About half an hour later. Schicksal Headquarters
Wendy hummed a cheerful tune as she walked down the corridors of Schicksal, feeling a completely new sensation.
In the period after Otto had implanted her with the Gem of Desire, but she had failed to become a Herrscher, many people in Schicksal Headquarters had treated her with an attitude that could hardly be called friendly.
Because Otto needed an 'Artificial Herrscher', he had immediately launched his Plan B after the fusion experiment between Wendy and the Gem of Desire failed.
In Otto's eyes at the time, Wendy's potential as a Herrscher Host was sufficient.
The reason she hadn't completed the Herrscher Transformation was likely because her emotions hadn't been pushed far enough.
For Herrschers, the emotion of 'despair' was the key to guiding them to take that final step.
And at that time, Otto, in order to make Wendy gradually step into despair, decisively chose to secretly slander the poor girl.
Because of Otto's actions behind the scenes, Wendy's reputation instantly shifted from 'a hero who selflessly sacrificed for the greater good of Schicksal' to 'a waste of the organization's funds'.
Everyone at Schicksal Headquarters was more or less at fault in this matter.
But to put it bluntly, the core reason was that Otto had secretly sent people to smear Wendy's name.
Everyone knew what happened next. After Otto stirred up trouble, he sent her back to the Oceania Branch to prevent her from exploding right inside Schicksal Headquarters.
And now, Wendy had returned to Schicksal Headquarters and felt everyone's apologetic gazes...
——It felt so damn good!
Now everyone knew that Otto was a stinking bastard who had sided with the Honkai. So, thinking back on many of the previous events, anyone with a working brain could figure out who was behind the sabotage.
And Wendy, as one of the heroes who defeated Otto, was naturally receiving far better treatment than before.
Even after everything she had been through, Wendy was still just a kid who hadn't fully grown up.
If it weren't for the fact that everyone around her was stronger than the last, she felt she would definitely be even more arrogant now than she was in the past.
But these satisfying feelings were, for the girl of the wind, just a bit of spice in her life.
For her...
——Defeating the Honkai and pushing down Leo Ash were the main courses!
Wendy had put in a lot of effort to defeat the Honkai.
And as she grew stronger, she believed that on the future battlefield, she could definitely...
——Okay, with so many powerhouses around, the most she could do was guarantee that as a Herrscher and a disciple of the Immortal Red Kite, she definitely wouldn't drag everyone down.
As for the other goal, Wendy had now more or less come to terms with certain details.
She had to admit that the Senior Brother she admired was indeed an outstanding, handsome, and powerful man, practically without flaws.
Such a flawless man would naturally attract all the women around him.
Comparing herself to the others, Wendy, who lacked in figure and whose feelings weren't as deep, had to objectively admit that if her Senior Brother chose only one partner, that partner would, nine times out of ten, not be her.
But today, Wendy, who had been feeling down after realizing Leo Ash already had lovers, suddenly discovered that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing for her.
She could see it now—Leo Ash had more than one lover.
And since Leo Ash had more than one lover, that meant...
——She had a chance too!
Rather than fighting over him or getting emotional, Miss Wendy, who had spent dozens of days in World Serpent forcing herself to be optimistic and not despair, adjusted her mood within a few hours. She felt she needed to broaden her horizons.
If Senior Brother wants a harem, then I just need to work hard to become one of the candidates in his harem, and a lot of problems will no longer be problems!
Although not being able to have Senior Brother all to myself is disappointing, but...
——That's just life. Not everything can go smoothly.
Thinking about how just over a month ago she was soaking in a tank at World Serpent's base, being forced into despair by Gray Serpent every day, Wendy was already very satisfied with her current life.
Until——she saw someone who shouldn't be here. That person suddenly walked out from around the corner and looked at Wendy, who was on her way to the infirmary.
"You..."
Seeing Li Sushang appear here, Wendy immediately asked.
"What are you doing here?"
"Ah, Wendy... Martial Aunt."
After giving an awkward bow to the girl who was much younger than her, Li Sushang said to Wendy with some annoyance.
"I needed to contact Martial Uncle Leo Ash just now, but when I used the Domination Core to contact him, he seemed too busy and didn't hear me."
"So I thought about it and decided it might be better to just come find him and meet him in person."
"...Ah, is that so."
*Come to think of it, this person my Master dislikes... seems to have the same 'type' as me.*
*Big Brother Li already told me and Master about what happened yesterday, how she was beaten awake by Senior Brother in Shenzhou.*
*And now, she's also a Herrscher, she was also saved by Senior Brother to some extent, she's a budding beauty, and her figure is even better than mine...*
*No!*
*Senior Brother already has enough partners! I don't need more people competing with me for Senior Brother!*
"Um, Martial Aunt Wendy?"
Seeing the complicated expression on Wendy's face, Li Sushang asked, confused.
"Is there something wrong with what I said?"
"...No."
*Her attitude is still so natural. Could it be that she has the same idea as me?*
*Sigh, Senior Brother is great in every way, except he's just too outstanding and doesn't know how to refuse people.*
*If everyone else finds out about this trait of his, won't the other Valkyrie Seniors from Schicksal...*
At this moment, although Wendy was exchanging trivial words with Li Sushang on the surface, she felt a huge crisis bearing down on her.
It wasn't that she thought Leo Ash was the type to sleep with everyone he saw. The main thing was, Wendy suddenly realized...
——Although she admired her Senior Brother, thinking about it from his perspective, her Senior Brother actually didn't know her very well.
And now, after Leo Ash forcibly implanted the Domination Core and became the new 'Master of the Theater', those Seniors in Schicksal who had suddenly undergone Herrscher Transformation because of Otto were, from a certain perspective, connected heart-to-heart with Leo Ash.
Compared to Wendy, who had fought him once on the sea, met him once on Mount Taixu, and teamed up with him to beat Otto today, these Seniors who spent more time with Leo Ash daily *and* were connected to him heart-to-heart seemed to have a greater advantage.
Wendy hadn't even launched her offensive yet, but after a brief analysis, she felt the probability of her becoming a loser was growing ever larger.
The more she thought about it, the more Wendy felt her 'chances of winning' were slim. When she saw Leo Ash walk out of a certain hospital room, she surprisingly didn't go up to greet him immediately.
"Ah, Martial Uncle, there you are."
While Wendy remained silent, Li Sushang had already walked up to Leo Ash as if they were old friends.
As for Leo Ash, who had just spent half an hour 'doing it' with Anna, he only managed to speak to Li Sushang after forcibly activating his Mind Like Still Water.
"What's wrong? You came looking for me all of a sudden. Did something happen at Schicksal Headquarters?"
[Is it just possible... that she's here to catch you cheating?]
*Cut the crap. That silly kid has a crush on Otto. What does me and Anna's mutual affection have to do with her?*
[Crushing on Otto? That's old news. After that unlucky kid realized the person she admired was a super-bastard who almost destroyed her hometown and really did betray the entire organization, do you think she's still that clueless?]
*Yes.*
*In the original story, she knew Otto was a scumbag, but she still insisted on helping him fight.*
*That's called repaying a debt of gratitude, sure, but I highly suspect that this 'repaying gratitude' was, to some extent, just an excuse for her to do things for her crush.*
[No one knows the truth. Maybe you're right, but...]
[You didn't exist in the original story.]
[In this version, she found out Otto was a bad guy ahead of time. You even used Phantasmagoria Sword God to enlighten her, and when the Honkai was tossing out Cores, you just so happened to show up at the perfect time to launch a verbal assault.]
[For someone whose mental age is on the same level as Anna...]
[Oh right, I forgot about this.]
As the System spoke, two character profiles popped up in front of Leo Ash.
[Name: Li Sushang]
[Identity: Schicksal's third S-rank Valkyrie, Herrscher of Domination, your Martial Niece.]
[Current Affection: 59]
[Note: Although she probably won't admit it herself, right now, if you just beckon her and spin a few lies... hehehe, your heart-connected, bun-loving Martial Niece is yours for the taking!]
[Name: Wendy]
[Identity: Your Junior Sister, Schicksal A-rank Valkyrie, Herrscher of Wind.]
[Current Affection: 65]
[Note: She doesn't mind you having a harem. She just begs you to take her to bed too.]
*Hold on, I feel like I've only met them...*
*This is my second time meeting Li Sushang, and my third time meeting Wendy. Isn't this affection spike a little... off?*
*Do you remember? Rita's and Bianka's affection for me during the Nagazora City incident and the Jiuyou turmoil were 60 and 55, respectively.*
*Did the values get inflated after a version update or something?*
[On that topic, do I need to remind you that Raiden Mei's affection for you shot up to 90 after the Nagazora City incident?]
*...*
[These two girls are in a similar situation to Raiden Mei. They just weren't mentally tormented by Cocolia for ages, so their emotional outburst wasn't as intense as Mei's. Naturally, their affection levels are only this high.]
[And as for Rita's and Bianka's affection, the System told you back then, right? Their anger dissipated.]
[The problem is, their anger dissipated, but their resentment didn't just vanish so quickly—you know women.]
*I really don't. This affection level is making me feel very complicated.*
[You've already resolved to be a scumbag and just 'did' a beautiful girl. What's there to be complicated about?]
[At a time like this, what you should do is—*do* them both just the same!]
*Although you haven't said much lately, hearing you say this puts me at ease.*
*That's great. Even though this world is accelerating towards the worst possible outcome, at least you're still the same perverted System.*
[Do you know why the System suddenly said all this?]
[It's precisely *because* the world is accelerating towards the worst possible outcome that you need to cherish every day you have now!]
*Wow, such philosophical words.*
*But I already know what you're going to say next.*
[What am I going to say?]
*Should I count down from three?*
[Just 'one' is fine.]
*Alright. One.*
[In order to cherish every day—]
*Host, you should hold a 'developer conference'—that's what you mean, right?*
[Sodayo. Right now, all of Schicksal thinks 'Leo Ash killed Otto, he's 100% taking over.' You're the boss now, so what's wrong with playing some music and having a little fun?]
*...Yeah. At this point, even if I said I don't want to be the Schicksal Archbishop, everyone would probably just think, 'Ah, Leo Ash is being humble again,' or 'He must be joking.'*
*But it's precisely because I'm destined to take the Archbishop's seat that I must fulfill the Archbishop's responsibilities.*
*If I only enjoy the benefits that come with this status but cast aside the responsibilities, what's the difference between me and a beast?*
[Then what do you think you should be doing right now...]
*Obviously, 'doing' a man.*
[???]
*A verbal takedown.*
[Oh. Never mind then.]
"Um, Senior Brother."
Seeing Leo Ash suddenly fall silent for a moment, Wendy asked, feeling a little uneasy.
"Are you... still 'clashing' with the Herrscher Personality, like Big Sister Mei and the others said?"
*Can I just say that my so-called 'Herrscher Personality' has always been the scapegoat?*
*Before I fully completed the second stage of the Sphere's awakening, he was the one paying the price for all my washed-away emotions.*
"Don't overthink it. My current state is perfectly fine."
After saying something that made the two of them even more uneasy, Leo Ash said softly to them.
"If you two need something from me, you'll have to wait a bit."
"Right now, I have to go see someone."
"Thinking about it, the time should be about right. That man... should be waking up by now."
Listening to Leo Ash's words, Wendy felt something was off.
*No, wait. Two beautiful girls came to find you, and you're telling us you're going to see a man?*
*Although Senior Brother can do no wrong, but why...*
*——Why do I feel like something is very wrong here?*
I hope it's fake
.......