When Elysia heard that, she asked what had happened, and Durandal replied, "Connie said they've found Kosma."
Elysia thought for a moment, then remembered Durandal mentioning it before. "Hmm… the key person we need to confirm where the Fourth Eruption will happen?"
"Yeah, that's him." Durandal nodded.
"Then we just need to have someone keep track of his movements." Elysia thought it over, only to come up with the exact same solution Durandal had.
"Since the Fourth Eruption is basically taken care of, knowing you, Bianka, you're probably already thinking about the Fifth Eruption, aren't you?"
Durandal gave a soft laugh and rubbed her cheek against Elysia's neck. "You know me so well, Ellie~ That's right. I didn't have any leads before, so all I could do was wait. I was even planning to have Aponia stay at the sanatorium and wait for our target to show up. But now I've suddenly thought of another way to take the initiative!"
After all, Durandal had the ability to "reform" Herrschers and turn them into allies.
If she really waited until Kalpas dropped from the sky and killed the Fifth Herrscher in an instant, wouldn't that waste a valuable source of fighting strength?
Worse, she'd also lose a reward for resolving the Honkai disaster, along with the corresponding dungeon reward. That was absolutely unacceptable.
Durandal had no intention of letting a single chance to strengthen Schicksal slip through her fingers.
"What are you planning?"
This time, even Elysia couldn't guess.
Durandal didn't keep her in suspense. "I'm planning to transfer Himeko out of the Combat Department and establish an Astronomy Department specifically for her."
"Its short-term task will be monitoring astronomical phenomena, while its long-term mission will be leading humanity's exploration of the wider universe. If we want to defeat the Honkai, staying holed up on Earth forever isn't the best path forward."
In the original timeline, Fire Moth hadn't launched Project ARK until the very end. That was because they hadn't possessed the advantages and resources Durandal now had.
As far as she was concerned, if they prepared well enough, Earth wouldn't be devastated beyond repair anytime soon. Humanity would still have enough strength left to reach outward and explore.
If the Sky People could avoid the Honkai's judgment of their civilization through their own methods, why couldn't humanity, with its greater intelligence, find a way to do the same?
As for why Schicksal fifty thousand years later hadn't done that…
Well, the Overseer of Schicksal at the time hadn't exactly made defeating the Honkai his main goal. He'd been far more interested in bringing a certain saint back to life.
Compared with Schicksal, which had outright abolished its astronomy bureau, Anti-Entropy had at least made plenty of attempts to explore outer space.
There'd been the space elevator destroyed during the Fifth Eruption, for example, as well as the off-world exploration projects launched during the Post-Honkai era.
"Himeko, huh…"
As Durandal's personal secretary, Elysia had naturally seen the file Himeko submitted after joining Schicksal.
"She used to be one of Dr. Einstein's students, and astronomy was her main field. Putting her in charge of a newly formed Astronomy Department would be a perfect fit."
"Besides, Schicksal's finances are finally starting to stabilize thanks to loans from banks in major cities and Eden's business operations. We've got enough spare funds now to start more projects." Elysia smiled. "Looking at it that way, Bianka, recruiting Eden really was one of your best decisions!"
"Of course."
After all, Eden would later become the financial powerhouse behind the unofficial Thirteen Flame-Chasers.
The Elysian Realm, Mobius's laboratory, Vill-V's Helixcraft workshop… Eden had funded most of them.
There was also Pardofelis, who'd made it her life's goal to collect every gemstone Eden owned. She hadn't managed it even by the time Vill-V's "Evil Vill-V" personality erased her data, which said plenty about just how terrifying Eden's ability to make money really was.
After the Seventh Eruption, Eden had more or less retired from the business world. When you added it all up, she'd only spent four or five years actively building her fortune, yet she'd still ended up becoming one of the richest women in the world.
Now Schicksal was giving Eden the best possible platform, the strongest political and business connections, and an ideal outside environment. She could keep working for decades, assuming human civilization didn't get smashed to pieces by the Honkai first.
By then, calling her the richest person in the world might not even do her justice. Her wealth could genuinely rival that of a nation.
And if Eden became the world's richest person with only a thirty-percent share, what did that say about Schicksal, which took the other seventy percent?
Would money ever be able to stop them from doing anything again?
Seeing Durandal show such rare pride, Elysia couldn't help smiling. "So this is what you were really like, huh? The way you were before you turned twelve, before you had to carry the fate of an entire bubble universe on your shoulders! I have to say, you're adorable like this too~ So adorable I could just take a bite?"
Elysia wasn't the type to make empty threats.
If she said she was going to take a bite, she meant it.
When Elysia leaned toward her cheek, Durandal reacted at once. She turned her head and met her halfway with a kiss. The kiss lingered for a moment, warming the mood in the room, but neither of them took it any further.
Soon, Elysia climbed off Durandal's lap and straightened the clothes that'd gotten a little rumpled.
"We should head to the sanatorium next. After all, our great storyteller promised the children yesterday that she'd come back today and continue the story!"
Durandal had been thinking the same thing.
The two left the hotel hand in hand and made their way toward the sanatorium.
--+--
The sanatorium looked a little different from the day before.
Yesterday, most of the children running around the courtyard had been fairly young. Today, there were many more boys and girls around Pardofelis's age.
Their faces were sickly pale, and distinct purple markings showed across their skin. Their Honkai sickness had clearly progressed to a severe stage.
Before yesterday, patients in their condition could only lie in bed and endure the pain of Honkai corruption day and night, waiting for the day when their bodies finally gave out.
But the anti-Honkai medicine they'd received yesterday had eased that pain. Now, some of the children with milder symptoms were pushing the more severely ill patients outside in wheelchairs, letting them bask in the sunlight and breathe fresh air they hadn't enjoyed in ages.
Their eyes, once dull because they believed they had little time left, now held a spark again.
They wanted to live.
"You've both arrived."
Aponia had spotted Durandal and Elysia at the entrance long ago.
Only one night had passed, yet the sanatorium had already changed so much. Even though her ability to glimpse fate had shown her part of what today might bring, actually seeing it with her own eyes still filled her with shock and deep gratitude for Schicksal's aid.
If anything, that gratitude had only grown stronger.
So when the two benefactors who'd changed the fate of everyone in the sanatorium arrived, Aponia welcomed them with a warmth she'd never shown before.
"There's no need for anything elaborate. We're just here to tell the children some stories."
Seeing that Aponia seemed ready to give them a grand welcome, Durandal quickly stopped her and explained why they'd come.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL