After freeloading a meal of kitsune udon from Ling, Li Zihan quickly returned to his office.
Then, he unexpectedly discovered a man who should not have been there.
He was a handsome young man who appeared to be in his twenties.
He had blonde hair and green eyes, his long hair tied into a single ponytail draped over his left shoulder.
He wore a white shirt, a long purple robe over it, gray trousers, and brown long boots, with a dark red cravat tied at his chest.
The person who had come was Otto.
Behind him stood a maid whose hair had grown to her shoulders, looking exceptionally bewitching, and a knight who was the same age as Banya but whose bust measurement rivaled Himeko's.
The Schicksal Overseer, Otto Apocalypse.
And the Scum Maid, Rita, as well as the one human in the Honkai world with the potential to surpass Kevin in terms of combat power, Durandal the Dull Goose.
"It has been a while, Li-kun—no, I should call you Commander now."
The first to greet Li Zihan was the Scum Maid, Rita.
This maid, whose natural growth rate was even higher than the Key of Erosion's, lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied to the young man who had already been promoted to commander, her smile bewitching.
"Long time no see."
The young man, who was not keen on admitting that his compatibility with the Scum Maid was very high and had been resisting meeting her, didn't show any signs of reluctance as he returned the greeting.
Subsequently, his gaze shifted slightly.
"Long time no see, Lord Otto. And it is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, Miss Bianka Ataegina."
"I am very happy to meet you, Li-kun."
The knight, who had learned about Li Zihan through Rita's bits and pieces of conversation, had a hint of curiosity in her expression.
She was truly curious what kind of person could be described by Rita as "perfect."
"You know me?"
Bianka Ataegina was her name from a few years ago; most people in Schicksal called her Durandal.
"Did Rita mention my name to you?"
"No, no, we have simply met once before by chance."
The young man, who had also been a captain who did splits in the air in his past life, smiled. His smile was sunny, gentle, and full of intellect.
He's just like Rita!
For no reason at all, this thought shot through the Dull Goose Durandal's mind, causing her azure eyes to widen slightly.
This guy must be Rita's blood relative!!
Aside from lacking that bewitching quality that was extremely rare even among women, this guy's smile was a carbon copy of Rita's.
"Excuse me, what is your relationship with Rita?"
Durandal the Dull Goose, who had been criticized by her orphanage counselor in her childhood as an idiot whose brain didn't turn, asked almost instinctively.
If you don't know, just ask.
"We're friends." x2.
Perhaps due to the tacit understanding between people with similar personalities, the voices of the young man and young woman sounded in perfect sync.
Such perfect timing.
This was Durandal the Dull Goose's first thought.
She became even more suspicious that this Director of Chaldeas might have some blood relationship with her friend and adjutant.
This kind of tacit understanding was simply not something people who had known each other for less than a week should possess.
She opened her mouth, wanting to press further.
"I didn't expect that you, my dear friend, would have such chemistry with Rita."
The man who seemed to have been waiting here for a long time looked at the young man who had just completed the Artificial Herrscher project, clapped his hands, and interrupted Bianka's train of thought.
Subsequently, the expressions on both Rita's and Bianka's faces turned serious.
They were not here to exchange tips with a kindred spirit on how to tease an idiot, or to investigate whether their adjutant had a blood relationship with the Director of Chaldea.
"To see you achieve such an accomplishment in the Artificial Herrscher experiment, I am truly happy for you, my dear friend."
Through the report, Otto had thoroughly confirmed that the power of the Third Herrscher was now under the control of the Oceania Branch's A-rank Valkyrie, Wendy.
The second Herrscher to stand on humanity's side was born.
"With the start of your experiment, humanity has successfully usurped God's authority."
Amazing.
Hearing Otto's introduction, a sense of admiration rose from the depths of Miss Bianka's heart.
The Honkai was the unfathomable will of God.
And Herrschers were God's apostles.
Every Herrscher was the ultimate manifestation of some physical law, possessed immense Honkai energy, and could cause terrifying destruction.
To defeat each Herrscher, humanity had to pay a heavy price.
And now, the Director of Chaldea had actually completed the Artificial Herrscher experiment, allowing a human to occupy the position of a Herrscher and usurp its authority.
She seemed to understand why Rita called Li Zihan "the perfect person."
To be able to complete such an unbelievable experiment, he was indeed worthy of the title "perfect."
Thinking of this, a hint of guilt surfaced in her heart.
When she saw Li Zihan's smile, which was so similar to Rita's, she had mistakenly thought that Li Zihan, who Rita called "perfect," had earned that title because he resonated with Rita's wicked sense of humor, but was even better at it.
Now it seemed she was mistaken.
"It was alright."
The young man, who had simply wanted to conduct an experiment to see if the Overload Mode of Jizo Mitama and Fenghuang Down could completely suppress a Herrscher personality, reached up and scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
The so-called Artificial Herrscher experiment was actually just a preliminary test to give Mei, Seele, and even Bronya a Herrscher-fication buff to enhance their strength.
The results showed that the experiment was very successful.
He might not even need the future Herrscher of Ice and Herrscher of Rock as the second and third test subjects.
"If the experiment can succeed, perhaps our strength to fight against the Finality will be greatly enhanced."
Use the power of Herrschers to defeat Herrschers (Jackie Chan's dad face).
"That is truly a blessing for humanity."
Even Otto couldn't help but praise him after confirming the success of this experiment.
He had initially thought that Li Zihan wanted Wendy, Ana, and that youth from Shenzhou in the Philippines who he found quite relatable for some other purpose.
He never expected that Li Zihan was genuinely working on an Artificial Herrscher project.
And he had succeeded.
"However, what we are here to discuss today is not this."
The Overseer, who had brought the two strongest combatants from HQ to ensure he could one hundred percent reverse Kallen's tragic death, changed the subject, bringing up another project.
"But I believe your other project may be even more important than the Artificial Herrscher project."
Otto did indeed have thoughts of leading humanity to victory against the Honkai, but that was something to be done after resurrecting Kallen.
Compared to the Artificial Herrscher project, which aimed to defeat the Honkai, he was currently more concerned with Chaldeas, which could resurrect the dead.
"Do you think that Rita, Bianka, and myself are suitable to be the test subjects for Spiritron Transfer?"
The Overseer, who had very directly brought two of Schicksal's three S-rank Valkyries to the forefront of Chaldea, smiled.