Honkai: Fire Moth Herrschers

After finally managing to pull Pardofelis off the floor, Mikael returned to the head of the long table, looking at the eight individuals before him… no, seven. Rin wasn't officially part of the organization, just family.

Well, actually, it was still eight. Elysia dialed Eden's number and put the call on speakerphone. Though successfully swayed by Ellie's persuasion and happy to contribute funds, Eden, being a major star, couldn't attend in person. This was her way of participating.

"Ahem!"

Mikael cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention, and then began the first official meeting of Anti-Entropy.

"I won't waste time on pleasantries. The main reason I've gathered everyone is for the core members of Anti-Entropy to get to know each other. That's the first thing."

"Ahh… so, besides us, there are other peripheral members?"

Elysia blinked playfully.

"Ahem! Well… about that… no."

He lightly nudged Ellie's foot, signaling her to stop interrupting, then steered the conversation back on track.

"The second thing is, many of you still don't fully understand the Honkai or me, so I need to do some explaining."

"So, let's start with introductions!"

Mikael turned to Elysia. Clearly, he didn't want to introduce himself, or rather, his introduction would be better suited for the second part of the meeting.

"Hi! I'm Ellie! As you can see, I'm a lovely girl, as radiant as a blooming flower! Please take care of me in the days to come… oh, and don't forget to take care of Mikael, or he'll… mmmpphh!"

Mikael released his hand from Ellie's mouth. "Alright, there was a slight technical difficulty. Let me introduce everyone."

He skipped Elysia entirely, pointing to the woman with green hair covering her face.

"Dr. Mobius, I believe you've all heard of her, more or less. She's currently in charge of our organization's biological research. As for the specifics… Mobius? Mobius?"

"Mmm… zzz… mmm… zzz…"

"…Next is Vill-V, designer and creator of this Golden Courtyard. To be precise, this was originally her territory. She single-handedly declared war on Schicksal, and I captured her in the basement here. Well, she's a jack-of-all-trades, so if you need anything, just go to her. If she doesn't know how to do it, just have her learn on the spot!"

"…"

"This is Pardofelis. If you've lost something important, she's your girl…"

"Hey! Boss Mikael! How could you…"

"…But you have to be prepared to compensate her. Canned food, biscuits, preferably shiny things. She's not picky."

"Ehehehe! Of course! Of course! I always believe in fair trade!"

"Pardofelis, less talk…"

"…"

"This is Hua. She specializes in Shenzhou's ancient martial arts… uh… be mindful during meals. Don't let her just gnaw on steamed buns."

Hua, who had been resting her head on her hand, looked up blankly when she heard her name.

Clatter!

The pen she had been absently twirling fell on the table. Embarrassed, she quickly picked it up.

"This is Kalpas. He's shy, so he generally doesn't speak. Of course, even if he does, it's usually hard to understand, so Ellie and I each wrote a manual to help you better comprehend what he's trying to say."

Hua glanced at the two manuals in front of her. One was titled, From 'Scram' to 'Scram'—Decoding Kalpas's True Intentions, authored by: Herrscher of Dominance.

The other was 100 Questions About Kalpas's Mask: From Novice to Expert, authored by: The Girl as Radiant as Flying Flowers.

"But, given that I've spent more time with Kalpas, I personally believe my version is more accurate. Ellie's… many of her claims completely contradict reality… so I strongly recommend you purchase mine."

"Wait! Purchase?"

Vill-V cocked her head, then roughly flipped open the manual. Other than the title page… all the other pages were blank.

"Yes, that's right. One manual costs one day of cleaning duty."

Mikael smiled smugly.

"So, Elysia, don't you have anything to say about this?"

"Hmm? I always bribe Phyllis with candy to do my chores, so I don't care!"

"…So, what's the bribe?" Mikael leaned in and whispered.

"Five apple candies per cleaning."

"…Phyllis…"

"Yes, Boss Mikael?"

"Come to me directly for candy from now on. Clean for me once, and I'll give you ten!"

"…"

"And this one," Mikael gestured toward the phone on Elysia's desk.

"Hello, hello! Eden, are you still there?"

"Ah… of course. You all are… more lively than I imagined. As expected of Ellie's friends."

"…" Mikael had a bad feeling about this. He seemed to have given Eden a strange impression.

"Ahem! Eden is our organization's sugar… mommy! It's thanks to her generous contributions that Vill-V was able to complete the initial construction of the Second Divine Key before the arrival of the Fourth Honkai. Let's give Eden a round of applause!"

Before anyone could clap, Mikael quickly pressed a button on the phone's screen, and pre-recorded applause filled the meeting room.

"Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap…"

"Okay, okay, everyone's very enthusiastic… Okay, stop, stop. Hey, why are you all still clapping… Sigh… Eden, you see, they're just too enthusiastic!"

"…"

"Alright, introductions are over… uh, wait, sorry Sakura. Almost forgot you again…"

…

"So, Dr. Mei, you still maintain that, between the Herrscher core and Kevin, Kevin was the more valuable asset?"

"Yes, I still maintain that."

The judge sighed, then continued, "Are you certain your judgment wasn't clouded by personal feelings? After all, we all know your relationship with Kevin isn't exactly platonic."

"I admit that. A large part of the reason I chose Kevin without hesitation was due to personal feelings. However, I must point out that, even from a purely rational perspective, I still believe Kevin is more valuable than a Herrscher core."

"Oh? Then please present your rational analysis."

This time, Mei sighed, subtly glancing at Lucien, who sat smugly in the gallery. The corners of her lips curled upwards slightly.

"Well… I've already submitted the relevant data to the Chief of Staff."

This was just an internal military tribunal. Not many people were present, but everyone held the rank of Unit Leader or higher. As Mei's words fell, all eyes turned to Lucien.

Lucien's face stiffened.

"What a clever move…"

Mei's ploy was transparent to him, so much so that he could see through it without even thinking. She was mitigating the reputation she'd gained from the Fourth Honkai incident.

It was common knowledge that Schicksal's armed forces, especially the rapid reaction units, weren't fond of Lucien. Of course, they weren't fond of Vashak either, but given Vashak's background, they still favored him slightly.

That balance had been disrupted during the Fourth Honkai.

Vashak's poor performance had lost him the support of the troops, while Mei, stepping up to the plate, had won their favor.

But Mei was now distancing herself from that goodwill by showcasing her potential close relationship with Lucien. Why?

As expected, no one was a fool…

According to Lucien's plan, he would push Mei to gradually replace Vashak. As the beneficiary, Mei should have readily accepted—he was confident no one could resist such a temptation.

But Mei could.

"Once I replace Vashak, but lack his connections, resources, and especially a private armed force like the Poison Pups, wouldn't I just become your puppet, Lucien?"

However, the "data" she'd mentioned was real.

"Mobius, you really left me a big present…"

Well, let her have her way. It wasn't a loss.

"Indeed, I can confirm that. However, due to the classified nature of the data, I can't disclose it here."

Lucien stood up, placing a hand over his chest, and offered a sincere explanation.

Seeing this, the judge, who was Lucien's subordinate anyway, didn't press the issue, moving on to the next topic.

"Dr. Mei, your actions during the battle directly resulted in the loss of 387 aircraft and their pilots, as well as the Chasing Flames Three…"

"Cough, cough!" Lucien coughed loudly, turning to Himeko, whose head was still bandaged.

"Captain Himeko, regarding this point, I believe your opinion as a firsthand witness is most crucial. Tell me, were Dr. Mei's arrangements flawed?"

"Although… hmph… I personally believe Dr. Mei made the most appropriate judgments and arrangements under the circumstances."

"Indeed, I agree." Ato stood up.

Karabis had been reluctant to speak, but his younger sister pulled him to his feet.

"We agree as well."

Lucien spread his hands, seemingly prompting the judge, but Mei also understood his unspoken message:

"You see, you tried to reject their goodwill, but you underestimated yourself."

I'm trying to write a dual narrative, so that the developments on Mei's side aren't too abrupt, but I'm not very good at it. Are there any readers who can give me some pointers…