In Warhammer, please don’t mix Doraemon with the Omnissiah.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters… is that One."

"I'm merely the vessel of His will."

That One? Will? Vessel?My warp-alarm just went off!

Zhou Yun stared silently at the girl.The girl blinked back at him, also silent.

"Thank you for trusting me, I am here to— huh?"

Before she could finish her words, she froze.Her precognition was screaming at her: Zhou Yun was about to punch her.

"Wait! Don't come any closer! Let me finish first!"

The girl raised her hands in panic.

But Zhou Yun didn't give her the chance.After being burned once by overthinking and falling into Tzeentch's trap, he'd learned his lesson.This time, he simply stopped thinking entirely, charged forward, and swung his superman-gloved fist right at her.

The girl frantically dodged, thanks to her precognition.

His fist crashed into the trash mound behind her, sending the entire heap shaking.The girl's eyes widened in shock.

Zhou Yun was indeed curious who she was, curious about this "One" she spoke of.A hallucination? Tzeentch? Slaanesh? Nurgle? Or one of the other lesser warp gods?Or maybe… that corpse on the throne?

But before he indulged his curiosity, he was going to knock her out, take her back, and interrogate her properly.This place was too close to the underhive and the outskirts.Cultists, Genestealers, mutants, and raiders were all far more active here than in the safer lower hive.And it was a meeting spot she had chosen — Zhou Yun didn't like it.

"I can listen to what you have to say… but let me knock you out first!"

"Don't worry. Just one hit and you'll be unconscious."

He said this with total seriousness.

The girl glanced at his fist, then at the trembling trash mound he'd punched — and shook her head furiously.

She turned, trying to run toward the shadows of the trash piles.

"Rena!"

Zhou Yun shook his head and called out into the surrounding darkness.

"…Eh?!" The girl froze the moment Zhou Yun shouted.

She saw what was coming just seconds into the future — and even she couldn't believe it.

From the darkness came the sound of boots on metal.Dozens upon dozens of Ark gang members emerged from the shadows, surrounding them on all sides, their Agripinaa-pattern Mk.III autoguns raised and ready.

Rena stepped out from among them, arms crossed:"Eager Thief — you're surrounded. You realize that, don't you?"

The girl stiffened completely.She already knew that this man's fate was convoluted and obscured, beyond her ability to clearly see.All she could do was pick out likely paths from the chaotic future.She'd guessed he might bring backup, guessed he might not show up, guessed he might come with Rena…

But she hadn't guessed he'd actually bring two hundred gang members to surround her.This… this was just too much.

"I-I have no ill intent! I'm not a servant of the Chaos Gods!"

Her face went pale as she raised her hands.

"Would a Chaos cultist actually admit to it?" Zhou Yun replied, his expression unchanging.

Even if she turned out to be a saint of that corpse on the throne, she was still going back with him.

"Be good — let me knock you out, and we'll talk later."

"I… I can just walk back with you, can't I?"

The moment she said it, her precognition told her the answer was no.

"I'll knock myself out on the wall then, how about that?"

Zhou Yun casually rolled his wrist, shaking his head:"What if you fake it?"

"Don't worry, my fist is strong. One hit and you're guaranteed to be out."

The girl looked into the chaotic threads of the future — saw herself being knocked out by Zhou Yun.

It really was just unconsciousness; he'd controlled his strength and hadn't broken her spine.But watching the trash mound still trembling from his earlier punch… she was terrified.

The worst part was, her precognition told her there was no escaping this punch.

"…Can you… go easy?"

"Relax," Zhou Yun said flatly — and swung his fist into the back of her neck.

Crack. The girl collapsed, unconscious.

"Unbelievable! Completely unbelievable!"

Rena walked out of the room where the Eager Thief was being held, visibly annoyed.She sat down across from Zhou Yun, who was leafing through the star-route logbook.

"The Eager Thief — that little girl won't even look at me."

Rena's face was full of frustration.

It seemed she'd been planning to shake her down for all the pocket money she'd lost over the years.

"What about your psychic powers? Read her mind!"

"…She can resist mind-reading," Rena admitted bitterly.

Her usually-infallible Guwaku no Oto (Bewitching Sound) and psychic mind-reading had failed — again.

"That little girl just kept repeating that she wanted to talk to you."

Rena rubbed her temples and gestured to the door:"Go see what she wants."

"…Fine. I'll see what she has to say." Zhou Yun nodded slightly and pushed open the door.

The girl — her hair a little dry, her face plain but not unpleasant — was bound with restraints in the corner of the room.She looked a little weak, but not particularly upset.

She raised her wide, deer-like eyes and blinked at Zhou Yun.

"What's your name?" Zhou Yun asked.

"…My name doesn't matter."

She shook her head, just like before:"What matters is that One…"

"Before we talk about this 'One' of yours," Zhou Yun interrupted, "I want to know who you are."

"…Jeanne. He gave me that name."

The girl lowered her head and spoke softly.

"Jeanne?" Zhou Yun's expression turned odd.

Jeanne — as in the saint who burned at the stake in Orléans?

Which absolute bastard named her Jeanne… and then told her to call herself "Orleans Wing"?That was downright hellish.

"Well then… Jeanne, who is this 'One' you speak of?"

"And what does He want?"

Zhou Yun's gaze hardened as he stared at the girl.

"All He wants… is to save everyone."

Jeanne lowered her head and said:"He gave me the gift of foresight, so I could see the future."

"I needed to find someone to walk with me and complete the mission He gave me."

"I'm sorry I broke into your home… but I needed a piece of your clothing to strengthen my visions and confirm if you were the one."

She added softly:"You are. You can help me — I saw it in the future He showed me."

"…He is… He is the Emperor."

As she spoke, Zhou Yun wasn't even surprised.

He even sighed quietly to himself:Ah, today's Ashford — still as full of talent as ever.

(End of Chapter)

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