After listening to Rita's explanation for a full thirty seconds, Otto felt...
--He was still completely baffled.
Although Rita had stayed behind to let the others go on ahead and had truly said everything she could, the truth was, she hadn't quite figured out the situation either.
And in Rita's eyes, this 'unexpected arrival' was most likely something orchestrated by Lord Bishop Otto.
Knowing Otto's plan, Rita had already sketched out a rough blueprint of it in her mind.
As early as when the three of them returned to Schicksal from Nagazora City, Otto must have extracted blood samples from Leo Ash, who had demonstrated sufficient power, and Yuna, who could use Herrscher abilities.
And since K423's 'home base' was Schicksal HQ, Otto wouldn't have even needed to draw her blood.
Now that this child had appeared, the situation would naturally proceed in the direction Otto had planned.
With the child connecting Kiana and Leo, their relationship would become even closer → they would grow more intimate, and their feelings would deepen → the sacrifice Lord Bishop Otto needed would gradually be completed → he could then happily launch his Herrscher of the Void awakening plan.
As for why the child also had Yuna's genes, Rita could only assume that Otto must highly value the authority of the Herrscher of Death as well.
And as Otto's trusted subordinate, Rita knew very well that Otto, having lived for five hundred years, was an expert on human nature.
Perhaps Lord Bishop had already anticipated when planning this child's creation that Miss Yuna's personality wouldn't lead her to compete with Miss Kiana for Leo, which was why he proceeded with confidence.
And the situation on the ground was indeed just as he had predicted. After the child was taken away by Miss Kiana, Miss Yuna showed no extreme emotions or actions.
Alas, so now...
--Lord Bishop, who are you trying to fool with that slightly shocked expression?
For a master of managing expressions like you to show such a surprised look in front of me only makes me feel that your involvement in this matter is clearly even greater.
But Otto, still at Schicksal HQ, was genuinely dumbfounded this time.
Fu Hua and Rita, who knew parts of his plan, both thought Otto was flooring the accelerator.
But only Otto himself knew--he was trying to hit the brakes.
And what made Otto most desperate was that he *wanted* to hit the brakes, but he couldn't find where the brakes were.
During this time, he had been so worried about these matters that his Soulium Body had lost a ton of hair.
Kiana and Leo Ash had a child--who the hell was this little brat someone had cooked up behind the scenes!
My plan, how could my plan have turned into this!
Leo Ash's rapid progress was one thing; I could accept his extraordinary talent. With such a large human population, I had no complaints about a monster like him appearing every few hundred years.
But where in the world did this little brat pop out from???
Only Schicksal had the genes of those three, but I know for a fact I didn't do this, and I had the genes of Yuna, K423, and Leo Ash extracted and sealed away.
I didn't even give Amber the authority to access their genes, and as for Anti-Entropy...
Forget it. Although those people are a threat to my plan, they would never do something that would help me accelerate Kiana's awakening.
In the end, the only group with the capability to do this would be World Serpent.
But right now, they're beaten and scattered. Do they really have nothing better to do than make a clone of Leo Ash... Don't tell me they're planning to use this little brat as a weapon to counterattack Schicksal?
Objectively speaking, with his enemy's plan having failed, Otto should be hiding somewhere and laughing his head off.
But if the failure of the enemy's plan could also lead to the failure of his own plan, then that wasn't so great.
"Rita, you now..."
After a moment's thought, Otto spoke to Rita with great seriousness.
"I suspect this child is a tool used by the enemy to sow discord in the Far East Branch. You--no matter what means you use, you must stabilize the situation for me!"
"Your actions are related to some important plans, and even the survival of the world. You must do everything in your power to keep those little girls at the Far East Branch from overthinking things."
"The problem isn't Leo Ash or the child, but World Serpent--making everyone realize this is your mission this time."
"Yes, I understand."
"Do what you must. If you need support, tell me directly, and I will back you with all my strength."
Watching Otto in the light screen speak these words with an incredibly solemn expression, Rita fell into deep thought.
How strange. I previously thought this child was Lord Bishop Otto's handiwork, but now...
Even if he's a great actor, there's no need to put on such a show for me, a pawn who on the surface poses no threat to his plans.
But, it doesn't matter.
Although I don't know what Lord Otto is thinking, the fact that he isn't asking me to use this child's appearance to push Leo and Miss Kiana's relationship forward is a good thing.
However...
Thinking about the headaches she would have to face in the future, Rita let out a helpless sigh.
She currently only had a preliminary strategy but no detailed plan, and the current situation was highly unfavorable for her.
Having spent two years with Leo Ash, Rita knew that while her adoptive brother wasn't very obedient, he was extremely sentimental.
Not long after seeing the child, Leo Ash ignored the complicated looks from everyone and acknowledged his identity as a father.
I don't know what his relationship with Miss Kiana was like before.
But now, with this child, it's only a matter of time before things between them heat up.
And it would be difficult for anyone else to interfere in their affairs--they already have a child. Anyone who tried to interfere at a time like this would need to have incredibly thick skin.
The only person with that legitimacy is Miss Yuna, but she herself has no intention of doing so.
As for the others... Miss Mei can't be counted on.
Miss Anna has some motivation, but she isn't aggressive enough.
Lady Bianka would have been the most suitable candidate, but now...
I think I understand why Lord Bishop Otto isn't in a hurry.
Right now, no matter how much I think, there's no way to pull Leo out of this abyss without telling him the details.
And if I tell him the truth about Lord Bishop Otto--with his temper and disposition, he wouldn't be able to hide his thoughts from Lord Bishop Otto.
If I tell him, Leo will want to go blow up the Bishop. If I don't, Leo will eventually get blown up by the Bishop.
It seems for now, I can only proceed with a combination of several plans.
Lady Bianka's charm must be showcased. The fact that she herself has no such intentions is actually a good thing in this regard.
Precisely because she has no intention, she won't act deliberately, which will make her actions seem all the more natural.
As for the others, Miss Yuna is a suitable candidate. I'll have to find some time to talk to her.
And even the child...
If Leo focuses all his attention on the child and neglects Miss Kiana, that could also solve the problem.
Don't panic, Rita. The problem isn't that big yet.
There are so many options. As long as I can separate the two of them for now, Lord Bishop Otto's plan will be delayed.
If I can stall for now, maybe in the future I'll discover more variables and a more suitable plan to save Leo...
I hope things will really unfold as I imagine.
Otherwise...
At that moment, watching the group of girls enter the hotel together, a sharp glint flashed in Rita's eyes.
They're all family with no blood ties anyway, so...
--Everyone, if you're all going to be so weak, then I'll just have to show Leo what true feminine charm is.
...
Leo Ash, chasing after Kiana, suddenly stopped in his tracks when he reached the hotel entrance.
[What's wrong, Host? Your wife and daughter are inside.]
[Move, why don't you move? You're not even moving for this--]
Shut it. You know exactly what I'm thinking right now.
And stop slandering people. Since when do I have a wife?
[Oh, please. You have a kid already. It's only a matter of time.]
A child, huh...
I chased after them because I was worried about certain things happening.
But now, looking back, I really feel a bit panicked.
At the end of the day, I'm just a kid in my early twenties at most.
Before this, I'd never even been in a relationship, and now someone is telling me 'you're a father'...
[Not prepared, are you?]
Yeah.
Usually, I interact with elders like Su, Himeko, Theresa, and Wraith, or peers like Kiana, Mei, Yuna, Bronya, and Anna.
I get along naturally enough with my elders and peers, but I've never imagined how I should interact with my own child.
[It's normal for you to have such conflicting feelings, but have you ever thought that no one knows what tomorrow will bring?]
[You weren't prepared, but your daughter won't care about that when she arrives. The enemy won't care when they attack. Honkai and Otto won't care when they come for you. Those bastards won't care about any of it.]
[The Leo Ash who is highly adaptable, whose brain works at lightning speed to come up with solutions when facing an enemy--is he going to be stumped by a little girl like this?!]
...You're being unusually serious today.
But you're right.
Damn, I'm such an idiot. I actually forgot something so important.
No one can be fully prepared for a sudden event, and here I am 'hesitating' because of this unexpected arrival.
[Yeah, look at how pathetic you are now.]
[Just go and hug her--I mean hug your daughter.]
I bet you meant more than just hugging my daughter.
[That's right, you already know. I suggest you even--]
Alright, thanks for the reminder, you can shut up now.
After directly cutting off the System's subsequent words, Leo Ash pulled open the hotel's glass door and walked into the lobby.
The moment Kiana, who was still playing with the child in the lobby, saw Leo Ash...
--She suddenly realized that something was a little off.
Because this child was just too cute, I've completely forgotten that this whole thing involves Senior ever since I caught up with her.
Now, now, now...
Waahhhh!
How am I supposed to face Senior?
Should I call him darling, or should I call him the father of my child--no, how could I be so shameless.
Although Senior didn't show any aversion to the child, his relationship with me... is clearly not that intimate.
We haven't done anything. If I suddenly start calling him that, he'll just be troubled, right?
Bronya said that a sense of distance is a very delicate thing.
If you keep trying to force the distance between two people to close, it can easily make the distance between them even greater.
"Kiana, are you overthinking things again?"
Seeing Kiana frozen in place, Leo Ash took off his sunglasses and very naturally took the child, who was reaching out with both hands, from Kiana's arms.
"You're about to start steaming from your head."
"Eh???"
After subconsciously touching her head, Kiana glared at Leo Ash in annoyance.
"You lied to me, Senior! This isn't some Far East manga, how could it be that exaggerated!"
After shouting this angrily, Kiana suddenly felt the awkward atmosphere between them disappear.
Having been around Leo Ash for so long, Kiana immediately understood that this was his usual trick: using a joke to divert her attention and pull her out of a state of 'getting stuck in her own head'.
Sigh, it's like this again.
It's not the first time this has happened, but every time, I have to rely on Senior using this method to remind me not to overthink things.
"Daddy!"
The little girl said with a cheerful smile as she hugged Leo Ash affectionately.
"Mommy and I had a lot of fun in the lobby just now."
"Mm, it's good that you had fun, but I think there are some things I should tell you first."
"Eh, what is it--let me guess."
Seeing the fleeting look of gravity on Leo Ash's face, the little girl placed a finger to her lips and frowned in thought for a moment.
Then, as if she had thought of something, she said to Leo Ash with great cheer.
"You must be about to talk about your relationship with my mommies!"
?
???
Listening to the little girl bring up a topic that had never even crossed their minds, Kiana and Leo Ash were simultaneously stunned into silence.
If I remember correctly...
--This child, at the absolute most, assuming she was created right after I killed the first Joyce clone, would be less than fifty days old right now.
Can a fifty-day-old child have this level of intelligence???
"Sigh, Daddy, Mommy, you must think I'm an idiot."
Seeing the astonished expressions on their faces, the little girl lightly jumped down from Leo Ash's body, put her hands on her hips, and said to them with a proud smile.
"I'm Daddy and Mommy's child. If you think I'm an idiot, doesn't that make you idiots too?"
No, you overestimate me, my dear daughter.
I definitely wasn't as smart as you when I was fifty days old.
"From the moment we met until now, I've observed carefully. Daddy and my two mommies are definitely not a married couple--the way you address each other and your lack of intimate actions are the best proof!"
Seriously, is she really only fifty days old?
"Daddy didn't dare to come in at the door just now because you weren't prepared for how to handle the changes in your relationship with me, and with your two mommies, right?"
...You're so smart it's a little scary, my daughter.
"Daddy and Mommy can just be yourselves, you know. After all, the pink-haired auntie said..."
"--No one ever said a child's parents have to be a married couple."
Elysia... I really don't know whether to thank you for helping me out of this jam in advance, or to lament what a carefree person you are.
[See, your daughter is way more carefree than you!]
Ah, a fact I can't deny at all.
[With this intelligence, she's so articulate at fifty days old. I can't even imagine how amazing she'll be when she turns one.]
Ah, a fact I can't deny at all.
[I noticed before that your potential in all aspects is much stronger than I predicted.]
[After seeing this child, I finally understand...]
[--Your way with words is actually an ability etched into your genes, isn't it, Cold, Handsome Man.]
Stop it, I think my daughter is too powerful now.
The stronger the daughter, the greater the pressure on me as a father.
[But speaking of which, I thought you'd struggle a bit. I didn't expect you to accept this setup so quickly.]
[A daughter appearing out of thin air, and you don't seem to have any resistance to it at all.]
Yeah, you know very well that there's one thing my heart has always longed for, right?
[...Heh, I'd almost forgotten about that.]
[You're an orphan. You may seem used to a life of solitude, but deep down, you still yearn for the presence of blood relatives.]
[Having Rita as your family allowed you to experience kinship again, which in turn intensified your inner craving for blood relatives.]
Yeah, that's exactly it.
The process was strange, but the result is good. Why should I still get hung up on these minor details?
No matter why she was born, the fact that she's my blood relative is undeniable.
Since it's already happened, instead of continuing to be conflicted, I might as well frankly accept this gift from the heavens, right?