Crack!
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch...
"Let me tell you something, Wendy," Kiana said while eating. "Bronya is actually pretty sensitive about her height."
"If she does something to upset you, just call her a short little dwarf who'll never grow any taller. That'll definitely get under her skin."
The last time Kiana brought it up, Bronya had refused to speak to her for two whole days, causing her game progress to fall way behind.
"It's not about whether she cares or not." Wendy smiled. "Once something gets brought up enough times..."
Even if you don't care about it, you eventually will.
Kiana stared at Wendy with her big, sparkling eyes, clearly not quite understanding what she meant.
Just then, Theresa's horrified voice came from behind them.
"R-R-Rita!"
Hearing that, Kiana and Wendy simultaneously looked toward the doorway. The first thing they saw was Theresa's petite figure from behind.
Standing directly in front of her was a tall, graceful woman.
From Theresa's reaction, they could tell that the woman in the maid outfit at the door was one of the only three S-rank Valkyries currently serving Schicksal.
Rita Rossweisse.
The vice-captain of Immortal Blades, Schicksal's strongest squad.
As for the captain, that was naturally Durandal, the strongest S-rank Valkyrie, also known as the "Dumb Goose" and the wielder of Abyss Flower.
Upon seeing the woman before her, Theresa's expression changed. "What are you doing here?"
The moment she saw this 'vile woman,' Theresa couldn't help feeling a wave of panic.
If Theresa had to name her natural enemy, then the vice-captain of Immortal Blades, Rita, who was also an S-rank Valkyrie like herself, would undoubtedly be the one.
Even now, whenever Theresa saw her, she still felt an urge to run away.
However, remembering that her niece Kiana, her student Wendy, and Fu Hua were all behind her, Theresa forced herself to remain calm.
With a stern expression, she questioned Rita about her intentions.
"Can't it simply be that I've missed Lady Theresa?"
Rita's alluring gaze swept across every corner of the room before finally settling on Levi. She gave this unfamiliar man a gentle smile.
But no matter how gentle a venomous snake's smile might be, it couldn't change the fact that it was poisonous.
On the contrary, anyone who knew she was a venomous snake would think that she had set her sights on them and was using this method to lower their guard.
That was exactly what Levi thought.
"Y-You think I'd believe that?"
After replying, Theresa instinctively took a step backward when Rita's eyes settled on her.
By coincidence, this cleared the way for Rita to enter.
Rita took the opportunity to walk into the room. First, she politely expressed her concern for Wendy, who was lying in the hospital bed. Then, she put on a wounded expression in response to Theresa's answer.
Only after that did she turn to Levi.
Approaching Levi, who hadn't said a word the entire time, Rita examined the oddly dressed man before her. He looked like an actor who had just walked out of the set of some ancient period drama.
Rita smiled.
"Hello, Mr. Levi. The Overseer wishes to see you."
Hearing that Otto, that bastard, wanted to see him, Levi showed no surprise whatsoever.
No wonder the other party hadn't made a move recently. It turned out he'd had his eye on Levi and was preparing to hit him with something big.
"What if I refuse to go?"
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to forgive my impoliteness, Mr. Levi."
Kiana stared at Rita's smiling face in astonishment.
'Forgive your impoliteness?'
Although she didn't know the true strength of an S-rank Valkyrie, she knew how strong Levi was.
Based on her intuition, if Levi unleashed a full-powered attack...
Judging by what she'd seen back on the Luofu...
Rita would probably ascend to heaven right on the spot.
No one would be able to find where she'd gone.
"Theresa, arrange surgery to remove the Gem of Desire." Levi looked at Rita, then spoke to Theresa. "I'm going to discuss something with your grandpa."
Theresa: "?"
'Why did that sound so weird?'
———
Under Rita's guidance, the two arrived at a teaching building at St. Freya Academy. They went up to the second floor and found Otto standing by a classroom window, gazing into the distance.
Rita bowed slightly, left the classroom, and casually closed the door behind her.
Levi glanced at Otto, who was standing with his back to him and putting on airs. He casually found a seat, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at him.
"I heard you wanted to see me."
He acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary, as if he didn't take Otto seriously.
Or perhaps he was simply supremely confident in his own strength.
System commissions were just for fun. If you really wanted efficiency, you had to look at commissions that didn't go through the system.
When the time came, Levi would show his clients what 'Levi's efficiency' really meant.
'Heh, it's about time I put Jing Yuan's boots on the agenda, too.'
That way, those people wouldn't be able to say he didn't dare take action and make a joke out of the name of his All-Purpose Shop.
After a moment, Otto withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to look at Levi. In his magnetic voice, he said, "Levi."
"Male. Place of birth unknown. Background unknown. Age also unknown."
These were the results of Schicksal's intelligence network investigation.
They had practically tracked down every person in the world named Levi.
Not a single one matched the information on the man standing before him.
"Can you tell me where you came from?", Otto asked sincerely.
There hadn't been any unusual fluctuations from the surrounding Sea of Quanta, so Levi could also be ruled out as a visitor from another world.
'It wasn't as though the guy was a monkey, was it?'
Like the mythical figures from Shenzhou's legends who sprang out of a crack in a stone.
"Look up."
Levi spoke calmly. "What do you see?"
"The ceiling."
"...Are you joking?"
"Of course."
A hint of amusement entered Otto's magnetic voice. "Just a little joke. I hope you don't mind, my friend."
He then began to seriously consider Levi's answer.
Having a genius's brain certainly came in handy. Otto quickly understood what Levi was trying to say.
"You mean you came from another planet?"
An alien?
Otto found the idea somewhat absurd and ridiculous. Compared to believing that Levi was an alien, he would sooner believe that Theresa was Kallen's reincarnation.
Seeing his reaction, Levi didn't say anything more.
'You wouldn't believe me even if I told you, so I might as well keep my mouth shut.'
'What a waste of breath.'
Just wait until he found an opportunity to bring the Xianzhou Luofu over. Then Otto could see if he was still laughing.
He'd fire a laser cannon straight at Schicksal's headquarters.
Of course, that was impossible for now. He was just a low-level guy in charge of discipline. There was no way he could interfere with the Xianzhou Luofu's flight path.
Otto looked at him, and his eyes shifted slightly.
BOOM!
"What happened?! What's going on?!"
The ground beneath her feet shook. After regaining her balance, Theresa leaned over the corridor window and stared at the burning teaching building with her mouth hanging open.
Seeing this, Kiana immediately realized that Levi was responsible. She quickly ran downstairs.
———
"What were you trying to do to me just now?"
A cold voice rang out. The burning flames distorted the air, blurring Otto's vision.
"Don't you already know, my friend?"
He wasn't the least bit flustered. Instead, he continued recording the power Levi had displayed.
It was only a Soul Steel body, after all.
He had plenty more.
Losing one was no big deal.
"..."