As night fell, Lynelle stumbled back to her room, utterly drained after the meeting had finally wrapped up.
After all, everyone was genuinely curious about this "mom" Lynelle had mentioned—something like a mother was pretty rare among the trio.
Going by the original storyline, the three of them together might have only half a mom between them, and even that one was locked up.
Secondly, even though Lynelle repeatedly clarified that "mom" here referred to a creator-creature relationship rather than a biological mother, the trio was still burning with curiosity about just who could have raised a daughter like Lynelle.
So, Lynelle had to give a fairly objective rundown of Snake's situation—how she was a tsundere, how stubborn she could be, and how you usually had to take her words with a grain of salt.
Huh, seems like she ended up emphasizing the same trait three times… but no matter, Snake wouldn't hear it anyway.
As for why she didn't tell Kiana and the others about Elysia's situation, well… hehe, if there was a chance later on, Lynelle planned to toss them all into the Elysian Realm for a little tour.
So, it was better to let them discover Elysia for themselves.
"Phew, gathering to chat late at night like this really brings back those wonderful days at St. Freya… huh?" Lynelle's ears twitched as a sudden knock came from outside the door.
It was nearly one in the morning, and she and the trio had only just finished their chat.
Unless Ana had suddenly woken up or Sushang had also come up for a late-night chat, the person outside was probably…
The image of a certain white-haired fluffball popped into Lynelle's mind.
"Gulp… she's here already? Maybe I shouldn't have used the manual fountain demonstration as the communication marker this morning…"
A faint, strange blush creeping across her cheeks, Lynelle slowly opened the door, and then…
"Huh? Mei?"
"Yeah, it's me." Mei nodded, a slightly embarrassed look on her face. "Sorry to bother you so late… it's just, I have some questions I wanted to ask for your opinion."
"Ah, I see…" It dawned on Lynelle then.
With everything that had happened today, she'd nearly forgotten—since Mei had gained full control of the core much earlier than planned, the backdoor to the Elysian Realm that Lynelle had prepared for her later had been discovered ahead of schedule too.
In that case, it was perfectly reasonable for Mei to sneak over in the middle of the night to ask about it.
"Mei, just ask whatever's on your mind~" Lynelle blinked, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Did the little surprise I hid in your core give you a scare?"
"Well…" Recalling her bewildering encounter earlier, a faint blush rose to Mei's cheeks. "A scare, not really, but… both that place and the people there truly left me deeply astonished."
"So, Lynelle, what exactly is that strange realm…"
"It's called the Elysian Realm, or… you could think of it as a tomb."
Lynelle sighed. "Within the Realm, the complete memories and experiences of thirteen individuals from the Previous Era—who did not become heroes—are preserved."
"Through a special surgical procedure from that era, those thirteen Flame-Chasers left their memory constructs within the Realm, to impart skills and guide those who come after."
Mei suddenly remembered what Mem had told her about Lynelle's mother.
"Wait, so that means your mother is already…" A look of regret crossed Mei's face. "Sorry, Lynelle. Perhaps we shouldn't have brought up that topic tonight…"
"?" Lynelle patted Mei's head. "What are you thinking, Mei? Don't worry. If I'm guessing right, the real Mobius… is most likely still alive. I just don't know what state she's in now."
"As for the Mobius memory construct in the Realm… hmm, it's a bit hard to explain her situation. Let's just say, they are all Mobius."
"There's no real distinction between them as 'memory constructs'—if you call her one, she might even throw a little tantrum."
"So, when Mem told me about other existences I could meet in the future, she was referring to the memory constructs of those thirteen Flame-Chasers you mentioned?"
"Right, as long as your progress in the Realm's trials reaches a high enough level… wait, what?" Lynelle whipped her head around, staring at Mei with a peculiar expression.
"Who told you this?"
"Mem did," Mei replied, confused.
"The second personality you left in that Stigma to guide me. The one who looks almost exactly like you, just… a bit more grown-up. 'Lynelle,' basically… Um, Lynelle, what's with that face?"
Lynelle: Holding-back-laughter.jpg
"She… she introduced herself like that?" After struggling to contain her amusement for a moment, Lynelle finally asked with a strange expression.
"Yeah… Is there a problem?" Mei had a sinking feeling.
"No, nothing… What else did she tell you?"
"She told me a few things about your mother… Like how Lady Mobius likes pink dresses but is too shy to say it out loud…"
"Pfft— Bahahaha…"
Watching Lynelle completely lose it, Mei fell silent.
"S-sorry, I just couldn't hold it in that time…" After a moment, Lynelle cleared her throat. "If I told you now that everything she said was true, would you believe me?"
Mei's eye twitched. "What do you think?"
"Ahem, well, she actually didn't lie to you much." Lynelle patted Mei's shoulder, her expression turning serious.
"But her name isn't Mem. Her real name is Elysia. As for Mem… that's a name I gave myself in a special form."
"And about that pink dress… go ahead and give it to Mobius. She won't be angry—at least, not at you."
"Your mother-daughter relationship really makes me curious…" Mei couldn't help but comment.
"Mhm, doesn't that just show how close we are?" Lynelle chuckled.
"But what I'm more curious about is that Elysia actually told you about Mobius outright? I thought she'd at least play a little hard to get… Unless, you already paid some sort of 'price'?"
"No wonder she's your second personality—you really know her well, Lynelle…" Mei's expression turned complicated.
"She did have a request. She… really wanted to touch the horns that formed during my Herrscher transformation. Said she was curious about how they felt."
--+--
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.