Unfortunately, a certain Straight Woman of Steel had absolutely no understanding of a young maiden's heart and simply continued on her own track.
"Please, I really need your help."
"Huh? Do you take me for a fool? Did you think I wouldn't know that using Herrscher abilities against these things will get my power snatched away?"
"Hmph, what's your game? Are you trying to kill with a borrowed knife, or kill two birds with one stone?" the owner of the voice said mockingly.
"Oh, I get it. You must have become one of those wooden puppets, right?"
"Makes sense. A failed life like yours is easy to crush."
"...I have not become one of them. They are currently using the lives of innocent people as a threat. I need to borrow your power," Fu Hua said in a low voice.
"If you haven't turned, then why are you trying to trick me into handing over my power?"
The owner of the voice sounded somewhat aggrieved, like a child who had hidden away their allowance, only to have an adult about to take their hard-earned savings to go gambling.
"This isn't handing it over. As long as we can defeat them, the power won't be taken away," Fu Hua continued.
"Hmph, after all that, what does any of this have to do with me?"
"Kiana needs you."
"Doesn't she need her 'Class Monitor'?"
"I need you too."
"....."
Fu Hua felt the chain in her consciousness seem to slacken slightly.
A flicker of joy appeared in her heart, and she decided to strike while the iron was hot.
"I understand that Kiana once rejected you, but I trust you know she isn't a bad person."
"She rejected you as 'Fu Hua' not because she dislikes you. On the contrary, we all see you as an independent individual."
"You have your own thoughts, your own principles. You don't need to worry about who you are, because you can decide what kind of person you want to become."
"...I've always wanted to tell you this. We all hope you will come back."
"..."
Fu Hua waited for the Herrscher of Sentience's response, but she was also growing anxious, as reality did not afford her the time for a long conversation.
"Hmph, you seem to be a bit better at conversation than the other wooden puppets."
The voice spoke again, but this time, her tone was much more relaxed. The initial dissatisfaction and wariness toward Fu Hua were gone.
"In the end, this is all a mess you people made. If you're so capable, then you should..."
The Herrscher of Sentience's attitude seemed to be softening, but the situation in reality no longer allowed Fu Hua to waste any more time.
Fu Hua gritted her teeth and made a decision.
"I'm sorry!"
Seizing the moment the Herrscher of Sentience let her guard down, Fu Hua forcefully yanked the chain.
Power instantly poured into her. Although she felt a bit apologetic, she could only wait until after the matter was settled to apologize properly.
The scene returned to reality. Fu Hua's body ignited with ethereal flames, and in an instant, she completed the transformation into 'Chiyuan.'
"Now!"
Using the Herrscher power she had just obtained, Fu Hua attacked the group of dolls. The lines of mental connection were severed, and all the dolls immediately collapsed to the ground.
"Ugh..."
Fu Hua felt a strange sensation from within her body. The power she had just tricked... no, borrowed, had been seized by the Herrscher of Domination.
"I see. So this is what it feels like to have a Herrscher's authority stolen."
"The Herrscher of Sentience... how is she?" Bronya asked.
"She's fine, but our conversation was cut short."
"Still, I didn't expect her to agree to help you. It seems you're quite good at persuading people, Class Monitor," Bronya said with a smile.
"...No. To be precise, she didn't agree," Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, looking a bit embarrassed.
Bronya was stunned for a moment, then, as if realizing something, the corner of her mouth twitched.
"Then she must be furious..."
"I'll apologize to her afterward. But for now, let's go rescue Kiana."
The vision ended there.
Everyone: "....."
With a tacit understanding, the group turned their gazes to Fu Hua.
"Class Monitor, you're a bit too..." Raiden Mei opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, she was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
"What's wrong? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Fu Hua pushed up her glasses and said with perfect justification, "You all saw the situation just now. It was an emergency. You can't blame my future self, right? She only resorted to that method to save Kiana."
"You blockhead! To think I believed you had changed after all these years. I can't believe you're still the same old blockhead!"
The little ancestor slapped her forehead, wearing an expression that screamed, Child, Mama is so disappointed in you.
"Class Monitor, you really didn't have to resort to snatching it..." Kiana said, speechless.
Even she could tell that the Herrscher of Sentience had clearly been softening up. If Fu Hua had just said a few more nice words, she could have borrowed the power without any issue.
But in the end, Fu Hua, this Straight Woman of Steel, was completely oblivious to the fact that she was on the verge of persuading the Herrscher. The girl was just being a little tsundere. If she had just spoken a few more sentences, the Herrscher would have obediently handed over her power.
"Fu Hua, that parenting guide from earlier... when you have free time in the future, you should read it more. Seriously," Himeko patted Fu Hua's shoulder and said with a sincere expression.
"So, that's what the phone scam was about," Tesla scratched her head. "By the way, is that Herrscher of Sentience always so easy to talk to? And from her tone, she doesn't sound like an enemy."
"Indeed. This Herrscher of Sentience is different from the others. From her conversation with Fu Hua, we can tell that Fu Hua holds no animosity toward her, and she doesn't have the typical kill-or-be-killed attitude that Herrschers have toward their vessels."
"On the contrary, I feel that this Herrscher of Sentience seems to have a special kind of feeling for Fu Hua."
"Unfortunately, we still don't know how the Herrscher of Sentience was born, but it's highly likely to be related to the Class Monitor," Bronya said. "From what we've seen, the Herrscher of Sentience is not our enemy and could even become an ally. However, that's on the condition that the Class Monitor can learn how to communicate with children."
"....."
"Fu Hua, I'm giving you a mission. When we get back, I want you to memorize that parenting guide. Understood?" Theresa said with a completely serious face.
"O-Okay."
Looking at everyone's expressions, although Fu Hua didn't know what she had done wrong, she could only nod and agree.
"Don't worry, everyone! I'll be in charge of supervising this blockhead. I'll definitely cure her of this bad habit of being a straight woman!" The Book of Cangxuan patted her own belly, making a guarantee.
"Then we'll be counting on you."
No one wanted a potential Herrscher ally to be pushed away simply because Fu Hua didn't know how to talk to people.
That would be far too great a loss.