Kapitel 28: Chapter 28: Farewell to the Past
"Archbishop, it's been a week since you last worked, and the documents from various branches need your review," Amber dragged her weary body into Otto's office.
For some reason, ever since Otto paid a bit of attention to Theresa, he had turned into a complete basement dweller. The files on his desk kept piling up, and every time she came in, she saw Otto lying on the sofa in the rest area fast asleep. He still held the game controller in his hand, but the TV had long been turned off, with no sound or movement.
Otto's routine seemed to be completely disrupted. But the workload had piled up to a certain extent that even Amber couldn't afford to ignore it any longer. So she gave up her illusions and decided to wake Otto up directly.
Otto cooperatively opened his eyes from the sofa.
"A week? How did a week pass by!?"
It was obvious that Otto hadn't realized the passage of time.
"Archbishop, even if you vehemently deny the exiistence of these files, these tasks still objectively exist, so please focus on your work. You can always set aside gaming and play later."
"Sorry, Amber, I was just curious about what kind of game could break the technological monopoly of Kallen's Fantasy. But unexpectedly, instead of attempting to break the monopoly, the other party took a different approach and developed their own unique style."
Nowadays, the external games were all rubbish. The IPs of "Homu's Great Adventure" and "Arahato" were repeatedly exploited, and the gaming industry felt like it was in a state of equilibrium.
But unexpectedly, this game producer who suddenly appeared had such a genius idea.
Work?
There hadn't been any important work recently. The only somewhat troublesome task was the global project to build a space elevator. However, that project had already been scheduled to be completed by 2025.
So, after looking around, besides research work, nothing else seemed that important. At most, Siegfried himself might want to cause some trouble.
But was that important?
Not really, after all, his every move was under his watchful eye. Kiana's clones was still growing, and a proper vessel to the Herrscher Core had yet to be found, so there was no need to mention experiments to resurrect Kallen.
In five hundred years, Otto felt it was definitely right to take a good rest every now and then. So, there were always a few weeks, or maybe a few months, when Otto would completely enter a vacation mode. Whether it was traveling outside or just enjoying other activities at home. With the development of the internet, games were a very good pastime. But now, there was a loyal Amber by his side, which was indeed Otto's own miscalculation.
"You can tell from this little game Undertale, Its importance the other party places is on the plot. On one hand, there's a gentle storyline, and on the other hand, there's a devil-like genocide storyline, vividly portraying the characters of the entire Underground world from different perspectives. Then comes Spritfarer, a game which didn't pursue high-quality graphics, but chose a style leaning towards hand-drawn artstyle.
Exploring death from the perspective of a care nurse. This author no longer sees games as tools for entertainment, but rather attempts to turn these things into works of art, integrating visuals, music, and stories into one."
"It's rare to hear the Archbishop give such high praise to an artform."
"Even as an old person, one must follow the trend, maintain a youthful mindset, and have more inspiration in research. But Amber, you reminded me well; I have indeed been neglectful in my work recently."
"Finally..." Amber was about to breathe a sigh of relief.
"I have a task for you. Bring that game maker over. With the cooperation of Schicksal's technology, I'm really curious to see what kind of artwork they can produce."
Amber looked even more tired. But then Otto's next words finally eased her a bit.
"Set aside the usual work for now, and there's no rush for the recruitment. I'll give you three days off, and after that, we can consider recruiting for Schicksal Entertainment."
"Yes!"
...
"The busy lass is finally back? It seems like your achievements in the Elysian Realm were very impressive, huh?" Back at the familiar bar, Bronie also appeared in front of Cioara in the bar's service uniform.
"I've persuaded Elysia, persuaded Aponia, made some plans for interesting games again, and maybe it can even persuade Eden next. Apart from these three, there's only one left, right?" Bronie felt that it wouldn't be too difficult to handle Vill-V either.
As long as the technology was in place and the other party felt satisfied, getting her to leave the Elysian Realm shouldn't be difficult.
"Who is Aponia? Have you... could it be you've met all Thirteen Flame Chasers?"
"How about it? I'm a genius, right? I'm amazing! I've collected quite a few Signets: Deliverance Signet, Reverie Signet, Setsuna Signet, Viviscitude Signet, and even Gold Signet. But when you collect too many Signets at once, it feels like your head is itching."
"Are you sure your body is okay?"
"Yeah... of course, it's fine."
Bronie nodded, and Cioara was also helpless.
After undergoing modifications as a MANTIS and finally entering the Elysian Realm to receive the Signets, Cioara had never expected that even with a modified body, there would be strong side effects after receiving the Signets.
But with Bronie, these Signets just made her head itch!?
Was that reasonable?
"Are you really not some kind of Herrscher or something else?"
"Come on, I'm a traveler from another world, it's reasonable to have a stronger body! Besides, the city where I used to live was a super advanced city covered by a light curtain. Do you think the rich people there wouldn't try to extend their lifespans after class divisions solidified?"
After Bronie said this, Cioara actually accepted this reason.
Yeah, Cioara hadn't really delved deeply into what kind of environment Bronie had lived in before.
But from her words, it was clear that it was a society with very advanced technology but severe class differentiation.
And Bronie's birth...
Naturally, it wasn't much better.
"Okay, okay, but your games are really fun. What's the plan next?"
"Is it only a fun evaluation? Write a ten-thousand-word review on Sbeam right away! ...But as for the next plan, the name has been decided, it's called Civilization."
"Is this for Eden? An artist like her indeed prefers that kind of thing. I'm starting to wonder what kind of game you're planning to make. Could it be something like the Spiritfarer? But isn't that fundamentally a visual novel game?"
Cioara's evaluation wasn't wrong. In Spiritfarer, if you couldn't enjoy the plot and dialogue, it really felt boring.
Farming, building, adventuring, platform jumping.
These elements were still a bit interesting, so even now, there were still rave reviews on Sbeam, and sales were gradually increasing.
And Cioara, of course, also received a good bonus.
Although Cioara felt that she had only invested a little money and couldn't provide any useful help, and basically the games were made entirely by Bronie alone.
But who doesn't like money?
If Bronie needed it, she could use the money for the game company; if not, he could use it to buy an island.
Anyway, Cioara never thought she had too little money.
And it seemed quite easy to earn this money as well.
"What kind of game I'm planning to make? I've told you, the game is called Civilization, so it starts developing from ancient times. It's actually more like a strategic chessboard game, right?"
"It sounds kind of boring."
Chessboard?
Strategy?
Forgive Cioara for being just an ordinary mercenary with limited knowledge who might not understand what's fun about that kind of game.
But Bronie also understood.
"You'll see then. Trust me, when have I ever flipped my motorcycle?"
Seeing Bronie pat her chest to guarantee this, Cioara also started to believe Bronie's words a bit.
"I'll look forward to it then? But if that's the case, my bar will lose another employee."
"You're talking like there are other employees in this bar besides me. Do you even realize you're an employee yourself? Let's count now, how many days a month are you actually in work here?"
"Is that really important?"
"Well, not really."
"That's right, your bar isn't just a bar anyway. So many mercenaries just want a safe place to exchange information, and making delicious food for you is what makes me happy."
"You little smooth talker!"
Hearing Bronie say this, Cioara was quite happy. She rubbed Bronie's head vigorously with her hand.
"But for the next while, you don't have to come to work. I'll be leaving here for a while, so focus on your games."
Cioara seemed prepared to bring up this matter, which puzzled Bronie.
Although she usually didn't monitor Cioara's chat software, she could obtain information about the World Serpent from Gray Serpent.
Gray Serpent had mentioned that during this time, the World Serpent's main focus was on infiltration and silent development, without any involvement in mercenary affairs.
So why did Cioara want to leave Arc City?
"Where are you going?"
"It's because of your game."
When Bronie pressed for further questioning, Cioara's face showed a very helpless expression.
"Huh?"
"To make a decision about the past, to return to my hometown, and then to erect a tombstone. The past me never believed that my brother had died, so I would often go to the cold snowy plains of Siberia to search for his traces. I never believed."
"Have you reconciled with your past? Facing the future is always a good thing. Do you want me to accompany you? I'm good at reading Feng Shui."
"If you insist on coming along, but why aren't you curious at all? Could it be that in the other world, I also had similar experiences?"
"Forget it, there aren't that many similarities. If you two were really exactly the same, would I still have this attitude toward you? I'd definitely want to destroy your crappy bar instead. I just know you're stubborn, so I'm not surprised by your behavior."
"Can't you hold back with your words a bit? Honestly..." Cioara was quite helpless; she really admired Bronie's intelligence and deduction skills. She really was a genius. Could she really do anything? What couldn't Bronie do?
"Even if you don't book a plane ticket for me, I can pay for it myself. So don't think about shaking me off, and I'm a bit afraid you might do something reckless on your own."
Reckless wasn't quite the word, but Cioara did feel Bronie's concern.
"Really, why are you always so kind to me? Honestly, I've started to suspect your motives, but no matter how I think about it, I can't figure out what you could possibly covet from me."
"Maybe it's your body?"
"Hahaha! Crave my body? That's the funniest joke in the world. But you could come up with some even cooler jokes. Maybe that would be very cool."
Not long after, Cioara closed her bar. Next, she booked two tickets to Siberia.
However, due to Honkai, the environment in Siberia couldn't really be called habitable. The Honkai hovered over the land like nuclear radiation. Honkai Beasts lurked in the snow and forests, ready to attack ordinary people passing by. The inevitable fate for ordinary people encountering Honkai Beasts was likely to become fertilizer in the soil.
But even so, there were still many ordinary people stubbornly living in this area.
Just like after the Third Eruption, when Nagazora was completely abandoned, there were still people building their homes in such environments.
In the cold land of Siberia, there were also many people who had built villages and lived peacefully there.
Because the areas covered by the Honkai were still being sealed by the Valkyries of Fate, Cioara needed her own means to enter that area.
Passing through dense forests, traversing snowy plains, the surrounding scenery became more and more primitive, and traces of human civilization seemed to disappear completely.
But for Cioara, this primitive forest felt like returning home. She strode forward with determination, never feeling lost or stopping to look at the map.
It was evident that she was very familiar with the surrounding environment.
After crossing a cold stream, a dilapidated path appeared in front of Bronie, and at the end of the path was a dilapidated village.
Time had left many marks on this village. Amidst the ruins, some resilient grass peeked out, swaying in the wind.
"We're here, Bronie. This is my hometown, Natasha Cioara's former home, destroyed by the Honkai, where I parted with my brother. At that time, my brother and I encountered Gray Serpent, but only I had resistance to the Honkai. In that environment, he had no chance of survival at all. I've always known this, and the more I understand the Honkai, the more I realize this."
"Now the only thing we need to do is to properly tell your brother that you're doing well now, and that there's also a very reliable hacker named Bronie whose future is also thriving. Your loan for the little island is almost paid off."
"Yes, we need to tell him these things and then build him a home, a place in this snowy wilderness that isn't so lonely."
AUTORENGEDANKEN 
Bismarck_Imperia
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Kapitel 29: Chapter 29: Siegfried's Rebellion
Miss Raven erected a tombstone above the dilapidated village. Even though the land was filled with unclaimed tombstones after the wrath of the Second Eruption, Raven felt that she had finally put a period to her past and her brother's. She didn't want her life to be entirely defined by her brother's death or avenging herself against Honkai.
With this in mind, looking at the newly erected tombstone, Cioara asked Bronie, "Sometimes I wonder, if another Honkai Eruption were to happen, how many children like me would there be? So I have this idea of establishing an orphanage. Would you support me?"
"Establishing an orphanage? Or a global chain of orphanages? That's actually a good idea, but if you really want to open orphanage like that, it might affect your mercenary business."
"I'm quite confident in hiding my identity. At least my two accounts are in the top ten on the Charon List, and no one has found out yet."
Cioara knew what Bronie was referring to. Once mercenaries have their vulnerabilities exposed and investigated, future missions become extremely difficult. When a secret is known to a third person, it ceases to be a secret.
"Now that you've figured out how to do it, I'll support you. I can also help you with identity concealment. After all, the information age is just beginning, and mercenaries tend to prefer traditional methods, right?"
"It seems you're quite familiar with this industry?"
"That's because you keep mentioning the Charon List, and I've had some thoughts about Silver Wof of the Ural Mountains."
"Hiss, he's a living legend. What did he do to pique your interest?"
"Nothing much, I'm just a little interested in his network skills, although a bit naive, his skills are visibly growing."
"Weird."
Is Bronie still taking on apprentices in the network? And is she even looking for the number one ranked Ural Silver Wolf in the mercenary rankings?
No, that doesn't seem right at all!
A fifteen-year-old girl teaching on the internet, with the top-ranked mercenary as her student?
"There's nothing to be surprised about. The most interesting thing about the online world is that you can always hide your identity and take off your mask at will. This is an important channel for gathering information in the future. You can't completely avoid it, so I've taken care of it for you in advance."
"I won't pay for that!"
Although Cioara reminded her like this, Bronie responded with a smirk, "I'll deduct it from your bonus."
"Tsk."
The two fell silent again.
It was indeed a bit inappropriate to joke around in front of the tombstone.
So Bronie projected some paper money and lit it.
"Although this is a custom from Shenzou, burning paper money can bring comfort to one's heart. Would you like to try it? Perhaps your brother also needs money in the afterlife."
"If this is according to the customs of Shenzou, then should we come here every year to visit?"
Cioara took the paper money, feeling that this custom was quite good.
Do you believe in the afterlife? From Spiritfarer, Cioara could somewhat sense that Bronie seemed to believe in such things to some extent.
"If not busy, it's good to come and visit. A person has three deaths in total in their lifetime. The first is the death of the body, the second is when they are buried, and everyone knows about it. This is the social death. The last death is when the last person who remembers them completely forgets, when no one remembers that they ever existed. That's the final death."
"So, bringing future children here to take a look and passing down this tradition means that the traces of the other person's existence will be forever remembered, right?"
"That's right."
"Then you should come here with me in the future and take a good look at him. But as for the reward, I can probably only offer you a plane ticket and accommodation at most!"
"It doesn't matter. At least I know that if it weren't for your brother protecting you during that Honkai Eruption, we wouldn't have met in this world. I should thank your brother."
"Hmm, maybe..."
...
After a long absence, the recent Schicksal began to get busy again.
Apart from Otto starting to work zealously, the other reason was the anomaly in the Kaslana family.
Whether it was because the Schicksal was not doing enough for the Kaslana family or because Siegfried had not received compensation from Otto all along, the long-planned escape plan by Siegfried under the Schicksal was now officially underway.
...
"Is it really okay? Siegfried, although I know you have grievances against Grandpa, the Schicksal still remains the primary force against the Honkai in the current civilization. If even a hero like you leaves the Schicksal, the impact on the Valkyries of Schicksal would be immeasurable."
Theresa returned to the Schicksal HQ, and Siegfried entrusted her to help. Theresa did not completely refuse him.
It might be because of Otto's influence, Theresa didn't completely oppose Otto, but instead advised Siegfried not to retaliate against Otto in a too extreme manner.
Indeed, in Theresa's eyes, Siegfried's actions were completely impulsive and immature revenge. Revenge for Otto's inaction, revenge for Otto's order to deploy the Honkai Fission Bombs during the Second Eruption.
"Theresa, do you know the mental state of the Valkyries who experienced the Second Eruption? If my daughter continues to stay in Schicksal, will she end up like those Valkyries in the future? Or... destined to become a sacrifice under Otto's command... As a father, this is not the future I want to see. Which parent would throw their own child into the cesspit?"
Siegfried had long planned this plan, and now, with the cooperation of Anti Entropy, it was officially underway.
"But Kiana has my protection, even I can't..."
"Can you guarantee that Kiana will not become a Valkyrie in the future?"
"I... I can't..."
"So that's the problem, and you know it too, otherwise you wouldn't help me prepare the plane. And Otto is conducting a very dangerous experiment, he is trying to resurrect the Second Herrscher, do you know what that means?"
"I understand, I will assist you well, but Grandpa won't give up his experiment. Just one sabotage may not change anything."
"So the core of the Second Herrscher is the key to the experiment, if it is lost, the experiment will not work."
"This is betraying Schicksal! Schicksal has eyes and ears all over the world, you cannot escape their pursuit."
"So we have to involve Anti Entropy."
Anti Entropy also has Gems in their hands, and doesn't Schicksal covet those gems? Of course they do.
So without a doubt, Anti Entropy is indeed a good place to go.
Moreover, during the Second Eruption, they had already cooperated. Their ideology indeed gained Siegfried's approval. Throwing girls onto the battlefield is indeed too much!
"Well, I accidentally lost my access card. Help me find it. Even if you find it, don't use it, remember to give it to me as soon as possible."
Saying this, Theresa accidentally dropped something like a card from her skirt.
"A plane to Siberia is about to take off. Kiana is mischievous and likes to hide in some corners. I don't think she'll be on the plane, right?"
Siegfried actually wanted to ridicule Theresa's acting skills, they were really bad.
But if she could help him, that would be the best thing.
What else is there to complain about now? Siegfried embarked on his own path of revenge
...
"Cioara, do you like to follow the gossip of the Schicksal?"
Returning to her hometown of Sky City, Cioara reopened her bar. Since returning from Siberia, Cioara felt that her life had become more colorful.
Bronie started creating new folders, and she gradually got the hang of making games. Art, music, and text, unexpectedly, were all created by her own power, similar to that of the First Herrscher.
Cioara couldn't help but comment that no wonder Bronie's game production efficiency was so high. But since she had done all this, did Bronie's company still have a reason to exist?
At least Cioara didn't think there was much need for it. After all, even in programming, Bronie seemed to have created an artificial intelligence to assist in programming.
That's the power of technology.
But just as Cioara watched Bronie gradually complete the game, Bronie suddenly asked this question.
"Schicksal? The main force organization against the Honkai in the current era? What gossip could there be in there? Is it just a multi-angle love affair between Valkyries?"
Yes, Cioara's stereotypical impression of the Schicksal turned out to be this. But thinking about it carefully, in an organization crowded with Valkyries, it was only normal for girls to stick together like this. Multi-angle love affairs and such were just a part of it.
"A n S-Rank of Schicksal named Siegfried who fought against Honkai have betrayed Schicksal, taking the core of the Second Herrscher with him."
"That's quite a big deal. It seems like the World Serpent will be issuing missions soon?"
"That's right, but I think at most it will cause varying degrees of Honkai Eruptions. Following that, the Schicksal will block it, and then there will be no room for the World Serpent to intervene, right?"
"So I will take the route of the tasks issued by Schicksal through the intermediaries of mercenaries. I hope that my business won't be too affected by it."
"Schicksal currently conceals the existence of the Honkai from society, so what kind of tasks could they issue? I'm afraid at most it's just cleaning up the battlefield on the periphery, nothing that mercenaries would do."
Bronie maintained a different opinion, and Cioara also agreed.
"So there's almost no room for us to intervene in this matter?"
"After all, it's the core of the Second Herrscher, if we could get it, it would be great to let Vill-V make another Cosmic Juggernaut in the Elysian Realm. Maybe interstellar travel won't be a problem in the future."
"There's no such good thing in the world. Do you have enough resources to want to make a Divine Key? So why tell me about this? You can't even touch it, and you tell me, are you trying to tempt me to death?"
Cioara knew that Bronie had also had a mercenary career. Basically, mercenaries have a bad habit. That is, they will try to seize any opportunity.
"It's nothing, I'm just gossiping with you. I think you might like this topic, or do you want to talk about the topics that only girls can talk about, like how your figure grew up?"
"Let's forget about that, I thought you wanted to help me smash the core of the Second Herrscher."
"It seems you still have grievances against the Second Herrscher."
"It's just a pity that she died too early, so I didn't have any chance to retaliate against her. But you really won't get involved in that matter, right? I think it's quite dangerous, and without the World Serpent backing you up, you don't have the ability to confront Schicksal head-on."
"I never fight battles without assurance, so if I do take action, I definitely won't fail! But in a while, I plan to go to Siberia again, to experience the artistic atmosphere there."
"Can you see the expression on my face? Do you think I believe what you're saying? What do you want to do over there? What else could be worth your desire there?"
"Of course, it's beautiful girls! Meeting beautiful girls is my source of happiness, and it's like an early preview for when facing Honkai disasters in the future, so I won't be completely helpless."
It seemed that Bronie was determined to go?
Cioara arrived at the front of the bar and pulled down the rolling shutter.
"Why did you suddenly close the door?"
"Do you think I would feel at ease letting you go out randomly? Although I don't know what you want to do, I can't just watch you throw your life away, right? So it's best for you to speak up about any plans you have. If I can help, I won't cause trouble."
And there was one more important point. Even she didn't know the location of this incident, but Bronie seemed to have already investigated it!
"It seems that I hold quite an important position in your heart! I'm glad, but rest assured, Haxxor deals with things absolutely reliably. As a teammate, I'm absolutely reliable!"
"So what about the game? Are you not going to work on it?"
"Don't worry, the game won't be neglected. It's just that my pet AI's programming tasks takes time, so before they finish the tasks I've assigned them, I'll have plenty of time to do what I want to do."
"Well, if there's anything too dangerous that requires my intervention, I'll definitely charge you afterwards. Don't complain when the time comes~"
----
New Fic:
I'm an Internet Cafe Owner?
Tags: Multiverse, Games, Fate, Male MC, RTS, FPS, etc.
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Bismarck_Imperia
Bismarck_Imperia
Want to read advanced chapters? go to my patréon for 100+ chapters.
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