"What do you mean by that?! What are you planning to do to them?!"
Kiana's slender shoulders trembled uncontrollably, her voice shaking with an emotion she had never expressed so strongly before.
She knew Otto's words could never be taken at face value.
And why wouldn't she? His name alone—Otto Apocalypse—was enough. The man who had ruled Schicksal for five whole centuries.
"Calm down, Kiana," Otto said with a helpless smile, raising both hands in a gesture of peace. "I promise you, I have no ill intentions toward them."
Kiana listened in silence, though her heart grew more unsettled.
A dense fog of uncertainty swirled within her, blurring the truth behind Otto's seemingly gentle words.
"Besides," Otto added with a soft chuckle, eyes narrowing slightly, "those two aren't exactly people I can deal with so easily."
Just from a single comment, Otto had already gleaned something important—Kiana had never directly interacted with them.
If she knew the full extent of Nagami and C.C.'s power, she wouldn't be reacting this emotionally.
Which made her source of information… quite interesting.
"Kiana, you're free now."
Just seven simple words, but in the silver-haired girl's mind, it felt as if a thousand explosions went off at once.
She stared at Otto in disbelief, as if time had frozen in place.
It took her a long moment to blink and return to herself.
"…What did you say?"
"You're free now," Otto repeated. "You can leave this floating island whenever you want. Go anywhere you wish."
He smiled as if speaking to an old friend.
"And if you'd like to find them—" Otto gestured to the painting of Nagami and C.C. with a slender finger, "—I can send you to where they are."
"They're currently at the St. Freya Academy, in Schicksal's Far East Branch."
"And as compensation for your cooperation in Schicksal's experiments, I'll grant you any request you make. Anything at all."
His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of authority.
If anyone else had said those words, people might've laughed. But not him.
He was the Archbishop of Schicksal—the ruler of the most powerful organization in the world, bar none.
"I don't want anything," Kiana said, her voice trembling slightly. "Just send me to them!"
Overwhelmed by emotion, she didn't even question Otto's intentions.
"No problem at all, little princess~"
With a crisp snap of his fingers and a warm smile, Otto gave a gentlemanly bow and gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"
Kiana glanced at the man before her—the Archbishop of Schicksal—and instinctively hid her expression behind her bangs.
Her usually calm, ocean-blue eyes now surged with a storm of emotion.
As her white-haired figure walked away, Otto's expression became unreadable, shrouded like a mist-covered mountain.
He glanced around the room, pausing at the various sketches of Nagami and C.C., his eyes flickering thoughtfully.
"Such lovely artwork~"
After a final look at the quiet room, he turned and walked toward the open door.
———————————————————————
Meanwhile, Otto's actions were far beyond Nagami's awareness.
The girls—including C.C.—had gone to complete their enrollment paperwork with Himeko, leaving Nagami wandering aimlessly around St. Freya's campus with nothing to do.
While he had acquired all the Honkai energy not related to Herrscher births via Code and Geass, his understanding of the Honkai itself was still rooted in the game lore from his previous life.
Even if he already knew the essence of the Honkai, taking formal courses at St. Freya offered a chance to deepen that knowledge—and that was exactly why C.C. had enrolled as a student.
But since she was the one learning everything in a structured way, Nagami felt no need to participate.
His real target… was the leader of Anti-Entropy, or more precisely, the Herrscher of Reason's core.
So no, he wasn't exactly "wandering." He had a purpose in mind.
As he watched a group of beautiful, fair-skinned, long-legged, hourglass-figured girls walking ahead, Nagami hesitated for a second—then followed them.
Logically speaking, if you were a student, you'd go to class.
So all he had to do was follow them, and he'd eventually find a St. Freya classroom.
With some luck, he could even run into Welt.
He completely ignored the sign pointing in the opposite direction and trailed behind the group of girls headed toward the pool.
Of course, as trained Valkyries, they instantly noticed someone tailing them.
But… he didn't look like a threat.
After all, he had entered St. Freya with proper clearance, and he wasn't dressed like a janitor.
Plus, he was hot.
Who in their right mind would chase off a guy like that?
This place really was a paradise compared to his old world.
As he casually glanced at the girl in the cool summer dress—the same one he had already "bumped into" several times—his gaze briefly passed over the creamy expanse she had deliberately exposed.
Nagami yawned, hands laced behind his head, walking with slow, lazy steps.
Glancing up, he noticed the group of girls had slowed down a little—probably afraid he'd lose track of them if they walked too fast.
Nagami leisurely changed direction.
After walking for about ten minutes, Nagami spotted a man sitting on a bench up ahead, absorbed in a book.
'Finally. Now this is how you find someone properly.'
Maybe it was the feeling of being watched, but the man—Welt—Saint Freya's only male teacher—looked up just as Nagami's eyes met his.
They both stared at each other with the same vaguely puzzled expression.
Welt Yang. Or you could call him Welt "Sit-Up" if you're feeling cheeky.
His real name was Joachim Nokianvirtanen—once a completely ordinary man.
When he was young, he inherited the will of the dying Welt Joyce and became the new Herrscher of Reason, even taking on the surname "Welt" as a mantle of responsibility.
Though he lost the Herrscher authority to command Honkai beasts—betrayal tends to come with consequences, he was the only true intellectual among the current generation of Herrschers.
Unlike that puffed-up, illiterate pufferfish of a Herrscher from before, Welt had been forged by countless experiments and lectures from genius-level, beautiful scientist girls.
Over time, he barely managed to utilize the Reason Herrscher's powers in a way that met the expected standards.
This is how he developed the ultimate janitor-class skill: the Yang Sit-Up.
Back and forth, over and over, always teetering between life and death.
Sure, the pufferfish Herrscher was bloated with Honkai energy and dumb as bricks, but she had a lot of nukes.
Though she eventually met her end, the cost of reining in her power was huge.
Schicksal aside, even Anti-Entropy's leader barely survived the Second Eruption.
When the Reason core was crushed, Welt didn't die.
Instead, with his deep understanding of Herrscher powers, he rebuilt his body and even played a pivotal role in the battles that followed.
Now that's what they mean by "knowledge is power," folks.
As Nagami quietly observed Welt, the man also scrutinized him.
Judging by appearance, Nagami was clearly in the same age range as the other Valkyries at Saint Freya.
In this Honkai-ridden world, which was notably hostile toward men, the only males in Saint Freya were teachers and janitors.
And the boy standing in front of him obviously didn't fit either category.
"Excuse me… are you a student here at Saint Freya?"
Welt stood up and gently closed his book, his polite smile never faltering as he addressed the approaching Nagami.
"Ah, hello, teacher."
Nagami switched to his business smile, scratching his head with an embarrassed chuckle.
"I'm not a student, actually. One of my relatives just became a Valkyrie. The adults were worried, so they pulled some strings and let me in to check on her."
"I see…" Welt narrowed his eyes slightly, looking more serious as he examined Nagami.
Cases like this weren't unheard of, but during his time teaching, he'd only encountered it once before.
Saint Freya wasn't an ordinary school.
Sure, during open-house events, regular people could visit for a while.
But during normal operations, it wasn't a place someone could just walk into—no matter how many "connections" they had.
"Then… are you lost?"
The kind-hearted history professor gave him a friendly, full-wattage smile.
"Not really."
Nagami hesitated for a moment, looking at the calm, refined man in front of him—one of the most important people in Anti-Entropy.
He was still new here.
Maybe it would be best to wait until he was more settled before bringing up any serious conversations with the leader.
At least he'd confirmed the Herrscher of Reason's core was intact.
A flicker of violet light flashed through his eyes in the shape of a six-pointed star.
"Well then, I'll be looking forward to our next meeting, Professor Yang~"
With a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, Nagami turned and strolled away, leaving Welt blinking in confusion.
'…Did I ever tell him my name?' Welt watched the boy's retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly.