***
“Hmm, you came out that quickly?”
When Jiang Qiao emerged from Dr. Rylia’s laboratory, he saw Little Bird stuffing small cookies into her mouth, one after another, puffing out her cheeks like they were about to burst. She looked incredibly cute, just like a hamster or a little glutton.
Noticing his gaze, Totori laughed awkwardly:
“Research work is so physically exhausting, I need to replenish my energy. Do you want some… mmph mmph mmph!!!”
The chestnut-haired girl was chewing cookies while talking, when her delicate face suddenly turned pale. Fortunately, 【Elysia】 was quick to catch the bag of cookies, or they would have scattered all over the floor.
Of course, the cookies weren’t the most important thing.
The important thing was! She was choking, Little Bird was choking!
“…Water… water!”
Hearing the girl’s pitiful cry, Jiang Qiao looked at the half-empty mineral water bottle in his hand and didn’t hesitate for a moment — he immediately poured it down Little Bird’s throat!
Unfortunately, there wasn’t much water left, so it didn’t achieve the expected effect of making her belly swell up.
Gulp~ Gulp~
“Phew… I’m alive!”
With an expression like she’d just survived a disaster, Totori patted her chest, which while not particularly wealthy, was at least above 50,000, and let out a long breath.
She glanced at the mineral water bottle in 【Elysia】 hand, her cheeks slightly red.
Well… since they’re both girls, it should be fine.
“If you’re hungry, let’s go eat. I’m getting hungry too.”
The pink-haired girl was somewhat helpless.
Although as a Herrscher, she could survive without eating or drinking, sustaining herself with Honkai Energy alone.
But perhaps due to the special nature of the Herrscher of Origin, while she wouldn’t die from hunger, she would still feel uncomfortable just like ordinary people.
“Mm-hmm~ My treat!”
Having been “saved,” Totori actively patted her assets.
Fire Moth’s salary for research personnel was relatively generous.
The 4th Research Institute had its own cafeteria, but Little Bird didn’t choose to take Jiang Qiao to the cafeteria. Instead, she went to a dessert shop in town that she particularly loved.
“Boss, two servings of Three-Flavor Aqua Mousse and two cups of black tea~”
Very skillfully, Totori completed the order. You could tell she was a regular customer here.
“I’m telling you, this dessert shop’s desserts are really, really delicious! I come here every few days without fail!”
The wait for desserts was quite leisurely. The somewhat excited chestnut-haired girl sat on a high stool, chatting with 【Elysia】.
“Where are you going next?”
“Auckland. Dr. Rylia commissioned me to go there.”
— That was also New Zealand’s largest city, famous as the City of Sails.
“Oh! What a coincidence! I’m also planning to go to Auckland!”
“Don’t tell me your friend is…”
“Hehe, she’s in that city~ Oh right, I haven’t told you her name yet, have I?”
“Wendy?”
“…Eh? Did I tell you?… I don’t think I did? Whatever, I probably forgot.”
Looking at the somewhat airheaded chestnut-haired girl, 【Elysia】 rested her cheek on her hand and picked up a silver spoon to scoop a spoonful of the completely aqua-blue mousse into her mouth to taste it.
It had a very peculiar flavor. Upon entering the mouth, there were three distinct tastes… it was made from Shanke fruit, which was said to be very popular in the Mu Continent.
As a neighbor of the Mu Continent, it wasn’t surprising that this dessert shop located in the tourist destination of Queenstown would have it.
Of course, although the taste was good, he didn’t put much thought into savoring the dessert. Instead, he maintained a smile while listening to Little Bird’s story about how she met Wendy.
— The Previous Era’s Wendy wasn’t like that Wind Empress from the second game who had such a tragic background, not a rich person’s plaything on a private island, but a native resident of Auckland.
One day, she met Totori, who had come from Shenzhou to study in Auckland, by chance.
Like a fateful encounter, although it was just their first meeting, the previously unacquainted Wendy and Totori quickly hit it off and became very good friends.
Even after graduating early and being invited by her teacher to join the 4th Research Department, the latter would often make time to visit Wendy in Auckland.
However, recently, due to environmental and work influences, Little Bird hadn’t been able to visit her friend for quite a while.
Only through communication and chatting did she vaguely know that Wendy, whose health wasn’t great to begin with, had been getting even worse lately.
Since previous examinations hadn’t yielded any results, Totori planned to use her teacher’s connections to see if she could later ask Dr. Spasi, who was located in Europe, to help examine Wendy’s condition.
During the brief time enjoying desserts, aside from acting as a listener, Jiang Qiao would also, pressured by Little Bird’s curiosity, tell her about some experiences — after all, girl talk involves sharing past events and interesting stories with each other.
【Elysia】 stories of being active on the battlefield as a warrior, even with embellishments, made Totori, who was merely a research personnel, quite amazed and longing.
Of course, the most interesting thing was still the gossip from Fire Moth headquarters.
For example — the famous Mobius actually secretly loved wearing little dresses, especially pink ones!
Because she loved wearing little dresses so much, she would sometimes raid 【Elysia】 wardrobe. About this, 【Elysia】 was quite troubled, saying somewhat helplessly:
“Really, liking little dresses is something you can just tell people directly. What’s wrong with a beautiful girl liking little dresses? But she insists on secretly taking them. Tell me, isn’t Dr. Mobius being dishonest?”
“Mm-hmm-hmm, who would have thought that the famous Dr. Mobius would be like this behind the scenes!”
“Eh, you absolutely, absolutely must not tell anyone else, okay? If it reaches Dr. Mobius’s ears, she’ll definitely be very embarrassed!”
“Don’t worry, my lips are recognized as the tightest in the 4th Research Department!”
The chestnut-haired girl patted her chest, making a solemn promise.
The two, who were chatting quite happily, rapidly grew closer — according to Totori, she and Wendy became good friends also thanks to a dessert shop.
So— 【Elysia】 had already become a good friend no less important than Wendy to Totori!
Her favorability might even be higher.
After all, how could the power of an Elysian Realm yuri compare to that shy little girl like Green Seele who was somewhat introverted?
The excited Little Bird couldn’t wait to introduce her new good friend to Wendy. Swallowing the last bite of dessert that 【Elysia】 fed to her mouth, with fruit residue still on her lips, she actively said:
“Let’s hurry and go!”
“Wendy will definitely be very happy to meet you too!”