"Good evening, Overseer."
A striking girl emerged from the shadows—clad in black, golden hair cascading like sunlight. Her expression was layered with complexity, words seemingly lodged in her throat.
The girl before them was none other than Durandal—affectionately dubbed Goose, Dudu—the true daughter of Cecilia Schariac, certified pure soul.
"Good evening, little Durandal. Something troubling you?"
Otto could discern whose silhouette she kept stealing glances at. Thus, he shifted from merely hooking Cecilia's pinky to fully clasping her soft, boneless hand—and caught Durandal's pupils contract faintly, like a startled kitten.
Flirting with the mother before the daughter—damn, the thrill.
Otto nearly burst into laughter. Only when Durandal snapped out of her stunned-goose stupor did he rein in his mirth, letting out a curious "Hm?"
Durandal composed herself.
"My apologies, Overseer. I was lost in thought."
"I'm deeply intrigued by what occupied your mind." Otto pressed—how could he resist teasing the goose?
"Um… Overseer," Durandal—ever forthright—hesitated for half a heartbeat before asking, "I was wondering… does this Valkyrie share some connection with me?"
Otto distinctly felt Cecilia tremble. The hand that had been subtly resisting now gripped him in return, tense and urgent.
"Oh?" Otto kept his tone light and playful. "In that case… Rita might weep."
"What does this have to do with Rita?" Durandal asked, genuinely puzzled.
"What do you think?" Otto countered.
"I believe it has nothing to do with her." The girl replied with unflinching directness, steering the conversation into an abrupt impasse only she could achieve.
Otto sensed Cecilia's grip gradually loosen, the soft flesh no longer pressing so tightly—as though a quiet relief had washed over her.
Why relieved?
Pleased to see her daughter deliver a solid retort?
Women's logic… utterly inscrutable.
"Perhaps," Otto shrugged. "Allow me to rephrase: why do you suspect a connection?"
"Because…"
Durandal gazed fixedly at Cecilia, falling silent for a long while.
Faintly, Otto noticed the current strongest Valkyrie's eyes mist over with a fleeting veil of crimson—vanished in an instant.
"When I beheld her," Durandal's voice softened, as though fearing she might startle Cecilia, "I felt… an inexplicable closeness. Like when I first saw you as a doctor at the orphanage and wanted to punch you."
Otto: …
Just for that line, goose baby—mother-daughter reunion postponed indefinitely.
"Please don't take offense, Miss Valkyrie," the pure-hearted goose continued, oblivious to the brewing resentment in a certain Overseer. "When I look at you, my heart races fiercely, my eyes well up without cause. I want to embrace you—just a gentle hug. Say nothing, think nothing."
She paused, fumbling for words.
"I'm truly sorry, but that's precisely what stirred in my heart upon seeing you. Of course, humans can restrain themselves. I simply… wished to confess this inexplicable affinity."
"Perhaps we met before—perhaps we were close before I lost my memories. I didn't forget you intentionally—I truly suffered amnesia as a child."
"From a practical standpoint—um, if it troubles you—I'll endeavor to stay out of your sight. I can manage that. I swear it upon the name of Durandal."
Otto: …This silly girl is utterly incoherent.
He could see it plainly—when Durandal vowed to avoid Cecilia's gaze, those two upward-curling ahoge strands drooped limply, and her entire bearing wilted like a flower denied sun.
Otto savored his fill of Durandal reaction images, then turned to Cecilia—
Holy mother of—, our saint's gaze is so tender it could melt steel.
Cecilia caught the Overseer's sidelong glance and offered an apologetic, profoundly maternal smile. Then she locked eyes with Durandal, emotions surging within.
Me too, Durandal.
The woman whispered softly in her heart.
I want to draw you into my arms as well, simply listening to your quiet breathing.
I feel that same inexplicable closeness—as though we've braved tempests side by side.
Please don't apologize for forgetting. I'm more than willing to exchange names anew.
Truth be told, I'm grappling with amnesia right now too—yet that doesn't dim the joy I feel just seeing you.
You needn't vanish from my world, because…
I long to see you too. So very, very much.
Cecilia's expression held sorrow at its deepest core, yet no tears threatened to fall. Instead, a vast, monumental emotion dwelled within.
They gazed at each other in silence, yet every unspoken word seemed conveyed through their eyes alone.
"Tsk tsk tsk," Otto shattered the quiet. "It seems genuine blood ties truly transcend certain… acquired bonds."
So flesh and blood prevails above all.
"So do we truly share blood?" Durandal—sharper than anyone in that moment—cut straight to the core.
For a fleeting instant, Otto was genuinely tempted to troll her: declare Durandal their secret love child, born of Cecilia's yearning for a baby (air quotes implied), explain her golden hair, his lavish spoiling.
Future him could handle the fallout—current him had nothing to lose.
"Who knows?" In the end, he spared his future self and answered with an enigmatic smile.
It wasn't true pettiness on Otto's part, but simply… the timing wasn't ripe for mother-daughter reunion.
At the very least… acknowledgment now wouldn't maximize his gains.
"Let me summarize the situation based on present circumstances," Otto continued before Durandal could bristle at his evasion. "Miss Durandal, you sought me for some matter—something of considerable import, yes? Then you glimpsed this Valkyrie, felt an uncanny familiarity, yet feared confirmation, so you shadowed us all this way, uncertain how to broach it. Am I correct?"
"Precisely," Durandal nodded. "So can you tell me what our relationship is?"
Cecilia turned her head as well, gazing at him with quiet curiosity.
Otto: …
Natural airhead triumphs over scheming mastermind—ancients spoke true.
Even after guiding everything here, she looped right back to the original question.
In that case… should he lie?
Better not.
Exposure would likely earn him a thrashing.
"I'll reveal it when the moment is right." Otto shook his head in the end.
"Mm… very well. We'll set that aside for now," Durandal conceded. Her Schariac blood finally asserted itself, yielding to his lead.
"Also, may I invite her—oh, right. Overseer, what is this lady's name?"