Inside the university lecture hall.
"...?"
Hiko, who was staring blankly at the large blackboard, felt a gentle poke on her soft cheek from her friend beside her.
"Are you staring at Professor Welt?" her friend, who looked far more mature than Hiko, leaned in and whispered into her ear.
"Ah!?" Hiko yelped. "N-No, of course not. I was just looking at the blackboard!"
She grabbed the textbook on her desk and, with lightning speed, hid her slightly flushed cheeks behind it.
"But your face is as red as a tomato."
"If you ask , while Professor Welt is handso and has a great figure, he's a bit too rigid—I guess that 'mature and steady' act is how he beca an associate professor at his age, but for us, he's lacking a little sothing..."
With a teasing smile, her friend nudged Hiko's shoulder with her elbow.
"Are all you Easterners into this type?"
"..."
At her friend's wild assumption, Hiko buried her entire face in the textbook.
"Mmph."
"I told you, you've got it all wrong!"
"Professor Welt and I just share a common hobby."
"Here!"
Without looking up, Hiko passed a folder to her friend.
"This is the proof. We promised to observe Asteroid 439 together."
Her friend took the folder.
"Stargazing together... how romantic, and it fits our major perfectly."
"..."
"I said, it's observing an asteroid, not stargazing... Okay, fine, I guess there isn't much of a difference."
"Let's not talk about that."
The two of them built a small fortress by propping their textbooks up together.
"Don't you think the professor seems a little different today?"
"Different... Hiko, you really were staring at Professor Welt just now, weren't you?"
"..."
Hiko imdiately counterattacked with her elbow.
"I'm being serious."
She propped her cheek up with a light fist, creating a cute dimple.
"It's like, hmm, his lectures aren't as stern as they used to be, but his presence feels much stronger."
"Eh?"
"I wasn't observing him as closely as you were."
"But if we're talking about changes, I feel like Professor Welt's lecture today was easier to understand... and he vaguely ntioned a lot of insightful knowledge I've never heard before."
"Ah, that I—"
Ring, ring, ring.
Before Hiko could finish, the bell signaling the end of class echoed across the campus.
"I'm heading out first."
"I still need to give this observation plan to the professor."
Hurriedly grabbing her backpack, Hiko got up and jogged towards the aisle between the seats.
"I know, I know. Go on, hurry up."
Watching Hiko's back disappear through the classroom door, her friend neatly straightened the papers in her hand.
"...Ah, youth."
"Who would have thought that Hiko, who has rejected countless people, would have a day like this."
---o---
In an alley not far from the garden.
Hiko finally managed to stop Professor Welt just as he was about to enter his office. It was already dusk, and there were far fewer students around than usual.
"Professor Welt!" Hiko called out, slightly out of breath as she leaned over with her hands on her knees.
"This is..."
She handed a slightly crumpled stack of papers to Welt.
"You rember what we talked about before, observing Asteroid 439 together, right?"
"This is the observation plan I made. Please take a look!"
"..."
As Welt casually took the papers, Hiko looked up and continued speaking to him. Although she was quite tall, she still seed rather petite standing in front of him.
"This is the most suitable observation location."
"Next Friday at 8 PM is the best ti to observe Asteroid 439."
"..."
"A very comprehensive plan," Welt said slowly.
Though his eyes were on the docunts Hiko had handed him, his attention was actually locked onto an "outsider" more than thirty ters away.
"Hiko."
Although both were students of "Welt," the Hiko before him was vastly different from the "old student" who had beco an "XX Incarnation."
"I will keep our promise."
"But before that—"
Welt turned around and addressed a man whose shadow was stretched long by the setting sun.
"Sir, you don't appear to be a student or a staff mber of the university."
"If you wish to take pictures here, please state your intentions and show your permit."
Welt recited the lines from his "script" calmly.
"Ah, my apologies."
The middle-aged man lowered his cara.
"I was hoping to sneak a picture of my daughter as a nto. I didn't realize there was such a rule. I hope I didn't interrupt your da—"
"Dad!?"
"What are you doing here!?"
Hiko's voice suddenly shot up several decibels.
"Haha."
"I happen to be on vacation these few days, so I thought I'd co and give you a surprise. I didn't expect you to be the one to give a surpri—"
"You've got it all wrong!" Hiko quickly cut Murata Ryusuke off.
"This is Professor Welt, who teaches astronautics. We were just discussing club activities."
"Professor Welt."
"This is my father, Murata Ryusuke. He's also a physicist, currently working at a research institute in Europe."
"..."
"It's a pleasure to et you, Professor," Murata Ryusuke said with his usual, slightly weary smile.
"Likewise, it's a pleasure to et you, Mr. Murata."
"By the way, Hiko," Murata Ryusuke said before Welt could speak again.
"Are you free right now? I was hoping you could show around campus. I've heard that Arican university labs have a lot of advanced equipnt."
As he spoke, he pulled a card with a special insignia from his pocket.
"I've already obtained permission from the university."
"Right now?" Hiko hesitated.
"I was just about to take Professor Welt to pick out a suitable telescope."
"It's alright, Miss Hiko," Welt said, handing the observation plan back to her.
"Mr. Murata has co from far away. You should spend today with your father. We still have so ti before next Friday. The telescope can wait until you're free."
"..."
"I'm sorry, Professor Welt."
Taking the docunts, Hiko pressed her hands together and bowed deeply to Welt.
"Then let's schedule another ti tomorrow!"
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the figures of the father and daughter gradually receded into the distance.
"Murata Ryusuke."
"The 'Contractor' of the Shoggoths?"
The alien race known as the Shoggoths was a civilization that scurried between different worlds to "evade" the Sky People.
They were technologically advanced and not weak in combat, but they didn't excel at it. In other words, even if they could defeat the reconnaissance units of the Sky People, or even had the ability to track them back to their ho planet, they wouldn't dare to fight back... after all, the Sky People were backed by the Antimatter Legion.
In fact, many civilizations in the universe had lost the courage to even confront them.
A higher civilization might be able to annihilate the Sky People, but they couldn't guarantee that information about themselves wouldn't be leaked to the Antimatter Legion.
The Shoggoths, who didn't quite qualify as a higher civilization, were one such case.
After their ho world was destroyed by the Sky People, the Shoggoths, who had been wandering through the universe, had finally found a new temporary ho: Earth.
On a side note.
The Shoggoth civilization had an extrely small population. Their true forms were very Lovecraftian tentacled monsters. To facilitate hiding and conserve energy, they would transform themselves into grey furballs only about five centiters in diater. Having lost their ho world, obtaining and replenishing energy was quite difficult for them, so they spent most of their ti in this energy-saving form.
"To think that four different civilizations have appeared on such a small planet at the sa ti."
The figures of Hiko and her father had already vanished. The dusky sky was tinged with the last red halo of light, heralding the arrival of night.
"No wonder His Majesty the Emperor is interested."
Welt turned around, the hem of his brown coat flapping loudly in the fierce wind.
---o---
"Phew."
"We were almost discovered just now."
Smiling as he watched the cheerful Hiko skipping beside him, Murata Ryusuke heard the clear voice of the Shoggoth in his mind.
"Discovered?"
"That's right."
The Shoggoth, whose every physical sense was in a state of "invisibility," poked its head out of Murata Ryusuke's breast pocket.
"Although I have no proof."
"I just had a feeling that he glanced at ."
The Shoggoth spoke with lingering fear.
"Your race's sixth sense is rarely wrong."
"It's impossible for a human to be aware of your existence, yet that Professor Welt just now was able to sense sothing was off."
"According to Tianming's intelligence..."
"The First Herrscher."
The Shoggoth finished Murata Ryusuke's sentence.
"The emissary of Honkai... I never thought I'd et him in a place like this."
"..."
"Can we win?" Murata Ryusuke asked the Shoggoth while smiling and replying to Hiko's incessant chatter.
"It's hard to say."
The Shoggoth in his pocket was not arrogant—caution was ingrained in their civilization's bones.
"A one-on-one fight is definitely out of the question."
"But if we can borrow the power of the [Candy House]... he's still just a Herrscher, nowhere near as terrifying as the Sky People."
"..."
"Is that so."
After a fleeting, almost nonexistent mont of hesitation.
"Borrowing the [Candy House]..."
"As long as we can win, that's all that matters."
"?"
Just as a question mark popped into the Shoggoth's mind—
"Dad, are you even listening to ?"
"Ah, ah!"
"Yes, I'm listening. Where were we again?"
---o---
Anti-Entropy Headquarters, Conference Room 3.
"The analysis of the 'key' is complete."
Standing before the console, the cube in Tesla's hand had transford into a translucent, diamond-shaped crystal.
"Through the key, we can connect to the core computer of the Fourth Key of God."
"What should we do, Nest-head? Should we risk being discovered and hack in to take a look?"
The chair spun 180 degrees. Light brown leather boots landed softly, the sound completely absorbed by the carpet underfoot.
"Let's not be hasty."
"Wait for Dr. Murata—"
VMMM!!
Before Einstein could finish, the key in Tesla's hand suddenly let out a piercing alarm!
"Dr. Tesla, what did you do?"
"I-I haven't done anything yet..."
"Warning!"
"Warning!"
A red projection of the Earth automatically appeared in the center of Conference Room 3.
"This is..."
"A large-scale Honkai energy reaction has been detected from space. The Fourth Key of God has activated!"
At the sa ti.
A hurricane warning popped up directly on the tablet in Tesla's hand—target: the East Coast of North Arica, with Houston as the first point of contact.
---o---
"Cough, cough."
Under a plastic umbrella at a streetside table.
Murata Ryusuke didn't have ti to take a handkerchief from his breast pocket. The white gloves he hastily used to cover his mouth—he almost never took them off—were stained a dark crimson.
"Dad, sorry to keep you waiting!"
With the cheerful chi of a bell, Hiko walked out of the shop next to them.
"Oh, you're back."
Plop.
A hot dog, french fries, and a cola that had to have ice even in autumn.
"Tide yourself over with this for now."
"We don't have any ingredients at ho today. Tomorrow, I'll show you a few of my specialty dishes and let you see how much your daughter's cooking has improved!"
Rip.
While Hiko was tearing open a food wrapper, Murata Ryusuke quickly took off the glove under the table and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Ah—"
Just as Hiko opened her mouth wide, ready to take a big bite of the fully-loaded hot dog.
"...We interrupt this program with breaking news."
"A hurricane was just observed near Houston. teorologists predict that the hurricane is very likely to strike other cities on the East Coast in the near future. Residents in coastal areas are advised to prepare for evacuation."
"I repeat..."
Buzz.
Buzz.
Along with the news broadcast, the phone on the table began to vibrate annoyingly.
"Sorry, Hiko."
Murata Ryusuke stood up, scratching the back of his head.
"Dad just rembered, I think I made plans with a friend in Arica today—"
"Yeah, yeah."
Hiko didn't bother to hide her sigh.
"I know, you're always like this. It's about work again, isn't it?"
Putting down the paper cola cup beaded with condensation, Hiko looked up and waved at her father.
"Alright."
"Go on and get busy."
"But when you're done with work, you have to try my cooking before you leave, okay?"
"Don't worry, Hiko."
Murata Ryusuke didn't turn his head.
"Dad will be back soon... very soon."
---o---
At the sa ti, in an unknown region.
"Where is this..."
"Yo, you're awake, Professor 'Welt'?"
Welt Yang slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that ca into view was the corner of Hiko's mouth, curved into a smile that was both cute and alluring.
"Hi..."
As his vision gradually cleared, Welt Yang didn't rush to a conclusion. Or rather, he quickly made the correct one.
"No, you're not Hiko."
"..."
"Hmm~?"
The Hiko who had been leaning so close took two light hops backward, quickly increasing the distance between them.
"How an, Professor 'Welt'."
"I am Hiko."
A distinctly angled, silver-grey gem appeared in her hand.
"It's just that..."
The Herrscher Core. The Core of the First Herrscher—Welt Yang recognized what she was holding in an instant.
"I'm just not the Hiko you know~"
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