Night fell, but Kiana felt not a trace of sleepiness.
Because next to her, lying in the same bed, was a girl she had only just met.
On the soft mattress, Kiana and Mei lay stick-straight. In the massive room, there were only the two of them.
And in the darkness, both had their eyes wide open. Neither was sleeping.
Although the bed was quite large, the two of them lay as stiffly as if they were in a narrow coffin. If someone were to cover them with a white sheet, the room could easily pass for a morgue.
To be fair, the atmosphere was genuinely awkward.
When Otto had taken them out to dinner, the mood had been decent enough. Kiana was no longer as confrontational toward Mei.
After all, Kiana felt that as the senior who had come first, she naturally had to be a little more accommodating to her junior.
Hmph, hmph.
I came first.
Mei, for her part, knew that Kiana had gone through something painful that day. Seeing that Kiana was no longer so aggressive, her own attitude softened, though she still maintained a cool, unapproachable air.
However, when it was time to rest for the night, a disagreement arose.
It couldn't be helped. Mei had seen Otto and Kiana about to enter the same room and had instinctively stopped them.
The end result was Kiana and Mei sharing one room, while Otto got his own.
As for getting a third room, both Kiana and Mei had subconsciously ignored that option.
Because while one of them was sleeping, the other might sneak into Otto's room, or Otto might make a personal delivery to the other's door. They had to keep an eye on each other to be at ease.
During the debate, Otto had cheekily suggested the three of them sleep together, a proposal that was immediately shot down.
But now, Kiana and Mei were both thinking the exact same thing.
If I'd known it would be like this, we should have just slept together.
With someone else there, Otto wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway.
And it certainly wouldn't be like this, with the air thick with the taste of awkwardness. Neither of them was an ordinary girl; they were clueless about popular topics of conversation.
Even if they were to talk, the only topic they had in common was Otto.
A thought stirred in Kiana's mind. She turned her head to the side, but the room was too dark to see anything.
"R-Raiden Mei, how did you and Otto meet?" she couldn't help but ask.
The more extroverted Kiana couldn't stand the current atmosphere and took the initiative to speak.
Mei didn't respond, making Kiana wonder if she had fallen asleep.
"Mr. Otto... is a good person."
But after a moment, Mei slowly began to speak.
Kiana's question was like a key that unlocked the silence of the night.
The Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Thunder, like two ordinary girls on a school trip, began to talk about a boy.
Their spirits gradually lifted, and all thoughts of sleep vanished. Both spoke energetically about their own experiences with Otto.
It was as if they were sharing.
And also as if they were showing off.
The name "Otto" was a constant in their conversation.
Their chests were large.
But their hearts could only hold a single man.
(Large.jpg)
---o---
However, the two-timing scumbag in question had just welcomed another woman into his room.
Otto sat in a chair, swirling the red wine in his glass.
Standing before him was the ever-flat Celestial, Fu Hua.
"My old friend, have a seat. You have to stay here for the night anyway. You're not planning on standing for the entire evening, are you?" Otto invited her to sit.
Fu Hua merely glanced at him, remaining with her back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest.
In all of Schicksal, she was the only one who could ignore Otto like this.
If any other Valkyrie dared to refuse the Overseer's goodwill, she would quickly be taken away for a nice cup of tea and some ideological re-education.
"Don't be so cold, my old friend. I only invited you to my room because I saw how hard you were working, protecting her from the shadows," Otto said with a smile.
But Fu Hua didn't speak. This man was the one who had given her the mission to protect Raiden Mei in the first place.
Protection duty was not so easily accomplished. While Otto was away, Fu Hua had been lurking in the dark, avoiding being discovered by Mei.
He was the source of all her trouble, yet here he was, putting on a show of false sympathy.
Fu Hua glanced at the wall. On the other side were the two girls. She thought of the other girl, the one who wasn't Raiden Mei.
"The other girl, she looks a lot like..." Her words trailed off as she looked to Otto, demanding an explanation.
"She is K423, a clone of Kiana Kaslana that I created. She was taken away by Siegfried in the past, but she has ultimately returned to my hands," Otto stated flatly.
"She has the Herrscher Core of the Second Herrscher, Sirin, inside her. She will become the new Herrscher of the Void—a Herrscher of the Void loyal to me." He pointed a finger at his own heart.
Hearing Otto's words, Fu Hua's brows furrowed deeply.
"Are you insane?" Fu Hua stared at him. His calm expression gave her an eerie feeling.
Beneath that glamorous exterior, just what kind of mad heart was beating?
To place the Second Herrscher and the Third Herrscher together...
A single misstep, and if both Herrschers were to awaken at the same time, it would be a catastrophe for the entire world.
But then, she shook her head.
"No, you should have seen a psychiatrist a long time ago."
As in, over five hundred years ago.
"To think you want to control a Herrscher."
Such a crazy idea surpassed even that of Dr. MEI.
"No, no, no," Otto shook his head. "What I want to control are humans who possess the power of a Herrscher."
"When they transform into Herrschers, the bonds and the love they share with me will be the bargaining chips used to reawaken their human personalities."
Otto stood up, his left hand behind his back. He walked toward Fu Hua, lowered his head slightly, and whispered in front of her face.
"When that time comes, I will have reaped girls who possess the power of Herrschers."
"My old friend, if you were to become a Herrscher, do you think the bond between us would be enough to make you reawaken for my sake?"
Hearing his words, despite their faces being so close—a situation that might have made Kiana or Mei blush—Fu Hua's heart remained as still as water.
Otto, put away that routine you use to coax little girls.
Fu Hua looked at him with cold indifference.
"I will not become a Herrscher."
Master Fu had just planted a massive flag for herself.
But in her heart, she truly believed it.
How could I, Fu Hua, possibly become a Herrscher?
She raised a hand and pressed it against Otto's chest. Then, in her clear, cold voice, she said, "If... I really did become a Herrscher..."
She pushed him away. Her stone-hard fist shot forward like a bolt of lightning. The wind from the punch rustled Otto's golden hair, stopping a mere centimeter from his face.
"The very first thing I'd do... is probably smash your face in."
It was a threat.
Because Fu Hua had a nagging feeling that Otto was starting to get ideas about her.