You Call This One Year Old?

But unfortunately, as a punishment from the system, though his heart was unwilling, his body began moving on its own.

Otto picked up the microphone. "Distinguished guests, thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend the wedding of Miss Kallen and Miss Yae Sakura."

(Damn it, my body's out of control.)

"Now, Miss Kallen, do you take Miss Yae to be your wife?" (No, Kallen, say you don't!)

"I do."

(No...!)

"Then, Miss Yae Sakura, do you take Miss Kallen to be your wife?" (Damn pink-haired fox, stay away from Kallen...)

"I do."

(That inherently evil pink-haired fox! I'll personally—)

"Now, please exchange rings."

Kallen and Sakura exchanged rings.

"These two rings symbolize your eternal love. May your married life be filled with happiness!"

(Pink-haired fox! Wait, according to the wedding ceremony, the next step is...)

"Now, please seal your vows with a kiss."

(No, anything but this!)

Gradually, in Otto's eyes, the two drew closer and closer, until their figures overlapped.

(NO!!!!!!)

Otto finally couldn't hold on any longer. His consciousness began to scatter, and the last images he saw before it faded were Kallen's back, the smugness in Sakura's eyes, and the thin strand of silver between their lips...

[Punishment Ended]

Back in his office, Otto snapped back to reality.

"Your Eminence, are you alright?"

Amber, who had been handling paperwork nearby, immediately came over to check on him.

"I'm fine, Amber," Otto said to the concerned Amber. "That punishment actually made me lose myself in it."

He hadn't realized it during the wedding just now, but the moment he returned, it hit him. He had known it was only a punishment, yet he still couldn't help being drawn in, as if...

Had his consciousness been affected? Not only could it forcibly control my body, but it could also manipulate my mind?

Based on the data from the Previous Civilization, this resembles the Herrscher of Reason's authority. But it's far more powerful. Not to brag, but to prevent any mishaps in my plans, my Soul Steel Body had been reinforced specifically against the Herrscher of Reason's authority. (Though in the end, I never expected it wouldn't even use its authority—it just physically ground my face into the floor.) Yet when the Livestream Room influenced me, I didn't notice a thing.

Thus, Otto was certain. This system was definitely not the work of the so-called Honkai God. After all, if even his Soul Steel Body couldn't resist it, then there were few in the entire world who could.

It wasn't just him. The leaders of other major factions had also figured this out. Though they made no moves, they all silently raised the Livestream Room's threat level by several notches.

[System: Then, the quick-answer continues.]

[Congratulations to Miss Raven for successfully seizing the answer.]

[Raven: Huh? It's me?]

[Theresa: Raven... I've heard that name before.]

[Bronya: Principal, Raven seems to be the alias of a well-known mercenary.]

[Theresa: I see. But Bronya, how do you know that?]

[Bronya: Bronya just happened to come across it.]

Of course, Bronya hadn't just happened to stumble upon Raven's information. As a former assassin known as the "Silver Wolf of the Urals," Bronya had naturally kept tabs on the mercenary Raven. Though Bronya had long since quit being an assassin, she still occasionally checked the dark web for news.

[System: Then, Miss Raven, please answer the question.]

[Raven: I choose B, Stelle.]

[Congratulations, Raven, correct answer.]

[Now, releasing the answer analysis.]

Lumine: A mysterious "maiden" who slept for 500 years...

[Lumine: Why is "maiden" in quotes?! System, what do you mean by that!]

[Amber: So Lumine, you're already that... mature? You look about the same age as me.]

[Venti: So should I call you Grandma Lumine?]

[Lumine (▼皿▼#): Stare...]

[Venti: Ehe!]

[Lumine: 'Ehe' my ass!]

Paimon: Hey, isn't that my line?

Dreamseeker: An "ordinary" student at the Ouxia City Data Research Institute.

[Theresa: So she's still a student?]

[Otto: Ouxia City... a place I've never heard of.]

[Tesla: Yo~ Otto, I mean, First Green One, how does it feel to be a Green One?]

[Otto: Dr. Tesla, that was merely a punishment, not real, so I don't take it to heart.]

[Tesla: Oh~ really? Mr. First "Green" One, I've got a few photos here I'd like to show you.]

[Tesla: Bride's gaze.jpg]

[Tesla: Exchanging rings.jpg]

[Tesla: That strand of silver hair.jpg]

"Doctor, is it really okay to provoke Otto like this?" Watching Dr. Tesla cackling wildly, she couldn't help but complain.

"Don't be such a buzzkill, Chicken Head." "Too bad we can't see Otto's face right now, but it's definitely amusing." Imagining Otto's expression, Dr. Tesla laughed even harder.

Meanwhile, at Schicksal headquarters, Otto's face was dark as thunder. Amber, watching his expression grow increasingly grim, asked, "Your Eminence, do you need..."

"That won't be necessary, Amber." Otto interrupted her with a smile, cutting off her next words. "Now isn't the time for an all-out war with Anti-Entropy."

"Then, Your Eminence, should we do nothing?"

"Of course not. With the recent climate warming, it's only reasonable for certain companies (those supplying goods to Anti-Entropy) to raise their prices."

"Yes, Your Eminence. I understand."

At that moment, the two doctors at Anti-Entropy had no idea that their already strained funds were about to shrink further. Meanwhile, many players of Kallen Fantasy noticed a new boss added to the game: the Red Lobster Boss.

[So next is the last one.]

Stelle: A newborn, zero-year-old baby?

[March 7th: No way, you're saying this thing is one year old?]

Looking at Stelle, who had just been smashing Void Trotters one by one with a bat, was taller than her, and immediately started rummaging through trash cans the moment she had free time, March fell into deep thought...

[Theresa: Are all babies in your world this tall?]

Staring at her own height, which hadn't changed in years, and then at the "baby" from another world who was twice her size, Theresa silently took a sip of the Bitter Melon Height-Increasing Potion she'd just bought. (It was really just bitter melon-flavored high-calcium milk.)

[Himeko (Star Rail): Everyone, don't misunderstand. Stelle... she's just a special case.]

Seeing that the other two worlds seemed to have developed some strange misconceptions about her own, Himeko, as the parent of the Trailblaze Crew, quickly explained to the others.

[Sparkle: So that means the Stellaris Train is hiring minors?]

[Himeko: Ahem, everyone, let's first take a look at Miss Raven's reward.]