The Dull Goose and the Boy Revisit an Old Haunt (Continued)

"..."

Upon hearing this, Durandal stubbornly pursed her lips, unwilling to utter another word of praise.

She only then realized that she had fallen into a trap, and she still harbored some resentment towards the boy.

If she were to agree at this moment, wouldn't it make her seem like she's admitting defeat?

Noticing the girl's little thoughts, Shi Hen didn't expose them directly. He just smiled slightly and led the way, his black hair turning white and growing longer at the same time.

"Phew~"

Seeing the change in the boy in front of her, Durandal unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. While following in his footsteps, she observed and looked around, saying, "This should be the Far East, right?"

The magnificent cherry blossoms covering the mountains and fields, the red torii gates every few steps, and the time difference of about eight hours... it wasn't difficult for her to deduce such a result.

"To be more precise, it's Changkong City."

Shi Hen replied calmly.

"Changkong City? Isn't that..."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Durandal realized the special nature of this place.

"Yes, this is where we fought our second battle, and also where your defeat and humiliation began."

"If we go several dozen miles from here, we should still be able to find the crater you made back then... Oh, by the way, did you make any big craters?"

Shi Hen asked earnestly, his dark, bright eyes sparkling like stars.

In his first battle with Durandal, he was still somewhat inferior to her.

However, as he soon advanced to the Tianyuan level, the balance of power completely shifted.

"... This is the location where the Third Honkai Outbreak occurred!"

Instantly clenching her fists and glaring at the boy, Durandal shouted in a suppressed voice, her voice filled with suppressed anger.

Changkong City has so many other meanings, why does this bastard only remember these kinds of things?

Recalling the Silver Goose mark she received from him the first time, Durandal still feels her cheeks burning.

"Oh..."

Shi Hen echoed in a long voice.

"The Third Honkai Outbreak that occurred in Changkong City was probably also orchestrated by you behind the scenes, wasn't it?"

Looking at the boy with a complicated expression, Durandal couldn't help but ask after a long while.

Compared to the similar Fourth Honkai Outbreak or the subsequent Sequence Honkai, the Third Honkai Outbreak frighteningly small in scale, so much so that there is very little information about it in Schicksal's records.

Previously, Schicksal's research department attributed the cause to Raiden Mei's own talent, believing that the girl's subjective will suppressed the Honkai.

But now... no matter how you look at it, it should be inextricably linked to the boy.

After all, before and after the Third Honkai Outbreak, the other party stayed in Changkong City... or more precisely, stayed by Raiden Mei's side.

Thinking of this, a hint of envy appeared in the girl's eyes.

"You could say that."

Shi Hen answered calmly, his tone somewhat perfunctory.

He didn't think there was any need to explain these things specifically, but there was no reason to deliberately hide them from Durandal and the others at the moment.

"You... knew all along that Raiden Mei would become the Third Herrscher?"

Unable to be as carefree as a young boy, Durandal's tone became more serious.

While the existence of the Conquest Gem can, to some extent, anchor the selection of the Third Herrscher, the experiment with the Herrscher Gem still carries a great deal of uncertainty.

Just like Wendy and the Desire Gem.

Before Wendy, at least a Valkyrie Schicksal died in the fusion experiments for the Desire Gem, and most of them were the core and pillars of a Valkyrie squad.

It's safe to say that the cost of the Herrscher Gem experiment was far more than just the lives of dozens of Valkyrie.

Just as the flapping of a butterfly's wings in South America could potentially cause a storm millions of miles away, the deaths of these Valkyrie also caused many more serious consequences.

But when it came to Raiden Mei and Conquest Gem, the boy was as certain as if he already knew the outcome.

"For some people, predicting the future is not difficult."

Meeting the serious gaze of the Honorable Knight, Shi Hen simply smiled.

In this world, predicting the future is not absolutely forbidden; even in Previous Civilization Era, Sue and Aponia were able to do just that.

As for why the Previous Civilization humans, who possessed so many extraordinary individuals, ultimately failed to protect their own era, it can only be attributed to the fact that the Fusion Warrior did not interfere with... cough cough, the great power from the Fourth Wall.

"Then I..."

Upon hearing the boy's admission, Durandal instinctively wanted to ask about matters concerning herself, to inquire about his views on her. However, before she could finish speaking, the path ended, and a magnificent Far Eastern-style mansion and a cherry-haired Miko appeared before them.

"It's been a long time, Miss Durandal, Lord Hen, welcome to our place."

The Miko bowed slightly to the two of them and spoke with a gentle smile.

"Yae Sakura?"

Somewhat surprised by the appearance of the Miko, and even more surprised by her calm and composed demeanor upon seeing the boy's face, Durandal immediately realized the truth. "All along, you've known Bai's true identity, haven't you?"

Looking at the Miko, Durandal couldn't help but feel a pang of resentment in her eyes.

When Yae Sakura first appeared as a member of World Serpent, she placed considerable trust in her, always believing in the valuable information revealed by her.

Looking back now, she realizes that she was just being played by someone all along.

"This..."

Meeting the resentful gaze of the Honorable Knight, which resembled that of a wounded puppy, Yae Sakura could only look to the boy for help.

"At least, the final result was good."

Shi Hen tried to comfort and persuade him.

"——"

Gritting her teeth and remaining silent, Durandal simply glared angrily at the boy.

"Please prepare some tea and snacks for us, Miss Sakura."

Smiling, Shihen spoke to the Miko, and at the Shi Hen, he grasped the hand of the Honorable Knight and walked into the courtyard.

"Hmm..."

Feeling the forcefulness emanating from the boy's hand, Durandal felt a surge of resistance, but after a brief struggle, she chose to submit.

"Alright, please wait a moment, Lord Hen."

Seeing the boy interacting with the Valkyrie, Yae Sakura was slightly taken aback, then left with a smile.

"..."

Silently, she walked into the tea room with the boy, then Durandal off his hand. "Yae Sakura, Raven, Kevin... how many of the things you said are true?!"

As she stared directly at the boy and questioned him, the Honorable Knight's eyes couldn't help but moisten.

Although she knew that the identity of the White Masks was all lies, when the things she once believed in were exposed one by one before her eyes, Durandal couldn't help but feel a little bitter and wavering.

For Kiana and the others, although the boy now wears several masks and disguises, his true nature has never changed much from beginning to end.

But for Durandal, what she believed in and wanted to save from the very beginning was the White Masks, a fake!

The White Masks, who spoke cold and cruel words but seemed to leave room for maneuver in his actions, was the one who truly touched her heart.

Even after the White Masks was removed, the soft undertones revealed by Shi Hen did offer her some comfort, but the deeper lies entangled with him also made her grit her teeth, wishing she could knock the boy unconscious and lock him in the basement for a severe punishment.

"Durandal, what do you consider real, and what do you consider fake?"

Looking at the Honorable Knight in this state, Shi Hen chuckled softly and asked in return.

"Of course..."

Before she could even open her mouth to answer, Durandal suddenly froze.

The image of the White Masks has always been arrogant and haughty, while the Anti-Entropy Boy is the epitome of gentleness and strength... But for the real Shi Hen, both are probably just masks, merely a means to gain people's trust.

Only by seeing through these masks of appearance can she catch a glimpse of the boy's true face.

Reflecting on everything since her encounter with the boy, Durandal for a long time without providing an answer.

"At least, we can still sit here and chat like this, and that's undeniably real, isn't it?"

Shi Hen said with a smile.

"Yes, if you hadn't brought me here, I would be doing my Schicksal's work right now."

With her gaze fixed on the boy, Durandal gritted her teeth and answered.

"Durandal, it seems you still don't understand the meaning of work."

Work itself cannot create value; only by escaping work can one create value for oneself.

Shi Hen tried to persuade him.

"I am the Schicksal Bishop!"

Durandal spoke slowly and deliberately, her gaze towards the boy almost spitting fire.

"Wouldn't that be even better? You could just give yourself a leave slip."

Shi Hen retorted confidently.

"If everyone were as lazy as you, how could the work of Schicksal be carried out?"

Durandal refuted her righteously and sternly.

"That's why we should establish a proper reward and punishment system to prevent others from slacking off."

Shi Hen explained.

Not to mention others, even Theresa and the reopened St. Freya have stricter performance evaluations, making it impossible for a certain headmaster to slack off anymore.

After all, with the demand for Valkyrie from Schicksal greatly reduced, all the other branches' Valkyrie training institutions have been cancelled, leaving only the headquarters and St. Freya with the qualification to train Valkyrie.

Although the number of students at New St. Freya hasn't changed much compared to before, Theresa's burden has suddenly become much heavier, leading this older loli to clamor for Siegfried to come and help her share the pressure.

Unfortunately, due to the huge success of the "Demon Sword God Machine Side Story" comic created by the Father-in-law Trio during their time in the dark room, Siegfried also changed from a Schicksal Warrior to a game producer and attempted to adapt the comic into a game.

Undoubtedly, Siegfried has followed in the footsteps of a certain blond bishop, attempting to channel all his unfulfilled ambitions in the game into the game.

Knowing Siegfried's despicable intentions, Raiden Ryoma, while taking back control of ME Company, also purchased a large number of shares in ETStudio, and once again began a battle of wits with Siegfried, a battle that resembled that between fathers.

As for Welt Young... he was still caught between his two fathers-in-law, and would be dragged out for a fencing match from time to time.

Even after Shi Hen's identity was exposed, and the relationship between him and the boy could no longer be considered a successor relationship, after being locked in a dark room for so many years, Raiden Ryoma and Siegfried had long since developed a habit of it.

Furthermore, the identities of Welt White and Shi Hen as the second and third generation Anti-Entropy Leader are still preserved in the archives of the New Schicksal and have not been deleted.

Even in official records, the boy was the key figure who defeated and killed Welt White, but he chose to retire after saving the world, which is why he did not continue to serve as a bishop in the Schicksal.

After all, the truth is far too convoluted and could easily shake the new Schicksal's authority. Even some veteran Valkyrie might question Schicksal upon seeing it, let alone ordinary people.

Therefore, rather than revealing everything to everyone, letting the truth be completely buried in darkness is the most beneficial choice for the new Schicksal.

"..."

On the other side, Durandal was stunned when she heard the boy's words.

She simply couldn't understand how this guy could say such irresponsible things when he had already become the Schicksal Bishop and the Anti-Entropy Leader. It was a shame that the young man had received the highest approval rating in the history of Anti-Entropy when he was the leader.

Thinking of this obviously unreasonable approval rating, and recalling the practiced way the other party dumped the work on Peggy, Durandal's expression couldn't help but turn strange. "When you were Anti-Entropy, you didn't also have Peggy do your work, did you?"

Having grown accustomed to the other party's tendency to shirk responsibility and slack off, she couldn't imagine what the young man would look like when he was working diligently.

No, let alone normal work, she suspected that the other party used many underhanded and shady methods to force those executors within the Anti-Entropy Alliance to finally submit.

"How could that be? You can't just say things Durandal!"

As the Schicksal Bishop, you must take responsibility for your words!

Shi Hen retorted without hesitation.

As the greatest leader in the history of the Anti-Entropy Alliance, would he accept such baseless slander?

Durandal: "..."

She could swear to Peggy, who's still in the office, that guy has never done a proper job.