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ArabicHonkai Impact: My Power Grows When Valkyries Fall For Me — Chapter 49
Chapter 49: Not Even Pretending Anymore
“Theresa has managed this place very well, inheriting Cecilia’s philosophy.”
Walking along a quiet path in St. Freya Academy, Otto spoke, his voice tinged with a rare and fleeting emotion that drifted through the night air.
“It’s remarkable that these children can still hold onto the fleeting innocence of youth, even under the heavy burden of fighting the Honkai.”
Lucian did not respond, merely walking in silence beside the Overseer. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it, but an unshakable premonition had long settled in his gut—the sight of Otto Apocalypse was always a harbinger of trouble.
After all, if his terrifying assumption was correct—if his future self had truly traveled back to the past—then he would have undoubtedly said something to this old monster. It would certainly explain why, four years ago when he had first arrived in this world, Otto had always shown such a… vested interest in him.
The thought sent a cold dread seeping into Lucian’s bones. If that were the case, did it not mean that from the very moment he’d arrived, Otto had already been weaving a web around him for years?
“It seems you’ve thought of something interesting?”
Otto’s voice, smooth as silk, sliced through Lucian’s spiraling thoughts.
Lucian turned his head. Otto was watching him with those piercing green eyes that seemed to see right through him, a faint, ambiguous smile playing on his lips. Lucian quickly reined in his thoughts, his expression smoothing over into a neutral mask.
“I was just thinking that Lord Bishop seems to have shown me special attention, starting from four years ago.”
“Oh?” Otto raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, neither denying nor confirming the statement. He simply asked with a tone of detached interest, “And why do you think that is?”
“Perhaps because I’m special?” Lucian offered, testing the waters.
“Hmm… What if I told you I’ve known about you for a very long time?”
Otto’s voice was exceptionally clear in the stillness of the night, carrying a casual nonchalance that made Lucian’s brow furrow.
Trying to keep his own voice level, as if it were nothing more than ordinary curiosity, Lucian asked, “You mean… before I appeared at the hot spring?”
“I was just joking.” Otto chuckled softly. “I saw you seemed tense and wanted to lighten the mood.”
On the surface, Lucian remained silent. Inwardly, he was composing a litany of curses that would make a sailor blush, tracing Otto’s lineage back with inventive profanity.
“There’s no need to be so nervous, Mr. Lucian,” Otto continued, his leisurely pace unchanged, though his tone was now laced with obvious amusement. “I simply think that a special existence like you deserves some special attention.”
Lucian forced down the turmoil in his heart, striving to keep his voice calm. “It’s my honor to be considered interesting by Lord Bishop.”
“Not interesting. Necessary.”
Otto stopped walking and turned to face him. The moonlight cast a strange, predatory luster in his eyes. He reached out his hand, and a golden Judgement of Shamash materialized from motes of light, emitting a faint, warm glow.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, Otto aimed the muzzle of the Divine Key squarely at the center of Lucian’s forehead.
The very air seemed to freeze, the chirping of crickets falling silent.
Otto maintained the posture, perfectly still. Lucian, too, stood his ground, his outward demeanor unchanged from a moment ago, but his eyes had grown colder, like chips of ice.
“An interesting ability, Mr. Lucian,” Otto said, his voice a low murmur. He made no further move, because in that same instant, countless crystalline spikes, shimmering with a deep purple hue, had materialized from the air around him, their needle-sharp tips pinning him in place.
“Crystallized Honkai Energy…” Otto observed, his gaze sweeping over the amethyst-tipped lances floating inches from his body. His eyes held not fear, but the detached curiosity of a scholar. “To instantly transform Honkai Energy into a solid state with such perfect efficiency, leaving no trace of residual energy.”
As he spoke, the firearm in his hand gradually dissipated into golden dust. A flicker of understanding passed through Lucian’s eyes, and the Honkai spikes surrounding Otto vanished in unison.
The confrontation, as sudden as it was silent, was over. As if nothing had happened, the two resumed their walk.
“It seems my visit today was not in vain, Mr. Lucian.” Otto withdrew his hand, clasping it behind his back once more. His gaze shifted toward the scattered lights of the St. Freya dormitory buildings in the distance. “I don’t care where your power comes from. I only care whether this special ‘seed’ of yours can ultimately bear the fruit I desire.”
“And what fruit does Lord Bishop desire?” Lucian asked.
Otto didn’t answer immediately. He looked up at the night sky, where the stars were sparse against the brilliance of the moon.
“To resurrect a person.” His voice was soft, almost a whisper, yet it carried the obvious weight of five hundred years of obsession. “Someone who passed away long, long ago.”
He looked back at Lucian, a strange, feverish light flickering in his eyes.
Lucian feigned ignorance, though of course he knew what—who—Otto wanted. Anyone with a passing knowledge of history could guess he meant to resurrect Kallen Kaslana.
“And you, Mr. Lucian,” Otto’s gaze was firm, appraising him as if he were a priceless artifact. “You may become an indispensable aid on this path of mine.”
“I can certainly help you, Otto,” Lucian nodded, meeting the Overseer’s gaze without flinching. His own eyes carried a clear warning.
“But as my price, you will not touch my friends.”
Returning to the dormitory Theresa had arranged for him, Lucian felt his body go limp, and he collapsed onto the sofa. Moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, painting shifting patterns on the floor of the darkened room.
‘That old bastard Otto… he clearly knows something…’Lucian unconsciously rubbed his palm with his fingertips, lost in thought. Just then, a soft click came from the door.’Hm?’
He looked over his shoulder. The door was pushed open a crack, and a slender figure began to creep in with practiced stealth. The intruder stopped dead at the entrance, however, having made direct eye contact with Lucian, who was sitting silently on the sofa.
“Boss, why didn’t you turn on the lights when you got back…”
Bronya stood frozen for a few seconds before her programming, or perhaps her sheer audacity, kicked back in. She very naturally continued her original action, walking to the entrance and pressing the light switch on the wall.
Warm yellow light instantly flooded the room. Bronya drifted inside.
“What’s up?” Lucian asked, though his eyes had already noticed the small objects she was clutching in her arms. As he watched, she calmly placed one of them in a crevice of the shoe rack by the door.
“…”
Lucian raised an eyebrow. Before he could even form the question, Bronya answered for him in her usual monotone.
“The Bronya originally wanted to install a few pinhole cameras here while Boss was not back.”
She paused, then added with unshakable logic, “But since Boss is back, there is no need to install them secretly.”
As she spoke, Bronya drifted into the living room, went to the television, and carefully placed another one of the devices in a small gap in the casing.
A muscle in Lucian’s cheek twitched. It seemed that once Bronya realized he was always onto her little schemes, she’d decided to forgo the ‘scheme’ part entirely. Back in Nagazora, she at least had the decency to restrain herself and not bug his actual home. Now, she wasn’t even pretending anymore.
“Boss, do not look at the Bronya like that.” Her expression was as blank as ever as she turned to face him.
“Also, the Bronya is hungry. Go cook two dishes for the Bronya.”