Chapter 307

"Oh~" Ai-chan certainly remembered that person, but she didn't quite understand why Saber brought up this topic at this time.

"That kid you're talking about," Ai-chan said, sounding a little unhappy but also somewhat unconvinced, "That kid does seem to have some skills."

"Oh?" Now it was Saber's turn to become interested. Ai-chan seemed to be implying something. She asked curiously, "How do you know what he's capable of? Have you fought him?"

"No, that's all." Ai-chan shook her head and said, "While you were unconscious, he challenged Yae Sakura to a sword duel. Everyone was betting on how long that guy could last against Yae Sakura."

"You gambled too?" Saber asked curiously, "Betting that the Redhead would lose?"

"No~" Ai-chan said, "I'm just betting that he can fight Yae Sakura to a draw."

"Huh?" Saber was a little confused. A draw? He remembered that, based on the character design, the Redhead did indeed seem to have a constitution like someone in a comic book—someone who could court death but never die. If it were in a game setting, it would mean he could be knocked off the bridge by Valkyrie and then shamelessly climb back up to continue teasing Valkyrie.

It seems that he also has close combat abilities according to the setting. His pure close combat ability is not weak, at least he can fight on par with the Valkyrie. His swordsmanship is not as good as Mei's.

So that Redhead really is from Mars?

"Why did you bet that he could beat Yae Sakura?" Saber curiously. Was he planning to practice against Yae Sakura and the Redhead girl to steal the crew's money?

"Because I stole... no, I mean took," Ai-chan said seriously, "I took his crystals and supply crates to trade with captains on other ships, to earn some pocket money or something..."

"Take?" Saber said, somewhat speechless, "What you mean by taking is actually stealing, right?"

"What?! It's taking! Taking! As an AI of the Hyperion, how can taking things from your own ship be considered stealing?" Ai-chan said, a little hesitant but still quite assertive, "I noticed that Redhead really likes to hoard crystals and boxes and leave them aside. Those things are just junk there and take up space and weight on the ship. So I took some to trade with other captains..."

"Oh~" Saber probably understood. She said expressionlessly, "I think I understand. He must have found out that Ran and you, the culprit, are fighting."

"Hahaha~" Ai-chan chuckled foolishly, "I thought I was at least a super AI of the Hyperion, back then... ah... never mind... a good AI doesn't dwell on past glories."

"To be honest, I thought defeating an ordinary human would be a piece of cake for me, given my fighting prowess," Ai-chan said, her tone becoming somewhat complicated. "But I almost lost to that guy..."

"Hmph~" Saber snorted coldly and said, "Crystals and supply boxes are every captain's lifeline. If you steal those things, it would be a miracle if he didn't fight you to the death."

However, if Saber remembers correctly, this guy plucked her ahoge (cowlick) the first time they met. Then he made her kick him down the stairs and chase after him the whole way.

Result...

As it turned out, the guy seemed to have no injuries whatsoever except for a bit of dirt on him. He was still lively and energetic when he was called back to solitary confinement, made to write a self-criticism, conduct a self-examination, and undergo a whole series of ordeals before being released.

So from that day on, Saber knew that the Redhead guy who was sent to be the captain must be something special.

"Okay." The guy with the ahoge stretched his neck and said, "You didn't consider whether you had the money to redeem the crystals and boxes, since you're the type to invest them all in Sbeam. So, in order to get the boxes and crystals back for the Redhead, you came up with a terrible idea. You encouraged him to spar with Yae Sakura, and then you placed a bet. The crew members who participated in the betting all thought that Yae Sakura was sure to win."

If it were me, I would probably feel the same way, with a proper Simulated Herrscher on one side and an ordinary human on the other.

This sparring match seemed destined to be a one-sided affair, with Redhead having absolutely no chance of winning.

As a result, the Redhead.

"Hahaha~" Ai-chan foolishly, probably about right.

"Didn't the other crew members say anything?" Saber asked curiously.

"Yes," Ai-chan said. "They thought it was some kind of shady operation, and several Marines fought against the Redhead guy. In the end, whether it was a one-on-one fight or a group brawl, the Redhead won every time."

As she spoke, Ai-chan's eyes turned into the shape of money, and she made a money gesture, saying, "I thought I would have to do this several times, for several days, to raise enough money to redeem the crystals and boxes, but it turned out that I only had enough in one day."

"Ha~ alright." Saber said helplessly, "You really are a little genius."

"So, would a captain really sell you crystals and chests?" Saber asked curiously. "Shouldn't they value these things a lot? I remember they can drop Valkyrie summoning orders, Valkyrie armor, and weapons, which are quite important to both captains and Valkyrie. Would a captain really sell them to you?"

"Of course there will be~" Ai-chan said, "As long as you are willing to pay, there will definitely be captains willing to trade with you privately. If you can't buy it, it's just that you haven't asked for their price."

"You should know that I offered a price they couldn't refuse."

"Alright~" Saber shook his head and said, "You really are a little genius."

After saying Saber touched the top of her head and found that her ahoge (cowlick) had stuck up again. She grabbed it hard and pulled it out before Ai-chan could even stop her, who was still dumbfounded.

"Bo! Bo! Doctor!" Ai-chan seemed Saber's actions. She pointed at Saber tremblingly and said, "You... you are... what are you planning to do?!"

"It's nothing," said Saber had transformed back into his Black Saber. "I was just trying it out."

"Do you think I'm going to summon a whole bunch of Honkai Beast right now and start fighting right here in the Hyperion?"

Ai-chan didn't speak; she was genuinely terrified that such a thing would happen. Although Otto said that the medicine only worked on Honkai, this wasn't just any ordinary Collapse Sickness! This was Herrscher! Herrscher had already Herrscherized! Although not fully Herrscherized yet, Herrscherization was almost irreversible.

Ai-chan is still a little scared! Especially since this Herrscher is a Doctor!

How could people of this era possibly know the horror she possessed?

"Don't worry." Saber patted Ai-chan's shoulder and said, "Just go get a mirror. This pose of mine isn't Herrscher of Reason. It has nothing to do with Herrscher of Reason. There won't be any problems."

"Really?" Ai-chan asked, still a little worried. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll make sure you have a problem, okay?" Black Saber's patience and tolerance were clearly not as good as Saber in her normal state. She was already impatient with Ai-chan's nervous and unwilling-to-do attitude.

"Hurry up!" said the Saber, "Or I'll show you these two poses..."

"What exactly is different?"

Chapter 337 The Redhead Captain

Ai-chan obediently slipped away, but in the end, it wasn't Ai-chan who came with the mirror.

Instead...

"It's you?" Black Saber, who was getting a little impatient, was about to go find a mirror when the door to the isolation room opened. A rather complicated person stood before her.

That Redhead, in Black Saber's eyes, is a captain who was parachuted in!

"You actually dared to come here." Black Saber said, seemingly unfriendly but with a hint of amusement, "You should know I don't really like you, right?"

"Hahaha~" the Redhead guy chuckled and said, "You mean because it was because you pulled out that tuft of hair from your head back then?"

Redhead certainly remembered; it was the first time he and Black Saber met. Was it because he plucked a hair from her head that the legendary switch for King Arthur's second personality appeared? Did plucking it bring out the second personality?

Such an important event is not recorded in history books; the England myth is really not rigorous!

Redhead thought to himself, but still smiled and said, "Actually, I didn't mean any harm at the time. I just wanted to get to know her, and at that time, I really... I was sure I would see a real Valkyrie, so I was very curious."

"I'm really sorry." Redhead's apology was quite sincere.

"This is the mirror you wanted." Redhead placed the mirror that Saber had requested on Saber's table.

"Long arms." Black Saber snorted coldly, then picked up the mirror and looked at herself.

Looking in the mirror wasn't about Black Saber vain or anything. It was just that she genuinely needed to look in the mirror; the drug was indeed somewhat effective. Compared to when she first Herrscherization, she was able to forcefully suppress her negative emotions, her fighting spirit, and her destructive urges with reason.

Now he has nothing to worry about. If he hadn't transformed into the Soul of the Underworld and discovered that other characters could prevent Cecilia from further turning evil and the original Herrscher from becoming a Herrscher, he wouldn't have been able to do so.

That would be truly unthinkable.

Even so, they were actually trying their best to suppress their urge to attack during the subsequent conversation. It's highly likely that even without that foolish Silly Goose's intervention, the negotiations would have broken down and a fight would have broken out.

"It doesn't look like anything has changed." Black Saber observed carefully.

There haven't been any significant changes in any aspect.

Should we try switching back to Li Pu's posture?

Hmm, you can give it a try.

A flash of light, Li Pu had returned to his original form.

"Besides looking more handsome..." he said, holding up a mirror, "Huh? What's wrong with my eyes?"

"What the hell is this Evil King's True Eye?"

Although I don't feel there are any major problems, what the Herrscher brings me is basically acceptable to my original self. I will no longer experience the strong emotional and psychological fluctuations and instability caused by becoming Herrscherization.

Only...

What's wrong with my eye? What's wrong with my right eye?

It turned golden!

From every angle and in every sense, this eye looks exactly like the Evil King's True Eye of Rikka Toriyuu.

"This..." Li Pu looked at his own eye, somewhat amused and exasperated, and said, "Is this the negative effect of becoming Herrscherization? Congratulations, Mr. Li Pu, on obtaining one of the Evil King's True Eyes?"

"So what can these eyes do?"

What can it do? Li Pu vaguely remembered that in the Herrscher of the Herrscher of the Void PV, Kiana's eyes changed color when she was Herrscher of the Void. That represented the awakening and use of her Herrscher powers. What could his half-golden eye do?

Or...

"Explode, reality! Shatter, spirit! Vanish, world!"

Want to be a little chuunibyou? Li Pu, in front of the mirror, tried to imitate Rikka's tone and posture in a cosplay that wasn't quite right, but still somewhat similar...

It seems like nothing has changed.

"Pfft~"

Except for someone who is laughing.

"What are you laughing at?!" Li Pu immediately snapped, slamming his hand on the table in displeasure. "Is this so funny?"

"No, no, no!" The Redhead man forced back his laughter and said, "You misunderstood Comrade Li Pu. I have received professional training, and I would never laugh out loud no matter how funny something is."

"You bastard! You're clearly laughing!" Li Pu couldn't help but say, "You're mocking me!"

"No, no, no!" Redhead insisted, "I was just thinking about something happy, I definitely didn't laugh at you."

"Something good to hear? Your wife had a baby?" Li Pu slammed his fist on the table in anger and said, "Get out! Get out right now! Get out of here! You should know that you can't take the Excalibur from my hand! You believe me, if you don't get out, I'll chop you down!"

"I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now." Seeing Li Pu's angry expression, Redhead knew that there was no point in staying any longer.

He decisively slipped out of the isolation room.

Of course, he didn't laugh much when he came out; he just took a deep breath and let bygones be bygones. Thinking about it, Li Pu could be quite immature sometimes, so it didn't seem particularly funny.

Well... hahahaha~

"Oh? So fast?" Ai-chan had been waiting outside for a while, saw the Redhead come out of the isolation room so quickly and hurriedly asked, "Stop laughing, how are you?"

"What's the doctor's condition?"

"First of all, you should know that Herrscherization is irreversible, right?" The Redhead stopped laughing and said, "Even the drugs developed by your Schicksal are useless, you admit that, right?"

Ai-chan nodded; of course she admitted it.

"Comrade Li Pu has indeed become Herrscher." Redhead Ai-chan nodded before continuing, "It's still impossible to determine exactly what kind of Herrscher he is, but I saw his eyes, so I can be sure that he is now undoubtedly Herrscher."

"Then..." Ai-chan said with some concern, "Wouldn't the Doctor be..."

"To be precise, Otto's idea seems to have come true." The Redhead continued, "I've seen Artoria Pendragon in her Herrscherization. I accidentally activated that state when we first met. From what I can see now, that state seems to be fine. Apart from being belligerent and impatient, she hasn't shown much more hostility towards humans. And from her action just now, it seems that she has maintained basic humanity."

"What action?" Ai-chan asked curiously.

"This..." Redhead felt a little hard to accept, not because the concept was difficult.

Only...

"Are you an AI?" Redhead said, "I don't know how you AIs understand a special psychological state that occurs during the human development stage, but it is indeed a normal psychological stage that almost everyone goes through during their development. It's a special psychological period that starts in junior high school and gradually ends in high school."

To explain it in a way that's easier for us to understand...

"Chuunibyou."

P. S.: Durandal has become Zhenqi. Although my book didn't follow the original setting, this is actually a bit difficult to handle.

P. S.: How about we create a twin sister or something?

Chapter 338 Paid Content

Aside from having an extra Evil King's True Eye Li Pu didn't really sense anything special.

So what kind of Herrscher is Herrscher? What special abilities does he have? What can he do? Li Pu had absolutely no idea.

"This is really troublesome..."

Li Pu sighed and muttered to himself, "So from today onwards I'll obediently be a martial god? Or a proper cleaner?"

Speaking of the cleaner, Li Pu couldn't help but think of the Redhead captain he had just gotten rid of, though he wasn't too keen to admit it. But now he had to admit that this Redhead was really something else.

Previously, the fact that he survived Black Saber unscathed was simply a matter of luck; now we know that his swordsmanship is on par with Yae Sakura.

His close-combat skills allowed him to defeat several Marines simultaneously. Although he didn't know exactly how many, Li Pu had seen the Marines stationed on the ship. These were the most elite soldiers selected from the best of the best.