Though we couldn't possibly know what strange ideas Mei had pieced together in her head, after a fierce internal struggle—or so it seemed—she ultimately chose to push open that door once more.
"Ah, you really did come~ Ahem, welcome, noble and pure soul. You have come seeking the truth of the past..."
"Wait, wait, hold on…"
With a strange expression on her face, Mei quickly cut off Elysia's introductory flourish.
"How did the entire scene here change in just this short moment? It can't really be that I opened the door wrong last time, can it?"
Not that you could blame Mei for being startled. After all, as far as she knew, this was still the core of her own Herrscher self.
The first time she opened that door, this space had felt very lived-in—but now…
What in the world was this storybook-looking reception room?
"Mhm~ Just think of it as… a beautiful girl's magic~"
"Alright… Well, you certainly talk like Lynelle, so it seems my guess wasn't wrong. But what did you mean just now about 'seeking the truth of the past'…?"
Guess?
Slowly, a few question marks seemed to float above Elysia's head.
Regarding this young lady who had "accidentally wandered" into the Elysian Realm, Elysia already had some guesses about her identity.
After all, under the influence of Elysia's coaxing and pleading, Lynelle had already told her several times about the stories of the various Herrschers in the current civilization.
And this purple-haired girl was unmistakably this era's Herrscher of Thunder—Raiden Mei.
But Elysia also knew very well that Lynelle probably hadn't revealed information about the Previous Era to her companions… which piqued Elysia's curiosity.
After all, her relationship with Lynelle was rather special.
In a certain sense, Lynelle, as the second-generation Herrscher of Origin, viewing Elysia as something like a mother wasn't entirely off-base—though Elysia herself much preferred to establish a more… "intimate" bond with Lynelle.
And she was curious, in a situation where the other party didn't recognize her, what kind of existence would Lynelle's friends think she was?
"I certainly don't mind answering a cute girl's questions, but… while strong-willed girls are lovely too, I'd much prefer to get to know each and every person more deeply. So…"
Elysia blinked her beautiful eyes and offered a sweet smile.
"One question each, how about that?"
"…Fine." Already well-acquainted with Lynelle's whimsical and mischievous nature, Mei nodded quite readily.
"Then I won't hold back~" Elysia took half a step forward, subtly closing the distance between them, then leaned in slightly, quietly shrinking the personal space even further.
"So, my lovely lady, tell me—what affectionate nickname would you like to give the beautiful, flower-like maiden before you?"
"Th-that's it?" Mei, who had braced herself for some tricky question, blinked in surprise.
"Oh, don't think of me as some mean girl… Besides, as the host here, how could I possibly trouble you when I'm the one asking first?"
"Hmm…" Completely unaware of how close their chatting distance had become, Mei pondered the question for a moment before wearing an expression of confident assurance.
"You… must be another personality of Lynelle's, right? Considering you look exactly like her, and none of us had ever heard of Lynelle having a second personality… I think… I already know your name."
"You are… Mem!"
"Eh?"
Elysia was stunned.
Seeing Elysia's stunned look, Mei wore the triumphant smile of a master detective. "I don't know when you appeared, but I know Lynelle well."
"Back when the Schicksal battle ended and we were on vacation with her, I noticed… she had quite a few games with two separate accounts."
"One of them, rarely used, was named 'Mem.' Now that I think about it, that account must have been for you to play on, right?"
"…" Recalling how Lynelle had once bragged to her about using her Authority of Corruption to control two accounts at once, teaming up with herself, Elysia felt her lips twitch with suppressed amusement.
But the kind-hearted Miss Pink Elf would never embarrass a cute girl.
Of course, it definitely wasn't because she thought Mei's reaction might be quite entertaining once this came to light~
So…
"Mhm, that's right~" Elysia tilted her head with a beaming smile.
"I am indeed Mem~ the second personality hidden within Lynelle all along~"
"Just as I thought." Mei nodded.
"I knew it—you must be the failsafe Lynelle left behind to help me merge with another personality… But by the time I found this backdoor, my Ascension was already complete."
"Merge… backdoor… Ascension?"
Hearing these terms from Mei, Elysia had already formed some idea of the situation.
"So that's how it is… What a shame, I didn't even get to show off~"
"But then again… what if I told you this backdoor has another use?"
Without Mei even noticing, Elysia had taken her hand and was leading her toward the exhibition hall on the other side of the reception room.
"You must be curious too, right? About what I meant by 'seeking the truth of the past'?"
"As one of Lynelle's closest friends… do you really know about Lynelle's past?"
"Or rather… would you like to know some of Lynelle's other little secrets she hasn't told any of you? Learning these before anyone else could bring you even closer to her~"
Though Elysia's words were tempting, Mei's reason told her she had to suppress her fiercely burning curiosity this time.
As Lynelle's good friend—or even something a little closer than that—prying into Lynelle's privacy like this was clearly disrespectful.
"Sorry, I don't want to…"
"For example… about Lynelle's mother?"
"I don't want to miss an opportunity like this!" Mei instantly overthrew her own reason.
"Mhm~"
Elysia's playful voice sounded right beside Mei's ear.
Only then did Mei realize with a start that the girl who had seemed four or five steps away just moments ago was now pressed right up against her, whispering into her ear.
Wait, when did she silently get so close to me? And I didn't notice at all?!
Mei quickly sidestepped two paces away.
"Oh, don't be shy~"
Elysia smiled softly. "If you want to know these things, you'll have to earn them through your own efforts, understand?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.