[Detecting current situation unsuitable for character activity. System will arrange a trip to a crossover world for the character. Estimated duration: forty days. Target...]
"Wait? What are you doing?"
Wende's heart leaped into his throat as he watched the system's light screen begin to glow. It... was going to teleport him to a crossover world? It couldn't be that Honkai game, could it? Wait a minute! The Honkai Impact 3rd world also has Honkai: Star Rail in it now! If he suddenly appeared there, wouldn't Otto discover him and turn him into a guinea pig?
Oh, he could beat Otto in a fight... but he couldn't out-disgust him!
[Destination: Honkai Impact 3rd World!]
As the system's voice faded, Wende's figure vanished from the exit of the underground reservoir...
---o---
"Joachim, are you messing with me? Is this even plausible? Are these parameters really from 'beyond this world'?"
Staring at the data sent by Welt Yang on the computer, Tesla's face was a mask of disbelief. This data... did it even make sense? A [Star Gate] exists beyond the planet, and by passing through it, one can reach the world of Honkai: Star Rail?
Isn't this the background story of that Welt from the game? Although there was a ninety-nine percent chance he was the Welt from the future, this data right in front of them... where did it come from?
"I... don't know either."
Welt Yang pushed up his rimless glasses, shaking his head in a daze. Last night, he'd had a very, very long dream. He dreamed he arrived in a world where the Honkai didn't exist, and he and Tesla had a child... In the end, as if searching for something, or perhaps for some other purpose, he learned of the Star Gate's existence and coordinates, and stepped through it without a second thought...
When he woke up again, he found he possessed this string of data... but that was all. The "world" as it was now couldn't handle this. Their greatest enemy was still the Honkai itself...
"Let's... store this data for now. It's not yet time to research it."
Welt Yang sank into his chair as if drained of all strength. He... didn't feel well. His head was spinning... but he didn't know why... What was...
"Joachim!"
Amidst Tesla's shocked cry, Welt Yang slowly lost consciousness, slumping in his chair.
---o---
"Bronya... has she been unconscious for almost a week now?"
Mei gazed worriedly at the 'older' Bronya lying in the medical bay bed. Although her vital signs were normal in the St. Freya Academy infirmary, her prolonged coma was a great cause for concern.
"Mei..."
Seeing Mei's worried expression, Kiana's heart ached as well. That Bronya was an annoying brat, but she was still an indispensable partner! How could this suddenly happen...
"Bronya's condition is very stable, but we still haven't found the cause of her coma. The Principal has already requested that Schicksal HQ send a batch of the latest equipment to St. Freya. That Lord Bishop was unusually generous..."
Standing beside the two, Himeko placed a hand on the laminated glass of the observation room and sighed softly, then tried to comfort them.
"Auntie Himeko... you don't think anything bad will happen to Bronya, do you?"
"You called me... never mind. Sigh... Don't worry, Bronya will be fine."
Himeko shook her head. In a daze, she too felt her head starting to spin...
"S-Something's wrong. Kiana, Mei... you need to hurry and..."
Before Himeko could finish her sentence, she felt as if her consciousness was struck by a heavy sledgehammer. Her vision went black, and she lost consciousness.
"Auntie Himeko! What's wrong! Don't pass out!"
Kiana caught Himeko as she suddenly collapsed, frantically shouting at the woman in her arms.
"Himeko! Quick! Kiana, put Himeko on a bed in the medical bay! I'll go get the Principal!"
---o---
Schicksal, Oceania Branch.
A young girl in a wheelchair looked on with envy at her comrades doing their physical fitness tests. Once upon a time, she was just like them, able to run on this very field...
But now...
She looked down at her own legs—slender and pale, but completely without feeling. They were just decorations. They couldn't move, nor could they let her... achieve her dream...
For countless days and nights, the girl had silently wiped away her tears in her dorm room, crying, hating, lamenting... until all that was left was a vacant numbness.
"Wendy? There you are. Your application to live off-base has been approved. However, given your physical condition, we've hired a professional rehabilitation therapist for you. For the duration of your time living alone, that person will be with you."
A Valkyrie with glasses handed the girl her approved application. She pushed up her red-framed glasses and, without waiting to see Wendy's reaction, simply relayed the information and left.
"Heh... Is this help? Or just surveillance? A monitored solitary life... can you even call that living alone?"
Wendy gave a bitter smile. She knew Schicksal would never let her go so easily. Getting the approval to leave was already unbelievable. After all, "that thing" was still inside her...
Whatever, she thought. It's better than staying here, being provoked and humiliated by them...
Wendy smoothed out the application form she had unknowingly crumpled in her hand, sighed faintly, and turned her wheelchair to go back to her dorm to pack.
---o---
"So, are you satisfied? You arbitrarily assigned me an identity, without even getting my consent?"
Leaning against a nearby vehicle, Wende glared unhappily at the system screen. It was bad enough that it left him on a cliffhanger and threw him over here, but it even found a job for him... I really have you to thank for this, don't I! Screwing him over there and then waiting for him here, is that it?
"Sigh..."
Wende heaved a long sigh. Well, at least he hadn't been discovered by that old bastard. Otherwise, how would he get through these forty days...
"Forget it. A nanny is a nanny. But it seems those Schicksal people just told me to wait here; they didn't give me any information about the kid..."
Wende scratched his slightly messy hair, his eyes full of resignation. The identity the system had fabricated for him was an exclusive rehabilitation therapist for Schicksal. Although connected to the organization, the ties weren't deep; it was merely a cooperative relationship.
Screech...
Just as Wende was worrying about how to find the child, the sound of a door opening came from the Schicksal branch behind him.
Wende turned to look, and his purple eyes instantly constricted.
The girl's cyan eyes met his purple ones. Her hands unconsciously tightened their grip... This... was her rehabilitation therapist?