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Chapter 289 – The Herrscher of Rice’s Dignity
🕑 Added 2025-08-30 15:29:10 +0000 UTC“...A boy?”
Cecilia’s expression froze, her face blank with disbelief.
“Huh? Mom, you didn’t know?” True Kiana clung affectionately to Cecilia’s arm, tilting her head in confusion.
But hadn’t Mom just explained to them earlier all the things Nagami had done during the Second Eruption? From that alone, it was clear she had met him more than once.
So… why didn’t she know?
“Nagami-chan… is a boy!?”
Cecilia’s mind flashed back to the soft, warm green-haired girl she had held in her arms.
Her expression instantly twisted into horror. No way…!
Did that mean, underneath…?
“That girl earlier was a Nagami, but not the real Nagami,” True Kiana quickly clarified when she saw her mother’s increasingly suspicious look.
“...Eh?”
The panic in Cecilia’s eyes gradually shifted into confusion.
She understood each word individually, but put together, the sentence made no sense at all.
Meeting that bewildered gaze, True Kiana hesitated for a moment, then began to explain.
“It’s kind of like how Sirin and Kiana share one body—but reversed. Nagami is one person with two bodies. C.C. is just one of them.”
The heiress Kiana gestured toward the little “paramecium,” smiling as she spoke.
As a parallel self, she naturally knew why True Kiana was hesitating: because it felt wrong to casually expose Nagami’s secret.
But she had already checked with him through the chat group and his response was that it was fine.
After all, if even Otto knew about it, could it really be called a secret anymore?
To those close to him, there was simply no need to hide it.
Nagami hadn’t meant to keep it from his “mother-in-law.”
It was just that when C.C. tried to explain, Cecilia had been hugging her rather… closely.
Both of them could very much feel the softness pressing between them.
Trying to clarify in that situation would have been unbearably awkward.
As for Mei, Nagami hadn’t planned to hide it from her either—he’d simply gotten tired of repeating the whole “one soul, two bodies” explanation over and over.
He figured the paramecium, as Mei’s best friend, would blurt it out sooner or later anyway.
But he still didn’t really grasp what “best friend” meant.
Even if Kiana was an airhead, once she realized Mei was a high-threat “rival,” if she still passed on such dangerous intel… well, then she truly would earn her “paramecium” nickname forever.
Besides, it wasn’t just about blocking Mei from trying to romance C.C.—more importantly, it was about ensuring Mei’s orientation stayed on track.
That’s what a true best friend should do!
“I see…”
Cecilia nodded slowly, her expression turning awkward as she recalled the look on C.C.’s face back then—like she had wanted to explain but couldn’t.
No wonder Nagami hadn’t said anything.
Still, the embarrassment didn’t last long.
“Oi! I’ll leave this thing to you guys!”
A strange yet familiar voice rang out.
From high above, a humanoid figure came tumbling down, crashing hard into the ground, bouncing and rolling several times before finally stopping right in front of Cecilia.
“Dad said you’re free to beat him up however you like!”
Otto lay there with an utterly calm, unreadable expression.
After glancing lightly at Cecilia, he rolled onto his side, found a comfortable position, and sprawled out as if bracing himself for a thrashing.
“Otto…!?”
The name slipped from Cecilia’s lips in a whisper.
Her blue eyes widened as she glanced at the silver-haired girl waving her hand casually, back turned toward her.
In Cecilia’s memory, Otto had always been the picture of control: lounging with a glass of fine red wine in one hand, crossing his legs as he gave out commands with absolute confidence, the kind of man who seemed to have the entire world within his grasp.
To see him now thrown to the ground, disheveled and humiliated—was a first.
Her heart swelled mostly with relief and joy… but there was also a flicker of doubt.
No matter what else he was, Otto was still the Overseer of Schicksal.
How could he end up beaten down like this?
“That girl just now… who was she?” Cecilia tilted her head toward the Kianas. “And that ‘dad’ she mentioned was…?”
“She’s this era’s Herrscher of Sentience. As for the ‘dad’ she was talking about… that’s Nagami.”
Scratching her cheek with an awkward smile, Kiana—the one most familiar with the fight against the Herrscher of Domination thanks to her resonance with Nagami—explained carefully.
“A Herrscher?! Nagami?!”
“Mom, I’ll explain everything to you after this.” Kiana’s eyes narrowed, her azure right eye glowing gold like molten magma. “Right now, we’ve got something more important to deal with!”
“Sirin’s right.”
Her pale fist clenched, bones cracking audibly, and a cold smile tugged at True Kiana’s lips.
In that instant, the previously elegant and distinct white-haired girls suddenly resembled a gang of Italian thugs.
They closed in on Otto who was lying flat on the ground—before laying into him with a storm of fists and kicks.
———————————————————————
Crisis averted! The perfect resolution of a messy situation—proof, once again, that I’m just that good.
Hand in hand with Yuzuriha, C.C. led her through Hyperion, introducing every corner with a gentle smile.
But as they turned a corner, a familiar silhouette caught their eyes.
Mei.
She stood there, scanning her surroundings as if searching for something.
C.C.’s smile froze for a fraction of a second.
She had dealt with the white-haired gang, but she had forgotten about this one…
“C.C., have you seen Nagami?” Mei asked softly, tapping her chin with a slender finger. “He was here just a moment ago, but suddenly… he’s gone.”
Yuzuriha blinked, her wine-red eyes settling on C.C., watching her intently with quiet suspicion.
“…He might’ve gone that way.” C.C. pointed in the opposite direction without missing a beat, while her other hand gave Yuzuriha’s a gentle squeeze a silent signal not to say a word.
For Nagami, the “time drain” didn’t cost him much and left him without weakness.
But he held to a principle: only the things you pay a price for are worth cherishing.
And right now, he was thoroughly enjoying the devoted service of Maid-san.
The scene wasn’t that explicit certainly nothing 18+—but for the pure-hearted Mei, even the suggestion would be far too much to bear.
If the Third Herrscher lost control here on Hyperion… the ship wouldn’t last long.
Lightning and high-tech metal weren’t exactly a friendly pairing.
“Alright, thank you~” Mei smiled, bowing her head ever so slightly.
Her warm, gentle presence was pure Yamato Nadeshiko as she turned to leave in the direction C.C. had pointed.
…Yes. If the dual-body thing stayed a secret, it would make handling situations like this far easier.
“Oh, Mei—by the way, when I saw Nagami just now, he mentioned being hungry. I don’t think it’ll be long before he comes looking for you.”
Better to guide her into the kitchen than let her wander aimlessly across Hyperion.
“Really?” Mei’s eyes sparkled with delight.
Her smile bloomed even brighter, before she suddenly clapped her hands as if remembering something.
“That’s right! To celebrate Kiana’s reunion with her family, tonight’s dinner should be a real feast!”
“Do you need help? With Rita away from Hyperion, will you be alright on your own?” C.C. asked sweetly.
“No problem! Leave it to me!”
Placing a delicate hand over her chest, Mei’s aura suddenly sharpened with confidence.
The kitchen was her battlefield. Rita might have earned a pass thanks to her maid status, but anyone else? Absolutely not.
This was the dignity of the Herrscher of Rice!
