After the whole ordeal of being fawned over by three 'wifes' in turn, Lunelle finally seized the two hard-won days of quiet to recuperate.
Through two simulation tests, she unexpectedly unlocked a brand-new simulation mode.
During the first experimental run, Lunelle started by having her 'big wife' Dark Seele take care of that scumbag capitalist parasite.
Then, Lunelle used her own 'cuddle therapy' to soothe Dark Seele's raging bloodlust after the slaughter.
Judging by the results, this simulation experiment was quite a success.
At the very least, Lunelle confirmed that as long as she wasn't the one personally doing the killing, it wouldn't directly cause her own will within the simulation to degenerate too severely.
But reaching this conclusion came at a cost—the painful price of her dear Dark Seele 'big wife' constantly pushing her luck and taking shameless advantage of her.
Though, it seemed because this wasn't the first time Lunelle had been bullied by her Dark Seele wife in a simulation...
Her endurance had somehow been tempered quite a bit.
At least she wasn't like those initial times anymore, where just a few casual intimate cuddles from Dark Seele would reduce her to a whimpering mess crying 'no, no' and the like.
Having ensured the simulation start wasn't completely overwhelmed by bloodlust, Lunelle's first test run wanted to try something thrilling.
Namely, to see if she could rely on her current strength, develop stealthily as a Herrscher, and try to lie low until emerging invincible!
After all, the attribute panel when Lunelle simulated as "Seele" was crystal clear.
With her big wife Seele's Herrscherized potential in the simulation, given enough time to grow, she could easily become a world-ending existence!
So, as long as Lunelle could develop her Herrscher powers in the simulation to the point of even beating that cheat-like Kevin, who would be capable of killing her then?
Thus, after dealing with that parasite capitalist at the start, the simulated Lunelle began lying low as discreetly as possible in major human cities.
She aimed to use the dense, hard-to-evacuate populations as cover, buying herself as much development time as possible.
But Lunelle clearly underestimated how conspicuous her post-Herrscherization Honkai Energy was under Fire Moth's satellite surveillance, and their determination to eradicate an unstable Herrscher like her.
Almost the day after Lunelle relocated to another city, all her Previous Era identification documents were instantly revoked by Fire Moth authorities.
In this simulation, Lunelle got a firsthand taste of what it felt like to oppose the entire world's official forces single-handedly.
First, all information about Lunelle and her precise coordinates were monitored by Fire Moth forces around the clock.
Even in densely populated cities, if she secretly found a place to rest briefly, within less than twenty minutes, what was once a bustling residential area would rapidly be transformed into an isolated zone filled with all sorts of terrifying traps!
Scenes reminiscent of 'FBI, open the door!' would happen around Lunelle constantly, at any time.
If not for her simulated Herrscherized physique, which barely needed rest and could subsist on Honkai Energy—brutally solving food and shelter issues through Honkai-level means—she couldn't imagine how long she could last under such societal exile, targeted by the whole world.
Although, because she had completely become a cute girl both in and out of simulations, her temper had been subtly softened into that of an adorable little sweetie under the influence of the [True Self] talent.
But a softer temper didn't mean Lunelle was the type to tolerate just any riff-raff walking all over her... ahem!
Being constantly harassed endlessly when she hadn't even done anything, and since she was here for simulation experiments, not to be a punching bag, Lunelle naturally wouldn't be polite with these noisy pests.
Whenever trouble arose, Lunelle would directly employ the summoning technique: 'Please, other me!'
Her utterly doting Dark Seele 'big wife' would then reply with a tsundere 'Fine, fine... you're hopeless', and like a diligent worker, swiftly handle the noisy, bothersome insects for her wife/boss, Lunelle.
Although, when later demanding payment, she'd always exhaust Lunelle's consciousness quite thoroughly on a mental level.
But after Dark Seele, lacking restraint, eliminated several batches of Fire Moth special operatives, it seemed Lunelle's Herrscher threat rating reached a significant level.
So much so that before Lunelle could react, the enemies who were like easy mobs in the previous wave suddenly received a completely unreasonable, massive power boost!
It was like those greedy, poorly balanced gacha games—one stage breezed through easily, the next suddenly inflating enemy stats to an obnoxious level where you can't progress without spending, just to force your wallet open.
Lunelle now felt like that player with a terrible gaming experience.
Plus, the simulation clearly didn't offer top-up options, so this sudden forced difficulty spike left her utterly defeated and in disarray.
In the simulation's final moments, she even suffered a 'righteous ambush' from Kevin, the pinnacle of Fire Moth's combat strength.
It's safe to say Fire Moth went all out to ensure her death this time, so Lunelle's demise wasn't exactly unjust!
Thus, Lunelle's first simulation test ended in failure as expected, and the settlement cost, also unsurprisingly, boosted her bun size up another level.
And it seemed reaching C-cup—a truly significant size for her current petite frame—this talent reward's Honkai Energy Adaptability hit a historic high, increasing a full ten points at once!
Now, Lunelle was just a step away from matching the full 'Seele' proportions from the simulation!
Witnessing her own 149cm height now sporting C-cup buns, even with all her self-delusion, Lunelle had to admit she indeed possessed buns now.
This time, though, her charm only increased by 5 points, same as last time. But remember, those 5 points represented the total charm value of an average girl!
She was inching closer to becoming a walking succubus…
Lunelle's current [Basic Attributes] were:
--+--
[Charm: 29] [Intelligence: 10] [Stamina: 63]
[Special Attributes] [Honkai Adaptability: 60]
[Note: Cross-dressing talent grants +3 Charm, +5 Honkai Adaptability. True Self talent grants +10 Honkai Energy Adaptability. Honkai Energy to Physique conversion rate: 1:1]
--+--
Honestly, converting her current stats into combat power, Lunelle seemed to already possess strength equivalent to a normal B-rank Valkyrie, even without a Stigma.
This level of improvement probably couldn't be matched even by Schicksal's acknowledged strongest monster Valkyrie, Durandal, who likely couldn't boost physical prowess by roughly half a B-rank Valkyrie's level in just two days like Lunelle.
Logically, with such an incredible growth rate, Lunelle should double down, even start another simulation quickly, deliberately get an F rating, and possibly achieve another leap in power.
But after her fatty assets reached this size, an inexplicable sense of foreboding washed over her.
It felt like a warning—if her size truly reached the monumental scale of simulated Seele, something 'terrible' that Lunelle would find utterly unacceptable might happen!
This peculiar premonition made Lunelle's scalp tingle.
After all, the last time she felt this dangerous foreboding was right before that simulation where she was forced to lose her 'little brother'!
That previous warning signaled the permanent loss of her 'little brother,' whom she hadn't even introduced to anyone.
Now, with her 'little brother' gone forever, Lunelle dreaded to imagine what could be equally unacceptable as losing it.
Despite this nagging bad feeling, once the simulation cooldown ended, Lunelle braced herself and started a new simulation anyway.
After being tricked by the simulator so many times, Lunelle had figured one thing out.
Unless she completely gave up strengthening herself through simulations, if the simulator wanted to scheme against her, dodging once wouldn't mean dodging forever.
Especially after that experience where she saw her wife Kiana about to get hurt, and even fighting tooth and nail, she only managed to prevent that injury once.
Lunelle knew she'd only been in this Honkai world for a few days.
Growing this much in such a short time, and managing to be somewhat useful against such powerful foes, was already quite something...
But that feeling of watching helplessly, unable to do anything—though for some reason it felt vaguely insulting to someone—was something Lunelle truly didn't want to experience again!
After all, to gain power sufficient to protect her wives, what did slightly larger buns matter?
So, thinking this way, although her dignity as a boy decreased by another point, when no one was around and she was bored, just idly 'counting sheep' to pass time, couldn't she also...
Ahem, the rest of that scene is for your imagination, no need to elaborate!
Although the Herrscher path still held theoretical value to attempt, somewhat fearing the punishment another simulation failure might bring, Lunelle chose a different, risky but potentially valuable route for her second experiment.
Summarized in five words: "Kill, then turn herself in!"
In this second simulation, Lunelle started by casually smacking that scumbag parasite young master to death.
After soothing her restless Dark Seele wife, Lunelle, without another word, headed straight to the authorities in Fire Moth's conservative faction jurisdiction—based on memories from being hunted—and surrendered!
Faced with the bizarre situation of a Herrscher voluntarily surrendering, Fire Moth's conservative faction higher-ups urgently convened all council members for an internal meeting on how to handle this odd Herrscher.
Although the conservative faction wasn't as radical as the hardliners, most councilors believed they should quietly eliminate this not-yet-fully-grown Herrscher in her cell.
But just as the conservative faction leadership was about to decide to nip this danger in the bud, a rising star among the conservative councilors voiced a completely different opinion.
"Everyone, rather than killing this Herrscher who seems amenable to control and guidance, why not consider sending her to the operating table for live research?"
Dr. Mei, who had recently risen to become a new conservative faction councilor through personal capability and backing from the organization's strongest fighter, now proposed this alternative view.
This bold idea of attempting live research on a Herrscher instantly silenced the previously chattering room.
While Dr. Mei's proposal, if feasible, could create far more value for Fire Moth than simply killing the Herrscher, one must remember a Herrscher was a 'human-shaped nuke' that could level a city if poorly controlled!
Although researchers could be quite insane, conducting live research on such a terrifying time bomb was almost equivalent to carrying a nuclear weapon that could detonate at any moment!
So even those mad scientists only dared study dead Herrscher corpses; the craziest just tinkered with Herrscher cores.
Throughout Fire Moth, perhaps the only 'mad' enough to attempt live Herrscher research was...
But just as the conservative faction higher-ups were stunned by Mei's shocking proposal, a trump-card-level 'big shot' with significant influence within Fire Moth suddenly arrived.
They even publicly expressed support for Mei's suggestion!
This Fire Moth 'big shot' was a flawless, beautiful pink-haired girl who seemed like a fairy!
"Mhm~? Isn't Mei's proposal quite good?"
"And I believe Dr. Mobius would be very happy to know there's a live Herrscher available for research, right~?"
Receiving unexpected support from Elysia, Dr. Mei was clearly taken aback.
Although Dr. Mei was on decent personal terms with Elysia, the meeting was convened so urgently that Mei hadn't briefed Elysia beforehand!
"Since Lady Elysia has also voiced support on behalf of Dr. Mobius, may I ask everyone present, regarding my proposal: Who agrees? Who opposes?"
But facing this freely offered 'big shot' support from Elysia, Dr. Mei naturally wouldn't refuse this 'gift from nature.'
She immediately leveraged the authority of the two Fire Moth elders to pressure the councilors.
With two 'true heavyweights' backing Dr. Mei, nobody foolish enough would jump out now to say 'I oppose' or similar nonsense.
Thus, the proposal to detain the Herrscher for live research was quickly passed.
After the emergency meeting adjourned, Dr. Mei privately sought out Elysia to clarify things.
After all, Dr. Mei didn't believe Elysia, who on the surface didn't get along with Dr. Mobius, could have directly obtained Dr. Mobius's authorization.
And Dr. Mei's inquiry indeed uncovered something!
"Mei, Dr. Mobius doesn't actually know about this yet, you see. But who could resist when this Herrscher happens to be a cute beauty, and so adorable at that? Ehehe~"
Dr. Mei: "What?!!!"
Although Mei knew Elysia stepping forward so resolutely without prior coordination was suspicious, she never imagined Elysia would outright decide the stance of neutral faction Dr. Mobius in her speech, yet hadn't even consulted her?
That's way too bold!
If Dr. Mobius found out later that Elysia had acted without authorization in representing her in such a decision while she was absent…
Given Dr. Mobius's temper, she'd definitely throw a fit!
But remembering the live research suggestion was her own, Dr. Mei felt a headache coming on.
She could only hope Dr. Mobius wouldn't come after her.
As Fire Moth finally reached a decision regarding Lunelle's disposition, Lunelle, currently sitting quietly in a simulated jail cell, unexpectedly received a special notification from the simulator.
[Host detected successfully passing first stage plot node. Does host wish to activate new simulation format 'Daily Life Plot Simulation'?]
"Huh? What first stage plot node? I'm just sitting in jail here; how did that suddenly lead to a new development?"
Lunelle was utterly confused by this sudden prompt.
Compared to her previous simulation attempts seeking change through stirring trouble, this time Lunelle simply tested whether surrendering to Fire Moth might avoid the relentless hunting.
But judging by this prompt, could it be that this somewhat hopeless attempt actually succeeded, darn it?
To be safe, Lunelle consulted the simulator guide, See-chan, to understand the general rules of this 'Daily Life Plot Simulation.'
After some explanation, Lunelle grasped that 'Daily Life Simulation' essentially changed the original format—where simulation ended only upon death—to one where peacefully spending a week in simulation allowed an early settlement with a D-rank rating, without the side effect, as a guarantee.
The guaranteed reward guaranteed Lunelle at least one point of Honkai Energy Adaptability.
Though the quantity seemed small, this reward format provided Lunelle her first means of steadily growing stronger without paying a painful price!
Especially since rewards for altering key character fates wouldn't be withheld.
So Lunelle activated this new simulation function without a second thought.
After activating it, Lunelle's consciousness was temporarily suspended due to simulation initialization maintenance, snapping back to reality.
Once back in reality, Lunelle's acceptance letter to St. Freya Academy arrived.
Clearly, Lunelle's life at St. Freya Academy was about to begin soon.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.