Before returning to Schicksal HQ, Rita Rossweisse, who had been knocked unconscious at the very beginning of this battle, finally slowly woke up.
It had to be said, the force of Siegfried's strike was perfectly measured.
After waking up, Rita didn't feel any discomfort in her body. Aside from some slight pain in the area that was struck, she even felt that Siegfried's chop hadn't caused her any serious harm.
From this point alone, Rita now completely understood.
Siegfried being hypnotized by Anti-Entropy using a Mimicry Key of Sentience—this was definitely something Overseer Otto made up.
Anti-Entropy was a hostile organization to Schicksal. If Siegfried had really been hypnotized by people from that side, how could he possibly choose to hold back when attacking a Schicksal Valkyrie?
Siegfried using such a 'gentle' attack to take Rita down was either out of consideration for his biological daughter, Durandal, or because Siegfried himself had no killing intent toward working-class Schicksal Valkyries.
And regardless of the reason, the fact that Rita wasn't injured was the best proof.
Furthermore, if one followed this logic, if Otto really had a brain spasm back then and severed his own limbs by preparing to kill the two seniors, Siegfried and Cecilia, then did that indicate...
*That the Lord Overseer might have a brain spasm and find a reason to kill their daughter directly as well?*
Given Otto's persona, Rita shouldn't have harbored such suspicions—after all, such an action was too idiotic and didn't fit Otto's public persona of 'not a good person, but values benefits'.
But if the conclusion she deduced was the fact, then this...
*Isn't Lady Durandal in danger?*
However, right now, Rita felt she couldn't voice this deduction.
After all, the Durandal in front of her had visibly become incredibly anxious.
At the very least, before meeting Overseer Otto this time, she really couldn't voice these deductions.
Otherwise, with Lady Durandal's personality of being unable to hide her thoughts...
"It is alright, Lady Durandal. This one is truly fine."
Looking at the anxious Durandal, Rita spoke softly.
"Mr. Siegfried did not intend to harm me. His strike effectively only caused me to faint temporarily."
"Father..."
Looking at Rita, who was indeed fine, Durandal should have breathed a sigh of relief.
But recalling everything that happened after meeting Siegfried, she felt her heart becoming incredibly anxious.
After meeting Siegfried, although the two didn't converse much, Durandal could feel from his words and demeanor that he was genuinely caring for her.
Moreover, after Siegfried forcibly took everyone and left, Durandal had already thought of another matter.
No matter how one looked at it, Welt didn't harbor excessive hostility toward them. He even alerted Durandal and Theresa, who might have been attacked by Kevin, the moment signs of Kevin's appearance emerged.
To be honest, as an outstanding warrior, Durandal knew how much impact this action had on Welt.
Looking back, if Welt hadn't chosen to warn the two of them and had instead directly activated the Star of Eden, Welt might not necessarily have exposed such a large opening and been taken down on the spot by Kevin.
*Looking at it this way...*
*Don't we owe Anti-Entropy a huge favor?*
*If Anti-Entropy really used the Key of Sentience to hypnotize Father, why would the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy risk exposing his own opening to warn us to retreat at such a critical moment?*
*Overseer Otto... is he really lying this time?*
"Sigh, you two little girls."
Himeko, who was in the transport device with them, sighed helplessly after seeing the expressions appearing on their faces.
"I can see you both have your own thoughts. Hiding them and not discussing them together at a time like this isn't actually a good thing."
"Especially Rita—you're still treating Bianka like a child who needs protecting. That's not good."
Being named, Rita immediately smiled and said:
"Senior Murata must be joking. This one holds no such thoughts. Lady Durandal is already Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie; how could this one possibly treat her as a child who needs protecting?"
"Ah, seeing that expression of yours, I'm certain—that is exactly what you're thinking."
After snorting grumpily, Himeko continued.
"Your expression seemed flawless, but there was clearly a moment of silence before you replied."
"She has strength, yes, but you still feel 'this little girl isn't that old; there are many things that would be bad for her to know'—don't be so quick to deny it. It's not like I haven't had those thoughts myself."
"You count as half her mentor, but I've been teaching at St. Freya for a while now. I've been a mentor longer and more often than you. To be honest, I'm not without that mindset myself."
"It's just that I can have those thoughts about those little girls. But Bianka is thinking about something different than you. This matter... concerns her origins and relatives, doesn't it?"
"...Senior Himeko, you are correct."
Listening to Himeko's analysis, Durandal spoke with immense distress.
"You heard the actual situation, Senior. Our organization's traitor, Siegfried, is my father. And I can feel that he actually loves me."
"Mn, go on."
"It's just that Overseer Otto told me he was hypnotized by Anti-Entropy using a Divine Key, which led him to commit rebellious acts."
"But at the same time, Father and Mr. Welt directly denied this and told me that my mother was killed by Overseer Otto..."
"To be honest, I really want to believe Father. But Overseer Otto... with his personality, it's impossible for him to perform such an... apparently foolish operation. After all, killing my parents with a Honkai Fission Bomb when they were his loyal subordinates would have brought no benefit to Overseer Otto."
"On the contrary, Anti-Entropy, as our hostile organization, gained immense benefits from the events of [Cecilia's Death] and [Siegfried's Heavy Injury]."
"In this matter, Anti-Entropy is the beneficiary, and Schicksal counts as the victim... Logically speaking, Overseer Otto's conclusion seems to have no issues either."
"Mn, so you're troubled. And Rita probably thinks it's better not to say some things because she was knocked out and didn't know what happened later."
Glancing at the distressed Durandal, Himeko spoke helplessly.
"After all, with your personality... you can't hide your thoughts."
"There's actually some logic to Rita thinking that way. If the Lord Overseer really is the one who harmed your family, and you voice your inner thoughts, then in that situation, your position will only become more awkward... even dangerous."
Himeko stopped speaking there.
But she didn't need to elaborate; Durandal already understood what her senior was trying to say.
As Otto's semi-disciple, Durandal hadn't been shielded from Otto's dark side.
Rather, Otto indeed hadn't hidden many things from her, which was why the current Durandal believed her master was indeed not a good person.
If a person who wasn't good really killed her mother and ruined her father, and then realized the secret couldn't be kept...
*Mn, deducing from this conclusion.*
*The Overseer really didn't care about reducing his trump cards in the past and prepared to kill my mom and dad... If he realizes something is wrong now, finding a reason to smash a Honkai Fission Bomb directly into my face one day seemingly wouldn't be surprising at all.*
*I suddenly seem to understand why Rita didn't want to tell me the things she thought of...*
Seeing Durandal's expression change abruptly, Rita immediately spoke up.
"Lady Durandal, after meeting Overseer Otto, please calm down. Although this matter may indeed have suspicious points, we cannot judge Lord Otto as really... just because of a hostile organization's actions."
"But! There are suspicious points! If I don't ask clearly..."
Durandal intended to continue, but after seeing Himeko cover her face in despair and a trace of helplessness flow from Rita's eyes, she suddenly deflated like a pierced ball and whispered resignedly.
"I understand... I won't say anything unnecessary."
"Actually, I don't misunderstand some of the thoughts in your heart."
After seeing Durandal's current demeanor, Himeko thought for a moment and decided to tell the two about her own situation.
"When it concerns relatives, it's normal to want to get to the bottom of things. In fact, I originally joined Schicksal hoping to investigate the cause of my father's death."
"It's just, Bianka, you're often too reckless when pursuing the truth, which can easily lead you to lose your way. And given your current situation..."
Leaning close to her junior, Himeko whispered in Durandal's ear.
"If you are too reckless, you might very well harm the people around you."
"After all, both you and I know clearly... the Lord Overseer really cannot be counted as a good person."
After saying these words, Himeko immediately put distance between herself and Durandal again.
"Alright, that's enough talk. Telling you this much today is plainly because we're all grasshoppers on the same rope."
"Knowing your true identity and these matters, if Overseer Otto wants to silence people later, I estimate I won't be able to run either. So—if only for my sake, please calm down later and don't just blurt out whatever comes to mind on the spot!"
"Yes... I am sorry, Senior Himeko."
Hearing this, Durandal bowed sincerely to Himeko, filled with apology.
"I am truly sorry for dragging you into my family affairs."
"Sigh. I probably won't live much longer anyway. To be honest, if Overseer Otto wants to silence me, letting me stay at HQ to wait for death would suffice."
"It's just that my death doesn't matter. You both, whether as Valkyries or as humans, still have a long road ahead."
"Especially you, Durandal. You are someone Theresa values. Even if your father isn't by your side, once Theresa knows your true identity, she will try every means to protect you. If you really choose to act recklessly..."
"The next one to be dragged in will be Lady Theresa, correct?"
After finishing the sentence for Himeko, Rita now felt an immense headache.
If it were before, Rita absolutely would not have thought Otto would move against Theresa.
But now, if this matter was truly confirmed, then in a situation where the Lord Overseer might have really gone mad—what wouldn't a madman do?
Lady Theresa was indeed favored normally, but that was only under normal circumstances.
If an abnormal situation occurred fourteen years ago, then... who could guarantee that such a situation wouldn't occur again fourteen years later?
Logically speaking, the probability of Overseer Otto going crazy was virtually non-existent, just like the probability of Mr. Aaron, who had been solving the Honkai all along, actually not being a good person.
But now that her and Durandal's lives were at stake, Rita felt it was better not to trust an Otto who had already had an episode too much.
Like this, harboring their respective worries, the three finally returned to Schicksal HQ.
And as soon as the three returned to Schicksal HQ, they went directly to Otto's office.
"You three, thank you for your hard work. I have already reviewed the report for this mission on the way."
Looking at the three before him, Otto narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a kindly smile.
Seeing this smile, Rita intended to speak.
But at this moment, Otto spoke a step ahead of Rita.
"Rita, in this mission, you were knocked unconscious by Siegfried. I do not blame you. Given the excessive disparity in power, this mission was indeed too demanding for you."
"I dare not; Lord Overseer's orders had no issues. It was simply this one... who was far too incompetent."
"The research department has already come up with the enhancement plan for Skadi Ondurgud. Once Skadi Ondurgud is enhanced, I believe you should be able to perform even more outstandingly in the next mission."
"Many thanks, Lord Overseer."
*Sigh, the Lord Overseer is still like this.*
*It seems he calculated our moves even while we were discussing them.*
*I intended to speak first to reduce the topics on which Lady Durandal would be 'interrogated'.*
*But Overseer Otto sensed this, spoke first to state the fact that I was knocked out, and then used the method of changing the subject to try to prevent others from noticing this.*
*This passage seemingly helps me with an enhancement plan, but in reality, it is just the Lord Overseer's warning—if you fainted, you fainted; I don't blame you, a useless person, for not handling things well.*
*But after fainting and not knowing the situation, just keep your mouth shut—this is the true meaning Overseer Otto wants to convey.*
"Alright, let's put Rita's matter aside. Now, Durandal, tell me."
"As one of the leaders of this mission, what intelligence did you actually see on the battlefield after the mission ended?"
..................