"Ah... what a mess... I hope Wendy is actually someone we can reason with..."
Himeko ended the communication and turned to Theresa.
"I'm starting to miss that brat Snow... If she were here, this Herrscher would be no match for her."
Unaware of the mastermind's machinations, Himeko now found herself longing for a certain golden-haired girl.
"Missing her won't help. She's not here anyway. According to Rita, she's wandered off to some other dimension—like something out of a novel."
Theresa shook her head.
"Stop dwelling on what-ifs. Snow can't just refresh and suddenly appear in front of us. Let's hurry and find Kiana. They said they also picked up a comatose Herrscher, right? If she wakes up and turns against them, we'll have a problem."
"So, you want to take out that comatose Herrscher?" Himeko cracked her knuckles, ready for action.
"Huh? Take her out? No way. First, we'll bind her with the Oath of Judah, then send her for examination. We can question her once she wakes up."
"After all, she appeared with Wendy. Even if they're not friends, they're at least comrades. If we kill her, our plan to negotiate with Wendy will fall apart."
Theresa paused, then rejected Himeko's suggestion.
"Tch, I have a bad feeling about this."
"Theresa, will all future graduates of St. Freya Academy be Herrschers? At that rate, the other Branches will start calling us 'St. Freya Herrscher Academy'!"
"Cough, cough! Himeko, what nonsense are you spouting? Mei and Wendy were just isolated cases! Isolated cases! Don't treat them as the norm!"
Theresa seemed choked by Himeko's bold speculation, retorting loudly.
"I'll reserve judgment on that, Theresa... I have a feeling the academy is about to pick up two more Herrschers... and one of them has already graduated."
"What's this... returning to school for further studies?"
"Good thing, all good things..."
Theresa awkwardly agreed.
-
Poke, poke, a gentle poke, then a vigorous poke, finally turning into pinching and kneading her cheeks.
Yet no matter how Kiana tried to rouse the unconscious Muninn, the silver-haired girl showed no signs of waking, lying limp in Kiana's arms like Sleeping Beauty.
"Ugh, this is so annoying! Why can't I wake her up no matter what I try?!"
The white-haired Knight Princess shook the silver-haired girl's body violently, the frequency so high that it made Mei glance over in concern.
"Kiana... is there any chance—I mean, just a possibility—that you've given her a mild concussion by shaking her so hard...?"
"Mei? Uh... probably not?"
Hearing Mei's words, Kiana loosened her grip on Muninn's hand, and the silver-haired girl's body fell stiffly to the ground.
"Kiana!"
"Uh... I just instinctively let go."
The two frantically propped Muninn's humanoid form back up and carefully examined her.
"Phew—looks like she's unharmed."
After fussing over the unconscious Muninn for ages, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Kiana, why do you think Miss Muninn suddenly fainted...?"
Mei looked at the Sleeping Beauty lying on the ground, puzzled.
"Could it be that Miss Muninn, like me, has a Herrscher Persona vying for control of her body?"
Mei seemed to have conjured up a bizarre yet touching scenario in her mind: a young woman bravely resisting a Demon Lord who was trying to destroy the world through her body...
"Uh... Mei, she's just exhausted her power..."
"Before she fainted, she did something to Anti-Entropy's fleet, and all the Honkai energy in her body was completely drained... Then she passed out."
"She's probably just worn out."
"As for Herrscher Personas... I've only sensed something similar in Wendy. She transformed from a gentle Valkyrie into a playful child... And it seemed like her two personas got along quite well."
"Remember when I was holding Wendy? Right before she fully transitioned, she whispered something very softly, but I still heard it."
"She murmured, 'Take it from here, other me. Go give that old hag a beating'... and then the Herrscher Persona went on a rampage, pummeling Anti-Entropy's fleet."
"They really seemed to enjoy each other's company..."
Kiana seemed somewhat envious of Wendy's current state. After thinking about the other two residents of her mind, she immediately felt a headache coming on.
Little Sirin is adorable, but every time I visit her, that purple cutie insists on showing me her paintings... those paintings are truly beyond words...
I feel like every extra glance at them requires another sanity check, like a roll of a d100... Kiana thought. And the other one...
Every time I go in, it's the same old "Hmph, ant, insect" routine. The dialogue never changes, and she always glares at me with a terrible attitude. She only deigns to acknowledge me when I bring Bella along.
But Bella gets grilled every time about which side she's on... It's gotten so bad that Bella doesn't even dare to go in anymore... Every time, she says "the middle," and then the other me starts ranting for ages.
"After Schicksal lets her cause enough trouble, I should ask Snow if she can make an Armed Puppet like Bella and stuff her inside too..."
"Of course, I can... After the Schicksal War, whether she remains within you will no longer matter... Embedding her in an Armed Puppet would be a decent option."
An unexpected voice whispered in Kiana's ear.
"Ugh...?!?" Kiana nearly cried out when she saw Snow, who shouldn't have been here. Snow gestured for her to keep quiet, and Kiana quickly stifled her reaction. Though Snow stood right in front of her, Mei showed no reaction whatsoever, as if the space were empty.
"She carries the Herrscher Persona, burdened with Sirin's evil deeds and atrocities. With her disappearance, all the karmic consequences of her sins will vanish like smoke, leaving only memories."
"And you chose to redeem her... So your future will likely be spent helping her atone for those sins on a long journey."
Snow shook her head with a sigh.
"That's why I truly envy Miss Wendy and her Herrscher Persona's harmonious coexistence... Harmonious, my foot! Two people in one head—one constantly wears a grumpy face, and the other is cute but insists I look at her drawings all day... And I can't even say they're bad! Oh, by the way, Snow, how did you get here? Weren't you...?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, that sounds miserable—As for why I'm here? I came for her—"
The golden-haired girl pointed at Muninn, who lay unconscious on the ground.