Lived for over five hundred years!?
To be honest, Yae Sakura was stunned.
She looked at Otto. The man before her had actually lived for over five hundred years?
But as Yae Sakura met Otto's gaze, within those emerald eyes, she sensed a unique confidence radiating from his entire being.
He wasn't lying.
At that moment, a jolt of excitement shot through Yae Sakura.
She didn't dwell on why he could live for so long. Instead, she thought, if someone could live for five hundred years...
Then! Could Kallen be alive as well!?
Yae Sakura trembled with excitement.
"Sir, may I ask if you know the name Kallen Kaslana?"
Suppressing the thrill in her heart, filled with anticipation, Yae Sakura asked.
Her voice was thick with an excitement she couldn't contain, her hopeful gaze fixed on Otto.
A smile spread across Otto's face.
"Of course."
"Kallen, you see, grew up with me."
Wonderful!
Yae Sakura clenched her fists in excitement. The man before her really did know Kallen.
The three of them were all from the same era, over five hundred years ago.
Suddenly, Yae Sakura's eyes widened slightly, because she now remembered why Otto's name felt somewhat familiar.
Kallen had mentioned this name before.
Kallen had said that in her life, she had wronged no one, except for one person—her childhood friend, named Otto.
Curiosity piqued, Yae Sakura asked.
"Lord Otto, was the golden cross that Kallen used in Yae Village sent by you?"
Back then, Kallen had used that golden cross to defeat both Yae Sakura and Higokumaru, and then used it to seal the dying pair, saving Yae Sakura's life and allowing her to one day see the light of day again.
The golden cross? Oh, the Oath of Judah.
Otto quickly made the connection, though he was also a bit curious himself.
As a traitor to Schicksal, Kallen had even slapped Otto before leaving. Yet, when she ran into trouble, she actually had the gall to write to him and ask for one of Schicksal's most precious Divine Keys. Did she really think Otto was some almighty blue tanuki?
So, it was "Yae Sakura when things are fine, Otto when there's a problem"?
Heh. Meeting Kallen was Otto's good fortune, and also his misfortune.
"It was me," Otto admitted simply. "Kallen wrote to me asking for help, so I had someone deliver the Oath of Judah to her."
However, considering the distance between Europe and the Far East, Otto wondered just how much time the round trip must have taken.
It should have been enough time to wipe out a few hundred Yae Villages.
Whatever. Honkai energy is omnipotent.
"Lord Otto, thank you."
Yae Sakura thanked him again. Without Otto's help, she, under Higokumaru's influence, might have truly done something irreparable to Kallen.
"There is no need for thanks," Otto said, shaking his head.
"Everything I did in the past was for Kallen Kaslana. You have no need, no standing, and certainly no right to thank me."
The one who should be thanking Otto was Kallen.
"Mm." Yae Sakura nodded. The wariness in her gaze was gone. She was happy to have met someone she knew after more than five hundred years.
It felt like meeting someone from her hometown.
"Then, Lord Otto, I'd like to ask about Kallen..."
Yae Sakura began, her voice full of hope.
"Kallen died over five hundred years ago."
But before she could finish, Otto stated it directly.
"After you were sealed in the black box, Kallen was brought back to Schicksal. There, as a traitor, she was put on trial."
"And then, she was sentenced to death."
"She offered no resistance. She just stood before them, continuously denouncing the darkness of Schicksal with her words. She sought death with all her heart. Perhaps she had already despaired of this world."
Otto recounted the events in a flat tone.
As if he were talking about something utterly inconsequential.
Otto couldn't help but wonder: during the trial, when Kallen confessed her love for a Herrscher, an enemy of humanity, was she trying to make Otto, her fiancé, give up on her?
She despaired of the world and wanted to use her own life to ignite a spark.
And just as she wished, in the years following her death, the rebelling populace raised the banner of Saint Kallen without exception, rising up against the tyrannical Schicksal of that era.
In the end, Kallen's will was realized. The masses were liberated, and the corruption of Schicksal was stripped away.
They were all victors.
The only loser was the new Schicksal Overseer, Otto Apocalypse, who was already a walking corpse.
Therefore, Otto's later plan to resurrect Kallen had to face two problems.
First, how to resurrect her.
Second, how to make her want to live after being resurrected.
Thinking of this, Otto let out a sneer.
What did the events of five hundred years ago have to do with him?
His gaze fell calmly upon the bowed head of Yae Sakura, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
Otto re-entered that god-like state.
Perhaps this was the divinity born after he seized the Authorities of nearly half the Herrschers.
To be honest, the feeling wasn't bad.
Yae Sakura's head was bowed, her long ears drooping.
She hadn't heard the rest of Otto's words. She had only heard that Kallen was dead.
A sad smile touched her lips. She was like a soulless doll. This was the outcome she had once envisioned.
But seeing Otto, seeing someone from Kallen's era still alive, had ignited a spark of hope within her.
In the end, that hope had only turned into a deeper disappointment.
"Lord Otto," after a while, Yae Sakura raised her grief-stricken face, "please, where is Kallen buried? I want to go and sweep her grave."
"I will take you there, of course. But not now."
Otto sat back down in his chair. He narrowed his eyes, sizing up Yae Sakura.
Honestly, with Yae Sakura dressed as a nun, her face etched with unconcealable sorrow, she truly had the air of a widow.
A widow and a widower. What a perfect match.
"However, I think you should be considering your own situation."
Otto watched her. He had no intention of letting her go. If any accident were to happen, Jizo Mitama would become useless.
He could only be at ease with Yae Sakura by his side.
"For example, what do you plan to do next?"
"And don't even think about suicide. Kallen would certainly not want to see you give up on life."
Using Kallen to pressure her was the surest way to keep her from having any suicidal thoughts.
A lost look appeared on Yae Sakura's face. She didn't know what she should do.
In this world, five hundred years later, she had no one.
Perhaps she would just live by Kallen's grave forever.
"Let me be clear. All Schicksal has now is Kallen's cenotaph. There is no need for you to stand guard," Otto cut off her thoughts before they could even fully form.
Yae Sakura became even more lost.
"Then what should I do?" She looked to Otto.
In this world, five hundred years later, they were both people close to Kallen. He was the only one who gave her any sense of familiarity.
"You should have noticed by now that your body is a little strange. Right now, you are a special existence known as a pseudo-Herrscher."
Pseudo-Herrscher?
Yae Sakura looked at her own hands. Her body did indeed feel strange.
But she didn't know what a pseudo-Herrscher was.
"Touch your head."
At Otto's words, Yae Sakura did so, and her fingers found a pair of strange ears.
They were... fox ears.
Why do I have fox ears on my head?
Yae Sakura subconsciously reached for her perky rear, but found no fox tail.
But the fox ears on her head were undoubtedly real.
Had she become a fox spirit?
"The donkey ears on your head are proof that you are no longer human. You possess immense power, and as the one who inherited Kallen's will, I cannot simply leave you to your own devices," Otto brought up Kallen again. It had to be said, she was a very useful tool.
"In other words, you need to stay by my side."
"...They're fox ears," Yae Sakura said quietly after a moment of silence, correcting him.
Otto rolled his eyes. What kind of fox had ears so thin and long? But he didn't dwell on the topic.
"In any case, you have nowhere else to go, do you? So why not stand with me?"
Otto did not mention resurrecting Kallen.
Because that bargaining chip had been thrown down the drain the moment he arrived in this world.
Yae Sakura looked at Otto. He was Kallen's friend, had helped Kallen, and had known Kallen even longer than she had.
Her impression of him was good.
Rather than wander aimlessly in this strange world, it was better to stay with Kallen's friend.
At least the two of them had something in common.
After all, Yae Sakura trusted Kallen implicitly, and that trust was now being extended to Otto.
Yae Sakura made her decision.
She nodded.
"Alright."
Receiving her answer, a smile spread across Otto's face.
"Call me Lord Overseer."
"Yes, Lord Overseer."
Yae Sakura said.
---o---