“In that case, we’ll talk more after I’ve finished acquiring that coal mine.”
Hearing Sienna’s suggestion, Cocolia felt inclined to give it a shot.
It sounded like a solid way to shave down her operational expenses.
Originally, her plan for the site was to keep the existing workforce on staff until the veins ran dry.
But if she could replace those human miners with Zombies and Honkai Beasts?
Well, that wouldn’t just solve her immediate budget woes—it would be a massive windfall for any future projects.
“The problem is, we don’t exactly have anyone to spare to play foreman,” Cocolia pointed out.
Finding a pack of Honkai Beasts was easy enough, but finding one with enough upstairs to actually lead?
That usually required something on the level of a Pseudo-Herrscher.
“I can handle that once I’ve expanded our circle a bit more. For now, it’s just a concept,” Sienna replied.
Her team of Herrschers of Dominance wasn’t strictly looking for frontline brawlers; anyone capable of merging with a Core who possessed a specific skill set was a potential candidate.
Actually, when it came to finding someone to supervise a Honkai labor force, Sienna already had a specific image in mind: those undead ‘Summoner’ types—the ones players called ‘Necromancer Bitches’—who floated around with a pair of coffins and bandages wrapped over their eyes.
Picture it: an Undead overseer standing watch while her summoned minions toiled away in the shafts.
If a worker started flagging, she’d just stuff them back into a coffin for a quick ‘factory reset.’ With just a tiny trickle of Honkai Energy, she’d get more efficiency than any human crew could ever provide.
“So, what brings you here today anyway?” Cocolia asked, pivoting from the business report.
She still hadn’t figured out why Sienna had dropped by.
“I actually need a favor. I’m looking for a few tutors for our newest recruit.”
“Tutors? For a Herrscher?”
“She learned the hard way that ignorance isn’t bliss. When she was following that illiterate Herrscher, she took a beating that nearly left her for dead because she didn’t know any better. Now that she’s one of us, I want her to get a proper education.”
While Bella was still tucked away in the Domination Space learning the ropes from Cecilia, Sienna took the opportunity to catch Cocolia up.
She explained how she’d acquired this new puppet body, how Cecilia was no longer just a wandering soul, and how she’d finally convinced Bella to join the fold.
“The Herrscher of the Void’s companion beast… are you sure it’s safe to have her living in human society?” Cocolia asked, her brow furrowing.
It was one thing for Sienna to triple their Herrscher count in a single day—each one more powerful than Cocolia herself—but asking her to house a girl who was essentially a Judgment-class Honkai Beast in human form was a tall order.
Finding teachers was easy, but the student wasn’t exactly a girl scout.
Cocolia’s own Herrscher powers wouldn’t be enough to sit her back down.
“Don’t worry. Until she sees Sirin again, she’ll be on her best behavior,” Sienna reassured her.
Unlike Sirin, who had an ego that inflated at the slightest provocation, Bella was more the quiet, loyal maid type.
“Is it finished?”
They hadn’t been talking for more than twenty minutes when Cecilia and Bella emerged.
“The child is a quick study,” Cecilia noted warmly.
Inside the space, she had been diligently showing Bella how to tear open portals to the Domination Space and how to manipulate the threads that could strip others of their powers.
With a mind free of distractions, Bella had focused entirely on mastering her new toolkit.
“That’s a relief.” Sienna smiled.
Seeing that Bella’s aptitude was just as sharp as the human-turned-Herrschers, she wasn’t worried about her hitting a wall with the textbooks.
“Bella, this is Cocolia. She’s your senior, and she’ll be looking after your daily life and schooling from here on out.” Once they were all seated, Sienna introduced the new guardian.
“Hello,” Bella said, acknowledging her.
“Hello,” Cocolia replied, keeping it professional between fellow Herrschers.
“You’ll stay with Cocolia for the time being. She’ll handle everything you need.”
“Wait, then what are you going to be doing?” Bella blinked, realizing Sienna was about to drop her off.
That wasn’t quite what she had expected.
“I’m going to help you get stronger.” Sienna picked up a pen and paper from the table, scribbled something down, and slid it over.
“What is this?” Bella stared at the strange symbols on the white page, looking utterly lost.
“If you can master these, your lightning powers will be at least ten times more effective.”
Bella possessed a weakened version of the Gem of Conquest’s power, but her control over electromagnetism was primitive at best: she just blasted things, blasted them harder, or went full output.
This was the 21st century; physicists had already cracked the code on how electromagnetism actually worked.
Maxwell’s Equations were all Bella needed to truly understand the forces she wielded.
“We’re teammates, Bella. Why would I lie to you? Humans got this strong because they accumulated knowledge. If you find that studying doesn’t make you stronger, you can come settle the score with me later.” Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.
Sienna didn’t push it further.
She let the silence hang, confident that time would prove she was right.
“Alright,” Bella sighed.
She couldn’t find the Queen, and she wasn’t strong enough to take on Schicksal yet.
She might as well follow Sienna’s lead.
“Also, while you’re in human society, you play by human rules. Our organization won’t just be Herrschers. Whether you’re dealing with our own people or just ordinary civilians, you are not to attack them.”
“Fine.” If it meant seeing her Queen again, these little rules were a small price to pay.
“Cocolia, she’s all yours.”
“No problem.” Seeing that Bella wasn’t a ticking time bomb of rage, Cocolia felt a lot better about hiring those tutors.
“With that, my checklist for Siberia is complete.”
Comparing her current situation to her initial plan, Sienna realized her roster had grown far beyond her wildest expectations.
“Four Herrschers in a single week… that’s nothing short of a miracle,” Cocolia remarked.
Before Cecilia arrived, Sienna was the only one.
Now, there were four of them in this room alone, with another wandering the wilds.
They might not have the raw destructive power Sirin once wielded, but given enough time to grow, they could rival—or even eclipse—Schicksal.
“I’m just playing the cards I have. Finding anyone else from here on out is going to be pure luck,” Sienna admitted.
She had used her knowledge of the ‘story’ to scoop up every advantage possible in this timeline.
The rest—like the sealed Chiyou or Yae Sakura—would have to wait until the group leveled up a bit more.
“For now, let’s just stick to our assigned roles.”
Sienna racked her brain one last time but couldn’t find any other easy wins to exploit.
Her Siberian excursion was officially over.