The Real Cheat in Honkai Is Elysia! Chapter 29

Glancing at the information on her terminal, Rita said to Gwen:

"Mr. Gwen, the Bishop has instructed Rita to take these two young ladies back with us to the Medical Department for treatment. It seems Rita won't be able to accompany you to see the Bishop for the time being."

"Mm, Rita, go take care of that. I'll take Mei to meet our Bishop first. As it happens, I have a few questions for him as well."

Smiling, Gwen nodded. He wasn't worried that Otto would do anything to Kiana at this point—Kiana had yet to formed enough bonds; it wasn't time to initiate the Sirin Project.

"Then, I wish you and the Bishop a pleasant conversation."

With a smile and a nod, Rita carried the unconscious white-haired bundle and gray-haired loli toward the first stop Gwen had made upon arriving at Schicksal Headquarters.

Watching Rita leave, Gwen turned to Raiden Mei beside him.

"Mei, let's go. Come with me and meet our Bishop."

"Mm..."

Nodding lightly, Raiden Mei recalled her father's final words to her: "You must be careful of Otto." She had never expected to meet this known figure of the highest authority in the world as soon as she arrived, and her heartbeat quickened.

Just then, Gwen quietly took Raiden Mei's small hand. That familiar warmth made her instinctively look toward him.

"Trust me a little more, Mei."

Meeting Raiden Mei's eyes, tinged with faint violet, Gwen smiled and said:

"As long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to you."

Having already gained a fairly clear understanding of his own strength, Gwen wasn't boasting when he said this. He was entirely confident.

"Mm, I believe in you, Gwen."

Raiden Mei nodded gently, a smile blooming on her lovely face. Bathed in the sunset's glow, she looked all the more pure and beautiful...

Otto: This Is Simply a Miracle

When Gwen and Raiden Mei arrived at the address stated in the email, a figure was already waiting quietly in front of the building for them.

"Miss Amber?"

Although they had interacted quite often in the past, Gwen was still somewhat surprised that this secretary—who could be said to stand above everyone in Schicksal save one, practically an "acting Bishop"—had personally come to receive him.

It seemed Otto had even more eyes and ears than Gwen knew of...

Though the thought flashed through his mind, Gwen's expression showed little change.

"Welcome back to Headquarters, Mr. Gwen."

Seeing Gwen arrive with Raiden Mei, Amber gave a slight bow before turning her gaze to Mei.

"And... welcome to Schicksal, Miss Raiden Mei."

"Hello, Miss Amber."

Having heard how Gwen had addressed her just now, Raiden Mei greeted her with poise—nervous as she was, she wasn't so tense that she couldn't even speak properly.

Besides, there was someone by her side who gave her an overwhelming sense of security...

With the corner of her eye resting on Gwen, Raiden Mei's heart was utterly calm.

"Please come with me, both of you. The Bishop is already awaiting your arrival."

Nodding to Raiden Mei, Amber turned and led the two into the building behind her.

The pair followed Amber through the building, eventually arriving before an unremarkable-looking room.

"Please enter, both of you. The Bishop is waiting for you inside."

Amber opened the door with practiced ease, but rather than leading them in, she stepped aside and invited them to enter.

"Thank you for the trouble, Miss Amber."

After thanking Amber, Gwen entered the room together with Raiden Mei.

And just as Amber had said, Otto sat behind a desk, his golden hair tied into a ponytail draped over his left shoulder, smiling at the two of them.

"Welcome, heroes who saved Changkong City."

As the two entered, Otto's smile widened. He rose to his feet as he spoke.

"Let's skip that sort of thing, my Bishop."

Gwen wore a relaxed smile.

"It always makes me feel like I'm dealing with those people who do nothing but make empty promises."

"Haha..."

At that, the gentle and courteous smile on Otto's face finally broke. He laughed twice, discarded the speech he had prepared, and invited the two to sit.

"Then I suppose I'll have no choice but to put away the script I spent so long preparing."

He had none of the airs a Bishop ought to possess. Instead, he seemed as though he were facing an old friend he had not seen for many years...

"Then I presume this is Miss Raiden Mei?"

After taking his seat, Otto turned his gaze toward Raiden Mei.

"Greetings, Bishop Otto."

Feeling the warmth and reassurance so close at hand, Raiden Mei suppressed the tension in her heart and replied with a smile and a nod.

"Haha, there's no need to be so reserved, Miss Raiden Mei."

Otto smiled.

"After all, you are an honored guest personally brought back by Gwen."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gwen began recounting the course of this mission under Otto's smiling gaze...

Although Otto could be said to have participated throughout the entire affair, he still listened attentively at this moment.

At Gwen's side, as Raiden Mei listened to his account, she could not help drifting off for a moment. Everything that had happened these past few days suddenly felt like a dream.

However, Gwen's account did not reach its conclusion—

"Excuse me, but let me interrupt you for a moment, Gwen—"

Upon hearing that Gwen had ultimately defeated the Herrscher of the Void, Otto's smile faded, replaced by a grave expression.

"You mean that after undergoing Artificial Collapse, you used the ability you named One-Body Fusion to merge with Miss Raiden Mei, helping her complete her Herrscher transformation smoothly; that the Gem of Conquest was transformed into a Herrscher Core, allowing her to become a true Herrscher capable of wielding the power the Third Herrscher should possess?"

"That's right, just as Bishop Otto said."

As expected. Gwen nodded calmly.

"Under One-Body Fusion, while the target and I retain our own clear consciousnesses, we also become a single entity. Any damage is shared between the two of us, while our powers are likewise shared—and can even reinforce each other—

"At least at that time, I was able to wield the Third Herrscher's power normally.

"And if my senses were not mistaken, even after One-Body Fusion ended, I retained a portion of that power..."

As he spoke, Gwen raised his hand.

A streak of golden lightning emerged from his pale palm beneath Otto and Raiden Mei's eyes. It leapt like a thunder snake, even changing along with Gwen's movements, clearly under his conscious control.

"It truly is..."

The endlessly writhing thunder snake reflected in his emerald eyes, Otto murmured softly.

"To be honest, if I had not confirmed that my senses were correct, I would not have dared believe it myself.

"A Herrscher's power... has actually been mastered by a human."

Looking down at the thunder snake moving across his palm, Gwen's voice grew a little heavier.

"It's practically a miracle..."

Otto spoke softly as well, but then raised his head with a smile.

"No. For humanity, this is an undeniable miracle.

"Congratulations, Gwen. You have created a miracle worthy of being remembered in human history."

Although Otto knew very well that there had been an example decades ago, compared to that, Otto—who needed Gwen's ability even more—did not spare his praise.

"Yes, it really is a miracle."

Watching the golden lightning in his palm, Gwen shed his solemn expression and smiled as he looked toward Raiden Mei beside him, who was also staring blankly at the lightning in his hand.

"But I could not have created this miracle on my own.

"So Mei deserves half the credit for this miracle too."

"Huh?

"Me? B-But I clearly didn't do anything..."

Caught off guard by Gwen's words, Raiden Mei did not react at first. A faint blush spread across her face as she flusteredly waved her hands, only for Gwen to seize one of them—

"Mei, don't deny yourself."

Holding Raiden Mei's slender hand, Gwen met those eyes that were somewhat flustered yet carried a hint of delight.

"Without you, there is absolutely no way I could have achieved this on my own."

"...Mm..."

At that moment, feeling only the incomparable warmth of Gwen's hand—a warmth that seemed to flow endlessly into her body, nearly setting her ablaze—Raiden Mei pressed her lips together and nodded. Her beautiful eyes lowered, and she did not dare look into Gwen's eyes...

After learning that Gwen possessed the ability to help Herrschers awaken smoothly, control their Authorities, and even share those Authorities, Otto's estimation of him instantly rose by several levels. Some of his original plans were quietly and mercilessly discarded.

Afterward, Gwen also informed Otto that a certain Ural Silver Wolf under Cocolia, who did not wish to reveal her name, had led a team to attack them—only to be knocked unconscious by a chop from Gwen and brought back.

"Hmm... that silver-gray-haired girl?"

Otto was quite aware of how many people Gwen had brought back this time, so he immediately identified Bronya.

"Since you brought her back, I'll leave her to you to handle."

As for why Gwen had brought Bronya back, Otto did not care at the moment—

What Otto wanted now was merely to verify the truth of Gwen's claims, then find a way to have Gwen assist Kiana in awakening as the true Herrscher of the Void. Perhaps he could also try experimenting with the Gem of Stillness... and then continue advancing his vaguely taking-shape final plan...

The only reason he could still sit here calmly and listen to Gwen's mission report was that Otto, having lived for five hundred years, possessed a sufficiently resilient temperament. Moreover, his Soul Steel body allowed him to conceal changes in his emotions with ease.

"Then I shall thank the Bishop in advance."

Nodding, Gwen continued:

"Also, if nothing unexpected happened, my stigmata should have completely awakened at that time as well."

"Oh? You awakened stigmata too?"

Hearing Gwen's words, Otto raised his brows slightly, a trace of surprise appearing on his face.

"If nothing unexpected happened, then yes."

Gwen nodded, then spread his hands.

"Though I still cannot quite understand why stigmata, which are theoretically merely an overt expression of one's genes, can grant their awakened bearers the combat experience, skills, and even memories of their ancestors.

Especially since I am a first-generation subject who was merely injected with prototype stigmata genes. My stigmata awakened on its own rather than being inherited through bloodlines..."

"Regarding that, I do not understand it very well either."

Speaking words of uncertain truth, Otto remarked with feeling:

"Dr. Mei's wisdom truly inspires admiration."

"Perhaps it was not only Dr. Mei?"

Casually mentioning something neither of them fully understood, Gwen said:

"Like some of the naturally awakened stigmata bearers collected by Schicksal, my stigmata did not awaken smoothly all at once, but rather awakened gradually—

In the Previous Civilization, stigmata were a technology that had not yet become widespread. While receiving Hyper-Evolution Factor injections, some of us volunteers were also injected with stigmata genes of a similar nature, as an experiment to see whether the passage of a long time could allow stigmata to awaken naturally.

However, judging from my own condition, the results were not especially encouraging—