Of course.
Kiana was planning to move back to Sapphire City.
And Mobius, naturally, was following right along.
Not to mention she'd already moved the First Research Institute there earlier; now, it was just a matter of going back herself.
It was hardly even a blip on the radar.
And it wasn't just Mobius, either.
Since Kiana was leaving, Dr. Mei, Aponia, and Vill-V would be going too. That included Blanca and Ato, who had both applied for transfers.
Those two even managed to scoop up Su and Kevin on the way—if everyone was going, they were all going together.
Sakura and Rin were obviously following as well.
Especially given Rin's current condition. Even though Mobius had it under control, she still needed regular check-ups.
There was no way Sakura would stay at headquarters with her little sister in that state.
Hmm?
Headquarters?
Almost forgot~
Originally, the MOTH organization had already planned to move its headquarters to Sapphire City.
In other words, they were simply following the young lady's lead all along.
Where the young lady goes, they go.
Wherever the young lady resides, that is the seat of true authority!
So then…
Why were they still haggling with Shenzhou?
If Shenzhou was taking the young lady home, and MOTH was following anyway, what was the real difference?
Klein looked at Mobius with curiosity.
Mobius let out a dismissive scoff. 'It's all just petty scheming.'
She said, if Shenzhou escorted the young lady home, then Shenzhou would be the host, asserting its authority.
But if MOTH followed the young lady home, effectively blocking Shenzhou out, and made it seem like they were the ones returning her, then MOTH would seize the initiative and the upper hand.
Of course, when you got down to it, it all felt rather childish.
Kiana didn't care about any of this.
It was just them, straining against each other on their own.
In reality, by now, every nation and organization had become even more eager to please Kiana.
There were multiple reasons for it, but it was understandable.
They'd even reached a point where no matter what they did, no matter how trivial, they felt the need to report it to the young lady, just to let her know they were on the job.
What was this all about?
'Truly, the bureaucrats among them just get it, don't they?'
Kiana didn't completely shut this out, though.
Because it also allowed her to keep tabs on certain developments. Otherwise, the only way she'd hear about things was by listening to Elysia or some of the other girls when they shared gossip.
Not that it was a bad way.
After all, Elysia was the biggest gossip magnet around.
Anything she knew soon became common knowledge.
And her info was usually accurate, too.
But!
Back when she was with MOTH, the aunt of a high-ranking official who came to see her advised that whether she understood it all or not, she must always listen.
Otherwise, if people saw you weren't paying attention, not only might it dampen their enthusiasm, but it could also give them ideas.
"Mhm, I know~" Kiana certainly wasn't impatient about it.
And she could understand the reasoning.
She was, after all, originally one of the direct heirs to a world-class family.
She'd been immersed in it since childhood, learning all there was to learn. Her insight was definitely not lacking.
Speaking of which, these past few days, what really caught Kiana's interest was a report coming out of New Zealand.
The report stated that no one matching Wendy had been found there, or more precisely, no girl resembling Wendy.
Especially after seeing the side-story recap, everyone now knew Wendy's deal.
The Fourth Herrscher.
They had a much clearer picture of what she looked like.
Following the description, if she was there, they should have found her.
But! Nothing.
There was just no helping it.
They'd turned the place inside out, scoured every inch, and hadn't found a single trace.
This surprised Kiana a little.
So, the Herrscher of Wind in the Previous Era wasn't Wendy after all.
Not entirely unexpected, really.
But still, a bit of a shame.
'Honestly… I was hoping to recruit Wendy. Looks like I'll just have to wait until later, when we get to the Honkai Impact 3rd timeline, to find her then…'
Thinking about it, that could work!
Kiana was pretty good at making promises to herself.
She had a great mindset, never dwelling on things unnecessarily.
On a brighter note, although New Zealand seemed calm, round-the-clock monitoring of Honkai energy density was starting to reveal some concerning signs.
Even if it wasn't the real Fourth Eruption, it was absolutely going to be a major disaster.
So, MOTH, along with New Zealand and nearby nations and organizations, began their preparations.
They were being quite proactive about it.
[MOTH Issues Orange Alert for Northern New Zealand.]
[With Nearly a Year Passed, Is the Fourth Eruption Imminent? Is the Pace Too Rapid?]
[Analyzing the Current Situation from Global Movements: What Does the Honkai Mean for Us?]
It was in the news too.
The authorities didn't deny it.
In fact, they stated plainly at a press conference that they were indeed mobilizing in response to the Honkai.
"Although, to date, there is insufficient evidence to confirm the Fourth Eruption will occur in that region, we still urge residents in the area to evacuate with national assistance as soon as possible, moving away from the potential danger zone."
At the MOTH headquarters.
The press spokesperson spoke forcefully and with conviction under the gaze of the reporters.
People were surprised, but it was fine!
Whether they'd heard the rumors or were now seeing the official statement, the confirmation from official sources allowed everyone to remain calm. It was like facing a flood or a drought—difficult, but not unmanageable.
And the reason for this composure, wasn't it precisely because Kiana was here?
In the future, she could even facilitate the emergence of a universe-level Aeon, elevating whoever she wished, without the target needing to worry excessively about Path restrictions like a wild Aeon would.
This ability was world-class. Frankly, 'world-class' might even be an understatement.
Could she really be reaching the internet-rumored multiverse level?
That would be so reassuring!
Don't you think?!
In fact, discussions about power levels were never in short supply. As more and more videos were broadcast by the Sky Screen, more information became known.
Some people specialized in researching and analyzing it.
Even just judging from the text descriptions, it was clear. Just an Emanator was already an unimaginably terrifying existence in the current world, akin to a god.
So what about an Aeon?
What about the Imaginary Tree and the Sea of Quanta?
Even without explicit animated depictions, conclusions could be drawn.
At the most basic level, some had analyzed that the Imaginary Tree was related to Imaginary Space, and the unique aspects within Imaginary Space were the Real Number Space—our current world.
Draw a simple analogy, and it becomes clearer.
Our reality, countless worlds, form the macro-universe, and this macro-universe still exists on the Imaginary Tree.
Even the Imaginary Tree, the entity that nurtures all worlds, was casually arranged by Kiana, merged with Elysia.
So what does that say about Kiana herself? Is there any room for doubt?
They didn't need to know how many worlds were nurtured.
They just needed to know that no matter how strong others became, they would always be stepping stones for the young lady. That was enough.
With such a formidable presence right here, who would panic?
As long as you toe the line, you're generally safe. Isn't that what matters in the end?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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