Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

The Herrscher of Sentience suspected that Mobius had created her for the sole purpose of being a replacement worker.

That woman, Mobius, was always working alongside Noldrei. She probably never expected that the Herrscher of Sentience, upon her descent, would inherit all the memories of her original body.

But then again, maybe that wasn't so unusual. For instance, the Herrscher consciousness that accompanied Raiden Mei also possessed all of Mei's memories.

Most Herrscher consciousnesses that manifest within a host are essentially another personality possessing the host's memories. If you're lucky, the two can merge into one. If you're unlucky, you end up like Sirin and Kiana, split into two separate entities.

What was even more ridiculous was that Kiana could apparently throw Sirin out along with her own head.

What did she even use to think? Was that body of hers not even a biological organism?

The Herrscher of Sentience was helpless. Although she had Mobius's memories, her entire consciousness was trapped within Noldrei's body. Noldrei could do whatever he wanted to her, and everything she did was monitored by him. To this day, the Herrscher of Sentience still had no idea how to escape this body.

It was maddening. The Herrscher of Sentience was currently contemplating how to become a being of pure consciousness.

But therein lay the problem. The moment she even began to think, Noldrei's body would monitor her thoughts, making it impossible to gain any freedom.

And so, the Herrscher of Sentience became a simple research assistant.

When Mobius saw how useful her "replica" was, she simply offloaded some of the repetitive work she didn't want to do onto her, hoping the Herrscher of Sentience would know what was good for her. Otherwise, she'd go tattle.

The Herrscher of Sentience felt she was even worse off than that slacker kid from the Far East who was just coasting by.

"My entire life... has been like treading on thin ice!"

Hachiman Hikigaya felt like his life was a complete joke. Not only had he fallen into a ready-made position after coming here, but now he was being promoted directly to Prime Minister of the Far East upon his return.

Kiyotaka Ayanokōji didn't doubt Hachiman's words; he just suspected that Academy City's leader might have a screw loose. Couldn't he at least try to be fair? Wasn't Manabu Horikita the best at handling student organizations in Academy City?

The president of the United Student Council controlled most of the student groups that wielded the power of Stigma Battlesuits. As the designated leader being groomed for the future ruling class, how did he not get the same lucky break as Hachiman Hikigaya?

"Ayanokōji... how... how exactly do you be a prime minister?" Hachiman couldn't help but ask. In his eyes, someone like Ayanokōji, who came from a prominent family, must have been taught how to handle public affairs.

"It's simple. You take things that were going to happen anyway, slap the label 'Hikigaya-nomics' on them, announce them with great fanfare, and claim it's all part of your political strategy."

Ayanokōji said this with a deadpan expression, his words making Hachiman sit up straight with solemnity.

"Please, elaborate," Hachiman said, sitting upright.

"In recent years, the Far East has seen a steady increase in deflationary pressure (it's always been rising), stable and orderly real wages (they've barely changed), and conservative and healthy credit demand (no one is borrowing). This situation usually leads to the government lowering interest rates, the yen depreciating, and quantitative easing."

"So, the job is easy. You just need to announce that these outcomes are the policies you intend to implement after taking office."

Hachiman's mind was completely blown by his own secretary. He stared at Ayanokōji in shock and asked, "Are you telling me to present the political manifestation of economic problems as my policy measures to save the economy? Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

"Just tell me, were your policies implemented or not?" Ayanokōji retorted.

"Do people really do that?!" This was a real eye-opener for Hachiman. He felt that Ayanokōji was nothing short of a political 'genius.'

"Of course. That's what we're doing in the Far East right now. Then you just bet on the international economic climate improving. If it fails, you blame the international situation. If it succeeds, your policy was perfect. See? You've successfully stabilized your ruling position."

Ayanokōji's words were a revelation for Hachiman. So that's why the Far East was in such a mess—there were damn good internal reasons for it.

"What about other countries?" Hachiman felt that other nations surely couldn't be like this.

"Oh, that? It's a standard international practice. It's fine, everyone does it. Otherwise, why do you think the global economic situation is the way it is? If I can make money by squeezing the common people, why would you want me to bend over backward to help them generate wealth and reduce the gap between rich and poor? Am I tired of my position as president being too secure, or am I tired of living?"

Ayanokōji thought Academy City was the real psycho, just throwing around huge sums of money. Even he knew that if a certain entity's primary goal wasn't to make money, then it must have a much larger objective in its sights.

Academy City might seem chaotic on the inside, but in the eyes of other countries, the place changed daily, constantly absorbing material wealth like a black hole on Earth, scaring everyone into wondering what its ultimate goal was.

"Really... Aren't they worried someone will try to assassinate them? No, wait..." Hachiman sighed. He himself was tempted to purge these vermin.

"See, this is why you're not qualified to be a leader. If you were a leader in Academy City, I would definitely advise you to work hard and not get any funny ideas. But if you're going to be the Prime Minister, then I'll advise you to do exactly what they do. That way, it'll be easier for Academy City to continue infiltrating the Far East's government. Only the most useless and corrupt government is the easiest to break from within!"

"Now that the Directorate has gone to the trouble of getting you inside the Far East's government, they definitely intend for you to wreak havoc in there!" Ayanokōji clenched his fists tightly, saying with glee,

"Could there be anything more satisfying? Just like Qin Er Shi or Gorbachev in history, you can do whatever you want. Otherwise, what's the point of being Prime Minister?"

Is he insulting me?

Hachiman's brow furrowed, suspecting Ayanokōji was digging a pit for him. The thought of being compared to Qin Er Shi and Gorbachev was laughable. "Can you use a more familiar example?" he asked.

"Oh, you mean like Director Noldrei's..." Ayanokōji didn't get to finish.

"Alright, stop talking! I get it!" Hachiman cut Ayanokōji off, worried that when his secretary finally got himself killed one day, he'd be dragged down with him.

Ayanokōji tactfully changed the subject. "In short, once you become Prime Minister, just keep making grand pronouncements. Academy City will cover for you, no matter what."

Ayanokōji wasn't just spouting nonsense. He had accurately grasped Academy City's unspoken desire to dismantle the current top brass of the Far East's government.