Honkai, Traversing Otto, Path to Godhood

He felt an inexplicable sense of worry, like a mother fretting over her child venturing far from home.

Kiana, Kiana, if things really turned out the way he thought, you were lucky you didn't catch up this time.

Back home, Otto and Cecilia's hands finally separated.

The woman stared blankly, lost in thought. After a long while, she finally spoke, "Sniper, sniper rifle... what's wrong?"

"What sniper rifle?"

Otto, lying on the sofa, was a bit slow to react.

"It's... it's what you just said, the sniper—sniper rifle," Cecilia said, a little anxiously, gesturing with her hands and mimicking Otto's tone, "You even corrected Durandal."

Oh, it's a sniper rifle... By the way, darling, is there a possibility that I was the one who repeated myself?

This Cecilia is adorably spaced out.jpg

"For me," Otto replied, too lazy to move, his eyes closed, "I only see the benefits contained within."

"Then... what about Miss Durandal?"

"That depends on fate," Otto replied, "As long as she doesn't get shot, everything else is negotiable—I still need to keep an eye on her."

"Thank you." Cecilia's sigh of relief reached Otto's ears.

"I watched her grow up, and I have a good relationship with her," he began subtly playing the emotional card, "For example, just now, she could bypass the secretary and report directly to me. She's the best student in my heart, you don't need to thank me for this."

"Okay." Cecilia responded, saying nothing more, a relieved smile gracing her face.

"Of course, I don't plan to send her there for now,"

Otto pondered the woman's thoughts and replied.

"She'll be going into seclusion to prepare immediately. In three days, she can submit her S-rank Valkyrie exam application to Amber. Around the beginning of the year, she'll become a Schicksal S-rank Valkyrie."

"S-rank Valkyrie..." Cecilia seemed to grasp a fragment of memory, a Valkyrie being pinned with a medal by a blonde man. "That... must be very tough, right?"

"..."

Already worrying like a mother before even recognizing her...

Otto marveled for the umpteenth time at the telepathic connection between this mother and daughter. He nodded, "Yes, it's quite tiring. If I were her father, I'd wish I could take all her burdens so she could happily play with her friends for a few days."

"Then... what about her father?"

"He went off in pursuit of freedom," Otto thought, this is exactly where I can sow discord, "He took one of my experimental subjects, claiming it was for her freedom and protection. This led to him being unable to see his daughter, and because he couldn't control it, he abandoned the experimental subject in the wilderness and ran off to another organization."

"That... experimental subject... sounds a bit pitiful."

"……?"

What kind of sixth sense is this, to feel such accurate pity for one's own child from these two highly leading topics?!

Otto opened his eyes, his gaze filled with shock.

Are women's intuitions really this terrifying?!

Cecilia felt uncomfortable being stared at so intently. She shifted her body slightly and asked, "Brother, what do we do next?"

"Let's count our steps. It really is quite a distance from the office to here," Otto mused, then got up from the sofa, "Then—sleep."

"Sleep?"

Cecilia's mind went blank, but it didn't stop her from washing up, changing into the pajamas Amber had delivered earlier, and then waiting beside Otto.

The man understood. He led Cecilia to the master bedroom, "You'll have to make do with this for tonight. We'll consider later whether you'll move into a new home or return to the old residence."

Not making do.

Cecilia heard her heart reply.

She lay on the bed, looking at the man's silhouette by the door. For a moment, she felt an impulse to have him sleep there with her.

As soon as this thought arose, it was extinguished by her unfathomable memories. The increasingly clear fragments told her that no matter what, she should try not to trouble the man in front of her.

Besides, he was definitely in this house.

He would be here. So, there was no need to fear loneliness.

The surging thoughts gradually subsided, but deep within her heart, an unknown tiny particle had fallen, waiting to take root and sprout.

Brother... is a very gentle and reassuring person.

Sleepiness washed over her. Cecilia mumbled a "Goodnight" towards the door, then collapsed onto the bed, falling asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

Thirteen years of hibernation were different from truly sleeping.

Especially a coma that was close to brain death, until Otto issued a command to the Book of Origin, her brain function only then returned to normal.

Otto stood at the doorway, watching Cecilia fall asleep with her head on the pillow before even pulling up the covers. A gentle smile touched his lips.

To be able to sleep so relaxedly meant she had... enough trust in him.

Otto pulled the covers over Cecilia, then walked out and sat on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. Before sleeping, he analyzed his actions.

These past few hours had been truly spectacular: impersonating Otto Apocalypse, gaining the Void Archives' approval, obtaining a cheat system, rescuing Cecilia Schariac, accompanying this amnesiac Schicksal Saintess for a bath, a stroll, and a meal, and flirting with Cecilia in front of Durandal...

During this time, he also arranged for Theresa and Siegfried, launching a conquest plan targeting World Serpent, with his gaze occasionally shifting towards Anti-Entropy...

He didn't know how his actions compared to the original owner's, nor could he guarantee how much positive change he could bring to the future. After all, possessing the pinnacle of human intellect from the current civilization, anyone sitting here would feel uneasy.

Chapter 16: I Apologized, and You Still Want My Sincerity?

"Save Saintess, weaken Kevin." These were among the few moves he, with his intellect, could think of.

There would likely be many more troublesome matters to deal with later...

He could only take it one step at a time.

Haha, it was funny. When the thought of "taking it one step at a time" appeared in his mind, he unconsciously asked himself, would the original owner have lived so planlessly?

He was clearly addicted to Otto's poison.

"No matter what," the current Bishop of Schicksal's voice was muffled, inaudible to outsiders, "my contribution to fighting Honkai, with my knowledge of game plots and ancient temporal records, will be no less than yours."

"I will weave a magnificent lie, making even the gods dance for me."

His consciousness was no longer clear. In a haze, he seemed to hear a girl's angry scream from a distant place.

"Grandpa!!!"

Otto slowly shrunk the Oath of Judah into a small cross—the Oath of Judah had already cleared away extraneous parts, such as the device regulating the Honkai Beast gene activity within Theresa, reducing its weight from half a ton—and wore it on his right wrist. Then, he leisurely asked Theresa on the video call:

"What's wrong? Who bullied my good granddaughter?"

He was sitting at a table, with the dark-stockinged, tall maid, Rita, who had delivered the Oath of Judah, behind him.

This was the next morning. After Otto lifted the blockade, Theresa finally managed to get through to Otto's video call after eighty failed attempts.

It was exactly as he intended.

"Who else but you, you stinky grandpa?!"

The forty-something loli's eyes widened in anger. Seeing what was stored in the basement of St. Freya, along with her rage from being unable to reach Otto for so long, erupted: "You know what I want to say! What you did, you know better than anyone else!!!"

"Oh, Theresa," Otto replied with a smile, "didn't I just take your Divine Key? But you still have me! In my heart, little Theresa has always been the second cutest in the world~"

"I don't need you, you stinky grandpa— No!" Theresa jumped up, then her attention was diverted. "What? Second cutest in the world! Then who is the cutest in the world?"

"That would naturally be the most hardworking and diligent Valkyrie in Schicksal, little Durandal."

Rita behind Otto and Cecilia, who was sitting on the bed in a daze, her eyes still blurry from sleep, perked up.

"Waaahhhhh!!!" Theresa's scream almost pierced the heavens. "You are the most detestable grandpa in the world!!!"

"Oh, sorry."

"Hmm," Theresa's anger subsided a little due to Otto's sudden apology. "And then?"

"And then? — That's all, right? Then— goodbye, little Theresa?"

"Gra— Grandfather!!! Your apology isn't sincere at all!!!"

"Ah? I apologized, and little Theresa still wants my sincerity?"

Otto tilted his head, as if hearing something novel.

"Gra— Grandfather! I'm coming to Schicksal right now!"

"Rita, notify Schicksal Airport to refuse entry to anyone from the Far East Branch."

Otto leaned back and bumped into a soft, elastic, hemispherical object.

Tsk, it even smelled a little nice.

"As you command, Lord Bishop."

Rita's face flushed, and she quickly stood up straight—she had wanted to see Theresa's enraged expression and had leaned in a little too close.

"Grandpa, how dare you!!!"

Otto rolled his eyes. "It's December 24th, Christmas Eve. If you come here to cause trouble the day before Christmas, leaving behind the holiday reports for the Valkyries of St. Freya, then I will have to discuss with you the future ownership of St. Freya."

Even though he himself wasn't setting a good example, but... I have Amber, does Theresa have such a capable secretary?!

Otto saw a flash of red figure nearby and had a sudden inspiration. "Oh, right. Murata Himeko next to you is quite good. When I was talking to you, I saw her taking care of you several times. She seems like a very responsible person."

"Himeko?" Theresa sounded like she had heard a joke. "She's responsible? Grandpa, you don't know how immoderate she is when she drinks... Alright, alright, I won't speak ill of you."

She seemed to have met her match and shrunk her head.

"Haha, it seems little Theresa is very happy at St. Freya," Otto clasped his fingers. "Hello, Murata Himeko. I apologize if my granddaughter has caused you any trouble."

"Oh, no, it's not much trouble, Lord Bishop." The red-clad woman in her twenties appeared on the screen, wanting to say something but seeming a bit reserved.

"If I'm not mistaken, you have some relation to Murata Ryusuke?"

"Y-yes, I am his daughter." Himeko seemed excited.

"Ah, your father was an important contributor to Schicksal," Otto recalled memories related to the manga "Outlander." "He repaired a very important Divine Key for Schicksal."

The fourth Divine Key, the weather satellite, was repaired by Murata Ryusuke.

Although it was later destroyed by that scoundrel.

"Is that so?" Himeko's expression was still excited yet forcibly restrained. "Then where is he now... Sorry, Bishop, I mean, is he alright now?"

He's dead. He tried to seize the Herrscher of Reason's core and the leadership of Anti-Entropy, but Welt took care of him.

But Otto would never tell her that. He wanted her to find out for herself, and then, under his guidance, arrive at a processed conclusion. It would be more convincing than him simply telling Himeko directly.

Although it would take more time and effort... the resulting conviction would be greater.

After all, Himeko had a clear, undeniable hatred for Anti-Entropy due to her father's death.

As long as he subtly pushed things forward, as long as he made a slight move at these crucial details... St. Freya would become Schicksal's string to manipulate Anti-Entropy's actions.

It would be a self-sustaining human puppet, reusable time and again.

"I can't answer that question," he said, shrugging as he refined his plan in his mind. "He later took some data on the Divine Keys and went to Anti-Entropy, and then disappeared without a trace."

A moment of silence followed. Everyone knew what that meant.

Betrayal.

Himeko's father, Murata Ryusuke, was a traitor to Schicksal.

The red-haired woman looked up as if to say something, then lowered her head, biting her lip. Finally, her voice was a little hesitant, "I'm sorry, Bishop."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Himeko," Otto said, subtly dropping the "Murata" surname, intentionally trying to get closer. "Your father might have had more advanced ideas, which is why he left Schicksal. After all, every move Schicksal makes involves the fate of humanity, so it can be a bit hesitant, which must have disappointed your father."