==X==
-Otto POV-
"Hey, Dulio, what do you think looks cooler, green or blue?" I asked as we both walked side by side.
"Blue or green? Hmm, I guess I would choose green," Dulio answered me.
"Why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," I said dismissively.
Guess I'll make you my Herrscher of [Wind].
<------>
-Herrscher Support System-
<[Current Active Herrschers: 2 (Truth [Welt Yang], Fire [Himeko Murata])
<[Possible Candidates: 2 (Dulio Gesualdo, Lavinia Reni)
+Name: Dulio Gesualdo
~Relationship Score: 73 (Requires a minimum of 80% to turn this individual into a Herrscher)
~Status: Sees Otto as his best friend. Mostly due to the fact that he had been so welcoming when he had first arrived at the Orphanage.
~Core Compatibility:
-Wind (Wind manipulation/creation, Terraforming),
-Star (Gravity manipulation, black hole creation)
~Other talents:
-Magic: High
-Sacred Gear: Zenith Tempest (Semi-awakened)
+Name: Lavinia Reni
~Relationship Score: 79 (Requires a minimum of 80% to turn this individual into a Herrscher)
~Status: Sees Otto as someone she deeply cares about and is very attached to. Although Lavinia hasn't known Otto for as long as the other, her bond with him is no less. She is very grateful to him, as he took her in when even her own family didn't want her.
~Core Compatibility:
-Ice (Ice Manipulation)
-Star (Gravity manipulation, black hole creation)
~Other talents:
-Magic: High
-Sacred Gear: Absolute Demise (Awakened)
<------>
Actually, should I even turn him into the Herrscher of [Wind]?
I feel like it would be a waste since he already has a Sacred Gear that can manipulate wind on such a large scale.
Mhhhh... I'll think about it later.
It's been a week since Dulio joined the orphanage. He was pretty shy at first, but he managed to fit in quickly after a bit of my pushing him to make friends.
His kind personality was the main factor, besides his aura, that made people naturally like him.
He has also integrated himself into the group that includes Dulio, Lavinia, Welt, Himeko, and me.
Of course, he doesn't know that we have powers and stuff like that, not until he fully awakens [Zenith Tempest], that is.
We are currently going back to school so that we can go to lunch. The period that we just came out of has only Dulio and me, so we have to go to the other side of the school to meet up with the others for lunch.
We continued to walk through the halls while we idly chatted.
*Trip*
As we walked, Dulio suddenly tripped over his own foot. I was about to reach out and grab his shirt, but a gentle breeze passed by me.
And to my surprise, he began to float with air just before he hit the ground.
"W-what?" He seemed baffled as to why he was floating; the wind that was carrying him suddenly disappeared and dropped him on the floor.
The dumbfounded Dulio stood up and looked at me.
"..."
"...Well, it seems like we need to have the talk."
"The talk?" He asked in confusion.
"Yup, the talk," I answered back
-A Few Minutes Later-
"So the supernatural is real!?" Asked Dulio with excitement.
Yep, I just gave him the basic rundown of the magical world and about his sacred gear.
He was quite scared at first, but once I told him that the gang was the same as his, Dulio immediately calmed down and became excited.
"Yes, from now on, you will be training with us on the weekend." It's better if he trains with us; I don't want him creating stuff by accident.
"Yes, let's do that," he said enthusiastically. He's still a kid, I guess. Any child would be excited to have cool power.
Dulio might not understand how important his sacred gear is right now, but I'm sure he will in the future.
We went back on track and arrived at the rooftop of the school where we usually hang out.
"You're late," said Welt. We did take a while to come here, especially since I explained the supernatural stuff to Dulio.
"We got held up; a thing or two happened, but it's nothing important," I answered back. I'll tell them later about Dulio having [Zenith Tempest], but not right now since we are in public.
I won't make the same mistake I did with Ms. Scot.
"Whatever you say, Otto, hurry up; otherwise the girls will eat up all the food," Joked Welt. We usually bring a whole ass picnic to school and eat together.
"Hey, I don't eat so much!" Exclaimed Himeko in indignation.
"Mou~! Don't make jokes like that, Welt~" said Lavinia in an annoyed tone.
He only rolled his eyes at them and returned to eating his sandwich.
Dulio and I joined them for lunch as we continued to talk.
"So what Sacred Gears do you guys have?" Asked Dulio casually.
I could see the group stiffen up from surprise. Then Welt looked at me as if asking me for an answer.
"Hehe~ well, Dulio awakened his sacred gear a few minutes ago~" I answered wryly.
It looks like I'll have to teach him not to talk about magic and similar topics in public.
-2 months later-
It's been two months, and it's finally winter break. Why is that a good thing, you may ask?
Because I finally have time to find Gasper and Valerie.
I will be going to Romania soon to check out some locations that I think both of them might be in.
Of course, Ms. Scot is aware of this; it took some convincing, and it was tough to do so since I couldn't just tell her that I'm going to look for two Longinus wielders that I absolutely shouldn't know about.
Luckily, she respected my secrets as she trusts me. I really am lucky to have her.
She also gave me some money so that I can make the trip, which will last me a week's time, enough time for me to check things out and come back. I can't really make my own money with [truth] as it needs to be money that's in the system already.
Of course, this trip is also for training; just sparring with the gang isn't enough for me, as I need some real-life experience.
I'm sure there's at least one pedophile bloodsucker that will try to assault my 13-year-old body for its blood.
It's already around 7 in the morning, and I've already prepared my bags, which are in my system storage. The thing is pretty damn convenient.
I am also wearing my S-Rank Luocha suit along with the strap under my belt, [Lumina].
Gotta stay strapped in the streets.
After making sure that everything was ready, I headed out towards the entrance.
As I made my way there, I was greeted by the sight of the gang and Ms. Scot waiting for me, probably to wish me goodbye for now.
I approached them, and Ms. Scot spoke, "Alright, Otto, you know the rules. If somebody tries to do something bad to you-?"
"Blast them into oblivion!" I finished her sentence.
She only chuckled and kissed me on the forehead. "Be careful, sweetheart."
"Yes, don't worry," I reassured her.
"Be careful, Otto," said Himeko as she gave me a hug, which I reciprocated.
"Come back quickly, ok! It's hard to sleep without hugging you~" said Lavinia with a smile.
I could only smile wryly at Lavinia as Himeko glared at her.
As Lavinia finally got comfortable with me, she seemed to have slipped into my bed to sleep with me, no horny, btw, we're 13.
Of course, she wouldn't just slip into anybody's bed, but she trusts me the most out of all people; she's attached to me like a puppy.
Lavinia is like a golden retriever that likes to use me as a body pillow. She also passed the 80% relationship score a while back, allowing me to turn her into my Herrscher of ice. When using her Herrscher powers, Lavinia's Ice powers can be greatly boosted if she uses her sacred gear while using ice Herrscher powers.
With a nod, I set out to find Valerie and Walmart Dio.
-Somewhere in Romania-
Well, it was easier than I thought it would be.
I've already arrived in Romania in about half a day, thanks to my powers and physical strength.
Of course, I used magic to speed blitz past border checkpoints and any authorities I came by on my way.
I basically speed-blitzed the whole trip.
Currently, I am scouting one of the castles on my list.
As I searched around the outer walls, I didn't see anything or any vampires, so I got close. I had also created a 'Monster' that was shaped in the form of a bracelet with my [Annihilation Maker] that could suppress my presence and magical energy. It's so that I'll absolutely look like a tourist.
I got down the building and into the alley. Coming out of it, I blended into the streets filled with people.
Although the sun was already setting, the people on the streets taking pictures of the castle hadn't decreased.
Of course, the reason people are taking pictures from outside is that it's private property; thus, they can't enter.
But that's perfect for me since I'm just scouting.
And with the winter snowfall, I'm even more concealed.
As I pushed through the sea of tourists, I finally managed to get to the front gate, or should I say front bridge?
The thing was really huge.
It looked like one of those bridges you would see in medieval movies, which could be moved up and down.
I continued to take pictures of any entrances or crevices I could find. Anything that could get me inside or could tell me that this was a Vampire household, or should I say castlehold?.
"Whoa! What's with that resolution!? I bet anime would look better with that!" Said a childish voice behind me.
I was too focused on what I was doing, so I mindlessly answered, "Of course it's great, this camera has 48k resolution." For a world as advanced as the Honkai universe, having 48k resolution wasn't really rare, or at least that's what the science for dummies book showed us.
"Really? Let me see!" The person behind me suddenly yanked the camera out of my hands.
"Oi fucker! Who do you think you...are?" As I was about to yell at the person who took my camera without permission, I suddenly realized who was in front of me.
Delicate yet soft-looking skin that looked like porcelain, beautiful, deep blue eyes, and the most prominent of her features was the crimson hair that flowed down her shoulders. She also looked about my age.
'Rias FUCKING Gremory,' I thought. If she's here, then it means that her meeting with Gasper is close, or she hasn't met him already and reincarnated him into a devil.
I snapped out of my daze and snatched the camera out of her hand.
"Hey! I was looking!" She pouted.
'God, she truly is a spoiled child...' I thought grimly as I looked at the spoiled princess.
"And? You don't just snatch other people's stuff!" I retorted.
She winced at my response but soon recovered. Reaching into her pockets, she took out...10 bands. Damn, girl. Do a money spread or sum.
"Here, you can have this, and you give me the camera," she began shoving the money at my chest as her hand slithered towards my camera, but I backed off.
"No! I don't care about money, Scram!" I told her off; she seemed shocked as I had just rejected what most humans would instantly accept in a heartbeat.
But I'm not giving it; the 'camera' in my hand is YEARS ahead of its time. And giving it to a child that doesn't even know its worth is something I won't do, even if I can make more with [Truth].
And sending such high technology to Lucifer is dangerous since he himself can probably see its worth, even if it's just a camera.
Wait... If she's here, then at least Grayfia should be with her-
"Lady Rias, I've been looking for you!" Suddenly, a voice spoke behind me.
My body tensed as I slowly looked behind me.
In all her glory, a beautiful silver-haired maid rushed towards us in a calm yet elegant manner.
'Shit, I need to get out of here!!!' I thought as I felt an impending crisis was about to happen.
==X==
-Update List-
No. 1-11/18/2025: Accidentally switched Herrscher core [Fire] and [Truth] between Himeko and Welt. It has been fixed.