Chat Group : Another Fate From Honkai

"Sorry to intrude."

Wearing an elegant smile, a sharp and confident glint in her eyes, the young woman followed the host of the room into the spacious living area.

A pure violet light flickered briefly in her lowered golden gaze as her finely tuned detection skill swept the room within a limited radius.

After confirming no signs of surveillance devices, she gave a small, satisfied nod to herself.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Joachim Nokianvitainen—or should I call you... Welt Yang?"

Seating herself gracefully on the sofa, C.C. smiled politely, with flawless poise.

"You even know that name? Your intelligence network is truly astonishing," Welt replied calmly, his expression gentle but his inner vigilance quietly rising.

"You flatter me, Leader~"

Carrying two steaming cups of tea into the room, Welt placed one carefully in front of the girl before sitting across from her.

"So... what brings you here today?" he asked with a businesslike smile, lifting his cup with a faint chuckle.

But behind that gentle demeanor, his sharp eyes narrowed slightly.

She hadn't come with Theresa—that meant this girl probably hadn't exposed her identity to others yet.

Taking a small sip, Welt remained composed.

"I do have a favor to ask of you, Leader."

C.C. casually twirled a strand of her soft green hair, crossing her legs in a way that completely broke the noble aura from her character card, and spoke lightly—as if discussing the weather.

"To be blunt... I want the Herrscher of Reason's Core."

C.C. was always direct—unless the situation demanded otherwise.

"...Huh? What?"

The rising steam from the tea swirled before Welt's eyes as his hand froze mid-air, the smile on his face stiffening into something far less natural.

His eyes widened slightly, staring at the green-haired girl in disbelief.

"Pardon me... I think I misheard you. Would you mind repeating that?"

A faint crimson flickered deep within his pupils.

His voice, no longer gentle, carried a sharp edge.

Welt's reaction was exactly what C.C. had expected.

After all... what she'd just asked for was no different from a total stranger suddenly barging into your home and asking for your family heirloom.

If this were the world of ordinary people, there'd be only one way to resolve this: money.

And if the deal fell through... well, it probably just meant she hadn't offered enough.

Of course, the value of a Herrscher Core was beyond measure.

But then again, so were many other things in this world.

"Now, now, no need to get so worked up, Herr Leader. I came here sincerely to talk things through. Otherwise... if I'd simply informed Otto of your whereabouts beforehand—well... do you think you'd have left St. Freya so easily?"

C.C.'s gentle smile felt like a warm spring breeze as she gazed sincerely at Welt.

She wasn't wrong.

Yet Welt's frown only deepened.

"And what exactly... are you suggesting?"

"A trade, of course~"

"Oh?" Welt's tone rose slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "A trade?"

"Exactly. A trade."

"World Serpent, Otto's true wish, the essence of the Honkai... and so much more."

A golden gleam danced in C.C.'s eyes as she listed secrets that only someone at the highest level could offer.

"And that's just the beginning. I can offer you something even greater—the possibility to defeat the Honkai itself."

All value was relative. A cup of water meant nothing to a traveler by the spring—but to one dying of thirst in the desert, it was everything.

But mere information alone wasn't enough to match the worth of a Herrscher Core for Anti-Entropy.

Schicksal, on the other hand, was different.

If C.C. wanted Otto's Void Archives or any other Herrscher Gem, all she needed to do was offer knowledge about resurrection—and Otto would eagerly trade.

In this sense, that madman was far easier to "negotiate" with than Welt.

"Oh, and one more friendly tip."

Seeing Welt slowly rise at her last remark, C.C. gently stood from the sofa as well, meeting his gaze with a smile—her expression now sharper than ever before.

"Your theory of converting Honkai energy into harmless thermal energy using a high-density Honkai absorber... does have merit. Theoretically, it could work. But in practice? It won't help you defeat the Honkai at all."

C.C.'s detection skill swept the room again—subtly sensing Welt's faint, hidden movements. She paused for a heartbeat, then chuckled lightly and continued.

"Even if Anti-Entropy built those absorbers and placed them worldwide for civilian use, the result would differ greatly from your expectations."

Through those calm brown eyes, C.C. seemed to see the raging storm brewing within Welt's mind.

Before he could even voice his doubts, she spoke again—answering the question before it left his lips.

"The reason... is none other than Schicksal's beloved Overseer~"

With a soft smile, the image of the girl in Welt's eyes had completely changed.

"After all... Anti-Entropy's predecessor was once Schicksal's North American branch," C.C. mused softly, her slender legs carrying her closer to Welt.

"Perhaps, when you first thought of this plan, Otto had already foreseen it. That's why he tampered with the Dead Sea Scroll's data—which also indirectly caused Edison's death."

"..."

Silence. Welt said nothing, but crimson once again flickered deep within his brown pupils.

"So the Moonlight Throne Project's chances of success are slim. And even if you pulled it off... it wouldn't be enough to defeat the Honkai."

"..."

Still silent—but the gentle, refined teacher was now gone. In his place stood the resolute First Herrscher.

"The power of the Previous Era... even the overloaded Moonlight Throne could only make the Final Herrscher lose 30% of its Honkai energy. This era... it's not even worth a single hand of the fusion warriors of the old world. Let alone the Final Herrscher itself."

"..."

"This method... will never defeat the Honkai. Because its flaw lies in the very nature of the Honkai itself."

Brushing a soft lock of hair behind her ear, the violet hexagram spinning in her eyes, C.C. gazed directly at the silent Welt. A

 faint smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"And lastly... if I'm not mistaken, the one on the other end of this call must be none other than the greatest inventor in human history—the living embodiment of genius itself... Doctor Tesla, am I right?"

C.C. deliberately exaggerated her words with theatrical flair, her gaze sliding past Welt to the terminal on the desk behind him.

On the screen appeared a striking young woman: wearing a white shirt, a black suspender skirt, and a bright red mechanical necktie.

Her twin ponytails, as fiery red as burning flames, framed her face—a face that, despite its youthful beauty, belonged to someone over eighty years old.

Her brilliant crimson eyes gleamed with strong willpower, giving her an air of sharp intensity.

Yet the red-rimmed glasses perched on her nose softened the impression with a touch of intellect, striking a perfect balance.

"Just who the hell are you?!" Both Welt and Tesla spoke in unison.

Their perfect synchronization made C.C. pause for a moment in mild surprise—though when she remembered how these two often became the butt of jokes in Post-Honkai Odyssey for being perpetually single, she quickly let it go.

...Wait, was Tesla secretly trying to pull off a reverse Yae Plan here?

"Oh, come on, not that tired old line again. Haven't you two already gathered plenty of intel on us by now?"

She sighed dramatically and flipped up the terminal on the desk, adjusting the angle so Tesla could get a clearer view.

"I gave you more credit than this... yet I still underestimated you in the end, huh?"

Arms crossed, the fiery red twin-tailed scientist stared at the green-haired girl.

In her crimson gaze, the reflection of the violet hexagram in C.C.'s eyes shone brightly—causing Tesla to raise her hand and rub her forehead with a long-suffering sigh.

"Looks like your origins are far beyond anything we could have imagined."

Tesla's muttered words echoed in the room as the faint crimson light slowly faded from Welt's eyes.

"See? Isn't this better? Sitting down, having tea, and solving things peacefully... There's no need to burn out your body by pushing your Herrscher powers any further."

With practiced grace, C.C. lifted the teapot and refilled both their cups as if she were the rightful hostess of the place.

"Is there anything you don't know, I wonder?"

Welt's body, tense like a drawn bowstring, slowly relaxed.

His voice carried a trace of weakness—as if all his strength had just been spent.

...Truthfully, he had been forcing himself to stay standing.

"Ahh, that's not important. What matters now... is our deal."

C.C. raised a slender, pale finger and waggled it playfully as the hexagram faded from her eyes.

"So? What do you two think? Interested?"

Welt exchanged a glance with Tesla through the screen, then let out a long sigh.

"Even if I refuse... you'll take the Core by force, won't you?"

What she'd said earlier was a show of sincerity—but the intent behind her words was clear.

She wanted the Herrscher Core, no matter what. And Welt wasn't blind to that fact.

"Well, if you two insist on being completely uncooperative... I do have that as a backup plan."

C.C. admitted this without the slightest hesitation.

After all, the Herrscher of Reason's Core was the power most compatible with her Geass.

There truly was no substitute.

"..."

"Before that happens, however... may I ask why you want the Core so badly?"

———————————————————————

Daily Uploads!

Unlock bonus chapters by reaching specific milestones with [Power Stone] votes!

Go to p-atreon.com/InsomniaTL to access more than 50 advanced chapters.