On the other side, in the conference room at the Anti-Entropy base, Lynelle was slouched listlessly in her chair, waiting for Welt.
After all, he was the leader of Anti-Entropy, and since her own waking hours were rather unpredictable, Lynelle had no choice but to wait until Welt finished his current tasks before he could brief her on the situation in Oceania.
That didn't stop her from mulling over the current state of affairs in Oceania herself, though—because she'd noticed something odd.
In the original storyline, the reason Otto stood by and even actively encouraged the bullying of Wendy by the Oceania branch members was because he wanted to use her as a trial run—a mirror for Kiana.
Wendy's innate talent was on par with Rita's, after all.
If Otto truly wanted a Herrscher capable of controlling a Herrscher core, he could've just given the core to Durandal.
The success rate wouldn't have been a hundred percent, maybe, but it'd be pretty close.
What's more, although he'd been deeply involved in the Second Honkai War, Otto wasn't aware that inside the Fenghuang Down, Cecilia had nearly managed to sway Sirin.
Because of that, his plan to have Kiana suppress Sirin and master the Herrscher core through love wasn't something he could be entirely sure of at this point.
So, being the meticulous scientist he was, Otto had to verify the feasibility of his hypothesis before the real experiment.
The chance to test it with the Third Herrscher had already been wasted by Cocolia, and Otto hadn't known the details of what happened in Nagazora at the time.
That left Wendy as his next target.
That was the reason for the tragedy that befell Wendy in the original story.
But here's the question… given how much Otto knows now, does he still need to run that kind of test?
Lynelle fell deep into thought.
Even though she hadn't gone around flaunting her relationship during the Second Honkai War, anyone with eyes could see that Sirin had managed to control the Herrscher core because of her.
In other words, Lynelle was the anchor holding Sirin's humanity together.
For Otto, that was already the perfect verification.
The test subject had been Sirin herself!
In his eyes, if Sirin could pull that off during the Second Honkai War, there was no reason Kiana couldn't do the same.
So the question of whether emotions could help a Herrscher control their destructive impulses had already been answered with a resounding 'yes'.
'But if that's the case… then why is Otto still pushing the Gem of Desire project?'
'Wasting a Herrscher core, pouring in massive resources, and ruining Wendy—who had nearly a hundred percent chance of becoming an S-rank Valkyrie—just to find a storage spot for a core?'
Lynelle had to admit she was stumped.
After all, the power balance between Anti-Entropy and Schicksal wasn't like in the original timeline.
With her joining the fray, even though Anti-Entropy had lost Cocolia, their overall strength had definitely risen compared to the same period in the original story.
As for Schicksal, although the Snowwolf Squad had survived, thanks to Otto's manipulations during the Second Honkai War and Siegfried's defection, the squad's negative impact on his plans outweighed any positives.
In a situation like this, nurturing a new generation of Valkyries was crucial.
According to Welt, Otto had even personally saved Ana during the Manila eruption and tasked her with forming a Valkyrie team on par with the Immortal Blades.
Under these circumstances, Wendy's value as a future S-rank was far from insignificant like before. Lynelle really couldn't figure out why Otto would play such a high-stakes card.
Knock knock.
A sound at the door broke the silence, and Welt stepped in, looking somewhat weary.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Lynelle… There's been some trouble lately with the Eye of the Deep, so my workload's increased. You probably won't see much of me next month."
"The Eye of the Deep… Is the first phase of exploration starting?"
"Yes."
Welt nodded. "I'll be personally overseeing the initial experiments. With me there to keep things in check, even if something escapes from the Sea of Quanta, we can handle it quickly. The risks will be much lower."
"Uh…"
Lynelle thought for a moment but stayed silent.
After all, dangerous as it might seem at the time, she knew the story well—Kevin wasn't about to kill Welt.
On the contrary, he'd be overjoyed, even eager to recruit Welt into the Elysian Realm.
And since that plotline was tied to Bronya becoming a Herrscher later on, it was better not to mess with it.
"Anyway, let's talk about your situation. I've arranged an identity for you in Oceania—you'll be Wendy's personal caretaker and condition observer. You can start tomorrow."
"Also, I've already spoken with the head of the Oceania branch. If you run into any issues, you can go straight to her. If necessary, it's fine to reveal that you're with Anti-Entropy."
"That much pull?"
Lynelle gasped softly. Had Anti-Entropy really infiltrated Schicksal so thoroughly while she was away?
"It's not as extreme as you think. The current head of the Oceania branch has ties to the Snowwolf Squad."
"To be precise, she was among the first students trained by Salome and Cheng Lixue after they stepped back from frontline duty. She once led a rather impressive Valkyrie team herself, but it was disbanded after… an incident you're familiar with."
"…?"
Lynelle's head was now full of question marks.
A student of the Snowwolf Squad? But in the original story, the Snowwolf Squad was wiped out—she had no idea what students they might have taught after surviving!
And as for 'impressive Valkyrie teams'… Schicksal had seen no less than thirty, maybe even fifty, squads led by A-rank Valkyries over the past decade. How was she supposed to keep track?
"So… who exactly is the head of the Oceania branch?"
"Her name is Ragna Lothbrok. She's the mentor to Schicksal's two current S-rank Valkyries, Rita and Durandal. But you might be more familiar with another one of her students: Instructor Himeko of St. Freya Academy."
"???"
Lynelle jerked back in her seat.
"Wait, Mr. Welt, are you saying the team she led was the famous Valkyrie Assault Squad? And the mission that crippled the squad and led to its dissolution was the one where Kiana lost control and severed Siegfried's arm?!"
"So you knew about that."
Welt nodded. "She's one of the most respected figures among Schicksal's Valkyries. Both Salome and Cheng Lixue think highly of her."
"Under her guidance and support, Wendy has maintained good mental health despite being paralyzed… Hm, Lynelle, why do you look like that?"
"I—I'm fine…"
Lynelle felt a dull ache in her teeth—probably from sheer frustration at Otto's schemes.
A caring teacher who's like a mother figure, and a troubled student carrying a Herrscher core… Ha, so it's Ragna and Wendy in Oceania? For a second I thought I'd been thrown into the 'Final Lesson' all over again.
Now she understood what Otto was trying to test with Wendy.
No—perhaps it wasn't a test at all, but a… dress rehearsal for the Sirin Project.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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