"That's right!" Theresa let out a long sigh. "Let me introduce myself again. My name is Theresa Apokalis, the commander-in-chief of the Far East Branch of the Mandate of Heaven, and the dean of St. Freya College. I have never worked as a waiter in a cafe since I was a child, and I have never had a boyfriend."
"I see." Ji Zi shook her head with a sigh, "This is really a pity, Theresa, your boyfriend is gone."
"If you mention this again, I will throw you off the boat right now." Theresa said quietly.
Jizi laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, since the manager of that store is so powerful, and his partner is a girl who looks very similar to Theresa, this cafe itself must be very special, Mei, how much do you remember about that cafe?"
"..." Raiden Mei looked at Ji Zi quietly without saying anything.
To be honest, if the cafe hadn't suddenly disappeared before her eyes, and the floating battleship driven by Himeko and Theresa was not really a bit scary, Raiden Mei had no intention of revealing the details of the cafe - after all, the manager of the cafe had just helped her, so how could she sell him out?
After saying so many things, she actually felt a little sorry for the manager of the cafe, but Jizi continued to ask questions greedily...
Are they really Valkyries whose mission is to save the world? Raiden Mei began to doubt.
After thinking for a moment, Mei Raiden decided to tell them something that might not seem so special: "Hmm...do the interpersonal relationships in that store count?"
It's just a relationship, there shouldn't be anything shameful about it, right?
At least the staff of that cafe didn't deliberately hide anything from the customers. Since they themselves didn't hide it, if I tell others, it shouldn't cause much trouble to the cafe, right? Raiden Mei comforted herself in this way.
Theresa and Himeko showed interest at the same time.
Theresa gave Jizi a look, and Jizi understood and walked to the water dispenser to get a glass of red wine and bitter melon juice - don't ask why there are these two things in Hyperion, just think of them as contraband they smuggled in this flagship.
Jizi handed the bitter melon juice to Theresa, took a sip of red wine, and then shook the glass: "Tell me about it? It sounds interesting."
Theresa drank a sip of bitter melon juice, her azure eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Well, to put it simply... the several employees in that coffee shop seem to have a crush on their manager." After saying this, Raiden Mei suddenly felt a little tight in her chest for some reason, so she took a sip of water and listed them one by one, "The one who looks a lot like you, the one who looks like you grown up, the barista Haitu, and the maid Rita, they all have a crush on the manager..."
"puff----!!!"
Bitter melon juice and red wine spurted out at the same time.
Maid, Rita.
Four extremely familiar words echoed like bells in Jizi and Theresa's heads.
--who?????
Chapter 4 Otto: I'm not! I didn't! (k)
Mei Raiden looked at Theresa and Himeko, whose faces suddenly changed, in bewilderment. She felt that these two people who claimed to be Valkyries really lacked the calmness and temperament that a qualified warrior should have.
She thought about it, and carefully shrank back her body in the chair, keeping a certain distance from Jizi and Theresa, to prevent her IQ from being ruined by these two jumpy people.
Before Himeko and Theresa noticed Raiden Mei's little move, a series of beeping electronic sounds suddenly came from Theresa's waist. The two Valkyries with messy faces were stunned at first, then hurriedly pulled up the collars of their uniforms, wiped their mouths stained with bitter gourd juice and red wine, and then answered the call.
A translucent virtual screen unfolded in mid-air, and a space filled with various control devices was displayed on the screen. That was the main control room of the Destiny transport ship Eos.
Two young Valkyries who had recently been promoted to the S-class sequence appeared on both sides of the screen, one on the left and one on the right.
"Long time no see, Lady Theresa. This is the Eos. Lady Yulandel and I will arrive in Changkong City in 24 minutes to meet Hyperion. Please report the situation on site."
The girl with short gray-blond hair on one side bowed slightly to Theresa with impeccable courtesy.
She was wearing a graceful suit that made it impossible to tell whether it was a dress or a military uniform. A pure black ribbon was wrapped around her upper arms, and a swallowtail cloak was hung behind her. In the center of the cloak was a pure gold symbol of destiny. It was the uniform that marked the Immortal Blade - Valkyrie Dawn.
However, the girl's gentle question did not receive the appropriate response immediately.
As soon as visual communication was introduced into the Eos control room, Theresa turned her face, which still had some green stains on it, and looked in the direction of Raiden Mei. At the same time, she raised her hand and pointed at the girl who was speaking on the virtual screen.
"Is this the Rita you are talking about?" Theresa asked.
"..." Having admitted her mistake once before, Mei Raiden did not give a positive answer right away. Instead, she carefully looked at the face on the screen before nodding: "Yes, that's right... It's her."
"?"
A question mark appeared above the heads of the two girls on the screen at the same time. Before they could ask any questions, Theresa pointed her finger in the direction of the other blonde girl: "Is the manager of that cafe the one standing next to Rita?"
"Huh?" Raiden Mei was stunned for a moment, then shook her head without hesitation, "No, no, didn't I say it was a boy?"
The two girls on the screen looked at each other and saw a hint of confusion in each other's eyes.
"...Lady Theresa, may I ask, what exactly is going on?" Rita asked in confusion, "Also, the collapse of Changkong City..."
Theresa hesitated for a moment, then turned her head and looked in the direction of Rita, and answered honestly: "The Honkai in Changkong City has disappeared, and the Hyperion did not scan any traces of Honkai energy in Changkong City, so you must have come here in vain."
The two girls' expressions relaxed slightly, and they didn't seem to be annoyed by the wasted effort. Rita nodded gently and said softly, "Since nothing dangerous has happened, that's the best. But... Rita is still a little confused. Lady Theresa, why did you ask such a question just now?"
"…Before that, I have a question for you."
Theresa turned her body sideways and adjusted the direction of the camera so that the other party could clearly see Raiden Mei sitting in the chair.
"Do you know this girl?"
“……” Rita looked at Raiden Mei carefully and shook her head.
"No, unfortunately, this should be the first time I meet this girl."
"But she claimed that she had just seen a maid named Rita during the day, and she looked exactly like you." Theresa said quietly.
"This……"
Rita was stunned for a moment: "But, before receiving the order from the bishop and leaving for Changkong City, Rita had been on the floating island of the headquarters, staying by the side of Lord Youlandel."
"Yes, I can prove that."
Yulandel took over Rita's words: "At least in the past forty-eight hours, Rita and I have not left the Destiny headquarters."
"That's strange. If it was just me, it could be considered a coincidence. However, if Rita showed up too..."
Theresa lowered her head and muttered to herself, but her expression became worse and worse unconsciously.
"Could it be... it's Grandpa's again..."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent, and a strong sense of chill and disappointment surrounded Theresa.
If only a person who looked very similar to herself appeared, Theresa could still convince herself that it was just a coincidence. But if next to the "Stargazing" who looked very similar to herself, there appeared a "Rita" who looked very similar to the current S-rank Valkyrie of Destiny, Theresa, who was originally a test subject, could only associate this strange phenomenon with one possibility.
——Cloning experiment.
"Damn it, Grandpa... Is he still conducting this kind of crazy experimental project..."
She lowered her head and her teeth chattered.
If you think about it carefully, it's not just yourself. In Raiden Mei's mouth, there is also a person who is suspected to be "yourself when you grow up."
Although there is no clear evidence pointing to Otto's connection with all this, due to Otto's huge criminal record, sufficient motives, and perfect means, Theresa almost subconsciously put the blame firmly on Otto.
Seeing Theresa's gloomy expression, Yulandel and Rita's hearts skipped a beat at the same time, wondering what kind of serious accident had happened to make this senior who had personally experienced the second Honkai battlefield look so angry.
After a long silence, Theresa took a long, deep breath, and then raised her head as if she had made up her mind: "Rita, Yulandel, the two of you, continue to follow the planned route and meet up with Hyperion in Changkong City."
"Jizi, go change the route and fly the Hyperion back to Changkong City's airspace."
"Yes, yes." Ji Zi shrugged and put on a regretful expression, "It seems that the next vacation is ruined again?"
Theresa rolled her eyes and said, "Can you please stop worrying about such unimportant things at this time? I'll give you compensatory leave later, okay?"
"You said it yourself." Ji Zi's eyes lit up, "You must keep your word."
After saying that, she strode out of the cabin, and the sharp and rapid footsteps gradually faded away outside the door.
After Ji Zi left, Yulandel couldn't help but ask, "Senior Theresa, isn't the collapse of Changkong City over? Why did you let us go there?"
"Of course, we're investigating the cafe that Mei mentioned."
Theresa gave a complicated look.
"There are several people who look similar to me, and there is also Rita. According to Mei's description, the so-called 'store manager' seems to have the same hair and eye color as Himeko... Of course I know that those people who look like me are not me. Rita also had an alibi when Mei met another Rita. So, the only possibility is that grandpa is conducting human experiments on clones again."
Hearing Theresa's statement, Rita and Yulandel's pupils shrank at the same time.
"In other words, the 'Rita' that Miss Mei saw was my clone?" Rita couldn't help but ask.
"It's not certain yet, but the possibility is very high. I don't know if you have seen any information about me at the Skymanship Headquarters. I... am a man-made human created by my grandfather's human experiment." Theresa said softly, "This experiment is too inhumane. Now that I know about it, I can't just sit back and watch."
Rita's face turned pale all of a sudden. She pulled the corners of her mouth, revealing a somewhat stiff and bleak smile, but she couldn't say anything.
Although she had been mentally prepared for Otto's character and understood the dark side of destiny, Rita still felt at a loss when she suddenly encountered such a change.
Yulandel glanced at Rita and nodded with a heavy face: "I understand. Next, Rita and I will temporarily follow the instructions of Senior Theresa."
After she finished speaking, she sighed and gently patted her adjutant's shoulder: "Don't worry too much, Rita, Senior Theresa and I will face it with you."
——Twenty-five minutes later, the Hyperion, which had picked up two S-class Valkyries from the Eos, stopped above Changkong City.
Two current S-class Valkyries and one Valkyrie who had S-class qualifications but did not accept the honor jumped off the deck of Hyperion at the same time and fell into the ruins.
It was already very late, and everything around was silent. The end of the commercial street was still a void with nothing in it.
——Only in the eyes of Theresa and Rita.
"Is that the cafe you were talking about?"
The blonde knight stared at the two-story building standing in the ruins with a complicated expression.
“——???”
Rita and Theresa suddenly turned around and stared at Yulandel's face in amazement.
"You-you can see it?" Theresa couldn't help asking.
"Huh?" Yulandel was startled. "The coffee shop on the second floor with Hyperion on the door? I can see it."
After she finished speaking, she immediately reacted: "Could it be that Senior Theresa can't see that building?"
"It's not just Senior Theresa." Rita whispered, "In Rita's eyes, there is no such building at the end of the road."
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
After a moment, Rita spoke first:
"Since Lady Yulandel can also see that cafe, it means that what Miss Mei saw was not an illusion."
"The people with the problem are not Miss Mei and Lady Yulandel, but those of us who can't see that cafe, right?"
Theresa did not respond to Rita's words, but asked Yulandel: "Yulandel, in your eyes, is the door of that cafe still open?"
"No." Yulandel shook her head. "The door to the first floor was closed, and the French window next to it was also pitch black."
"But... on the second floor, there are a few windows that seem to be still lit."
"Can you sense what's going on inside?" Theresa asked.
Yulandel raised her head and stared for a long time, finally shaking her head dejectedly: "No... I can't feel the situation inside at all. Although I can see this cafe, the space inside and outside seems to be completely separated by something."
Yulandel glanced at Rita and asked, "Do you want me to force my way in and try?"
Rita was still a little hesitant: "If we encounter danger..."
"It's okay." Yulandel said, "I'm just going to go in and take a look at the situation inside. If there is any problem, I will get out immediately. With the power of the holy sword, there should be no place in this world that can trap me."
Rita shook her lower lip and said softly, "Then... thank you for your help."
——Hyperion Cafe, in a bedroom on the second floor.
In the dead of night, Kiana sat cross-legged on the bed, staring out the window in a daze.
The bedroom in the cafe was even cozier than Kiana had imagined. Not only was the bed still there, but the antique-style bedside table was also decorated with some decorations that were quite in line with Kiana's aesthetic.
Strangely enough, although from the outside this cafe only covers an area of about 200 to 300 square meters, once you walk into the building, you can find that both the lobby on the first floor and the staff dormitory on the second floor are much larger than they look from the outside.
The hall on the first floor is not very obvious, but once you reach the second floor, looking at the number of house numbers on the corridor that total more than fifty, this sense of spatial dislocation suddenly becomes eye-catching.
According to what Guanxing said when he brought her here, the bedroom where she was temporarily staying was originally reserved for a person named "Second Prince".
However, due to some reasons, the second prince would not stay in this cafe for a long time. He would only stay here for a while when he came to visit and watch the stars occasionally. Therefore, this bedroom was vacant most of the time, so it was lent to her temporarily.
For some reason, looking at the furnishings in this bedroom, Kiana always felt that she and the "Second Prince" mentioned by Guanxing might have a lot in common.
While I was thinking about all these things, the bedroom door was suddenly opened from the outside.
Kiana immediately sat up straight, looking at her nose and her heart, with a look of concentration.
Mei Raiden walked into the bedroom and rubbed her still wet long hair with a bath towel, while closing the door with a complicated expression.
Silence fell silently.
Although before this moment came, both Kiana and Raiden Mei had imagined countless scenes of meeting each other after a long separation, but in those imaginations, none of them was like this, in such a strange occasion and strange place...
So when this moment really came, Kiana and Raiden Mei didn't know what to say.
