A Crown of Freedom Is Reserved for You / I Worry When the Goose Travels a Thousand Miles

Otto: ... The silly girl was so flustered she could barely speak coherently.

He saw it clearly: when Durandal said she would try to appear before Cecilia as little as possible, the two cowlicks sticking up from her forehead drooped, and she looked utterly dejected.

After enjoying Durandal's expressions enough, Otto turned to look at Cecilia—

Good heavens, the look in his Saintess's eyes was so tender it was practically dripping water.

Cecilia noticed the Bishop's sidelong glance and returned an apologetic, motherly smile. Then she met Durandal's gaze, her thoughts churning.

Me too, Duran... dal.

The woman whispered softly in her heart.

I also want to hold you in my arms and quietly listen to your breathing.

I also feel an inexplicable closeness to you, as though we once weathered storms together.

Please do not apologize for forgetting. I would be very willing to exchange our names.

Actually, I have amnesia now too, but that does not stop me from being happy whenever I see you.

You do not need to leave my world, because...

I also really, really, really want to see you.

Cecilia's expression was sorrowful to the extreme, yet she did not seem to want to cry. Instead, there was a deep, magnificent emotion within it.

They looked at each other without speaking, but it seemed that every word had already been made clear in their eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Otto broke the silence. "It seems genuine family ties are still quite different from certain relationships people claim into existence."

Hadn't some father failed to recognize his own daughter too?

So blood relatives really were closer than any other kind of relationship.

"So we really are related by blood?" Durandal was more perceptive than anyone at that moment, directly seizing upon the key point.

For a moment, Otto really wanted to mess with her and tell Durandal that she was actually Otto and Cecilia's illegitimate daughter, the product of Cecilia wanting a child, otherwise why would she be blonde, and why would he treat her so well?

Anyway, it would be his future self getting screwed over. What did present him have to fear?

"Who knows?" In the end, he decided to let his future self off the hook and answered with a mysterious smile.

It was not that Otto truly wanted to quibble over such matters, but now... was not the time for mother and daughter to recognize one another.

At the very least... recognizing each other now did not maximize his interests.

"Let me summarize what happened based on the current situation," Otto continued before Durandal could lose her temper over his evasiveness. "Miss Durandal, you came to find me because of something—something not insignificant, I presume. Then you saw this Valkyrie, felt that she was especially familiar, yet were somewhat afraid to acknowledge her, so you followed her all the way without knowing how to speak to her. Am I right?"

"That is exactly it." Durandal nodded. "So can you tell me what her relationship to me is?"

Cecilia also turned her head, looking at him curiously.

Otto: ...

An airhead really was the bane of schemers. The ancients had not deceived him.

Even after all that, they had circled back to the original goal.

In that case... should he lie?

Better not.

Once exposed, he would be very easy to beat up.

"I will tell you the answer to that question when necessary." Otto ultimately shook his head.

"Mm... then all right. Let us not discuss that question for now." Durandal's Schariac bloodline finally kicked in, and she followed his lead. "Besides, I would like to ask... can I bring her—oh, right, Bishop, may I ask what this lady's name is?"

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Chapter 14: A Crown of Freedom Is Reserved for You

"Cecilia Schariac." That much he could tell Durandal.

"Then, may I invite Miss Cecilia Schariac to join Rita and my Immortal—what???!"

Durandal finally realized who that name belonged to. "Cecilia Schariac? The S-rank Valkyrie of Schicksal who died in the Second Honkai Outbreak? Is it just the same name? Or a descendant bearing it in inheritance or remembrance?"

"Of course." Otto smiled. "Of course it is her—the original Cecilia Schariac herself, Schicksal's last Saintess at present, genuine beyond doubt. You know me, Durandal. I never joke about such matters."

"Then what the historical records say—"

"Shh—keep your voice down." Otto raised a finger in a gesture for silence. "Our Saintess of Schicksal still has some amnesia. Recalling past events gives her headaches. If we announce it directly, I am afraid the approach of people from her former circle will cause a second injury to her head."

Otto paused, then sighed. "After all, the people connected to her now include an elderly man with an immature mind, a fugitive criminal from Schicksal, and a pitiful person who has lost her memories. In short, aside from me, everyone in her network is someone who needs to rely on her."

"I am not pitiful." Durandal frowned.

???

Why was his little goose no longer airheaded? She caught on so quickly...

Tell me! Where did you hide the airheaded Durandal?!

"I am truly amazed by your sharpness, Durandal," Otto said in admiration.

"I am merely a little straightforward, not an idiot." Durandal could clearly sense ill intent in Otto's admiring gaze.

Mm, fair enough. He could barely understand that.

After all, when Raiden Mei was not around, that little bug could even run from Europe all the way to the Far East.

What the Kaslana family inherited was not stupidity, but the miraculous ability to "format that useless thing above their necks whenever they had an external brain."

Like Kevin, like Kallen, like that little bug, and like Kiana.

Otto wanted to clap, but then remembered that one hand was still holding Cecilia's, so he settled for nodding.

"Very good, very good. I am pleased that your innocence comes with wisdom. Then you should also understand how cruel it is to force past memories into a lost traveler who is bewildered and directionless."

"She does not know what happened, nor does she know what the past was like. Her entire life has become a blank sheet of pure white paper, and then others freely scribble all over it in the name of love, molding her into whatever they want her to become, treating it all as perfectly justified—ha, how deeply moving."

Mm, although Otto was better than anyone at doing precisely that, it did not stop him from standing on the moral high ground and pointing fingers.

He looked at Cecilia and gently squeezed her hand, passing strength to her. "You have already fought that beautiful war. You have already walked the road you were meant to walk. You have successfully protected the faith you were meant to protect. In Schicksal, a crown of freedom has always been reserved for you."

"You may live on like this with your memories lost, forget everything that came before, and embrace a brand-new future."

He felt Cecilia tighten her grip around his hand as well. Their fingers intertwined.

"Therefore," Otto stopped while he was ahead and looked at Durandal—who was now staring at their clasped hands with a complicated expression—"I have decided to keep her by my side for now and let her recuperate for a while. If she regains her memories, then we will announce openly and honorably to the world the return of Schicksal's Saintess."

"If she never remembers the past, then I will not allow anyone to make her live beneath the shadow of the name Cecilia Schariac. She may bear the name Cecilia, but no one may use the past to shape who she is now."

"This is the promise I, Otto Apocalypse, Bishop of Schicksal, can make."

Those words were meant for Durandal, but they were also an explanation for Cecilia.

It was not entirely empty talk meant to earn favor. Nine parts truth and one part lie made for the best deception. If he did not know when Cecilia would regain her memories, he truly would let his Saintess live safely and happily like this.

In fact, an amnesiac Cecilia would be even easier to arrange.

What he needed was Cecilia's connections and her wholehearted trust.

Combat memories could be retrained. Besides, the most precious thing about Cecilia was not her combat strength.

Of course, the meaning behind his words went far beyond that. Making Durandal understand what he was doing for Cecilia was also a small preparation for the day she herself recovered her memories.

The Knight Moon was the strongest human force in the current civilization aside from Herrschers. Otto naturally would not give up on bringing her under his control. Laying the groundwork in advance would make it harder for anything to go wrong when she questioned him later.

"The Bishop is right." Durandal nodded. "Senior Cecilia should be allowed to recover her memories on her own."

Yet her peripheral vision could not help drifting toward their clasped hands, and an emotion rose in her heart that was neither bitterness nor joy. It seemed to be what Rita had once told her about... sourness?

The Bishop was doing this... because Lady Cecilia had amnesia and lacked a sense of security, so he was holding her hand to stabilize her emotions?

Then I can do that too... no, comforting people is better left to the Bishop.

As for building a good relationship with Senior Cecilia... there is plenty of time ahead.

After thinking for a moment, she asked again, "Then after Senior Cecilia regains her memories—or when she becomes a Valkyrie again... Bishop, may I invite her to join my Immortal Blade?"

"You are currently an A-rank Valkyrie," Otto reminded her. "And Cecilia... is S-rank."

The girl would not become an S-rank Valkyrie and obtain the Black Abyss White Flower until 2014.

"I will participate in the S-rank Valkyrie evaluation tomorrow!" Durandal said anxiously. "As long as you approve—oh, right, if she is willing to come, I can give up my position as captain of the Immortal Blade!"

Otto glanced at Cecilia and found that she too wore a yearning expression. If not for what seemed like an inborn dependence on and obedience toward him, she would probably have already shouted, "I am willing!"

"Invite her after she regains her memories." Otto did not rush to reject the offer on Cecilia's behalf. "Of course, I have a better suggestion—why do you not join a squad that belongs to her?"

"If she creates one, I will definitely sign up." Durandal answered without hesitation.

Tsk, tsk, tsk... They trusted each other this much even before recognizing one another...

"Let us discuss this again after she recovers," Otto said, neither affirming nor denying it. "So now—Durandal, can you tell me why you came?"

"Why I came?—Oh, right." Durandal blanked out for a moment, then came back to herself. "I seem to... have had a reason for coming."

Otto: ...

I really should not expect anything from a Kaslana brain.

"Near London, England, I ran into a little trouble."

Once the matter turned serious, Durandal finally became focused.

"I encountered some Honkai Beasts that showed signs of artificial modification."

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Chapter 15: I Worry When the Goose Travels a Thousand Miles

Artificially modified Honkai Beasts?

"Were they shaped like cats?"

Otto raised his brows, seeming quite interested.

Durandal's future pet, Stan, was an artificially modified cat-type Honkai Beast.

"Cats?!"

The little airheaded Durandal reacted even more excitedly than he did for an instant, but soon became dejected. "No, Bishop."

"Did anyone appear near the Honkai Beasts?"

"Mm... yes."

Durandal nodded.

"During the pursuit, I saw a woman dressed in black, but just as I was about to chase her, she escaped."

She thought for a moment, then added, "Oh, right. I remember she had a purple sniper rifle in her hands—it made me feel a certain degree of threat."

"Oh, sniper—a sniper rifle?" Otto's expression froze.

"Yes. There also seemed to be a purple glow on the gun."

"... Bianca Durandal Atagina." The man stared seriously at the girl, his tone solemn.

"What is it, Bishop?"

He wore the expression of someone looking at a doomed child. "Every time you get lucky, you really do seem to pick it up at the gates of hell."

"Why would you say that???"

"How about I announce to the world that you are my final student?" Rather than answering her question, Otto asked with complete sincerity, "That way, when you go charging through the world, other organizations will at least show some restraint."

Durandal: ???

Otto raised his head to look at the bright moon and let out a long sigh.