"Consolidate her existence?"
Himeko carefully pondered the words spoken by Herta. "Could you explain in more detail, Madam Herta?"
"Certainly, it's not exactly a secret. But before I begin, I should state that I can't guarantee everything I'm about to say is entirely accurate. After all, Lynelle's situation is still under investigation."
Having first built herself a layer of plausible deniability, Herta launched into her pre-prepared explanation.
"Simply put, Lynelle is currently in a state of entanglement, simultaneously existing across two worlds. When she loses consciousness in one world, there's a probability she gets pulled into the other. And upon death, this probability amplifies to one hundred percent."
"This…" Welt adjusted his glasses. "You mean her consciousness is being pulled between two physical bodies?"
"It's more than just consciousness. If it were as you describe, I would use more precise terminology. But the fact is, the abilities Lynelle acquires in either world are simultaneously manifested upon her person."
Herta shook her head. "So far, I haven't found a way to interfere with the other world she's connected to. The only thing I can confirm is that this entangled state grants her a unique ability: a probability of replicating items from one world for use in the other."
"So, that 'Black Abyss White Flower' and the Herrscher Core are also…" A glimmer of understanding flashed in Welt's eyes.
"I see. So this is the reason you hoped she would join the Astral Express, Madam Herta? But, if the goal is simply to expose her to more experiences, wouldn't joining the Garden of Recollection be more direct?"
"Theoretically, yes. But these matters can't be considered through theory alone." Herta spread her hands.
"If one walks the Path of Remembrance, failing to become a Memokeeper is essentially handicapping most of your potential. And becoming a Memokeeper… who knows what effects being converted into a memetic state would have on Lynelle's body? Given her unique resurrection mechanism, it's even questionable if the transformation would succeed."
"As for not joining the Garden of Recollection… not only would you be making an enemy out of them for no reason, but groups like the Cremators leave a rather poor impression on me."
"Moreover, compared to the Garden of Recollection, the Astral Express strikes me as having a bit more… humanity. In a way, these emotions and memories also serve as anchors, helping to tether Lynelle to this world."
"Besides, the other world Lynelle is connected to is also an unexplored one… Perhaps, during its trailblazing journey, the Astral Express might even stumble upon it?"
"As expected, Madam Herta's considerations are more thorough." Himeko spoke slowly.
"If that's the case, then whether it's for the duty of trailblazing itself or the need to assist Miss Lynelle, both reasonably and in principle, I agree to approve Miss Lynelle's application to join the Express… Provided, of course, she herself is willing."
"Then I'll call her over now." Herta stood up. "Everyone, please wait a moment."
With a light wave of her staff, Herta vanished on the spot.
"Hmm? Why didn't Madam Herta just send one of her puppets to notify her, instead of going personally?" Himeko looked somewhat puzzled at Welt.
Ahem… Welt slightly averted his gaze. "Perhaps… because their relationship is quite close?"
Meanwhile, on the other side, the large Herta, using magic for travel, quickly arrived at Lynelle's room.
After checking that no one was around, Herta gave a light flick, and the room door automatically opened, revealing a faintly pink, intimate atmosphere inside.
The large bed, which had been perfectly tidy when Herta left, was now in complete disarray.
Lynelle, her face flushed crimson, was slumped limply on the bed, clothes askew, nearly breathless from laughter, allowing the small Herta to freely wiggle its fingers over her sensitive spots.
'Tsk, always biting off more than she can chew.' Herta shook her head helplessly, casually directing the small Herta to leave the room and closing the door tightly.
She then sat down beside Lynelle and poked the girl's chest.
"You dummy, how can you not even handle a Puppet Herta?"
"Ugh… You know my constitution is weak! That little Herta has ridiculously strong strength, how could I possibly resist it!" Lynelle wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, putting on a pitiful expression.
"Besides, now that I have the Herrscher of Corruption's power, when I saw a tempting option like 'Developer Mode,' of course I had to try it! Who knew the firewall would break so easily…"
"And then you just started hugging and clinging to my puppet, is that it?" Just mentioning this made Herta feel a bit flustered and annoyed.
"I was powerless against Madam Herta's beauty!" Lynelle declared, completely unashamed.
'Tch, you…' Herta let out a light humph, turning her head away slightly.
Although she had reinforced the firewalls on her little Hertas, she had indeed underestimated the speed at which Lynelle mastered the Herrscher of Corruption's power.
The result was her being caught completely off guard when Lynelle suddenly activated the little Herta's sensory link…
"Whatever, just don't let it happen again. Next time you want a hug… you can come find me directly."
"Eh?" Lynelle's eyes lit up. "Can I use you as a body pillow?"
"Dream on! I meant I'll make a special puppet for you to hug as much as you want." Herta used one hand to hold off Lynelle, who was attempting to "ambush" her. "Alright, alright, let's get down to business. Himeko and Welt are still waiting for you in the meeting room."
"I've already said what needed to be said. As for whether you join the Astral Express… that's up to you."
--+--
Since Herta had already paved the way for Lynelle, the subsequent process went very smoothly.
After confirming that Lynelle had truly chosen to join the Astral Express of her own will, Himeko readily approved her application and then left the time to a long-eager Welt.
And after Welt had spoken with Lynelle for a while…
"What do you mean there's also a blonde man named Otto in your world, and he's also the Grand Bishop of Schicksal?"
Welt: O.O
"Ahem, Lynelle, while there are many similar yet different existences in the universe, the individuals similar to this 'Otto' you speak of… I've met two of them, and they were both… far from benevolent."
Welt said with grave sincerity. "Of course, I don't deny there might be some 'kind' Ottos out there. So, what has this Otto in your world roughly done, what has he said? Can you tell me?"
"I've clashed with Otto for quite some time, so I can probably help you judge which category this Otto falls into…"
"Hmm… Well, roughly…" Lynelle tilted her head, thought for a moment, then let out a remarkably accurate imitation: "How should I put this… So what if you've lost Lynelle? You still have me. I can perfectly well be the guide for your life, can't I?"
"…"
Welt suddenly felt the Star of Eden in his hand itching for action.
--+--
Let's just say, while Welt might have been a bit unreliable during the Second Eruption, in his time on the Astral Express, tempered by numerous events, he was entirely trustworthy.
After hearing that the other world Lynelle was connected to was "highly similar" to his homeland, Welt became as excited as if he'd been given a shot of adrenaline, and offered Lynelle a series of suggestions that sounded very effective.
For example… how to quickly resolve internal issues within Anti-Entropy in the early stages.
"Although after the Second Eruption, your world and my homeland took different developmental paths, based on your description, the internal changes within Anti-Entropy… probably aren't significant."
"So, if you can clear up some of the early latent problems, it's best to resolve them in advance. For instance, Cocolia."
"Before she makes any major mistakes, find a way to restrain her directly."
"I have no objections to taking action against Cocolia." Lynelle nodded.
"I looked into it through Anti-Entropy's internal network last time I was back. She used special means to trigger the Third Eruption, correct?"
"Yet this was only her first major move. In her two subsequent actions, one resulted in the Fourth Herrscher, Wendy, whom we could have potentially won over, dying tragically by her hand. The other caused us to suffer a major setback at the Sea of Quanta."
Welt sighed. "But when facing the Honkai, her track record is far less 'impressive'."
"A specialist in internal conflict, huh…" Lynelle complained.
"So what do you need me to do? A direct decapitation strike? If I use some of the stronger Character Cards and combine them with the Herrscher of Corruption's power, it might not be impossible."
"No." Contrary to Lynelle's expectations, Welt shook his head.
"During this period, Cocolia has already become the de facto leader of Anti-Entropy's radical faction and controls a large portion of its Titan forces."
"If you kill her directly, the most immediate consequence would be military mutiny and internal strife within the radical faction, letting Otto reap the rewards."
"So, to take action against her, you must have a justification, and make her hand over power willingly… If the history of our world and yours don't diverge too much during this period, that window of opportunity will probably arrive soon."
"When it does, you can justifiably move against her… As for charges, take your pick: attacking an ally, unauthorized deployment of Titan forces, private meetings with the Schicksal Grand Bishop, collusion with hostile forces, and conducting unauthorized cloning experiments on the Herrscher. There are more than enough reasons."
"After Cocolia is captured, if she cooperates, you can smoothly take control of her forces. If she doesn't… that's where your Herrscher of Corruption power comes in. Whether Cocolia cooperates or not, at the very least, 'Cocolia' will cooperate with Anti-Entropy for a peaceful transfer of power. Understood?"
"Got it." Lynelle gave a thumbs up. "I didn't expect Uncle Yang, who seems so honest and dependable, to be well-versed in these things too."
Welt's gaze instantly grew weathered. He sighed and said slowly, "After being tricked enough times, you naturally learn… These are all pitfalls I stepped into back in the day."
--+--
After chatting with Welt for several hours, a somewhat drowsy Lynelle finally bid farewell to a reluctant Welt.
It seemed this warrior, who had devoted his life to fighting the Honkai, was incredibly fired up about effectively getting to play a 'New Game Plus' in his lifetime, to the point he practically answered all of Lynelle's questions—which even surprised Himeko.
Returning to her warm bed, Lynelle skillfully pulled a nearby Herta puppet into her arms and quickly fell asleep.
Then, unsurprisingly, she crossed over once again to the world of Honkai Impact 3rd.
"An unfamiliar ceiling…"
"If you'd like, we could also customize a less unfamiliar ceiling for you." A familiar voice sounded from beside Lynelle's bed. "Long time no see, Miss Lynelle."
"Einstein?"
"I'm surprised you still remember my voice after fourteen years…" Einstein sounded astonished. "Never mind, that's not the point. Are you experiencing any physical discomfort?"
"Don't worry, everything's fine. As long as you didn't use 'violent handling' when transporting me." Lynelle sat up abruptly, moving her arms. "So, where am I?"
"North America. Anti-Entropy Headquarters." Einstein named a place that surprised Lynelle.
"So far away?"
"Yes, it was for safety's sake. After the Second Eruption, your information and priority level were elevated by the Herrscher to the highest level within Anti-Entropy."
"This time, after receiving the signal you sent, Joachim used his precious annual leave without hesitation and personally went to Siberia to retrieve you."
"?" A question mark slowly appeared above Lynelle's head. "Annual leave? You… don't even go easy on your own Herrscher when it comes to overworking?"
"Uh…" Einstein silently averted her gaze, her speech becoming somewhat hesitant.
"It's a long story. Many things have happened in the world during your absence. The 'annual leave' I mentioned isn't actually Anti-Entropy's, but rather… St. Freya Academy's annual leave."
"Due to certain reasons, Joachim recently… has been working as a history teacher at a girls' school founded by Schicksal."
"Pfft— Ahem, ahem…" Although she knew this was probably the inevitable course of Welt's life, hearing Einstein say Welt's whereabouts with that expression, Lynelle still found it hard to keep a straight face.
"So, as I said, many things happened during that time…" Einstein sighed. "Anyway, let's go. I'll take you to meet someone. Coincidentally, Joachim is also there. This is actually the main purpose for calling you here.
Without that person, it would be difficult for us to explain everything that has happened during this period."
"So, that person is…" Lynelle had a guess in her heart.
"It's Siegfried Kaslana. Not long after the Second Eruption, he left Schicksal."
"!"
Sure enough, as Lynelle expected, Cecilia inside the system space immediately became restless.
"Okay, I'll head out after I compose myself a little." Having said that, Lynelle closed her eyes and began communicating with Cecilia in the system.
"Senior Cecilia…"
"Don't worry, I won't interfere with your actions, nor will I demand that you arrange a meeting between me and Siegfried."
Contrary to Lynelle's expectations, Cecilia was the first to discern Lynelle's thoughts and decisively shook her head.
"The fact that I survived is only due to your efforts. If I were to trouble you further because of this and disrupt your plans, that would be utterly lacking in self-awareness as an adult."
"Uh…" Lynelle scratched her head. "While I'm grateful that you're so considerate, Senior Cecilia, I think you might have misunderstood."
"I actually intended to borrow a bit of your influence. After all… Siegfried right now is probably psychologically wounded. By leveraging your identity, I might get him to speak some hard truths, instead of just bravado."
"So…" Lynelle looked towards the nearby Kiana-chan.
"Give me another set of that Stigma disguise ability from last time, will you~"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.