He had worked in that position for more than a decade, only to contract an incurable illness half a month after President Raikou Ryoma was removed from office.
A power grab.
Raikou Ryoma paced around his prison cell.
His brows were tightly furrowed.
Although Cocolia had been used as a punching bag by Schicksal and toyed with like a clown by World Serpent in the story, when it came to dealing with colleagues, she was practically a god of civil strife.
After all—
Conflicts between different organizations still left some room for restraint.
Let alone conflicts within the same organization.
With that mindset, Raikou Ryoma had been defeated.
Perhaps she had never understood Anti-Entropy's ideals from the very beginning. She had joined Anti-Entropy merely to gain greater power.
What should he do next?
The middle-aged man's expression grew increasingly gloomy.
"President, do you need us to prepare a jailbreak—"
The man who had infiltrated the prison as a guard was trying to persuade him, but halfway through his sentence, he fell stiffly to the ground.
What happened?
Raikou Ryoma's expression changed drastically.
"Sorry, mister."
The remarkably pretty girl tossed aside her baseball bat, dragged the guard loyal to Raikou Ryoma away, then briskly took out a key and opened the main gate.
Was she someone sent to rescue him?
The girl's beautiful white hair, azure eyes, and slightly foolish-looking face involuntarily reminded him of a certain white-haired bastard he had met ten years ago.
Was she Siegfried's blood relative?
His expression became complicated in an instant.
He had always looked down on Siegfried somewhat. That guy possessed top-tier talent in this world, but he was rash and careless in everything he did, completely unreliable.
But now, he had actually sent someone to save him?
Come to think of it, this girl had exactly the same temperament as her family head.
She had even beaten up his subordinate during the jailbreak.
Anyone who knew better would know she was here to help. Anyone who did not would think she had come looking for trouble.
It was probably because Walter admired Siegfried greatly.
As one of Walter's biggest fans, Raikou Ryoma had a thick wall called jealousy between himself and Siegfried.
Raikou Ryoma kept a straight face and did not offer thanks. He looked rather obnoxious—tsundere had gone out of fashion these days, let alone a man acting tsundere.
He walked toward the fallen man, intending to carry him somewhere more comfortable before meeting up with Siegfried.
But just as he crouched down, a thick, massive club turned into an afterimage—
Bang!!
Raikou Ryoma's vision went black, and like his subordinate, he collapsed immediately.
He had gotten one thing wrong.
Kaslana Family's Eldest Daughter had not come to rescue anyone at all.
She had been talked into coming by her "brother-in-law" to deal with the traitor of the Raikou family.
"Brother Russell, I followed your instructions and taught that... Raikou Ryoma, or was it Raikou Ryoma Sniper, a little lesson."
The girl pulled a walkie-talkie from her pocket and reported the situation to someone.
"Oh, right. Remember to put in a good word for me later. There's a reunion dinner during New Year's in the Far East, and I want to join in too."
The girl continued to express her improper intentions toward Megumin in a slightly saccharine tone.
"Mm, thanks. I'll talk to Uncle."
Near the prison, the boy squeezed the Sheep Talisman in his arms and made a solemn promise.
In, Give Me Some (Begging)
Raikou Ryoma stood amid a stretch of white mist, his expression vacant.
Like a blank puppet, the man stood there motionless.
"President Raiden, wake up."
A boy's voice came from afar, as though it had flipped some kind of switch.
His memories swiftly returned like flowing water, and a mask of pain settled onto the old man's face.
Damn it.
He had been set up again.
Last time, he had not expected Cocolia's moral bottom line to be so low, so being set up had been understandable.
But this time, he had actually been knocked out by a little girl with a single swing.
Pain appeared on Raikou Ryoma's face.
There was no excuse to be found this time.
"President Raiden, why do you look so miserable?"
A boy emerged from the mist in the distance, smiling lightly.
As he walked, the surrounding mist dispersed and transformed into a simple house.
Who?
Raikou Ryoma looked alert.
He had just been knocked out by Kiana's club. His guard was now at its peak.
Perhaps sensing Raikou Ryoma's wariness—
The boy stopped when he was five meters away from him.
"My name is Russell. I hope to receive some assistance from you."
Feeling out the atmosphere around him, the man recognized the shift from endless white mist to modern architecture. He had experienced such changes of scenery before.
Was this a dream?
So, he had encountered someone with an ability to enter dreams?
"Which organization are you from?"
The man quickly grasped his circumstances. Rather than answer Russell's words, he posed a question of his own.
"I'm an unaffiliated drifter."
The boy seemed somewhat troubled.
"Uncle Raiden, isn't your guard a little too high?"
Raikou Ryoma's expression darkened.
Uncle Raiden.
The word "uncle" was clearly how a junior addressed an elder.
Yet to his ears, it was filled with overwhelming pressure.
The Raikou family had few members. He himself was an only child, and there was no Raikou Ryoma Sniper as some branch relative.
He had only one junior—his daughter, Megumin.
And someone who clearly possessed abnormal abilities was calling him uncle...
It was a threat!!
"Heh heh, go on. I don't mind helping you."
The man swiftly regained his calm.
"Still, as you can see, I'm imprisoned. There's quite a limit to what I can do."
He showed submission while leaving himself room to maneuver.
Russell nodded.
It was clear that Raikou Ryoma truly loved his daughter and was highly loyal to Anti-Entropy.
"I just came to borrow a plane. Mm, I need a plane to Vienna."
The boy said so.
Huh?
Raikou Ryoma froze.
That was it?
"Don't make that face."
Russell was actually a little displeased by this.
He still could not even get into an airport. Raikou Ryoma's expression of That's all? annoyed him.
"If Mei and I didn't get along reasonably well, I wouldn't have come here at all."
"After all, that old bastard Cocolia is planning to use the Conqueror Gem to create the Third Herrscher. With my pathetic Honkai energy resistance, if I ran into the Great Eruption, I'd definitely be dead."
The boy's words made Raikou Ryoma's expression change drastically.
The Conqueror Gem—the power the Second Herrscher had received from God—and that gem was inside his daughter's body!
"How is Mei right now?"
This uncle could no longer remain calm. He rushed directly in front of Russell and questioned him urgently.
Those words troubled Russell.
How was he supposed to explain something like a chat group to someone?
Wouldn't it be enough to explain that she had fallen into a World Bubble? Just say she was currently acting as Raiden Shogun in Teyvat.
What a great idea.
That was Korean.
Russell gave the Prompt Device a thumbs-up.
"Your daughter has probably fallen into a World Bubble. Mm, she landed in a world called 'Li Tang,' where she is playing a mysterious role named 'Da Bao,' encountering Jiangdong Ruffians with all kinds of personalities and unique abilities during her free travels, and restoring the Han Dynasty."
?!!!
Raikou Ryoma looked as though he were facing the Third Impact.
His expression was exactly the same as Kiana's when she heard Megumin's uncle was called Raikou Ryoma Sniper. It made people wonder whether Siegfried and Raikou Ryoma had once had some sort of story between them.
"Just kidding."
The boy smiled, and that smile looked thoroughly obnoxious.
"I'm someone from a World Bubble. Raiden Mei landed in my world. There's no strange thing called Honkai in my world, so she should be safe for now. It's just a little cold."
"Entrusted by a friend, I came to stop the activities of Anti-Entropy's radical faction."
At last, the boy looked a little serious.
"If you don't believe in the friendship between Mei and me... all I can say is that I have an uncle. Mm, that uncle of mine once wrestled the Divine Boar on the Ganges River in India, fought the Monkey King on Mount Emei for the title of Handsome Monkey King, revived the Ptolemaic Dynasty in Africa and succeeded, then imitated Solomon by building a vast harem and using marriage alliances to achieve political unification."
Before you continue