Listening to Kallen's words, Irene turned her head to look at her, wearing an indescribable expression.
"Do you know, Kallen? Otto has thoughts very similar to yours. He has always felt that if he could have saved you, it would have been better."
Truth be told, these two were indeed somewhat alike. Otto also fantasized—no, he firmly believed—that if his death back then could have saved Kallen, she would have certainly done better and achieved more than he did.
Saint Kallen shouldn't have died at that time. Both of them felt that the other living was the best choice.
"But didn't Otto do far more after I died here than I ever could have?!" Kallen's tone suddenly became somewhat agitated.
Since arriving at this academy, she hadn't been idle. She knew this school was a branch of Schicksal, and that the Overseer—or leader—of Schicksal was Otto. Although she didn't know how Otto had spent these 500 years...
She could see that everything was good. Everyone was well. The remedial subjects for that kinswoman named Kiana included history, so Kallen had studied those things along with her.
Although she didn't understand much of it, she could tell that Schicksal had done many things, and Schicksal's Valkyries had accomplished much. And Otto had been Schicksal's Grand Overseer from beginning to end.
So, without Otto, there definitely wouldn't be the current Schicksal, and this was absolutely not something Kallen could have achieved.
"Sigh." Irene shook her head. "Do you know? In the world I came from, there is a comment regarding Overseer Otto: He can absolutely be called a sinner with crimes too numerous to record, but undeniably, he is also a guardian."
If there was anyone in Honkai Impact 3rd who was the hardest to evaluate, it was definitely Otto. The evil Otto had committed was countless; practically all the incidents in the early stages were his doing.
This guy could absolutely be called a scumbag. He was truly capable of saying things like 'I killed your father, but I can still be your mentor' just to make someone angry.
But in a certain sense, he could indeed be called a good person, a guardian. The Schicksal he led and the Valkyries he established had truly protected human society for 500 years.
This point alone, as Otto's achievement, was enough to rate him as a saint.
Of course, as far as Otto himself was concerned, he was just a selfish man, a fool willing to give everything for that ray of light he saw in his early childhood. Nothing more.
It was precisely because of this that the Captains' attitude toward Otto was so unified:
If you die, I will bring the finest wine to pay my respects; but if you dare to crawl back up, I will smash that bottle over your head.
"There's good and bad, I suppose." Irene shook her head; this matter wasn't easily explained clearly. "If you want to know, I can slowly tell you about Otto's deeds."
Hearing Irene's words, Kallen immediately nodded. "I really want to hear it."
"It will take a long time, and it might not be a happy story. And the protagonist of that story is not that glorious Grand Overseer."
"Oh, oh! Story time!" Pardo, standing to the side, was also quite interested. She also wanted to hear what kind of figure this Otto, who could suppress the Honkai to such an extent, actually was.
Since both of them wanted to listen, Irene no longer hid anything. While walking toward Himeko's villa, she split her attention to the Palace of Consciousness, recounting everything she knew about Otto's deeds over these 500 years.
Meanwhile, the protagonist of that story was currently on a floating island far in the sky.
Knock, knock.
A white-haired young woman holding a tablet knocked on the door. After receiving no response from the room for a long time, she sighed and reached out to open the door directly.
The moment the door opened, the sound of intense controller button-mashing drifted out from the room.
Hearing the sound of the controller, a vein of anger seemed to throb on the young woman's forehead. "Overseer Otto, sure enough, you are playing games in your room again."
"Hm?" The blond man sitting on the sofa, fully focused on controlling the white-haired girl on the screen to slaughter enemies with dual pistols, turned his head to look at the young woman who had just entered.
"Oh, Amber." Otto turned back, continuing to pour his attention into the screen before him. "If there isn't anything urgent, you can just handle it yourself."
"There shouldn't be anything recently that requires me to handle it personally, right?"
Although he, Otto, was addicted to gaming, he wasn't ignorant of what was happening in the world. So he knew very well that Amber had likely come over simply because she was a bit angry that he hadn't worked for a few days.
But Schicksal hadn't reached the point where it couldn't function without him. Amber could handle the remaining matters herself.
"But Lord Overseer, you haven't worked for three days." Amber stood behind Otto. "And the suspected Third Eruption event that broke out in Nagazora City hasn't been completely resolved either."
"Hehe." Otto chuckled lightly. "There's no need to worry about that matter. Didn't my lovely granddaughter already solve it?"
"The remaining compensation and resettlement issues will be handled by the nearest branch. Didn't I ask you to increase the investment for the Far East Branch, Amber?"
"Yes, I understand." Amber nodded. These were indeed orders Otto had given her right after the incident occurred. "I have already doubled the funding for the Far East Branch for next month."
"Well, isn't that settled then?" Otto nodded. After manipulating the joystick to kill the last monster, Otto put down the controller and turned to look at Amber.
"Alright, since the problems are solved, you can go back to work, Amber."
"Yes, okay, Lord Overseer." Amber nodded, preparing to leave, but suddenly stopped. She turned back to look at Otto with a face full of disapproval.
"Lord Overseer, I came hoping you would go to work, not to ask to work on your behalf."
"Hm?" Otto raised an eyebrow slightly. His hand, which was just about to pick up the controller again, paused. This trick had been used too many times; it didn't work anymore.
Just as Otto was preparing to find a new excuse or method to send Amber away so he could continue playing Kallen Fantasy, he saw Amber hand over the tablet she was holding.
"Lady Theresa sent over an A-Rank Valkyrie rank certification and the corresponding assessment video."
Hearing this, Otto nodded and reached out to take the tablet. If it was about his well-behaved granddaughter, then he was interested in working.
Seeing Otto take the tablet, Amber bowed slightly and turned to leave. As long as her Overseer took the tablet, it meant the Lord Overseer would likely work properly for a while.
After Amber left, Otto looked at the tablet in his hand. "Sigh, I didn't expect my cute granddaughter's school to cultivate another A-Rank Valkyrie."
Otto mused aloud, wondering which outstanding student had the ability to promote to A-Rank recently. Just as he was thinking, a voice suddenly came from his mind.
"Student? I don't think so."
Hearing the voice of Void Archives in his mind, Otto raised his eyebrows. He lifted his hand, and a golden cube emerged from his fair palm. "Oh, old friend, what have you discovered?"
This old friend of his rarely raised interesting topics proactively, aside from bewitching him or making sarcastic remarks.
"See for yourself." A trace of golden light flashed across the surface of Void Archives. The tablet in Otto's hand automatically opened, and the recording of the assessment appeared before Otto's eyes.
As soon as the video started, Otto saw the silver-haired girl standing opposite Himeko. "A somewhat unfamiliar face. It seems she isn't a student who was active before."
As the video continued to play, Otto saw the girl take a card from her pocket. Then, the card shattered, and spots of light that lit up obscured the girl's body.
"Hm, interesting." Otto frowned as he watched the situation on the screen. He had been wondering why the opponent wasn't wearing Valkyrie armor. It seemed that, just as Void Archives had said, this was not a student.
Of course, it was also possible it was just some special Stigmata ability. The video continued playing under Otto's contemplation. When the light spots dispersed, and Otto saw the completely different girl beneath the light, his brows furrowed instantly.
Looking at the girl who had appeared, Otto pressed the pause button on the video. There was no need to watch any further.
"Interesting." Otto placed the tablet on the table and looked at the floating Void Archives beside him. "My old friend, is this what you wanted me to see?"
"Yes." The cubic body of Void Archives bobbed up and down, as if nodding. "This couldn't possibly be just a student."
"Indeed." Otto nodded in considerable agreement, his gaze glancing at the paused interface showing the girl crouched low like a hunting cat.
"The Thirteenth of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, [Reverie]—Pardofelis... This is indeed interesting. Logically speaking, shouldn't she be dead?"
"Otherwise, she should be protecting this land like my old friend used to, right?"
"It is indeed impossible for her to still be alive." Void Archives' voice was filled with a sense of astonishment. Knowing all the plans, it understood one thing very clearly:
Pardofelis absolutely could not have survived. Pardofelis, who had practically faced the origin of the Honkai directly, would absolutely have had no way to survive there, even with the Honkai Resistance of a MANTIS.
"Heh, don't be nervous. Don't jump to conclusions just yet." Otto smiled at the seemingly surprised Void Archives. "Perhaps this is some special Stigmata ability? Or maybe this is the bloodline of that Flame-Chaser?"
"Hehe, you have a rich imagination," Void Archives let out a cold laugh. "But that Flame-Chaser left no bloodline, nor did she leave any Stigmata. Furthermore, Stigmata absolutely do not have the ability to turn someone into another person."
What exactly was a Stigmata? Void Archives knew perfectly well. That thing indeed had many magical aspects; for example, people with Stigmata could be born with powerful physiques, high Honkai Resistance, or adaptability.
Or they might be born with special Honkai combat methods, and so on. But this absolutely, definitely did not include the ability to turn oneself into another person, nor did it include the ability to transform into a Flame-Chaser.
"Oh, is that so?" Otto nodded, picked up the tablet again, exited the video, and began reading the resume his well-behaved granddaughter had sent along with the video.
"Miss Irene?" Otto casually browsed the resume. As for the content of the resume? Forget it. It might fool others, but fooling him was out of the question.
But who asked Theresa to be his well-behaved granddaughter? He would just turn a blind eye to the tampering his granddaughter had done on the resume.
"What are your thoughts?" Void Archives spoke leisurely seeing that Otto had roughly finished reading everything. "That is one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, you know."
"If she really were that person, I would indeed be very interested." Otto put down the tablet. "But it's a pity. Although it's unclear whether she transformed into that appearance or if it's some other situation..."
"She ultimately isn't the historical one of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Since that is the case, what need is there to do anything?"
If that girl had been in that form from the beginning, he would indeed be very interested. After all, she would be a hero of the Previous Era.
For heroes, as long as this cute cat didn't block his path, Otto would never be stingy with his praise.
But unfortunately, there were no 'ifs.' Although it was still unclear what exactly was going on, since the person's true body wasn't that hero of the Previous Era, there was no need to do much more.
However...
Otto's gaze swept over the tablet on the table. The resume mentioned that the other party was currently a teacher at his granddaughter's academy.
"Oh my, but I am curious. If my old friend saw Miss Irene in that form, would he remember anything? She was a former comrade-in-arms, after all~"
——————St. Freya Academy · Himeko's Villa——————
Irene returned to the villa. The three little ones hadn't returned yet, and Himeko should still be with the Principal. So at this moment, Irene was the only one in the villa.
Irene didn't find it strange. She walked straight upstairs, lay down on the bed, and then completely immersed her mind into the Palace of Consciousness.
Upon entering the Palace of Consciousness, Irene immediately looked toward Kallen. During the walk back, Kallen had become increasingly silent under Irene's narration, and after the story was roughly finished, she had walked silently to the side, lost in thought.
As for Pardo? She was just a little kitten, not an eloquent, heart-reading fairy. In this situation, she didn't know how to comfort Kallen either, so she could only stand to the side, watching with some worry.
"Irene-nee, Kallen-nee..."
"It's okay." Irene shook her head and raised her hand to pat Pardo's head. "Leave it to me."
After speaking, Irene walked forward, stood beside Kallen, and asked softly:
"Miss Kallen?"
________________________________________
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