The meeting was relatively uneventful and tame.
During all this time, all Theresa did was explain some simple lore about the world to us.
Something something, Schicksal good, Anti-Entropy not so good.
Funny. I heard the opposite from Ryoma, not including Cocolia's faction of course.
But I also found out something quite interesting.
Schicksal was entrenched in more or less all parts of the world. Their influence wasn't as great in the Americas, but for the rest of the world? They might as well be the unofficial ruler despite their front as a charitable organisation.
I was actually surprised that Theresa was willing to share this information with me, but Himeko had assured me that this was unclassified info.
Other than that, what she did was give a pitch on her school, St Freya Academy.
Funnily enough, she had some people bring in a whole projector and screen to pitch to us the school.
The training ground parts were nice and all, but the rest…
I felt like I was in one of those MLM seminars all over again.
Case in point?
"Our academy also has a state of the art library! Therefore, it's incredibly easy to…"
You see what I mean?
In the meantime, while she was yapping on, I collected the thoughts in my head.
Thus far, from what I know about Theresa, she seemed to be the goofy mascot type.
How I knew?
I will say that Kiana was a great help…
Theresa's reactions to everything told me most of what I needed to know. And as a result, I felt that she was someone who could be trusted too.
She pretty much wore her heart on her sleeve, kinda like Kiana.
I was suddenly cut off from my thoughts however as I noticed that Theresa was about to finish with her little presentation.
"So come on! We will smite the evil Honkai and protect the innocent from harm! Just sign up for St. Freya Academy for an easy scholarship to becoming a Valkyrie!!"
After saying that out, a proud smile remained plastered on her face as she turned to us.
"So guys, what do you think?"
…
…
Seeing the silence, Mei, being the type of girl she was, gave a polite laugh and clapped her hands.
"That was great, Principal Theresa…"
…
…
Damn that is awkward…
The one most likely to say anything else, Kiana, was busy doing her own thing. She clearly had not listened to a single word, instead focusing on ripping the prime rib in front of her to pieces.
So Bronya and I, just shared a look before we hurriedly added on the claps,
"Wow. That was great!"
"The Bronya is incredibly impressed. St. Freya seems like an immaculate school."
Clearly Theresa could read between the lines though as she deflated like a balloon.
"You guys… did you listen to any of it?"
"Of course." I reassured her. "I heard every single word."
I, in fact, did not hear every single word.
A sigh emerged from her lips as she sat down, slightly depressed. "You don't need to reassure me. I generated that with KallenGPT.."
Huh.
No wonder the presentation sucked.
"Anyways." Theresa breathed out as her eyes sharpened. "I would like to know your answer on whether you plan to join St. Freya? I believe that your decisions have been made beforehand, no?"
Ah, so she's not all goofy only.
That's good to know too.
My smile returned to my face as I leaned forward with a hand on my chin.
"That's right."
"In that case, would you mind sharing?"
The relatively goofy grin she had previously also became a lot more natural as she awaited my answer.
"Of course, we…"
—--------------------------
Honestly, if you didn't see my answer coming from a mile away, I have a bridge to sell to you.
The idea of it is pretty simple.
It's better to have more friends than enemies.
While Schicksal was still pretty mysterious to me right now, it was far better than trying to join up with Anti-Entropy, even if it was the other faction.
Despite what Ryoma and Siegfried said about their faction, what would be the point of joining a group that couldn't even protect itself from… itself…
Wow, when you put it that way…
I suppose you could say that I subscribed to the "A house divided against itself will not stand" ideology.
Walking out of the restaurants, everyone was full of grins and smiles(especially Kiana. She finally got to eat the stuff I wouldn't take her to).
Theresa in particular seemed exceptionally satisfied. There was a particular bounce in her step, which was honestly kinda cute.
Wait…
This was the same wording mistake I nearly did with Bronya that time.
But I'm kinda confused now… she is probably like 30+ no? Would it still be weird if I said it in that context?
Perhaps a mystery that I would not be able to solve…
Wheel! Give me the answer! I need to know if this would hold up in court!
"Gojo Satoru… do you mind if I just called you Satoru actually?" Theresa asked as she moved next to me.
"I don't mind it but I really prefer being called Gojo."
That made her raise an eyebrow.
"Really? I thought that Satoru is your given name and Gojo is your surname?"
I shrugged. "I just think Gojo has a better ring than Satoru."
"I see…"
She nodded in understanding. "I'll just call you Gojo then, is that fine?"
"Go ahead."
It seemed at that point that the night was coming to an end, but just before we were about to bid goodbyes, the white haired… little girl?(is that how I should describe her?) suddenly called out again.
"By the way… Kiana…"
My partner in crime in question suddenly snapped out of her post meal drowsiness as she pointed to herself.
"Huh? Me?"
"Can I ask where you live now? Is it… a decent place?'
Why was she asking that? Didn't they already know where they live from the reports?
And…
My eyes narrowed
Why was she so curious anyways?
I glanced over to Himeko, only to see her looking off into the distance as well.
Ah…
She probably didn't report it.
Then the other question remained.
"Why do you want to know?" Kiana was slightly taken aback at the question as well. "It's kinda rude to say this but we don't know each other that well right?"
Ooh polite Kiana.
"Ah? You don't remember me, Kiana?"
"Pretty sure I would remember a ha-." She coughed and corrected herself. "I mean a little girl like you."
Now there was the Kiana I know and love.
The tick mark appeared on Theresa's head again but multiple deep breaths helped cooler minds prevail.
Her gritted teeth morphed into melancholy as her eyes glazed over. "I… know your parents, Kiana…"
"Huh?"/"Huh?"/
Kiana and Mei were shocked at that.
On the other hand, Bronya and I made no outward response, instead choosing to just listen.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah." She looked down. "I held you when you were a baby too. A cute little thing, you were."
"So if you're asking why I'm curious, then that's why."
"And I suppose you could call me…"
Theresa gave a bright smile towards Kiana.
"Auntie?"
(A/N: Getting back into the groove of writing at the moment. Plz give powerstones, comments and reviews if possible guys.
https://discord.gg/cqQG4rmhXN
)