Chapter 79: Welt Feels the Oppressive Aura from Ryosuke!
[In the classroom, Welt was lecturing at the podium while Himeko stared absentmindedly at his peerless handsome face. "Poke poke."
A classmate next to her poked Himeko several times before she snapped out of her daze. "Do you always stare at Teacher Welt like that?"
Himeko's face turned red as she hurriedly denied it: "Huh!?
N-no, not at all. I was just looking at the blackboard."
The classmate wore a knowing smile: "Your face is red~ Denial invalid."
"So you like that type, huh?"
Embarrassed, Himeko buried her head under a textbook and weakly protested: "I told you you've got it wrong! I just share some hobbies with Teacher Welt."
Suddenly remembering something, Himeko excitedly took out her notebook and told her classmate about planning to observe asteroids with Teacher Welt. However, the classmate completely misunderstood, thinking it was about stargazing on a date. The two whispered excitedly below, but Welt - being a Herrscher - heard every single word clearly.]
[Kiana]: "Aunt Himeko, do you actually like Teacher Welt?"
[Murata Himeko]: "Don't spread rumors! I told you it's just shared interests!!"
[Theresa]: "Himeko~ Your face is red~"
[Murata Himeko]: "That's from drinking!!"
[Murata Himeko]: "Let me teach you all one final lesson already - this world has lost all meaning!"
[Kiana]: "No!!!"
[Stelle]: "Uncle Yang really had an eventful life as a teacher too."
[Honkai Star Rail - Welt]: "Personally, I find life aboard the Express much more exciting now."
[Raiden Mei]: "So this is what normal college life looks like..."
[Theresa]: "Mhm, this is exactly why I created St. Freya - so Valkyries can experience ordinary lives too."
[After class, Himeko left the classroom excitedly to submit her observation plan to the teacher. Her classmate watched Himeko's cheerful departure while organizing books, sighing: "...Is this what youth looks like?"
"Who would've thought Miss Himeko who rejected countless suitors would have such a day..."...... "Teacher Welt, remember our discussion about observing asteroids together?"
"Here's the observation plan I prepared.
Please take a look."
Himeko talked enthusiastically about her field of interest while Welt silently examined the proposal. "...This is indeed a well-prepared observation plan."
"...I should find an excuse to decline. With the Alahato matter resolved, there's no need to spend excessive time..."
Just then, Welt suddenly felt an ominous chill. He immediately pushed Himeko aside and shielded her behind him. "Ah, my apologies. I merely wanted to secretly take a photo of my daughter at school as a memento. Didn't mean to startle you."
A man in a white lab coat explained. Himeko peeked out from behind Welt and gasped in recognition: "Dad!? What are you doing here?"
"Haha, surprised? I happened to be on leave these days so I came to visit."
"Hope I'm not interrupting your... date?"
Ryosuke's smile looked somewhat forced. Himeko blushed furiously while explaining to her father, but Welt remained wary: "Strange... Why did I sense such oppressive aura earlier? It felt more terrifying than a Judgment-class Honkai beast..."]
[Stelle]: "Uncle Yang, care to explain why you felt such strong pressure?"
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "Haha! That's just fatherly aura suppressing potential suitors!!"
[March 7th]: "From an outsider's perspective, it really did look like a date~"
[Stelle]: "So Uncle Yang became the 'other man'??"
[Honkai Star Rail - Welt]: "No, that's not it. The alien presence within him gave me that oppressive feeling."
[Sparkle]: "Why such strong pressure? Let me give an example - imagine Robin bringing her boyfriend to meet Sunday~ How about that?"
[Sunday]: "I'd like to see anyone try!!?"
[Murata Himeko]: "Looking back now, that asteroid I wanted to observe was actually the [Scout Star] of the Sky People, wasn't it?"
Realizing she needed to change topics before this conversation forced her to change worlds, Himeko quickly shifted gears.
[Asta]: "Indeed! Based on initial calculations and Void Archives' intel about the Sky People, that asteroid was definitely their [Scout Star]."
[Kiana]: "Wait, so Earth first encountered the Sky People back in 2005?"
[Himeko thoroughly explained her relationship with Welt to her clearly-misunderstanding father. When Ryosuke suggested some father-daughter bonding time, Welt took the opportunity to leave. "Himeko's... father?
They seem close."
Welt smiled while watching them depart, but remained troubled by that inexplicable oppressive feeling and decided to investigate. Meanwhile, the alien presence had also detected Welt and informed Ryosuke about his true identity......... 2005 - Anti-Entropy Headquarters, Conference Room 3
The two doctors urgently analyzed the key, which soon completed decoding. "With this key, we can access the 4th Divine Key's core computer."
"What now, Einstein? Should we risk getting caught by Schicksal and hack into it?"
Tesla hesitated with the decoded key in hand. Just then, the key emitted an alarm. "!? Dr. Tesla, what did you do?"
"I haven't done anything yet..."
"This is!!"
"The 4th Divine Key has activated! It's releasing Honkai energy to create hurricanes near the East China Sea! The target is... Houston!"]
[Stelle]: "When there's no plan, make one up on the spot!"
[March 7th]: "From our omniscient view, it's obvious Ryosuke was behind this, right?"
[Fu Xuan]: "But for Anti-Entropy who didn't know about Ryosuke's true nature, this only confirmed his intel was accurate."
[Jing Yuan]: "Diverting trouble by setting two major organizations against each other while fishing in troubled waters - quite the strategy."
[Theresa]: "So Grandpa really wasn't behind this plan?"
[Otto]: "My dear granddaughter... just how low is my credibility in your eyes?"
[Honkai Impact - Welt]: "You really need us to spell out how low your credibility is?"
[Tesla]: "Couldn't you at least try explaining yourself?"
[Otto]: "If I said it wasn't me, would you believe it?"
[Einstein]: "......No."
[Honkai Star Rail - Welt]: "Back then, Anti-Entropy and Schicksal were still adversaries. Blaming each other for anything bad was standard practice."