Game Settings, Revised! / Let My Guard Down

Otto pondered carefully.

Otto, however, didn't resist the fact that he suddenly had someone else to worry about. On the contrary, this long-lost feeling was surprisingly quite nice!

"Welcome to the Schicksal Library! I am Susanna, how may I help you?"

As soon as Yae Sakura entered the library, a very familiar blonde girl jumped out from the pile of books and enthusiastically took her hand.

It's hard not to look familiar!

Otto used this very disguise during the Battle of the London!

Yae Sakura's exquisite face revealed a serene and gentle smile, like a legendary Yamato Nadeshiko, captivating all who beheld her.

"Hello, I'm looking for a book. Are you the manager here?"

"Ah, no, I was sent here by His Highness the Archbishop to clean the library! I've been here for three or four months now, and I've cleaned the entire library and reorganized all the books, but I haven't received any new orders yet! To be honest, I was so anxious a while ago, I even wondered if His Highness the Archbishop had forgotten about me! Hahaha!"

Susanna smiled familiarly and chattered on and on.

Yae Sakura's lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

"Uh, is it possible that Mr. Otto has indeed forgotten about you?"

"Of course not! His Excellency the Archbishop is wise and powerful; there must be a reason for everything he does! I thought about it carefully for a long time before I realized that I must have been careless and made too many mistakes in my previous work. His Excellency the Archbishop must have assigned the task of organizing the library to hone my attention to detail and patience, and to correct my tendency to make mistakes! In short, if there is a mistake, then the one who is at fault is definitely me!"

Susanna tilted her head up and said with a proud look on her face.

Yae Sakura's lips twitched again.

"Uh, well, how should I put it..."

"Hmph! Don't you also feel a deep admiration for His Excellency's foresight? Alas, His Excellency's wisdom is indeed unfathomable. However, I have reflected deeply on my actions and have been working hard lately, making the library more and more organized. I wonder how long His Excellency intends to hone my skills? In any case, as long as I continue to work hard, I will surely gain His Excellency's approval!"

A pair of large rabbits, enough to make even immortals despair, hopped around with the girl's lively movements. Her incessant, clear chatter and vivid, adorable expressions created a unique girl who brought a smile to everyone's face.

She is Susanna, a ditzy young lady whose family is rich and who will inherit billions if she doesn't become Valkyrie.

"Puff!"

Yae Sakura finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Then, as if realizing something, Susanna blushed and lowered her head shyly under Yae Sakura's gentle and beautiful eyes, saying:

"I'm... I'm sorry, it's been so long since anyone talked to me, I got a little carried away. Um, I'm sorry to have taken up your time, so what book are you looking for? I know this library like the back of my hand now, I can find it for you right away!"

"Don't worry about it. You remind me of... two very important old friends. This is the list of books I'm looking for. I would be very grateful if you could help me."

"Oh, don't be so polite with me, just call me Susanna! Okay, let me see, these books, let's go this way!"

"I am Yae Sakura. If you don't mind, you can call me Sakura."

The two, with completely different styles, chatted and laughed as they walked deeper into the library.

Chapter 148 Game Settings, Changed!

Following the trio that Otto arranged to take care of her, Yae Sakura now has another person she can talk to.

The good news that followed was that Otto finally remembered Susanna, whom he had forgotten in the library.

The bad news is that Otto casually assigned her another learning task, keeping her detained at headquarters.

However, Susanna was very happy. On the one hand, she felt that Otto recognized her work in the library, which was why he arranged for her to pursue further studies. On the other hand, she was overjoyed to be able to live next to her idol, Durandal.

Yae Sakura continued her life in this way, playing the role of a Far East priestess who had no desires and was content with whatever came her way, passively accepting everything arranged by others.

'This is truly the role I've put the most effort into.'

' The Jizo Mitama contains the memories and emotions of Yae Sakura and Hiyomaru. Savoring and processing all of this, I'm integrating it into my own memories and emotions... Alas, did I borrow Yae Sakura to get closer to Otto, or did Yae Sakura use me to fulfill her last remaining obsession?'

"Was it Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuangzi? That is the question."

On a quiet, leisurely afternoon, Yae Sakura wiped the blade of her Jizo Mitama, gazing at her icy blue eyes reflected in the black blade, and suddenly felt a pang of nostalgia.

A perfect lie is nine parts truth and one part falsehood, and so is a perfect performance.

Each character needs to be infused with their own inherent traits. Although they all clearly know they are Anqi, they sometimes feel lost. Anqi wasn't born an actress, and with this kind of dedication repeated time and time again, won't she lose herself?

"What's on your mind?"

"Just spacing out. Good afternoon, Mr. Otto."

Yae Sakura looked up at Otto, who would occasionally pop up to chat with her, and gave him a bright and charming smile. Her eyes sparkled with infinitely gentle light, like jewels.

Then, Yae Sakura got up and, following Rita's instructions over the past few days, brewed black tea and set out some snacks.

The two sat facing each other across a small table filled with the aroma of tea, bathed in sunlight streaming through the window. Their familiar smiles resembled those of old friends who had known each other for many years.

"Is Mr. Otto finished with his work for today?"

"It's alright. You have to balance work and rest. You can't do things well if you're too tense."

"It's best not to let Durandal hear you say that, she will definitely refute you on the spot."

"Please spare me, keep this a secret, there's absolutely nothing I can do about that child."

The two chatted and laughed as they each sipped their tea.

The tea ceremony, performed according to the prescribed method to a certain level, brought out the precise temperature of the black tea in the cup, just like Rita and Amber, resulting in a perfectly balanced flavor that made Otto raise an eyebrow in satisfaction.

"It seems you're doing quite well! But why are you so reluctant to take off this shrine maiden outfit? Do you perhaps serve a god?"

"There are no gods, they are just illusions created by ignorant ancient people. I'm just used to it, and besides, Kallen once praised me, saying that I look beautiful in this dress."

With a shy blush, Yae Sakura lowered her head in embarrassment.

Otto felt he could perfectly imagine the scene. Kallen had always been straightforward, and her way of expressing emotions and desires was naturally frank and open, but for a reserved and introverted Far East priestess, it must have been incredibly damaging, right?

No wonder Kallen was able to win over Yae Sakura.

To be honest, this could be described as a rich young lady from the city who seduced a naive and innocent village girl.

If you think about it that way, at least in terms of relationships, Yae Sakura can be considered a victim!

"Hahaha!"

Otto laughed out loud, clearly in high spirits.

He knew that if he presented these rational analyses to Kallen, that clumsy and competitive girl would get so angry that she would turn red in the face and then try to argue incoherently.

Yae Sakura tilted her head.

"I have a feeling you're thinking something strange!"

"No, don't talk nonsense, don't frame me! Speaking of which, you and Susanna seem to be getting along quite well lately?"

"It's alright, mainly because of her simple and lively personality. I always feel like she's a bit like Kallen, and also a bit like my younger sister. I guess that's some of the commonalities among simple people?"

"Really? That's a good thing. Hopefully, she can help you find some joy in living."

Otto shook his head and sighed.

Unfortunately, he could no longer find Kallen's shadow in other women. He had passed that stage, and as the plan progressed, he no longer had that feeling.

Yae Sakura nodded obediently, but didn't seem to care much; it was more like a nonchalant agreement.

Later, they talked a lot about Kallen. Otto recounted Kallen's childhood, Yae Sakura described the details of Kallen's recovery in Yae Village, maintaining a pleasant atmosphere throughout.

Otto for Kallen were never superficial romantic love or possessiveness. Aside from Yae Sakura being the apparent direct cause of Kallen's death, he had no other grievances against Yae Sakura.

"Oh, by the way, Miss Amber recently taught me how to play games! I saw a really popular game called 'Kallen Fantasy,' which is supposedly based on Kallen's story. I just downloaded it and registered an account!"

"..."

Otto's smile froze, and his hand holding the teacup stopped moving.

Because the most difficult boss in "Kallen Fantasy," the treacherous villain who runs through a large part of the story, is a pink-haired fox spirit named Yae Sakura —this setting was only created at Otto's suggestion.

Otto put down his teacup and adopted a serious expression.

"Delete it."

"Huh?"

"Delete it. Now is not the time to get into the game. Besides, it's just a gimmick by the game company. It actually has nothing to do with Kallen and will only disappoint you. In short, listen to me and delete it for now."

At the very least, I'll wait until I get the game company to completely change that stupid setting before I talk about it!

Otto maintained his professional smile, looking firmly at Yae Sakura.

Yae Sakura blinked blankly, and after a moment, she nodded reluctantly but obediently.

"Since Mr. Otto has said so, then so be it."

"Ahem! Well, actually, we have something important to discuss today. We've made a major breakthrough in cracking the Chikai Ichijo. Next, we need a trustworthy person to go inside and break through the blockade. I've decided to send Durandal, and the Jizo Mitama's ability is quite useful and might come in a crucial role, so you should go and help out as well."

Otto changed the subject in a serious manner.

As he expected, Yae Sakura's attention to "Kallen Fantasy" quickly vanished, replaced by an extremely serious expression.

"I understand. I will do my best to help if I can."

"Okay, then you should delete those time-consuming games as soon as possible. In the next few days, you can try to practice your control over the Jizo Mitama more."

"Yes, Mr. Otto."

"I have other matters to attend to, and I need to find Amber, so I'll be leaving now."

Otto calmly got up and left.

But as soon as he stepped out of the room, his smiling face was suddenly replaced by a furious, teeth-gritting expression.

"Amber!!!"

The battle of wits between the irresponsible archbishop and the serious and earnest female steward is about to begin again, but Yae Sakura no longer needs to care about those matters.

She's concerned with something else now.

'Theoretically, possessing the Dominion Authority, the Erosion Authority, and the Void Authority simultaneously, wouldn't mastering the Chikai Ichijo be a piece of cake?'

'But we can't use it yet. We're counting on Mr. Otto to use it to observe the Imaginary Tree and prepare the theoretical groundwork for breaking through the tree!'

"There's another problem. Will Su, who's executing Hengsha Project within the Divine Key, be able to recognize our true forms? He's a master in the realm of consciousness. If we stumble into the illusion and he recognizes us, and then Durandal finds out, we might explode."

'So, as expected, I still can't intervene; observing is the best I can do.'

The Anqi were disappointed, but they were also mentally prepared.

Yae Sakura stroked the cold blade of Jizo Mitama and sighed silently.

' Durandal, you'll have to shoulder the burden from now on. It wasn't going to be too difficult for you anyway. Good luck getting the key for Mr. Otto!'

Yae Sakura smiled slightly, sheathed her sword, and got up to go to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Durandal, Rita, and Susanna were supposed to come to her house for dinner tonight, so she had to prepare a delicious and exquisite meal for these incredibly beautiful girls!

Chapter 149 Carelessness

The Chikai Ichijo is of great significance to Otto, and he certainly won't delay on this matter for too long.

Three days after informing Yae Sakura, the next step of the decryption work, or rather, the first activation experiment of the Chikai Ichijo, officially began.

"Durandal, Lady Sakura, please be careful."

"Okay, you guys keep going, and make sure you come back safely!"

Outside the enormous spherical experimental facility, Rita and Susanna, members of the guard force, expressed their concern to the two people who were about to enter.

Yae Sakura was still wearing her usual armpit-revealing shrine Durandal outfit, looking quiet and beautiful, while Durandal had changed into the blue and white Moonlit Armor she usually wore for missions and was giving her equipment a final check.

After saying goodbye, the two walked side by side into the spherical laboratory facility, where they soon saw the enormous black locomotive. Its stunningly beautiful, futuristic design seemed to suggest that this was a space train capable of traveling through the stars.

"Durandal, be careful and stay safe."

"Yes, I will do my best!"

What needed to be said had already been said beforehand, so after a simple nod and conversation, Durandal started moving, her golden hair flowing as she walked towards the locomotive.

Otto then sent the activation command to the Divine Key.

"Call out!"

A purplish-black beam of light shot into the sky.