Chapter 7: The Meeting

"By now, the Board should've received the report," Selene muttered.

Lounging in her student dorm, she turned on the TV, casually watching Academy City news while mentally planning for her meeting with Aleister. What conditions should she bring up?

Suddenly, her brow furrowed.

Spatial awareness picked up a hidden life signal.

She instantly activated spatial lockdown, covering her entire 500-square-meter suite. Her eyes narrowed. "Come out yourself, or I'll find and crush you."

"W-Wait, please wait!" came a flustered voice from the balcony.

A beautiful girl around fifteen stepped into view.

She had bright crimson hair tied in twin tails behind her head, wore a winter uniform cloak with only a soft pink band across her chest, and a very short mini skirt—an outfit seemingly designed to invite trouble.

Her expression was tense, on the verge of tears.

"So this is the First? Such keen perception... The gap is insane."

She had just arrived and done nothing, yet was instantly discovered, and her Coordinate Movement ability was already nullified by a massive spatial lockdown.

Selene eyed the nervous, sweat-soaked girl. Based on her distinctive and revealing outfit, she immediately recognized her:

Awaki Musujime, Lv.4 Coordinate Movement Esper, Aleister's appointed guide.

Her ability allows her to teleport objects without touching them. Max weight: 4520 kg. Max distance: over 800 meters.

However, after a failed calculation left her stuck inside a wall, she developed trauma—unable to move objects over a ton without risk of failure. She also needed reference points, requiring three seconds per teleport.

Despite her flaws, she had the potential to become a Level 5.

"Someone wants to see you, 'Will of Honkai'," Awaki said as sincerely as she could. After reading yesterday's report, she dared not be careless before this overwhelmingly powerful Esper.

"Someone wants to meet me?" Selene muttered aloud, keeping her expression flat, though internally she was thrilled. "Finally."

She had baited the Board with her Honkai energy display, nudging Aleister into making the first move.

"Let's go," Selene said coolly, deactivating her spatial lockdown.

Normally, Awaki wouldn't be able to teleport another Lv.4 spatial Esper, let alone a Lv.5. Their AIM diffusion fields were simply too strong. If the target used their ability, teleportation would fail.

But Selene was different. Her AIM field could be consciously controlled—active or passive. Her spatial ability had no same-type interference. Whether another spatial Esper could move her depended entirely on whether she allowed it.

A developer once aptly described her power: "Double Standards."

After Selene lowered her barriers, Awaki took three seconds to calculate and waved her hand. Selene instantly vanished, transported into the Windowless Building.

The lighting dimmed drastically. The massive chamber had no fixtures, only the glow of star-like monitors.

Thousands of devices filled the room, their tubes and cables like arteries spreading across the floor and walls, all converging at the center—the room's main light source.

A huge cylindrical life-support chamber stood there, ten meters tall, four meters in diameter. Inside floated a silver-haired human, upside down, in green surgical robes. His expressionless eyes stared back at her.

A mechanical voice echoed around the room.

"First-timers who come here usually react with fear, confusion, awe... But you show none of these emotions. Instead, you're simply curious about how I live."

Selene didn't answer right away. She walked calmly up to the chamber and asked, "So, Chairman, what exactly did you summon me for? Don't tell me it was just for a chat."

As expected, the legendary figure before her fit the description perfectly: "Like a man and a woman, an adult and a child, a saint and a sinner."

Staring at the inverted figure before her, Selene remained alert, but without fear. Perhaps it was the confidence instilled by her Herrscher of the Void powers and Honkai energy—or maybe her personality had been subtly influenced by Sirin. Whatever the reason, there was no trace of terror.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Selene got straight to the point.

Aleister didn't mind her attitude. His voice was calm and emotionless. "You've been invited here for clarification. Selene, I doubt I need to explain what you injected into the Third."

Selene's thoughts stirred. She paused, then replied, "What you're referring to must be the imaginary energy I extracted from the Endless Space—Imaginary Space. I've named it Honkai Energy."

"Honkai Energy, I see. No wonder your codename is 'Will of Honkai.'"

"It seems the Director has already begun researching its properties."

"Indeed. The future potential of Honkai Energy is impossible to ignore."

"So, what would you like me to do, Director?" Selene asked with feigned confusion, tilting her head cutely.

Aleister saw right through the poor acting. She clearly wanted to negotiate. "State your terms. I want you to supply Honkai Energy for Academy City's research."

Selene dropped the act. "Alright. I agree—but on three conditions. One: I want eligibility to join the Board of Directors. Two: I want my own dedicated research institute. Three: I want Academy City to stop involving me in unnecessary incidents."

Each condition was carefully calculated.

First, Academy City wasn't run by politicians, but by capitalist directors overseeing every aspect—economy, weapons, infrastructure, schools, research, etc. They enjoyed noble-like privileges and massive benefits. Selene's request was both a return favor to the Habsburgs and a necessary step to fund her future research.

Second, having her own research institute would help her refine her abilities, eliminate weaknesses, and establish a personal faction.

Third, she was clarifying her stance: not interfering, not supporting, not opposing.

Aleister fell silent for a moment. Then, with subtle meaning in his tone, said, "Conditions two and three are no issue. As for the first, I can grant you eligibility. But there are only twelve seats on the Board—earning one will be up to you."

Although he hadn't promised the first condition outright, Selene was satisfied. She'd expected to secure at most two.

"Very well. What amount of Honkai Energy should I supply?"

"How much can you currently extract per month?"

Selene mentally noted to downplay it. She raised her hands, summoning red particles into a floating cube, ten centimeters in diameter. "About this much per month."

"Then that will be your monthly quota."

"I have no problem with that."

"Then our meeting is over. You may leave." Aleister's eyes closed as if drifting into sleep.

"Thank you, Director Aleister. Just a reminder—Honkai-enhanced biological strengthening has severe side effects..." And with that, Selene vanished.

Silence.

In the darkness, Aleister's eyes reopened. "It seems you and I are the same, Selene."

His ultimate goal was to use the Imaginary District to construct a new [realm] that existed outside the frameworks of Kabbalah, Buddhism, Christianity, Shinto, or Hinduism—an [Artificial Heaven].

Once complete, it would erase all magic. Magicians would explode upon using spells, and sanctuaries built on magical forces would collapse. The same would happen across every religion, effectively ending magic worldwide.

Selene's powers, however, didn't belong to the realm of magic. She had no magical aura and no affiliations. There was no conflict of interest—if anything, they had many similarities. She could be recruited.

If she were hostile, even Aleister would find her difficult to deal with. That's why he accepted her terms so readily.

His eyes drifted to the ominously glowing red cube Selene left behind. "Inform them: in the name of advancing the First's power, prepare a dedicated research facility..."

...

Truthfully, Selene didn't bear much hostility toward Aleister.

He might seem emotionless, but his feelings were perhaps deeper than anyone's. After all, it was his grief over his daughter's death that made him sever ties with the Magic Gods, giving up his status as magic-side leader. Such a choice required extraordinary emotion.

Back in her dorm, Selene couldn't help but sigh.

"What's gotten into me? I should be acting cautiously... Why do I feel like I'm getting a little too full of myself?"