After ending the call, Westcott relaxed back into his chair, letting out a slow breath.
The tech exchange between DEM and Schicksal was now on the calendar.
During their conversation, Mobius had been far more agreeable than he'd expected, but that did nothing to lift Westcott's spirits.
Knowing that woman as he did, it only meant she was playing a deeper game. Walking into this now might be exactly what she wanted.
But… Westcott admitted to himself he had no other options left.
Falling behind by a single step meant lagging forever, and he was already god-knows-how-far behind Mobius. If he couldn't close the gap soon, he wouldn't even deserve a seat at the table.
Not that he really did now, anyway.
Turning over Mobius's possible schemes in his mind, Westcott didn't let himself wallow in discouragement.
After all, her dismissive attitude made it clear she looked down on him completely, not seeing him as any real threat.
That was precisely the opening he could use—to cozy up to her a bit, see if he could wheedle more out of her grasp.
Paying some price or swallowing his pride for it would be a small matter.
As Westcott lost himself in thought, time slipped quietly by.
--+--
Back when she first switched from Mobius's character card to Seele's, Dark Amber had started pondering.
Even with a helper as talented and lovely as herself, having just one wasn't exactly efficient.
Not only could she not be in two places at once, but with so many character cards at their disposal, it was a shame that only two could be active at a time.
That wasn't good for Amber's future growth.
Their actions in the current world could be replicated.
She could always get a head start on Amber, laying groundwork early in the next world. But the flow of time differed from world to world.
This time she'd managed a twenty-year head start; next time might be different.
On another note, Amber had drawn quite a few character cards, but with only the two of them using them, most cards sat idle.
Things stored away in a backpack didn't gain value—if no one used them, it was just waste.
More than that, if they had expendable pieces on the board, Amber wouldn't have had to take that risky face-off with Mukuro.
But the ones who could use this system were limited: Amber, herself, the old fossil, and that self-proclaimed Celestial.
Manpower was something Dark Amber sorely lacked right now.
After turning it over, she came up with two ideas.
The first, of course, was Kurumi Tokisaki's ability—to summon versions of herself from different timelines.
Having those clones use the character cards would be the ideal solution. The only question was whether the clones could actually use them properly.
And then… Kurumi's power could only be tested after obtaining Takamiya Mio's strength. But the setup for the Selene wasn't finished yet, so they couldn't verify this immediately.
So Dark Amber thought of a second method: using Fenghuang Down to split off a fragment of her own consciousness and implant it into a puppet crafted with the doll-making magecraft from the Fate world.
Which method was better or had a higher chance of success, Dark Amber wasn't sure, but she could try them both.
With a plan in mind, it was time to act.
Following the principle of not bothering Amber unless absolutely necessary, Dark Amber directly opened a chat with the Herrscher of Sentience, currently far away in the world of Honkai: Star Rail.
"What's up?"
Sitting in the Alchemy Commission's storage room aboard the Zhuming, the Herrscher of Sentience idly tossed a candy bean into her mouth.
Seeing a message from a 'friend' over 'there'—and from that 'other apprentice-niece' no less—she couldn't help but stroke her chin.
"I thought it'd be the old fossil. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Can't I just want to chat?"
Dark Amber raised a brow.
"Hey now, talking all sharp after not seeing you for a bit. I'm just surprised, is all."
The Herrscher of Sentience didn't mind the edge in her words.
As a Herrscher who understood hearts, she could tell the other was probably feeling that 'child wants to care but parent is gone' kind of frustration.
After all, she'd had a hand in her successful… creation. In a way, that made her a sort of elder.
Though that phrasing didn't feel quite right.
Still musing on it, she saw the next message pop up.
"I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important. Two things, mainly."
Dark Amber, unaware of the other's mental commentary—which would have both annoyed and amused her—continued, "First is about that puppet magecraft from the Fate world."
"The Fate world again, huh? Fine. Some of their magecraft does have its merits. Even I need a bit to fully grasp it. But puppet stuff… never really caught my interest. Didn't optimize it much either. You can study it yourself."
The Herrscher of Sentience replied casually.
As a Herrscher who could directly extract techniques from others' memories and consciousness, calling herself a master of all arts wasn't much of an exaggeration.
Even if puppet magecraft wasn't her favorite subject, that didn't mean her skill was low. At the very least, she didn't think her puppet craft was inferior to that washed-up Magus.
And for a learning monster like a Lahmu, mastering it in a short time shouldn't be hard. The only real hurdle would be the material cost.
But from what the old fossil said, this Lahmu was doing quite well for itself over there. Probably wouldn't lack for resources.
"Alright. And the second thing… I might need to call you in to be muscle later."
Dark Amber added.
"Huh?"
Now the Herrscher of Sentience couldn't stay seated.
"Me? As muscle? What about the old fossil? Is there trouble even she can't handle?"
She felt a mix of surprise and reluctance.
She was on the career rise here in Star Rail!
Given a few decades or a century, she might even make Zhuming General! Getting called back now would be such a waste. And who knew when she'd get to come back next?
Besides, the timeline she'd return to was uncertain. If too much time passed here, not only would her shot at General vanish, she might be marked AWOL or even a deserter.
Hearing her mention Fu Hua, Dark Amber frowned slightly.
While things between them weren't as frozen and hostile as at the start, Dark Amber wasn't nearly forgiving enough to pardon someone who'd tried to kill her countless times.
The only reason they hadn't escalated further was an unspoken agreement not to stir things up in front of Amber.
In Dark Amber's eyes, having Fu Hua as the backup plan was the worst possible option, bar none.
"It's not really trouble. Just insurance against accidents. The chance of anything going wrong is practically zero. I'm just giving you a heads-up so you can plan ahead."
Dark Amber sent.
Even without seeing her face or hearing her tone, the Herrscher of Sentience could guess what her apprentice-niece was thinking.
She shook her head with a sigh and replied, "Alright, alright. I suppose you lot are under this Celestial's protection, after all. Can't have you actually getting bullied. Just call me when you need me."
"Good. That's all. Send over the puppet magecraft tech."
Really knows how to put people to work.
The Herrscher of Sentience sighed inwardly, yet also found it somewhat fitting. With her skills and knowledge, it was only natural they'd rely on her.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 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.