The next day, inside the Valkyrie dormitory.
"Today's breakfast includes a salmon mint salad and Darjeeling black tea. For sides, we have toast, tea biscuits, and fried dough sticks. Lord Elias, which would you prefer?"
"All of them."
"Hehe, no problem at all, my lord."
Rita smiled as she gracefully placed the prepared breakfast on a tray and brought it to Elias with one hand, while using the other to pour black tea into his cup.
Her delicate posture might have looked precarious, causing some to worry whether her slender arms could handle it, but Elias had no such concern. In matters like this, Rita was flawless and never made mistakes.
"Mm, delicious. As expected of you, Rita."
"Thank you for the compliment, Lord Elias. Miss Kiana, would you like breakfast as well?"
"I do~ But more than breakfast, I want to know how you're already up and about like nothing happened when Elias went through you just last night. Did you pop a cheat... Ow ow ow!"
Lying on the nearby couch, Kiana, her face still pale, groaned as she struggled uncomfortably.
She glanced at Rita, who looked composed and perfectly fine, baffled. After all, the maid's screams from the night before still echoed in her ears, yet today Rita acted like nothing had happened.
Was she forcing herself to endure it?
If so, then Kiana was deeply shocked!
"Well, I did use a little cheat method. After all, as a maid, no matter what happens, I can't let it affect my work the next day."
As she spoke, Rita placed one hand over her stomach. Even now, she still felt a bit... "stuffed."
Her eyes narrowed as she recalled last night, nearly drowning again in that painful yet blissful memory.
"A cheat? Don't tell me—!"
Kiana's eyes widened in astonishment. She saw a white flower blooming at Elias' fingertips.
In an instant, she understood: Rita had restored her stamina—and her "injuries"—through Elias' power as the Herrscher of Rebirth.
"He even comes with that kind of feature?!"
"Kiana, would you like one too?"
Elias conjured another exquisite white flower and floated it toward her. Even a single bloom wielded by the Herrscher of Rebirth carried power comparable to the Abyss Flower's base output.
As long as Kiana touched this flower, she would instantly return to her usual energetic self—the lively, overcharged gremlin she normally was. Not the shivering, aching mess she was now.
But Kiana shook her head and firmly declined.
"No, I want to stay like this a bit longer."
Burying her face into the couch pillow, she spoke stubbornly.
While Kiana wasn't particularly fond of pain—in fact, she was terrified of it, unable to even keep her eyes open during injections—this pain was different.
It was the lingering warmth of happiness.
Kiana wanted to savor it just a bit longer.
"You say that, but honestly, you just don't want to go to class and want a valid excuse to slack off, right?"
"Ehehe~"
"Ehe your head... Ah well, if you don't want to go, then don't. Just take it easy and rest today."
Elias gently reached out and patted Kiana, then Rita beside him. The bliss of last night still lingered, and the heat of that passion had yet to fully fade.
If not for the condition of their bodies, he might have indulged them all over again.
After the Fourth Eruption ended, everyone had returned to their usual daily lives. The now-weakened Otto had lost the ability to stir up further trouble, while St. Freya Academy continued its rapid ascent.
Though still technically just an academy, in terms of strength, this Far Eastern stronghold of Herrschers was now the most powerful organization in the current era.
Just as Elias planned to take it easy for a while and indulge himself in gentle comforts—
"Eliasssssssssssss—!!"
A Raven flew in through the window.
Elias instinctively flinched and, in a reflexive [Shamash Assault] stance, swung the fried dough stick in his hand, smack—it landed squarely on Natasha's tear-streaked face.
"Uh, Nata? What's wrong with you?"
He quickly helped her up and grabbed a napkin to wipe the tears from her face.
At the same time, his heart was filled with shock and concern—he had never seen Raven in such a fragile, heartbroken state before.
"It's gone. Gone. Everything's gone..."
Raven gripped Elias' shoulders, burying her face in his chest, looking utterly devastated.
"Uh... what's gone?"
"My villa island! My precious villa island!!"
Raven screamed hysterically.
"Ah... that..."
Those four words instantly clued Elias in.
"Waaaaah!! It was just finished being renovated the day before yesterday! I haven't even spent a night there, and now it's already gone, sunk into the sea! Uwaaaah! This is too cruel, too heartless! My villa island, my beautiful villa island—!!"
Raven wailed uncontrollably.
Elias didn't even know how to comfort her, only able to sigh inwardly at the power of fate. So the Island-Booming Raven was finally born after all.
I mean, I did try to warn you multiple times, Raven. But you were dead set on buying that villa island. And now look—exactly what I said would happen did. Truly tragic.
"What exactly happened? Why did your villa island suddenly sink? The Herrscher of the Void didn't fire anything suspicious in that direction yesterday."
"We're still not sure. All I know is that when the island sank, the sensors showed an ultra-high concentration of Honkai energy at the scene. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Curse this Honkai nonsense!"
Through gritted teeth, Raven cursed and sobbed at the same time—like a child mourning something precious taken from her. And finally, she cried out the most iconic line of all:
"I swear, no matter the cost, humanity will defeat the Honkai!!"
"Anyway, take a moment to calm down for now."
Witnessing this legendary scene, Elias couldn't help but feel his spirits roused a little too.
Seeing the devastated, rage-filled, ready-to-die-fighting look on the Island-Booming Raven's face, he figured the time was right to present her reward.
Whether as consolation, a reunion gift, or thanks for her help defeating Otto yesterday—
"Don't cry, Nata. It's just a villa island, right? I'll give you a new one."
"Eh? Y-You what?"
"Give me a second. Let me check the bedroom—I think I stored it somewhere... tch, after everything that's happened I must've forgotten. Might take a bit to find."
"Lord Elias, if you mean that, it's in the third drawer beneath your bookshelf."
Rita spoke up. As the professional maid who regularly cleaned Elias' room, she had already memorized the placement of every item he owned.
"Really? Thanks, Rita."
Elias gave his maid a thumbs-up. Having a Super High School-Level Maid was truly convenient in every sense.
Half a minute later, Elias returned holding a document—and shoved it into Raven's arms.
"Here you go, Nata. This is for you."
"This is—?!"
Raven blinked in surprise. Looking down, she realized in shock that it was a property ownership contract for an island.
Not only that, it already had a luxury villa built on it. The island itself was significantly larger than the one she had originally purchased.
This was one of the rewards Elias had received during his second time-travel. Until now, it had just been gathering dust in a corner. He had always intended to give it to Raven when they reunited.
"So? Do you like it?"
"Uwahhh, thank you, thank you Elias! I love it so much! A villa island—I have a villa island again!"
Moved to tears, Raven clutched the contract tightly to her chest, as if afraid someone would snatch it away.
Elias breathed a quiet sigh of relief, silently thinking: As expected of myself—once again, I've prevented a tragedy.
"Don't worry, Nata. Later I'll go over and set up some defensive equipment on the island. I guarantee, even a Honkai Fissile Bomb won't be able to sink it."
"Mhm! Thanks, I'll be counting on you, Elias."
Raven wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, deeply touched.
That feeling of losing something only to regain it—it was like riding a roller coaster. Just a moment ago, she was in hell. Now, she felt like she had been reborn in heaven.
Raven looked up at Elias—the boy before her had pulled her back from the brink of despair.
In that moment, her heart began to race uncontrollably, and she gazed at Elias with deep, infatuated eyes.
Just as Raven gathered the courage to turn her emotions into words—
Beep beep! Beep beep!
A bothersome chime came from her communicator.
Raven glanced at the message on her terminal. Her expression suddenly turned sharp.
"Hm? Did you finally find the culprit?!"
"Nata, what is it?"
"Oh, it's from a high-ranking officer in America that I bribed using my World Serpent connections. He just sent over the satellite footage of my villa island getting taken out yesterday."
Even though she now had a bigger and better villa island, Raven was not letting this go—vengeance must be served!
Elias, Kiana, and Rita curiously leaned in to watch the video on Raven's terminal.
The footage showed a scenic, peaceful villa island. At precisely 4:23 PM, it was suddenly struck by an unidentified missile.
In the next second, amid a massive fireball and cloud of smoke, the villa island was launched into the air. After briefly blocking out the sun, it plunged into the sea and began to sink.
"Why does that missile look so familiar?"
"If I remember correctly, that looks like..."
"A Honkai Fissile Bomb... from Schicksal?"
Raven, Rita, and Kiana slowly turned to look at Elias, who was now completely frozen in place.
"..." x4
They weren't exactly new to this. The missile's distinct purple Honkai glow was unmistakably from Schicksal's Honkai Fissile Bombs—ones they had all seen with their own eyes yesterday.
And they all knew.
Yesterday, when Dog—er, Otto—fired three Honkai Fissile Bombs, Elias had used the authority of the Herrscher of Wind to blow them right back. Two of them had struck Schicksal's own warships in poetic retribution.
But the third had gone who-knows-where.
And now they knew.
Elias: "Oh. Shit"
Raven: "So it was YOU?!"
Natasha trembled with outrage, her expression complex as she stared at Elias. She never imagined the culprit behind her villa island's destruction had been right beside her all along.
Looking down at the contract in her arms, Raven placed it carefully into a protective case, and then—
"Elias. Prepare yourself for repentance."
"Uh, okay, but hear me out—it wasn't on purpose! And really, you should be blaming Otto in the end—he's the one who launched the Honkai Fissile Bombs. I was just defending myself. How was I supposed to know it would happen to land on your villa island?!"
Elias quickly tried to defend himself. It was just self-defense—who could've guessed it would land on Raven's villa island? This was clearly the choice of Steins;Gate!
"Yeah, I know, I understand... But still—let me kill you once anyway!!"
Raven raised her claws, ready to claw Elias down.
"People die when they're killed! And Nata, I did give you a bigger, better island—show some mercy!"
"Mercy, my foot! If I don't avenge my lost villa island today, then I'm not Raven anymore!"
"Then I'm out!"
Elias bolted without hesitation. Repent? Repent what, exactly? He was clearly not guilty! Besides, Raven had already pulled out the Seven Thunders of Retribution!
"Don't run, Elias! Just let me shoot you once!"
Raven's eyes burned with fury. Of course she knew Elias had a legitimate reason.
And yes, she was incredibly grateful for the new island.
But justice was justice!
This debt had to be paid—today!
Of course, Otto wouldn't get away with it either. That bastard would pay in due time. Anyone who dared harm her villa island would face the wrath of Island-Booming Raven!
But in the blink of an eye, Elias was gone.
Using the Herrscher of Wind's power, he spread his wings and vanished into the clouds to escape Raven's fiery pursuit.
"Sigh~ What even was that just now?"
Floating amidst blue skies and white clouds, Elias shook his head with a helpless smile.
"Judging from Raven's current mood, who knows how long it'll take for her to cool off. Am I seriously gonna have to hide until then? Emmmm... Whatever. I was getting bored anyway. Might as well tackle a challenge."
Elias decided to escape reality through time-travel. With a wave of his hand, the system activated, summoning a massive storybook symbolizing the Previous Era. Opening its cover would let him enter.
Elias: "Looks like it's time for a new journey."
[Evaluating host's power level as meeting this scenario's difficulty threshold. Assigning auxiliary perks for this time-travel instance.]
[Rewinder EX: You may repeat this scenario as many times as needed to achieve your perfect ending. Infinite restarts!]
[Eternal Heart A: Time can no longer affect you. Even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, your soul will never wear out or age. You are the eternal 18-year-old boy!]
[Miracle ???: You are capable of triggering miracles.]
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