"Cough, cough! Prometheus, you can't say things like that so casually next time. It'll cause unnecessary misunderstandings."
Elias awkwardly felt Miss Pink Elf's slightly piercing gaze and turned to the mechanical girl as he spoke.
Elysia puffed up her cheeks, pouting in mock revenge as she lightly hammered Elias' chest with her small fists.
(Eli, you really are something. It's one thing to flirt with me, but now even the AI? What, as long as she's a pretty girl, you just have to set her heart on fire? Careful, playboy~ one day you might get stabbed. Though I'd hate to be the one to do it~…)
Elias couldn't help but laugh as he pulled Elysia into his arms. After hugging, patting, and kissing her—three gestures in quick succession—he quickly soothed the pink elf's emotions.
Meanwhile, in his heart, he muttered defensively:
(What do you mean I'm flirting? Most of the time, things just develop into that kind of relationship somehow. Feelings aren't something you can explain clearly. And if we're talking about being a playboy, Ely, aren't you one yourself? Let's not point fingers at each other.)
Although Elias' popularity was sky-high across the world, within the Fire Moth base, his reputation was actually slightly below that of Elysia's.
After all, anyone who had interacted with Miss Pink Elf would inevitably be moved by her sincere and beautiful personality.
For most people, trading sincerity only earns you betrayal—but Elysia was truly someone who could win genuine hearts in return.
"..."
Prometheus silently watched the two of them. Though they said nothing aloud, it was clear they were communicating perfectly well in their own way.
(Beep-beep! Beginning compatibility analysis between Elias and Elysia—result: 1000%. Compatibility with others: less than 70%…)
After a round of logical analysis, the mechanical girl concluded that the two were indeed most suited for each other.
After all, both Elias and Elysia could be described—charitably—as "the sun that warms everyone." Less charitably, they were "central air conditioning."
No one wants their partner to be someone who freely shares their love with the whole world. Both of them were the kind of people who made excellent friends but poor lovers—because they were too selfless, too all-embracing.
It wasn't hypocrisy. It was genuine, heartfelt love—for everyone, for the world itself. For most, their hearts were simply too vast to comprehend. Anyone else who tried dating Elias or Elysia would drown in jealousy every single day.
So, it was best for the two of them to simply deal with each other internally.
However, in Prometheus' view, Elias' "scope" seemed to surpass even Elysia's.
Elysia loved all of humanity—but Elias loved the entire era, or perhaps, the world itself.
(Fascinating. Observing these two is endlessly fascinating. And I can confirm—both Elias and Elysia still harbor tremendous secrets within them. Even as an artificial intelligence, I can feel… curiosity? How unusual.)
Prometheus placed a hand over her chest.
Although there wasn't a beating heart beneath it, there was a miniature soulium reactor with performance thousands of times higher than any human organ. Still, she began to suspect that something within her was malfunctioning.
(Why is it… every time Elias enters my camera's range, my reactor temperature rises inexplicably? System diagnostics show no anomalies, but surely this can't be normal.)
Prometheus pressed lightly against the spot of her reactor and sighed quietly to herself, lamenting how stingy her creator—Dr. Mei—had been for not giving her any "upgrades."
Now, at such a young "age," she already had a personal landing pad to cool herself off…
(Oh well. I do have self-modification privileges, so I can upgrade my own components later. Back to the original problem—my reactor heats up without detectable error. What's the cause? Truly perplexing.)
(If this were happening to a human, the correct explanation might be… "heart fluttering." But that's impossible for me. As a machine, I am, after all, merely a tool. I lack the capacity to love another being.)
Prometheus analyzed calmly and logically, just like her creator, known as the embodiment of absolute reason.
However, in the next second, she realized that her hands had unconsciously clenched with such force that the metal fork she had been holding to eat cake had been bent into wire.
It was as if she had felt… unwilling to accept something.
(…I really should go to Dr. Vill-V for a full system inspection later. Still, I hope she won't find it "interesting" and install a bunch of weird features on me again.)
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
After successfully soothing Miss Pink Elf's emotions, Elias picked up a towel and began wiping down the cat-eared girl who had been splashed with tea.
"Sorry about that, Pardofelis. I accidentally got you all wet. Do you want to take a bath later?"
"No worries, no worries! Being splashed by Boss Elias is something people would probably envy, honestly. But if you'd like to offer some compensation, I certainly wouldn't refuse, hehe~."
"Haha, you really are as greedy as ever, my little money-loving cat. Here, take this~."
Elias flicked a gold coin toward her.
The coin spun through the air in a graceful, shining arc.
Before it even began to fall, the greedy cat had already leapt up and caught it in her mouth.
"Yay! Boss Elias, you're the best! I love you and Sister Eden the most!"
Pardofelis' eyes sparkled as she rubbed the coin clean against her clothes, then carefully tucked it into her inner pocket before patting it twice for good luck.
Her words were completely sincere.
After all, Elias and Eden were always generous with her—often rewarding her with coins or gemstones. Thanks to the two of them, Pardofelis had already amassed a small fortune.
Combined with her daily five meals and regular afternoon naps, her current life was far too carefree and blissful. She couldn't even imagine going back to the hard days on Dusk Street.
Elias, ever familiar with her habits, reached out to stroke her cat ears and the unique tail behind her. The soft texture was so addictive he couldn't resist.
He couldn't help thinking how there could possibly exist such a cute catgirl like Pardofelis.
(Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… I used to think paramecium was the number one pet girl in the world, but I guess I was wrong. Pardofelis might be even more talented in that department. She's just too huggable!)
But suddenly, Pardofelis froze—her movements stiffening as though she had just remembered something. A nervous expression crept across her face.
"Hm? What's wrong, Pardofelis?"
"Eh, nothing! Nothing at all, Boss Elias!"
"Oh? You think you can fool me with that weak act? Just look at your tail—it's already drooping. If you don't start talking, maybe I'll have to visit a certain someone's little shop to check how much she's 'borrowed' from me recently."
Elias smiled, but his tone carried a subtle hint of menace.
Ever since Pardofelis had moved in, Elias had occasionally noticed some small items going missing—old clothes he no longer wore, broken trinkets, even stored cup noodles…
"Ehh?! Wait, wait! Don't, Boss Elias! My little shop's not worthy of your visit! If you're short on supplies, you can always go shopping with Sister Eden at the high-end mall instead!"
"Oh? Why the panic? Don't tell me you actually did steal something valuable recently?"
"Eek!"
Pardofelis visibly flinched, her fur standing on end like she'd been zapped. Elias could practically feel the panic radiating off her.
The catgirl turned her head away, sweating nervously.
(No way I can tell him… Recently, I "borrowed" one of Boss Elias' white shirts—the unwashed, original-scent kind—and it sold instantly the moment I put it on display. The buyer was wrapped up tight, so I couldn't tell who it was… but I'm sure it was one of the base's girls!)
"Fenghuang Down~."
Elias smiled as he summoned the Key of Sentience.
"Waaah! No, wait! Boss Elias, you can't just use mind reading like that! I'll talk, I'll talk!"
The catgirl immediately surrendered, faster than anyone else could.
After a moment of hesitation and internal struggle, she finally spoke up.
"Actually…" Pardofelis lowered her head, her ears drooping slightly. "I just feel so useless. I can't help you at all, Boss Elias. Kevin and Brother Kalpas can at least go fight Honkai Beasts, but I can't even set foot on the battlefield…"
"Pardofelis, you're not a warrior to begin with. There's nothing shameful about not wanting to fight. And besides—don't you have me here?"
Elias gently patted the catgirl's head, his voice warm and comforting.
But Pardofelis stubbornly shook her head.
She couldn't help but feel deeply indebted.
Ever since Elias had taken her away from Dusk Street, he had fulfilled his promise—allowing her to live a life she had never even dared to dream of before.
A life where she could sleep until she naturally woke, bask in the sunlight without worry, and never again fear going hungry. It felt like paradise.
Yet Pardofelis was a catgirl with a conscience.
Elias had been so good to her—so kind that she desperately wanted to repay him somehow, to do something for the first person in her life who had ever treated her so well. But… she was just a small, weak, slightly mischievous, and unusually lucky catgirl.
(Pardofelis: "I can't do anything~")
She didn't even dare to fight Honkai Beasts, let alone Herrschers. Truthfully, her only wish now was to live this carefree, lazy, and peaceful life forever.
She had no need to chase power or status like Mobius or the others. After all, everything she had now was a gift from Elias.
As long as she stayed by his side—his adorable pet girl who let him stroke her ears and tail, and occasionally even turned into a real cat for him to cuddle—her position would be secure.
Surely, there wasn't anyone in this world who'd try to steal that role from her, right? Pardofelis was confident she'd never fall out of favor!
But in this blissful, happy life, Elias was irreplaceable. He wasn't just her caretaker—he was also a hero who bore the weight of saving the world.
Pardofelis could afford to laze around, but Elias constantly faced dangers she couldn't even imagine.
Even her current happiness—and the peaceful lives of countless people—were thanks to this white-haired boy who had stopped the Honkai time and again.
Pardofelis knew she was living the happiest days of her life… but that happiness also made her afraid.
Because if, by some cruel twist of fate—
Elias were to meet with an accident one day…
(Pardofelis: "I… I don't want that… nooo!")
Just imagining it made her tremble in terror.
She had gone from a stray cat to a pampered housecat, and once you've known that kind of comfort—you never want to go back. But as a catgirl whose only talents were her luck and her cuteness… what could she possibly do for her master?
"Ah! That's it!"
Suddenly, Pardofelis' eyes lit up. She leapt from Elias' embrace, rummaged through her chest pouch, and pulled out a small coin, placing it in his hand.
"What's this?" Elias blinked, studying the object curiously.
It was a slightly misshapen silver coin engraved with a cat paw symbol. There was also a deep dent on one side, as if it had been struck by a bullet.
"Hehe~ When I was little, I loved keeping shiny things in my pouch," Pardofelis said with a nostalgic smile. "One time, I accidentally got caught in a gunfight. A bullet hit me right in the chest—but thanks to this coin, it deflected just enough to save my life."
She rubbed her chest as she spoke, still feeling the lingering fear even now.
Sometimes, she wondered—if cats really had nine lives, had she already used one of hers back then?
"So, this is your lucky charm?" Elias asked, twirling the coin between his fingers.
"Mhm! And now, I'm putting half of my luck into it and giving it to you, Boss Elias!" Pardofelis said proudly, her tail swishing excitedly. "From now on, if you ever find money in an old pocket, or get an extra drink from a vending machine, that means my luck's working for you!"
She grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling with warmth and sincerity.
Her tail wagged back and forth, as though she were overjoyed to have finally found something meaningful she could share with Elias.
"But… this is probably all I can do," Pardofelis said shyly, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry, Boss Elias. You're so amazing—you probably don't even need my luck. Honestly, even I think this sounds kind of unreliable…"
"There's nothing unreliable about it. Thank you, Pardofelis."
Elias shook his head gently, then carefully stored the silver coin inside the Herrscher Core of the Void—placing it safely within the Imaginary Space.
"Actually, this comes at the perfect time. I'm about to do something that'll really test my luck, so your blessing is just what I needed. I'm sure I'll succeed now."
Elias felt more fortunate than ever before.
In the Current Era, Kiana had once infused half of her own luck into a cross as a gift for him—and now, he had received a lucky coin holding half of Pardofelis' fortune as well.
He was no longer just lucky; he was the ultimate jackpot winner—a man who could pull maximum constellations in a ten-roll.
A mere 0.001% success rate for the Chimera procedure? With both Pardofelis' and Kiana's luck combined, even if that number had ten more zeros, he was certain he'd still succeed.
Although this silver coin's actual material value was less than one percent of the gold coin he had given Pardofelis earlier, to Elias, it was now far more precious than any Herrscher Core.
"Really? Hehe~ If it can help you even a little, Boss Elias, then that makes me happier than anything."
"Mhm. Wait—right, if science doesn't work, there's always… mysticism! Emmm, yeah, that might actually work!"
Elias suddenly looked inspired.
His gaze burned intensely as he turned toward Pardofelis.
"W-What is it, Boss Elias? Why are you staring at me like that? You're making me nervous…"
Pardofelis blushed, raising her hands to shield her face—but in the next moment, Elias gently took her hands and lowered them.
"Pardofelis, tell me—where will the next Herrscher, the Eleventh Herrscher, appear?"
"Eh?!"
Elias had somehow produced a world map and spread it out before her, staring with eager anticipation.
"H-How should I know that?"
Pardofelis froze, completely dumbfounded. There was no way she could possibly know where the next Herrscher would appear!
"It's fine. Just point anywhere. With your luck, you might really guess it right. Come on, Pardofelis—I believe in you!"
"Boss Elias, please don't! I really can't do this!"
"C'mon~ It's just for fun. Think of it as doing me a favor."
"Uuuh… o-okay, fine, but if it's wrong, I'm not responsible, alright?"
Closing her eyes tightly, Pardofelis randomly pointed to a spot on the map.
Elias' expression immediately turned serious.
In that instant, he silently made up his mind—after completing the Chimera procedure, he would head straight to that exact location and wait!