"...Bronya understands."
Although Bronya desperately wanted to go to the Sea of Quanta and rescue Seele right now, she also knew that she was still too weak. What her future self could accomplish, her present self could not necessarily do.
"Also, Kiana, your performance was truly surprising, even to me. Although you are the vessel for the Second Herrscher, you did not lose to her. That's very good. I believe Siegfried would be proud of you if he knew."
Next, Einstein turned to Kiana, a hint of gratification in her eyes.
"Eh? Doctor, you know my stinky old man?" Kiana asked, surprised.
"Of course. Back in the day, it was thanks to Welt and me that Siegfried and Cecilia were able to get together," Einstein said with a light chuckle.
"EHHHH—!" Kiana's eyes widened in utter shock.
Just then, the mechanical voice of the system sounded in everyone's ears.
[Question 14: In the Great Honkai Sports Festival, who was the final victor and made a wish upon the Seven-Colored Crystal?]
[A: Kiana]
[B: Theresa]
[C: Tesla]
[D: Raven]
"What the hell? What kind of weird question is this now?"
Hearing this question, everyone was dumbfounded.
What in the world was a "Great Honkai Sports Festival"? And what was this "Seven-Colored Crystal"?
"Einstein, do you have any idea what this Great Honkai Sports Festival is?" Theresa asked, looking at Einstein with a puzzled expression.
"I'm sorry, my friend, but I am as clueless as you are," Einstein said with a shrug, indicating that she had no way of dealing with such an illogical question.
"Is this also a question about our future? It doesn't really feel like it," Himeko mused.
"Somehow, I feel like this question is a lot like the one Auntie got last time. It's just as baffling," Kiana remarked.
"Oh? The question from last time?" Einstein raised an eyebrow, looking at Theresa with curiosity. "Lady Theresa, it seems you are still hiding something from us?"
"This... this doesn't count as hiding something, does it..." Theresa's mouth twitched as she shot Kiana a harsh glare.
"Lady Theresa, I hope you can be completely honest with us. As I've said, if the information is not symmetrical, the judgments and analyses I make could be flawed," Einstein said seriously.
"Theresa, what other secrets are you hiding? Since we're already cooperating, what are you still worried about?" Tesla chimed in, a bit annoyed.
"Err..." Theresa was instantly embarrassed.
"...Fine, I'll show you. But you have to promise me you won't laugh after you see it!"
"Ah? Rest assured, Lady Theresa, we are professionally trained. We will not laugh, no matter what."
Although she didn't know what Theresa meant, Einstein, true to her smooth-talking nature, made the promise without hesitation.
And so, Theresa believed her nonsense and had Bronya play the precious footage.
"BWAHAHAHA!!! What the hell is this?! HAHAHAHA!"
Before the video even finished, Tesla couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
While Einstein wasn't as exaggerated as Tesla, the corners of her mouth were also curved into a wide smile.
"Hey! You promised me you wouldn't laugh!"
Theresa shouted, mortified. Having her dark history replayed once again made her want to find a hole to crawl into, and Tesla's laughter, in particular, was like pouring oil on a fire.
"Lady Theresa, we are professionally trained. We don't usually laugh... unless we can't help it."
"You wretched Anti-Entropy! I'll get you for this!"
Humiliated and furious, Theresa lunged forward and viciously pinched Tesla's cheeks.
Not to be outdone, Tesla immediately pinched her right back.
The two of them began to tussle, leaving everyone else staring dumbfounded.
If any outsider were present to witness this scene, they would never have imagined that these two—one a leader of Anti-Entropy, the other the Principal of St. Freya—were now brawling like a pair of elementary schoolers.
The Q&A Space seemed to sense that there was no real malice between them, so it issued no warning.
In the end, it was Einstein and Himeko who, each grabbing one of their respective troublemakers, managed to pull the two apart.
"Huff, huff... You Schicksal lot are pretty tough. To think you could last this long against a genius like me."
"Hmph, hmph... You're not so bad yourself, being able to fight the Principal of this academy to a standstill when I don't even have Judah."
Tesla and Theresa were both panting as they stared at each other. Perhaps having fought it out, they paradoxically found the other person a bit more agreeable.
"Alright, Dr. Tesla, Lady Theresa, while I hate to interrupt your cheerful playtime, let's get back to the question," Einstein said.
"From Lady Theresa's video just now, I have discovered a very important piece of information. That footage is not from our future."
"That video, in my opinion, is more like a nonsensical comedy sketch. If we ignore all other factors, how could so many people and non-human things line up one by one to knock on a door?"
"But, if that's not our future, then what is it? We clearly appeared in it," Kiana asked, confused.
Einstein held up a finger and stated plainly, "Parallel worlds."
"If we consider parallel worlds, then everything can be explained."
"Parallel worlds have existences that are similar to, yet different from, our own. The rules of their worlds are also different from ours. Perhaps in a parallel world, Honkai Beasts are actually our friends, or pets. We could capture them, and then go to battle..."
"Whoa, whoa, Nest-head! Keep talking like that and you'll be infringing on copyright!"
"Ahem... In short, the point I'm trying to make is simple. A parallel world might have some similarities to ours, but in the end, it will always be different. For example, Lady Theresa, can you transform into Magical Girl TeRiRi?"
"I-I don't know anyone by that name!" Theresa's face flushed red as she quickly denied it.
"Nest-head, so you mean this current question is also asking about a parallel version of us?"
"I can only say that the possibility is very high."
"Then how are we supposed to answer the question?"
"Just guess," Einstein said. "In a situation like this, we can only rely on luck."
"In that case, why don't we just vote? We'll pick whichever option gets the most votes," Theresa suggested.
"That works."
"Then I'm definitely voting for myself! Even a parallel universe me would definitely take first place!" Kiana declared confidently.