Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar face, Jiang Qiao quickly racked his brain for a plan.
But seeing the man's azure hair and his casual way of speaking, an image instantly popped into his mind.
Could it be—
"Hi, good morning~ Ato~"
The pink-haired girl smiled and waved at the man, but inside, Jiang Qiao was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, he guessed right.
This blue-haired man was indeed Ato—father of the Flame-Chaser Griseo.
Jiang Qiao didn't know much about this man. After all, even in the main story, he was only ever mentioned. As for the more detailed events of the Elysian Realm, even a die-hard miHoYo lore player like him couldn't remember every single trivial detail.
But if he remembered correctly, Ato's personality was supposed to be quite similar to Siegfried's.
"Hmm, you seem a little different today, Elysia."
"Ah, do I?"
Jiang Qiao's smile felt a bit forced. As expected, even if he deliberately tried to imitate the Pink fatty, his act was still easy to see through.
"Anyway, want to go to the cafeteria together? I'm kind of looking forward to today's breakfast~"
The emptiness in his stomach made him subconsciously want to use this convenient guide to show him the way, but his words made Ato look at him strangely.
"That's odd. Didn't you just complain yesterday that the base's food was a little too greasy?"
"Ah, ahaha... that's probably because I'm a little hungry right now. Although eating greasy food isn't great for a beautiful girl, I'm not the type to be a picky eater, you know~"
Jiang Qiao let out a nervous laugh, his heart pounding.
Fortunately, Ato didn't pay too much attention to his odd behavior. After all, no matter how much he thought, he could never imagine that the smiling Elysia in front of him was actually a man, right?
"Sure, let's go together. Let's have a little spar during training later. I lost to you yesterday, so I'm definitely winning today!"
Ato's words made Jiang Qiao's world crack a little.
Wait, we have to fight?
But at least he had a guide now. All he could do was sigh and reluctantly follow Ato, who was leading the way.
It was clear that he and Elysia were good friends. Coupled with his talkative nature, the conversation flowed nonstop along the way.
Jiang Qiao was completely lost listening to everything, but he couldn't show it, so he just forced a smile and played along.
But Ato obviously wasn't the Pink fatty's only friend. Everyone they met in the Fire MOTH base, whether they were soldiers or staff, would greet him cheerfully, and he could only respond with a smile, afraid of giving himself away.
He could guess Ato's identity from his hair, but he was a complete stranger to everyone else.
He soon saw for himself the "greasy food" Elysia had mentioned.
It was definitely the heavy oil, heavy salt type, and this was just breakfast.
But considering Fire MOTH was a military organization, it made sense that their supplies for soldiers and staff would prioritize high-energy content.
It was just that Elysia, being a beautiful girl, wasn't a fan of it.
After their meal, the two headed to the Fire MOTH soldier training grounds.
Unlike the squad-based training of a regular army, Fire MOTH, as a special military organization, focused more on cultivating individual prowess.
It was said that they had tried a legion-style formation before the First Great Honkai Eruption, but after facing the First Herrscher's terrifying arsenal of thermal weapons, the higher-ups of Fire MOTH had decisively abandoned that approach.
Numbers meant nothing in the face of a Herrscher. If your Honkai energy resistance was too low, you couldn't even get close. Pitting large numbers of personnel against Honkai Beasts would only lead to massive casualties.
Moreover, morale was also a problem. Fire Moth's soldiers came from all over the world, but those with a strong will, and ready to die for the cause, such as soldiers from Shenzhou, were only the minority. The others… well, let's just say the situations were complicated.
In short, the focus on the individual strength of the soldiers was a decision made by the higher-ups of Fire Moth after experiencing the First Honkai Eruption.
It was efficient and cost-effective.
The result of this policy was now giving Jiang Qiao, standing in the training grounds and looking at an eager Ato, a massive headache.
"Why does training include close-quarters combat!"
The Jiang Qiao inside the pink-haired girl was roaring in his mind.
Sure, once the MANTIS project began, the importance of individual combat skills would certainly rise.
But at this stage, before the MANTIS soldiers were even a thing, what was the point of a single soldier's fighting strength, no matter how ridiculously high?
Were you supposed to get into a close-quarters brawl with a two-meter-tall Honkai Beast?
One swat from that thing and you'd be a pancake!
As for Herrschers being humanoid… You think mages will actually fight you in close-quarters combat? Not everyone is Gandalf!
Jiang Qiao had assumed that training for a Fire MOTH soldier would mainly consist of using firearms and physical conditioning. He had planned to use "not feeling well" as an excuse for the former, and with the Pink fatty's physical stats, he wasn't worried about the latter.
But hand-to-hand combat—
He was really not good at this!
But he was already standing cluelessly in the training grounds, and seeing how eager his opponent was, he couldn't just surrender without a fight, could he?
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Jiang Qiao, in Elysia's body, couldn't help but complain. He then tied his hair back into a practical ponytail.
The pink-haired girl, wearing a training sports bra, slowly bent at the waist, raising her hands into a fighting stance. Her bright eyes, now tinged with a hint of coldness, locked onto Ato.
Ato looked surprised. "Huh? I haven't seen that stance before. Have you been learning Shenzhou martial arts, Elysia?"
"I know a little."
Jiang Qiao replied casually, feeling a wave of relief inside.
Thank god he'd practiced a bit himself, even if he'd let it slide in his daily life.
At least he wouldn't get beaten to a pulp!
"Alright then, I won't hold back!"
…
Meanwhile, fifty thousand years later in Nagazora City.
Chiba High School—a place known by many names, like the nexus of fate and the land of beginnings and endings—welcomed a visitor as the evening sun began to set.
That visitor was, of course, Elysia.
Although sneaking into Chiba High, located in the middle of a school district, presented a certain level of difficulty...
Who was she?
Elysia!
The number one wanderer of the Previous Era, a being who had traveled the world since she was a child!
A mere Chiba High? She'd snuck into its Previous Era equivalent before! The staff there had even praised her for being cute!
Compared to sneaking into Chiba High, running all the way from downtown Nagazora to the school district on the outskirts was far more exhausting.
Inhabiting an ordinary human body, Elysia felt like her legs were about to fall off.
Oh, right. They're not actually my legs. That made it better.
"I wonder if I can find her. I hope she hasn't gone home from school yet."
Looking up at the twilight sky, Elysia felt a pang of worry.
It wasn't a big deal if she'd made the trip for nothing, but according to what Jiang Qiao had told her, saving Nagazora was a race against time.
If Raiden Mei had already gone home, as an ordinary person, she had no way of finding her house in a short amount of time.
But it seemed luck was on the side of a beautiful girl.
As she wandered aimlessly and anxiously through the Chiba High campus, Elysia soon spotted her target on a bench.
—Looks like her luck wasn't too bad after all.