Chapter 106: Various Matters
"Aaaah!!"
Jackal abruptly woke up from the liquid maintenance chamber.
Facing an attack on the Anti-Entropy head-on, one had to be prepared for the possibility of not returning.
So, Jackal naturally made preparations. She had backed up her consciousness in the collective consciousness network of Gray Serpent in advance, synchronizing her memories until her original body's death.
"Darn it! My death must have been gruesome! Don't let me catch that bastard who attacked me; I'll make him pay! But I can resurrect, which means Gray Serpent is still intact. Just don't know if the Sire has successfully returned."
The maintenance chamber's door slowly opened, and Jackal had a vague feeling that there was no hope.
After all, when the device was launched, Wendy was not fully attuned to her Herrscher self, the quantum signal strength she constructed was insufficient, and with the Anti-Entropy causing trouble nearby, the success rate was not high.
"Gray Serpent, what's the current situation—-"
When she sat up from the maintenance chamber, the first thing Jackal wanted to do was confirm the situation with Gray Serpent.
However, what welcomed her resurrection was not the familiar companion Gray Serpent but a silver-haired, blue-eyed handsome young man. He sat on a simple yet sturdy metal throne, the fiery "Judgement of Shamash" leaning beside him, legs crossed, expressionless as he looked at Jackal.
With the same hair color, eye color, ability to control the "Judgement of Shamash," and the same cold expression. Except for being visibly younger, Jackal vaguely felt like she was seeing her Sire again.
The difference was that Lord Kevin's coldness mainly stemmed from pure determination, free from distractions, and in this world, there was probably no one worthy of him showing a smile to. Sigurd's indifference, on the other hand, seemed more like impatience, as if saying—I don't want to communicate with idiots.
"?(o?o)? I surrender!"
Jackal raised both hands, appearing harmless and innocent.
In any case, as a research scientist with no combat skills, Jackal was confident that if she confronted a monster capable of wielding the "Judgement of Shamash," that creature would be begging her not to die after a second.
You talk about reputation? Well, for the sake of survival, she wouldn't mind losing some reputation!
"You seem to be quite sensible."
Sigurd said, and his indifferent expression softened a bit, seemingly satisfied with Jackal's smart approach that didn't waste time.
Then, he continued:
"I want what's in your head. The Stigmata Plan, synthetic technology for artificial Honkai beasts, human modification technology, and everything else you've researched, as well as the knowledge and information obtained from the previous era. I want it all."
"Um, the amount of information is vast, and it's not something I can explain quickly. How about you bring Gray Serpent over too? If we work together, the efficiency will be higher."
Jackal rubbed her hands, responding with a sincere smile—actually, she wanted to see if she could sell off Gray Serpent's clones and create an opportunity to escape.
Sigurd sighed, expressing a hint of regret, and said:
"I also wish to have you both together, but unfortunately, Gray Serpent has already been taken away by Otto."
Jackal's smile froze.
Damn it!
On the surface, Jackal occasionally showed disdain for Otto, and Gray Serpent would say he was just a young punk of around five hundred years old.
But in reality, both of them knew very well that Otto's had spent the last 5 hundred years mastering the technology inside "Void Archives." He had researched many cutting-edge technologies, some already achieved by the previous civilization, and some that even the previous civilization hadn't discovered.
He spent a hundred years building Schicksal, which was originally biased towards secular religion, into the most powerful force in the world. Moreover, for all these years, he had tightly suppressed the Honkai, to the point where even the general public couldn't feel the threat of the Honkai.
Otto, like a deep and bottomless black pool, made it impossible to imagine how much he had hidden. In terms of research ability and strategy, he surpassed the two of them combined.
With Otto, Gray Serpent was basically a lost cause. It seemed there was no hope of relying on him.
Jackal couldn't help but shift her gaze to the submissive maid behind Sigurd.
'Tsk! I knew that bastard Gray Serpent couldn't be relied on! He really softened up. This little crow— well, forget it, probably can't rely on her either.'
Jackal's mind was racing, but being alone and even having her resurrection point arranged in the enemy's stronghold, there didn't seem to be any solution.
Sigurd looked directly at her, shook his head after a while.
"It seems you're still not being honest. No matter, I have a professional here. If necessary, we can use some brainwashing methods from Otto. I'll leave it to you for now, Cocolia."
"Yes! I guarantee she'll even confess her favorite underwear color, Lord Sigurd!"
"... There's no need to be so meticulous."
"In any case, leave it to me, and rest assured."
Cocolia smirked and dragged the still-stunned Jackal away.
Sigurd built a new base, significantly improving the living conditions for the orphanage residents. This allowed Cocolia to provide assistance and even adopt more orphans.
At this moment, Cocolia was full of enthusiasm.
...
Soon after, Cocolia and Jackal disappeared without a trace.
Sigurd shifted his gaze to the quiet Raven, who was present.
"Although a significant portion of the information overlaps with what Gray Serpent's memories revealed, you did provide a lot of information about the World Serpent. Speak, what do you want?"
Raven fidgeted with her fingers, visibly nervous.
After a moment, fearing Sigurd's impatience, she quickly organized her thoughts, knelt on one knee, and said:
"Lord Sigurd, I want to survive."
"Fine. I didn't plan on killing you anyway."
Though a straightforward answer, it allowed Raven to finally release a large portion of her pent-up anxiety.
Sigurd was a person who kept his promises. From Raven's observations over these days, he didn't make promises often, but anything he explicitly agreed to face-to-face was never broken.
"I also want to stay here. I don't want to fight anymore, just serve as a maid. Is that acceptable?"
Raven made an additional request.
Having spent many years with the World Serpent, she had grown accustomed to wandering in the darkness with her hands stained with blood. But habit and preference were two different things.
No one would enjoy a life drenched in the blood of others. At least, Raven didn't enjoy it; she just had no other choice.
Sigurd stroked his chin, considering for a moment before saying:
"I heard that your cooking is terrible?"
"...I will overcome that. Apart from that, I've already gained approval from Seele for other household chores."
"In principle, I don't object. As long as it's not purely eating dry food, having a few more people doesn't matter. However, there's something I need to remind you of."
"Please speak."
Raven lowered her head, showing respect and submission throughout.
Then, Sigurd snapped his fingers.
Snap!
With the crisp sound, Raven felt a numbness in her abdominal area and couldn't help but let out a muffled groan.
Looking down at her, Sigurd spoke emotionlessly:
"Occupying your abdominal cavity is my worker bee robot. Although it has become independent from the hive system, it is still under my control. If you choose to leave, I can release this control. But if you decide to stay, it will remain, do you understand?"
"I understand. I won't let Lord Sigurd down."
"That's fine. Be cautious and take care of yourself. Finally, I wish you to find the life you desire here."
Sigurd stood up, shouldered his greatsword, patted Raven's shoulder, and left the room.
After a long while, Raven, who was alone, finally stood up from her kneeling position, looked at the empty room, and suddenly smiled.
"Find the life I desire?"
Raven whispered, shaking her head.
The choices she could make were always limited. Just being a maid was already a rare stroke of luck. What more could she ask for?
Raven touched her own firm and cold abdomen through her clothes, then glanced at the restraint bracelet on her wrist, feeling particularly reassured.
Yes, her life was at Sigurd's mercy.
But it was both a threat and a guarantee. As long as she stayed quiet and obedient, who would bother killing a useful and fully controlled maid?
It was the same during her time with the World Serpent, and back then, she didn't even know what traps Gray Serpent and Jackal had set on her. She only knew that betrayal meant death, nothing more.
Raven's mindset was good. Most people in the Anti-Entropy were not bad, from what she observed. From now on, she shouldn't need to dance in danger. Her situation had changed drastically.
This good mood persisted until she walked out and saw Hera's smiling face.
"Big sister Raven, look, this is the new dress I made for you! I took inspiration from Rita's dress design. You'll look beautiful in it!"
"...Natasha Cioara, that's my name. Call me Cioara from now on. As for the dress, why do I feel like it's not a proper maid outfit?"
"Huh? Why not? It looks great! It'll highlight all the best parts of Raven, um, Cioara, big sister Cioara!"
"..."
Cioara wanted to refuse.
However, Hera's sparkling expectant eyes were so irresistible.
Plus, around the corner, Kiana, Bronya, Mei, Rozaliya, Liliya, all poked half of their heads out, openly peering at them. Even the usually serious Wendy and Raiden Mei were there, along with the inconspicuous Tesla. All of them were casting subtle glances, giving off an unsettling vibe.
—Just to clarify, most of the people here aren't bad, but there are quite a few strange ones!
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