"I have no objections."
Kevin replied calmly.
"Same here."
Welt said calmly and coldly from the side.
Welt had never wanted Otto to place the Hyperion in New Zealand. He believed Otto had ulterior motives for placing the Hyperion there for joint research by the three parties.
But in this world, Otto did hold the advantage.
Even in terms of combat power at this moment, they could easily destroy Schicksal's headquarters. Even with Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie present, Schicksal would be powerless.
But before they could destroy Schicksal's headquarters, this world would first be destroyed by Schicksal.
There was another point as well: those photos could not be allowed to spread.
Welt thought expressionlessly.
Kevin's thoughts were similar to Welt's. He didn't particularly care where the Hyperion was placed, as long as it could be used when needed.
However, he also hoped that before the arrival of that unknown enemy, the Moonlight Throne technology could be further developed, or better yet, that several more battleships equipped with it could be built.
Additionally, Kevin did not want the photos they had just seen to be seen by more people.
And he wanted to obtain those photos related to the Elysian Realm, the memories of everyone from that other world.
"..."
Otto remained silent.
The positions taken by the two beside him had put him at a disadvantage.
The gains he had secured in the previous round of negotiations, leveraging Schicksal's dominant position in this world, were now precarious.
He could still refuse Xia Qi.
But after a refusal, relations between Anti-Entropy, World Serpent, and even the Valkyries from the parallel world with him and Schicksal would become extremely strained. It wasn't worth it.
And Otto's gaze fell thoughtfully on the album in Xia Qi's arms.
He didn't care about his own cross-dressing photos, but he genuinely wanted to know whether, besides the photos of Kallen and himself he had just seen, there were others. More photos of him and Kallen.
More photos that had inexplicably managed to capture his childhood.
Had their parallel world counterparts already achieved the ability to travel through timelines and photograph the past?
What exactly had the other him done?
How had they been destroyed?
"I agree."
Otto nodded.
The tense, stifling atmosphere eased slightly.
"In that case."
Xia Qi handed the album to Otto.
Most of the photos in it were of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, Anti-Entropy, and Schicksal. They had nothing to do with everyone at St. Freya.
"Bronya will send the Hyperion's combat data and videos to you when the Hyperion returns to the Far East Branch. Future combat data will be synchronized with the shared database in real time during battles."
Xia Qi finished speaking calmly and watched as they opened the album, each taking their photos one by one. Some clutched them tightly, some summoned miniature pseudo-black holes in their hands to devour them, some froze them to dust with ice.
Otto, however, carefully collected every one of his embarrassing past photos, keeping them separate from the photos of him and Kallen or the solo photos of Kallen, and placed them in a different pocket.
Right there in the lounge, the three of them divided the eight-centimeter thick album among themselves.
Then came the question of the photo wall.
Otto looked at Kallen and Yae Sakura sitting beneath the cherry blossom tree, that brilliant smile on Kallen's face, and fell silent for a moment.
Finally, he couldn't help but laugh softly and shake his head slightly.
Watching the smile on his face, one that seemed self-deprecating but perhaps also held some other meaning, Xia Qi felt a touch of puzzlement.
Had he truly come to terms with Kallen loving Yae Sakura?
"Later, I hope you can send me some details about Kallen's daily life."
Otto looked at the images of Kallen in the photos and said calmly.
"Yes."
Xia Qi nodded, not refusing.
Welt and Kevin then made similar requests.
They were all deeply curious about the lives their loved ones had lived in that parallel world's future, and hoped to recreate the beautiful stories that had happened there within this one.
As for the photos affixed to the lounge walls or placed in frames around the room, none of them took those. After making copies of the ones they cared about, they all turned and left.
After they had gone, the lounge fell into a brief silence.
"So..."
Kiana was momentarily dazed, then asked: "We don't have to keep moving things out?"
"That's right, no need."
Xia Qi nodded, her expression still calm, but the corners of her mouth curved up almost imperceptibly, her expression softening considerably.
"Yes!"
Kiana immediately jumped for joy, an expression of pure delight on her face.
"That's wonderful... Bronya."
Seele stood beside Bronya, looking at Xia Qi, a happy smile also appearing on her own face.
"Then let's put everything back first!"
Raiden Mei said with a smile, and immediately led everyone in returning the items they had moved to their proper places.
Xia Qi helped as well.
However, she also fell into a brief silence.
The Captain.
What exactly was the story behind that photo album?
Were there really that many moments captured from the game's records?
After thinking it over briefly, Xia Qi couldn't figure it out.
Soon, after the lounge was tidied up again, Xia Qi looked at the room before her, her gaze somewhat distant.
Kiana and the others stood beside her, not disturbing her.
As they had packed up earlier, looking at the belongings already there and the empty spaces, their feelings had been deeply complicated.
This simple but warm and beautiful lounge held so many memories, yet of all the people who had once played and rested here, only one still stood here now.
Watching Xia Qi stare blankly at the lounge's interior, they hesitated.
"Bronya..."
Raiden Mei walked over and gently embraced her.
"In the future... we will always be by your side..."
"Yes!"
Kiana nodded, for once not jealous. Instead, she stepped quite seriously in front of Xia Qi, reached out and patted her own chest, and smiled with genuine frankness.
"In the future, this young lady will protect you! Don't look down on me just because I'm not that strong yet. The other me said she was incredible. One day I'll surpass her, and then I'll protect you!"
"What's Bronya's is yours."
Bronya looked at Xia Qi, speaking expressionlessly.
"In the future... everyone will be your family, Bronya..."
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