"N‑no, you can't touch my ears…"
Sakura backed away a few steps, holding her head in both hands. Elias watched those long pink ears retreat farther and farther from him, his expression showing a hint of disappointment. He really wanted to rub them~!
"Aww~ fine…"
Truth be told, this was the first time Elias' desire to pet had ever been rejected. He wasn't used to it. His gaze toward Sakura instantly changed, like he was saying, "Woman, you've successfully caught my attention."
Meanwhile, on the other side—
Kosma and Dystopia were also standing in front of a mirror, checking if they had grown any new appendages. After looking themselves over and finding nothing, both of them let out a sigh of relief.
Their surgeries had gone perfectly. While the Meta‑Morph procedure hadn't caused any visible changes to Kosma, the Vishnu he had fused with gave him the ability to absorb other Honkai Beasts a second time.
During that process, there was a good chance he might grow horns, tails, claws, or something similar. But rather than reject those possibilities…
Kosma: "Just imagining it looks so cool!"
Let's just say: the acceptance power of a chuuni boy was truly impressive.
As for Dystopia, she also had considerable potential. If not for dying in the original timeline during the Tragedy of Binding, she may have earned the title of one of the Thirteen Flame‑Chasers herself.
After all, she was a rare type—an esper fusion warrior who could use telekinesis. Right now, the girl was floating herself into the air and hovering around.
Dystopia: "Wahoo~ this is fun~!"
In the end, all three demonstrated their abilities once, letting Elias and Mobius record the data. It was an important step for the future Chimera Project.
Elias: "Congratulations. You've become key cornerstones in humanity's fight against the Honkai. As high‑tier fusion warriors, you now possess power far beyond ordinary soldiers. But even though 'to slay the dragon, we borrow its scales and claws', never forget—you are human."
"Yes, Captain Elias!" x3
All three saluted to show they understood.
Elias nodded in satisfaction. He knew—in the original fate, all three had fought to their last breath for the sake of humanity. But in the story he was writing now, death would no longer be their ending!
That said, one of them still lingered in hesitation.
Elias: (Hopefully Sakura opens up soon. The sooner the better—tonight would be perfect~)
…
Later that night—
A pink figure appeared in the corridor. She effortlessly evaded all the patrolling soldiers, leaving no trace, and soon arrived at Elias' door.
(I didn't expect becoming a fusion warrior would boost my strength this much. It feels like I can do anything now… No, I shouldn't get cocky. Ugh~~)
Sakura placed the black-and-white Cocoon mask over her face.
She only wore this mask during special missions—and only removed it when they were completed.
The moment it covered her face, she was no longer Sakura, but the assassin codenamed Forget‑Me‑Not.
Admittedly, that was a rather sentimental name for a killer…
"That was… easier than expected."
After a bit of fiddling, she unlocked the door.
Sakura stared at the lock, surprised. She had assumed breaking into Elias' room would be more challenging. But it turned out his lock was no different from anyone else's.
Forget‑Me‑Not hesitated at the threshold. Then, at the door, she quietly slipped off her boots.
She drew a deep breath and held it. Only then did she step into Elias' bedroom.
She was facing the strongest human alive. Every sound, even the tiniest creak, had to be avoided if she wanted to get close enough to swing her blade.
"..."
Sakura's heart was in turmoil.
She didn't want to kill Elias—she knew he was a good person, and he had even saved her life.
But she wanted to kill Elias—because only then could she complete her mission, see her sister again, and keep on living.
She hoped to fail, to be discovered during infiltration, because that would mean the mission would end. And yet, her movements were careful and silent to the extreme.
(Forget it… no matter what the outcome of this mission is, my ending will be the same. That ending was already decided the moment I chose to become an assassin.)
Sakura crept silently to the bedside. Seeing the boy and girl sleeping peacefully, arms still wrapped around each other, a trace of envy filled her eyes. Once again, she felt guilt over her own actions.
But just as her blade was about to strike with the speed worthy of Signet of Moment—
"Elias is sleeping. I can't let you disturb him, you know. And Sakura, a girl should really be more reserved. Sneaking into a boy's room at night is not very ladylike~"
"Elys—"
"Shh~! Alright, game over."
Sakura had concentrated all her attention on the strike meant for Elias. She never expected that, while the boy she'd been so wary of remained sound asleep, it would be the pink-haired girl who noticed her.
Caught completely off guard, Sakura was instantly subdued by Elysia. A slender pink crystal rapier now rested against her neck.
"Why?"
Sakura looked confused. She didn't believe Elysia was stronger than Elias, but only Elysia had reacted to her assassination attempt.
"Well~ My dear Elias is super strong, but he does have one fatal weakness. Whenever he deems someone important, he lets down his guard completely. Since I'm always near him, that blind spot let you get so close. Also… Sakura, no raising your voice now."
Elysia put a finger to her lips, showing off a bit.
"Unless I yell super loud, Elias won't wake up. But if you so much as make the tiniest sound, he'll wake up instantly, right?"
"..."
Sakura twitched slightly at the corner of her eye. She never expected Elias to have such an unknown vulnerability. Yet hearing it, she couldn't help but think—it was oddly endearing.
Elysia lovingly caressed the boy's cheek, as if touching the most precious work of art. She felt deeply honored and blessed to be trusted by him this much.
And so she made up her mind: she would never allow anyone to exploit that weakness. If his guard would always drop around her, then she would be the one to protect him.
Incidentally, the reason she noticed Sakura was because—unexpectedly—Elysia was a specialist in anti-infiltration.
When Snake‑Snake had tried to sneak in to steal food multiple times, the pink elf had intercepted her every time.
Through that experience, her anti-infiltration skills had been maxed out.
"..."
Sakura lowered her blade and raised both hands.
A clear sign of surrender—not just to Elias, but to Elysia as well. She couldn't win against either of them.
And just as she was wondering how much longer she'd get to live—
Elysia casually pulled carbon fiber rope and a handkerchief from beneath the bed and, to Sakura's utter shock, bound her hand and foot, gag and all, without hesitation.
What the hell was this woman doing?!
Panic surged in Sakura's heart. Shouldn't Elysia be waking Elias up to discuss how to deal with her?!
She could understand being tied up to prevent resistance—but this pink elf… she didn't seem normal at all!
This looked suspiciously like shibari!!
Just knowing it was weird enough—but why was Elysia so good at it?!
(Mobius: "...")
Sakura: "Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"
Elysia: "Sorry about the handkerchief, Sakura. It's the one I used to gag Mobius before—hope you don't mind. Let's talk about everything tomorrow after we've had some sleep, okay? I really don't want to interrupt Elias' rest."
Sakura: "..."
Elysia: "Oh, and don't be too shocked when I tell you this—but Elias already knew you were sent by the higher-ups. He even specifically told us not to hurt you. Say, you two got a little history or something?"
Sakura: "???"
Even as a fusion warrior, being tied up shibari-style with carbon fiber rope—right down to each individual finger—made it basically impossible for her to struggle.
And she knew resisting was pointless anyway. This absolutely indecent pink elf could easily suppress her. Rather than waste her strength, she might as well conserve it.
What shocked her more was the fact that her identity had already been exposed. She stared at the sleeping white-haired boy, feeling both startled and confused.
If he knew from the beginning…
Why hadn't he dealt with her?
Instead, he had given her a Meta-Morph procedure with an Emperor-level Honkai Beast and even saved her life.
Elysia: "Heave-ho!"
Sakura: "?!!"
While Sakura was lost in thought, Elysia suddenly yanked her onto the bed.
Sakura instinctively tensed, eyes flashing with fear. She was now very wary of this pink elf who clearly had a suspicious amount of rope-tying knowledge.
She shot Elysia a look that asked: What do you think you're doing? The next moment, Elysia beamed, eyes gleaming as she stared at the pink donkey ears atop Sakura's head.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm just really curious about your ears. They're all fluffy and soft-looking—totally pettable. Can I touch them?"
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!"
"You're not saying no, so I'll take that as a yes~"
"MMMPH!"
In the end, Sakura couldn't resist. Elysia pushed her down onto the bed and pinned her in place with her body weight, watching with gleaming eyes as she reached out her hands—
—and grabbed both of Sakura's fluffy pink donkey ears.
"Waaah~ They feel even better than I imagined! So soft! So warm! Let me touch them some more~"
"!!!"
Sakura immediately tried to wake Elias, hoping he'd rein in this shameless elf.
But then it hit her: she was currently sharing a bed with the white-haired boy.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, her cheeks turned crimson. And just then, the sleeping Elias rolled over, casually draping an arm across her.
"Mmm? Elysia?"
They had snuggled together so many times that Elias could immediately tell something felt different—this wasn't his usual Elysia.
Though his sleepy eyes couldn't make out her face clearly, the pink color of her hair registered distinctly. And when it came to pink-haired girls—
Of course, Elias' first thought was Elysia.
(Oh, must be my imagination… pink is Elysia's color. But why does it feel so tense and stiff? Did she finally lose weight? Meh, feels good anyway…)
Still drowsy, Elias didn't think too hard. He instinctively snuggled the "slimmed down Elysia" in his arms and drifted back to sleep.
Elysia: "..."
Sakura: "..."
Elias: "Zzzzz~~"
…The next morning…
Elias woke feeling refreshed—until he opened his eyes and saw something that made him wonder if he was still dreaming.
Because the first person he saw wasn't his beloved Miss Pink Elf…
But a certain pink fox girl with donkey ears.
"Sakura?! Why is it you?!"
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Uh… what the heck is going on here?"
Completely dumbfounded, Elias stared at the tightly bound Sakura with a gag in her mouth. It felt like he had missed a very important chunk of plot.
He turned his head and saw Elysia still sleeping sweetly—also cuddling Sakura like a body pillow, both hands tightly gripping her fluffy donkey ears.
As for Sakura… she looked on the verge of tears.
Sakura: (I'll never get married now… sob sob sob.)
Only heaven knew what Elysia had been thinking last night. Not only had she not woken Elias—she had joined in, cuddling Sakura like a plushie and muttering in her sleep: "Cute girls… not bad either~!"
Truly worthy of the title: Most Dangerous Woman in Elysium Realm!
Around that time, Elysia woke up as well. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at the awkward scene and, after a brief silence, proudly placed her hands on her hips.
"Elias, Sakura tried to assassinate you last night. But don't worry—I stopped her immediately. So? Pretty amazing of me, right?"
"Ah, uh… yeah… thanks, Ely."
"You're welcome~ That's what I'm here for!"
Even as his girlfriend, Elysia's bizarre logic sometimes left Elias speechless. Still… looking at the current situation, it definitely felt like he had gotten the better end of the deal, so he wasn't about to complain.
He turned and began untying Sakura.
She immediately curled up in the corner, trembling.
Her gaze toward Elysia was filled with terror, and she hugged her ears protectively—those poor, over-petted ears.
Though she had failed her assassination and somehow survived, without torture or injury… she felt as though her spirit had suffered a trauma beyond repair.
"Ahem! Sakura, although you did attempt to attack me last night… seeing as you've already been punished, I'm willing to let it slide."
Elias patted the pink elf's head, and she stuck out her tongue with an ehehe~.
"What? Forgive me?"
Still trembling, Sakura looked at him in shock.
She had prepared herself for interrogation, torture, maybe even execution. Even the best-case scenario she'd imagined was life imprisonment.
She never expected Elias to show such mercy!
"Yeah. But before that—you need to tell me everything you know. About the higher-ups, about yourself. Leave nothing out."