"Through my own efforts?"
Mei wore a puzzled expression. "Do I need to do something?"
"Of course, after all, there's no such thing as a free lunch~" Elysia chuckled softly.
"You can think of this space as a training ground of sorts. By going through various battles and trials, you can earn 'Memories'... and then use those 'Memories' to trade for information with me, or with others..."
"There are others?" Mei glanced around, feeling like question marks were popping up over her head. "B-but, isn't this my Herrscher core? How come I didn't know there were so many people here?"
"What a silly girl... Haven't you realized that the moment you stepped through that door, your consciousness was already linked to another place?"
"Huh?!"
Only then did Mei notice that after entering the door, she had indeed lost the sense of control she had inside her core. In other words, her consciousness was clearly no longer in the core.
So where was she now?
Considering she could speak with another version of Lynelle, could she actually be inside Lynelle's body?
Mei's expression turned strange.
"Don't overthink it. The nature of this place is also one of the secrets that requires an exchange, you know? As for the other people I mentioned... ahem, that's something to explore later~"
"Why is everything unlocked gradually...? Please don't tell me there will be cliffhangers in the future."
Mei thought for a moment and said, "In that case... can I come back to challenge the trials another time?"
"Right now, my companions are waiting for me in the real world, and besides me, there's another out-of-control Herrscher in Nagazora City who needs our help..."
"Of course you can. A girl striving for her comrades' safety shines brightly too~" Elysia nodded, revealing a sweet smile.
"However, this door can't be opened anytime. Transferring a Herrscher's consciousness takes effort, so each transfer will require about a week's interval..."
"That long..." Mei's expression wavered. Given how incidents were popping up everywhere lately, a week was quite a substantial amount of time.
"There's no helping it. With Lynelle's current authority, replicating a Herrscher's data completely and then transmitting it into... ahem, anyway, that timeframe can't be shortened for now."
Elysia made an X shape with two fingers, then grinned playfully.
"But... I could never let a beautiful girl leave empty-handed. As a welcome gift for Mei's first visit here, I'll tell you a piece of information... something I'm sure you'll be very interested in~"
"Of course, it just requires a little... small price~"
"A small price?"
Mei repeated the phrase, and then she saw Elysia's gaze begin to rise, rise... and settle at a rather delicate height.
That location... was the pair of horns she had only acquired after her Herrscher transformation—their texture was something even she wasn't entirely sure about.
Mei subconsciously took half a step back.
"You... you don't mean to..."
"Mhm~" Elysia made no attempt to hide her curiosity.
"I'm just really curious, you know? Those long, crimson, absolutely beautiful horns... what do they feel like...? Can I touch them?"
Mei's face showed a conflicted expression.
"I can tell you who Lynelle's mother is, along with some little details about her~"
Though her appearance was angelically beautiful, Elysia's voice now whispered like a little devil's in Mei's ear.
"...Not for too long, and don't tell anyone."
After a moment's hesitation, Mei reluctantly turned her face to the side.
"Yay~"
Elysia let out a small cheer and reached out toward Mei's horns.
Then, a rather peculiar whimper echoed through the parlor of the Elysian Realm.
Don't misunderstand—after all, Mei's horns were freshly formed, so it was only natural they were sensitive to external touch. Plus, Elysia had honed her "skills" from petting the sleepy Lynelle day after day...
In short, about ten seconds later, Mei, her face flushed with a faint blush, quickly pulled away from Elysia's mischievous grasp.
"The texture really is special... Thank you, I'm quite satisfied~"
"Then... then you should tell me what I want to know, right?"
During those ten seconds, Mei had done her utmost to manage her expression, preventing herself from making any too-embarrassing faces. Even so, her voice trembled slightly.
Right then and there, she had made up her mind: unless absolutely necessary, she must never let anyone else touch her horns again.
If she ever made such a shameful expression in front of others, it would be utterly unacceptable for a somewhat "shy" girl like her.
"Of course~"
Pink light shimmered in Elysia's hand, and soon a crystalline mirror materialized before Mei.
"This lovely girl with long green hair is Lynelle's mother~"
"...?"
Staring at the girl who looked to be at most twelve or thirteen years old—who, in every sense, seemed closer to Theresa's age—Mei's face was filled with question marks.
"You... you're sure...?"
"I'm certain~ How about it? Isn't she absolutely adorable?"
"She is..."
Mei nodded helplessly. Objectively speaking, Lynelle's mother was indeed very cute, even fitting certain... peculiar descriptions from some Far Eastern media—the "young mother" trope.
The problem was, she seemed a bit too young.
"Hehe, don't overthink it. In your life, Mei, you must have met people whose age and appearance didn't quite match, right? Well, she's one of those existences."
"But..."
A thoughtful look crossed Mei's face. "If she's Lynelle's mother, why doesn't Lynelle look anything like her?"
"Yes, why ever could that be?" Elysia tilted her head cutely. "That's a forbidden topic—you'll have to find the answer yourself, Mei~"
"By the way, this girl's name is Mobius, and she rather likes... pink dresses~"
"Pink?" Mei instinctively felt something was off. "But the way she looks now... doesn't seem like it?"
"Well, pink is Lynelle's main color scheme, after all. What mother wouldn't adore her own daughter? Although Mobius can be a bit tsundere—she might not accept gifts from just anyone—if Lynelle gives her something, she'd be absolutely delighted."
Elysia stated matter-of-factly, "So, you could prepare some pink dresses and have Lynelle give them to her~"
--+--
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.