Elysia walked alone through the corridor.
She felt as if she were on the verge of breaking down completely.
Memories of her past with Edward kept replaying in her mind.
Even the sight of an ordinary, delicate vase brought back the bouquet of pink flowers Edward had once given her.
He had picked them himself from the back mountain, marking the dreamlike moment of their first encounter.
Elysia’s soft fingers gently brushed the edge of the table at the seat that had belonged to the girl who once defeated her, Vill-V.
Vill-V’s personality was extremely withdrawn, almost reclusive.
Although she never missed any conversation during the banquets, her presence was nearly imperceptible.
Despite her excellent appearance, no one ever paid her much attention.
Even Elysia had almost overlooked her unintentionally.
If Vill-V had not been Edward’s first friend besides Elysia herself, and if the two of them had not been so inseparable that they would chat even while eating, Elysia might have forgotten about the girl entirely.
Her ability to fade into the background was almost pathological.
Perhaps only a genius who devoted all her energy to evading the gaze of others could achieve such a feat.
At first, Elysia had been somewhat puzzled.
Why attend if one did not interact with others, barely spoke a word, and simply sat silently in one spot, only engaging with Edward?
If it was solely because of Edward’s invitation, she would have attended at most one banquet for his birthday.
But now, looking back, Vill-V had not come for the food or the company.
Her goal had always been very clear.
Edward.
In her memory, wherever Edward went, she would follow.
After his eighteenth birthday, no matter how remote the location, Vill-V would appear at every banquet, even if Edward only stayed for a brief moment.
As her dull, lifeless blue eyes wandered, they were suddenly drawn to a glint of dark golden metal.
The reflected light entered her pupils.
There was nothing particularly unusual about it at first.
Although the mansion was only rented, and buying a property in every location would have been far too extravagant given her constant travels, the care put into decorating this place was no less meticulous than her permanent residence.
The various decorations were perfect, especially in their dreamlike quality and pure beauty.
Yet something made the girl’s pupils contract slightly.
Because this light definitely did not belong to any lightbulb or mirror reflection.
It carried no sense of danger, yet there was a faint illusion of being watched, like those persistent paparazzi on the streets who claimed to be talent scouts.
Every time they saw her, they would swarm around her like dogs seeing a bone.
Then what could it be?
So what?
The two questions rose in her heart at the same time.
Yes.
So what?
Even if it was a camera, it did not matter.
The girl, who always appeared flawless in public, was not worried about being exposed, except in the most private matters.
Besides, what was a mere reflection?
The giant monsters known as Honkai Beasts, which that mysterious organization spoke of, stood tens of meters tall.
When they appeared, they could bring destruction to neighborhoods or entire cities.
Human lives were as insignificant as ants before such colossal creatures, yet in her hands, they were as fragile as chickens.
Were they any stronger than an ant crawling underfoot?
What in this world could possibly harm her?
Perhaps it was because her mood was filled with unprecedented loneliness and sorrow.
Her emotions had sunk so low that even her instincts sensed something unusual, sparking a strange interest in this seemingly meaningless little detail.
Then she would find it.
The table, embedded as one with the floor, was forcefully lifted apart.
It was undoubtedly high-tech.
In the corner of this ordinary banquet hall was advanced technology she had never seen before.
It could even generate a transparent energy shield specifically for protection.
Preliminary analysis suggested its strength was enough to withstand the trampling of a Honkai Beast tens of meters tall.
More importantly, the shield’s deployment design was incredibly delicate, fitting into an extremely narrow space that seemed to emerge from a structure less than ten centimeters wide.
Was there really something important hidden here?
It was neither too secret nor too obvious.
There were also some abnormal, strange water stains nearby.
They smelled odd.
Inexplicably salty.
The girl gently pierced the protective film with her finger and cleared away all the safeguards, revealing the true appearance of the item.
…
…
…
?
??
????
“Huh…!”
“What…
how could it be something like this?!”
The fairy-like girl’s face, which had nearly lost all vitality, suddenly transformed.
Her eyes reflected an unimaginable object.
===
[The night had already grown dark, and even after such an intense day of travel, it should have been time to sleep.]
[A great deal had happened today.]
[There had been a full day of birthday banquets.
Just a while ago, the girl had suddenly covered her face, screamed, and said she seemed to have lost something important, something that absolutely could not be seen by others.]
[Although Edward had offered to help and mentioned he could notify Elysia, the girl had refused outright without hesitation and appeared even more nervous.]
[It was a little hard to understand.]
[Something so important, yet she could not speak of it.]
[Surely she had not left her panties there.]
[Probably not.]
[Why would she take them off in such a public place?
Surely she was not using his image as material for that…
that would be far too perverted.]
[Edward decided not to dwell on those messy thoughts.
He also did not believe this cute yet insecure girl would go that far.]
[It was better to get a good night’s sleep first.]
[Wrapped in a comforter so soft and comfortable that he could almost sink into it, Edward spent an incredibly peaceful evening.
There was no rain or wind striking the tent, nor any noise coming from the neighboring rooms.]
[This was the first time he had slept so sweetly and comfortably since leaving the small town.]
[Truly.]
[He was completely unsuited for traveling.]
[This was not about deliberately stepping on the past he shared with her after leaving the girl behind.]
[For him, it was simply a choice he had made.]
[He also did not believe that this choice alone could cause the girl any real harm.
It was only that one person who had been holding them back was now gone.]
[These thoughts came to him as he sat up in bed the next day.
Stepping into comfortable slippers, Edward stretched after waking up naturally.
His entire body let out a series of satisfying cracks as he felt the beauty of the morning.]
After all, the girl would not urge him.
If anything, he might need to urge her.]
[It was already noon.
The girl had slept about the same amount of time as him yesterday.
If she slept any longer, it would exceed twelve hours, which was quite unhealthy.]
[As the owner of the Spiral Workshop, he should also look after the girl’s well-being.] [With this thought in mind, Edward walked in white socks to the door of the girl’s room.
He gently knocked using his middle finger joint.]
[Every room in the Spiral Workshop had locks installed that operated on a principle he could not understand.
There was no need to worry.
He simply had to knock.]
Because he had slept so comfortably, and because he would no longer be alone in the future, a cheerful smile still lingered at the corners of Edward’s lips.
Now, he would pass on this happiness that others had given him.
Until he extended his knuckles and gently knocked on the heavy door.
Until that seemingly sturdy, impregnable gate swung open with a thud.
Until Vill-V’s figure inside the room fully entered Edward’s field of vision.
The already awake girl was biting down on something he could not identify.
Her jade-like fingertips gripped a piece of black cloth tightly, gently rubbing it.
Her silver-gray pupils showed no trace of drowsiness.
Instead, they were filled with intoxication, as if lost in sweet ecstasy.
Her long, beautiful hair, smooth and lustrous like coffee, was slightly messy.
A strange blush covered her fair, soft skin.
Her pearl-like white toes peeked out from beneath the quilt, curled up tightly as if she was concentrating hard on something.
Something that, if seen by an outsider, would lead to absolute and complete humiliation.
…
For some reason he could not explain, the first emotion that appeared in Edward’s dark eyes upon seeing the scene before him was not surprise, but rather a sense of understanding.
Ah…
No wonder she had given him that piece of fabric yesterday.
No wonder the fabric she gave him had been hot and humid.
If she had simply taken it off, the warmth would have been normal, but there had also been an unusual dampness.
Now he understood.
Perhaps it was because the girl’s emotions had grown far too heavy.
It could almost be described as a self-destructive obsession.
She had already plunged completely into the abyss, with no hope of return, only rushing toward her own destruction.
If she could receive even the slightest bit of help or warmth at this moment, even the smallest spark, the girl would probably give away everything she owned without hesitation.
No matter how excellent or unattainable she appeared in the eyes of others, the only one who could truly judge herself was always herself.
[Edward was like wild grass.
When someone showed him even a little affection, he wanted to rip out his own heart in return.
But he was only wild grass.
What could he really offer?
At most, he could set himself on fire to warm someone’s hands.]
That sentence perfectly described people like her.
Though the girl was no wild grass.
She was someone for whom even gold would be an understatement.
Someone the entire world could not find words or comparisons to describe.
Yet that deep impulse to give everything in return and the desire to never be separated were exactly the same.
The taut bowstring was already drawn to its limit.
How could one expect her to have endured it all this time?