"The Second... Honkai Eruption huh..."
Lynelle's lip twitched. If they were talking about anything else, she might've had some confidence, but the Second Eruption...
Forget about all those absurd blunders she made back then because she'd just transmigrated and hadn't adjusted her mindset.
Just that state of hers, constantly 'dying and coming back to life'—she really had no idea how to even begin explaining it.
A strange premonition told her that if she told the truth, the consequences for her afterwards might be... rather miserable.
But an even stronger feeling was that if she didn't tell the truth, things could get even worse later on.
Turning it over and over in her mind, Lynelle finally decided...
Better a sharp pain than a long one. Out with it!
Ahem, "The story of the Second Eruption... has to start from over a decade ago."
"Back then, an amnesiac me somehow appeared near a place called the Babylon Labs..."
"Wait, amnesia?"
Miss Snake cut Lynelle's story short.
"Uh... yes."
Amnesia was a fairly reasonable excuse Lynelle had come up with, one that didn't expose her 'second playthrough' status, and it also more or less accurately described her state just after transmigrating.
For some reason though, hearing that Lynelle started with amnesia, a look of sudden understanding dawned on Miss Snake's face.
"And then, I was 'voluntarily' captured into Babylon Labs, becoming one of their experimental consumables for their research on artificial Stigmata. The girl I shared a room with back then was named Sirin..."
As Lynelle's story slowly unfolded, Elysia and Miss Snake's faces gradually began to show rather peculiar expressions.
At the start, Miss Snake could still spare a bit of attention to note what exactly Babylon Labs was researching, but halfway through, her face visibly darkened.
Especially after hearing about all the tragedies that befell Sirin later because Lynelle had 'gone offline,' Miss Snake's expression looked like she was recalling some unpleasant memories of her own.
And Elysia...
How to put it? Judging by how her grip on Lynelle's hand was getting tighter and tighter, Lynelle felt pretty sure she was doomed later.
"So, in the end, the result was, I used my own core to house Sirin's soul, and later placed her into a clone body created from her own genes combined with those of Kevin's descendants, Kiana."
"As for Cecilia, since her injuries weren't too severe, she woke up pretty early. Right now, she's genuinely trying to clone a suitable body, and might get results in a month or two."
"..."
The tea party fell into silence.
"Uh, could... someone say something?"
Looking at the silent pair, Lynelle felt cold sweat starting to break out.
"Lynelle..."
Elysia grasped Lynelle's hand earnestly, her gaze meeting Lynelle's.
"I think... your mindset might need some correcting."
"W-wait, hold on!"
Lynelle hurriedly defended herself, "After the Second Eruption, I haven't died even once!"
"That's only because the Herrscher of Corruption core Sirin got for you gave you a higher margin for error."
Elysia puffed her cheeks angrily, "Your mindset hasn't changed at all, has it! If another situation appeared where a hole needed to be plugged with your life, you'd definitely still throw yourself in to fill it."
"Guh, I can't refute that at all..."
Her cheeks being vigorously squished by Elysia, Lynelle instantly went limp, turning into a puddle of Lynelle slumped over the table.
"Hmph, and you have the nerve to criticize her, Elysia."
Miss Snake let out a light snort, "Your personalities are essentially carved from the same mold. If it were you, you'd make all the same choices."
"Or are you saying you think you haven't made plenty of self-sacrificing moves yourself?"
"If you ask me, since we can't change the mindsets of you fools, we might as well spend the time on boosting your strength instead. At the very least, it could reduce how often you need to stake your lives."
"Eh?"
Elysia immediately looked at Mobius with a gaze full of curiosity, as if she'd discovered a new world, "Mobius... why do I feel like you're a bit different today?"
"W-what difference could there be!"
A flicker of guilt instantly appeared on Mobius's face, quickly masked, "I just can't stand watching you two fools trying to pick the taller one among shorties here!"
"Is that really true..."
Elysia gave a noncommittal smile, "Well, we can pretend that's the case for now~"
"Still, on this point, I share Dr. Mobius's opinion, Lynelle. You really do need to improve your strength a bit."
"Exactly."
Mobius nodded repeatedly, "Especially your Authority of Corruption. In that area, I have a bit more research experience. You can come to my lab more often; there should still be plenty of experimental data and materials from back then stored there."
"If you're willing, you could even move in there..."
"Now that won't do~"
Elysia linked arms with Lynelle, "Lynelle also needs to learn how to master the power of the Stigmata of Ego from me. Even my dear Mobius can't snatch her away from me, okay?"
"Tch, what's there to learn from your crystal flowers..."
Miss Snake snorted discontentedly, "And who knows what you're really planning. With Little Pink Mouse's personality, she probably wouldn't even realize it if you devoured her completely."
"Oh~"
Elysia's eyes lit up. She'd finally realized what she'd been overlooking all along.
"I originally thought Mobius was only this concerned about Lynelle because she valued her as a test subject, but it turns out..."
Elysia leaned in slightly, a mischievous, knowing smirk on her face as she looked at Mobius, "Dr. Mobius... is actually genuinely worried about Lynelle?"
"Eh?"
Lynelle dumbly pointed at herself, "M-me?"
"Elysia, what nonsense are you spouting!"
Miss Snake's voice instantly became flustered and angry, "Why would I care so much about a Little Pink Mouse I've only known for a few hours, just because she looks like you? Elysia, aren't you being a bit too narcissistic?"
"My, it seems I really hit a nerve~"
Elysia's voice held a note of surprise, "I was just testing the waters... Did I guess correctly?"
"You... you!"
Mobius huffily kicked the floating platform beneath her, then turned and stalked off, "Can't be bothered with a narcissist like you... Little Pink Mouse, if you change your mind, just come to the lab and find me."
"But I'd still advise you to stay away from this Elysia. Be careful... you don't even realize when she's tricked you."
"I only ever lied to you that one time, don't hold such a grudge, Mobius..."
Watching Miss Snake sneak a glance back before quickly disappearing into the distance, Elysia's expression became thoughtfully profound.
"Mobius is actually genuinely concerned about you, Lynelle. How strange. Besides Klein, I've never seen her care about anyone else like that..."
"Couldn't it be because of you, Elysia?"
Lynelle tilted her head.
"Who can say? Maybe there's some of that too..."
Elysia smiled slightly, "Miss Pink Detective is considering taking action again, it seems~"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.