*Smack*—
Oath of Judah slapped Otto again, who was sitting in Yae Sakura's arms with a look on his face like Nicholas had just died.
"What's the meaning of this? Yae Sakura is kind enough to hold you, and you're not happy about it!"
"Judah! I'll fight you!" Otto angrily tried to break free from Yae Sakura's embrace and lunge at Judah.
Judah had already hit him countless times today. Otto hadn't suffered such grievances in hundreds of years.
"Alright, alright, be a good little Luocha," Yae Sakura comforted Otto gently.
It would have been better if she hadn't. Once she did, Otto's face turned green with anger.
"Let go of me! You evil woman!" Otto pressed his hands against Yae Sakura, struggling constantly, trying to put distance between them.
Unfortunately, Otto was sitting on Yae Sakura's lap, leaning against her. In his anger, when Otto turned around and pushed against Yae Sakura, his little hands landed in an awkward position.
Yae Sakura's brow furrowed. She immediately restrained Otto with both hands, turned him back to the proper position, and made him sit obediently.
Regarding Luocha's rude behavior, Yae Sakura only frowned to express her dissatisfaction. After all, Luocha was a girl, and it was common for girls to grab each other's chests.
Yae Sakura didn't care much, but Otto certainly did. The moment he realized what he had done, he turned back into a steam engine. He had never even touched Kallen, so how could his first time be with Yae Sakura!!
Otto was now frantically wondering if he should just chop off his hand, or if he should use Fenghuang Down to erase this memory.
Yae Sakura nuzzled the Otto on her lap with her cheek and asked curiously.
"Luocha, do I have a grudge with your ancestors?"
"Um... no."
Although all the Schicksal Valkyries said their first love was Otto, Otto strongly insisted that at most, he had held hands or hugged them while saving them. The last time he had been so intimate with a woman was five hundred years ago when he and Kallen fell asleep under a tree, their faces close together!
This intimate gesture from Yae Sakura instantly dazed Otto.
"Then do you hate me?"
"Uh... it's not hate... it's just a little... never mind."
"But every time Luocha looks at me, there's a hint of resentment in your eyes! Did I do something wrong to make you unhappy?"
"No, Yae Sakura, you are very good, you did nothing wrong. It's just some personal reasons of mine... It has nothing to do with you..."
Otto shook his head, not explaining further. Otto didn't hate Yae Sakura; it was just that his pride made it a little hard for him to accept.
"Luocha is just a child starved for love, unable to accept others' kindness for a moment. Yae Sakura, you don't need to worry about it. Luocha will get used to it slowly."
Oath of Judah rested her head on Bronya's, smiling as she stared at Otto and explained to Yae Sakura.
Judah knew best what kind of person Otto was. After all, for the past few hundred years, a lonely, self-deprecating little brat would run to her every night, kneeling and crying. As arrogant and strong as Otto was to the outside world during the day, he was just as fragile and pitiful in front of Judah in the dead of night.
Judah couldn't judge Otto as a person; his mind had long been abnormal. He was a crying clown, a mad angel, a world-saving demon. He was a mixture of sanctity and sin.
Sometimes, Judah pitied Otto. So whenever he cried in front of her, she would reach out to try and comfort him. Unfortunately, Judah was just a weapon back then, so every time, Otto would get knocked out by her falling over... Thankfully, Otto always thought he had cried himself unconscious.
(Otto: I always wondered why my face was so chiseled. Turns out it's because I slept on Judah every day, and my face was molded by her!)
Otto glanced at Judah, then looked at the playful, happy Kallen and Theresa. Gradually, he quieted down and sat on Yae Sakura's lap without complaint or fuss.
Otto was just a little envious and jealous that Yae Sakura and Kallen were together. But he wouldn't actually try to break them up. If they wanted a child, Otto could even help clone one.
Otto didn't truly hate Yae Sakura. He had once traveled far to the Far East to personally collect all her remains, and he had extracted the memories of those who died in Yae Village to personally understand the story of Kallen and Yae Sakura.
He didn't really care about Ryn and the others teasing him about being cuckolded. Because his and Kallen's love had ended before it even began, so how could there be betrayal or cuckoldry... He just occasionally wore the green hat to indulge in the fantasy that he once had a love with Kallen.
Otto had also fantasized that he and Kallen had escaped Schicksal together, lived happily, and had an adorable daughter, Theresa.
But it was just a fantasy. Kallen and he were fated to be that way back then. Their love could never have blossomed in that era; their worldviews were too different.... Otto was the Schicksal that persecuted the people, and Kallen was the Saintess who represented the people's resistance.
All the beauty between them was a monstrous lie Otto had told Kallen. The moment the lie was torn apart, ugliness was everywhere, and beauty was no more...
"...How content we were back then, as if we could solve all the world's problems...
But we soon hit a wall... a wall built of desire and held together by self-interest. It rose from hell, tearing the world of the good people to pieces. And in the cracks of that wall, we finally went our separate ways...
If I am to remain myself, then this is the only path left for me..." Otto murmured the words Kallen had left for him.
"Yae Sakura, what are your thoughts on a person's death and soul?" Otto leaned against Yae Sakura's embrace, gazing at her profile, and asked softly. Otto wanted to know her answer.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a deep understanding of life and death..."
Yae Sakura looked gently at Kallen and said softly to Otto, "But... if someone has the same memories, the same personality, and the same soul as that person... do you think that counts as a resurrection, or her reincarnation? Although it's an effect of becoming a Herrscher, I still trust my nose very much~"
"The same soul, is it..." Otto fell silent for a moment, then looked at Ryn.
"Overseer Otto once told me that you said to him, 'The world allows a will to match a new vessel, but it does not allow a vessel to collect a scattered consciousness.' So, I'd like to hear your thoughts, Ryn."
Ryn stroked Kika's waist, which was even slimmer than Kiana's, thought for a moment, and then answered Otto.
"It's the literal meaning. That's a rule set by the Imaginary Tree, an order the world must obey. But what does that have to do with me, the Sea of Quanta?"