The room was silent. Otto didn't tease the Celestial, Fu Hua, any further. Against an old woman of over fifty thousand years, his little tricks were completely useless.
Fu Hua's impression of him was already deeply ingrained.
No matter what he did, it would be difficult to change his standing in her heart in a short amount of time.
Although, if he were to threaten Fu Hua with the safety of Shenzhou to get her to bear him a child, she would probably agree. But her heart would still not be his, and it might even incite her disgust.
The gain would not be worth the loss.
A child, huh...
Otto's eyes narrowed slightly. He sat in his chair, holding his terminal and reviewing Schicksal's affairs, trying to get up to speed on the organization's situation as quickly as possible.
He wouldn't be staying in Nagazora for long, so he needed to understand Schicksal's current business to avoid arousing suspicion upon his return.
However, his thoughts began to drift.
If I had a child...
Wouldn't that be like putting down roots in this world?
Like I've truly... planted myself here?
With the fingers of his left hand, Otto gently tapped his thigh. He looked up at Fu Hua, who was still leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, striking a pose. The Celestial had been standing like that for several hours; it seemed she was prepared to stand for the entire night.
Doesn't she get bored just standing there?
He had to hand it to the Celestial of Shenzhou; her ability to endure solitude was truly something else.
"Old friend," Otto said softly.
Fu Hua, who had been staring at the floor, pretending to be deep in thought while actually eavesdropping on the room next door, looked up.
Her position was excellent. With her MANTIS-enhanced hearing, she could easily hear the movements next door.
So she had been listening to the two little girls whispering to each other instead of sleeping.
And the topic of their conversation was Otto.
He really had a way with girls; it was no wonder he had a legion of fangirls under his command in Schicksal.
But using love to redeem a Herrscher... that was a bit outrageous.
And Otto wanted two Herrschers at once...
Was he two-timing them?
Hearing Otto call her, Fu Hua looked up and replied in her usual cool, clear voice.
"What is it?"
Otto revealed a curious smile. "My old friend, I'm curious."
"Can MANTISes get pregnant?"
"Is there any reproductive isolation between you and pure-strain humans like us?"
Hearing Otto's question, Fu Hua's expression froze. To be honest, Otto had hit a blind spot in her knowledge.
Fu Hua didn't answer, merely shaking her head faintly.
Receiving his answer, Otto fell into thought.
As far as he knew, there were no precedents of a MANTIS getting pregnant. Even for Kevin, the strongest MANTIS, his descendants were created by Dr. MEI using both of their genes.
Then again, there weren't many MANTISes left to begin with.
Fu Hua watched the pensive Otto, not understanding why he would ask such a question.
Could it be...
"Otto, are you worried about Theresa's future marriage prospects?" Fu Hua suddenly understood.
Otto's beloved granddaughter, Theresa, also possessed Honkai Beast genes within her body, making her, in a way, a MANTIS of this era.
The reason Otto was asking must be because he was worried about Theresa's future.
After all, Theresa was a candidate for Overseer. If she had no heir, Schicksal would be thrown into chaos.
Fu Hua could only think along these lines; it would never occur to her that Otto was actually thinking about getting her pregnant.
Otto, for his part, was completely bewildered.
Theresa's marriage prospects?
What little brat would dare make a move on my little Theresa? I'd have to teach him a thing or two about Schicksal's penal code!
He didn't quite follow Fu Hua's train of thought, but he asked another question anyway.
"If a MANTIS were to have an heir, would their offspring inherit some of their parents' traits?"
Fu Hua thought for a moment, then shook her head again.
This, too, was a blind spot in her knowledge.
But it made sense. The things she knew, Otto probably also knew. And if Otto didn't know something, how could she possibly know the answer?
Having worked under Otto for so many years, Fu Hua was well aware that she was no match for him when it came to schemes and intellect.
"The Kaslana family inherited the bloodline of the Previous Era's Kevin Kaslana. They possess a portion of his power in their veins," Otto mused. Siegfried's ability to partially bestialize was a fraction of Kevin's power. "So, if there were offspring, they should inherit some of the previous generation's abilities."
"That makes me curious."
"My old friend, if it were your child, what power would they inherit?"
"Let's say... you and I had a child."
"If she inherited my mind and your power, then that child... could surely be called a savior, right?"
Fu Hua frowned slightly.
"But, if the child inherited my physical constitution and your brain, that would be a disaster."
In that case, he'd just have to start over with a new one.
"Are you so pessimistic that you're pinning your hopes on the next generation?" Fu Hua asked in a level tone. She truly believed Otto was just speaking in hypotheticals and was now considering how troublesome it would be if a child inherited their parents' flaws.
Such a thing couldn't be controlled, even with technology.
Then, a moment later, the realization dawned on her. She looked at Otto.
She felt like he had just insulted her.
What's wrong with my brain?
"Of course not," Otto said with a smile, steering the conversation away. He had gotten used to being in the same room as Kiana, which had made his speech with the Celestial a bit too flippant.
Thankfully, she didn't seem to mind.
He had no desire to be beaten up by Fu Hua right now.
After all, when she playfully pounded your chest, people tended to die.
"In the next two days, I plan to take the two of them and leave Nagazora. There's no longer any value in staying here."
Bringing the Herrscher of the Void and the Herrscher of Thunder back to his main base, where he could monitor them at all times, would leave the Will of the Honkai with no opportunity to make a move.
After all, It had to follow the rules when it came down to the field.
Just then, Otto's communication terminal rang.
It was his aide, Amber.
After Otto accepted the call, the woman who had thus far existed only in the background spoke respectfully.
"Lord Overseer, you ordered me to have people investigate the situation in Nagazora. We have preliminary results."
Otto raised an eyebrow. With Schicksal's technology, it would be extremely difficult for Cocolia or the Will of the Honkai to do anything nefarious without being noticed.
"According to the investigation, the Honkai energy concentration in Nagazora City, while faint, is increasing daily."
"Is it Cocolia's doing?" Otto hadn't forgotten about that troublemaking woman. His current worry was that the madwoman would directly trigger an artificial Honkai Eruption in the city.
"No. It's not!"
"Based on our analysis, Honkai energy from the surrounding cities is gradually moving toward Nagazora City."
"Although the amount of Honkai energy in the air is negligible, not even enough to affect a human body, it is definitely converging on Nagazora."
"If all this Honkai energy gathers in Nagazora, it could lead to a Honkai disaster."
This was... many drops making an ocean.
"This situation doesn't seem like something Anti-Entropy is capable of. It's almost as if..."
Otto spoke softly, cutting Amber off.
"It is a god."
"This is... a divine act."