"Oh? Is that so?"
Long Night Moon rested her chin on one hand, observing her leisurely. "It seems Miss Raven has a very deep understanding of the value of historical relics."
"Uh... is this, is this real? I mean, the mission target..."
Raven asked cautiously, still clinging to the slim hope that "this must be a joke."
Long Night Moon saw her nervous expression, suddenly let out a soft chuckle, and shook her head: "Just kidding. It's not Kallen."
Raven: "..."
She felt the breath she had choked on moments ago lodge back in her chest, neither rising nor falling.
She looked at Long Night Moon's smiling face, and for the first time, felt an impulse to shove the mysterious girl's beautiful head into a coffee cup.
(A j-j-joke?! You call that a joke?! A joke that almost gave me a heart attack and resulted in attempted murder of a teammate?!)
Raven's mouth twitched uncontrollably several times, finally culminating in a long sigh of "I give up."
"Sigh..."
She leaned heavily back into the chair, raised a hand to vigorously wipe her face, feeling utterly exhausted, body and mind.
Forget it, whatever.
Whether Long Night Moon knew her secret, or whether she was going to blow up Anti-Entropy or fight aliens on Mars next... it didn't matter anymore.
She, Natasha Ciora, World Serpent mercenary, Ultimate Transmigrator, chose to give up now.
Let fate decide.
After Long Night Moon had sufficiently enjoyed Raven's progression of expressions from shock to collapse to numbness, she finally put away her joking demeanor and spoke in a slightly more serious tone: "The real destination is Siberia. We need to handle some things there."
Her words still had the style of a riddle-speaker, but at least they sounded... slightly more normal than "stealing Kallen's body."
Siberia? Raven's heart skipped a beat.
That place holds special significance in the History of the Honkai... but she was too tired to delve into it now.
She just nodded weakly: "Fine, Siberia it is. When do we leave? What do we need to prepare?"
Meanwhile, Stelle, who was nearby, had finally managed to clean up most of the coffee stains on her face.
She crumpled the used napkin into a ball and accurately tossed it into the trash can a few steps away, then sat up straight, returning to her calm and unperturbed appearance, as if she hadn't been the one sprayed with coffee moments ago.
However, the bucket of instant noodles she had just taken out showed no signs of being opened yet.
Elysian Realm, a secluded corner.
Cyrene leaned against the cold wall, shrinking herself as much as possible into the blind spot formed by the shadow and the pillar.
She held her breath, her azure eyes wide with tension, staring intently at the only entrance to the corridor, even her ears slightly perked up with concentration.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, so loud she suspected the entire Paradise could hear it.
(Don't come over... don't come over...)
She silently prayed in her heart, her slender fingers tightly covering her mouth, afraid of letting out even a whisper of breath.
She had just used the excuse of "wanting to look at the scenery of the Paradise alone," and managed to slip away from Elysia's suffocatingly enthusiastic hugs and "wandering hands," fleeing like a startled fawn to this spot she thought was sufficiently hidden.
Light footsteps, seemingly keeping a pleasant rhythm, echoed in the empty corridor, coming closer, accompanied by a voice so sweet it made one tremble, yet currently made Cyrene's hair stand on end:
"Cyrene~ Little Cyrene~♪ Where are you?"
"Why are you hiding from Ely? Are you shy? It's okay, Ely just wants to get to know you a little better~♪"
"Won't you come out? Shall we go to the main hall to find Eden for tea? Or go find Griseo to paint? If you hide, Ely will be sad~♪"
The voice was gentle, melodious, and full of concern, but to Cyrene's ears, it was more terrifying than the most bizarre whispers within Amphoreus.
Especially recalling Elysia's hand "accidentally" sliding below her chest on the sofa just now, and the sweet-smelling breath and whispers against the top of her head... Cyrene's cheeks started to burn again, but mostly from dread.
(Much, much worse than Madam Herta! Although Madam Herta's gaze is sometimes scary, at least she wouldn't be like this... like this...)
The footsteps and calls lingered at the corridor entrance for a while, seemingly confused, and then gradually faded away, heading in another direction.
Cyrene's taut nerves relaxed slightly, and she lowered the hand covering her mouth, cautiously letting out a long breath.
That was close... she was almost found.
It seems Miss Elysia hasn't found this spot yet.
She leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor, hugging her knees and burying her face in her arms, trying to calm her racing heart and the heat on her face.
The silence of the Paradise enveloped her, broken only by faint sounds of activity, possibly from one of the Flame-Chasers in the distance.
This should be safe, right?
Miss Elysia went the other way, she won't be back for a while... It was at this very moment, when her guard was at its lowest—
"Yo~! Found you! My dearest Little Cyrene! ♪"
A beautiful face, smiling like a flower, with smooth pink hair cascading down, suddenly and without warning, poked in from outside the blind spot where she was hiding!
The distance was so close that Cyrene could clearly see her own reflection in the other party's pink eyes, along with the joy of "winning hide-and-seek" and undisguised "interest."
"Yaaah—!!!"
Cyrene's blood seemed to instantly freeze, then violently explode!
The extreme fright made her let out a short scream, and she sprang up from the ground like a spring, completely unaware of her back slamming against the wall, merely staring wide-eyed and terrified at Elysia, who had suddenly appeared before her.
Elysia seemed very pleased with her reaction, her smile becoming even brighter. She reached out, intending to "scoop" her out of the corner: "Why are you hiding here? Ely had such a hard time finding you~ Now that I've found you, how about we..."
"N-no!!!"
"Hoo—!!!"
Cyrene abruptly sat up in bed, her chest heaving violently, gasping for air, her forehead covered in fine cold sweat, and her azure eyes still holding lingering terror.
She froze for a long moment before looking around blankly.
It was a small, cozy room.
The decor was simple, but comfortable.
A soft bed, bedding that emitted a fresh scent, a small desk, and a chair.
This was the temporary accommodation Miss Eden had arranged for her, saying it was a place where she could rest in peace.
She lowered her head and looked at herself.
Her clothes were neat and tidy—a set of simple, comfortable dresses Miss Eden had prepared for her, completely undisturbed.
She wasn't clutching anything in her hands, nor was the pink figure anywhere near her.
(It was a dream...?)
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