The Real Golden Finger in Honkai is Alicia! Chapter 6

"Okay."

Receiving a response, Rita, who had already arrived at the camp's perimeter and mounted the small flying ship that resembled a speed boat, replied and immediately ascended, heading towards the location of the recent energy reaction.

Ten minutes later, the closest support Rita had called for arrived. Anna, who hadn't seen Rita return yet, sent Gwen onto the airship according to Rita's orders.

However, before the airship could begin its return journey, Anna received another order from Rita, urgently halting the airship—

"Please wait a few minutes. Lord Rita will be returning shortly, along with the patient. They will be returning to headquarters."

Less than five minutes later, Rita, who was definitely speeding, returned to the camp. She greeted Anna and boarded the airship, which then carried her and Gwen back to Schicksal headquarters.

"I hope everything goes smoothly..."

Watching the airship disappear from her sight, Anna offered a silent prayer for the man she had only met once or twice. She then put the thought aside and focused on the work at hand—

Before leaving, Rita had completely entrusted the camp to Anna. This was both a sign of trust and a responsibility, and Anna was determined to fulfill it diligently.

Furthermore, before her departure, Prometheus had unlocked most of its permissions, opening up the vast majority of remaining data from this not-so-important base to Schicksal. This further fueled Anna's resolve, leaving no room for complacency.

Meanwhile, aboard the airship returning to Schicksal headquarters, Rita, carrying the most precious cargo of this trip, didn't feel much joy.

In the room, occupied only by herself and the sleeping Gwen, Rita's expression was calm, her eyes slightly closed. She pondered how to report to the enigmatic Schicksal Bishop upon their return to headquarters.

Although Rita had sworn Anna to secrecy, and Gwen's giant form displayed earlier was still a secret for now, the camp's surveillance footage meant this couldn't be hidden from the Bishop.

So, how could she make the Bishop have a more favorable impression of Mr. Gwen, thereby reducing the probability of him encountering unfortunate circumstances?

—While Rita considered herself to have a considerable degree of loyalty to Bishop Otto, who had maintained humanity's current civilization, the thought of the figure she had seen less than half an hour ago made her instinctively want to prevent this man, lying quietly on the sickbed, from falling into any kind of dire situation.

However, Rita didn't have much time—

Even though this was an airship equipped by a remote branch, Schicksal's organizational capabilities ensured that even such an airship had no performance issues whatsoever.

Thus, in less than an hour, the airship docked at Schicksal's Third Airfield. Medical personnel waiting there quickly took the still-unconscious Gwen away. Rita, accompanied by Amber, who was also waiting, proceeded to meet with Schicksal, or rather, the master of more than half the world today—Schicksal Grand Bishop Otto.

Walking down a familiar path, Rita and Amber arrived at Otto's office—

Although still only an A-rank Valkyrie, Rita, having undergone special training and possessing S-rank potential, was clearly not an ordinary A-rank Valkyrie. Her work meant she was no stranger to Otto's office.

As the two entered Otto's office, Rita saw Kallen Fantasy on a display screen, ready to be played at any moment. However, Otto was currently seated behind his desk, intently watching the screen on his desk.

Through the continuous explosions emanating from the speakers, Rita quickly deduced that Otto was watching the scene that had occurred outside the Schicksal archaeological team's camp just over an hour ago.

Even though both Rita and Anna had agreed to keep silent, and the less-than-a-minute of surveillance footage had been locked, this clearly didn't affect Otto, the Grand Bishop of Schicksal.

In fact, the moment Gwen appeared before Rita and the others, the news had already been sent to Otto, causing the Grand Bishop, who was busy grinding for points, to reluctantly divert some of his attention from the game.

And the locked surveillance video had already been replayed by Otto countless times, and was still playing before him now.

Seeing that Otto had no intention of speaking, Amber didn't make Rita wait on the side. Instead, she arranged for Rita to sit down while she herself went to handle Otto's unfinished game.

A moment later, as Rita mentally reviewed her prepared answers again, Otto finally pulled his gaze away from the video.

"Heh heh, Rita, you've brought back someone truly remarkable this time."

With a rather cheerful smile, Otto said to Rita, ignoring Amber's swift actions beside him.

"Bishop, you flatter me. Rita was merely doing her duty."

Upon hearing this, Rita immediately stood up, bowed respectfully, and then slowly said:

"Moreover, if Schicksal, under your leadership, had not been continuously working to combat the Honkai, Mr. Gwen might not have chosen to help Schicksal."

Chapter 10: Three Two One, One Two Three, Ahhh— (Slight Revision)

"Heh heh, alright, Rita, you don't need to be so modest.

Even just from the perspective of successfully negotiating and getting Mr. Gwen to trust Schicksal, you have excellently completed your mission."

Otto paused, then continued:

"However, for now, let's first talk about that pioneer from the Previous Era, Mr. Gwen.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on him, Rita, as the first person to converse with Mr. Gwen, who has chosen to help our civilization."

As a good friend of the Vermillion Bird Immortal, the keeper (and trainer) of Void Archives, and the greatest archaeologist of the Previous Era, Otto's understanding of the Previous Era far surpassed Rita's.

Otto naturally had his own opinions about Gwen, this newly unearthed individual from the Previous Era.

However, that less-than-a-minute surveillance video had piqued Otto's interest even further, making him want to learn as much about Gwen as possible.

"Yes."

Hearing Otto's words, Rita responded respectfully and began her account...

"What is this..."

As Gwen's consciousness slowly surfaced and he began to sense his body again, he felt as though a jumble of chaotic memories had been forcefully crammed into his mind. While it wasn't enough to give him a splitting headache, it was still very uncomfortable, making him want to bang his head.

Trying to lift his hand, Gwen realized that his body, which had recovered somewhat, felt as if it had returned to the state it was in after being beaten to a pulp by Luciel, or perhaps even weaker than then. He felt completely drained.

Let alone banging his seemingly broken head, Gwen felt that even lifting his hand was a struggle at this moment.

Sensing that his body was excessively weak, Gwen's still somewhat hazy consciousness quickly cleared. He realized he seemed to be submerged in some kind of liquid.

"Hmm? It seems he's awake?"

At that moment, as if sensing Gwen's awakening, a voice sounded near his ear.

Gwen pried his eyes open with some effort, confirming that his earlier sensation wasn't a hallucination. He was indeed submerged in some unknown blue liquid.

Through the unknown blue liquid and the transparent container walls, Gwen could see a woman leaning very close, almost pressing her face against the container, and an abyss that shouldn't be looked at directly…

"Hmm, you still seem a bit groggy…

Come on, say it after me. Three, two, one. One, two, three. Ahh—

Faster…"

Hearing the strangely familiar words, Gwen didn't comply. Instead, he rolled his eyes at the woman and closed them again, carefully assessing his current state.

"Hmm, you seem to be in pretty good condition…"

The woman outside the nutrient pod, with her smooth, wine-red hair and an intelligent face adorned with a playful smile, didn't seem bothered by being ignored. On the contrary, she nodded with satisfaction.

The woman wore a dark burgundy sweater underneath, with a noticeably modified white lab coat over it, exuding an aura of intellectual maturity.

However, even with the modest sweater and the specially altered work attire, the name tag hanging on her chest seemed to be practically lying flat.

"Ms. Elizabeth, please do not disturb the patient's rest."

At this moment, a medical staff member, noticing her actions, tugged at the woman's clearly self-modified uniform and reminded her:

"His vital signs are stable, but his condition isn't too good."

"Relax, I'm just checking if he's awake."

Elizabeth, as the woman was called, shrugged, feigning helplessness:

"Besides, you know I don't work here. They called me over, but that other lady wouldn't let me touch anything.

You wouldn't want me to break your equipment and add to your bill, would you?"

"…"

Inside the nutrient pod, Gwen, who had clearly heard the woman's words, twitched the corner of his mouth almost imperceptibly. He silently admonished himself to stay away from this woman if possible—

When Gwen had opened his eyes to survey his surroundings, his gaze hadn't been entirely captivated by the Elizabeth standing so close—

At the very least, Gwen had noticed the Schicksal emblem in his environment.

Gwen guessed he had been sent back to Schicksal by Rita, but he felt no panic—

Given the identity he had prepared for himself, he shouldn't have to worry about being put on an operating table for irreversible research before his remaining value was extracted.

Of course, Gwen wasn't placing all his hopes on Schicksal being reasonable—

While keeping his eyes closed to sense his condition, Gwen was also trying to mobilize his energy to recover as quickly as possible.

Although he seemed to have entered a rather special state at the time, Gwen clearly remembered what he had done. He knew he had completed his first transformation after leaving Nexus.

While the specifics were still somewhat unclear, Gwen could still feel a faint warmth, different from the surrounding nutrient fluid, emanating from his seemingly empty wrist.

Confirming that the most important thing was still with him, Gwen began to check his own condition—

Stamina: nearly depleted. Psionic energy: also nearly depleted. However, that light had become more active and intimate than before. Although it was still a vast distance from Nexus's level, Gwen felt as though it was entirely his own…

However, despite his stamina and psionic energy being nearly depleted, Gwen could feel his body rapidly absorbing the energy from the nutrient pod, converting it into stamina and psionic energy to replenish his body's weakness and deficiencies.

However, before Gwen could fully recover, the liquid in the nutrient pod was drained, and the pod opened, exposing Gwen to the air of the Schicksal headquarters medical center.

Then, before Gwen could say anything, a bath towel was tossed at him.

"Here, your physique is good, but still, be mindful."

Even as she said this, Elizabeth, who had thrown the towel at Gwen, showed no intention of averting her gaze. She continued to look openly at Gwen, who was only in his underwear.

"I'll take that as a compliment, then."

Casually replying, Gwen wrapped himself in the towel and picked up his personal belongings from a nearby table.

"Hmm, your condition is better than I expected. It seems those nutrient fluids did their job."

As she said this, the woman pointed in a direction for Gwen:

"Here, the lounge is that way. You can take a shower in there, change your clothes, and then go meet our Grand Bishop.

He's quite interested in you."

"Mm, thank you."

Nodding, Gwen turned and walked in the direction the woman had indicated.

After Gwen had walked away, a doctor familiar with Elizabeth approached her and teased with a smile:

"Elizabeth, you seem quite interested in this gentleman?"

Chapter 11: The Approachable Grand Bishop

"It's not me who's interested…"

Shrugging, Elizabeth replied casually:

"It's our Bishop who's interested—

He called me over for something that had nothing to do with me, clearly intending to assign me extra work, most likely related to this gentleman.

Since that's the case, to make future work easier, of course, I have to see what kind of person my future partner is."

"So, what do you think of this Mr. Gwen?"

The doctor asked with a smile, unconcerned, "Can he capture the heart of a little sprite like you?"

Gwen, the center of attention in this conversation about him, was unaware of it.

After a quick rinse and changing his clothes, Gwen was conversing with Prometheus.

While Gwen was showering, Prometheus had briefly recounted what happened during his unconsciousness, including, but not limited to, a red-haired woman attempting to approach him (the Summoner) and being electrocuted by his defense system.

"..."

After finishing the narration of events, Prometheus remained silent for a moment before speaking again:

"I apologize for not being able to detect your physical condition in time."

"Huh?"

Gwen chuckled at this and waved his hand:

"No need for that, Prometheus.

Besides, the equipment in the base doesn't support you conducting a detailed examination."

"Mm."

The red display screen of the Summoner lit up, as if Prometheus had blinked, and then Prometheus's voice continued to echo in Gwen's mind:

"Be prepared. I've seen many traces of pre-civilization technology in Schicksal's medical equipment. Schicksal might know more about pre-civilization than we anticipated."

"It doesn't matter. Whether my identity as a person from pre-civilization is true or false, Schicksal will never give me their absolute trust.

Besides, we need to continue observing what kind of role Schicksal plays in this world, don't we?"

Gwen offered no opinion on Prometheus's words, instead tidying his clothes in front of the mirror.