Joachim's explanation was so clear that even Kallen could understand it. While Kaslanas weren't actually idiots, Joachim had indeed laid everything out in plain sight.
"One more question." Unconsciously, Joachim had taken over the leadership of this "meeting" from Himeko, guiding everyone's thoughts.
"Himeko, I remember you said there was a time difference between when you entered the Sapphire Pearl ruins and when the others did, right?" Joachim turned to Himeko.
Himeko nodded. "It wasn't just me. Ana also had a time difference with the rest of us."
Ana nodded repeatedly. "That's right. I entered the Sapphire Pearl after the three seniors... No, it's more like the Herrscher's sphere of influence expanded and pulled me in as well."
"I was probably behind Ana, because I clearly received feedback of the Honkai energy spike, and then some time passed before I was pulled in," Himeko added her own situation.
Joachim nodded slightly. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke again.
"If that's the case, many uncertain situations can now be narrowed down to a few very small possibilities. I'll briefly outline the most likely scenarios.
"Of course, don't believe me completely, because we have very little information right now. Even these possibilities I'm suggesting are only logically self-consistent after I've filled in a large number of assumptions."
The group, especially Kallen, nodded seriously in confirmation before Joachim began to explain his thoughts.
"First, we can be certain that your time travel itself carries a strong subjective bias from the Herrscher.
"I first assumed this could be an accident, that the Herrscher's power had some kind of uncontrollable surge, sending you here. Under this assumption, time travel isn't a particularly outrageous answer."
Joachim still remembered what kind of monsters those "Herrschers" Kallen had described were, so he had a very broad view of a Herrscher's "limits." For example, he now felt that it wouldn't be difficult for such an existence to achieve time travel during an outburst.
Something else had overturned this conjecture.
"But just now, you proved that the locations where you appeared have a strong tendency. At that point, everything could still be explained.
"The unknown [Herrscher], upon realizing you had been sent to the 'past,' happened to regain control of its power, or perhaps it still held a portion of its power, which allowed it to select a suitable landing spot for each of you.
"In this assumption, the Herrscher's subjective consciousness has undoubtedly been involved. This is the biggest piece of information we have about the Herrscher at the moment. Let's put this aside for now.
"Just now, you provided a new variable. This [outburst] was not instantaneous, but a continuous expansion.
"If you just happened to encounter the Herrscher's momentary loss of control, it's not right, but it's reasonable.
"But if the time of your appearance coincides with a prolonged loss of control by the Herrscher, and after you fell, it just so happened to regain control and select a travel destination for you..."
Joachim paused, scanning the room. "The coincidences are a bit too numerous, just like the locations where you appeared, filled with deliberate targeting."
"So, we should overthrow the first assumption. In other words, from the very beginning, you were deliberately sent here by that Herrscher. From the moment you traveled to the moment you landed, your every move was within the Herrscher's calculations.
"Perhaps even now, our meeting is under that Herrscher's surveillance."
Joachim's words came to a temporary halt. No one spoke up.
Chen Tianwu quietly swallowed... No, he felt that the sound of his swallowing was probably quite obvious to these people, but he couldn't help it...
What kind of disaster had he gotten himself into? The ability to travel through time was already outrageous enough. The only explanation he could think of was a "miracle."
But now it seemed that the time travel was intentional? And it seemed to be a mighty power that a single individual could wield...
And this mighty power was their enemy?!
Me? I'm going to fight an enemy who can casually send people through time? No, what kind of ridiculous matchmaking is this!
The silence of the people around him made Chen Tianwu feel even more pressure, afraid that after the discussion ended, someone would suddenly say to him, "Go and take care of the Herrscher."
It wasn't that Chen Tianwu was a coward. If he were truly a coward, he wouldn't have come along in the first place. And the journey here had already given him a long window to calm down. Even if he had been hot-headed at the beginning, by the time he reached the Taixu Martial Arts School, his hot-headedness should have burned out.
But he was still sitting here, so he shouldn't back down because of the difficulty ahead.
It was just that the idea of him fighting a Herrscher was too ridiculous. It shouldn't happen, neither in reason nor in principle.
"Continue." The brief silence was broken by Kallen. While everyone was weighing the pros and cons, Kallen spoke without hesitation, so decisively that one couldn't help but wonder if the moment of silence was because she needed some time to digest what Joachim had said.
In fact, everyone's silence was due to the caution inspired by Joachim's last sentence. Only Kallen was truly trying to understand what he was saying.
And after understanding, Kallen's expression also became much more serious. Noticing everyone's mood, she spoke without hesitation, shifting the focus of the meeting once again.
This time, the core of the situation shifted from Joachim to Kallen.
Even if she wouldn't be the host for the rest of the meeting, she would definitely be the leader in everyone's hearts.
Chen Tianwu's rapidly beating heart returned to a state of peace because of Kallen's short sentence. In its place was a sense of confidence that welled up from the bottom of his heart.
Joachim looked seriously at Kallen, who had suddenly transformed. After a moment of contemplation, a smile finally appeared on his lips.
"You've finally gotten into the zone, Senior Kallen." He chuckled softly, then stood up and, for the first time, walked to the whiteboard that had been prepared in the reception room.
"Now then, we should go back to what I said before, about the Herrscher's subjective consciousness."
Joachim picked up a black marker and quickly wrote the names of the five—Himeko and her group—on the whiteboard. Then he wrote his own name and Chen Tianwu's further out.
And in the middle of all the names, the word "Herrscher" was circled in red marker.