Securing the saint and crippling Kevin—that was one of the few multi-layered strategies his mind could forge.
Countless troubles still loomed ahead…
He would navigate them one calculated step at a time.
Haha—amusing. The instant "one step at a time" crossed his thoughts, he instinctively questioned: would the original ever endure a single moment without a grand design?
Fully steeped in Otto's essence now.
"Regardless," the current Overseer of Schicksal murmured, voice too faint for any outsider to catch, "with foreknowledge of the game's plot and this ancient tome of time, my contributions against Honkai shall not pale beside yours."
"I shall weave a lie vast enough to shroud the heavens—compelling even the gods to dance upon my strings."
Consciousness blurred. In the haze, he seemed to hear a girl's furious scream echoing from some distant place.
…
"Grandpa!!!"
Otto leisurely shrank the Oath of Judah into a delicate cross—having excised extraneous components like the suppressor for Theresa's Honkai beast genes, trimming its weight from half a ton—and fastened it to his right wrist.
Then, with unhurried grace, he addressed the seething Theresa on the video call.
"What troubles you? Who has dared bully my precious granddaughter?"
He reclined at the desk, Rita—the black-stockinged head maid who had delivered the Divine Key—standing poised behind him.
Early the next morning. After Otto lifted the block, Theresa had finally connected on her eighty-first attempt.
Perfect timing.
"Who else but you, you stinky grandpa?!"
The forty-something loli glared daggers, unleashing the fury pent up from the purged St. Freya basement and the endless unanswered calls.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You know precisely what you've done!!!"
"Oh, Theresa," Otto replied with a warm, indulgent smile. "Did I merely reclaim your Divine Key? Yet you still have me! In my heart, little Theresa forever ranks as the second most adorable in the world~"
"Who wants a stinky grandpa—wait!" Theresa bolted upright, momentarily derailed. "Second most adorable?! Then who's the most?!"
"That would be Schicksal's most diligent and devoted Valkyrie—little Durandal, naturally."
Behind him, Rita's eyes sparkled faintly. In another room, a drowsy, bed-headed Cecilia perked up as well.
"WAAAAAHHH!!!" Theresa's shriek nearly rent the heavens. "You're the worst grandpa in the entire world!!!"
"Oh, my apologies."
"Mm." Theresa's rage softened a fraction at the abrupt contrition. "And then?"
"And then? —Nothing further, I suppose? Farewell, little Theresa?"
"Gran—pa!!! Your apology lacks even a shred of sincerity!!!"
"Ah? I apologized—and you still demand sincerity?"
Otto tilted his head, as though encountering a novel concept.
"Gran! Pa! I'm heading to Headquarters right this instant!"
"Rita, notify the ports—deny entry to all personnel from the Far East branch."
Otto leaned back—and collided with a soft, resilient curve.
Tch, even fragrant.
"At once, Lord Overseer."
Rita flushed faintly, straightening to perfect posture—she had leaned in slightly earlier, eager to witness Theresa's eruption.
"Grandpa, you dare!!!"
Otto rolled his eyes.
"It is December 24—Christmas Eve tonight. Should you abandon St. Freya's Valkyries' holiday reports on Christmas Eve to come stir trouble here, I shall be forced to discuss St. Freya's future affiliation with you."
He scarcely set a sterling example himself, but… I have Amber. Does Theresa boast a secretary of such caliber?
Spotting a flash of red in the background, inspiration struck.
"Ah—your Major Himeko appears quite capable. I've observed her tending to you several times during our calls. She seems a most responsible individual."
"Himeko?" Theresa laughed as though at a jest. "Responsible? Grandpa, you have no idea how she drinks without restraint… Fine, fine—I won't speak ill of you anymore."
She shrank back, as though facing her natural predator.
"Haha, it seems little Theresa is quite content at St. Freya," Otto remarked, fingers interlaced in serene poise. "Greetings, Himeko. My apologies that my granddaughter causes you such trouble."
"Oh, n-no trouble at all, Lord Overseer." The red-clad woman in her twenties appeared on screen, hesitant yet eager to speak.
"If I recall correctly, you are kin to Ryunosuke Himemiya?"
"Y-yes, I am his daughter." Himeko's eyes brightened.
"Ah, your father rendered immense service to Schicksal," Otto continued, drawing upon memories from the manga. "He restored a vital Divine Key for us."
The 4th Divine Key, the orbital weather satellite—repaired by Ryunosuke Himemiya.
Though later shattered by this little thief toying with it.
"Truly?" Himeko struggled to contain her excitement. "Then where is he now… forgive me, Overseer—I mean, is he well?"
Dead. Attempted to seize the Core of Reason and Anti-Entropy's leadership, only to be crushed by Welt.
But Otto would never utter such truths. Guiding her to uncover a carefully curated version under his direction would prove far more persuasive.
Time-intensive, yes—but the resulting loyalty would be unbreakable.
After all, Himeko harbored a clear vendetta against Anti-Entropy for her father's death.
With subtle nudges in details like these… St. Freya would become a marionette string for manipulating Anti-Entropy.
A self-perpetuating human puppet—reusable indefinitely.
"I cannot say," he replied with a helpless shrug, refining the scheme in his mind. "He later took certain Divine Key data to Anti-Entropy… and vanished."
Silence descended. All present understood the implication.
Betrayal.
Himeko's father, Ryunosuke Himemiya, was a Schicksal traitor.
The red-haired woman opened her mouth, closed it, pressed her lips together, then finally whispered.
"I am sorry, Lord Overseer."
"No need to apologize, Himeko," Otto murmured, deliberately omitting "Himemiya" to draw her closer. "Your father may have harbored more progressive ideals, prompting him to depart Schicksal—after all, our every action bears upon humanity's fate, rendering us somewhat cautious. That likely disappointed him."
"Noble idealists ever walk a solitary path apart from the masses."
"Mm." Himeko bowed her head, expression shadowed.