"Alexandra!?!"
Nagami's finger shot out stiffly at the woman before him, his voice cracking with disbelief.
"Y-yes…? Is there something strange about my name?"
Seeing the boy frozen in shock Alexandra gave a timid nod, then hesitantly raised her hand as though to defend herself.
No. There was nothing wrong.
Absolutely nothing wrong at all.
From any angle, Alexandra was a perfectly ordinary name, a truly cool Greek Name….
But holy hell, calling this gentle, soft-spoken woman "Alexandra"… it was just too much!
Nagami pressed both palms to his face, his expression crumbling.
The snarky remark bubbling in his throat choked him, refusing to come out.
"…No. Problem."
He spat the words out one at a time, eyes fixed on the woman whose delicate features faintly reminded him of a future Bronya.
Grinding his outburst into dust, he forced it back down, piece by piece.
"Mother-in—"
He barely managed two syllables before cutting himself off, sucking in a deep breath and massaging his temples like he could wring the confusion out of his brain.
There was no resemblance in body type at all—one side full of volume, the other an endless barren plain like child.
And yet, the idea of calling Alexandra "Mother-in-law"… while Bronya is still like that….
It was unbearably, absurdly weird.
"…May I ask who you are?"
Sensing no hostility from the boy, Alexandra's voice grew firmer. Her silver-gray eyes were clouded with confusion.
If she hadn't misheard, had he just called her… mother-in-law?
"Uh… I'm your daughter's future close friend. My name is Nagami."
"I came here from the year 2014… with the goal of saving you—your life."
Strictly speaking, his original goal had indeed been to save his "mother-in-law." So it wasn't a lie.
Alexandra, however, was now looking at him with a strange expression.
The mysterious way he appeared out of thin air had been terrifying enough, and now… maybe this boy had mental issues?
"Bronya… that's right, isn't it?"
Her eyes widened in shock, her face filled with disbelief.
Alexandra was not stupid—Bronya's intelligence was proof of that.
She and her husband had only just decided on that name.
Aside from the two of them, no one should know it.
Most importantly, she was an ordinary woman.
Her husband was a colonel in the army, nothing special enough to draw anyone's attention.
Judging from Nagami's bizarre way of appearing, and the fact that Cocolia beside her seemed completely unfazed.
Almost like her mind was being controlled—it was clear he possessed powers beyond imagination.
If he had wanted to harm her, there would've been no need for such a roundabout approach.
Eliminate all impossibilities, and what remained—no matter how absurd—had to be the truth.
Her gaze locked on Nagami, her thoughts spinning wildly.
"To help you understand the situation quickly, I'll use a faster method." Smiling gently, Nagami nodded. "It may hurt a little for ordinary people, but I'll try to be gentle."
"W-what do you—ugh!"
A flood of information poured into Alexandra's mind, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.
The very first image she saw—a gray-haired girl with Roman curls, cute and innocent—instantly confirmed it for her.
That was her daughter!
But the rest of the information crushed her like a tidal wave.
She would die soon.
Her young daughter would be trained into a killing machine.
No screams left her throat, but tears spilled freely down her cheeks, unstoppable, like a dam breaking.
Only when the final image appeared—her gray-haired daughter peacefully leaning against the black-haired boy.
The two of them playing games together, smiling warmly—did the despair on Alexandra's face soften, if only a little.
"…Nagami, was it? What do you need me to do?"
Even through her hoarse voice, her words carried gentle warmth.
Her gaze had completely transformed—already the look of a mother-in-law toward her future son-in-law.
As for that whole "just a friend" correction? Please.
She wasn't stupid.
Even imagining how difficult it must be to bend time itself was enough.
For a mere "friend"?
Heh. What a beautiful misunderstanding.
"You don't need to do anything." Nagami placed his hand gently on her head and summoned the Core of the Herrscher of Sentience. "For you, it'll be just like falling asleep. When you open your eyes… you'll see your adorable daughter again."
Stardust-like strands of voidlight pulled Alexandra's soul from her body, sealing it within the Core of the Herrscher of Sentience for safekeeping.
Using the Herrscher of Sentience's authority, Nagami copied every single one of her memories without missing a thread.
Then, through the "fabrication program," he used the Void's power to create a false soul, and from that, forged an AI named Alexandra.
Unlike the casual process of making Honkai beasts, Nagami was careful this time.
He wasn't making some derpy, low-effort AI like Delisha.
As long as the Core's power remained, this puppet could be indistinguishable from the real Alexandra—everything but the soul.
Eventually, though, the void energy forming the false soul would dissipate.
And with it, the AI Alexandra would fade as well.
Barring any unforeseen accidents, it could last four to five years.
Which, considering her real-life prognosis, was probably longer than her original fate allowed.
Finally, placing the fabricated persona back into Alexandra's body, Nagami's expression twisted into something complicated.
Her long lashes trembled faintly.
But before "Alexandra" opened her eyes, Nagami's figure had already vanished from the vehicle, while Cocolia's mind returned to normal.
Just like nothing had happened, the two women continued their drive, the off-road car disappearing into the snowy horizon.
High in the sky, Nagami glanced back.
At the edge of his vision, a mass of Honkai beasts and deadwalkers were surging in their direction.
He shrugged and stepped into a newly opened spatial gate.
————————————————————————
"Master, your wonton noodles are incredible. Honestly, I think you could rival the Herrscher of Rice."
In an abandoned Siberian town, Nagami gave Fu Hua a big thumbs-up as he slurped down noodles, having just retrieved his pseudo-Flame Herrscher clone.
The supermarket they used for ingredients had long been emptied of people.
Everything was free for the taking.
"The… Herrscher of Rice?" Fu Hua loosened the apron tied around her waist, sat down, and frowned lightly as she looked at the black-haired boy. "Is there really… such a Herrscher in the future? What is its power?"
This was the result of Nagami stubbornly demanding she personally cook him some noodles.
His reasoning? "Since we're already here." A phrase that, in Shenzhou, could never be refused.
Fu Hua had no choice but to oblige.
After all, from the visions Nagami had shown her, it seemed he and her future self were… well, close friends, at the very least.
"Probably the power to fully dominate the kitchen—and pamper people so much they turn into useless dependents."
Nagami twirled a clump of noodles with his chopsticks, but before he could take a bite, Fu Hua's hand chopped him on the head.
"Don't talk nonsense."
From his words alone, it was obvious this so-called Herrscher of Rice was just a joke.
"Master, this version of you… you're just like my mom."
Nagami switched to eating properly, rubbing the sore spot on his forehead while grumbling.
Fu Hua's calm expression immediately darkened at that remark.
…Was he calling her old?
'Beep-beep-beep!'
Before she could respond, her communicator chimed.
A holographic screen floated into view, showing the sender's name:
[Otto Apocalypse]
Her brows knit tighter.
She turned her gaze toward Nagami, who was casually sipping soup.
She didn't even need to think.
If Otto was reaching out, there was only one reason.
"Relax, relax." Nagami set down his chopsticks and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. "Just follow my script and everything will be fine. But we do need you to unleash a memory-burning Judgement of Shamash."
It was necessary.
Fu Hua had to lose a portion of her memories and power in this Honkai eruption—otherwise, the butterfly effect would spiral out of control, creating an entirely new future.
"…The rendezvous point isn't far. Let's go."
As faint blue light flickered, Nagami's appearance shifted—becoming Cheng Lixue.
The real Cheng Lixue, meanwhile, was sound asleep, her soul resting within the Core of Sentience.