However, although Otto was frantically trying to get Su killed, he now had the idea but lacked a reasonable plan.
He had previously considered pitting Leo Ash, Bianka, and Su against each other, then finding an opportunity to backstab Su.
But now, that plan might not work.
Fu Hua and Su were friends. Now that Immortal Red Kite had been 'revived', if something were to happen to Su at this time...
No, even if Leo Ash held a grudge against Su, as long as their old friend stepped in and told them not to fight, it might not be easy for them to bury the hatchet, but it would be simple enough for them to give their old friend face and not come to blows.
This was a tough situation.
The more Otto thought about it now, the more he felt like he was at a loss.
World Serpent had been beaten black and blue by him.
But what about the other problems?
Su was stalling for time with him, and it wouldn't be easy for Otto to kill him.
Void Archives was also stalling, but Otto couldn't just dismantle Void Archives and sacrifice it to the heavens just yet.
Leo Ash's combat power was growing stronger and stronger. After obtaining the Key of Domination, Leo Ash could already temporarily fuse with the authority of the Herrscher of Thunder to launch an attack.
If he were to get his hands on the Blank Key... although the Blank Key required a Herrscher Core to connect with in order to launch a Herrscher-level attack, the problem was that there were two Herrschers right beside Leo Ash.
Under the tutelage of his old friend, he had learned the complete version of the Edge of Taixu. His control over Honkai Energy was bound to be stronger than those two little girls'.
In the data I dug up from Void Archives, I once saw that the person who used the Blank Key in the Previous Era could still complete the [Core Connection] even after picking up the Judgment of Shamash.
In other words, as long as those two girls were by Leo Ash's side, even if they couldn't unleash their full power, they could act as 'batteries' and, through Leo Ash as a 'relay station', deliver a Herrscher-level maximum output.
But this was something I couldn't possibly refuse to give him.
Right now, Otto truly felt like he was in a bind.
Two months ago, he discovered that Kiana had found someone important besides Siegfried—and it was a boy, which made matchmaking convenient.
And while that boy had a brain, he was still relatively easy to control. With a little grooming, he would make a fine sacrifice.
In the days that followed, the boy gave him a surprise or two.
As for why it was only one or two surprises...
—After that, they weren't surprises, they were scares.
To be able to survive against a single-core Herrscher under the right conditions, for a Knight who had only debuted two months ago to be this strong... this rate of progress was a bit outrageous.
And now that Otto was starting to organize the intelligence, he realized that Leo Ash might not be his lucky charm.
Admittedly, from his debut until now, Leo Ash had indeed brought Otto many benefits and surprises.
But looking back now, Otto realized—from the moment Leo Ash debuted, troubles had also popped up one after another.
World Serpent had a mass-produced Herrscher Clone army—although Leo Ash had cleaned them up, they would surely be able to create more of that stuff in the future.
And Wendy had been stolen from right under their noses.
Although the Gem of Desire wasn't a crucial part of Otto's plan, considering World Serpent's unusual craving for the Current Era's Herrscher Cores, Otto felt that this bunch of bastards was definitely up to something.
And then—Su appeared, and he was standing on the opposite side of Otto.
If these things had happened one by one, it would have been a good thing for Otto.
But now, all the bombs had exploded at once. Even if Otto had world-shaking abilities, he couldn't possibly deal with all the enemies and troubles one by one at the same time.
Leo Ash was now like a mine detector; wherever he went, a bomb would go off. To call him a lucky charm...
Otto felt that a person still needed to have a clear perception of reality.
Especially when the plan was entering a critical phase, he needed to act even more cautiously and not deceive himself.
Sigh, at first, I was worried that Leo Ash would be killed, and now, now...
What a headache.
Sirin is about to awaken...
The Key of the Void is already by my side...
Most of the elements are in place...
Sigh, but why do I feel so miserable?
...
Meanwhile, under Amber's guidance, Fu Hua arrived at the location designated by Otto and collected the Blank Key.
Looking at the suit of armor before her, Fu Hua was certain that this was indeed the real thing.
Otto really didn't lie to me this time...
Sigh, was I too harsh on him in the past?
Perhaps he really did treat me as a friend.
With this thought, Fu Hua signaled for Amber to disguise the armor properly. When she returned to the Far East Branch, she would personally transport this valuable item.
However, before she left Schicksal HQ, she had one more thing to do.
After skillfully making her way to the medical office, Fu Hua happened to run into Wraith, who had just walked out of a certain ward.
"Well, a rare guest."
Looking at the 'girl' before him, Wraith, who knew her identity, proactively approached and asked Fu Hua with a grin.
"What brings you to HQ today, 'Classmate' Fu Hua?"
"Senior Wraith, Rita Rossweisse's room is..."
"It's the one I just came out of."
After glancing at the number plate on the ward, Fu Hua thanked Wraith and walked directly into Ward 233.
"She's here to see Rita, huh... Hmm, I heard she and Ash are pretty close?"
As he walked away, a thought surfaced in Wraith's mind.
I've heard rumors before, could it be...
Wow, don't tell me Fu Hua has fallen for Ash.
This is a bit tricky.
She's a good person, but she clearly has some secrets.
Ash is obviously caught up in a whirlwind right now. To get involved with a woman who's not easy to mess with at a time like this...
Ash, don't blame your teacher.
It's not that I don't want to save you, but the problem is I can't afford to offend any of the people you're attracting.
Lord Bishop Otto seems to be planning something for you, and I can't do anything about that.
Now that Fu Hua has taken a liking to you, you'll be dragged into other incidents, and I can't help with that either.
My unlucky disciple, why—did you have to put so many points into your charisma stat?
It's a good thing Rita is still asleep. If she were awake right now, she'd probably start worrying again.
On the other side, Fu Hua, who had already entered the ward, quickly walked to the sleeping Rita's side and proactively released the power of Fenghuang Down on her.
Fu Hua, whose body had almost recovered to its peak state, would of course not cough up blood from using Fenghuang Down again.
As for why she was doing this now, it was mainly because—she felt that since she had the ability to wake Rita up, it was better to just get it done.
Rita was Otto's capable subordinate, but at the same time, she was an even more outstanding Valkyrie.
If Rita were to continue sleeping like this, Fu Hua was very worried that her body would become even weaker from the long slumber.
Besides, if Rita continued to sleep, Leo Ash would be even more worried, right?
Right now, aside from hating the Honkai, he was also thinking about dismantling World Serpent's bases one by one every day, and that was because Rita had been injured.
If Rita woke up, it might be able to distract him a little, allowing the violence in his heart to lessen somewhat.
At this moment, Rita, who was under the effect of the Divine Key's power, naturally and easily awoke from her slumber.
When the girl opened her eyes, she—of course, did not see the person she wanted to see.
"...Lady Fu Hua."
Looking at the woman before her, the newly awakened Rita instantly understood that it was the other who had helped her out of that state.
"Thank you for your help."
"There is no need for formalities."
Seeing Rita trying to get up, Fu Hua immediately pushed her back onto the hospital bed.
"You've looked after me a lot in the past as well."
"You're still as polite as ever."
Faced with Fu Hua's concern, Rita put away the disappointment in her heart for not being able to see Leo Ash and Bianka, instantly switching to work mode and asking with great seriousness.
"How long was I asleep? What's the battle situation like now? And—Wendy, have we rescued her?"
Hearing Rita's three Valkyrie questions, Fu Hua could only shake her head helplessly.
"You've been asleep for about two weeks. The current situation is that the Fourth Eruption is over, Cocolia is dead, and Schicksal has sent World Serpent running for the hills, but..."
"Unfortunately, Wendy is still in World Serpent's hands."
"...I see."
As expected, because of my incompetence, Wendy still fell into enemy hands.
A Herrscher-level hostage... World Serpent, with their strange teleportation ability, must have already hidden her in an area undetectable to others.
Rescuing Wendy would be incredibly difficult.
"Then, what about Leo and Lady Bianka? Are they..."
"They are fine."
Looking at Rita, who started asking about work-related matters as soon as she woke up, Fu Hua couldn't help but sigh internally—like sister, like brother.
You two... your sense of responsibility is just too strong.
Sigh, whatever.
Although I'm not interested in that party, Rita's mentality needs to relax a bit.
"As it happens, in a few days, Leo Ash and the others are having a party at the beach—you, do you want to go and relax with them?"
Hearing this news from Fu Hua, Rita smiled sweetly.
"Of course. But Lady Fu Hua, please help me keep the fact that I've woken up a secret for now."
"I'd like to prepare a little, and then..."
"—I hope I can give Leo a surprise."
One hour later. In Leo Ash's room
Leo Ash, who was in his room trying to train his Heart Skandha, found himself incredibly agitated today, completely unable to calm his mind.
[Even though you said it was to save someone, in the end—you don't have to be this shy, my dear Host.]
Shut up—it has nothing to do with that!
Nothing at all!
[Oh, please. The System knows exactly what you're thinking—hehe, you scrub.]
[To think a master at picking up girls would become such a scrub after getting one, to the point where you can't even calm your mind and practice your Heart Skandha.]
I told you, you're overthinking it. It has nothing to do with that.
And since you've shown yourself, I have something to ask you.
[Although your attempt to change the subject was very clumsy, the System won't press the issue—what do you want to ask?]
You told me last time, 'don't worry about being spied on, when you're in the throes of passion with your lover, the System will automatically block all external senses'.
Then—why could you still talk at that time???
[Well, uh, you mean you admit that Fu Hua is your lover, right?]
...
[Just kidding. The System knows you don't have those kinds of feelings for now. Mmm, not for now.]
[Let me be clear about this mechanism. A long, long time ago, the god who created the System gave it a few unchangeable basic mechanisms.]
[One of them is, 'when the Host is in the throes of passion with their lover, the System will automatically block all external senses'.]
[This 'automatically blocking external senses' means the System can't see you and your lover doing... whatever. And according to our boss...]
['I definitely don't want anyone watching when I'm getting it on with my wife'—that's what he said.]
Wow, surprisingly considerate.
[So, this became a core mechanism of the System. When you're doing... that... with your lover, the System can't detect the outside world.]
[But since you asked so sincerely—]
Then please, tell me with your great mercy.
[Mmm, you guessed it. Because the System is basically banned in that situation, so—if an enemy comes, you won't get any rewards, nor can you detect them by asking the System and seeing if it replies.]
[So be careful about the timing, okay? Don't get caught and killed.]
...You're not going to tell me a senior died because of something like this, are you?
[What else? Why do you think the System is with you now?]
[This is a core mechanism. The System can't change it, can't change it—so you'll just have to adapt.]
Wow, is it this dangerous to even be in love with a girl these days?
[Is it possible that it's not that being in love with a girl is dangerous, but rather...]
[The girls you're in love with are actually very dangerous?]
Don't be like that.
I'm not in love with anyone yet!
[You will be in the future. Oh, and I just saw a new surprise.]
That makes me even more uneasy.
I haven't done anything bad today, have I? This...
—Just what kind of 'surprise' could possibly pop up at a time like this?
.