Within MOTH, Elysia hosted a grand ball to celebrate the victory of the Fourth Honkai Eruption.
To prepare for the event, she spared no expense and booked the entire Firefly Restaurant within MOTH.
Calling Firefly a restaurant was hardly accurate. It was more like an upscale hotel.
Inside the main hall, elegant round tables had been arranged with perfect spacing. White tablecloths were adorned with delicate champagne glasses and polished dinnerware.
Soft lighting cascaded down from above, accompanied by the graceful melodies arranged by Eden, bathing the ball in an atmosphere both romantic and mysterious.
Refined paintings hung along the walls, while exquisite floral wreaths beside the tables added to the splendor.
The chandeliers in the corridor reflected off the marble floors, casting radiant light that wrapped the entire hotel in luxury and elegance.
"A pity... there aren't many people here."
The hall was rather empty at the moment, so Vill-V lifted a glass of juice and quietly sat in a chair by the wall.
Before she had even warmed the seat, she heard Elysia's enthusiastic voice.
"Welcome, Vill-V. You're so early. I thought I'd be the first one to arrive."
Vill-V slowly raised her head at the sound.
A pair of pink stockings wrapped around Elysia's exquisite legs, paired with adorable high heels decorated with bows, adding a playful touch.
She wore a pink layered evening dress, its skirt blooming outward like overlapping flower petals.
A gauze ribbon at the waist accentuated her shapely figure even further.
Her lips were brushed with soft pink gloss, slightly parted to reveal neat white teeth as she smiled brightly.
Those peach-blossom eyes sparkled with mischief, making others instinctively want to draw closer and step into her world.
Elysia smiled as she greeted her. "Vill-V, welcome to my ball. Let me guess how you're feeling today. Hmm... I think you must be very happy. Because you get to see me again today."
"Hehe, of course, Elysia." Vill-V returned the smile.
"You look beautiful today too. Even I can't help glancing at you a few extra times~ Have any other girls tried to flirt with you yet?"
"That should be my line instead. With a heroine as lovely and radiant as a flower present, how could anyone possibly approach me?"
Elysia laughed softly. "Vill-V is becoming more and more eloquent."
"If I could become a flower, then I would wish to bloom into the most beautiful blossom within your heart. If I were a flower, would you pick me, or let me continue blooming beneath the sunlight?"
Those words were actually lyrics from one of Eden's songs.
"I would cherish it with all my strength and never let it wither. I would admire the splendor of its life, and gladly spread the beauty of Elysia's name throughout the world," Occultist Vill-V suddenly declared.
"Alright, alright. Elysia's beauty hardly needs anyone to spread it. Everyone already knows, don't they? And with Vill-V's charm, I'm sure you'll soon captivate a large audience of loyal admirers within MOTH~"
Elysia moved behind Vill-V and gently pushed her by the shoulders, guiding her toward the center of the hall.
"Come now, don't be shy. At my ball, you can do anything you like~"
Id Vill-V asked shyly, "Anything I like? Hearing that really makes one's imagination run wild."
"Mm-hm~ So Vill-V wants to do some naughty things, does she? Then of course that's allowed too~"
Elysia took Vill-V's hand and led her to the large round table in the middle of the hall.
Atop it stood an enormous cake tower decorated with all sorts of cute character figures.
"Since you're here, don't worry about calories or weight gain. Girls don't often get an excuse to eat desserts to their heart's content~"
"Relax. Elysia will cast a spell so that no matter how much you eat, you won't gain weight."
"So this is the kind of bad thing you meant..." Magician Vill-V turned back toward Elysia and said playfully, "But I want to do even more bad things~"
"Oh? Vill-V wants to do other bad things too?"
Elysia placed her hands behind her back with a mysterious smile. "Hehe, guess what I'm hiding in my hands?"
"What could it be?"
Magician pretended not to know and tried sneaking peeks from side to side, but Elysia's body blocked her view every time.
Taking the chance to stare very directly at Elysia's figure instead. (Not really.)
"Seeing how curious you are makes me want to tell you the answer immediately~"
Elysia fanned out a row of Nintendo game cartridges in her hand. "Ta-da—Switch Future and PS4000 too~"
Vill-V's eyes lit up. The latest limited-edition game consoles worldwide! Elysia truly understood girls far too well.
But this was MOTH. How had Elysia managed to pre-order them and smuggle them inside? Could she be a magician too?
"I absolutely love the look on Vill-V's face right now. So you really do like games."
When Elysia had previously visited Vill-V's Helixcraft workshop, she had discovered numerous game consoles hidden beneath Vill-V's bed. In a serious workshop, seeing game consoles there explained quite a lot.
At the same time, Elysia pulled open a drawer beneath the table.
"There are also the newest weekly manga magazines here. Look~ They're very hard to get inside MOTH."
"Ah, sorry. Some new guests have arrived, so I need to go greet them first. Feel free to look around, Vill-V. There are lots of interesting things here~"
For Elysia to go this all out, Eden's support naturally played a major role. For the planning and arrangement of this ball, Elysia had sincerely consulted her good friend.
Receiving the other guests did not take long, because there truly were not many participants.
Aside from Elysia, Vill-V, and a few others, only several staff members were bustling about nearby.
Elysia felt a little disappointed, as she had originally hoped more people would come.
Dr. Mobius and Dr. Mei had no interest whatsoever in Elysia's ball and directly declined.
Kevin was currently confined to Mobius' laboratory for observation because of the side effects of her medicine.
Ato needed to accompany his wife Blanca and daughter Griseo.
Dr. Newton, meanwhile, rarely attended crowded banquets in order to avoid exposing herself.
Most people had found one reason or another to turn down Elysia's invitation.
Come to think of it, this was only the second banquet Elysia had held within MOTH. It was only natural that so many people chose not to come.
In a strictly militarized organization like MOTH, the existence of a ball itself was already strange enough. No one knew what method Elysia had used to make it happen.
Vill-V did not see a single familiar face.
Ah... no familiar faces. Her social anxiety was acting up... Elysia—
Vill-V was an old veteran of social anxiety, so she silently shuffled over to Elysia's side. Then she heard her soft murmur.
"The joy of victory deserves a proper celebration. We should rest well and celebrate properly. After all, no one knows whether we'll be able to gather again next time."
"That moment when we return in triumph, meet our companions' eyes, clasp hands tightly, and embrace one another... that is important too, don't you think?"