After the meeting concluded, Leo Ash felt that something was a bit strange.
He had thought that after the official business was done, Rita would come over for her usual lecture.
Instead, Rita took Durandal's hand and led the hesitant girl away from the conference room.
He had also thought that Theresa would have something to ask him.
Instead, Theresa took her communicator and left with Amber, heading towards the Bishop's office.
In the end, only Leo Ash and Yuna were left in the entire conference room, looking at each other.
*Ah, I feel like I was getting ahead of myself.*
"Senior..."
Recalling what Leo Ash had said to the Schicksal higher-ups in the conference room...
Alright, what Leo Ash said couldn't even be considered suggestions; they were clearly commands.
Recalling these commands, Yuna spoke to Leo Ash with a sense of helplessness.
"You... you still haven't given up on revenge?"
"Ha, after all that, is that what you wanted to ask?"
Listening to Yuna's words, Leo Ash replied calmly.
"I've already told you I'm not thinking about those things anymore. You all keep trying to make me give up an obsession that doesn't even exist. It puts me in a difficult position."
"Besides, let's not just talk about me—why did you suddenly follow me to Schicksal HQ?"
"..."
Faced with Leo Ash's question, Yuna hesitated for a moment before finally shaking her head gently.
"Can you ask another question, Senior?"
"There are some things I really don't want to talk about right now."
Seeing this uncharacteristically hesitant expression on Yuna, Leo Ash truly began to wonder if what he had said to her in the coffee shop back then was a mistake.
At that time, to help the self-destructive Yuna overcome the psychological trauma of killing her mother, Leo Ash had chosen to use the emotion of hatred to divert her attention.
In his view, once her attention was diverted, Yuna's self-destructive tendencies would eventually be healed by her companions.
For anyone, time is always the best medicine.
But now, looking at the girl before him, Leo Ash highly suspected that Yuna, after being swayed by him, was heading further and further down the wrong path.
[See? This is when you need to be a little more proactive.]
[Don't worry, there are no surveillance cameras in this conference room, so—]
*Even though I know nothing good ever comes out of your mouth, I'm still curious what you're about to say.*
[She also possesses the power of the white flower. It's time to use the black abyss to heal the white flower!]
*...Never mind. I shouldn't have expected any reasonable advice from you for even a second.*
[Hee hee hee, we've known each other for almost three months. You still don't know my true nature?]
*However, you do have a point.*
*Sigh, Yuna.*
"Alright, don't overthink it."
While Yuna was still unsure of what to say, Leo Ash suddenly pulled her into an embrace, gently stroking her hair and whispering in her ear.
"I'll be by your side, and everyone else will be too."
"If there's anything you're unhappy about or can't figure out, sometimes speaking your mind is a good choice."
"Right, mother of my child?"
In that instant, Leo Ash could feel Yuna's body relax completely.
But the next moment, as if she were a startled bird, she immediately pushed Leo Ash away.
[Wow, you're so bold.]
[What, had a change of heart after betraying your master?]
*I'm still the same me. Nothing has changed.*
"Senior..."
Realizing she had just subconsciously pushed Leo Ash away, Yuna suddenly adjusted her expression and said to him with a light smile.
"That child may indeed share our blood, but that doesn't mean I'll become your girlfriend."
"It's a bit late to say this now, but I'm very hard to get, you know."
At that moment, Yuna's character profile template suddenly appeared before Leo Ash's eyes.
[Name: Yuna (Surname Abandoned)]
[Identity: Your junior at Schicksal, the Herrscher of Death holding two cores.]
[Current Affection: 71... 70... 71... 70...]
[Note: In short, she's telling the truth. She is indeed very hard to get.]
*Hard to get with an affection level of 70... what's with this flip-flopping?*
Seeing the silent Leo Ash, Yuna turned and walked away after saying her piece.
And in the face of this situation, what could Leo Ash say?
['Women, so hard to understand.' That's what you want to say, isn't it?]
*Yeah, sometimes I do feel like I can't keep up with everyone's train of thought.*
[You used to be able to easily manipulate them based on their personalities, but now, only a few months later, even though your skills in that area have steadily improved, they've somehow become even harder to read.]
*Can't be helped. People's personalities change based on events.*
But right now, although Leo Ash could sense that Yuna was hiding something, he couldn't force her to just come out and say it.
In this situation, aside from proceeding with his plans, he didn't have any better ideas.
"However, I finally remembered something."
At that moment, recalling a certain matter, Leo Ash picked up his communicator and contacted Theresa, who had just returned to the Bishop's office.
"Bishop Theresa, I have a request."
"L-Leo Ash?"
On the other end of the communicator, Theresa, who was just about to call Himeko to discuss her plan to pass the buck, asked guiltily.
"What's so sudden?"
"I want headquarters to grant me a certain authorization."
"The authorization to dispose of Chiyou's corpse."
*Kevin will get out sooner or later, and when he does, he will definitely want to make sashimi out of Chiyou's body.*
*In that case, dealing with Chiyou's body in advance...*
*It feels like a lot of trouble, but it has to be done.*
*If I can get rid of Kevin's rations ahead of time, the progress of his power recovery will slow down.*
*As for what to do in the future—this world has already become so strange. Having too many plans actually makes it more likely for things to deviate from them.*
*Instead of thinking about pointless things now, I should just stick to my plan and use this period of fighting weaker enemies to train my proficiency with the Blank Key and the Divine Keys.*
...
That night, in a certain coffee shop
In a certain coffee shop, Gray Serpent, having opened the shop's door, looked at the shop's owner.
This coffee shop was originally an asset of Raven's.
But after she betrayed World Serpent, she never appeared in this shop of hers again.
It made sense. After all, even if it was forced, the Serpent would not allow a traitor to exist in this world.
From the moment Raven made her choice, she and World Serpent had become mortal enemies.
After Raven's betrayal, this shop was thoroughly searched by Gray Serpent, but nothing special was found.
After seizing some of Raven's fixed assets through special means, the shop was sold on the surface to an ordinary man.
But behind the scenes, the new owner of this coffee shop was actually still a member of World Serpent.
And this shop, which usually had few customers, became a secret contact point for World Serpent members.
However, before today, Gray Serpent had never imagined that this coffee shop would welcome such a guest.
"This shop... heh, I never would have thought."
Stepping into the shop, a disguised Otto Apocalypse had actually noticed something the moment he entered.
"Cioara once complained to me that World Serpent had seized and sold off some of her property. I really didn't expect that the sold shop would still be operating under World Serpent."
"Sir."
Looking at the man before him, Gray Serpent calmly walked over to Otto's seat and spoke naturally.
"Everything in this mortal world is in a constant state of change."
"Just like past enemies can become close allies at any time due to a present threat, wouldn't you agree?"
"Haha, well said."
Listening to Gray Serpent's words, Otto laughed nonchalantly.
"It seems, Mr. Gray Serpent, that you are prepared to let bygones be bygones?"
"Heh, does World Serpent currently have the strength to hold you accountable, Mr. Otto?"
*Not right now, no.*
Keenly picking up on the hidden meaning in the other's words, Otto truly felt that joining forces with these people was like asking a tiger for its skin.
In fact, Otto had allied with his enemies more than once.
But back during the Second Eruption, when he allied with his sworn enemies from Anti-Entropy, he felt little psychological pressure.
After all, although those people in Anti-Entropy disliked him, as 'good guys,' they would genuinely prioritize the bigger picture.
When a Herrscher appeared, those people would absolutely prioritize saving humanity and defeating the Herrscher, and wouldn't take advantage of Schicksal's weakness to stab him in the back.
But the people of World Serpent were clearly not the same type of 'good guys' as the Anti-Entropy crowd.
The plan they were preparing was the [Stigmata Project], a plan that even Otto found a bit extreme.
So, even if they genuinely wanted to save the world, what kind of saints could people who use the Stigmata Project to 'defeat' the Honkai be?
For instance, right now, this Gray Serpent had a humble attitude, but Otto knew very well that he was only choosing to ally with an enemy like him out of desperation.
The moment Otto showed the slightest weakness during their collaboration, the other party would instantly start calculating whether it was more advantageous to continue the alliance or to find an opportunity to kill him.
*Sigh, what a pain.*
*But it can't be helped. The Honkai is playing hardball this time, so I have to do things that weren't in my original plan.*
"Of course, I came today as Mr. Otto's ally to negotiate."
At this moment, Gray Serpent, looking at Otto who was clearly deep in thought, spoke very seriously.
"I can represent World Serpent and state that we will absolutely not backstab Mr. Otto during our upcoming cooperation."
"Of course, a verbal promise is too weak, so we have prepared something as a gift for the Gem of Haste you gave us."
Taking out a small box, Gray Serpent placed it on the table.
"The Gem of Haste is indeed a treasure that can solve our urgent needs. So, to return the favor to Mr. Otto, I have also brought out a supply that is very precious to the current World Serpent."
"Oh, very precious?"
Picking up the small box, Otto, being a genius researcher, only needed a brief look before feigning surprise.
"The construction of this device is quite precise."
"But, Mr. Gray Serpent, I have a question. This thing—it's clearly a broken, obsolete item, isn't it?"
Having seen that the item was broken, Otto put down the box and asked Gray Serpent in a flippant tone.
"I have shown sufficient sincerity by giving you the Gem of Haste."
"But your side... sigh, it's a bit disappointing."
"Staff of the Netherworld is just its name. As for why it's broken, the researcher in my organization was too tired and accidentally broke it during testing."
"However, Mr. Otto need not speak of me so poorly. Although the Staff of the Netherworld is broken, with your intelligence and the technology from Void Archives, you are more than capable of repairing this item, and even mass-producing it from this prototype. Am I wrong?"
"Instead of engaging in pointless schemes against each other, I hope Mr. Otto can show a little more sincerity and have a proper talk with us."
*Heh, this guy, it seems he came prepared.*
"Sincerity isn't a problem. I mainly want to know—what is it that you desire?"
...
Faced with Otto's question, Gray Serpent obviously couldn't reveal World Serpent's true objectives.
He wasn't an idiot. How could he tell the other party that their leader was still imprisoned in the Sea of Quanta and that they were currently extremely weak.
Transactions like this have always depended on the strength of both parties.
If Otto discovered that World Serpent was actually pathetically weak, he absolutely wouldn't act like a gentleman who doesn't take advantage of others. Instead, he would immediately return to Schicksal HQ, bring his three S-ranks and others, and attack, taking everything World Serpent had for himself.
However, the current Gray Serpent judged that while he couldn't reveal everything, they could, to some extent, try to drag Otto into their mess.
"Our objective is simple. World Serpent's Stigmata Project requires using the Eye of the Deep in Abyssal City for some energy experiments."
"Anti-Entropy happens to be a major concern for Mr. Otto, so I think next..."
"—Mr. Otto could consider joining forces with us to attack Anti-Entropy and eliminate our common enemy."
"I imagine that if Anti-Entropy were gone, it would be a good thing for you as well, wouldn't it?"
...