"So... Kyuusyou, these are the 'new friends' you wanted me to meet?"
Theresa stared with a look of existential doubt at the various familiar yet unfamiliar faces who had been bundled and transferred by Imhotep to Kyuusyou's Sea of Quanta Tour Group...
Of course, a certain Miss Witch was not among them. Imhotep, who couldn't cook, had kept Irene by her side, causing Kyuusyou to gradually start wondering if she should learn how to cook.
Otherwise, her girlfriend was going to be lured away by good food and drinks. Lady Houraiji Kyuusyou refused to become Otto II.
"No, I can't be the only one whose blood pressure is rising—"
Theresa's reaction was completely different...
"Bronya, there is a recent mission that just happens to be related to you. Come meet Kyuusyou and me at the Airport—"
With the philosophy that sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone, Theresa also dragged the recently idle Bronya onto this same black boat.
-
"Headmaster, what's the matter that you're calling Bronya so early?"
Bronya, sporting her signature twin-drill hairstyle, arrived at the scene a few minutes later, with young Ninti, who had been idle lately, following by her side.
"Hmm, Bronya, you're here. Ah, and Ninti too."
"I'm here to introduce you to some... friends Kyuusyou recently found, who are said to be from beyond the Sea of Quanta."
Theresa stepped aside from the main entrance and stood to the side, revealing the slightly chaotic scene inside the cabin.
The first person to lock eyes with Bronya was Bronie, who had just finished a round of fighting with a controller in her hands and was now looking toward the door.
"Hi, hello there, my other-world self. How does it feel?!"
"Isn't it a pleasant surprise when someone who looks almost exactly like you appears right in front of you?"
Bronie greeted her other self, or rather, Bronya, with casual familiarity.
"Bronya must not be fully awake. There can't be two Bronyas in the world, just as there is only one Seele..."
Clutching her Homu plushie, Bronya wiped her eyes with her sleeve, looking as if she were certain she hadn't woken up yet, and planned to find a sofa to fall asleep on the spot.
"Hey, hey, hey! Is it really that surprising?"
Bronie grabbed Bronya's shoulders and shook her vigorously.
"Don't go back to sleep, it's already nine o'clock. Anyway, Miss Bronya, why don't you have a gaming duel with me first!"
"After all, the Miss Bronya from this world also looks like a total gaming expert!"
The energetic and free-spirited Bronie decisively launched into a challenge by doing the one thing both "ducks" were extremely good at and loved...
Playing video games!
"I feel like those two are getting along very well..."
Looking at Bronya, who had suddenly ignited with competitive fire upon receiving the challenge and was now locked in an intense battle with Bronie in front of the gaming console, Theresa scratched her head in frustration.
"Speaking of which, you dragged him out in such a hurry, Kyuusyou... That Master Stargazer, who looks exactly like me and is dressed in such a distinct Shenzhou style, didn't even get a word in..."
"You can still say hello when you come back. Anyway, Your Excellency Stargazer is the best at handling all that flashy official business."
"You can learn from Your Excellency Stargazer how to quickly eliminate all those documents when the time comes, Theresa..."
"Ah? Shouldn't I be asking her for a raise in my monthly salary? Headmaster, I can finally be liberated!"
Theresa thought with some delight about her future free life, as well as the thick stack of Homu's Adventure manga she had yet to find time to read.
"Overseer Theresa, you'd better snap out of it. Relying on Master Stargazer to keep handling your official business is no better than hoping Snow will suddenly appear out of nowhere to come to work."
Kyuusyou rolled her eyes as she looked at the white-haired shorty who was happily imagining her future of slacking off.
"That Master Stargazer is a monarch who rules a kingdom in the Sea of Quanta, a genuine emperor... What are we supposed to use to pay his salary?"
"Hmph, how can it be like this? I can't even bear to think about it—"
Theresa pouted in dissatisfaction.
"So the members this time are these few... Hmm, Kyuusyou, you brought back a mysterious person from outside who calls themselves The Ferryman and refuses to show their face, hiding in a hood, a pink-and-blue-haired girl named Delta who doesn't look much older than Bronya."
"And that Bronie who's hitting it off with Bronya, Bronya Unit 2, as well as Bronya herself and Ninti..."
"And you and me... my dear Overseer Theresa... Where are you trying to sneak off to?"
Kyuusyou, holding the completely unmajestic Overseer Theresa by the collar, looked with a kind expression at the white-haired adult loli who was preparing to sneak out.
"Ah... I just remembered something, I forgot to bring my Homu's Adventure manga—"
Being stared at, Theresa broke out in a cold sweat and began her final struggle.
"Oh, that manga with the yellow rabbit... I moved the entire set from the safe under your bedroom floor up to the Hyperion all day, Theresa, do you have any questions?"
"No, nothing..."
"Then let's set out! Adjutant, launch the Hyperion, destination: Pacific Anti-Entropy Base, Eye of the Deep!"
"Speaking of which, this lineup of ours... Are you sure this is a support mission and not some kind of raid?"
Theresa looked at the people in front of her and fell into thought...
What kind of support operation requires all the big names from East Schicksal to be mobilized... Has the Honkai God itself descended???
Seemingly seeing what Theresa was thinking, Houraiji Kyuusyou pulled Theresa to one side...
"According to the descriptions from those guests from the Sea of Quanta, the Sea of Quanta has not been peaceful lately. It would not be an exaggeration to say a great tsunami is occurring."
"The Eye of the Deep is an important gateway opened and studied by the Previous Civilization. The reasonless riot of Honkai Beasts and their attacks here have given me a bad feeling."
"Something we can hardly fight against might emerge from the sea..."
Houraiji Kyuusyou, who did not know what truly existed in the depths of the Sea of Quanta today, had worry written all over her face. The unease from her heart truly made her a bit nervous this time...
"Tsk, don't tell me some God of the Sea of Quanta is about to pop out... That Agent is clearly on the ship right now."
Glancing at the Ferryman who was wandering around, observing how this Hyperion differed from her own Hyperion, Kyuusyou shook her head and discarded this unreliable guess to the side.
"No matter what it is, if it comes with ill intentions, we'll just beat it back!"
Theresa, who did not hear what Kyuusyou muttered at the end, waved her hand dismissively.
"Anyway, we have plenty of ways to reason with it."