Otto bore the Walter clone no ill will.
Unlike in many Honkai fanfictions, he had no desire to immediately eliminate him.
Killing the Walter clone would only add another piece of flammable garbage to the world. Otto felt that, for now at least, this piece of trash could be put to good use.
Therefore, Otto wanted to push the clone into the position of Anti-Entropy's Sovereign.
That would surely be interesting.
At the very least, it would annoy Old Yang and the rest of Anti-Entropy. Even if the plan failed, Otto himself would lose nothing.
It was the natural order of things for Schicksal to cause trouble for Anti-Entropy.
In the end, the only one who would die would be the Walter clone.
If he played his cards right, he might even be able to make the real Walter Yang look like the imposter.
When he finally emerged from St. Freya Academy and returned to Anti-Entropy, only to see another man sitting in the Sovereign's seat, the look on his face would surely be priceless.
Besides, Schicksal would much prefer the clone to be Anti-Entropy's Sovereign. An Anti-Entropy led by him could be kneaded and shaped however they pleased.
At that moment, the Walter clone's face was grim. He, too, was beginning to realize that something was wrong with Cocolia.
He was clearly the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, so why was it that Cocolia was the one to inform him of every single matter? Was he the Sovereign, or was she?
He alone should be the one to command her; there was no reason for her to be directing him.
The Walter clone felt that his authority had been offended.
"Is there truth in your words?" he asked, his brow furrowed.
"If Cocolia is doing this, does she not fear my wrath!?"
He was the invincible Herrscher of Reason!
He was the undying, ever-victorious one!
"Esteemed Sovereign, I'm afraid Cocolia truly does not fear it," Otto said with a smile. The clone looked at him, gesturing for him to continue.
"Because the entire purpose of Cocolia's plan in Nagazora City is to create the Third Herrscher and seize her Herrscher Gem."
"You are a valiant warrior, but if your opponent is another Herrscher, a despicable sneak attack could put you at a disadvantage."
"Moreover, she has already planted a failsafe within you."
"A failsafe? Explain." The clone was also sensing that something was wrong. If Cocolia truly had a Herrscher under her control, and he, the Sovereign, remained in the dark as before, a surprise attack would indeed be very difficult to handle.
His expression turned sullen. No one enjoys being deceived, especially not someone as proud and arrogant as the Walter clone.
He was already tempted to go back and confront Cocolia. If this was true, he would teach her a lesson.
"Does Cocolia frequently have you undergo physical examinations?" Otto asked.
The Walter clone nodded. Of course she did. He was a clone, and Cocolia's technology was not yet perfected. He needed regular check-ups and maintenance to prevent him from suddenly dropping dead.
"The truth is, Cocolia has planted a device, something like a bomb, inside your body. It is for this very reason that Lady Tesla and the others could not directly inform you of Cocolia's treacherous ambitions."
"A bomb!?"
The clone clutched his chest. He remembered how Cocolia insisted on examining him every few days.
He had originally thought it was because she cared for him, her Sovereign.
But!
Now that he thought about it, he was the Herrscher of Reason, invincible under the heavens!
He had no need for such pointless examinations.
Could it be... that woman Cocolia was using him as an experiment?
Damn it!
Cocolia, you will die for this!
Rage flared, and the ground beneath the clone's feet cracked. His eyes were wide with fury. He wanted to go back and kill Cocolia right now.
"Esteemed Sovereign, please calm your anger. We have not yet gathered enough leverage to move against Cocolia."
"Lady Tesla is your ever-loyal subordinate. She will overthrow Cocolia and restore you to your rightful place as the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy."
"At that time, you shall reign supreme over all."
Otto said with a smile, but the clone's anger did not diminish.
"I can't wait! I'm going to kill Cocolia now!"
Wow, what a mindless brute.
But it was precisely this quality that made him easy to control. Cocolia had clearly taken this into consideration when she chose him.
"But if she decides to take you down with her in a final, desperate act, are you prepared to die alongside her?"
"Then what should I do!?"
The clone was agitated. He had undergone so many examinations by Cocolia; it was highly likely that the woman had indeed left some kind of failsafe in his body.
Was he to be controlled by her like this?
He was so frustrated he felt like going on a rampage.
"Please be patient. Lady Tesla will welcome you back."
Otto's words never strayed from Tesla. Even if Cocolia discovered that someone was plotting against her, the trail would only lead back to Tesla.
Tesla's schemes have nothing to do with me, the Overseer of Schicksal.
"However, that Cocolia woman is cunning and full of tricks. To bring her down, we need to coordinate from both the inside and the outside, catching her in a pincer movement."
"Get to the point," the slow-witted clone said.
"If possible, I hope you will be able to pass information from Cocolia's side to us. Only then can we topple her and restore you to the Sovereign's throne."
Otto took out a slip of paper and stepped directly into the clone's attack range.
The clone's eyebrows shot up. To dare step within his range... this man was truly a loyal and fearless subject, completely unafraid that he might be killed.
Hmph. Although I have been deceived by Cocolia, I still have capable people by my side.
In spite of himself, the Walter clone began to feel a sliver of goodwill toward the blond man before him and this 'Tesla'.
"This contains my contact information. When you return to Cocolia's side, act as if nothing has happened."
Otto handed the paper to the clone. The clone glanced at it, then clenched his fist. A dark light flashed between his fingers, and the paper was utterly disintegrated.
"Hmph. I do not wish to wait long."
"If you help this Sovereign bring Cocolia under control, you will be handsomely rewarded!"
With a cold snort, the clone turned, flicked his sleeve, and departed, no longer concerned with the matter of the missing Raiden Mei.
That was Cocolia's problem to worry about. It had nothing to do with him.
Seeing the clone leave, a smile spread across Otto's face. That moron really was easy to fool.
"Otto... were you lying to him?" Kiana asked from the side. She had watched the entire exchange, and her keen intuition told her that Otto was putting on an act.
"You could tell?" Otto chuckled, ruffling Kiana's hair.
"But you don't need to worry about this. Let's go get something to eat first."
Leave such dirty work to us filthy adults.
Otto led Kiana forward. After a few steps, Kiana tilted her head and looked at his side profile.
"Otto, will you lie to me like you did just now?"
Hearing Kiana's question, Otto turned his head. His emerald eyes met her azure ones.
"Why would I lie to you? You're just a few pounds of flesh. How much money would you be worth if I sold you? There's no profit in deceiving you."
Otto said with a laugh.
In response, Kiana playfully punched his shoulder.
She said nothing more.
But she looked up at the darkening sky.
I may only be a few pounds of flesh.
But I can give birth to a few pounds of flesh.