I'm Just Here to Inform You

He raised his hand, and a sphere and a staff-like object appeared in it.

"?!!!"

Confusion first appeared on Cecilia's face, followed by shock. She stared into Otto's eyes, her face full of disbelief and a trace of fearful reverence.

The blond man seemed to have anticipated her reaction long ago and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

The white-haired woman pressed her lips together, her gaze toward Otto growing ever more tender.

She deliberately bent her knees in gratitude, carefully accepting the items he handed her with both hands. Then, with an exceptionally solemn gait, she walked before Durandal.

"Schicksal's supreme S-rank Valkyrie, master of Black Abyss White Flower and the Holy Sword, one embraced by the stars, my, Otto Apocalypse's, finest student—Bianca Durandal Atagina."

Otto's voice rang out, clear and solemn.

"Through the hands of the Saintess, I bestow upon you this staff. May no Herrscher violate you, and may no god inspire fear in you."

He paused. Only after watching Durandal accept it did he continue.

"Through the hands of the Saintess, I bestow upon you this Royal Orb, granting you supreme authority and the world's support."

"What? A staff and a Royal Orb? What is Lord Otto doing?!"

Maria Schariac had only been slightly moved when Cecilia appeared, but now she cried out softly, her fists clenching involuntarily.

"Is there a problem, Patriarch?"

Beside her, a girl with long chestnut hair turned her head, her beautiful rose-pink eyes looking at her curiously.

"This is a very ancient ritual, Anna."

Maria explained.

"In old Schicksal, this ritual only appeared when the Schicksal Bishop passed on the position."

"What?!" Anna's beautiful eyes widened.

A ritual that only appeared when the Schicksal Bishop passed on the position???

"Yes, exactly what you think. The staff represents the 'power' bestowed by the Schicksal Bishop, while the orb represents 'authority' from the secular world."

Maria continued.

"One contains immense power, while the other can command any Valkyrie."

"I don't know whether that staff is merely a symbol of 'power,' or whether Lord Otto truly prepared immense power within it. But I do know that the sphere absolutely represents 'authority.' One could even say that seeing the Royal Orb is the same as seeing the Bishop."

"Then..." Anna murmured.

"Then that means..."

The Schariac Patriarch bit her lower lip.

"Even if Lord Otto passes the position of Schicksal Bishop to Theresa, Durandal can still use these two gifts to mobilize any resource within Schicksal, and at any time strip any Schicksal Bishop other than Lord Otto of their authority."

"Miss Durandal—we must now treat her as half a Bishop."

"Perhaps even as someone certain to surpass the Bishop's adopted granddaughter in the Far East, Theresa Apocalypse, principal of St. Freya Academy."

Maria shook her head in disbelief and sighed. "Ah, even though the Schariac family has diligently fought for the Bishop for over a century, we have never received such an honor..."

"It's so excessive that I'm beginning to suspect Miss Durandal might be Otto's daughter..."

"But, Patriarch," Anna said, raising a slender hand to point at the person beside the Bishop, "isn't it also an unprecedented honor for Lady Cecilia to stand there, receive a newly forged Black Abyss White Flower from Lord Otto, and crown Lady Bianca?"

"Of course it is an honor..." Maria looked at the white-haired woman on the stage, her smile both gentle and bitter. "But how could anyone possibly..."

She abruptly stopped her sighing words and wiped the expression from her face.

"Anna Schariac."

The voice of this no longer young Patriarch turned icy.

"I am glad that you noticed the details—Lord Otto is telling everyone that Cecilia Schariac has returned, as well as what status she will hold after her return."

"But the meaning behind it, you... Forget it, Anna. For now, you only need to know two things. First, simply treat her as Cecilia. Do not think about anything else."

"And second..."

Maria looked toward the stage. A trace of longing flashed through her eyes before swiftly turning into resolve.

"She, that noble and pure Saintess, must first be Cecilia, and only then Schariac."

PS1: Maria seemed to be speaking to Anna, but in truth... she was telling herself.

PS2: Everyone knows the Schariac family has a freebie buff, but don't forget that those able to remain by Otto's side are basically all tight-lipped. They bury their feelings deep inside, and without some twists and turns, they simply cannot be pushed forward.

I'm Just Giving You Notice

"Just as I said during the S-rank Valkyrie promotion ceremony," Otto said, folding his hands together, "I rescued Cecilia Schariac during the Second Honkai Outbreak, and recently restored her body."

This was the conference hall beneath Schicksal's floating island. Cold lights fell upon silver-gray walls and floors, flowing with colors somewhere between solid ice and cold steel.

Portraits of Schicksal Saintesses hung upon the walls—Saintess Kallen Kaslana alone had several, and judging from the artistic styles and quality, the different portraits of Kallen had clearly been created by different renowned artists.

At the center of the conference hall stood an ancient, heavy gray table. Ten high-backed chairs stood on each side, their backs gleaming brilliantly as they outlined different emblems.

Otto sat at the head of the table, with Cecilia and Amber standing at his sides. Maria, the Patriarch of the Schariac family, sat to his left, while an elderly man with grizzled hair who looked around fifty sat excitedly to his right.

The remaining high-backed chairs were occupied by representatives from Schicksal's major branches. They sat according to their authority, orderly and composed.

It looked somewhat like the Council of Elders—the high-level administrative council Schicksal had abolished in the previous century—but long before that, the Council of Elders had not included representatives from every continent, nor would the Kaslana and Schariac families have been represented by only one person each.

Of course, they were merely representatives, not the actual officials in charge of each region. Aside from a certain idle person who imitated the Bishop, no official could separate themself from continental affairs long enough to personally visit Schicksal.

At most, they could use holographic projections to report their work to Otto.

But even this was enough to make them proud. Becoming a continental representative and sitting only a few seats away from the legendary figure who stood at the pinnacle of Schicksal was enough to excite these ambitious—or perhaps simply fearless—young people.

Though the arrival of people from the various continents had merely been Otto's casual summons, and whether these "representatives" represented a continent because of their own excellence or because their families held enough local power to represent one remained open to debate.

For the first time since the beginning of this century, representatives from every major continent had gathered so completely—oh, no, someone from one branch had apparently yet to arrive.

Still, the largest unaligned family in the Far East had sent someone, so it could barely count.

All conflicts had been temporarily set aside. Everyone looked calm and composed, yet sat stiffly upright, occasionally glancing at the blond man at the head of the table.

"The reason I have reconvened this meeting," Otto continued, "is for all of you to announce Cecilia Schariac's return within your own families or the regions under your jurisdiction."

He paused before saying,

"I hope that everyone can minimize the impact, while also spreading word of her deeds—the important thing is to ensure that her private life is not disturbed by anyone within your sphere of influence."

"Oh, right."

Otto glanced to his right, and the Kaslana seated closest to him immediately shuddered.

"In addition, the two great families are to publicize, within three days, the documents you have issued regarding the dissolution of the relationship between Cecilia Schariac and Siegfried Kaslana."

"?!"

The white-haired Kaslana elder's pupils constricted as a thought arose in his heart.

What trouble has Siegfried caused again?

It was not that he was prejudiced against Siegfried... Well, all right, he was prejudiced. As a child, Siegfried had escaped Schicksal while serving as the young family head. After becoming a father and the head of the family, he had even attacked Schicksal Headquarters to seize the Bishop's experimental subject. If the Kaslana family had no prejudice against that fellow, they might as well have met Kallen herself.

"What? Does either the Kaslana family or the Schariac family have different thoughts on this?"

"..."

The fifty-year-old Kaslana elder glanced at Maria, the calm-faced Schariac Patriarch. Seeing that she said nothing, he could only relax his shoulders slightly and remain silent.

Given Otto's current level of concern for Cecilia, if she could still maintain ties with the Kaslana family, she would certainly be able to secure even more authority for the Kaslana family.

Then he could mobilize more people to secretly retrieve Siegfried and reclaim the family's sacred relic—Fehu Rune.

But...

But where would he find the courage to take the lead in opposing Otto at any time...

Otto looked at the crowd's silent acquiescence with satisfaction, nodded, and continued.

"Very good. Then next..."

"Bang!"

"Wait!!!"

The doors suddenly flew open, and a white-haired girl rushed in. She held her head high and her chest out, her small body brimming with ferocious momentum.

She slammed her cross into the floor, smashing a huge hole through it, then shouted furiously.

"I object!!!"

?!

Silence. Shock.

The entire room was silent and shocked.

Everyone's gaze shifted between Otto Apocalypse and Theresa Apocalypse, quietly waiting for something.

"Grandpa!" Theresa's eyes burned with anger. "How can you do this?!"

"Ah." A trace of surprise flashed through Otto's eyes. "Do what?"

This time, he truly had not expected that he had done anything...

Just as he had said before, continuing to have Schicksal care for Theresa and worship Kallen was among the few forms of respect he still possessed.

Though he was somewhat dissatisfied with this Kallen clone and had made use of her on certain occasions, Otto truly had not intended to do anything to Theresa for the time being.

If she wanted to cause trouble, it was best if she did so within St. Freya. As long as she did not disrupt his plans, that was Otto's highest expectation of Theresa Apocalypse.

But now...?

Otto silently tapped the tabletop, looking at the furious girl as he waited for her to speak.

"Why, why are you letting her inherit Cecilia's name?!"

Theresa continued to roar.

"No matter what, Cecilia already perished together with the Herrscher of the Void—you should not use this name again to make things difficult for those of us connected to her!"

"Oh, is that so?"

The blond man finally regained his composure. Folding his hands together, he asked serenely.

People on stage failing to follow the script was normal for actors.

So long as the future moved toward the ending Otto desired, he did not mind indulging a disobedient little one slightly.

Let her have her fun.

The man sneered inwardly. Then his eyes flickered as he calculated a drama better suited to the current situation.

After all, he did not want Cecilia to be passed around by others either—except for the little bug and Kiana, who counted as daughters. Others, such as Theresa, who claimed to be her best friend, were no good.

"Didn't I also fail to inherit Kallen Kaslana's name?!" Theresa continued her "exceptional performance." "Why should her clone be any different?! She can pursue her own life! Instead of stealing it from the person she came from!"

Cecilia's heart ached. She looked toward Theresa, her beautiful eyes filled with sorrow.

With things said to this extent, how could anyone present fail to understand Theresa's meaning?

She was saying... Cecilia was fake?!

No, regardless of whether it was true—even if she was a clone, how could Theresa dare to denounce Cecilia as fake before the heads of Schicksal's three great families and representatives from every continent?!

She was slapping Otto in the face!!!

Where did she get such courage?

Only Maria Schariac remained calm. Her experiences over the years had told her that this little shorty had always been this lawless before the Bishop.

If she wanted to become a magical girl, she could be heavily promoted into the world's number one idol. If she felt lonely because she did not understand how to get along with others, a Saintess would deliberately cater to her like a maid and personally feed her. Even after she tried to betray Schicksal with Siegfried, Otto could forgive her, later allow her retirement, and build a luxurious academy for her.

She had always been able to act willfully around Otto—and this time, it seemed likely to be no exception.

After their shock, everyone's breathing suddenly grew rapid at once, especially that white-haired elder.