Operation Snake Swallow, Begin! / Durandal, You Are Mine and Cecilia's...

"By the way, Lord Bishop," Amber said from the doorway after Cecilia stepped into the office as well, "the Oath of Judah you requested from St. Freya Academy will be delivered tomorrow morning. Also, Lady Durandal seems to be looking for you."

"Oath of Judah... Durandal... I understand."

After Amber mentioned the name of the Eleventh Divine Key, Otto deliberately glanced at Cecilia's face. The woman's brows were tightly furrowed, as though she was trying to remember something, yet her eyes remained confused.

"Have Rita lead part of the Valkyrie squad back, while Fu Hua leads the other part to remain on standby," Otto ordered as he thought. "Once the Eleventh Divine Key reaches Schicksal, it must be delivered directly to me immediately. Then have Fu Hua and those Valkyries destroy all the experimental subjects in St. Freya's basement. Leave nothing behind."

"Also, search worldwide for information related to 'snakes,' the 'Stigmata Project,' and so on. There must not be any omissions."

"This is important, Amber. If we fail, we will face a powerful organization capable of—and intent on—overthrowing humanity."

Snake-Devouring Plan, Begin!

After obtaining Cecilia and the powerful lineup that came with her, weaken godlike Kevin, then find a way to gather every force available and fight the Herrscher of the End—this had been his basic route ever since gaining his cheat after transmigrating here.

Kevin's Stigmata Project had already determined that the two of them were irreconcilable enemies.

Perhaps for ordinary people, having someone else fight through the Honkai for them while they indulged themselves in dreams was a good thing.

But for him, the Bishop, whether for his own interests or for modern civilization itself, he had to take that plan for himself.

In other words, he had to strip Kevin of the right to oppose him.

If anyone was going to carry out the Stigmata Project, it should be Otto—and one where he held absolute initiative.

After every method at Kevin's disposal had lost its effect, he could arrange a Stigmata Project-style "surrender." There was no need to rush.

In short, as long as Kevin wanted to implement the Stigmata Project, he was Otto's greatest enemy besides the Herrscher of the End.

The only reason Otto was not trying every possible way to kill that lunatic was because he wanted to keep him around to take the blame at the end.

Then, since he intended to weaken Kevin, naturally he had to suppress World Serpent—a group that possessed most of the Previous Civilization's knowledge and was ahead of Schicksal in research.

Other than the Honkai, World Serpent was Schicksal's greatest enemy.

—What? Anti-Entropy? Wasn't that, like the future St. Freya, just a rebellious little branch?

Since when did a subordinate throwing a tantrum mean their leader had to wipe them out?

Of course, he had to squeeze out every last drop of value from them while they were alive, then guide them toward dying in a more valuable way. Though if possible, he should not let them die either. Living people had more potential to be exploited.

When Schicksal educated Valkyries, it could not even be bothered to demonize these "enemies." In the future, at Kolosten, Durandal would even think they were merely impostors or clones.

Anti-Entropy did not deserve to be Schicksal's enemy. At most, it was an employee to be exploited.

World Serpent was different.

Then, since he was going to scheme against that organization that worshipped the Previous Civilization, he first had to find them, understand them, until eventually... completely devour them.

In the original story, they had emerged from the shadows according to a plan and with a purpose.

That did not serve Schicksal's interests.

And now... he would seize the initiative, lift the veil off this mysterious organization, and then... devour it cleanly.

Come to think of it, Feather Rabbit was quite tempting too—wait, did Feather Rabbit even exist yet?

"Kamiya Pharmaceuticals. Pay attention to this term," Otto said, recalling the game's plot and the manga's information about World Serpent. "Adan Ruani is also a key figure. These two names are connected to that organization."

Amber actually wanted to ask how the Lord Bishop had learned so much about a mysterious organization when he had spent several days hiding in his office playing "Kallen Fantasy" while documents from every continent piled up like mountains. But when she remembered that the man before her was Otto Apocalypse, all her doubts turned into one respectful response:

"Yes, Lord Bishop."

The Lord Bishop was nearly omnipotent. This was the confidence everyone in Schicksal had in him, and Amber was no exception.

Even as his secretary, despite feeling far less mystery and distance around the Bishop, she still firmly believed this fact.

As long as he was willing, then he could do it! (A certain Flame-Chasing Seven: Meow meow meow?)

From this perspective, everyone in Schicksal was an Otto fangirl or fanboy.

"Is there anything else?"

"That is all for now." Amber raised her head and thought for a moment, then quickly lowered it again—she had seen Otto and Cecilia's intertwined fingers. "There is nothing else, Lord Bishop. Enjoy your meal."

She stepped back and closed the door behind her. Otto sat down at the table and released Cecilia's hand.

The woman curled her fingertips and rubbed them against her palm a few times. Recalling the warmth lingering on her fingertips, she unexpectedly felt a little reluctant to let it go.

Otto divided the food between them, uncorked the red wine, filled both glasses, and slid one toward Cecilia, a curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Come. A toast to your new life."

Cecilia carefully accepted it and clinked glasses with Otto. Her eyes secretly followed his every movement. Seeing him drain the red wine in his glass, she followed suit and drank it all in one gulp.

"Cough, cough... mm..."

After downing the glass, Cecilia could not help frowning. Seeing her reaction, the curve on Otto's lips widened.

How could he not know that red wine was usually poured only a little for form's sake? Filling the glass was entirely his little bit of mischief.

A flush from wine colored the beauty's jade-like cheeks. A woman's drunken state was naturally one of her most beautiful moments. Otto watched a warm blush spread across Cecilia's lovely cheeks and gradually reach her ears, while ripples stirred in her star-like eyes. It was truly a delightful sight.

Just as a certain writer had said, there were not many truths in this world. A woman's blush was worth more than a long stretch of dialogue.

He shook his head, forcibly suppressing the drowsiness and tipsiness in his mind.

It was a case of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of his own.

Still, it was worth it.

"Eat." He handed Cecilia her utensils.

"Mm."

That little bit of alcohol could not truly intoxicate Cecilia, a Valkyrie. She quickly returned to normal. After answering Otto, she took the utensils and lowered her head to eat.

Seeing that she seemed accustomed to the food, Otto lowered his head as well, casually ate a steak, then poured himself another glass of wine. Savoring the taste of the expensive red wine, he closed his eyes.

So much had happened in just a few hours. It really was strange...

Lost in his memories, Otto did not notice time passing. When he opened his eyes, Cecilia had already finished eating. Her blue-green eyes were watching him blankly, impossible to read.

"Are you full?"

"More or less."

"Then let's continue our walk. Amber will clean this up."

"Alright."

Otto took a pen and paper from the desk and scribbled a line on it. Then, as naturally as could be, he hooked Cecilia's little finger. The woman rose along with his pull.

"Let's go. A walk after dinner will help digestion."

Amber opened the office door and walked over to the temporary dining table. One meal had been eaten clean, while the other seemed to have had only the steak eaten.

Amber knew the Bishop did not actually need food, and she made no comment on his wastefulness. Still, an emotion she could not quite identify flashed through her eyes.

It was as though... she was happy for that man.

There was also a sheet of paper on the table. She reached over and picked it up. It contained a note:

"The red wine was actually fine. I mainly wanted a change of pace. Pouring it out is a grand and magnificent handover ceremony, a legacy passed down through secret arts. You will understand slowly. —Otto Apocalypse"

Amber: ...

The Lord Bishop must have had some profound reason for doing this.

The two left the office. The streetlights outside had already come on, and all of Schicksal was as bright as day beneath the night sky.

But there was no nightlife here. There were few people around even during the day, much less at night. At this hour, Valkyries were mostly on standby in their branches or fighting all kinds of Honkai monsters in simulation rooms.

There were some resting, of course, but very few were slacking off unless they were logistics personnel of the D-rank sort.

After all, what urged them onward was their own lives.

Otto and Cecilia walked along the quiet road in silence.

They only stopped when they reached the doorway of the house where Cecilia had bathed earlier.

The man looked up at the night sky and let out a long breath, helplessness in his eyes.

"Bianca Durandal Atagina, you have been following me all this way. What exactly is making you want to step forward yet hesitate? This is not your style."

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Durandal, You Are Cecilia's and My...

"Good evening, Bishop."

A beautiful blonde girl in black stepped out of the shadows. Her expression was complicated, as if she wanted to speak but could not bring herself to.

The girl before them was Durandal, nicknamed Dumb Goose and Dudu, daughter of Cecilia Schariac—a genuine Kiana.

"Good evening, little Durandal. Is there something you need?"

Otto could tell whom the girl was glancing at from the corner of her eye. So he turned the hand hooked around Cecilia's little finger and directly wrapped it around the woman's delicate, boneless hand. Then he saw Durandal's pupils shrink, like a stunned kitten caught by surprise.

Flirting with the mother in front of her daughter was damn thrilling.

Otto nearly laughed out loud. Only after Durandal exited her dumb-goose mode did he barely restrain his amusement and let out a questioning, "Hm?"

Only then did Durandal come back to herself. "Sorry, Bishop. I was thinking about something else just now."

"I am very interested in what you were thinking about." How could Otto possibly let such a wonderful chance to tease the goose pass him by?

"Um... Bishop." Durandal had always been direct in her actions. After hesitating for half a second, she asked, "I was wondering whether this Valkyrie might have some connection to me."

Otto clearly felt Cecilia's body tremble. The hand that had been struggling slightly just moments ago now gripped his in return, and she seemed extremely nervous.

"Oh, really?" Otto's tone remained cheerful. "If that is the case... Rita will cry."

"What does this have to do with Rita?" Durandal asked in confusion.

"What do you think?" Otto countered.

"I do not think there is any connection at all." The girl answered with a straight ball, as usual, instantly driving the conversation into a dead end.

Otto felt Cecilia's grip gradually loosen. The soft flesh in his hand was no longer pinched so tightly either, as though she was happy.

Why was she happy?

Because she had seen her own daughter retort so well?

He really did not understand how women thought...

"Perhaps." Otto shrugged. "Then let me ask another way: why do you think so?"

"Because..."

Durandal stared fixedly at Cecilia and remained silent for a long time.

Faintly, Otto saw a thin, gauzy redness tint the current strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal's eyes before quickly fading away.

"When I saw her," Durandal said more softly, as though afraid of startling Cecilia, "I felt a sense of closeness. Like back then, when I saw you as a doctor at the orphanage, I wanted to punch you."

Otto: ...

Just for that sentence, Goose, the time before you reunite with your mother has been extended by N chapters!

"Please do not feel offended, Miss Valkyrie." Naturally, the silly goose failed to notice the resentment from a certain Schicksal Bishop that was practically taking physical form. She continued, "When I saw you, my heart began beating violently, and my eyes inexplicably felt swollen. I wanted to hug you—just a gentle hug. Say nothing, think nothing."

She paused, then continued awkwardly, "I am sorry, but that truly was the thought that arose in my heart when I saw you. Of course, humans are creatures capable of self-control. I only wanted—I only wanted to tell you that I feel an inexplicable closeness toward you.

"Perhaps we have met before. Perhaps we were very close before I lost my memories. I did not mean to forget you, it was just—I truly suffered amnesia when I was little."

"From a practical perspective... um, if you mind it very much... I will try to appear before you less often. I can do that. I swear it in the name of Durandal."