Chapter 150: The Next Generation
Bianka and Rita were currently having a spar at Schicksal HQ and Tilie was watching them closely. "Hmm, they surely are trainees from his squad. Bianka has honkai adaptability I've never seen before, and Rita Rossweisse is not only strong. She is elegant, and a lady that women of this time could learn more of." Tilie swirled her wine and thought why he even put them at Schicksal.
She couldn't wrap her head around it, but they were a nice addition to their roster. Especially because Cheng Lixue resigned as the valkyrie commander and she could not do anything, but delay her resignation as she is bound to the contract with Hua that she could not even try and look at St. Freya.
"This will be interesting, I wonder what he's got up in his head right now. Cooking up another scheme to inconvenience me. Hah..." The blonde sighed and gave a small smile.
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Rita and Bianka were going at it hard, and they were still just young girls. With Rita being 12 and Bianka being 9, the youngest S-rank valkyries in history. The valkyries admire them and they were like idols inside Schicksal.
And of course, being popular has its downsides. As they are regularly swarmed by young valkyries in training as well as veterans that are impressed at their strength and skill.
"Kyaaah! Bianka-sama, Rita-sama! Please shake my hand!" A fan girl went up to them as the two took a break. Rita smiled at her and shook her hand after wiping her sweat with a towel, while Bianka got a smug face on her as she shook their hands.
"Hehe~ Rita, aren't I on the road to being the best valkyrie ever? Ein-nii would have to reward me when I get back to the base." Bianka got excited and thought she'd have a feast.
"Ara~ Arrogance would lead you nowhere Bianka-san. You still haven't surpassed the previous paladin's peak. According to the records of the 2nd eruption, she almost beat the 2nd herrscher." Rita reigned her down as Bianka was a bit too prideful.
"But she received help from others right? I know, I know, you should rely on your allies and such. But what if you're the only one that could compete against the enemy? Might controls everything Rita, and without strength. You cannot protect anything. Let alone yourself." She recited Sakura's words when she sought for help and Rita thought that they were an outlier.
"That is true, but don't immerse yourself too much in pursuing it. We are humans Bianka-san, Ein nii-sama and the ones from home are too. The only difference is, they've reached the zenith. Reaching them is nigh impossible with our mortal bodies." Rita then narrowed her eyes and heard about the gene seed from Mobius. So she cooked up a plan to get one so her goal to be an ultimate maid would be reachable.
"T-that's right. I've seen them spar, they're insane." Bianka replied, recalling Kalpas' and Kosma's 'spars' as they lay waste to the training rooms that were just gates to other bubble universes. Creating apocalyptic disasters whenever they clashed.
"Anyways, we need to ramp up our status! We need to be unshakeable. We're trainees of Ein-nii's squad, we got to live up to the squad's reputation Rita!" Bianka was impatient as she just had a warm up and she itched to fight. Her training with the ELFs turning her into a pervert that wants to kill things for fun. The ELFs exterminating honkai beasts with brutal efficiency inspired her.
Rita chuckled and contacted the overseer. Asking for missions again that was related to search and destroy.
Meanwhile, Ragna looked at Rita's perfect temperament to be a maid and she was excited. 'Ahhh, a comrade. She understands that maids are invincible.'
The captain of the assault squad was a model valkyrie. An A-ranker that does her job well, has a fulfilling day job, and was known for her kindness and gentleness. But they didn't know that she was a nut for maids and even works part time to be one at a cafe.
Rita noticed her and smiled at her. "Hmm, is it not rude to stare miss?" Rita called her out and Ragna panicked, but she was determined to know if the young Rita was a true maid enthusiast.
"Ahh, I'm Ragna, Ragna Lothbrok. Captain of the assault squad, Rita-chan. Can you please complete this sentence if you may?" Ragna asked and Rita raised a brow, but she nodded.
"Maids are?" Ragna asked as she squinted her eyes and Rita smirked at her. "Invincible. They can do anything their master wills them, we perfect our craft to the absolute best all for the sake of the master we have chosen." Rita said confidently and Bianka stared at them like they were crazy.
"E-Elegant! It seems you are one of my people. Your dedication is unmatched, ugh. I have failed as a maid enthusiast." Ragna did an orz and thought that her cosplaying at a maid cafe didn't hold a candle to Rita's determination and will to be the perfect maid.
"Fufufu~ So it seems. But do not be discouraged Ragna-san, you just haven't met a master as great as mine." Rita replied and Ragna looked at her and was curious who she serves.
"Really? Who is your master anyway? I bet that they must be incredible for you to be their maid." Ragna could only admire the maid in front of her and thought that they were lucky.
"My honorable master is Ein nii-sama. Although I haven't earned the right to call him master yet. As my skills as a maid still does not match his status." Rita said and Ragna felt her burning determination.
"I see... Such a dedicated maid in training. You are what maids should aspire to be." Ragna nodded in satisfaction at Rita's reasoning and agreed that the head of Aesir is really too great for normal maids.
"Why are we having this conversation?" Bianka interrupted their passionate talk as she thought they were getting weirder by the minute.
"You would never understand, we have chosen the path of the maid. But Rita-chan is right, I haven't found a worthy master yet. The overseer already has Amber too." Ragna replied and Rita nodded in agreement.
"O-okay? Whatever floats your boat." Bianka thought they were getting too into it and didn't want to be roped into it.
Ragna then made up her mind and would apply at Aesir to pursue her dreams. As she has seen Rita's determination.
"Thank you Rita-chan, you have opened my eyes. It was a pleasure talking to you." Ragna then left and Rita smiled at her. "Ahhh, it seems I have converted a person to be Ein nii-sama's maid. I hope she gets accepted, she has potential."
Bianka decided that she didn't hear that and just browsed missions that involved emperor class honkai beasts or outbreaks.
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Meanwhile, at Aesir HQ. Natasha looked all over the place nervously as she was being guided by Mobius. "Um, Mobius-sama. Where are we going?" She asked as she heard rumors about Mobius vivisecting people because they performed poorly. Which was true, but it was done with her powers in which she could separate body parts without any pain or side effects, just like the ope ope no mi.
Ein thought it was perfect for her and she was really overjoyed when she got it. As test subjects could be examined without doing any major damage to it and can be tested on for as long as she liked.
"The emperor of mankind would like to have a word with you." Mobius' compulsion acted up and she put a hand on her mouth too late. She then quickly went up to Ein's room and opened the door with annoyance.
"Dammit Ein, I didn't kill anybody! Why'd you do that?" She asked with a huff and he chuckled. "You're making her too anxious, look at her. She's thinking that you'll probably open her up like a canned good." Ein pointed at Raven that was scared and she sighed.
"I guess, anyways. He wanted to meet you with your brother, but he is on a mission right now to keep tabs on some suspicious organization." Mobius then left after Ein gave her a little peck.
'Damn, so this is our big boss?' Natasha observed him and wanted to know why he would even waste his time meeting her.
"Hi there, sorry about the abrupt meeting kid. I'm Einheri, call me Ein okay? So, I see that you're the new wielder of 7 thunders of retribution huh?" He smiled at her and patted her head.
She closed her eyes and thought he was just like a big brother. Even though he towers over her and looks intimidating as hell.
"Un, it is much more responsive to me. But it is quite unruly." Natasha looked at the weapon and it glowed erratically, like it was telling her that she should be glad she could wield it.
He laughed at the 3rd key's reaction and snapped his fingers. The key turned into lightning and immediately could onto him as it arced black and red lightning.
"W-woah. She immediately left me behind and stuck onto you." Natasha thought it was cool and he gave a smile. "Well, I'm this baby's original wielder after all. And she's pretty salty with new ones as my conquest is still the one that reigns supreme." He then gave it back to her and it shocked her a bit, conveying that she should be more like him.
"Don't worry, it would warm up to you in time. By the way, you haven't introduced yourself to me. What's your name?" He patted her head and gave her some treats.
"I-I'm Natasha Cioara, code named Raven. It's a pleasure to meet you Ein-sama." She greeted stiffly and bowed. Not used to it at all, as she was raised to be a mercenary and undergo missions for a paycheck.
"Come on now, don't be too stiff. You're like a piece of wood you know?" He then took out one of the contents of the bag and shoved it in her mouth. Her face then suddenly slacked as she got a dopamine rush from the delicious treat.
'Ahh, it seems she didn't enjoy her childhood much at Mobius' organization. Well, it is quite spartan there. But at least she grew up well with her remaining family.' He patted her head and Natasha gained her wits.
"Ahhh, sorry. I spaced out, what in the world is in these Ein-nii? Are you trying to brainwash me?" She joked and he pinched her cheek.
"That's more like it, you're a little cheeky huh? How about I tell you the stories of that little weapon on you?" He sat her on his lap and he took out the filmed battle of his with the 4th herrscher.
Natasha watched on with awe as she saw the full capabilities of her now weapon. And now knew why it was so unruly. They ate some popcorn while watching and she was engrossed in it.
And when it was getting late, he gave her a nice little pouch just like Kiana and Kallen so she could share some with her brother. "Thanks Ein-nii, I didn't know our big boss is cool." She started munching on her treats and couldn't wait to share it with her brother.
"Well, it's the least that I could do. Gray serpent did take you away from Siberia. Anyways, keep up the good work okay? I'll wait for you to unlock all of the forms of the 3rd key." He thought of her reaction when she finds out that one of the forms of the 3rd key was an electromagnetic slingshot. It was still useable, but it would surely throw her off.
"Un! Bye!" She ran off with her pouch like an excited elementary schooler that has a treasure on her hands.
"Ahhh, there she is. That little bit of child wonder, Bianka hasn't received one of those yet now that I think about it. She is the youngest S-rank valkyrie." He thought of giving one to her as well.
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At the Raiden household, Yuna was currently being pestered by one Raiden Mei on how to be the best heiress.
"Mei... You're 10 years old, Ein-sama does not expect you to lead ME corp at that age." Her mother gave a wry smile as Mei vehemently shook her head.
"No. I can feel it, someone even younger than me is accomplishing feats only a chosen few can." Mei insisted and Bianka sneezed while killing an emperor class honkai beast using her bare hands.
"Hah, fine. I guess you're really thankful huh?" She smiled at her daughter who was really determined. She then started her education so Mei could lead ME corp. to be the best and not just one of Supergen's disguise companies.
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And while the next generation strived to be the very best. Ein was currently teaching the previous one on how they'll achieve it. And of course, Shub and Patricia are groaning as he did so.
"Hah, why are you guys lacking energy so much. You're valkyries for god's sake." Ein gave them some beverages with stimulants so they could continue cramming information in their heads.
"Ugh, fighting is so much better than this. No offense Ein-sama. But me and Pat aren't really the nurturing type." Shub said as she drank the stimulants and perked up like she just took liquid meth.
"Oh fuck, I feel like a million bucks! Is that thing drugged or something? Holy crap!" Shub was like a kid on a sugar rush and he sighed. "It's a stimulant, it will help you retain more information. Now read." He smacked her softly with one of his new books, teaching for dummies.
"You too Theresa, this school isn't going to run itself." He chided Theresa who was drinking her abominable bitter melon juice that she loved for some reason.
"You gotta give me some slack here. I'm working with Shub and Patricia as teachers. Himeko-san is the best one, while Cheng and Kira are doing better, but not much." Theresa sighed as she lazed around on her chair.
"Hmm, I'll take away the food privileges for the staff if you don't work Theresa." He threatened and everybody glared at her.
She gasped and immediately went stiff. "Y-you won't dare!" She whined like a kid and he snorted at her.
"Don't test me young lady." He narrowed his eyes at her and she deflated. Patricia and Kira held in their laughter and Kira made an offhand comment. "Pft, principal Theresa? A young lady?"
Theresa glared at her and they quarreled amongst each other while Shub was influenced by basically adderall as she speedran through the texts.
"Hah, Ein... This won't get anywhere like this. How about you teach them one by one?" Himeko sighed as she massaged her temples. Bearing their workload because they were getting too much backlog.
"That's a great idea. Shub can do fine for now, she's really focused, so. Who wants to go first?" He asked and they looked at each other, deciding who will be the one that will get tutoring.
"I think Patricia should go. She's so bad at teaching it's not even funny. She even drinks while lecturing." Cheng ratted her out and Ein raised a brow at that information.
"Hoh? She does? Hmmm, it seems you're going to need some rehabilitation." He smirked at her and pinched her cheek, but he did something. Anything alcoholic she would drink will taste like crap.
"W-what did you do? My stomach's churning." Patricia was anxious as she felt bad suddenly. "You won't be able to drink alcohol, I think it's good incentive for you to take your job seriously Pat." He shrugged and she immediately prostrated herself.
"Nooo! Not my after work beer! Please! I beg of you!" She begged, but he wasn't having any of it. "Then do your job, Himeko's been picking up your slack you know?" He flicked her on the forehead and she got depressed.
"By the way, Cheng. Your master wants to meet up with you, she wants to catch up. Well, I told her to, you'd like that right?" He smiled at her and the stoic valkyrie froze. "W-what? When?" She asked immediately like an excited child.
"Haha, you really like her huh? She said later after work because she isn't doing anything right now really." He informed her and she got frantic. Panicking as she thought of how the day will go. Cheng excused herself and she went out to prepare.
"Hmm, I haven't seen Cheng act like that. It's surreal." Salome commented and thought that parental worship really was something.
"Okay girls, let's continue. Especially you Patricia, work hard and I'll give you my special craft beer." He gave an incentive and he also remembered that he still had Sugar Molass with him. And the little Sugar was once Shub's companion.
"Hey Shub, I'll give this back to you. It would help you right?" He rummaged inside his pocket dimensions and took out the fuzzball.
"What do you mean? Wait... Sugar Molass?" Shub was surprised as the sugar just suddenly disappeared and she thought the fuzzball returned to her home dimension.
"Shub! What happened? I was about to transport us to the sea of quanta. But I didn't know what happened next." The fuzzball replied.
"You have no idea how dangerous that place is, don't you?" Ein said as he squeezed her a bit. "You would've turned Kira and Shub into a soup if you didn't miraculously enter a bubble universe. And without an anchor, that's impossible to do."
"Well, at least I won't get bored around here. Molass! Help me get all of this information to my head!" Shub immediately took advantage of the fuzzball's psychic powers and was delighted that she didn't have to read it all.
"Hah, that's cheating. But I guess it's fine, why have powers anyway if you won't use it." Ein sighed and just let her be.
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Thanks for reading everyone. Just a bit of slice of life. Leila Cleo will appear as Mobius' protege. As she is a bootleg version of Mobius. And dealing with crazy ass women is his specialty, anyways. Ciao.