"Cecilia, playing online games on an aircraft is dangerous."
"Staring down at a screen like that will hurt your eyes."
"Fine, playing games isn't forbidden—but don't play Kallen Fantasy!"
The golden-haired man's lips twitched as he watched Cecilia's slender, dexterous fingers dance across the terminal. Onscreen, the white-haired Kallen moved in perfect rhythm with the flashing light effects, while Cecilia hummed softly along, completely at ease.
Red and white afterimages flickered across the display. Moments later, Cecilia set the terminal down, having cleared the final stage—Sakura Demon—flawlessly and in record time, effortlessly breaking his long-held score.
Otto: "…"
No matter how out-of-character he behaved, as Archbishop, holding first place in Kallen Fantasy should have been a core part of his persona.
And after playing so seriously these past few days, he'd developed genuine attachment to the game—like any dedicated Honkai Impact player obsessed with optimizing scores.
But the person in front of him…
Even cheating with Void Archives wouldn't let me win, alright?!
Perhaps only the power of Corruption could defeat a born gamer like this. After all, the Herrscher of Corruption was a natural counter to intelligent systems…
But using an "Elysian Realm gremlin" to beat another "gremlin"—what kind of bizarre strategy would that even be?!
"Human strength has its limits."
Otto sighed dramatically, prompting Cecilia to stop and look up at him curiously.
"Over the course of this long life, I've realized something—no matter how much you cheat, artificial advantages have their limits… unless you transcend the game itself!"
"Amber—" he raised his right hand with righteous fervor. "Ban! Her!"
"Huh?…"
The girl wearing orange goggles froze, looking at Otto in confusion, then at Cecilia.
Seeing the white-haired woman flash her a mischievous smile—clearly consenting—Amber hesitantly turned around and tapped her terminal.
"Yes, Archbishop."
Otto nodded in satisfaction, casting a childlike glance at Cecilia, who merely smiled gently, her eyes soft and lively.
"Banned for twenty-four hours," he declared smugly, reaching into his pocket. "And now, your punishment is to sit there and watch me play—hm? Where's my terminal?"
He looked up in shock.
Cecilia casually beckoned with one elegant hand, a black metallic device dangling between her fingers.
"So…"
A terrible suspicion dawned on him.
"The account you were just playing on… was mine?"
The white-haired woman widened her eyes, her gaze bright and seemingly innocent.
"…Amber, can you lift the ban?"
"Of course… not," Amber replied with feigned honesty. "Archbishop Otto, bans must last their designated duration. That was a rule you established in previous versions."
"A rule set when you banned me," Cecilia added helpfully.
Otto: "…"
The opening of the cabin hatch mercifully ended the absurd scene. Otto rose stiffly, face blank, pretending nothing had happened as he stepped off the aircraft.
After descending a few steps, he paused—then turned around and extended his right arm toward Cecilia.
"Pfft."
Unable to contain herself at the sight of his rigid expression, she laughed softly. Under his sideways glare, she lifted her left hand and placed it upon his arm, descending the steps gracefully.
Snow had fallen suddenly at the end of December. Though the floating island's systems regulated the climate, flecks of silver still drifted through the air.
Cecilia walked arm-in-arm with Otto from the Second Port through Schicksal Headquarters. A gentle breeze brushed their hair, strands of pale gold and snowy white intertwining quietly.
The headquarters was quieter than usual.
Even those who remained for training had no time to linger outside—because Otto had temporarily scheduled the S-rank Valkyrie Examination. Nearly every Valkyrie present was watching the intense duels unfolding in the simulation arenas.
"Most people," Otto explained after mentioning the sparse crowd, "are there to witness Durandal's brilliance—just as they once watched you. You two are natural idols among Valkyries."
"Yula…n-dale?" Cecilia murmured.
She bit her lip slightly, as if recalling something.
"The girl who reported to you a few days ago. She possesses the greatest talent and potential in Schicksal," Otto said. "She's probably battling simulated Honkai beasts in the chamber right now."
Cecilia nodded slowly, her eyes flickering with unreadable emotion.
She was not foolish.
"If I'm not mistaken, in a few days, Durandal will become an S-rank Valkyrie just like you," Otto chuckled lightly. "Schicksal's only S-rank on the surface—unless you publicly return."
"The greatest talent…? Shouldn't that be her, Kia—wait. The only one?" Cecilia's eyes sharpened. "Then what about Theresa Apocalypse? What happened to her?"
"She retired. Don't worry—Theresa is perfectly fine, well-fed and comfortable," Otto replied. "She inherited your will and founded St. Freya Academy."
Cecilia heard the slight pause before his faint scoff.
"In a few days, I'll take you to see St. Freya."
"No, that's not it…" Cecilia suddenly frowned in confusion. "She retired after the Second Honkai War? Wasn't Schicksal short on manpower then?"
"Oh, extremely short. It was a difficult time," Otto sighed theatrically, making the past sound even harsher. "You were declared dead. Theresa insisted on retiring. Siegfried was despondent after losing you. Occasionally, I even had to send people to tidy little Kiana's home and prepare meals."
"If an Emperor-class Honkai beast had appeared during that period, I would've had no choice but to drag my old bones to the frontlines myself."
—What Otto did not mention was how long after the Second Honkai War Theresa actually retired. In truth, it was after a certain someone stormed the world's largest organization with his eight-year-old daughter to retrieve his 'bug' (2005).
The part about cleaning and cooking was entirely fabricated.
After all, Cecilia had no memory of that period. And Siegfried Kaslana certainly couldn't refute it.
More precisely—
Unless Otto arranged otherwise, Siegfried wouldn't live long enough to stand before Cecilia.
Mixing a few lies into the truth to achieve one's aim—
That was the most basic and common human rhetoric.
"You've worked hard, Archbishop," Cecilia said sincerely, without suspicion. "Devoting yourself tirelessly to humanity's future."
"It's been manageable," Otto waved dismissively, repeating the excuse he used for Amber. "Now that you've returned and Durandal is advancing, Schicksal will have two S-rank Valkyries. My burden is much lighter."
"Greatest talent… S-rank Valkyrie…"
"Greatest… talent…"
"S-rank Valkyrie…"
Cecilia's eyes dimmed slightly. She hesitated, then finally lifted her head, gathering all her courage.
"So… Archbishop…"
"Bianka Durandal Atagina… is Kiana Kaslana, isn't she?"
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