The Reason Bronya Became a Herrscher? Well, Of Course It's...

Hmph, kid... When I first saw this part, I thought it was nothing too. Then I was completely dumbfounded later on.

There was no need to say much. Just wait and see what you thought once the story reached the later parts.

Beichen pressed the screen. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep watching."

Bronya believed Wendy would definitely be all right. Once they returned to St. Freya Academy and removed the Honkai energy crystal from her legs, Wendy would surely be able to walk again.

Thank you. Bronya, you really are so gentle.

Seele: "..."

Beichen: "Is there something you wanted to say?"

"N-No..."

"Really nothing?"

"Really nothing!"

Beichen felt he had teased Seele enough, so he started clearing the stage.

The battle ended without much difficulty, and the game entered the next stage.

Before the final segment of the battle began, a conversation between Himeko and Bronya popped up on the screen.

Bronya, what is it? It's rare for you to come looking for me.

Major Himeko, once we return to St. Freya Academy, could you find a way to remove Wendy's Honkai energy crystal? If we do that, she might regain her ability to move.

"Bronya really is so gentle..." Seeing Bronya care for someone else once again, Seele could not help but send a jealous comment. "I want someone to care about me like that too..."

"Uh..."

Looking at her childish comment, Beichen had wanted to comfort Seele by saying, "She has always cared about you. More than anyone else." But remembering that he could not reveal his identity as the streamer, he had no choice but to let it go.

The Live Stream continued playing the conversation between Himeko and Bronya.

That is impossible. The "Gem of Desire" can only remain stable inside Wendy's body. Once it is removed, the crystal cannot be preserved.

Himeko answered calmly. She was right, clearly showing everyone a fact.

However, such an answer could not satisfy anyone.

Then throw that crystal away! Could a stupid rock really be more important than a girl's happiness?!

The "Gem of Desire" is not just a stupid rock. If the powerful Honkai energy inside the crystal is released, it could instantly destroy several cities. Would that be all right too?

But!

"Himeko... suddenly got a little scary..." Seeing Himeko and Kiana argue, Seele sent another comment to express her thoughts.

Seeing how frequently she was sending comments as if muttering to herself, Beichen could not help but feel that this was what a young girl who had opened up was like. She was much livelier than she appeared in front of strangers...

Perhaps because she felt that she had not shown herself anyway, she had become more straightforward.

Beichen organized his words in his mind before replying:

"Himeko wasn't wrong here. The problem isn't with her, but with this world."

"But..."

Just as Seele wanted to send something to refute him, someone who rarely sent comments in the Live Stream joined in.

"Sacrifice one person's happiness in exchange for the safety of several cities' worth of people. If I faced such a choice, I might choose the latter without hesitation."

Hua's comment drifted across the Live Stream, causing both sides, who had been about to discuss the matter, to pause and see what she had to say.

"But doing that is indeed unfair to that one person. It is a troubling question..."

She seemed to have said something, yet everyone felt like she had said nothing at all.

After all, it was a trolley-problem-type question. If they kept talking, no one would be able to convince anyone else.

Beichen had plenty of experience chatting online, so he knew that if he did not change the subject, the Live Stream would probably start arguing.

"You're right. It is troubling. So let's keep watching. Maybe once we get further along, everything will have an answer."

At his suggestion, both Seele and Hua sent an "Mm," then fell silent.

Beichen continued tapping the screen, and Wendy's face suddenly appeared.

Miss Kiana, please stop. I accepted this long ago. As a Valkyrie, my duty is to save more people with my life... This is my... duty...

By the end, Wendy's tone had become strange, and her voice choked with sobs.

The despair born from such conflict and helplessness reached everyone through her voice alone.

The Live Stream fell completely silent...

As the stage ended, the game suddenly began playing a cutscene.

The scene before everyone showed Kiana walking ahead of Mei and Bronya, stretching before a holographic combat display as she reported to Himeko.

Mm, Himeko, we're almost back at the Hyperion.

Who are you calling "auntie"? Forget it. Stay where you are and prepare to board.

After Himeko spoke, it meant the final negotiations before the handover were over.

Under normal procedure, once they boarded the Hyperion, Wendy would have nothing to do with Kiana and the others anymore.

Seeing this, Bronya, who was holding a Homu Pillow, felt somewhat guilty.

Wendy, Bronya is sorry.

Wendy, seated in her wheelchair, had her eyes half-closed and a smile on her lips. She was unusually serene.

No, Bronya did nothing wrong.

Her eyes slowly opened, but the light had vanished from them.

The camera then shifted from the front to an overhead view, focusing on Wendy in her wheelchair.

The detector has detected a Honkai Energy reaction! Is it a reaction from the "Gem of Desire" inside Wendy?

Wait, the intensity of the reaction is continuously rising. 1500HW... 2000HW! What is happening?!

2000HW? Then one shot should be enough to destroy the Hyperion, right?

Wendy spoke faintly as green fluorescence appeared around her body. Then, centered on her, a wave-like shockwave spread outward.

The stone slabs beneath everyone's feet suddenly became covered in green grass and flowers...

Miss Wendy, what... what are you saying?

A bunch of hypocrites. I hate you. I hate every one of you!

The camera shifted again, finally stopping on Wendy's face.

At this moment, the gentleness and sorrow on that face were gone. In their place was an overbearing, flamboyant arrogance...

I want nothing more than to kill every last one of you! Heh heh heh... hehehe...

Wendy's sinister laughter echoed through the Live Stream...

Why Bronya Became a Herrscher? Of Course, It Was Because...

Wendy's laughter was so unsettling that she seemed like a completely different person from before.

"Th-This... who is that? Miss Wendy? How could this happen?! Was she replaced by someone else?"

A comment quickly floated across the screen.

The person who sent it was Seele, who had just been jealous...

"Ah~ I wish that guess were true too~ But judging from how she looks, that does not seem to be the case."

The owner of the pink comment no longer sounded as playful and casual as before.

Elysia knew very well what a Herrscher was, so when she saw the scene playing in the Live Stream, she immediately confirmed that this was the sign of a Herrscher being born...

This girl named Wendy... had become the Herrscher of Wind.

Another viewer in the Live Stream was equally astonished.

"Surprising... I see. So the Gem of Desire was actually foreshadowing. Was this the purpose of that gem?"

Hua's neatly worded comment drifted across the screen. Though brief, it showed her calmness at that moment, as well as her consideration for the plot's details.

Before the story had even reached the point where Himeko stated that Wendy became a Herrscher because of the Gem of Desire, Hua had already arrived at that conclusion through analysis.

That was enough to prove that Hua was very smart. Her luck was just a little bad...

Of course, no matter how calm she was, she could not compare to the two people in the Live Stream who had read the script.

While everyone else was more concerned with the birth of a Herrscher, Rita was more worried about something else.

"This girl named Wendy becoming a Herrscher is already a historical event recorded in Schicksal's archives. I never expected it to be recreated so meticulously in this game. It seems Lord Otto's concerns were indeed necessary."

She did not believe that a game company could casually turn the eruption of Honkai and the birth of a Herrscher into a game, much less recreate them in such detail.

Even if such a company existed, how could it possibly not be under Schicksal's surveillance?

This matter was simply too abnormal and troublesome. It could already be said to have slipped beyond Schicksal's control...

No matter what, she needed to remain cautious and carefully observe everything happening here.

Rita began quietly considering countermeasures in her mind.

Just as she realized the severity of the problem, a system notification suddenly sounded beside Beichen's ear:

Because of your livestream content, Keeping Elegant is a Maid's Duty was shocked. You received 740 Crystal!

Oh? Rita was shocked?

Haha, he had not expected this especially capable, perfect maid to feel troubled and uneasy too.

That was truly satisfying!

Thinking back to how she had warmly welcomed him when they first met, only to nearly ignore him afterward, Beichen felt like he had finally vented some resentment.

Heh, you were so enthusiastic when I first came to Schicksal, but later you could barely be bothered to respond. Now you know regret, huh?

Fine, just stay in the Live Stream and watch. I'll spoil everything your boss Otto has done!

And as for you? Once the story reaches the counterattack against Schicksal, what you did to Tesla will naturally be exposed. Then everyone will know that you actually...

Beichen thought smugly to himself. Although the story had not reached that point yet, he could practically imagine Rita at a loss for what to do.

While the Live Stream was filled with discussion comments from Seele, Elysia, and Hua, the cutscene had already ended.

The game entered an actual gameplay stage once again, and everyone fell silent because of it.

Beichen could clearly feel that sensation of being watched. Even though they were not sending comments, their anticipation practically overflowed from the screen...

Not wanting to disappoint them, he spoke up:

"Ahem, let's continue."

"Big brother, it'll be difficult, right? This is a Herrscher... It feels like the kind of enemy that is especially, especially powerful in the game's setting, right?"

Seeing Beichen prepare to continue the stage, Seele thoughtfully sent a reminder.

Her concern was certainly considerate, but honestly... it was unnecessary.

"This viewer, you may have overlooked something," Beichen said with a smile, then slowly stepped forward and picked up several energy packs.

As the player-controlled character moved, the stage began playing the enemy's entrance animation.

Across the wilderness covered in green grass, countless motes of light flickered. The sources of that glow were beautiful, vibrant flowers.

Tornadoes swept across this strange wilderness made of grass and flowers...

As the sound of the gale played, the wind was scattered in an instant.

A Herrscher with bandages wrapped around her legs and green light glowing in her eyes appeared on the screen.

"She looks like an angel..." Seele could not help but sigh.

As her comment drifted from one side of the screen to the other.

Ri Duck's energy had just reached 130, and the ultimate skill icon lit up with a golden glow.

That meant the ultimate skill could be used.