Elysia willingly (under threat) became an accomplice. So annoying. Koji was absolutely not a gentleman—using that kind of line to "threaten" her.
Now, the moment she thought of Koji, she thought of that sentence:
Elysia, you don't want other people finding out you're a Herrscher… right?
"Elysia, you know Eden, right?"
"Of course I do! My dear Eden is a total beauty," Elysia said with absolute certainty, firmly endorsing Eden's looks.
"Eden… the world-famous superstar?" Vill-V immediately connected the dots. Who didn't know Eden's reputation?
Vill-V wanted to become the most famous magician on the planet—but Eden was already the most famous super-celebrity alive.
"Vill-V, do you want a patron?"
With Vill-V's IQ, she got it instantly. Her eyes lit up. "Bro… you mean Eden?"
Even if she didn't know exactly how rich Eden was, with fame like that, how could she not have money? "Richer than nations" wouldn't even be surprising.
"Oh? So you two are actually planning to set your sights on Eden? And did you ask for my opinion first?" Elysia said, putting on an angry act.
That said… Eden really was ridiculously wealthy. Every time they met, Elysia would end up getting a little gift from her—gems and the like.
"If it's to defeat the Honkai, Eden would probably be happy to sponsor us," Koji said.
"Eden is definitely rich, but I honestly don't want to drag Eden into this," Elysia sighed softly.
She knew perfectly well that if Eden found out, she would absolutely help.
"Elysia, you know the Honkai exists in this world. Eden will run into it sooner or later. She's just a normal person—when the time comes, she'll be in real danger," Koji said, coaxing her step by step.
"...That's true. I'll contact Eden later and hear what she thinks."
Eden held concerts all over the world. It really wasn't impossible that she'd get caught up in a Honkai outbreak. As an ordinary person, it would be seriously dangerous.
And if Elysia could bring Eden to stay close by, not only would Eden be safer… there would also be way more chances to get clingy.
Watching Elysia grin to herself like an idiot, Koji and Vill-V both felt baffled.
What exactly was this pink-haired girl imagining? Something… decidedly not family-friendly?
"Elysia, when are we going back?" Vill-V called out, helplessly snapping her out of it.
"Going back?"
"What's the rush? My mission right now is to find you. There's no deadline. The higher-ups know you're hard to track down," Elysia shook her head.
And since she had the time, of course she was going to relax properly.
"Strange… Elysia, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Vill-V studied her carefully. Elysia gave her a vague sense of familiarity.
"Really??"
Elysia tapped a finger to her lips like she was thinking. She also felt like Vill-V seemed familiar.
"You're that little pink-haired kid."
Vill-V's super-brain kicked into gear and she finally remembered when she'd seen her—back when Vill-V was a child.
"Was it when I was traveling the world?" Elysia also had a faint impression. Back then, she really had been very young.
"What a coincidence. So we've known each other for that long," Vill-V said, nodding in agreement. From the ends of the earth—and they still managed to run into each other again.
"Elysia, you were traveling the world when you were that little… why?" Vill-V asked.
Even for a genius like her, she couldn't understand it. A child that young, without a guardian, choosing to roam the world?
"To search for the paradise I wanted to see," Elysia answered without hesitation.
Unfortunately, even after circling the world, she still hadn't found the paradise she wanted.
"That's it?" Vill-V froze for a moment. That reason was… how should she put it… unbelievably naive.
Vill-V knew this world too well. There was no such thing as paradise.
"Sounds naive, right? I know. In the end, I didn't find my paradise… so why not create one?" Elysia smiled softly.
"You…" Vill-V genuinely didn't know how to judge Elysia.
Even if she was a Herrscher, the good in her was so dazzling it left the other three humans completely mesmerized.
Creating a paradise—how hard was that? It was beyond imagination. Practically impossible.
"What is it??" Elysia blinked, eyes full of amused warmth.
"Nothing. It's just… you're so beautiful it feels unreal. Paradise… you know it can't be created in this world," Vill-V shook her head.
"I know. But I'll try anyway. If it works, great. If it fails… at least I tried," Elysia said, taking it all in stride.
Success or failure—either way, she would have given it her all.
"Elysia—if sacrificing you could give future Herrschers humanity, so they could make their own choices… what would you choose?" Koji asked.
Elysia paused, then smiled. "If that were really possible… I'd be looking forward to meeting Herrschers with humanity."
She didn't answer directly, but both of them understood: if it could be done, Elysia really would do it.
Koji wasn't surprised. Vill-V, however, was stunned. Willing to sacrifice herself for people who had nothing to do with her… was she some kind of saint?
"So… can it really be done?" Elysia asked curiously.
"Wait here."
Koji vanished in an instant. A short while later, he reappeared—with a little white-haired "ball of fluff" next to him.
He'd left a marker in the Honkai world earlier. This time, he could just bring Kiana over directly.
"Koji, why did you bring me here?" Kiana asked, confused.
Because Koji had brought Himeko back to life, Kiana trusted he had no ill intent. When he said he wanted to take her somewhere, she agreed without even thinking about it.
"Kiana, I'm bringing you to meet someone," Koji said, pointing at Elysia.
"Isn't that Elysia?" Kiana blinked. She'd met the Elysia "memory" inside the Elysian Realm.
"My cute Kiana—do you know me??" Elysia looked surprised, then delighted.
There was a Herrscher aura.
Familiar… the aura of the Herrscher of the Void, and also the aura of the Herrscher of Death.
A multi-core Herrscher… what a rare case.
And she had humanity, too. For Elysia, that was a wonderful surprise.
"You don't know me?" Kiana asked, perplexed. She could tell Elysia truly didn't recognize her.
"Should I?" Elysia asked, amused.
Koji explained, "Kiana, this isn't the Elysia from the Elysian Realm. This is the real Elysia—still alive."
Kiana understood instantly.
So that was why… no wonder she didn't recognize her.
(End of Chapter)
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