Chapter 132: The Captain Really is Like a Galge Protagonist! Damn Him!
[After grasping the situation, both the Captain and Tesla instinctively felt the current circumstances were related to that control tower. After Tesla dealt with the surrounding monsters in an utterly deranged manner, she nearly made Seele cry.
Once Tesla regained her "elegance," she introduced herself to Seele. "As for me... though I still don't know who I am, at least the clues haven't run dry yet. You can just call me Captain for now. Thank you for saving me, Miss Seele."
"Ah, no no no, it's nothing! But... I don't think I ever told you my name?"
"Huh? Really?... Somehow... I feel like... we've met somewhere before."
"It's here! The textbook pickup line!"
Tesla excitedly munches on metaphorical popcorn.
"Eh? Pickup line?" Seele blushes.
"I didn't! I wouldn't! How dare you slander my innocence without proof?!"]
[Bronya Zaychik]: "Captain!! How dare you hit on Seele! Bronya really wants to smash Heavy Bunny on your head!"
[March 7th]: "Though the Captain looks like he's hitting on her, he's probably telling the truth? After all, there are way more parallel selves in bubble worlds than in the universe!"
[Bronya Rand]: "A Seele who can show such a shy side..."
[Natasha]: "Truly unprecedented!"
[Stelle]: "Even stranded on a deserted island, the Captain gets to be with a beautiful girl. Damn it! Is he some kind of galge protagonist? So jealous!"
[After deciding to cooperate with Seele, Tesla gave her an auto-aiming firearm hack. Then, the Captain assumed Seele had never learned to use firearms, never expecting her orphanage would teach such things.
Later, due to an error with Tesla's ship, Tetocoins were scattered all over the island. To gather materials for heading to the tower, they began collecting Tetocoins. Then, thanks to the Index of Forbidden Science, Tesla quickly created another invention—Number 108. But while Tesla was happily explaining it, the Captain kept interrupting and nearly made her cry.]
[Tesla]: "Index of Forbidden Science? As expected of me—no matter which world I'm in, I'm still a genius!"
[Einstein]: "Genius refers to these useless pieces of junk?"
[Tesla]: "Chicken-head!"
[March 7th]: "Forget about Dr. Tesla's weird inventions for a second—what kind of orphanage teaches kids stuff like that!?"
[Rozaliya]: "Isn't this just self-defense? Totally normal!"
[Qingque]: "Wait, you're from that orphanage too?"
[Bronya Zaychik]: "Bronya, Seele, Sin, Rozaliya, and Liliya all grew up in Mother Cocolia's orphanage."
[Bronya Rand]: "In another world, I also lived in an orphanage with Seele."
[After learning about everyone's backgrounds, Seele revealed her own purpose. She came to this world alone to search for someone—her missing older sister, whom people generally referred to as the "Ice Witch."
They grew up together in the orphanage but became orphans due to the prolonged war between the Holy Army and the Demon King's forces.
Life in the orphanage was hard but manageable—until her sister's powers awakened. The Holy Army deemed her sister no longer human and imprisoned her. Then, when the Demon King's army summoned a demon god, they used the orphanage as hostages to force the witch to fight it. Though the demon god was defeated, her sister never returned. Knowing Seele's past, they quickly accepted her into their group.]
[Bronya Zaychik]: "It seems this Seele comes from a bubble world quite different from ours."
[Pela]: "This Seele's sister is also a Bronya, right?"
[March 7th]: "Seems like every Bronya that appears has a Seele. Then what about Silver Wolf?"
[Silver Wolf]: "? Why ask me? I'm not a Bronya."
[With Dr. Tesla's assortment of useful (and not-so-useful) gadgets, the trio steadily advanced toward the tower. Then they encountered an ice wall. But the ice wall and the Lord of the Frozen Plains proved too formidable for the Captain to handle directly.
They had no choice but to follow a set path to find the Apothecary and obtain the legendary elixir. Following Seele's map, the Captain found a young boy named Joachim. "I am Apothecary Joachim. Pass my three trials, and the legendary elixir shall be yours."
"Are you ready?"
"Always ready!"
"Then hear your question." "Ask away."]
[March 7th]: "Ah! This apothecary is Mr. Yang! Tiny Mr. Yang!"
[Stelle]: "Tiny Mr. Yang is so cute!! Love!"
[Qingque]: "Oh no, we should've had Dr. Tesla handle this—it's right up her alley!"
Joachim: "What is my older self's favorite color?"
Captain: "Red, of course!"
Joachim: "You know too much!"]
[Dan Heng]: "Mr. Welt likes red?"
[Welt (HSR)]: "Dan Heng, not everything needs to be recorded in the Archives."
[March 7th]: "I think I get it—Dr. Tesla is red!"
[Tesla]: "N-nonsense! What does Joachim's favorite color have to do with me?!"
[Joachim: "What creature does Sirin mention most often?"
Captain: "The 'insects' warning!"
Joachim: "Correct. The flags are all raised now."]
[Kiana]: "Huh? Are 'insects' even considered creatures?"
[Raiden Mei]: "Well, there is a type of creature called insects..."
[Herrscher of the Void]: "I'll call you whatever I want! Who cares?"
[Qingque]: "But this is just planting death flags everywhere!"
[Joachim: "What is the name of Test Product No. 233 in the Index of Forbidden Science?"
Captain: "'Find Something Bro'!"
Joachim: "Bingo!"]
[Stelle]: "I smell insider knowledge! Cheating!"
[Fu Xuan]: "These three questions could only be answered by someone deeply familiar with Mr. Welt, the Second Eruption, and Dr. Tesla of Anti-Entropy."
[Himeko (HSR)]: "Mysteries everywhere..."
[While the Captain obtained the elixir, Tesla wasn't idle either. After restocking supplies, she blasted through the ice wall with brute force. The path ahead now open, they arrived before a massive ice statue and encountered a lady trapped in a snow hut.
After helping her complete various tasks, the Snow Hut Lady emerged from the structure. "So it's you?!"
Tesla immediately reddened upon seeing her. "Eh?!"
Miss Rita looked surprised. "'Eh' what?! You... you... have you forgotten what you did to me? Or have you done it so many times that you need me to give you some keywords to remember?"
"Chair. Rope. Handkerchief. Perfume... Need I go on?"
Like Tesla, the Captain also found her eerily familiar—but this Rita definitely wasn't the one they knew. Moreover, Rita had been trapped here in her maid outfit for five hundred years.]
[March 7th]: "Eww~ such inappropriate keywords!"
[Welt (HI3)]: "Tesla, what exactly happened?"
[Tesla]: "That must be from another world! I've never met that Valkyrie."
[Rita]: "I've never met Dr. Tesla either."
[Stelle]: "This Rita hasn't changed clothes in 500 years!?"
[Stelle]: "I can't even imagine how strong her feet must smell!!"
[Rita]: "? Are you sane?"
[March 7th]: "Don't say such horrifying things in front of a beautiful girl!"