Otto's Disciple and Welt Yang II

"Cut it out, we're here." Himeko parked the car in the open-air lot below the Far East Branch's office building.

"What a tall building!" Kiana exclaimed.

"Don't make such a fuss." Bronya's expression turned strange. "Kiana, your parents are both senior executives of the Schicksal Group. Why do you act like you've never seen anything before?"

"So what? It's not like I've been to Schicksal headquarters much!" Kiana's pretty face flushed red.

Himeko and the others entered the company lobby. After speaking with the receptionist, they sat down on the waiting sofas and waited for someone to come collect them.

"Little Kiana~"

The one who came down to meet them was Shigure Kira. Since she had only just arrived in the Far East and her duties had not yet been handed over, she was currently the most free person in the company aside from Yaqing. Naturally, Shub had called her over to help receive them.

"You are?" Kiana recognized her as the person she had seen in Theresa's office yesterday. She had also learned from Yaqing that her name was Kira, but she had no idea how she was supposed to address her.

Perhaps seeing Kiana's awkwardness, Shigure Kira came to her rescue. "Just call me Sister Kira!"

As she spoke, Shigure Kira winked.

"Sister Kira." Kiana obediently called her that.

"Mhm, come on. I'll take you straight to the recording studio."

Shigure Kira led Kiana's group into the elevator, preparing to take them directly to the recording studio on the thirty-first floor. Though she had not explained why they had been called to the company, taking them to the recording studio explained everything.

"Sister Kira, does Uncle really plan to create characters based on us?" Kiana asked.

"Huh? Yaqing... didn't tell you?" Shigure Kira was so stunned that her eyes turned into little dots.

Kiana instinctively looked at Mei. Mei shook her head to indicate that she did not know, then Kiana looked at Himeko, who was equally unclear about what was going on.

"He never told us." Kiana shook her head.

"All right, then." Shigure Kira said, "I'll notify Salome in a moment. Someone will explain the character settings to you. Honestly, Yaqing can't even handle such a small matter properly."

Hearing Shigure Kira's complaints, Kiana found it difficult to disagree.

The elevator stopped at the twenty-ninth floor. Rita, who had been waiting for it, looked at the group inside with that dangerous smile permanently hanging on her face.

"Oh, Rita, are you going up or down?" Shigure Kira asked.

"Lady Kira, the president asked me to retrieve a proposal from Director Salome downstairs. I'm heading to the top floor now." Rita entered the elevator as she replied.

Once the elevator doors closed, Rita looked toward Kiana. The maid's refined manners and utterly undisguised gaze set alarm bells ringing in Mei's heart. She silently stepped forward, blocking Rita's view.

Rita did not mind in the slightest.

"You are Miss Kiana, correct? You..."

Hearing that familiar opening, Kiana helplessly waved her hand. "I know, I know. Is this about how you held me when I was little?"

"Miss Kiana, no. I am not as old as you imagine. I'm only five years older than you, so it would have been impossible for me to hold you when you were little." Though interrupted, Rita was not angry at all and continued smiling.

"Huh?" Now it was Kiana's turn to feel awkward.

Everyone struggled to hold back their laughter.

Rita smiled. "I wanted to say that your sister Bianka asked me to pass a few words on to you."

Ding. They reached the thirty-first floor. The moment the elevator doors opened, Kiana fled as if escaping for her life, leaving everyone confused. The only one who knew the truth was Rita.

After everyone else left the elevator, only Rita remained inside. The elevator continued rising, but Rita began talking to herself. "Lady Bianka, it seems I did not convey your message properly."

A closer look revealed that Rita wore a Bluetooth earpiece in her right ear, hidden beneath her short hair. A woman's voice came through it.

"It's all right, Rita."

On the thirty-first floor, Mei asked in confusion, "Kiana, why did you run?"

"Mei, you don't understand." Kiana wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, as though she had just escaped a life-or-death situation. "Whenever my eldest sister asks someone to pass along a message, she's definitely asking about my studies again. She's the one in the family who can't stand my laziness the most."

"Huh, is little Bianka like that now?" Shigure Kira's impression of Durandal remained fixed on six-year-old Durandal, holding an umbrella and declaring that she would save the world.

Though she had not witnessed it herself, both Yaqing and Cecilia had mentioned the incident to her.

"Hey, Kira, you're too slow."

Shub looked at Shigure Kira with dissatisfaction.

Shigure Kira put her hands on her slim waist. "How was I slow? It only took ten minutes. Don't lie with your eyes open. I had to wait for the elevator to come up too!"

"All right, all right." Shub stood up, looked at Kiana's group, and extended her hand politely. "Hello, my name is Shub-Niggurath, head of the voice acting department."

"Hello, I'm Himeko, a teacher at St. Freya Academy." Himeko reached out and shook her hand.

"My name is Bronya Zaychik."

"Hello, I'm Raiden Mei," Raiden Mei said.

"Kiana Kaslana." Kiana curiously looked around.

"Kiana, there's no need to introduce yourself to me." Shub smiled. "I watched you grow up."

"Uh..." Kiana scratched her head.

Shub had everyone take their seats. A laptop had been prepared at every conference table seat, and character profiles could be pulled up on the screens at will. Yet aside from Kiana, Himeko and the other two honestly read their own character settings.

Kiana was different. The first thing she opened was Raiden Mei's character profile.

Otto's Disciple and Welt II

"Why is Bronya using her appearance from three years ago?! Why not use Bronya's current figure?!"

Bronya panicked, not even noticing that she had slipped into her old verbal habit. Her figure was clearly quite curvy now, yet the character model was set as the flat-chested version from three years ago.

"Then you'll have to ask the person upstairs." Shub took a sip of coffee and pointed upward.

Bronya was furious. She stood up and took a few steps, but seeing that no one was stopping her, she silently sat back down.

Kiana stared at those blunt, explicit lines of dialogue. The Brainless Idiot's brain was nearly overheating, and her face flushed red. Though she occasionally took advantage of Mei, she had never said anything like this.

I want to drink Mei's girl juice...

How was she supposed to say that out loud? Kiana suddenly wanted to try it. She was a little curious what Mei's girl juice tasted like.

"I don't have any objections." Himeko had no issues with the character settings or models.

"My character setting is actually the Third Herrscher..." Raiden Mei's impression of Herrschers remained that of divine agents who destroyed the world. Especially after seeing her own Herrscher dialogue, she could not help but feel a headache coming on.

"Mei, don't overthink it! You'll definitely be a Herrscher who fights for humanity, just like the First Herrscher." Kiana moved close to Mei.

Shub immediately saw that the relationship between the two was unusual, but she had no objection to girls loving girls. Perhaps it was because she herself was...

"Does anyone have any questions about the dialogue and character settings? Feel free to ask." Shub smiled. "Let me say this in advance: I personally value efficiency, so once we enter the recording studio, my tone may be a little harsher. I hope you'll understand."

"I have a question!" Kiana was the first to raise her little hand.

"Little Kiana, there's no need to raise your hand. This isn't class." Shigure Kira smiled.

"Sister Kira, this sister makes me feel like I'm in class." Kiana scratched her head.

"Sister Kira?!" Hearing how Kiana addressed Shigure Kira, Shub nearly sprayed out her coffee. Her beautiful eyes widened as she looked at Shigure Kira in disbelief.

I'm too embarrassed to have little Kiana call me sister, but you, an old woman six years older than me, actually made Kiana call you sister?!

Seemingly noticing Shub's gaze, Shigure Kira showed no shame whatsoever. Instead, she glared at Shub, signaling her not to say too much.

All right, all right.

Shub understood Shigure Kira's meaning and could only nod helplessly.

Naturally, Kiana could not understand their silent exchange. She honestly said, "I feel like the me in the story is a little too stupid. It completely fails to show off this lady's clever wisdom. At the very least, this lady wouldn't misuse idioms!"

Kiana wore the exact same expression as Theresa.

Shub and Shigure Kira exchanged a look. In their opinion, there was nothing wrong with the plot Yaqing had written. If anything, it fit a little too well.

"Kiana, it's 'cleverness and wisdom,' not 'clever wisdom,'" Mei reminded her helplessly.

"Ah!"

"Bronya disagrees. Bronya does not want a flat-chested figure. Bronya wants her current appearance." Black aura poured off Bronya as she muttered to herself.

"What terrifying killing intent!" Sensitive Kiana instantly felt it. She quickly moved away from Bronya and squeezed herself between Himeko and Mei.

Mei looked at the cowardly Kitty with amusement, then seriously asked, "What if we can't capture the feel of the characters? The Herrscher personality's character... I may not be able to voice that kind of feeling."

"Try your best to match their personalities. If you truly can't manage it, we won't force you." Shub said, "Schicksal currently has a research project that imitates vocal tones and emotional expression. It hasn't been fully perfected yet, but it can still fill in when necessary."

After resolving Mei's issue, only Bronya remained. Shub looked at her.

"Bron... I want to meet Yaqing."

Time rewound to ten minutes earlier. On the top floor, the thirty-third floor, Yaqing enjoyed the afternoon tea Rita had brought him and called Walter Yang. The other side picked up the instant he dialed.

"Yaqing Schariac..."

"Mr. Walter..."

The two spoke at the same time.

"You go first."

"You should go first."

They spoke simultaneously again.

"I'll go first."

"I'll go first!"

They spoke at the same time once more.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

"Mr. Walter, it seems we truly have great chemistry." Yaqing broke the awkward silence.

"Heh." If he did not need something from him, Walter Yang truly would not have wanted much contact with Otto's people, especially someone who had set him up.

"Mr. Walter, I need your help." Yaqing went straight to the point.

"I don't think there's any help I can provide you." Walter Yang's vigilance instantly rose to its highest level, afraid that the other man would trip him up with some hidden implication.

"In the previous script, I portrayed President Otto as a villain the audience would despise. And my current Honkai script needs a new villain. I believe you certainly won't refuse my proposal and will definitely provide me with help, right?" Yaqing seized the moral high ground.

"Sure. Go tell the netizens that you, not I, were the screenwriter for the first film. See whether they're willing to help you!" Walter Yang's tone was cold.

Yaqing's expression changed. Naturally, he knew that if everyone found out he was the screenwriter, Schicksal employees would tear him apart.

"You're asking me to die."

"Sorry, I'm not the screenwriter."

"Who would know?"

Yaqing spoke teasingly. "Mr. Walter, I remember that at the beginning, you were extremely forceful. I had no choice but to let you join the scriptwriting process, yet now you're unwilling again."

Walter Yang nearly spat out blood. He had joined the scriptwriting process only to ensure Schicksal would not write a plot that smeared Anti-Entropy, yet now the blame had landed squarely on his head, causing the entire internet to curse him out.

"Yaqing Schariac, you truly are cunning. I admit that you got me." Walter sighed. "Tell me what help you need."

"Not so fast. Just like last time, read the script first."

"I won't read it!" The moment he heard those words, Walter's trauma flared up.

"I guarantee you, Mr. Walter, that only my name will appear in the screenwriter credits for this film. I swear on the president's honor." Yaqing helplessly made a serious promise.

Only then did Walter open his email and pull up the script. He thought Yaqing meant the president of the Far East Branch's subsidiary company—that was, his own honor—but in Yaqing's heart, there was only one president he truly acknowledged.

"Are you insane?!"

After finishing the script, Walter could no longer remain calm. He knew how much the real Cocolia loved the children she had adopted, yet the Cocolia in the story was a deranged woman willing to experiment on her own children. She even killed a pitiful girl, though that girl had already become a Herrscher.