In the personnel recreation area of Schicksal HQ, Leo Ash watched Wraith, who was constantly greeting other people, and felt ever more strongly that this master of his, who was supposed to be a bit-part character, was truly a force to be reckoned with.
According to the original story's setting, this walk-on A-rank Valkyrie, who only appeared once, had clearly arrived in Singapore earlier than both Kiana and Fu Hua during the Dr. Magi defection incident.
From this, one could infer that although Wraith was the head of Schicksal's intelligence department, she was not at HQ during the Moon Shadow Arc.
And yet, among the members greeting Wraith, many mentioned having seen her at HQ in just the last few days.
Considering her strange ability to 'instantly change her body shape', Leo Ash strongly suspected that she might have a body double here at HQ, constantly acting as her shadow to mislead others.
"Sigh, you kid, you're still like this."
After waving to a male pilot who had just returned to HQ, Wraith suddenly and intimately looped her arm through Leo Ash's.
"The moment I finished my mission, I came to keep you company so you wouldn't be lonely."
"Smile, give me a big smile—if you keep a straight face like this, aren't you just telling everyone that you're not happy to be with me?"
Honestly, it's not that I'm unhappy, but I am quite nervous being with you.
In a ten-minute walk, you've changed personalities at least four times. I don't know if you're testing me or if it's an occupational hazard that's given you split personality disorder.
"Oh, Wraith, long time no..."
At the bar counter, the staff member looked at Leo Ash, who was being held by Wraith, and suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"You've mentioned before that you took on a disciple who was outstanding but a real headache."
"I just never imagined he'd be this outstanding."
After saying this, the male bartender suddenly shouted to everyone in the bar.
"Folks—look who's here!"
"The super rookie who suppressed a Herrscher just five minutes after the Fourth Eruption broke out is right here in front of us!"
Wait, how did this news...
[Otto would definitely announce this news. While you were asleep, he was already hyping you up like crazy.]
Wow, I'm so moved I could cry.
He's really diligent when it comes to this stuff.
If he wasn't planning on sacrificing me to Sirin, this move would have at least lowered my killing intent towards him by about three percent.
Seeing the still-silent Leo Ash, the bartender wasn't angry. Instead, he continued to shout to the crowd.
"To celebrate the suppression of the Fourth Herrscher by our Schicksal, everyone's drinks are on me tonight!"
"OOOH!"
Hearing the cheers from within the bar, Wraith released Leo Ash's shoulder and gently nudged his lower ribs with her elbow.
"I know you like to put on airs, kid, but at a time like this, you should probably say something."
"Everyone's been waiting for you, champion."
To be honest, before coming to the bar, Leo Ash had imagined many possible scenarios.
But now, in this lively place, under the gaze of the crowd, Leo Ash was suddenly at a bit of a loss.
As an orphan in his past life, he had mostly been a nobody in his class.
But now, the former nobody had suddenly become the center of attention. The contrast gave Leo Ash a feeling that was a bit...
—Alright, to be honest, it felt pretty damn good.
He was afraid of dying, but that didn't mean he had cut off all his inner desires.
At the end of the day, Leo Ash was just an ordinary person, and as an ordinary young man, he of course enjoyed the admiring gazes of others.
But at this moment, Leo Ash didn't speak first.
He confidently raised his right fist, wearing the Grips of Taixu, and only then did he roar at the crowd.
"Schicksal will be victorious!"
As if drawn in by the atmosphere, the Schicksal members present all roared with fervent passion.
"Schicksal will be victorious!"
"Humanity will be victorious!"
"Humanity will be victorious!"
It was just eight words in total, but after Leo Ash shouted them, the originally cool and quiet atmosphere of the bar suddenly became incomparably lively.
"Mm, not bad."
Seeing Leo Ash's performance, Wraith pulled him to sit at the bar and first said to the bartender.
"The usual for me. As for Ash, get him a glass of iced milk."
"Heh, Schicksal's strongest warrior drinking iced milk—if you let that get out, everyone would laugh themselves to death."
Directly rejecting Wraith's order, the bartender said to Leo Ash.
"Hey kid, don't listen to this one. I'll mix you something with a bit more of a kick."
"...Thank you."
Watching the bartender turn his back to mix the drink, Wraith picked up an empty highball glass and began to idly play with it in one hand.
"I thought you'd rigidly shout something like 'Agents can't drink recklessly'."
"It's only been a few months, but you've become much more flexible in that regard."
"...A few months is a long time, Teacher Wraith."
Looking at Wraith beside him, Leo Ash said helplessly.
"In these fifty days, two major Honkai Eruptions have already occurred, and Shenzhou almost suffered widespread casualties from Chiyou due to World Serpent's schemes."
"That's right, it's only been fifty days since the Third Eruption—and you, you punk, actually dared to take part in the Nagazora City mission while Rita and I were away on duty."
As Wraith said this, she suddenly stopped toying with the glass and set it down with a frosty expression.
"You've gotten bold, haven't you, Ash."
"...I was just doing what I had to do, Teacher."
Seeing the boy's face return to that expressionless mask, Wraith suddenly sighed helplessly.
"Forget it, forget it. I knew long ago that you hadn't given up on revenge."
"I'm not as easy to fool as those two girls, Rita and Bianka. I've always known exactly what's on your mind."
"...I'm sorry for making you worry, Teacher."
"Hah, sorry, are you."
Seeing the genuine hint of apology in his eyes, but his expression still unchanged, Wraith suddenly leaned in close to Leo Ash, grabbed his face, and gave it a hard pull.
"If you're really sorry, then at least change your expression for me."
Sigh, how am I supposed to change it?
I'm a fake agent to begin with, so my ability in facial expression management is only so-so.
It's one thing to fool little girls like Kiana, Mei, and Bronya by relying on my knowledge of their characters, but Wraith has so little screen time in the original story...
I'm going in blind without a walkthrough, and my opponent is a boss-level character when it comes to details. How can I not be careful?
If I don't use Poker Face, I'll lose control of my expression right now, and that would make a lot of things more troublesome.
Wraith, still pinching Leo Ash's face, saw that his expression remained unchanged and finally gave up with a sigh.
"Here are your drinks, you two."
Placing two cocktails in front of Leo Ash and Wraith, the bartender smiled at them.
"Wraith, you've had it before, so I won't say anything. Kid, you can give it a try—this is my masterpiece."
With the thought that 'this guy has no reason to harm me', Leo Ash picked up the glass and took a small sip.
Then, under the astonished gazes of the bartender and Wraith, Leo Ash put down the glass with an unchanged expression and said nothing at all.
I... I was still too naive.
Seeing Leo Ash put down the glass so calmly, the bartender whistled and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Whoa, not bad. Even Wraith, back in the day, chased me around cussing me out for three days after one sip."
What?
She only cussed you out for three days?
Teacher Wraith, you have a good temper.
Damn it, if I could speak right now, I'd cuss you out for at least three months!
This taste, this texture...
The Herrscher didn't kill me.
But this drink is about to.
After gently pushing the glass away, Leo Ash, having caught his breath, looked at the bartender with a dark expression and said.
"Iced milk, please."
"You got it."
Then, looking at Wraith who was happily enjoying her own drink, Leo Ash finally asked the question he wanted to ask.
"Teacher Wraith, you brought me here today... is there something you wanted?"
"Ha, you really are dense, Mr. Next Head of the Apocalypse Family."
Looking at her disciple, Wraith swirled the drink in her hand and suddenly turned to look at the crowd that had already started to party behind them.
"To be honest, even though you're my disciple, I've always believed that once a person chooses their path, it's not a bad thing to continue moving forward on it."
"And since you've embarked on the path of fighting the Honkai for the sake of revenge, you should be doing what you ought to do in order to fight the Honkai."
"What I ought to do?"
Seeing Leo Ash's confusion, Wraith spoke in a very relaxed tone.
"You're still not self-aware, Ash."
"In fifty days, you stopped the Third Eruption, killed Chiyou, and single-handedly stopped the Fourth Eruption—don't look at me, these are all the achievements Bishop Otto announced publicly."
"Right now in Schicksal, many of our comrades who know about these things already think that 'Leo Ash is even stronger than Durandal'."
"After all, although Durandal's rank as a warrior is higher than yours, her actual combat record isn't as outrageous as yours."
"So right now, within the organization, your prestige is temporarily second only to Bishop Otto's—though you probably haven't realized this yet, have you?"
I really hadn't... Wait, Durandal is the wielder of a Divine Key. Why are you all hyping me up instead of her?
She definitely doesn't care.
But you guys doing this is putting a lot of pressure on me.
Facing the silent Leo Ash, Wraith, as if accustomed to his attitude, took another light sip of her cocktail and spoke to him softly.
"Fighting the Honkai isn't just about mindlessly charging to the front."
"Besides the contributions of intelligence personnel like us and those in the logistics departments, a certain degree of morale-boosting can also ignite everyone's fighting spirit and courage."
"Look, Annie over there. Like you, her parents died in a Honkai Eruption, and she was the only one who survived."
"And now, every time she comes back to HQ, she always has to get drunk several times—heh, but today, after seeing you, she's actually become a bit more normal."
"And Mike over there, who flew you out twice—don't be fooled by how cheerful he is now. Back then, having avoided the Honkai by studying abroad, he cried for three whole days when he returned to his hometown and saw it destroyed by the Honkai."
"He originally wanted to join the combat forces like you, but his stats just weren't good enough, so he was forced to become a pilot."
"As for this bartender who just pranked you—he used to have a happy family. But after the Honkai came, his wife turned into a Honkai Zombie and killed their daughter. Seeing that, he was so traumatized he lost some of his memories."
"Among the people serving in Schicksal, some are indeed ordinary people here for the high salary, but there are also quite a few, like you, who have had something precious stolen from them by the Honkai."
A trace of sadness suddenly appeared on Wraith's face as she drained the remaining alcohol in her glass.
"You've created one miracle after another, allowing everyone to see a greater hope."
"Under these circumstances, don't keep wearing that long face—smiling more is what you should be doing now."
"Since you've chosen this path of fighting the Honkai, then it's also your responsibility to help everyone regain their hope, because right now, you..."
"—are already a ray of light in everyone's eyes."
"Even if they've never met you or even seen a picture of you, just the name 'Leo Ash' is enough to get everyone fired up."
"Because you've truly shown everyone the dawn of victory, so..."
At that moment, Wraith suddenly wrapped her arms around Leo Ash and whispered in his ear.
"I know this request is selfish, but Leo Ash, even if it's for everyone in Schicksal, please wear this mask well."
"Right now, you're like a hero who has descended from the heavens in a manga. What you yourself truly think is no longer important."
"You'll have to deceive everyone for a lifetime, but one day, under your guidance, everyone will successfully defeat the Honkai."
"Don't think about living an inconspicuous life, because as you are now..."
"—you are already destined to go down in history."
..