When the stars were dense, the sky and the sea mirrored each other. Under the black velvet night, the waves rolled as softly as flowing silk.
"..."
Fuli's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the Oath of Octavia. He suddenly regretted running over to strike up a conversation with Theresa.
On the second day after the end of the Third Eruption, in the top-floor conference room of the ME Corp building, he had said to Mei: I will absolutely not date anyone until I reach the Sequence Level.
This statement was both a heartfelt declaration from a reincarnator and a hint at something else—After I achieve my goal, if you are still waiting for me then, I will try dating you.
Mei obviously understood the underlying meaning, which was why she hadn't done anything too outrageous up to this point.
She felt she was already standing at the finish line. She was just waiting for the running Fuli to cross it so she could take his hand and officially announce their romance to everyone.
As for Fuli... to be ashamed, he hadn't thought that much about it back then.
Kiana's romance route (in his eyes) had long been severed, and his little sister Bronya was flat as a board—though her future was promising.
Durandal was definitely his XP (fetish/type), but the reincarnated him didn't know her, and since they were in different organizations, there didn't seem to be much chance for interaction in the future.
Moreover, that was Raiden Mei. Who wouldn't be tempted by the prospect of making Raiden Mei their girlfriend?
Fuli was shamefully tempted. If not for the massive psychological shadow cast by Himeko Murata suppressing his desires, he would have invited Mei to his room that very day to help him appraise a powerful D-Rank skill called the Partial Multi-Size Technique.
Five times the size and hard as iron—Death Knight Einmaid used it and gave it five stars.
Unfortunately, plans can never keep up with changes. The subsequent developments went unexpectedly wrong, as expected.
First, Theresa inexplicably took Kiana's place as Fuli's fiancée. Then Durandal dropped from the sky and set up a weekly challenge appointment.
Kallen?
Well, she was his sworn sister, so that could be ignored for now. But earlier, in order to defeat Asmodeus, who held a fragment of the Holy Lance of Finality, Fuli had been forced to have this and that kind of relationship with Rita.
After all these interactions and developments, his favorability ratings had unknowingly shot up.
Take Theresa in front of him, for example.
The Oath of Octavia was given by Otto to his precious granddaughter, to be handed to the person she deemed worth entrusting her future to.
The implication of this was clearer than day. Silently, the fake fiancée identity, originally used to shield Fuli from the Council of Elders' wanted list, now showed a tendency to become real.
Regarding this, the boy's mood was complex, yet he felt a twinge of temptation.
The complexity stemmed from the fact that he really wasn't into legal lolis; curvy, graceful beautiful girls were his true love.
The temptation was... if he agreed, wouldn't Kiana have to call him "Great Uncle-in-law" all day long?
Just imagining the white-haired dumpling's reluctant face made Fuli's heart leap with joy.
But because of that, he planned to refuse.
The fact that the reason for his 'temptation' was so trivial proved that, at least for now, the boy had no romantic feelings for Theresa.
Since he had no feelings, he couldn't accept something with such significant symbolic meaning as the Oath of Octavia.
[ I, however, believe the Host should just accept it. There is no need to overthink it. ]
Dr. Mei, who hadn't been gone for long, reappeared.
Her elegant lips parted slightly as the beauty guided him patiently: [ Does the Host remember how old Theresa is this year? ]
[ Forty-something, right? Why? ]
[ Regardless of what blessings that Overseer placed upon the Oath of Octavia, it is essentially still a powerful item for combat and survival. ]
Dr. Mei said: [ Host, when did Theresa become an S-Rank Valkyrie? ]
[ After she single-handedly killed Parvati. ]
Fuli remembered this quite clearly. The St. Freya official website had written extensively about the Principal's glorious deeds, trying to tempt more trainee Valkyries to join the academy.
It stated that on December 23, 1973, Theresa, who had just become a B-Rank Valkyrie, went on her first sortie under the leadership of the Far East Branch's 1st Squad Commander—A-Rank Valkyrie Kali. They were to subjugate Parvati, which was judged to be a Chariot-class Honkai Beast at the time.
After Kali's squad found Parvati, they discovered its energy levels didn't match the mission intelligence; it was an extremely powerful Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
Upon learning this, Otto ordered Theresa to retreat immediately and prepared to launch missiles to kill Parvati along with the Kali squad holding it back.
Unable to bear watching her comrades die before her, Theresa disobeyed her grandfather's order and forcibly entered the fray. Although injured, she personally defeated this powerful Honkai Beast that stood at the peak of the Critical Class.
Fuli recalled the data from the website: [ After that battle, Theresa officially became Schicksal's S-Rank Valkyrie. ]
Dr. Mei smiled beamingly: [ That means the Oath of Octavia was given to her before that. ]
The limit of the Oath of Octavia was to heavily injure a peak Critical Class entity. Why would the S-Rank Theresa need this to save her life?
[ It is now 2014. A full 41 years have passed since 1973. ]
The beauty continued: [ 41 years. Given Theresa's brain circuitry, how much of Otto's instructions back then can she still remember? ]
She concluded solemnly: [ In my opinion, Theresa simply realized she had been taking advantage of the Hyperion after being provoked by Asta. So, she rummaged through her little treasury and finally found the Oath of Octavia, an A-Rank item suitable for the Host to use. It doesn't carry the meaning of 'entrusting the future' as the Host imagines at all. ]
The corner of Fuli's mouth twitched: [ So basically, I was flattering myself? ]
[ At least, that is what I think. ]
Dr. Mei interlaced her fingers, her gaze teasing yet meaningful: [ The Host isn't thinking clearly. That is the future Overseer destined to control Schicksal, a powerful S-Rank Valkyrie. In Theresa's social stratum, over forty years, what kind of outstanding men hasn't she seen? How could she possibly fall for a wet-behind-the-ears brat who isn't even Critical Class? Isn't she afraid that if she uses too much force during intimacy, she might accidentally snap the Host's slender waist? ]
To summarize in one sentence: You are hallucinating.
[ Tsk, fine then. ]
The boy, annoyed, cut off the mental connection. "Then I'll just accept it."
Prometheus, observing from the moon, rolled her eyes hard. She knew this wretched woman hadn't given up on her plan!
What plan?
The plan to have Fuli conquer the female leaders of major factions, establishing a cross-regional alliance with the Hyperion as the hub to jointly fight the Honkai.
As one of the only three super-large organizations in the chaotic world, Schicksal was indispensable to this alliance.
God knows what would happen if Fuli refused Theresa's wish to further their relationship. rather than watching the timeline sprint toward an unstable route, Dr. Mei would definitely find ways to mediate.
To what extent?
To the extent that Theresa's favorability toward Fuli breaks through the sky—where even if her confession is rejected, she treats it like wind past her ears, refusing to give up no matter how many women he has or how much of a scumbag he is.
As for the Shuraba (romantic bloodbath) he would face then—what does Fuli's battlefield have to do with me, Dr. Mei?
Become the King of the Harem! My cute little Host!
As long as you can defeat the Honkai, even if you treat me as a ○○○ to vent and play with as you please, I have absolutely no problem with that!
The beauty's smile was profound, her crimson-purple eyes behind the glasses as deep as chaos.
Prometheus sighed quietly at the sight.
Perhaps Dr. Mei had already gone completely mad the moment she witnessed the destruction of civilization with her own eyes.
...
Seeing Fuli pocket the badge, Theresa appeared calm on the surface, but secretly breathed a long sigh of relief.
"I'll put it on for you."
She happily leaned in front of the boy, extending a pair of slender hands to fiddle with it.
Theresa's body proportions were excellent. Ignoring the slightly raised chest, she looked more like a 1.78-meter beauty scaled down proportionally to 1.45 meters.
This made her hands look nothing like the chubby, soft hands of a 'peer' girl; instead, they were filled with a mature charm that didn't match her youthful appearance.
"Done."
The Lord Overseer sat back, crossed her arms, and scrutinized him for a moment, finding the badge's position slightly off.
So she quickly leaned her upper body forward again.
"Whoa-ah!"
As a result of using too much force, she fell straight off the deck.
"Careful."
Fuli had quick eyes and hands. He scooped the yelping girl into his arms, smoothing her white hair while he was at it.
Felt pretty nice.
Unable to resist, he rubbed his chin against her hair.
Meanwhile, Theresa, held in his arms again in such an intimate posture, immediately recalled the scene of them kissing in the hot spring.
Catching a glimpse of the shining Oath of Octavia on Fuli's chest out of the corner of her eye, she mustered her courage, closed her eyes, lifted her chin, slightly pursed her cherry-blossom pink lips, and assumed a delicate pose, ready to be plucked.
"Arf! Arf!"
The milky barking of a puppy came from afar. It was the little hellhound who had run to the destination only to find 'Daddy' wasn't there, so it doubled back to call him.
It happily ran to the two of them, stuck out its tongue to lick Fuli's fingers, and growled low at Theresa in his arms, clearly sensing the genes of a higher being (Vishnu).
"Good boy, don't be scared."
Fuli released the girl, stood up, and took the little guy into his arms.
He then teased Theresa, who had 'closed her eyes in fear': "You just almost fell off the deck. Since when did an S-Rank Valkyrie have such small guts?"
This was the difference in perspective. After Dr. Mei's barrage of hints, the current boy found it hard to associate Theresa's movements with asking for a kiss.
"You! Hmph!"
The girl, who had planned to use this opportunity to take things a step further, was infuriated by his words. She stood up, patted the dust off her skirt, turned around, and walked toward the external elevator leading inside the ship.
Fuli quickly followed. "Speaking of which, Lord Principal, about that Vishnu Factor we discussed last time, can you accommodate—"
"No! Get lost!"
Theresa didn't look back.
"Have some heart. We are technically fiancés who have exchanged bodily fluids, aren't we?"
"Don't make it sound so ambiguous! It was just a k-k-k-kiss!"
Her pace quickened.
Seeing the girl walking aggressively ahead, Fuli rolled his eyes and whispered to the puppy in his arms, "Come, today I'll teach you how to drive an Angry Theresa."
"First, acceleration."
He reached out and tugged her sleeve. Theresa angrily shook him off, her short legs running faster forward.
"If you want to turn right, touch her left shoulder."
Theresa shook off the hand he placed on her left shoulder and ran swiftly to the right.
"If you want to turn left, touch her right shoulder."
Same action, this time she swerved left.
"Then, match the frequency of her steps and shout: One-two-one, one-two-one!"
"Arf arf arf! Arf arf arf!"
The little milk dog barked along.
Theresa, hard-controlled by the military cadence, turned her head with a face full of murderous intent: "You! Two!"
Moments later, the boy, now sporting a large bump on his head, said solemnly, "See? The Theresa-mobile braked successfully."
"Awoo, arf!"
The little guy wagged its tail excitedly, wishing to do it again immediately.
Fuli's driving skills were pretty good; they arrived at the dining hall amidst the noise.
Currently, only Bronya was there. The little girl was lying on the sofa by the wall playing on a gaming handheld. Her pair of fair little feet were kicked up and swaying, her toes white as snow, tender and full of vibrant life.
Theresa found a corner to sit down in a huff, glaring fiercely at a certain fiancé.
Fuli, feeling no shame whatsoever, walked over and playfully swatted his little sister, who was engrossed in her game. "Guests will be here soon. Put on your shoes and socks. They stink. Don't you think it'll ruin people's appetites?"
"The Bronya bathes every day. Her feet aren't stinky at all."
She was rebelling. Disobedient.
"Put them on even if they don't stink. Who's going to have an appetite after seeing someone else's feet?"
Bronya thought about it and agreed. She kicked her legs toward him. "I'm pushing the crystal. Big Bro can put them on for the Bronya."
"You're getting lazier and lazier."
Fuli sat down, picked up the loose socks and short boots from the sofa, and put them on for the girl.
In the process, he also took the opportunity to prove Bronya's claim of bathing daily, because not only were her feet not stinky, they were even a little fragrant.
By the time he finished putting on her shoes and socks, her game was over.
Bronya put away her handheld, ready to run to the bathroom to wash her hands, but Fuli grabbed her and pulled her back onto the sofa.
"Do Big Bro a favor."
He rubbed Bronya's twin-drills. "Help me log onto the Schicksal mission website. That mission to investigate Lake Kanas, I want to accept it."
During their trip to the Foggy City, Raiden Ryoma had entrusted the Hyperion with a task (Volume 3, Chapter 28).
To put it simply, a friend of his from Shenzhou had been trying to prove that a peculiar giant monster was hiding in Lake Kanas in the Tianjiang region. Ryoma hoped the Hyperion would go to Shenzhou in his stead to help his friend, who had been obsessed with it for most of his life, either confirm his theory or completely shatter his unrealistic fantasy.
At the time, Fuli recalled seeing the exact same mission in the Schicksal mission system, and the reward was surprisingly high (Volume 3, Chapter 15).
Yes, this scoundrel planned to kill two birds with one stone—complete one mission, get two rewards.
Now that he had struck a deal with the little rich girl Asta, the Hyperion would rarely face the dilemma of an insufficient budget in the future.
However, one shouldn't put all their eggs in one basket. Fuli had no intention of abandoning Ryoma's sponsorship route either.
That's right, he was just that kind of fickle man!
Spreading the love evenly was the way of the king. Over-reliance on one party was essentially handing them your weakness.
Once a conflict arose, the consequences would be extremely severe.
Having served as Cocolia's adjutant for a time, Bronya obviously understood this principle. Her slender fingers tapped in the air, skillfully skipping past the official disclaimer—[This content has been tagged as grotesque.]—as she searched for the mission to [Prove the existence of the Lake Kanas monster in Shenzhou's Tianjiang region].
A moment later, she looked up. "Big Bro."
"Yeah?"
"The mission... it's been taken."
"By who?"
Fuli asked casually. It was a truly casual question.
He had already picked up the iced Sprite thoughtfully delivered by a Cat Cake and was chugging it down.
"St. Freya's A-Rank Valkyrie, Fu Hua."
"PFFFT!!! Cough, cough, cough!"
"Ah-Li! Ah-Li! Whoa!"
—He sprayed it all over the face of Kiana, who had just skipped happily over to him.
...