Theresa: Why Do I Feel Like Someone's Insulting Me? / Haimo: Aren't You a Little Too Easy to Win Over? ...

Theresa: Why Do I Feel Like Someone's Cursing Me?

"But, but... I really remember..."

Ryan felt like the girl before him was about to burst into tears.

"Yes, from your perspective, there's nothing wrong with that. This is also a phenomenon we only recently began researching."

Ryan sighed. "Not long ago, leading researchers from other Schicksal branches published a paper pointing out that when a Pseudo-Herrscher forms without a base body, it may be directly implanted with a complete set of memories and a personality, then given the mission of destroying civilization..."

"Although I don't know why the final step didn't take effect on you, there's no doubt that the previous steps all match up perfectly."

"Then... how do you plan to deal with me?"

"Uh... to be honest, there's currently no precedent for a case like yours." Dr. Ryan hesitated. "Although we know that aside from causing a certain degree of property damage, you haven't actually caused many casualties."

"But Schicksal Headquarters may not be as understanding as I am, and they've always taken a rather harsh attitude toward creatures on the Honkai side..."

"If that's the case... then I guess it doesn't matter." Highmore lowered her head, her voice carrying a hint of self-abandonment. "After all, everything about me is fake..."

"Ah, perhaps my wording just now was overly serious. Miss Highmore, there's no need to be so pessimistic." Seeing the girl sink into despair, Ryan inwardly rejoiced at how cooperative she was while comforting her.

"There are still quite a few possible turns of events, Miss Highmore. Although your previous memories were fake, it isn't too late to create new ones from now on."

"As long as you can stay alive, there'll still be a chance to fill the voids left behind by those false memories."

"Doctor, does that mean you have a way to keep me alive?" Highmore raised her head, and a glimmer of life returned to her eyes.

"You're very smart, Miss Highmore." Ryan nodded in satisfaction. "I happen to have a project on hand that involves implanting a Herrscher Core into a person, actively inducing a Herrscher who retains a human mind."

"Right now, the project has stalled to a certain extent. On one hand, the compatibility between the host and the Herrscher Core has remained too low. On the other, we can't guarantee that the host will remain rational after fusing with the core."

"And a special case like you, Miss Highmore, holds tremendous value for our experiment. You may be able to provide us with many ideas and directions."

"And this project carries considerable weight, even at Schicksal Headquarters..."

"So, you want me to become one of the project's test subjects to avoid being directly executed by Schicksal Headquarters?" Highmore only half understood.

"That's right. It's also the method with the greatest chance of saving your life." Ryan nodded. "What do you say, Miss Highmore? Are you willing to cooperate?"

"I don't think I have any other choice now..." Highmore's expression carried an indescribable sadness. "Then let's do as you say. I don't care..."

"Then I'll have to ask Miss Highmore to cooperate properly." Ryan was overjoyed. "Schicksal may send people for a covert inspection soon, and I'll also invite colleagues from other branches to assist with the preliminary research. Miss Highmore, during this period, you must do your best to appear harmless."

"Whether the experiment makes progress or not is another matter. As long as your condition remains stable enough, Miss Highmore, even if the experiment doesn't go well, I'll have a way to protect you."

Having said that, Ryan once again put on the gentle smile of a kind elder and advised, "Miss Highmore, although reality is cruel, you need to emerge from your grief as soon as possible."

"The experiment's other participant is a little girl around your age, perhaps even younger. You can talk with her more often. I'll arrange for the two of you to live together."

"She's already participated in this experiment for over a year. I'll also have her look after you more. I hope that, with her help, you can soon leave this darkness behind."

After saying all that, Ryan stood up and glanced at Highmore, who was still in a daze.

"It seems Miss Highmore may need some time alone. In that case, I'll leave first. Miss Highmore, you can think it over for a while longer. I'll come back this afternoon to arrange what comes next."

Watching Ryan's departing back, Highmore stared blankly out the window, looking as though she were contemplating life—no, contemplating Herrscher life.

"Did he leave?"

"He left."

"Then can I laugh now? We were afraid you'd lose it if you heard us laughing, so Flame Willow and I didn't dare make a sound."

"...Laugh if you want. I can force my facial expression under control. Otherwise, how do you think I acted so convincingly just now?"

"Hahahahaha..." ×2

Classic mermaid-slapping-the-table-laughing scene.jpg

"No, why is that old man so dumb? How outdated is that PUA routine of his? Watching it nearly gave me secondhand embarrassment."

"Have some confidence. If he actually had any skill, Otto wouldn't have thrown him to Oceania as disposable material."

"To be fair, what I really couldn't hold it together over was him holding up that paper by Xia Ling and Theresa and calling it the work of leading researchers." Highmore cut in over the channel. "Can you imagine it? Theresa's expression whenever intelligence is involved, and leading researcher, being put on the same level."

"Right, right, Theresa really did write that paper." Xia Ling added with a laugh. "I asked Theresa to write the acknowledgments."

For a while, the channel was filled with cheerful laughter.

Until, after some time, someone slowly knocked on the room's door.

"Come in." Highmore was somewhat confused, thinking Ryan had returned.

However, as the door opened, a small head with black hair streaked with cyan peeked in through the doorway.

Then she tried to push the door fully open with one hand while maneuvering her wheelchair inside with the other.

Seeing this, Highmore hurried forward to help open the door and pushed Wendy inside.

"Um... you are?"

Although she knew perfectly well who the girl was, Highmore still put on a puzzled expression.

"Ah, hello. I'm your future... uh, I suppose roommate, Wendy." Wendy lowered her head slightly and spoke somewhat awkwardly. "Dr. Ryan told me about what happened to you and asked me to come comfort you..."

No, was there anyone who said they were here to comfort someone that directly...? Highmore was instantly left speechless. In the original main storyline, Wendy hadn't received much characterization. All anyone knew was that she was exceptionally strong and gentle. Even in an environment like Oceania, she had stubbornly endured for over two years before losing control and becoming a Herrscher.

But no one had told her that Wendy could be a little airheaded.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Highmore pulled herself together and began talking with Wendy.

Highmore: Aren't You a Little Too Easy to Win Over?

"Hiss... looking at it this way, there really is one suspicious thing after another about this Highmore."

Ryan laid several different documents on the table, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Based on the data sent back from the detectors of every Valkyrie afterward, the average level of this Honkai outbreak wasn't enough to produce a Pseudo-Herrscher. It would've struggled even to give rise to a Honkai Emperor, let alone possess Honkai Energy interference strong enough to disable all the instruments..."

"More importantly, according to the report from the personnel who recovered the data afterward, those instruments hadn't suffered any damage at all. They had even been carrying out the original order to detect Honkai Energy levels the entire time."

"Then why did every Valkyrie unanimously claim that their instruments had malfunctioned?"

Ryan irritably scratched at the hair that was already trending toward a bald patch, pondering the matter in frustration.

"Could it have been some form of mental control? But that doesn't make sense. Such large-scale hypnosis, just to make the Valkyries think their instruments had malfunctioned? With that kind of power, killing everyone wouldn't take much effort, would it? Isn't that as absurd as Sun Wukong freezing a group of celestial maidens in Journey to the West and then choosing to eat peaches?"

"Damn it. Because they all thought the instruments had malfunctioned, there's nothing in the field data besides these utterly useless energy-level readings. Could this have been specifically arranged just to disgust me?"

Ryan sighed irritably and consoled himself. "Forget it, I won't think about it anymore. At least this time, we acquired a perfect Pseudo-Herrscher base body, and one whose strength can be completely suppressed by the Oceania Branch... I hope I can squeeze enough value out of her. Wendy's experiment has basically failed already. Whether I can take things one step further now depends entirely on this Pseudo-Herrscher..."

Just as Ryan was still agonizing over Highmore's incident report, the Branch Leader pushed open the door and entered after a knock.

"What is it, Dr. Ryan? Why do you look so troubled?"

"Sigh, I'm worried about that test subject. There are simply too many strange aspects to this Honkai outbreak. I'm trying to figure out how to write the incident report for Schicksal Headquarters."

"Let me see..." The Branch Leader picked up the documents on the table and quickly flipped through them.

"Hmm... this part, and this part, can be withheld for now."

After a while, the Branch Leader set down the documents and pulled out the reports concerning the instrument malfunctions and Honkai Energy intensity.

"Investigating these two reports would theoretically take time anyway. We can use prioritizing the resettlement of personnel and property-loss handling as an excuse and submit the other content first."

"If Headquarters doesn't ask too many questions, then we can let it pass like that. If Headquarters requests more detailed information, we'll have a buffer period to study it slowly."

"But if we do that, won't Bishop Otto be dissatisfied...?"

"Dissatisfied? Oceania is my territory. What can he do if he's dissatisfied?" The Branch Leader was completely unconcerned.

"As long as the procedures are compliant, it'll be fine. Otto may be formidable, but the emperor is far away here. His hand can't reach that far."

"Oh, and one more thing. We should send out our invitation to the Far East Branch at the same time. How are your preparations going?"

"I plan to invite Theresa, the Branch Leader of the Far East Branch, to Oceania for an exchange on matters concerning the handling and experimental direction of Pseudo-Herrschers. At least, that's what we'll say on the surface."

"However..." Ryan hesitated before saying, "You know about the experiments we're conducting here, Branch Leader. There are some things that can't exactly see the light of day."

"It would be one thing if someone else discovered them, but Theresa... I've heard that she's the sort of person who hates evil with a passion. If she finds out, it'll most likely be difficult to clean up afterward."

"So, how long should we set this visit and exchange for?"

"That's simple." The Branch Leader had clearly prepared for this already. "Just specifically invite Theresa, then make the duration longer. Set it for something like a week to half a month."

"Huh? Why so long?" Ryan asked in confusion. "She's only coming over for a meeting and a formality. Shouldn't we minimize the time Theresa spends here as much as possible?"

"Because I'm doing it on purpose."

"The reason I'm setting it for so long is because the New Year is coming up. As the Branch Leader of the Far East Branch, Theresa can't possibly leave her branch for that long."

"So you're setting such a long duration specifically to discourage her?" Ryan suddenly understood.

"Right. But out of courtesy, she'll definitely have to send a representative. In that case, the most suitable candidate would be this teacher named Xia Ling, who coauthored a paper with her."

"I looked into this Xia Ling. She's only been employed for half a year, and she only became a full-time teacher three months ago. That paper might well have been Theresa's way of promoting her." The Branch Leader was brimming with confidence.

"Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that she has genuine talent. But that would be even better. As a newcomer, even for the sake of her own future, she'll definitely work hard to cooperate with our experiments."

"It can't be that she's another troublemaker like Theresa, can it? Coming here and stirring up trouble every day?"

While Ryan and the Branch Leader discussed how to deceive those above and conceal the truth aboard the floating warship, Highmore and Wendy were having a lively conversation in the room.

"Huh? So you gave up your likely chance of becoming an S-rank Valkyrie and came here to participate in the experiment?"

With an expression of bitter disappointment, Highmore puffed out her cheeks and looked angrily at Wendy.

"Y-yes... because both my teacher and Lord Bishop thought I was suited for it." Wendy mumbled. "And, and..."

"And?"

"And although I'm gifted, I'm not a true genius. Lady Durandal became an S-rank Valkyrie at fourteen, while I was thirteen when I joined the experiment. Even then, I was only considered the most likely candidate to become the fourth S-rank Valkyrie."

"I know very well that, forget half a year, even if I had another year and a half, I might not have succeeded in advancing to S-rank. So when Headmistress Theresa told me about this experiment, I agreed without any hesitation. I originally thought this experiment would let me catch up to those true geniuses faster..."

As she said this, Wendy grew even more dejected. Only in front of Highmore, who knew no one else and had no real understanding of Schicksal's ranking system, could Wendy say such things without any psychological burden.

"It's okay... Didn't Dr. Ryan just say that researching my situation might help them find a breakthrough for the experiment?" A hint of softness appeared on Highmore's face, and she couldn't help stroking Wendy's smooth hair.

"Maybe after some time, there'll be breakthrough progress in your core fusion."

"D-don't suddenly pat my head..." Wendy's cheeks reddened slightly as she lightly shook her head in protest.

"Alright, alright. Then tell me more about the other interesting things in the Oceania Branch. For example, what kinds of people are there in the Oceania Branch? I don't know anything about that yet." Highmore smiled and continued asking.

"Hmm, the Oceania Branch is roughly divided into two kinds of people: Valkyries and researchers. But there seems to be quite a big divide between them..."

As Highmore listened to Wendy's account with a smile, she also split her attention to communicate with the other two over the channel.

"Just as expected, Wendy barely has any friends in Oceania. With our new roommate, even though they've only just met, she can quickly close the distance because she's lacked interaction with people her own age for far too long," Xia Ling commented.

"That's right. In this situation, being a Pseudo-Herrscher won't create a barrier. To a certain extent, it'll even bring them closer together."

"Isn't that perfect..." Highmore replied when she found a moment. "If I couldn't communicate with Wendy, wouldn't this plan have failed from the very beginning?"

"You rascal, aren't you satisfied just getting to be close with Wendy?!"

"I traded being shoved onto an operating table for this." Highmore spoke with complete confidence. "I've taken on a mission like this, so what's wrong with enjoying myself a little?"

However, Otto Had Already Seen Through Everything

"By the way, Little Xia Ling, there's something I wanted to ask you."

That night, inside Himeko's villa at St. Freya Academy, Theresa suddenly raised her head and spoke to Xia Ling.

"Hmm? Did something happen?" Xia Ling placed the last dish on the dining table and looked toward Theresa as she sat down.

"It's like this. This afternoon, I received an email from Oceania, sent directly to me through internal channels by the Oceania Branch Leader."

"You had already gone to buy ingredients for dinner with Mei at the time, so I thought I'd tell you after you got back."

"So, what is it?" Xia Ling tilted her head.

"This morning, a Honkai outbreak occurred in Oceania."

"Although the scale and process are unknown, according to them, they captured a Pseudo-Herrscher."

"A Pseudo-Herrscher? You mean one like Yunna?" Xia Ling's mouth twitched as she seemed to recall the scene at Chiyu Academy. "Then why did they capture her? Wouldn't it have been enough to eliminate her directly?"

Host, aren't you afraid Highmore will get revenge on you later for saying that?

"Then if she gets revenge on me, I'll get revenge on you, because you must've been the one who leaked it."

"No, no, that's exactly the issue." Theresa was equally puzzled. "According to them, this Pseudo-Herrscher was practically captured voluntarily. And just like a normal girl, she was completely unaffected by the Honkai's control."