Before they could untangle the superficial, purely nominal family tree of the Kaslana clan...
The next revealed contestant left them utterly flabbergasted once again.
[The Phantom Thief & The Great Inventor]
There was absolutely zero doubt about who this was.
So, Otto, you reserved a pre-approved slot just so you and Kallen could perform together?
Are you absolutely sure you don't need to stay in the hospital and recover? Are you 'daijoubu'?
Actually, if he has the energy to perform, it seems he still has a bit of surplus stamina. We can definitely squeeze another ten to fifteen days of administrative work out of him.
Though, if we actually did that, Otto would probably literally drop dead in his office, wouldn't he?
Whatever. Exhaustion was sometimes relative.
Some people felt exhausted just existing, while others felt restless and uncomfortable the moment they had absolutely nothing to do.
Shu felt Otto was exactly the latter. He could take a break, he could rest, but if you forced him to sit cross-legged and do absolutely nothing but meditate for an entire day, Otto would rather die buried under a mountain of documents.
Whether it was playing chess, playing video games, or engaging in frivolous hobbies, Otto needed to occupy his mind. He would never simply "do nothing."
Therefore, rehearsing and performing with Kallen was likely his equivalent of a massive reward.
Shu suddenly felt a headache coming on. First Shigure Kira, and now Otto.
He had a distinct feeling these two were going to pull off something absolutely ridiculous. Theresa and Ai-chan were definitely not going to play it safe either. He could already sense the impending chaos.
Looking at the current roster, the only normal group was the Vodka Girls.
Wait. Those two are chaotic gremlins too.
His headache worsened.
Shu rubbed his temples, sighed, and continued scrolling down with a slightly sickly expression.
[Depascal]
Shu: "?"
"Who?" "Huh?"
"Bronya believes she is hallucinating from sleep deprivation."
Looking at the silhouette—which was clearly a little girl holding a massive book—the four girls huddled around the phone uttered four distinct sounds of absolute confusion.
Then, the other three turned to look at Bronya, who had inadvertently exposed something.
"It's only 1:00 AM," Bronya stated, her face entirely blank. 1:00 AM genuinely did not count as staying up late for her.
The other three didn't press the issue. They rubbed their eyes and looked at the screen again.
Yes, it said "Depascal." They hadn't misread it.
Combined with the silhouette of the book, the identity was incredibly obvious. It was the Akashic Records, or more accurately, the Herrscher of Memory residing within it.
Shu remained silent for a long moment. He quietly connected to a special mental channel he hadn't accessed in quite some time.
The moment he connected, a barrage of messages slammed directly into his face.
[Evolution]: "Ugh, are you kidding me?! I told you to find a good one! With a mediocre performance like this, how are we supposed to crush Shu's ranking?!"
[Noah's Ark]: "Actually, this performance is quite excellent. Mr. Lucivide once said..."
[Evolution]: "Don't bring up your stupid teacher! If you're so smart, why don't you sing?!"
[Noah's Ark]: "I am a literal spaceship! How am I supposed to sing?! Why don't you do it?!"
[Evolution]: "If you can't do it, then shut up! If I had even 5% autonomy, I would have done it myself ages ago!"
[Noah's Ark]: "If you had 5% autonomy, Shu would have dismantled you!"
[Evolution]: "Shut up, you thousand-part idiot! Did you hold back that retort just to annoy me?"
[Aizhar]: "Um..."
[Evolution]: "You shut up too! When Herrschers are talking, a mere human shouldn't interrupt!"
[Noah's Ark]: "Let's keep looking... Memory, is this genuinely the best you can recall?"
[Evolution]: "Heh. I bet she just forgot. And yet she has the audacity to use her own name as the team name."
[Memory]: "...?"
Is this hell?
Why are these guys not trying to fight a resurrection match, but are instead happily bickering with each other in this group chat?! And more importantly...
Why is Aizhar in this channel?!
Shu honestly didn't care if the Herrschers tried to fight a resurrection match. Aside from the Akashic Records, which had slightly more autonomy, the rest of them were thoroughly and completely suppressed.
And Shu kept the tightest leash on the Akashic Records. It sat right next to his Scepter every day. If it even twitched suspiciously, it would instantly face his thunderous wrath.
The others were even less capable of causing trouble. They were basically inanimate objects, with absolutely zero room to maneuver outside of very specific circumstances.
As for this Herrscher-exclusive communication channel, Shu had analyzed it before. It was a lingering effect of the Herrscher of Bond.
Even though Bond's core consciousness had completely dissipated by her own will, her Authority had still linked all the Herrscher consciousnesses together, inadvertently creating this group chat.
But why was Aizhar in it?
Shu quickly deduced the tragic truth. He despairingly realized that Aizhar was logged in using the Herrscher of Bond's original "account." She was technically a half-admin of this group chat.
Why only half?
Because Aizhar didn't have any Honkai energy or a Herrscher Core. She only possessed a tiny fragment of Authority, so she only counted as half an admin.
If Aizhar got her hands on the Oath of Judah, she would be the undisputed owner of this group chat.
But still, she's an admin, right? Why is a grand admin's status so low that she's getting bullied by a lowly Evolution?!
Why aren't you hissing at them?!
Shu couldn't bear to watch. But he wouldn't blame Aizhar. To him, these Herrschers were powerless trinkets. But to Aizhar, they were still incredibly dangerous, world-ending entities.
It was completely understandable that she held some reverence and fear toward them and didn't dare speak up. He resolved to find an opportunity to help Aizhar master her fragment of power—at least enough to mute these annoying bastards in the group chat.
As for the "malice" these guys were directing toward him? Shu completely ignored it.
They are literal nobodies. Not worth my attention.
Right now, the only thing Shu cared about was whether these bastards had said anything inappropriate to his adorable little human!
Herrscher consciousnesses are experts at manipulation and corruption. If Aizhar gets corrupted by these guys...
However, after lurking in the channel for a bit, Shu confirmed that they hadn't discussed anything truly crossing the line. Basically...
While routinely recording historical events, the Herrscher of Memory had recorded the fact that Shu, Kiana, and the others were forming a band. She then casually shared this in the group chat as premium blackmail material.
Then, Evolution—who had nearly been dismantled by Shu previously—suddenly had a stroke of genius and proposed a thunderous plan: They would snipe Shu in the Voices of Arc City competition!
Evolution then rapidly convinced everyone else in the channel to join the scheme.
Noah's Ark acted as the musical director and critic. Memory was responsible for the actual performance, utilizing her Zeroth Rated Power to project the most flawless song and dance routines recorded in history.
And Aizhar... was basically coerced, intimidated, and bribed into officially registering them for the competition.
Led by Evolution, they brutally bullied Aizhar using their status as Herrschers, and then bribed her with a tiny bit of power to force her to do their bidding against her will!
Seeing this, Shu instantly saw red.
What have you done to my adorable little human?!
The Herrschers, who had promised to provide Aizhar with a portion of their power: ?