After watching that memory of Kosma's inner thoughts being completely different from his outward appearance, the atmosphere in the garden became a little subtle.
Looking at Kosma again, Raiden Mei's eyes were full of barely suppressed laughter, "Kosma… you…"
She seemed unable to find a suitable word to describe such a contrast for a while.
Aponia covered her lips with a gentle smile, her tone warm as she said, "Ah… this really does carry Elysia's style. Always able to bring a few… unexpected little surprises."
Elysia herself didn't mind in the slightest. On the contrary, her eyes lit up as she leaned closer to Kosma.
"Eh, Kosma, how could you peep at a girl like that? But, it also reminds me of something~" She pressed her palms together, her tone playful.
"I originally planned to turn this super, imposing move into a kind of exclusive etiquette for us 'Flame-Chasers' and spread it throughout the whole of Fire Moth!"
"It's just a pity that the teaching plan was much harder than I imagined. Just teaching Phyllis alone took several months…"
Raiden Mei, listening to this grand plan, couldn't help but cover her forehead and complain, "Isn't there a possibility… that she simply doesn't want to learn it at all?"
When she thought of Van doing that kind of move with a perfectly serious face, Raiden Mei suddenly... felt rather expectant.
"How could that be?" Elysia immediately refuted, "You heard Kosma's heartfelt words too, right? He thinks it's so cool!"
Kosma, "..."
He turned his face aside, a deep voice sounding, "Can we change the subject?"
———
[I'm dying of laughter]
[If there was a crack in the ground right now, he would definitely burrow into it!]
[Oh right, wasn't there a painting Griseo drew just now? Why not let him hide inside the painting~]
[Kosma: ... (inner monologue omitted, 10,000 words) Forget it.]
———
[Back to the Video]
Aponia looked at Kosma's embarrassed appearance, her loving smile deepening, "Hehe, this really is like a game between children, so simple and full of vitality."
Beside her, the little fairy Elys flew up in front of her, spinning warmly in a circle, "This pretty sister also wants to feel the fairy's power? Try it, come on, my heartfelt gift, you have to accept it well~"
Aponia nodded slightly, answering gently, "Mm, alright. In reality, I often do things like this too, perceiving and guiding through touch…"
As she spoke, she gracefully placed her fingertips lightly on the typewriter.
However, at the instant her fingertip touched the cold surface of the typewriter, Aponia's brow furrowed ever so slightly, barely noticeable.
A trace of astonishment flashed across her usually calm eyes, so quick it was almost an illusion.
Aponia, 'Hm?'
That strange look vanished in an instant. The typewriter hummed, slowly spitting out a new sheet of file paper.
Aponia looked at that paper, silent for a moment.
Griseo tilted her head curiously, "Aponia Mama, what's written in that file?"
Aponia quickly returned to her usual expression, her tone relaxed as she held the paper slightly farther away.
"Ah… how should I put it… hehe, it's really nostalgic. A somewhat… immature past. But it doesn't seem suitable for children to see."
Griseo half-understood, nodding, then very seriously added, "Then… Kosma can't look either."
Kosma, "... (forget it.)"
Raiden Mei watched Aponia's slightly abnormal behavior, and a trace of doubt rose in her heart.
She felt that the contents of that sheet of paper probably weren't as light as Aponia made them out to be.
But Aponia didn't seem willing to linger on this matter. She naturally turned to Griseo, softly suggesting, "Griseo, the air here seems a little stuffy. Do you want to change to another place to paint?"
"When I came over just now, I found a place with a beautiful view, the light and colors were lovely."
Griseo's eyes lit up, and she nodded obediently, "Mm, alright. I want to take a walk too."
Then she looked at Kosma, "Kosma, are you coming?"
Kosma shook his head, his gaze sweeping thoughtfully over Aponia and the typewriter, "You go. Be careful. There's something I'm concerned about, I want to investigate somewhere else."
Aponia gently reminded him, "Mm, then you should be careful too."
Kosma didn't respond, only turned silently and left.
Elysia, watching the few of them leave one after another, clapped her hands, "Ah, everyone's gone. But, since we've already 'found' the blank paper… then Mei, let's go back to the archives room too? Let's see what kind of interesting memories will be printed out next~"
After returning to the archives room, Elysia put that ill-fated typewriter back in place.
She noticed Raiden Mei seemed somewhat absent-minded, still immersed in her earlier thoughts.
"Mei~" Elysia leaned in a little closer, tilting her head as she said,
"Don't tell me… you're still immersed in Kosma's interesting little story? You also thought it was fun, didn't you? "
Raiden Mei snapped out of her thoughts, gently shaking her head, "It was thought-provoking indeed, especially that part of you being so enthusiastic about teaching others all kinds of 'strange' knowledge."
At this, Raiden's gaze grew a little distant, "Thinking about it, you've always been like this, appearing unexpectedly in everyone's memories. It seems that the life paths of everyone here are all intertwined with you in countless ways."
"Heavens!" Elysia exaggeratedly covered her chest, her eyes shining, "Mei suddenly praising me so straightforwardly! Could this be… the legendary heart-throbbing attack? That's cheating~"
Mei looked at her helplessly and sighed, "…Forget it."
Having a serious discussion with Elysia about such things always seemed to go off-track.
Elysia laughed even more happily, but then her tone became slightly more serious, "Maybe, Mei, you can remove that 'seems' from your words."
She looked around, as if she could see the past of all the Flame-Chasers.
"Here, is there a single Flame-Chaser's story that isn't intertwined and entangled with the fates of the others? You'll understand very soon."
"Alright, we've finished savoring the fun of the past~ Next, Mei, which version of 'me' do you want to see? A more mature one, or…"
Raiden Mei didn't directly answer Elysia, but instead asked a more crucial question.
"You said before, that you and they 'step by step' came to this day."
"Then… I want to know, where did your 'next step' ultimately land? That critical turning point."
Elysia's smile slightly faded. She thought for a moment, and in her eyes surfaced a trace of complicated emotion.
"Oh… I really need to think about that one." She tapped her chin lightly with a finger.
"Because Fire Moth successively welcomed Van and Kevin, two 'super rookies,' our strength greatly increased."
"So, in the next few battles against the Honkai, things went fairly smoothly… until, the 'Sixth Eruption.'"
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