Chapter 7. Aimen~
He tapped open the image.
It was a brilliant golden sea of flowers.
Just looking at it felt as if he were placed within endless warm sunlight.
He didn't know the name of the flower, but he couldn't help sighing at the beauty of the scene.
Masato : "I don't know.
Elysia, don't keep me in suspense."
When the dreams converged, he was surprised to find that, in this life, he and Elysia were actually on very good terms.
The Elysia from his previous life, who loved all people and made them cry out "Aimen" as if to a god, slowly fused with the gentle, lively girl-next-door in his current memories.
He had to admit, it felt rather strange.
She had lost a trace of lofty, ethereal detachment and gained a hint of earthly warmth.
This kind of Elysia was even more captivating.
As for how he met Elysia—well, that was a coincidence.
It happened when Cocolia had just been promoted and was no longer troubled by funding for the orphanage.
She figured it wasn't right to keep the children in the orphanage forever, so she decided to take them abroad to broaden their horizons.
She contacted an orphanage in Europe.
She would sponsor the trip, and the children from that orphanage would act as guides to show her kids around locally.
Children from another orphanage wouldn't look at her kids with tinted glasses, and everyone could make new friends.
It was, as they say, killing two birds with one stone.
Once they arrived, the guide assigned to Xander's group was Elysia.
Whether it was Elysia's own charm or the stimulus of lingering, not-yet-fused memories in his mind, after just a few days of playing together he and Elysia became friends who could talk about anything.
After adding each other's contact info, they kept in touch ever since.
So many years had passed that Elysia had long since "graduated" from the orphanage.
She was now a freelancer posting her travel and daily-life stories on the Schicksal blog—what people commonly call a travel blogger.
"Miss Pink Elf" was Elysia's handle on the blog.
Thanks to her personal charm and exquisite scenic photos, she attracted nearly ten million followers in just a few years, becoming one of the platform's major bloggers.
Miss Pink Elf: "Xander, can't you at least guess properly?
This is a photo I prepared for you with special care~"
She was always like this.
Some deliberately or inadvertently chosen words could make a person's heart itch.
What did she mean by "prepared just for you"?
If she didn't explain it properly, he wouldn't understand.
Masato : "Elysia, you're making this too hard.
It's just a golden flower field—how am I supposed to guess?
There aren't any landmarks or hints.
This concubine cannot do it!"
Miss Pink Elf: "Alright, alright.
I'll let you off this time, Xander."
Following his words, Elysia tossed out a playful line, and very quickly a new message came through.
"Dang dang dang dang, take a look—guess who's by my side~"
"(Image)"
With that, Elysia sent over a selfie.
In the photo, the girl held up her arm and winked her left eye cutely at the camera.
A smile rested on a face so beautiful it took your breath away.
Her pink long hair was casually tied back, clearly showing the lazy look of someone who had just woken up.
As for her outfit, it was a rather breezy plain white long dress.
From the top-down angle, he could easily see the two little white rabbits that seemed eager to escape the slack fabric, pushing the neckline high and revealing a large swath of tender white, with a deep cleft squeezed out in the middle.
So big.
So round.
If you touched them, your five fingers would probably sink right in…
Of course, he meant the sofa under Elysia's butt, not Elysia's soft, bury-your-face-in-it bosom.
He tapped quickly and saved the image.
Only then did he notice the person beside Elysia.
What could he do—light is drawn to massive objects.
That's a law of nature, unavoidable.
She had wine-red long hair with dark-gold hair ornaments.
Her clothes were similar to Elysia's, though more conservative, with the neckline pulled tight.
A faint smile rested on her face as she simply looked at the camera.
Just sitting there quietly, a gentle and mature air washed over him.
"Eden?!!!"
The moment he saw her appearance, Xander couldn't help calling out.
In this world, Eden was still one of the most dazzling superstars on the planet—a world-class singer and musician, and of course, a world-class rich lady.
He had originally thought that in a world without Honkai, a travel-blogger Elysia would hardly cross paths with Eden.
Who would have thought the two actually knew each other—and judging by the photo, quite well.
Perhaps this was fate in the dark.
Masato : "No way—that's Eden.
Miss Eden, I'm your fan! (pounce!)"
Miss Pink Elf: "(anti-pounce wall) Surprised?
Eden is my good friend now~"
Masato : "I'll send you 50.
Can we switch places?"
Miss Pink Elf: "Mm, if you send me 50 every Thursday, it's not impossible to consider."
Masato : "Really?
Deal, deal—1111111111."
Miss Pink Elf: "I was fooling you~"
Masato : "Outrageous!"
Miss Pink Elf: "Hahahahaha!
Who told you not to contact me lately?
Even though Miss Elf is a beautiful, kind, and magnanimous pretty girl, I'll still have a teeny-tiny bit of resentment~"
At that, Xander thought back.
Hiss~
Ever since he brought Xi'er home, he'd been busy with the game.
He really had forgotten to contact Elysia.
Before, they had practically chatted every day.
Thinking of that, he felt a bit embarrassed and hurried to explain.
Masato : "Ahem, I've just been busy lately."
Miss Pink Elf: "Busy?
Aren't you in school?
Or are you busy dating cute girls?"
He raised an eyebrow, looked left and right to make sure Elysia wasn't peeking at him, and then typed back.
"Of course not.
I'm making a game—making a game.
Bronya and I agreed to settle things at St. Freya's Mini-Game Festival, so lately we've both been busy with our own games."
Miss Pink Elf: "You and Little Ducky still haven't made up?
That won't do.
You can't go around doing things that make cute girls sad."
Masato : "Don't worry.
Once this Mini-Game Festival ends, everything will be settled."
Miss Pink Elf: "Mm-hm.
In that case, I'll look forward to your works.
So—confident about winning?"
Masato : "Of course.
I don't even know how I could possibly lose!"
Miss Pink Elf: "So confident? (hand-over-mouth surprised expression)
You've piqued my curiosity.
Don't disappoint me~"
Masato : "Relax.
This might be the game you'll like most among all you've played."
Miss Pink Elf: "Mm-hm~"
They chatted idly for a while more.
Her quicksilver train of thought always made the conversation full of fun, so much so that time seemed to pass unnoticed.
It wasn't until Elysia said, "Time for breakfast, talk next time," that he realized half an hour had unknowingly gone by.
What a terrifying woman.
Just as Xander put away the chat and prepared to get back to work, a new message suddenly popped up from Elysia's chat window.
Miss Pink Elf: "Oh right, that selfie is a limited edition just for you, Xander.
Remember—don't show it to anyone else~"
Thump.
He felt like his heart skipped a beat.
Then, it suddenly accelerated.
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