NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Otto Claps His Hands
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The atmosphere at Cocolia's Orphanage today was different from usual.
Cocolia sat at the dining table, her expression troubled as if pondering some difficult problem.
Bronya, Seele, Liliya, and Rozaliya were seated to her left one after another. On her right, first came Sin, then an empty seat, followed by Kiana. With Cocolia dividing them, the sides of the circular table represented distinct factions.
Sin remained quiet, gazing with pure yet infatuated eyes fixed on Dual-Turbo Duck... Bronya.
This sight stirred feelings of unease within Seele Vollerei.
"Big Sister Bronya..."
"It's alright, Seele."
Feeling somewhat uneasy, Seele looked toward Bronya, who responded with a gentle smile and offered comforting hand-holding. A sweet, pink aura enveloped the two little girls.
Blushing, Seele silently lowered her head.
"Tsk!"
With a dissatisfied click of her tongue, Sin expressed her annoyance.
Initially, Seele appeared to Sin as a bizarre object blending pitch-black and dark blue hues—distorted colors creating an utterly grotesque image. In terms of repulsiveness, only Kiana surpassed her ugliness.
But Bronya's preferential treatment of Seele at this moment elevated her disgust level to that of paramecia in Sin's eyes.
Sin's expression twisted slightly, but with Bronya present—and Zeke still in the kitchen behind them...she quietly swallowed her frustration.
"Slam!"
Just then, Rozaliya, who had been seething silently for quite some time, finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed her hands on the table as she stood up.
"You two newbies listen up! I am Lady Rozaliya, the strongest and smartest leader here! Starting today, you must offer me candy and cookies every day, and then I'll protect you. Now hurry and thank Lady Rozaliya—"
"Sigh, there goes Rozaliya being foolish again. Liliya wishes she could stay far away so as not to catch her stupidity."
The emotionless loli voice interrupted Rozaliya's aggressive declaration.
"What did you say?"
"Lately, Rozaliya has been getting zero after zero on tests. Here's proof of her idiocy." The blue-haired girl impassively presented a test paper marked with a big fat zero.
"Agh! No wonder I couldn't find it—you hid it! Liliya, give it back!"
Rozaliya lunged at her, but Liliya swiftly moved the test out of reach. Rozaliya adjusted her trajectory to snatch it anyway, and the sisters promptly descended into a noisy tussle, oblivious to their surroundings.
Kiana watched Rozaliya with fascination.
Although she'd never taken an exam herself and didn't quite grasp the significance of a zero score, for some reason, she felt a kinship with Rozaliya.
The commotion interrupted Cocolia's thoughts. She snapped back to reality, rubbing her forehead exasperatedly. "Rozaliya, Liliya, stop this."
"Mommy, it's all Rozaliya's fault!"
"No, Mommy, it's all Liliya's fault!"
One emotionless, one silly—two distinct voices, yet both shifting blame identically.
While Liliya wasn't paying attention, Rozaliya swiftly grabbed her own test paper, crumpled it up, and tossed it out the window.
With renewed vigor, she hopped onto a chair once more.
"Ahem! Forget everything that just happened—it doesn't matter! Now, aside from the one cooking inside, you two introduce yourselves by name. If they sound nice enough, Lady Rozaliya might exempt you from two days' worth of offerings! Don't thank me too much; it's only fair, ah-ha-ha!" Rozaliya laughed heartily, hands on her hips.
Cocolia didn't intervene. Zeke was currently an insurmountable opponent, but he clearly valued the two girls at his side—especially Kiana, who seemed like a fairly innocent and straightforward child... Building rapport with her might help mitigate some of the risks.
Sure enough, amidst Rozaliya's wild laughter, Kiana muttered under her breath:
"So you're just another idiot."
She thought she whispered it quietly, but she lacked any awareness of lowering her voice; speaking at her usual volume, everyone present heard her—including Rozaliya, whose laughter abruptly halted, leaving her momentarily frozen.
Nice! Cocolia thought to herself.
Isn't the best way for kids to bond through conflict, where friendships blossom after a tussle? Especially given the similar personalities of Rozaliya and Kiana, their squabbles could inadvertently foster camaraderie. From there, naturally forming connections with other children would follow suit.
However, before Rozaliya could retaliate, Sin pursed her lips, turned towards Kiana, and sneered coldly:
"Nope, Paramecium #2."
"Sinbara! You called me paramecium again!"
"It's Sin Mal! Besides, I never mentioned names—you're simply projecting your insecurities."
"Don't mimic Zeke's speech style—it's terrifying!"
And just like that, Kiana and Sin—supposedly on the same team—started bickering back and forth with gusto. Rozaliya, who had been about to lose her temper herself, could only watch dumbfounded as a droplet of snot hung from her nose.
As they were about to cross the aisle between their seats and turn verbal sparring into physical combat, someone appeared behind them.
"Having an argument?"
The hushed voice carried the youthful clarity expected of a boy but sent shivers down their spines, making it feel like they'd suddenly entered an iceberg.
"Sina, upon closer inspection, your hair is quite pretty."
"Yeah, yeah, you're not actually that disgusting either, Kiana."
"Oh-ho, let's play nice then, shall we?"
"Sure thing!"
They shook hands, both breaking out in goosebumps despite forcing smiles onto their faces.
Then, Kiana turned around, acting as if she'd just noticed Zeke, exaggerating her smile and tone dramatically: "Ah, hey there, Zeke! When did you arrive? Look, I'm getting along great with Sin!"
"Absolutely! We're getting along great, Zeke."
"Crrrk..."
As they plastered fake smiles on their faces, the sound of cracking bones came from where their hands were clasped together.
"Let go."
"You first."
"I'll let go if you do~"
"Well, I don't feel like letting go unless you do~"
"How about we chop both your hands off and feed them to the dogs?"
Zeke draped his arm around one girl's shoulder, grinning widely as he suggested it.
Instantly, both girls withdrew their hands, settling back into their seats with proper decorum.
Zeke took his place between them, expressionless.
Clapping his hands, plates of food floated out from the kitchen like some levitation magic trick, landing neatly on the table one after another.
The enticing aromas wafted through the air, each dish emitting its own distinct scent that blended harmoniously into a silent symphony tantalizing everyone's taste buds.
Soon, someone began devouring their meal ravenously.
Then followed the clinking sounds of cutlery as others joined in the scramble for food.
Otto Apocalypse was intensely focused on his tablet, controller in hand, skillfully maneuvering the character on the screen to overcome obstacles and vanquish enemies.
"Ding!"
Just as he was about to set a new high score in "Kallen's Fantasy," breaking his long-standing personal best, a message window popped up at the center of the screen, automatically pausing the game.
"Argh! Amber, what have you done?! I was finally in top form, so close—just a little more—to breaking that record!" Otto crushed the controller in anger, roaring at Amber within the message window.
With a slight bow, her golden crystal eyepiece reflecting a bright glare, Amber calmly reported as if nothing had happened:
"Lord Bishop, there is new information to report, which I believe will pique your interest."
"I don't care! You owe me my record first!"
"...Recently, Schicksal has undertaken several major projects, causing some financial strain. I suggest cutting unnecessary expenses, such as investments in underperforming games."
Seeing the utterly serious expression on Amber's face, devoid of any humor, Otto silently dropped the controller and kicked it under the table with his foot, out of sight.
Then, he stood up, casually placing the tablet upright. In front of Amber, he regained the composed elegance expected of the Schicksal Archbishop. Clearing his throat, he spoke with an enigmatic smile:
"Ahem! About that, weren't there matters to report on? We can discuss trivial issues like funding later; let's focus on the main business first."
"Zeke has entered Cocolia's Orphanage, accompanied by K-423 and Sin Mal."
Otto appeared perplexed. "Isn't this expected? What is there to report?"
Zeke was a recognized genius in his eyes, while Cocolia hardly seemed significant. Wasn't it entirely normal for Zeke to effortlessly achieve his goals?
"But you should see this," Amber said, simultaneously sending a video to Otto's tablet screen.
The footage showed thousands of small hovering spheres, casting countless lasers, instantly disabling a Titan force within a blink of an eye.
Otto's pupils contracted, yet a smile emerged at the corners of his lips.
Having worked closely with Otto, Amber knew that although subtle, this smile was genuine, indicating true interest rather than feigned curiosity.
"You clever little fox! During our exchange yesterday, you acted as if facing numerous challenges, even appearing stuck at a bottleneck. Yet here you've quietly accomplished it—your so-called... Hive System." Otto applauded softly. Instead of anger, he felt increasingly impressed by Zeke's ability to develop under his watchful gaze.