Chapter 174: Otto's Olive Branch
"You are... Bishop Otto?"
Faced with Otto, who suddenly appeared beside him, Kirataka adjusted his emotions and pretended to see him for the first time.
Although he already knew Otto quite well and had once been killed by him, for Otto, this should be their first meeting in this hot spring.
"Yes, it's me. I'm really surprised. I thought you wouldn't recognize me."
Otto said as he stepped into the hot spring pool and sat down casually near him.
"You're joking. As the leader of the entire Schicksal, everyone is very familiar with your image."
After all, the man in front of him was a real person who could be recorded in history and had existed in this world for five hundred years.
Moreover, except for a certain uneducated paramecium in the past, there should be no one who does not know the boss of their organization.
"Really? Then in this state... can you still recognize it?"
Otto casually snapped his fingers, and his body changed in an instant, shrinking to the size of a child.
Well, that's the magic of the Soulium body.
Although Kirataka knew it well, he still pretended to be surprised and asked in a puzzled tone:
"What are you doing…?"
"Hahaha, this is just a spare body made of Soulium, don't worry about it."
Otto waved his hands and snapped his fingers, changing himself back.
The pair of green eyes stared at Kirataka, as if trying to see through his thoughts:
"Kirataka, what are you thinking about now?"
"...I was wondering what was going on at this hot spring resort that required the Bishop of Schicksal to visit in person."
From the perspective of ordinary people's thinking, this doubt is not unreasonable.
In the eyes of normal people, a person in a position like the Schicksal Bishop should be busy with a myriad of affairs, always staying at the headquarters to dispatch troops and generals to worry about the Honkai of the entire earth. How could he have the leisure to participate in the hot spring trip of the Far East Branch?
Hearing his question, the blond man—no, now it should be the blond boy—smiled and replied:
"It's nothing serious. I just came to see if my dear granddaughter is having fun here. Also, I came to see how the outstanding Valkyries and Schicksal Knights of the Far East Branch are growing up."
"So what are the results of your observations?"
"There are many outstanding talents here. To be honest, your potential is not even inferior to the three S-rank Valkyries under my command."
Otto answered calmly.
Among them, apart from Kiana, he thinks the ones with the most potential are Raiden Mei and Seele.
One is a third Herrscher, and the other is a perfect Stigmata Awakener, both of whom have impeccable talents.
Of course, in his eyes, neither of these two is the best. In his opinion, the best should be...
"Especially you, Kirataka-kun."
"You are too kind."
"I've read your resume, Kirataka. You're an excellent talent. There's no need to deny that."
A red wine glass appeared in Otto's hand. He shook it gently and took a sip.
"You are very talented in fighting, and you also have the corresponding courage. I am very optimistic about you."
A survivor of the eruption of Nagazora City, one of the heroes of the Honkai eruption of Manila, an excellent student of St. Freya Academy, a fighter who destroyed the base of Anti-Entropy and participated in killing Cocolia... All these data are recorded in the database of Schicksal.
In Otto's opinion, Kirataka's potential is no less than that of Durandal, whom he had carefully cultivated in the past.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"So, although it may be a little abrupt, I sincerely invite you here... Are you interested in joining the Apocalypse family?"
"?"
Kirataka was surprised.
"The Apocalypse family is not a family that relies on bloodline inheritance. As long as there are talented people, they can be accepted into the family. This is why our family has been able to continue to this day. And you, Kirataka, you have the potential and talent to become one of them."
Otto explained slowly.
Unlike Schariac and Kaslana, his family has never been bound by the close connection of "blood" and has always absorbed talented people with potential from ancient times to the present.
'No, no, no, the reason why it has been able to continue until now is that you, the immortal Soulium man, have always occupied the position of the Bishop of Schicksal.'
Kirataka complained silently in his heart.
'But... he is extending an olive branch to me?'
'Didn't you set up a trap in the virtual space last time…'
What caused this Schicksal bishop to change his temperament so drastically, going from strict surveillance to extending an olive branch?
Of course, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the other party was acting and testing him.
After thinking for a while, Kirataka asked:
"What do you mean by joining the Apocalypse family?"
"If it were in the past, I would probably let you change your name and become my brother, but I can't do that now. After all, I am no longer the leader of Apocalypse. So, there is only one way left, and that is..."
The blond man said slowly:
"Marry into the wife's family."
——Since Theresa was created by him, he gave the position of the head of Apocalypse to his granddaughter. Now, he can only be regarded as the "former patriarch."
"This..."
Fortunately, Kirataka didn't drink water now, or the hot spring would have sprayed everywhere.
The "marrying into the wife's family" most likely refers to... marrying someone who is "the cutest person in the world."
He confirmed:
"Are you talking about Principal Theresa?"
"Of course. Are there any other candidates besides this? Besides, didn't you just let my good granddaughter give you a back massage?"
"No, no, no, that's another matter. Besides, this is somewhat..."
It's somewhat shocking.
"It's okay. Although my dear granddaughter is not young in reality, her appearance and personality are definitely not much different from you young people."
'Well... that's true.'
Although she is nearly fifty years old, she sometimes acts as innocent as a twelve-year-old child.
Cute, indeed, very cute...
The blond man in front of him continued:
"One day I will step down from the position of Bishop of Schicksal. At that time, Theresa will take over my position and become the new generation Bishop of Schicksal."
"…"
Kirataka remained silent.
What Otto meant was that the entire Schicksal could be considered Theresa's "dowry."
"What do you think?"
Otto asked sincerely.
——His main focus was indeed on the plan to resurrect Kallen, but apart from that, he also had to make some preparations for what happened after that.
Specifically, he needed to leave enough support for Theresa, his successor, after his death.
Considering the plan he was about to implement, Schicksal was likely to temporarily break with Theresa. At that time, she must have enough allies by her side to keep going.
If Kallen is the most important person to him, then Theresa, his granddaughter, can be the second most important person.
Of course, in today's world, the only two people he cares about are Kallen and Theresa.
Although Theresa could be sacrificed in the plan to resurrect Kallen, he would still make some preparations for the future if Theresa survived.
——Especially recently, after discovering the existence of the Serpent.
This organization is unfathomable, and Otto has not yet fully investigated its goals.
Although on the surface Schicksal remains the largest organization, occupying half of the world, he still has to expend energy dealing with these venomous snakes hiding in the shadows.
The more he investigated, the more he realized how hidden this organization was.
Its members likely infiltrate the top echelons of various organizations, and its history… may not even be shorter than Schicksal's.
If he wanted to uproot them entirely, even with Schicksal's power, it would take a lot of time and energy.
And… who is the leader of this shadowy organization?
Based on the intelligence gathered, the World Serpent's followers seemed to serve a Forerunner.
Otto was well aware that the Immortal Phoenix was not the only pioneer from the previous civilization. If there were other pioneers behind the World Serpent aiming to oppose Schicksal and thwart his plans, it would spell significant trouble.
He knew how powerful the Immortal Phoenix had once been and sought to avoid outright conflict with such beings.
This also prompted him to adjust his considerations for the future.
——Otto understood Schicksal was not omnipotent.
The attempt to wipe out the Herrscher of Reason and its allies fifty years ago led to the creation of Anti-Entropy;
The attempt to eliminate Siegfried, a dangerous threat, over a decade ago also failed, leaving this adversary active in the world;
Recently, the Singapore operation—where the Serpent was suspected of interference—resulted in the loss of the Serenity Gem, a Herrscher Core.
With the end of the world approaching, Otto needed to focus all his resources on resurrecting Kallen to ensure success.
To avoid complications, he adjusted his strategies for other matters.
For example, his earlier investigation into Kirataka.
——Now, as long as Kirataka did not threaten the core nodes of Kallen's resurrection plan, Otto would show goodwill.
Even though he had planned for Rita to use him as a pawn in awakening Sirin, Otto now offered another possibility.
After all, when the time came, the sacrifices for Sirin's awakening didn't necessarily have to be Kirataka.
Casting a wide net was Otto's principle. If Plan A failed, he always had Plan B, Plan C, and countless backups to fall back on.
Learning from Joyce's and Siegfried's rebellions in the past, coupled with the Serpent's influence, Otto was cautious not to let history repeat itself.
He hoped to bind Kirataka to Theresa's cause, ensuring her future support.
The best way to bond two people? Marriage.
Of course, Otto could eliminate Kirataka, but…
Rita's reports indicated that the Third Herrscher shared a strong bond with him. Acting rashly could trigger another Herrscher-level disaster.
Currently, the Third Herrscher served under Theresa and was an important subordinate.
Considering K423's critical growth… Kirataka could not die now.
After careful deliberation, Otto extended an olive branch, offering goodwill to bring Kirataka into Theresa's circle.
The blond man swirled the wine glass in his hand, awaiting Kirataka's response.
Kirataka was silent for a moment, then firmly replied:
"I'm sorry, but I decline your offer."
"That's a shame."
Otto shrugged regretfully.
He likely guessed Otto's intent—to recruit him.
Otto's shift in attitude was probably due to uncovering the World Serpent's significance.
An organization lurking for a thousand years was indeed a greater concern than Kirataka himself.
This assumption was correct. When Kevin returned, the Serpent would hold power capable of crushing Schicksal.
Otto's olive branch was an attempt to secure support for Theresa, ensuring her leadership after his departure.
When Otto wasn't focused on resurrecting Kallen, he did seem like a reasonable person with good intentions.
But Kirataka wouldn't forget the past.
Turning to the hot spring, Kirataka added:
"However, I will always support the principal, so you don't need to worry about that."
Separating Otto from Theresa, he assured her of his unwavering support.
This gave Otto the answer he wanted.
"Hehe..."
The blond man gave him a meaningful look and stood up.
"Alright, I'll leave now. Don't tell Theresa I was here."
His figure immediately disappeared in the men's hot spring area.
Kirataka watched the figure of the Schicksal bishop disappear and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that his Soulium body had indeed left.
He was having a nice hot spring bath when he met this guy, and all his desire to rest vanished.
Although Otto's attitude towards him had changed, his plans remained the same.
After all, that guy had only slightly adjusted his strategy due to the pressure from the unknown World Serpent and Kevin.
The mistakes he made in the past... the inhumane plans he intended to implement in the future, these fundamental factors would not change.
Therefore, Kirataka would still stop Otto's atrocities and fight back against him in the future.
But... this was better for now. At least if Otto's main attention was focused on investigating the World Serpent, Kirataka's development space would expand significantly.
Come to think of it... Otto showing such obvious kindness to him today, and the passive ability he had previously acquired, [Electronic Succubus], which was effective against both mechanical and electronic beings, probably played a corresponding role.
Because of Otto's sudden appearance, he was in no mood to continue soaking in the hot spring. He simply got up, dried his body, changed into a bathrobe, and left the hot spring area.
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