"The reward we talked about before shouldn't include what we got in Nagazora City, right?"
"..."
Levi stayed silent, glanced at Himeko who was speaking up for Theresa, then looked at Theresa, who seemed to be smiling but not quite.
He rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"Stop messing around, Theresa. Himeko doesn't know the situation, but you should, right?"
"Hurry up and give it to me. That thing isn't an ordinary weapon."
After saying that, he reached out his hand toward Theresa.
Hearing what he said, Himeko felt like she might have misunderstood him.
She turned to look at Theresa beside her.
Noticing the smile on her face, and knowing her well, Himeko shook her head.
Judging from how Theresa looked right now, she had most likely made some kind of deal with him behind her back.
That made sense.
Something this valuable being exchanged for just an ordinary bitter melon as a reward, no matter how you thought about it, it was impossible.
He definitely had some other motive.
And what he wanted was obviously the one Theresa brought back from Nagazora City... that long sword radiating an evil aura.
Forget it. She wouldn't get involved. Let Theresa handle it herself.
"I don't know anything."
Theresa put her hands on her hips.
"All I know is that this thing was found by me in Nagazora City. It's a trophy of our St. Freya Academy!"
"The reward I promised you was my bitter melon. It didn't include this."
She answered with complete confidence. Looking at Levi, who seemed at a loss, Theresa raised her chin proudly.
Levi took a deep breath and glanced at the long sword in her hand.
"If that's the case, then keep it for yourself."
"I don't want it anymore!"
After saying that, he turned around and left.
As an incomplete Divine Key, Jizo Mitama wasn't as harmless as other Divine Keys.
The Herrscher consciousness inside it hadn't been heavily restricted and could still affect the outside world.
Even though its power wasn't what it used to be, a Herrscher was still a Herrscher.
Triggering a Honkai outbreak at St. Freya Academy and corrupting hundreds of Valkyries wouldn't be a problem.
Seeing Levi turn and walk away, Theresa froze for a moment. After snapping back to her senses, she quickly reached out and grabbed him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't rush off! This thing might belong to us, but that doesn't mean we can't give it to you."
"For example, if you give something, or give up something… maybe I'll hand it over to you!"
She patted his shoulder, only to realize she wasn't tall enough.
So she awkwardly patted his back instead.
Then she said earnestly, "Young people shouldn't be so impatient. You know there's an old saying in Shenzhou, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry."
This thing was far too strange. There was no way she would keep it at St. Freya.
Levi lowered his gaze without any emotion, looking at Theresa holding onto him, and said nothing.
Seeing him stop, Theresa let go and coughed lightly.
She raised the Jizo Mitama in her hand.
"The item, I can give it to you. The bitter melon, I cannot."
'So you've been eyeing that bitter melon no one wants.'
But what was written in the commission isn't something you can just refuse and not give.
After hearing Theresa's words, Levi instantly changed his expression. He put on the same smile as before, grabbed Theresa's small hand, and shook it up and down.
With his other hand, he took the Jizo Mitama.
"Pleasant cooperation."
"Pleasant cooperation!"
Theresa's face also broke into a smile. 'My bitter melon is safe!'
'Safe?'
Seeing her smile, Levi's grin grew even brighter.
"Levi!"
'Levi?!'
'Levi?'
Kiana's voice sounded from behind. Along with two hurried footsteps, Levi felt someone pat his shoulder.
That was definitely not something Theresa could do.
Unless she jumped.
Theresa: "?"
Turning around, he saw Kiana's smooth and pretty face. She was curiously staring at the Jizo Mitama in his hand.
She reached out a finger, wanting to poke the blade, but Levi blocked her.
"Don't touch it randomly. You'll die."
'Is it really that exaggerated?'
'You're holding it and nothing's happening.'
Kiana nodded, glanced at Theresa and Himeko, greeted them, then looked into the aircraft.
There was no one else inside.
She nudged Levi with her elbow and asked, "Didn't you say my aunt brought back a Herrscher? Where is it?"
So he really was lying to her.
Hearing Kiana's question, Theresa turned to Levi and asked, "Right, didn't you say there were two pseudo-Herrschers and one Herrscher in Nagazora City?"
They had already seen the pseudo-Herrschers, and the count matched.
But that Herrscher hadn't even shown a shadow.
At this moment, Raiden Mei and Bronya also came over, looking at Levi with strange expressions.
Levi extended the hand holding Jizo Mitama in front of everyone.
The blade, as if soaked in blood, flickered with a faint light under their gaze.
It looked like it was breathing.
Looking at it, Theresa showed a puzzled expression.
They were asking about the Herrscher. Why was Levi showing them this sword?
'It couldn't be that it was the Herrscher, right?'
Theresa joked to herself.
But that was obviously impossible. Not to mention objects becoming Herrschers, up until now, there had been no record of anything other than humans turning into Herrschers.
Even among living beings, there were none, let alone lifeless objects.
As for Divine Keys, that was even more impossible.
1. Divine Keys aren't that creepy. They wouldn't make your skin crawl just by holding them.
2. A Divine Key is a Divine Key, not a Herrscher. It just gets its power from a Herrscher core.
3. Divine Keys are humanity's good friends. Please don't call them Herrschers. Doing so is not good for the rela… relationship between the Divine Key and its user.
4. …
But Levi told her that this thing was a Herrscher.
"Impossible!" Theresa's voice was firm. She waved her arm and shouted, "Absolutely impossible!"
Even if this thing was strange, at most it was something related to the Honkai.
Being a Herrscher was completely impossible.
"If it's a Herrscher, I'll jump off the Central Cathedral today!"
Theresa didn't hesitate at all, because she knew this would never happen.
"Yeah." Kiana pulled her gaze back from Theresa and agreed, "There's no way this thing is a Herrscher. You should stop joking."
"But it really is a Herrscher." Levi looked innocent, placing his fingers together beside his cheek. "I swear on the age of the Celestial Phoenix Immortal Vessel that I'm absolutely not lying."
Fu Hua, who was quietly attending class, suddenly trembled all over and turned to look around.
Such a strange action naturally caught Welt's attention.
"Student Fu Hua, is something wrong?"
Unlike Kiana, Fu Hua was a genuinely good student. Welt trusted her a lot.
He wasn't worried she would do anything strange.
Meeting Welt's gaze, Fu Hua replied, "Nothing."
After sitting upright again, Fu Hua twitched her nose.
Strange. Why did it feel like she'd been offended somehow?
On the other side, hearing Levi mention another name she had never heard before, Kiana crossed her arms. "If that's the case, since you're its kind, you should be able to command it, right? Make it show us something."
"Yeah, yeah! I really want to jump off the Central Cathedral!"
Theresa shouted from the side.
Bronya, who had been thinking the whole time, didn't fully understand what was happening, but judging from the situation in front of her, she decided to stir things up.