The three of them stopped at a small restaurant.
Maybe it was hunger, or maybe seeing Himeko again had reignited her appetite—either way, Kiana was devouring everything in sight.
"If we hadn't taken a private room, we'd probably have drawn a crowd by now," Koji said, amused.
"Kiana, how long has it been since you last ate properly?" Himeko asked with a helpless smile.
Kiana swallowed a mouthful of food and rubbed her stomach. "I ran out of money…"
The dishes here weren't bad at all—at least compared to the canned rations she'd been living on.
As a Herrscher, she wouldn't starve even without food, but the feeling of an empty stomach was still unbearable.
Himeko and Koji exchanged glances, both half laughing, half pitying.
To think—the great Herrscher of the Void, reduced to this sorry state.
Kiana laughed sheepishly.
Just then, a graceful woman in a maid uniform approached their table.
Her short, gray-gold hair shimmered like flowing sand. Each movement, each faint smile, carried a dangerous charm—like a rose with hidden thorns.
But her eyes betrayed surprise.
Isn't that Himeko?
The Archbishop had confirmed her death—so how was she standing here, alive?
"Schicksal S-Rank Valkyrie… Rita Rossweisse?" Himeko said cautiously, brows knitting as her tone turned guarded.
Kiana subtly tightened her grip on her weapon.
She wouldn't be caught off guard again, not even by an S-Rank Valkyrie like Rita.
Koji rested a hand on Kiana's shoulder, his voice calm. "Relax. If you fight here, civilians will get hurt."
Kiana hesitated, then nodded, though she kept her guard up.
"Rita, you can contact Otto, can't you?" Koji asked casually.
Rita blinked in mild surprise, then nodded. This situation would certainly interest the Archbishop.
Soon, Otto's voice came through the communicator—calm, but tinged with suppressed excitement.
"Greetings, visitor from another world. I am Otto Apocalypse."
Koji could hear the tension behind his words. He understood—after all, Himeko was alive again.
"Don't call me your friend," Koji said flatly. "You've betrayed too many of those."
Otto chuckled on the other end.
"So you know quite a bit about me. Still, every betrayal had its reasons."
"You don't have to explain. I'll visit Schicksal HQ myself—we'll talk then."
"Excellent. I'll be waiting at Headquarters. Rita, take Koji and Durandal with you. Cooperate with him."
Rita straightened. "Understood, Archbishop. I'll inform Lady Durandal right away."
When the call ended, she sent a message to Durandal, who was then clearing out a nest of Honkai beasts nearby.
It wasn't long before a tall, golden-haired knight entered the restaurant.
Just by the way she stood, it was clear—this woman was immensely strong.
"Kiana," Himeko said with a teasing grin, "you always wanted to become the strongest Valkyrie, right? Well—this is her. Want to try fighting her?"
Kiana froze. "Huh?"
Just looking at Durandal's calm, commanding presence made her break into a cold sweat.
She had imagined the strongest Valkyrie would be powerful—but this was on another level.
There was no opening, no weakness at all.
"Oh?" Durandal raised a brow. "The Herrscher of the Void… you wish to be the strongest Valkyrie?"
She sounded intrigued.
Durandal didn't seek out fights, but she never turned down a challenge that could help her grow stronger.
"Ahem… That's right," Kiana said seriously. "Maybe I can't beat you now—but someday, I will."
Durandal smiled lightly. "I'll be waiting. If you can defeat me, I'll gladly give you the title of 'strongest.' It's just a word, after all."
She had never cared for empty titles.
Rita added with a faint smile, "Kiana, if you truly want that, then work hard. Lady Durandal grows stronger every single day."
Kiana's jaw dropped. "Every day? You're kidding."
"It's not that exaggerated," Durandal said, amused.
Himeko nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard the rumors. The strongest Valkyrie in Schicksal's history."
Rita chuckled. "To clarify—an ordinary S-Rank is powerful. But Lady Durandal is S-Rank itself. There is no higher rank. The Archbishop once considered creating a new class named after her."
Kiana's lips twitched. She's basically got protagonist-level hacks…
She had thought becoming an S-Rank Valkyrie would make her the best—but this woman was on a completely different plane.
"Kiana," Koji said with a calm smile, "if you can't fully master your Herrscher powers, you'll never catch up to her."
He meant it as honest praise—Durandal's talent was blessed by the world itself.
It wasn't invincibility, but it was endless potential—no bottlenecks, no ceilings.
Durandal didn't dwell on it. Boasting wasn't in her nature.
"So, what will you all do next?" she asked.
Without Otto's direct command, she would have already taken Kiana back to Headquarters—an uncontrolled Herrscher was more dangerous than any Honkai beast.
"I'll take you somewhere," Koji said.
Durandal nodded. "Before that—Kiana, one question. Why do you think S-Rank Valkyries obey Otto?"
Kiana blinked. "Why do you? He's a manipulative man, isn't he?"
Durandal smiled faintly. "Because he has the power—and the resolve. Only he can lead Schicksal and keep humanity alive against Honkai."
"This world doesn't have absolute good or evil," she added. "Only duty."
Himeko nodded in agreement. She still disliked Schicksal's politics, but she couldn't deny it—without them, countless people would already be dead.
Kiana sighed. She couldn't refute that.
(End of Chapter)
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