."
"Lord Overseer, should I send people to St. Freya Academy?" Standing behind Otto, his loyal assistant, Amber, asked softly.
"No need. Since my dear granddaughter has her own secrets, let her keep them. After all, I'm not some kind of monstrous parent," Otto chuckled.
He knew Theresa was hiding something from him, and he knew about the recent changes at St. Freya Academy. But so what?
In his eyes, these changes were merely signs of his granddaughter growing up, entering her rebellious phase, and wanting to keep things from him.
So, rather than the secrets Theresa was trying to conceal, Otto was more interested in Theresa's development.
After all, if she had remained the same naive, cute, and simple-minded girl, he would never have dared to entrust Schicksal to her.
In any case, there was still a long time before his plan was set in motion. He could afford to play house with Theresa for a while. He also wanted to see just how far she could go, and whether she could meet the expectations he held in his heart.
"Hehe, Little Theresa, I have high hopes for you. Don't you dare disappoint your grandpa..."
Five days later.
Fu Hua, her clothes tattered and torn, looked at Taixuan Mountain before her, a faint smile on her face.
After five long days, she had finally returned to Taixuan Mountain from St. Freya.
The journey had not been easy, but it had allowed her to become more and more adept at using her reborn body.
If her shattered sword-heart could be restored, then the Immortal Celestial Chiyuan of the past would officially return.
But for now, this was enough. With Fenghuang Down, she could still manage to use the Edge of Taixuan, though the cost of doing so was rather high.
Fu Hua took a deep breath, took a step forward, and officially set foot on Taixuan Mountain.
After some time, she reached the summit. The Fuyun Temple of old was still there, but eroded by the merciless passage of time, it was now nothing more than a crumbling ruin.
Fu Hua walked into the dilapidated temple with a sense of nostalgia. Looking at the familiar yet alien scene before her, she sighed. Time was truly relentless.
Following the direction from her memory, she arrived at a willow tree in the temple's backyard.
In her memory, she had placed the slumbering Book of Cangxuan in a specially made box and buried it beneath this very tree.
Now, it was time for her to see the light of day once more.