"Are you from one of Otto's direct subordinate units?"
After a long silence, Siegfried spoke.
In this world, not many people knew the situation with the real Kiana. Aside from himself, every other person privy to the information had some connection to the master of the sky-city above Vienna.
This young man, who was so familiar with K423, had previously revealed numerous secrets that only Otto could possibly know, and now he had clearly expressed that he understood the real Kiana's existence...
The answer was obvious.
Siegfried gripped the Might of An-Utu at his waist with his one remaining hand. He stared at the young man—who, if you ignored the slap mark on his face, looked remarkably elegant and composed—and waited for an answer.
"Green Otto's direct subordinates? Sounds nice."
"If I joined, the salary would be, at a minimum, several hundred times that of a cleaner on the Hyperion," the boy said with a shrug, feeling that Mr. Siegfried seemed to have imagined a lot of incredible things. His words were complete nonsense to Siegfried.
Under Siegfried's slightly wary gaze, he spoke again.
"However, if we extrapolate from the fact that Herrscher power—Honkai energy—can be contagious, then the power of 'Greenness' must also be contagious."
"I don't really want to become a user of the power of Greenness, so joining Otto's direct subordinate units... let's just forget about it."
What in the world is this guy talking about?
Siegfried frowned, not understanding the meaning behind most of Li Zihan's words.
However, judging by his tone, he didn't seem to respect the Schicksal Overseer very much. There was even a hint of disdain.
What's going on?
The confusion in Siegfried's heart intensified.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."
Li Zihan, who wasn't particularly interested in trolling Green Otto, clapped his hands, signaling an end to the topic.
"Mr. Siegfried, can you, for the time being, treat the story I casually made up as the truth?" the boy who had previously described the real Kiana as an illegitimate daughter asked.
"What... exactly are you trying to do?"
Siegfried frowned, feeling that the person in front of him acted with absolutely no logic whatsoever.
Before, he thought he might have encountered an elite from Otto's direct forces. Now, it felt more like he had run into an elite psychiatric patient.
"To put it simply, it's to delay the moment K423 learns the truth," Li Zihan said with a shrug. He had no intention of revealing the whole truth just yet.
"Right now, her interpersonal relationships are too fragile."
"If she finds out that the identity connecting her to you and Theresa is fake, that it was stolen from the 'illegitimate daughter,' she'll break down."
Siegfried fell silent. He understood Li Zihan's meaning.
A person's heart is like a house; it needs pillars to support it. In K423's world, he was probably the most important pillar.
If the current K423 were to learn that she was just a little thief who had stolen someone else's identity, she really would fall apart.
"Until she forms bonds with others who can serve as pillars of support for her heart, people who can replace you, I hope you will treat the story I made up as real," Li Zihan said, looking at the white-haired uncle before him, who was being well taken care of by his own daughter. He sounded utterly uninterested.
His plan was rather simple. Once K423 had other people to act as her emotional pillars, allowing her to withstand the loss of one or two, he would reveal the truth. Then, he would suggest she return the name "Kiana" to the little girl still in Schicksal.
As for the real Kiana's resentment toward K423 for stealing her name, that could be resolved by having K423 extend a helping hand in the role of a savior or an older sister.
Perhaps that wouldn't be enough to make Kiana and K423 become the best of sisters, but it would be enough to ease the tension.
In a way, I'm quite good at planning, the young man thought to himself.
Reveal the truth about "Kiana" only after K423 has gained the approval and support of others?
Siegfried frowned. He couldn't understand what purpose this served for Li Zihan, who should have a strong connection to Otto.
What was there to gain?
"What do you really want?" he asked, completely unable to fathom Li Zihan's thoughts. He had to get to the bottom of it.
"I plan to entrust you with helping me borrow the Oath of Judah from Theresa the Silly, and then to have you sign a contract to lend me the Might of An-Utu when necessary."
Li Zihan, whose appetite had always been quite large, didn't bother to explain his reasons for having Siegfried lie. Instead, he uttered words that nearly made Siegfried erupt.
Setting aside the fact that he wanted him to go and borrow Judah, the second half of his sentence alone was enough to make one's blood boil.
The Might of An-Utu was a Kaslana family heirloom. How could it possibly be lent out to an outsider?
Siegfried's azure eyes turned cold.
If the person before him didn't provide a suitable reason, he wouldn't mind twisting his head off.
"In exchange, I can negotiate with Otto on your behalf and try to bring out the real Kiana," Li Zihan stated.
Schicksal Overseer Otto was deeply in love with a woman who had been dead for five hundred years, desperately searching for a way to perfectly resurrect her, all to no avail.
In his view, be it cloning or consciousness preservation, what remained was merely a similar person, not his goddess, Kallen.
What he pursued was the complete Kallen—soul, consciousness, and body, with nothing missing.
Coincidentally, Li Zihan knew exactly how to find the complete Kallen.
Many miracles of the Type-Moon world were just common sense in the Honkai world.
Take Honkai energy, for example. The ability to convert it into any form of real-number energy would absolutely drive the researchers of the Three Great Magecraft Organizations to tear their hair out if it were brought to their labs.
By the same token, things that were nearly impossible to accomplish in the Honkai world were not so difficult in the Type-Moon world.
For example, time travel.
Since Otto wanted the complete Kallen, then he would just go back five hundred years and drag one back for him.
Li Zihan himself didn't have the ability to time travel, but that didn't stop him from spending the time to make it happen.
Hearing this statement, so shocking it could kill, Siegfried's pupils contracted violently.
Bring back... Kiana?
"Are you joking?"
An extremely dangerous light entered Siegfried's eyes. He shot out his hand and grabbed Li Zihan by the collar.
He was clearly and utterly enraged by the man's absurd words.
How could Otto possibly let go of the Kiana who was born from his deliberate machinations?
This guy was trying to pull an empty-handed ploy on him!
The young man, grabbed by the collar, said nothing. He just calmly watched this man who was a hero in the early game and a washout in the late game.
Only after a long moment did he finally speak.
"What if it's a joke, and what if it isn't?"
"Siegfried, you're almost dead. Aren't you going to take a gamble? Or do you plan to go see Cecilia just like this?"