OBS Chapter 233 Alto and the Press Conference
Chapter 233 Alto and the Press Conference
"How should I respond, Miss Kiana? Or rather..."
"?"
As if sensing Kiana's confusion, Otto chose not to continue speaking.
"No, it's nothing. I'm happy to have fulfilled my wish, but what I don't understand is why you chose to save me, Kiana? Wouldn't it have been better to just let me die?"
"It is true that letting you die is the best option, but I choose to refuse. You must do something for me before I can let you leave."
“This is really…” Otto shook his head and sighed. “Tell me, what is it? After all, I’m also very interested in the thing you were talking to just now.”
Kiana raised an eyebrow, looking at the ball of light in her hand with great interest.
Although she knew that Otto would definitely guess that she was looking for him about the consciousness integration, she didn't expect him to be so straightforward.
"Okay, I do have something about Him that I need your help with."
"So, what kind of being is He exactly?"
"He? You can think of Him as the starting point of the entire tree of imaginary numbers and the sea of quantum mechanics..."
Kiana then told Otto everything about the Consciousness Integration. To be honest, if she hadn't really been unable to figure out how to deal with such an existence, Kiana really wouldn't have wanted to resurrect this damned person.
Although Raiden Mei from this world is still a potential candidate, Kiana doesn't want to drag Raiden Mei into this mess no matter what.
Therefore, they could only settle for Otto, the person in modern civilization who understands the Imaginary Tree the most. In any case, even if they were to be purged in the future, it wouldn't cause any ripples for him.
"Heh, Miss Kiana really likes to make things difficult for people. But can you guarantee that we won't be monitored by Him right now?"
"Yes! And it's 100% certain. So I can only tell you what I know, and you need to help me think of a way to deal with Him and tell me in a way that He can't detect. By the way, He probably already knows this."
After thinking for a while, Alto gave his answer.
"I agreed."
"Oh? I didn't expect you to agree so quickly."
"After all, being able to understand the truth of the world is a very tempting reward for me, especially since my original identity was that of a scientist. I have absolutely no resistance to exploring the truth of the world."
"It seems you have changed a lot since you understood your wish."
"Perhaps, but that doesn't change the fact that I've long been a heinous sinner in your eyes, has it?"
Kiana twitched her lips. She really couldn't refute Otto, a villain with such a clear sense of self.
"Forget it, I'm too lazy to say anything more to you. If you need anything, just contact me using the power I left you."
Kiana spoke to Otto, who had already helped reshape his body, while Otto first examined his own body.
The clothes he was wearing were the same clothes he wore before he died. As for the power he possessed, it was probably because Kiana was worried that something might happen to her, so his power was almost the same as it was at the last moment before he died.
That is, himself when he was a false god, but to be honest, even Otto himself felt that it was unnecessary.
After all, as long as he doesn't encounter them in this world, the power of his Soul Steel body is more than enough. But when he thinks about the kind of power the beings Kiana wants him to deal with possess, he feels relieved.
Indeed, even the power of a false god would be insufficient to contend with such an existence. But where should I go next?
Alto looked around and realized that he was in a base he had never seen before, and judging from the scenery outside, it should be in the air above some sea area.
But I don't remember such a base. Could it be that it's unique to this world?
However, he certainly couldn't just leave this place as his secret base; it seemed he would have to check out some of his secret laboratories first.
So Alto left reluctantly, but before leaving, he couldn't help but take one last look at the unfamiliar devices.
Meanwhile, Kiana arrived at Schicksal headquarters. Theresa's succession ceremony has officially ended, but nothing much has changed compared to before.
Since Alto completely transformed Destiny, he delegated some of his power to people he trusted to help him handle some daily chores. In particular, with the arrival of Amber, Alto transferred almost all of his administrative powers to Amber.
He was completely absorbed in his own plans. At the same time, Otto knew that some of his experiments were not suitable for public viewing. In addition, the spare Soul Steel bodies could not all be produced in one place. Therefore, there were secret laboratories all over the world that only he and Amber knew about.
The purpose was to disperse parts of his soul steel body to various parts of the world, so that he could not only travel to different parts of the world quickly, but also ensure that his soul steel body would not be completely destroyed at once.
This is why Kiana didn't find him a place to hide. As long as Otto was careful not to be noticed by Amber, he could stay in these secret laboratories forever.
Just as Kiana suspected, Otto is currently hiding in one of his secret laboratories.
Meanwhile, Kiana arrived at the office of the Archbishop of Schicksal. Now that the transfer of power had been completed, Theresa had officially moved in.
However, Theresa had been away from the Schicksal headquarters for many years and knew very little about it. Therefore, Amber, who knew Schicksal headquarters very well, became Theresa's reliable assistant.
At least during this period, Amber's position remained unchanged, and Theresa herself did not want to change the existing organizational structure of Schicksal Headquarters.
After all, we are still in the period of fighting against the Honkai. Even if Theresa hates Otto, she has to admit that she really doesn't have a better solution to replace Otto's organizational structure.
Moreover, because Otto also made the existence of Honkai public when he announced his resignation, all sorts of opinions have emerged around the world.
These are all things that Theresa, the newly appointed Archbishop of Destiny, needs to deal with immediately. For this reason, Amber specially prepared a press conference for Theresa, scheduled for three days later.
During this time, Theresa needed to handle the bishop's daily paperwork while also taking the time to memorize the script Amber had prepared for her.
Compared to Alto, Theresa had absolutely no experience in holding press conferences. To prevent Theresa from saying anything she shouldn't, Amber specially prepared this script. While it couldn't help Theresa deal with all the problems, it could at least ensure that Theresa wouldn't say the wrong thing at the press conference.
Himeko Murata came here specifically to help Theresa with some paperwork, and Kiana came here for the same reason.
She hoped that the press conference three days later would let everyone know that there are good and bad Herrschers. Although the effect might not be significant, at least it would be a statement.
"What? I disagree!"
Theresa immediately objected after hearing Kiana's words.
But I think there's absolutely no problem!
"Kiana, don't forget that even if ordinary people might accept your explanation, what about those government dignitaries? What about those with ulterior motives? In short, your thinking is a bit too idealistic."
Kiana scratched her head; she hadn't really considered these things.
As Himeko Murata said, even if ordinary people accept what she says, what about those government dignitaries?
It's worth noting that during the Herrscher of Domination incident, the US government used this opportunity to suppress Anti-Entropy, and even used it to blackmail Anti-Entropy into handing over Kiana to them for safekeeping.
Under the guise of protection, their true intentions are as clear as day.
Kiana had no doubt how the US government, in particular, would react if she made these remarks in public at this time.
"It was my oversight."
“However, it’s not impossible for Ms. Kiana to attend the press conference,” Amber said.
"How so?" Kiana asked.
"The main purpose of this press conference is to get the general public to accept the Honkai disaster. Originally, we planned to have Ms. Durandal and Ms. Rita, as the captain and vice-captain of the Undying Blade, give a speech. But now I think we can have Ms. Kiana and Ms. Durandal appear on camera together. As for Ms. Rita, she has more important things to deal with."
"Something more important?"
“That’s right,” Amber said. “After all, we are currently in the period of transition between the old and new Archbishops of Schicksal, because Lady Theresa has not returned to Schicksal headquarters for a long time and has not been in contact with the power center of Schicksal headquarters.”
Therefore, some of the old nobles, who have long been suppressed by Lord Otto, believe this is the time to return to the center of power and revive the old destiny from five hundred years ago. To prevent the destiny from falling back into the hands of these old nobles, someone like Miss Rita is needed to handle this matter.
Having said that, Kiana naturally understood what Amber meant.
After considering the pros and cons, Kiana nodded. She vaguely remembered that Amber had held a similar press conference in her own world.
It was indeed Yulandal and Rita who accompanied Theresa to that press conference, and it was even because of Rita's help that Theresa was able to conclude the press conference normally.
After that, Rita did indeed leave the scene in a hurry. Amber explained that Rita received a Honkai event that required urgent attention.
Afterwards, Destiny did indeed issue a related mission report, but now it seems that it was during that time that they also dealt with those nobles who longed to revive the old Destiny.
Although I certainly wouldn't be as adept at handling things at a press conference as Rita, I should be able to use my powers of consciousness to mimic Rita's thought process at that time without much trouble.
Seeing that Kiana agreed, Amber then took out the script that originally belonged to Rita and handed it to Kiana.
"Then please take a good look at this script, Miss Kiana. I don't expect you to memorize it all, but at least you can't make any mistakes."
Kiana's face darkened as she looked at the thick script in Amber's hand. She hadn't expected that she would ultimately be forced to memorize it.
Fortunately, Kiana can now use her Herrscher powers to skip the endorsement process, so she might as well help Aunt Flo while she's at it.
Kiana then used her consciousness powers to transmit all the words within sight of the corresponding scripts into her and Theresa's respective brains. In less than ten minutes, Kiana and Theresa had memorized their respective scripts.
In subsequent rehearsals, he answered fluently without the slightest flaw.
Three days later.
Looking at the densely packed crowd, and the countless microphones, cameras, and video cameras that could trigger trypophobia, Kiana just wanted to go back in time and slap herself a few times.
Why would you agree to this for no reason?
Fortunately, Durandal noticed Kiana's nervousness and gently took Kiana's hand, softly comforting her, "I'm here, don't be afraid."
Feeling the warmth of Durandal's hand in this world, Kiana's tense heart gradually calmed down. So Kiana let go of Durandal's hand and looked at her to express her gratitude.
"Thank you, I feel much better now."
The press conference officially began as Theresa, dressed in her bishop's robes, and Liesel, who had been invited to attend, took their seats.
First, Amber, the initiator, stood up to speak, and instantly a series of flashbulbs began to go off.
The sounds of camera shutters clicking and closing created a unique symphony, and the press conference moved into its next phase as Amber finished her speech.
Theresa then chose a reporter to ask questions, and the chosen reporter was so eager to shove the microphone into Theresa's mouth that they bombarded her with questions.
"Does the Honkai truly exist? How long has it been existing? Why are you choosing to conceal it? Has your organization reached some shady agreement with the government? And why did you invite members of your rival organization, Anti-Entropy, this time?"
It was obvious that Theresa couldn't wait until the reporter finished asking the question before answering.
Theresa interrupted, saying, "Please calm down, reporter. You've asked too many questions. Please leave some for the next reporter. Don't worry, we'll answer patiently."
"Oh, I'm sorry," the reporter apologized without any remorse.
Then, excitedly, she said, "Then please have Bishop Theresa answer my question."
Theresa's lips twitched a few times. To be honest, she didn't want to attend the press conference because she didn't like facing these reporters.
If it weren't for the huge trap that Otto left her with, forcing the new Archbishop of Destiny to personally explain, she wouldn't have come to this press conference!