Who Told You the Principal Was a Club Officer? (Continued)

How did I get caught in this crossfire?

Natasha was quite annoyed, but since it was her own Highlord speaking, she had no way to refute him.

"You now... tsk, you're clearly a guinea pig, but you can't understand it after less than a month of raising it."

Mobius's current expression is like that of someone who bought a miniature pig from a pet store and raised it for a month, only to have it turn into a big white pig.

"Can I entrust this matter to you? It's okay if you don't want to do it. Although I have some favors with her mother, they're just favors, the most unreliable relationships in the world."

"Hmm, let's do it, I'm just killing time anyway." He ran his mind through it and sensed the Main Quest —though this kind of Main Quest wasn't particularly interesting.

[Mobius's favorability rating: 4850]

[World Serpent Affection Level: 4850]

"... May I ask for the reason?" Sara asked at this moment.

To be honest, she wasn't quite thinking clearly, but she still cared a lot.

I simply can't bring myself to make a foolish expression like the two people around me.

"Hmm, that happened more than ten years ago, the Second Honkai Eruption? Remember?"

"Ah... um, I remember that Cecilia successfully defeated the Second Herrscher and returned in triumph?"

"Generally speaking, there are no problems, but the extermination... was it a mistake? Actually, Cecilia didn't intend to kill anyone—but whether others intervened is uncertain, after all, that bishop of Schicksal is somewhat eccentric."

Mobius showed a hint of reminiscence.

"Then, well, six or seven years later? Cecilia had a little girl by her side, left headquarters to start St. Freya Academy in the Far East, and Siegfried stayed in the Far East for a while before going to Anti-Entropy to become Harbinger —obviously he had fallen out with Otto."

"And that extra little girl is Kiana? It's got a bit of a melodramatic feel to it," Guinaifen commented after thinking for a moment. "It's quite similar to the storytelling I do back home."

"Almost."

"Didn't Otto do anything?" Bai asked curiously. Although history had changed, Otto's persistence hadn't changed, had it?

"He didn't do it. The head of the Far East Branch is the only one Otto can't get into a madness."

Can't get crazy?

"... Kallen?"

"? You know what his name is, don't you?" Mobius raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, wait, isn't Cecilia the head of the Far East Branch?"

"No, who told you Cecilia is the governor of the far east?"

Mobius's expression was strange.

"She's the headmistress. What department head would become a teacher? But if you're looking for something, that Department Head Kallen is indeed an honorary headmistress."

"..."

To be honest, Liu Bai now feels that Otto might not be the one who's gone mad.

It's your world!

Kallen is alive, so what's Otto doing going crazy over there?!

What the hell gave you the reason to be crazy?

"What... is Otto going to do?"

Even though it was a little off-topic, Liu Bai continued to press for answers.

"Eliminate the Honkai? Probably? How could I possibly know what Otto is specifically planning to do?"

"..."

Okay, thinking about it carefully, Otto himself is indeed... a bit crazy.

Otto is obsessed with Kallen, but he's not a typical simp—or rather, it would be too dangerous to see Otto as a simp.

In the game's storyline, Otto was tinkering with all sorts of dangerous things for Kallen's sake—which was also the reason for their falling out. After Kallen's death, Otto was only able to settle down for a few years due to his disappointment, and then he couldn't stand the mess that the idiots were making. So, he returned like a dragon king, defeated all the monsters and demons, and succeeded as bishop.

Well, then comes what most players are familiar with: Otto's desire to revive Kallen /create a world where Kallen lives...

So...

Even if Kallen were alive, this guy would still have plenty of reasons to go crazy.

Especially when the reason for going crazy is legitimate enough—for example, "I want to create a world that doesn't Honkai."

This is much more difficult than dealing with Otto in the original game, who only wanted to revive Kallen.

After all, the original goal of Otto is a matter of opinion, but the ending was indeed quite good.

But if it's a big goal... then that's called a struggle for the Tao.

This is the most difficult thing to deal with.

Why did the fight with Kevin in the original storyline feel a bit awkward, especially in the early stages?

It wasn't that Ling was so fierce because Kevin gave him a way! Although Ling had some moral impulsiveness, the Great Neon's support was a relatively effective solution to save the world, and the main characters were shouting about love and justice...

It gives people an awkward feeling of "although I didn't have a specific plan, you're still wrong."

... Try to find Rita to confirm the history of Schicksal. Even if it was altered by Otto, it should still be able to corroborate some things from the side.

"Alright, let's stop with the miscellaneous stuff and get back to Kiana."

Mobius clapped his hands, drawing Liu Bai's attention, who was deep in thought.

"Kiana should be a clone based on the Second Herrscher's genes, and the core of the Second Herrscher is also inside Kiana's body."

"What!?"

Kujou Sara was startled by these words.

"It's true. The reason Cecilia threw Kiana over here is because she's been seeing Kiana sleepwalking with her eyes open while her eyes have turned golden over the past two months— the Second Herrscher is reviving."

"... It's hard to accept."

Kujou Sara's expression was somewhat incredulous.

"Was this also done by that Archbishop of Schicksal? What was the purpose of creating a Second Herrscher?"

"It's nothing more than biological weapons. Our World Serpent also has hunters modified from Honkai zombie and mechanical restraint devices. Theoretically, their combat power is stronger than that of A-Rank Valkyrie —would you like to take a look? It's one of our World Serpent's most treasured possessions."

"Sorry, I'm not interested."

Kujou Sara shook her head decisively.

Who wants to see your stuff that involves modification? It doesn't even sound like a proper thing!

So this is the Serpent's Master of the World Serpent... Indeed, not negotiating with her might have been the right choice.

It's really worrying that someone like this would treat their own general.

"If you're not interested, forget it. Getting back to the point, Cecilia has to hand Kiana over to me. But it's unlikely to do it openly or secretly. She's afraid of Otto for the former and I'm afraid she'll take her daughter for granted for the latter. So she can only find a reason for us to take her away, and then they'll send people to search for and rescue her. Once she's healed, the Far East Branch will take her back."

Mobius pursed his lips in displeasure.

"But Cecilia is just being dramatic, saying she's afraid of revealing the truth and that her daughter is insecure—if I had a daughter like Kiana, I'd be insecure first."

Gray Serpent: "..."

He always felt that these words were somewhat veiled criticism.

Hmm... But he's been doing a good job lately, so there shouldn't be anything to criticize him for, right?

Could this actually be the Highlord's way of praising people?

"In short, since you've decided to help, Little Mouse, Gray Serpent will tell you exactly how, and Raven will be at your beck and call—also, be careful of Schicksal."

In fact, this matter should have been resolved within three days of Kiana arriving at the location.

Liyue and Theresa defended against a few attacks, then found an opportunity to betray Kiana, making it seem like they were momentarily careless.

But... well, Liu Bai's fall disrupted all plans.

Because of Liu Bai, Mobius's interest in studying Kiana decreased significantly.

Rita came again on behalf of headquarters— Rita herself isn't important, what's important is that she represents headquarters.

This means that Otto will focus his attention on this.

This makes it more difficult to carry out activities.

If Otto only received the intelligence, he might only show slight concern and at most add some people to "help out". But if he knew the whole story, he might realize what was going on and, depending on his desires, might even directly start a raid to snatch people away.

This is why Mobius seemed indifferent; taking action now would be purely charitable, as the World Serpent would have to withstand additional pressure from the Schicksal Headquarters.

There's no demand, and it even has drawbacks; it's really just out of personal favor.

However, Mobius was quite happy that Liu Bai was willing to take on this task.

After giving a brief explanation, Mobius tossed his hair and prepared to return to the lab.

"The Doctor."

Liu Bai called out to Mobius.

"That..."

"Hmm?" Mobius turned around, startled. "What's wrong? Guinea pig? Is there anything else?"

"She, Inazuma Taisho, Kujou Sara."

Liu Bai pulled Kujou Sara, who was deep in thought, over.

"Huh?"

Kujou Sara, bewildered, uttered a rare, adorable sound.

"Wait, this..."

Does this mean I have to negotiate with this Serpent's Master?

Kujou Sara was completely unprepared to engage in diplomacy.

Or rather, diplomacy is simply not her forte—well, let alone diplomacy, Kujou Sara even struggles with everyday interpersonal relationships.

"Hmm... you're really looking forward to it, little guinea pig."

After a brief moment of surprise, Mobius quickly understood Liu Bai's meaning, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Come in with me."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Guinerfenlin and Natasha were instantly thrown into a panic—only Sara breathed a sigh of relief. If the dream truly required her diplomacy, and she failed, she would be an Inazuma for all time.

However, she seemed even more out of place.

"That's really something to think about," Guinaifen said, prompting Natasha to nod slightly.

What does "come inside with me" mean?

And what does "expectation" mean?

Do you two have some secret agreement or something?

"The Doctor said something very bad..."

Guinaifen tried hard to control her expression.

(I really want Miss Firefly to hear it.)

"Brother... what are you going to do with the Highlord?"

Natasha was even more direct.

"I don't know, that's why I'm looking forward to it."

"Hmm... those words are really hard to take to heart."

Natasha's expression was quite subtle.

"Don't worry, I won't mistreat my lab rats—unless I can't help it."

Mobius even had the mood to tease Natasha and Guinaifen.

"Okay, come here."

"Knew."