"Oh, so... you and Hare didn't actually end up fighting, Senior Cecilia?"
"Exactly."
Cecilia smiled and nodded: "Hare... no, Misteln, she's actually a good kid at heart."
"To put it another way, after all that effort to find you, she really just wanted to ask one simple question—"
"Can a being with no inherently noble character, one that could even be called selfish in intent, earn the right to call herself a 'Schariac' by making the right choices."
"So that's what it was..."
Lynelle was slightly surprised. To her, these words were hardly unfamiliar.
After all, the question Hare asked was a key plot point in Chapter 1.5. But compared to finding the answer through her own actions in the original story, with Cecilia still present, Hare seemed to want Cecilia's personal approval even more.
"Then... how did you answer her, Senior?"
"Heh heh..."
Cecilia gave a soft smile.
"I told her... the moment you can ask that question, you're already not the 'being with no noble character' you described. So, have a little more confidence, alright? Misteln Schariac~"
"Also, if you don't mind and genuinely want an official identity... you could introduce yourself as my cousin out in the world? I'd be delighted to have such a sweet and sensible little sister."
"Maybe it's because Hare hasn't had much experience interacting with others, but after hearing my answer, the girl blushed bright red and even ran off before she could wait for you to arrive."
"...Senior Cecilia, truly, only you."
Lynelle gave a sincere thumbs-up.
This was the composure and confidence of a veteran Schicksal charmer, alright.
"But, since you're here now, Lynelle... does that mean you've dealt with the enemies on your end?"
"Mhm, although the process had some twists and turns, they're all taken care of in the end."
Lynelle nodded: "And for certain reasons, World Serpent shouldn't be setting their sights on Wendy again anytime soon."
"But... World Serpent's need for Herrscher Cores remains. Considering they can't find Welt right now, and launching a direct assault on Schicksal Headquarters is out of the question..."
"So, they might target Kiana or Mei instead, is that it?"
Cecilia immediately grasped Lynelle's implication.
"No."
Lynelle shook her head: "I think... the chances of them focusing on the new Herrscher are higher than going after Kiana or Mei."
"After all, Kiana is the core part of Otto's plan... messing with her would probably be worse than messing with Otto's lifeline."
"So that means I don't have much to do lately? That works out perfectly..."
Cecilia stretched out her hand, saying, "Look, what's this?"
"Uh..."
Lynelle scratched her head: "The Schariac Stigmata? But I thought you already had it before, Senior?"
"This isn't the same one as before."
Cecilia smiled mysteriously: "This is... my own Stigmata."
"As a reward for helping Hare resolve her inner conflict, she extracted my original Stigmata from the Stigmata Space. Well, saying it like that might be a bit misleading—it's not completely identical to the previous one either—but that's not the important part."
"What matters is, with this Stigmata, my body can produce Holy Blood steadily again."
"Eh?"
Lynelle's eyes lit up: "That's a game-changer!"
"True, but it's not without its drawbacks."
Cecilia spread her hands: "Although the Holy Blood is being produced again, my current body is still a bit too frail and might not handle the 'strain' it brings. So, after we return this time, the doctors will probably have headaches for a while again."
"After all, the previous physical adjustments went so smoothly mainly because Otto had already done eighty or ninety percent of the work. But... it won't be so easy this time."
--+--
After bidding farewell to Cecilia, Lynelle, feeling she had finally wrapped things up for now, returned to her dormitory in high spirits.
And then she spotted a furtive-looking Ragna inside.
"Ragna Sis?"
"Ah! I-It's Lynelle..."
Ragna was startled by Lynelle suddenly turning on the light.
Of course, the fright was minor; it was mostly guilt.
She couldn't very well say that she'd come in earlier, seen Wendy sleeping soundly on the bed with a face sporting a strange, satisfied(?) blush, assumed some 'harmonious life activities' had just transpired between Wendy and Lynelle, and was thus looking for evidence to confirm her suspicions.
"Uh... Is Ragna Sis done clearing out the Honkai Beasts?"
"Of course. We even caught two very suspicious robots in the process. But they seemed quite stubborn—self-destructed the moment we captured them, and I mean physically self-destructed."
Hearing Lynelle steer the conversation to official matters, Ragna secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then casually pulled out a chair, gesturing for Lynelle to sit.
"However, this Honkai Beast rampage clearly wasn't some natural phenomenon. Coupled with the recent disturbances here at the Oceania Branch... Lynelle, is there anything you want to tell me?"
"Well..."
Seeing Ragna's knowing smile, Lynelle guiltily averted her gaze.
"Maybe... Senior Ragna could first tell me how much you already know?"
"At the very least, I'm sure now that Lynelle here has definitely never taken anti-interrogation courses. It's a required subject for Schicksal Valkyries, since plenty of organizations in the world are very interested in Valkyrie technology."
Watching Lynelle tense up immediately, Ragna burst out laughing.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. Otherwise, if you tattle to Wendy, she'll be on my case every day again about not drinking."
"You're from Anti-Entropy, and one of its key executives at that. Your last large-scale confrontation with Schicksal was the Second Honkai Eruption over a decade ago, correct?"
"Gulp..."
Lynelle immediately went limp, slumping onto the table: "Ragna Sis, you know everything already..."
"Well, your Anti-Entropy infiltrations have a distinct characteristic."
Seeing Lynelle's curious gaze, Ragna grinned: "No technique, all heart."
"My dear Lynelle, do you have any idea how many loose ends from your infiltration attempts, and how many probes from Schicksal, I've cleaned up for you while you were busy being all lovey-dovey with Wendy every day?"
"Then... thank you, Ragna Sis?"
Lynelle tilted her head.
"No need to thank me. Actually, I've been waiting for this day to lay our cards on the table."
Ragna relaxed her posture: "Other stuff doesn't really matter, we can discuss it all. I'm mainly concerned about one question."
"What question?"
"Your relationship with Wendy..."
Ragna adopted a thoughtful pose: "Does it count as an older woman taking advantage of a younger one?"
"Ragna Sis!"
Lynelle's face instantly flushed red: "The time I was asleep doesn't count towards my age!"
"Hmm, fair point. And going by what you young people say these days, it seems like Wendy is actually the more 'top' one in your relationship."
"Don't talk about that either!"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.