What Do You Call It Again-Oh Right, Butterflies in Your Stomach! (Continued)

I'm a little curious about what they talked about.

"Yuno, you..."

Seeing Yuno's current posture, Mei frowned slightly.

"Is there a problem with your Herrscher Core?"

"It's alright, Mei- senpai."

In response to Mei's question, Yuno smiled confidently and said...

"After talking with Senior Lin Yu, I have a new goal in life."

"That goal is very important to me, so—a mere so-called pseudo- Herrscher Persona is not even qualified to be a stumbling block for me."

Sure enough, her mindset... has become a big problem.

Yuno seems confident now, but the problem is that her confidence is something she forced herself to develop.

Unlike Mei, Yuno was just an ordinary high school student before becoming Herrscher.

Even if Yuno ordinary high school student, figured out some things in a short time, it would be impossible for her to undergo such a huge transformation in essence.

Mei didn't know what Lin Yu and Yuno had talked about, but Yuno's current state...

Well, she had to admit that Yuno a much better state now than she had been, with that "let me die" expression on her face.

However, Lin Yu's words only gave Yuno a temporary excuse to suppress her negative emotions.

While this might prevent Yuno from developing mental health issues in the short term, if Yuno encounters a major shock next time, the problems that have accumulated during this period will erupt all at once.

This is like drinking poison to quench thirst.

Moreover, Lin Yu must have known this, but he still did it... This shows that he had no other choice.

"Yuno, if there's anything you can't figure out, you can talk to us about it."

At this moment, Mei stared at Yuno and said with utmost seriousness.

"We're partners now, so don't keep things bottled up inside. It'll cause you mental problems."

"Okay, I understand."

Hearing Mei's words, Yuno smiled naturally and replied.

"Thank you Mei- senpai."

Yuno's smile was very natural, but the very naturalness of this smile on Yuno was the most unusual thing.

Seeing Yuno's smile, Mei knew that there was no point in continuing to speak.

I hope you truly understand, Yuno.

As Bronya sensed this unusual atmosphere, she felt her guilt growing heavier.

Whether it 'Mei Yuno, the reason we've all become like this is because of Mother's plan.

Mother told Bronya that as long as Mei was retrieved, Seele could be rescued.

But now... before we even rescued Seele, we've already caused such terrible consequences.

Moreover, Mother's plan has failed, and given her personality, she certainly won't give up easily.

So, what's next...?

Mother Cocolia, how many more people do we have to kill before we can bring Seele back?

.

Himeko's house, Fu Hua's room

After returning to her new residence, Fu Hua contacted Otto through her glasses.

"Ha, old friend, how does it feel to meet the new juniors?"

Looking at Fu Hua, whose expression was calm at this moment, Otto said with an exaggerated smile.

"Don't always have a long face. Smiling more won't harm your health."

"After meeting them, I discovered that these three Herrscher... their human personalities are surprisingly stable."

Ignoring Otto's teasing words, Fu Hua adjusted her glasses and continued speaking to Otto with a blank expression.

"It's one thing that the Herrscher of the Void can't awaken for the time being because of her power, but it's another that Rei and that pseudo-personality are both so stable."

"Especially that Simulated Herrscher, she seemed to be on the verge of being overwhelmed by the guilt of killing her mother, but even on the verge of a mental breakdown, she managed to suppress her Herrscher Persona through her subconscious."

"Compared to Raiden Mei, who regained her self-awareness after her power was suppressed by the HSN Serum, I personally have a higher opinion of Yuno, the Simulated Herrscher."

"Ah, I agree with you, old friend."

Otto smiled as he listened to the information Fu Hua had provided.

"This child is indeed a promising talent. It was definitely the right choice to have Bianca go easy on her back then."

"... So you've already set your sights on her, haven't you?"

At this moment, Fu Hua saw the fleeting joy on Otto's face, and her tone suddenly became a few decibels lower.

"That's right. If it were you, you would definitely discover her special qualities after understanding her power."

After Yuno was brought back to Schicksal, Durandal and the awakened Theresa had already written their battle reports against Yuno and handed them to Otto.

Fu Hua also had access to those two reports.

As a hero from a previous era who cared deeply about the world, Fu Hua naturally checked the intelligence as soon as her health improved.

"Oh, special characteristics?"

"Stop pretending, Otto. The ability to Honkai Energy, and the ability to kill or even destroy enemies with venom—these clearly correspond to the abilities of [Creation] and [Withering], respectively."

"The ability of the poison, Pseudo-Herrscher Yuno, is clearly a lower-level ability of [Creation] and [Withering]."

"Haha, you really are an old friend."

Upon hearing Fu Hua's reasoning, Otto readily clapped his hands.

"Nothing can escape your eyes."

... Oh well, forget it.

By making these two pieces of information public, you clearly intend to let me know about this through this means.

"Okay, okay, stop staring at me with that scary look."

At this moment, Otto put away his flamboyant expression and put on an extremely serious one.

"As you know, I previously carried out the Artificial Herrscher Project. It's just a pity that, apart from Wendy, the A-rank Valkyrie from the Oceania Branch who has S-rank potential, the other A-rank Valkyrie couldn't accept the power of the gems."

"Even Wendy, who became A-rank Valkyrie at the age of 13, could only stabilize the Desire Gem within her body and could not successfully transform the power of the gem into her own power."

"So, that's why you've set your sights on the Simulated Herrscher and are using the Artificial Herrscher Project to make her a true [Herrscher of Death]?"

At this moment, recalling the tragic state of Changkong City, Fu Hua questioned Otto in a low voice.

"Even with Lin Yu, Siegfried, and the other members of Schicksal acting, this tragic scene still occurred in Changkong City. After seeing this, don't you understand just how dangerous what you're doing is?!"

"Of course, the Artificial Herrscher Project, combined with powerful Simulated Herrscher, could indeed pose a greater danger if something goes wrong."

After nodding slightly in agreement with Fu Hua's point of view, Otto continued.

"But you also need to understand one thing—this Artificial Herrscher Project is different from other Artificial Herrscher Project."

"Yuno has not only become Herrscher, but also has experience in suppressing Herrscher Persona."

"She has already demonstrated her talent and will. I think that such a genius, with a little more training, might really be able to fuse with the gem."

"But--"

"Are you trying to accuse me of human rights and morality, old friend?"

At this moment, Otto calmly stared at Fu Hua, and after interrupting her, he said indifferently.

"Fighting the Honkai is no child's play. Even if you've forgotten some things, you should know that this statement is not wrong."

"If you haven't forgotten where some of your power came from, you'll understand. The so-called artificial Herrscher experiments and Fusion Warrior experiments are essentially the same thing."

"If a Simulated Herrscher capable of suppressing the Herrscher Persona can become the Herrscher of Death, then it would be equivalent to adding a Herrscher- level combatant to the human camp while directly reducing the number of Herrscher in the Honkai."

"And even if we fail, Yuno went berserk at the Schicksal Headquarters, and the others can suppress her immediately—you need to understand, I'm not a madwoman Cocolia, I won't let my hometown explode."

Fu Hua admitted that Otto's words did indeed make a lot of sense.

But having known Otto for so many years, she knew very well that if she actually believed Otto, it would only mean that her intellectual level had regressed to that of a sixth-grade elementary school student.

What Otto says may be true, but these 'truths' are not his true intentions; they are merely 'tools' he uses to persuade others.

However, even if Fu Hua suspects Otto, Fu Hua cannot criticize his thoughts and actions without finding any flaws in his behavior.

"Alright, alright, old friend, just like I said when we first met today—don't always have a long face, smiling more won't hurt your health."

Seeing Fu Hua looking at him with suspicion, Otto shrugged helplessly.

"I know I have no credibility in the eyes of you old acquaintances, so this time I'll be straightforward and just make my plan public, and let you, as the supervisor, know about it in advance."

"I think that's enough to prove my sincerity, isn't it?"

"... That's natural."

"That's right. If you're worried that I'll play some tricks, the simplest way is to help Yuno grow up."

"After all—if she is strong enough, with her qualifications she is capable of enduring the artificial Herrscher experiments and becoming a powerful fighting force for humanity."

Every word he said was irrefutable, as if he were truly acting in the best interests of humanity.

If Sue or Dr. MEI were here, perhaps they wouldn't be in such a passive position as I am.

Seeing that Fu Hua had stopped speaking, Otto knew that he had temporarily persuaded her.

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Aside from those Herrscher, what do you think of Lin Yu as a person?"

"... There's no need to beat around the bush like that."

Looking at Otto's expectant eyes, Fu Hua calmly spoke to Otto.

"Tomorrow I will personally test his strength, and then write a report on the results and send it to you."

"OK, OK, then—"

Before Otto could finish speaking, Fu Hua abruptly ended the communication with Otto.

To be honest, she... still thought Otto's face was really asking for trouble.

Looking at Otto's face, Fu Hua didn't know why, but she always felt like she wanted to punch Otto's dog head off.

Lin Yu, it seems Otto really values this young man.

At the time, Otto told me that after he hypnotized Lin Yu with Feathered Dust, his Stigmata suddenly malfunctioned, causing Lin Yu's body to explode.

Judging from the current situation, he probably still suspects that Lin Yu had some problems back then.

He's still so suspicious.

That's normal, though. If Otto ever seems to be too trusting of others, that would be a real problem.

Regardless, Otto still needs to maintain his 'protection' of Shenzhou, so...

Let's be a little more serious tomorrow and see if we can get Lin Yu to show his true strength.

.

That night

After buying their daily necessities in the Commercial Street, Lin Yu and the others had a simple meal outside.

Kiana's idea was that, after confirming that Yuno herself didn't care, she wanted to find a place to have some fun and cause a ruckus to make everyone happy.

However, at that time, Lin Yu stood up and rejected Kiana's idea.

After all, 'Lin Yu' is a vengeful ghost who wants to take revenge on the Honkai. With the Valkyrie senior's test tomorrow, how could he possibly agree to Kiana's reckless idea?

As for Kiana returning to her dorm with a pout, feeling unhappy, that was none of Lin Yu's business.

Kiana is currently in a stable mental state, and even if she's occasionally unhappy, it wouldn't be to the point of releasing Sirin.