Chapter 169
After Mei smiled, she dropped the topic. "But more importantly, we've at least confirmed where we are."
"Yeah, that's true. Let's get down to business." Irene nodded. "If you want a Herrscher to awaken, the fastest way is, of course, to absorb enough Honkai energy."
"After all, Mei, you already have the 'registration' of a Herrscher; it's just temporarily suspended. We just need to reactivate it."
"That's a really down-to-earth way of putting it." Mei nodded. "So, I'll just start absorbing it then."
"Do I need to teach you?" Irene smiled and spread her hands at Mei. "But don't be in a rush just yet. Finding a place rich in Honkai energy will be much faster than absorbing it little by little like this."
"Let's find someone to ask about the situation first." Irene looked up into the distance. Just now, within her detection range, she had sensed two very familiar presences.
"Didn't Tesla say the Honkai energy here has spiked abnormally? The people here might know something."
"There are still people living here?" Mei looked at Irene with some confusion. "I thought Nagazora City had already become a ghost town by now."
"I've already sensed people, and quite a few of them at that." Irene pointed to the pathways built from wooden planks moving between some of the buildings.
"Those wooden planks couldn't have possibly assembled themselves there, right?"
"Moreover, I also know that some rescued survivors didn't accept Schicksal's resettlement arrangements. Instead, they returned to Nagazora City on their own. It might be out of nostalgia, or perhaps for other reasons."
"Right now, a settlement or two has formed in Nagazora City. Once the Honkai energy here completely dissipates, Schicksal will arrange for people to carry out reconstruction."
"But right now, it seems..." Mei looked up toward the distance. Just as Dr. Tesla had said, the Honkai energy levels in Nagazora City hadn't actually dropped at all; recently, there had even been a phenomenon of them rising.
"Then they'll just have to keep waiting," Irene said, glancing at Mei. "It's fine, we can solve this matter. With you, a Herrscher, absorbing a portion of the Honkai energy..."
"As long as we can find out why the Honkai energy here is spiking abnormally, the Honkai energy dissipating in this area will only be a matter of time."
She actually knew why the Honkai energy here was spiking abnormally, but this matter could be resolved. As for that Imaginary Construct, just call Kevin.
Kevin coming here was exactly to do this job.
"Mhm." Mei nodded. Now there was yet another reason. Since the initial disaster here was a bitter fruit sown by her, let it be ended by her.
"To think it's already developed into a settlement like this?" Mei walked through the residential area pieced together from simple wooden planks, looking at the hurried residents inside.
It could be seen that this wasn't a gathering place formed simply because people huddled together, but rather a settlement that had been developing for quite some time.
Because Mei saw that this place seemed to still maintain a corresponding degree of order. For instance, on a stall they had just passed by, there were some water-stained candies and other canned foods on display.
They were likely salvaged by risking a dive into the water, but to display these things so carelessly on a table without anyone snatching them away... it was obvious there must be certain trading rules, and at the same time, someone capable of maintaining order here.
Otherwise, such items that could guarantee survival could never be displayed so openly outside without having to worry about robbers.
And the residents in the Roost also sized up Mei and Irene, who had just entered. After all, the clothes on their bodies clearly didn't look like they belonged to vagabonds who had run over, or settlers from other areas.
"I feel like our clothes are a bit too conspicuous." Mei naturally noticed the curious gazes of the others. "But Sister Irene, how do we ask around for information?"
"Should we look for those merchants or...?"
In settlements like this, there had to be people who frequently went out into the ruins of Nagazora City to scavenge for usable supplies. If they wanted to find someone to ask for information, the merchants might know, as well as those scavengers.
"There's no need. I know someone who should definitely know." Irene shook her head. Asking other wanderers wouldn't be of much use.
Ordinary wanderers were already doing well just to dive around this area. With the Honkai energy being so high in this place, Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts were indispensable.
So even if they asked, they would at most get information like what anomalies had occurred recently, or that there seemed to be a whole bunch of Honkai Beasts over in some place—information that was as good as not having any.
It would be better to directly go ask Raven. It was convenient and fast. If Raven was in Nagazora City right now, nine times out of ten it was to take the children and leave. An Imaginary Singularity had appeared here in Nagazora City; for the sake of the children in the Roost, Raven would naturally return to Nagazora City.
"Eh, Sister Irene has an acquaintance here?"
"You could say that. I think she should be around." Irene pointed upward, where there were neatly arranged, staggered wooden shacks. "Let's go, we'll go say hello."
At the very least, judging from the level of cleanliness, it was clearly not on the same level as the simple shacks built from various discarded materials around them.
"A friend Sister Irene knows here?" Mei tilted her head. "Are you guys very close?"
"Not really close, we've just dealt with each other a few times," Irene said as she walked. "Later on, you guys should also be dealing with her quite a bit."
"We'll be dealing with her quite a bit?" Mei was still a bit confused, looking at Irene. "Who exactly is Sister Irene referring to?"
"The World Serpent cadre, Raven." Irene's tone was as casual as idle chatter after a meal. "Oh, which is to say, Kevin's organization. We'll be dealing with them quite a bit later on."
"What!" Mei was instantly shocked. Her hand immediately sought to press down on the hilt of her blade. Just as she was about to draw it, her hand was pressed down by Irene.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous." Irene looked at the vigilant Mei and smiled. "We are peace-loving people. Everything should prize harmony. I'll just go negotiate."
"But?" Mei really wanted to ask, even if they really went to find her, would she truly be willing to give them any information? What Kevin was trying to do shouldn't allow them to be called friends.
"People who live together with a bunch of children are generally quite kind." After Irene smiled, she pulled Mei along. "Let's go, we'll go give her a surprise."
"Living together with children?" Mei froze slightly, then her gaze looked up toward the Roost above. After being stunned for a moment, she looked again at the surrounding settlement area.
"Alright, take your snacks and go back." Raven held a bag, distributing the snacks inside one by one to the children huddled beside her.
"Teacher." Sora held a bag of potato chips, looking at Raven with eyes full of curiosity. "Can we really live in a big house in the future?"
"Of course we can, we just need to wait a little while longer." Raven nodded. Right now, the construction team was going all out with the renovations. However, since it was an island after all, the difficulty of renovation was relatively high, and it required quite a lot of time.
But there was definitely hope. It seemed they were really short on people over at Coral Island, so they had given quite a few subsidies. Moreover, Gray Serpent indeed couldn't bear to watch her truly starve to death.
He had also helped front quite a bit of money. It was just unknown why Jackal's gaze toward her had been getting weirder and weirder lately. It couldn't possibly be money scraped out from under her, right?
She had said so! As one of the rare people currently capable of using the 3rd Divine Key, how could Gray Serpent possibly watch her get into trouble over a tiny little housing issue?
"Will there be an amusement park there?" Another child also raised his hand and asked. "Will there be a really, really big Homu Amusement Park?"
"There will be, there will be." Raven nodded, silently noting down another stroke onto the renovation expenses. "There will be a carousel, and bumper cars and stuff. When the time comes, you guys can play to your heart's content over there."
Even though she didn't quite understand why Homu was so popular with children, since it was the children's wish, it wouldn't hurt to indulge them a little.
Anyway, Gray Serpent should foot the bill, right? If he didn't, she would just take on a few more jobs. It shouldn't be a big problem to pay the money back slowly, right?
"Alright, I'm all out of snacks now." Raven shook the already deflated bag in her hand at everyone. "Take your snacks and go play."
Hearing Raven say this, the group of children immediately scattered in all directions to find their playmates to play with. Raven stood in place, looking at the children who instantly dispersed, and shook her head with some helplessness.
"Kids, huh. The moment the snacks are gone, they run off." Raven put the bag away. Just as she was about to turn around and enter the room, she heard Sora's voice.
"Um, Teacher?" Sora looked at Raven, hugging a small robot she had just brought out from the room. "Teacher, could you help me? Mark II hasn't been able to fly very well lately."
"Hasn't been able to fly very well? It might be broken." Raven stepped forward and took Mark II from Sora's hands. "Let Teacher see if I can fix it."
"Mhm, thank you, Teacher." Sora nodded happily, then hugged the few bags of snacks Raven had just given her and headed in the direction of the other children.
"What a hassle." Raven held the small robot in her hands, turning it up and down. Looking at it, there was no damage on the outside. It might just be that it had been used for too long, causing the internal components to age a bit.
It shouldn't be out of power. At least the energy display on this thing still showed a fully charged state. Perhaps Sora had just charged it?
If it really was broken on the inside, it would actually be a bit troublesome. This thing belonged to ME Corp, and it seemed to be an early work, not from their World Serpent.
Raven carried Mark II into the room and casually placed it on the table to the side. She definitely didn't know how to do machine repairs. If she were to ask someone else for help, she was also somewhat reluctant to speak up.
Moreover, the only ones she could ask for help were Gray Serpent and Jackal. The former might not necessarily help with such a trivial matter, and heaven knows if the latter would stuff something weird inside it.
"I'd better find some time to go check ME Corp's warehouses. They should still have some stock left, right? I hope they haven't been ruined by the water." Raven pulled open a drawer and took out a packet of instant coffee.
"And then there's that Imaginary Singularity. Sigh, I wonder when the Sovereign will finally be able to resolve it."
Just as Raven was relaxing, she heard the sound of the sliding door behind her. Just as she was about to turn her head to see which child it was, a gentle female voice had already sounded.
"To think that the famous Miss Raven, who simultaneously occupies the first and second ranks on the assassin leaderboards, would be someone who likes children."
Raven instinctively tried to draw the weapon she carried on her, but her shoulder had already been pressed down by someone. Raven lifted her head and looked at the person pressing down on her shoulder, surprise revealing itself in her eyes.
"Why are you... you..."
"Are you surprised to see me here?" Irene gripped Raven's shoulder. After smiling at Raven, she let go, stood to the side, and turned her head to look outside.
"My, when I heard you bought an island back then, I was still a bit surprised. Now it seems you bought the island for this exact reason. I really didn't expect that."
"...Let's get one thing straight, I surrender." Raven immediately tossed her weapon aside, conveniently tossing aside all the throwing knives and such hidden on her body as well. You've got to be kidding me; at this close range, she had absolutely no interest in engaging in close combat with Irene.
The Herrscher of Death. Within such close proximity, randomly releasing a cloud of black mist would be enough for her to die hundreds of times over. She didn't dare bet on whether the outfit she was wearing right now could withstand it.
"Surrender? Of course you can." Irene nodded with a smile. "But as a condition, how about Miss Raven does us a favor?"
"Let's be clear first, what kind of favor?" Although Raven had surrendered, it wasn't like she would help with just anything. "Miss Irene should also be aware that the relationship between us isn't that good, right?"
"Relax, it definitely has nothing to do with World Serpent, nor does it have anything to do with those children." Irene looked at Raven and smiled. "We are champions of justice, after all."
"At the very least, the way you're threatening me right now looks exceptionally unjust." Hearing this, Raven finally relaxed. "However, listening to what you just said... are you saying you didn't come alone?"
"Of course." Irene nodded. "Right now, we're out in full force. So don't harbor any delusions about calling for help, or trying to run away or anything."
"In front of you, I wouldn't go as far as thinking about such utterly useless things." Raven shook her head. At this distance, with her being completely off guard, trying to break free was practically impossible.
Moreover, she could also feel that Irene didn't hold much hostility either. However, she was more curious as to why this girl Irene had suddenly appeared in Nagazora City?
"So what exactly do you want me to help you with?" The relaxed Raven turned around, tore open the coffee she had taken out earlier, and started brewing it for herself.
"Shouldn't you guys be getting chased by Schicksal right now? Is it really okay for you to come to Nagazora City?"
Right now, Schicksal had already listed the Hyperion as defectors; they were still aware of this much. What was interesting was that Otto hadn't listed St. Freya as defectors along with them.
Right now, St. Freya was still doing perfectly fine. She was truly curious about what exactly Overseer Otto was trying to do.
"We're just here to solve a problem." Irene watched Raven stirring her coffee. "Now tell me, where is there an environment with a relatively thick concentration of Honkai energy?"
"And what is Mr. Kevin doing here?"
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