Not just the audience—
Within the scene itself,
Himeko widened her eyes, stunned for a moment before blurting out:
"What kind of bizarre cooking method is that supposed to be?!"
But Theresa, already drowsy, yawned softly and replied with utmost seriousness:
"I need to keep cooking now… good night, Himeko."
(She fell asleep again!)
(Well… I'll put a blanket over her first.)
(Sleeping makes food cook? This is way too suspicious. I should check the kitchen.)
The very next scene—
Left Himeko, and everyone watching, frozen in place.
Inside the kitchen—
The prep counter was neatly arranged with ingredients and seasonings of every kind.
Pots and pans clinked softly as—
A golden-haired man moved briskly among them, apron tied around his waist.
In that instant—
Including Himeko,
every viewer on screen understood everything.
There was no such thing in this world
as "sleep and the food cooks itself" magic.
Those words had merely been
a fairy tale Otto told to coax Theresa to sleep.
And at that very moment—
Watching the lone figure busy in the kitchen,
everyone felt as if another knife had been driven straight into their hearts.
[Xiangling: Huh?!]
[Keqing: There's someone in the kitchen?!]
[March 7th: That silhouette—]
[March 7th: Otto?!]
[Silver Wolf: ?!]
[Furina: ?!]
[Kamisato Ayaka: !!!]
[Sushang: …]
[Sushang: Is… Otto helping Theresa cook…?]
[Ningguang: As expected…]
[Ningguang: There's no such thing as magical cooking—just a bedtime story for a child…]
[Himeko (Star Rail): Would Theresa really believe something that ridiculous…]
[Himeko (Honkai): "Deresa the Fool" wasn't a nickname she got for nothing…]
[Kafka: Because Theresa always trusted Otto unconditionally.]
[Kafka: And aside from Cecilia… Otto never truly lied to her.]
[Robin: Putting Theresa to sleep… then cooking alone in the kitchen so she could believe in a beautiful fairy tale…]
[Rita: Lord Otto…]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Who could imagine the Archbishop of Schicksal wearing an apron, cooking to preserve his granddaughter's dream?]
[Furina: Don't say it… QAQ I knew there'd be a knife!!]
[Sushang: That damned Otto… couldn't he just be honest for once?!]
[Xiangling: Judging from this, his cooking skills are impressive! That Kung Pao Chicken earlier must've been his work!]
[Xiangling: And now… hm… Mapo Tofu? The color's excellent!]
[Keqing: Your priorities are a little off…]
Reality.
Theresa stared at the screen.
At the familiar busy figure.
At the neatly laid-out ingredients.
At the recipe book resting quietly to the side.
She froze.
The tears that had just dried welled up again.
All this time,
Theresa had blamed Otto.
Rejected his ideals.
Questioned his actions.
And never let go of the pain he caused others.
Yet she had never imagined—
That her grandfather had done so much for her behind the scenes.
The nun's uniform sewn by hand.
The bitter melon juice prepared personally.
The Archbishop's robes stitched stitch by stitch.
His constant attention to her missions.
Decisions that almost always indulged her wishes.
And now—
Even a childish, beautiful lie called "cooking magic"
had been laid bare.
In the memory—
Himeko was clearly startled.
"Y-You're Ot—"
"(Don't make a sound!)"
Himeko froze, reading his lips.
"(Don't wake my adorable Theresa!)"
"(So we're really communicating like this?!)"
"(After cutting the tofu into cubes, blanch it in hot salted water, then sauté scallions, ginger, and garlic before adding minced meat and doubanjiang.)"
"(If we're already using lip-reading, why are you still narrating the recipe?!)"
Himeko stared at the man before her—
someone completely different from the cold Archbishop she knew.
This gentle man, playing house to fulfill Theresa's dream…
Was this really Otto Apocalypse?
Yet Otto ignored her disbelief and continued unabated.
"(Once it's colored, add the tofu, season with salt, soy sauce, chili, and Sichuan pepper, then thicken with starch.)"
"(And with that—Theresa's Special Mapo Tofu is complete!)"
Otto smiled faintly, holding the dish.
Himeko couldn't help but complain:
"(That's obviously YOU cooking it!!)"
"(And how did you even sneak into St. Freya Academy?!)"
"(What are you talking about? I'm just someone who helps with chores while Theresa sleeps—)"
His gentle smile didn't fade,
his tone still light and teasing.
"(—Theresa's exclusive Snail Prince.)"
In that instant—
Not only was Himeko completely stunned,
the viewers felt a strange emotional impact as well.
"(So THAT was the 'trump card'! No wonder the first dish felt off—Theresa was just reciting a recipe!)"
"(Come, try Theresa's Special Mapo Tofu while it's hot.)"
Ignoring Himeko's protests, Otto set the dish down.
"(Stop pretending this was Theresa's cooking already!)"
Himeko sighed, scooped up a bite—
And her expression immediately changed.
"(Whoa—numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crisp, tender, fresh, lively! This dish perfectly embodies all eight flavors!)"
"(The numbing peppercorns, the chili heat, the warmth, the aroma, the crisp meat, tender tofu, freshness, and the brightness of garlic shoots!)"
"(One bite after another—so smooth you can't stop!)"
Otto nodded gracefully.
"(Ah, a true gourmet. Please continue to support Theresa's cooking.)"
"(At this point, can you stop lying with a straight face?!)"
"(I knew from the start it was wrong to believe Theresa could cook!)"
As Himeko complained—
The New Year's Eve cooking event came to its end.
Without any suspense—
With the Snail Prince's blatant assistance,
Theresa claimed an easy victory.
Everyone marveled at her "culinary genius."
Seeing them all blissfully unaware,
Himeko simply sighed and honored Otto's request—
Concealing the truth that, on this night of reunion,
Otto had quietly appeared in Theresa's kitchen
to make her dream come true.
On this festive New Year's Eve—
Otto came alone,
and left alone.
And beneath the celebration,
the viewers felt an indescribable ache.
[March 7th: Otto… he just appeared quietly… and left quietly too…]
[Himeko (Honkai): Not telling anyone—that was Otto's wish.]
[Furina: QAQ why does it hurt this much…]
[Sushang: Theresa's… exclusive Snail Prince…]
[Raiden Mei: Seeing this… the principal's feelings must be complicated…]
[Klee: Klee wants a Snail Prince too!]
[Himeko (Star Rail): Who could've imagined Otto had such a side…]
[Silver Wolf: Hard to imagine, yeah.]
[Jean: It's such a cheerful scene… but why does it feel so lonely…]
[Kamisato Ayaka: Perhaps because, in moments of reunion, Otto's solitude stands out even more.]
[Rita: Every holiday of Lord Otto's… seems to have been spent alone.]
[Sushang: Stop it!!]
[Sushang: I JUST fixed my emotions!!]
As the chat quieted—
Otto's murmured thoughts,
and Theresa's memories,
slowly faded.
Perhaps to deny everyone time to recover.
Or perhaps—
Because Otto's life-long "lantern show" was far from over.
Once again—
The crimson desert.
Otto's unsteady footsteps.
His resolute back, walking toward the Imaginary Tree.
In the desolation,
his sigh echoed—
Otto's final unspoken words to Theresa.
Words that, without this "rating,"
no one would ever have heard.
Yet he spoke them anyway.
"My dear Theresa."
"In the days to come…"
"My old friends…"
"The Immortal Phoenix… the Herrscher of Reason…"
"They are truly good people. They will help you find your own path."
At those words—
Fu Hua, and both versions of Welt, froze.
Old friends.
That was how Otto described them.
And what followed—
Truly good people.
A heavy silence fell.
Fu Hua.
Welt Yang.
They stood on unmistakably opposing sides.
Especially Welt—the hatred between him and Otto was irreconcilable.
Yet Otto still called them old friends.
Still praised them as truly good people.
And these were his dying thoughts—
a soliloquy with no audience, no need for pretense.
Even the weathered Welt Yang aboard the Astral Express
felt an indescribable mix of emotions.
Did he hate Otto?
Without question.
Reconciliation was impossible.
Did Otto hate him?
Welt knew the answer.
Otto… admired him.
Admired Anti-Entropy.
Admired people like him—truly good people.
Even with Theresa—
the one Otto cherished most—
He placed unconditional trust in Fu Hua, Welt, Anti-Entropy
to guide her better than he ever could.
To guide Schicksal.
To guide humanity.
This Otto—
Was painfully real.
And painfully complex.
"Uncle Yang… Otto actually…"
March 7th popped her head out, staring at Welt in disbelief.
The rest of her sentence
dissolved under Welt's calm gaze.
At St. Freya Academy—
Fu Hua's expression remained composed,
yet Otto's words stirred waves within her.
Past and future, newly revealed, surfaced together.
"Old friend, long time no see."
"Old friend, in the domain of Fenghuang Down, you are invincible…"
"Old friend… thanks to you…"
"Old friend…"
"Immortal Phoenix, I did not lie."
"The examination shows you've fully recovered, but you never woke. I worried something went wrong."
"You don't blame me, do you, old friend? Are you… well? Do you recognize me?"
Scenes flashed—serious, teasing—
Even their encounter fifty thousand years ago.
Otto had always treated her as a true friend.
And the deal to protect Shenzhou—
he never once broke it.
At that realization—
The Immortal Phoenix's expression softened.
[Keqing: Immortal Phoenix… Herrscher of Reason…]
[Keqing: That's Welt Yang?]
[Ganyu: Otto… praising Welt?]
[March 7th: But… when did Uncle Yang become his "old friend"?!]
[Tesla: Otto always called it that himself.]
[Sushang: But… he really trusted Fu Hua and Welt to help Theresa?]
[Rita: What Lord Otto cared about wasn't Schicksal itself—]
[Rita: but Schicksal's ability to protect humanity.]
[Tesla: For once, that bastard's right… Joachim is a stupidly good person.]
[Tesla: He'd help Theresa and Schicksal without hesitation if it meant fighting the Honkai.]
[Himeko (Honkai): Fu Hua goes without saying…]
[Himeko (Star Rail): Otto really doesn't treat himself as an outsider…]
[Himeko (Star Rail): Has he forgotten how he pulled that trigger?]
[Furina: But Otto never lied to Fu Hua. He truly saw her as a friend.]
[Sushang: He's usually so fake… yet now he's unbearably real…]
[Sushang: Sigh… reliving all this at the end of his life…]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: This is Otto at the end—]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: casting off all shackles, no longer forced to stand against the world.]
[Sangonomiya Kokomi: And isn't that Otto… the most bittersweet of all?]
[Furina: He never stopped with the knives…]
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