"Elias, what about this cat?"
"Oh, her name is Pardofelis. Things have been a bit dangerous at home lately, so she'll be staying with us for a while."
"Meow~"
Cecilia looked curiously at the light-brown cat draped around Elias' neck. After getting permission, she gently patted her twice.
She didn't feel any rejection or displeasure.
After all, it was just a cat. Surely it couldn't transform into a human and interrupt her date with Elias, right? That kind of thing was obviously impossible~
"Pardofelis, stop meowing. Say hello properly."
"Hehe, yes, Boss Elias!"
"Th-The cat just spoke?!"
Cecilia's eyes widened in shock, but instead of fear, she felt surprise and delight. She leaned in closer, staring at Pardofelis without blinking.
"Hello there, Boss Cecilia. I've been hearing Boss Elias talk about you a lot lately. My name's Pardofelis, hehe. I'm Boss Elias' pet. Come visit my shop sometime—I'll give you a fifteen percent discount!"
Pardofelis raised a little paw and patted Cecilia's shoulder. She was currently in an Artificial Cascade state, her appearance identical to the small canned-cat mascot from the game.
"That's actually more expensive, Pardofelis," Elias couldn't help pointing out.
"Hahaha~ what a fun little cat."
Cecilia laughed softly and rubbed the cat's head again. Even now, she hadn't realized that Pardofelis was actually a person.
Or rather, how could she possibly imagine that?
Recently, the Elysian Realm had not been peaceful.
As the winner of the previous Elias-competition, the cat felt her current situation was extremely dangerous. Everyone in the Realm looked at her strangely.
As if they were ready to eliminate her at any moment.
So, in order to secure a sliver of safety, she shamelessly requested to tag along on Elias' date. Using Artificial Cascade to transform into a cat, she followed closely at his side for protection.
Today was the third day of Elias and Cecilia's date. Cecilia felt no boredom whatsoever.
After all, as a noble Valkyrie who had never left Schicksal Headquarters and was unfamiliar with the outside world, everything beyond those walls was dazzlingly new to her.
Three days were nowhere near enough to see even one-thousandth of it.
However...
That curiosity had not gone without consequences.
For example, thirty minutes later—
"E-Elias, why didn't you tell me there was a place like that?! I—I... what did I just see?"
Cecilia's eyes spun into spirals. She squatted on the ground, clutching her head as steam practically rose from the top of it. For a pure-hearted young lady, the shock had been overwhelming.
"Because you were very curious just now. If I had stopped you, you might have given up—but you'd definitely have been even more curious inside, right? Heh. That's also part of the outside world. It's just an adult shop. Don't worry about it~"
Elias glanced at the pink neon sign behind them, thoroughly amused by Cecilia's system crash.
"Besides, didn't I warn you? I told you, 'That's a door to a new world,' and 'You need considerable resolve to step inside,' and even, 'Cecilia may be brave, but this might still be too early.'"
"With that kind of tone, how was I supposed to know it was that kind of shop?!"
Cecilia rarely complained, but now she did so with puffed cheeks and a flushed face, lightly pounding Elias' chest with her small fists.
The door to a new world had been flung open without warning.
Her brain was still trembling.
"By the way, Pardofelis, why are you pocketing things again?"
"Ehehe... Boss Elias noticed?"
Seeing the item curled up in Pardofelis' tail, Elias couldn't help twitching.
"Cat-ear lingerie? What's the point of taking that? Aren't you already a cat?"
"I can sell it to Sister Elysia later~"
"Fine. But next time, remember to pay for it yourself. We don't mind, but you can't just take things outside."
"Mm! Thank you, Boss Elias!"
With her fluffy little face, Pardofelis affectionately rubbed against his cheek. She had clearly seen that even though he hadn't bought anything, he still left behind a large bill.
He had paid for her.
"And you too, Cecilia. Anyway, have some ice cream and calm down first."
"Th-Thank you... it's so sweet and cold."
Cecilia was in a state of heightened curiosity, so for her, distraction was the best remedy.
The runaway girl tasting sweet, icy dessert for the first time quickly forgot about what had just happened.
"It really is wonderful having you with me, Elias. If I were alone—even if I came to the outside world—I'd probably be lost and afraid, not knowing where to go."
Cecilia savored the ice cream carefully before smiling happily.
The world was vast, lively, and brilliant.
To her, it was far too unfamiliar.
If she were by herself, even standing at a simple intersection with traffic lights might leave her hesitating for half the day, unsure which direction to take.
But fortunately, Elias was by her side.
Whenever she felt lost, the white-haired boy would point her forward, like a lighthouse in the dark.
"It feels like as long as you're with me, I can go anywhere," Cecilia said with a blush.
"Heh. That almost sounds like a confession. In that case, why not just join World Serpent? I'll give you a cadre-level position."
"I'll pass. I'm still a Valkyrie, after all."
Cecilia shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Aww, Boss Cecilia, just join us~ Saving the world is saving the world no matter where you do it. And I guarantee you, no one understands saving the world better than Boss Elias. He's a professional savior!"
Pardofelis licked the ice cream in Elias' hand. He simply handed the whole thing to her.
Her tail was incredibly dexterous, easily wrapping around the chocolate cone and holding it like a hand.
"A savior? So you're actually someone that incredible, Elias. But it feels a little unfair. You know so much about me, almost as if you know everything about me, yet I still know nothing about you."
"Why does that matter? As long as you want to, Cecilia, you'll have plenty of time in the future to learn about me. I'll tell you this much first. I have more secrets than there are stars in the sky."
"That's really a shame..."
Cecilia showed a bitter smile.
Of course she wanted to have plenty of time to learn about Elias.
But wanting something did not mean it was possible. She did not have that kind of freedom.
Schicksal was her "home." Even if that home was not particularly warm or happy, it was still the place where Cecilia had grown up. With her personality, she could never betray it or simply leave.
Unless that "home" betrayed her first.
And besides, as the saying went—
Once a Valkyrie, always a Valkyrie.
Thinking this, Cecilia unconsciously tightened her grip on the ice cream in her hand. The chocolate cone cracked under the pressure, and the white ice cream spilled out, coating both of her hands like thick cream.
"Ah!"
The cold sensation startled Cecilia.
Not wanting to waste the ice cream Elias had bought for her, she hurriedly began licking it off.
Elias raised an eyebrow. Watching the pure and innocent Cecilia hold the white ice cream in both hands and carefully lick it clean looked incredibly suggestive. A completely wholesome and proper girl making such movements created a striking contrast.
"Cecilia, you might want to watch your image a little."
"Hm?"
Cecilia tilted her head, clearly not understanding what he meant. There was still white ice cream smeared across her cheeks, and the sight made Elias pause again.
"Never mind. Forget I said anything. It's pretty cute anyway."
As he spoke, Elias lifted Cecilia's chin and wiped the ice cream from both sides of her cheeks, then casually put it into his own mouth.
Cecilia's face flushed even deeper. Her wavering blue eyes could no longer look directly at the white-haired boy.
Seeing this scene, Pardofelis decisively shoved her entire cat face into the ice cream. Her face instantly turned completely white like a snow cat, and she looked at Elias expectantly.
"I'm not licking that. Go wash it yourself."
"Boss Elias?!"
"This time even acting cute won't work, Pardofelis. I don't want my mouth full of cat fur."
Elias rolled his eyes. At the same time, he suddenly remembered a certain Valentine's Day in the Previous Era when a girl had smeared chocolate all over his body, tied him up with ribbons, and delivered herself to him in a gift box.
It had been very creative.
And very delicious.
Afterward, the three of them went to a nearby park and used some water to wash their hands and faces. Just as they were about to continue on their way—
"Boss Elias."
"Mm. So they finally arrived."
"Huh? Did something happen?"
Cecilia looked in confusion as Elias and Pardofelis suddenly turned serious. A moment later, as a quasi-A-rank Valkyrie, she finally noticed something...
They had been surrounded.
Figures emerged from all around them. Each one was at least a B-rank Valkyrie, with even two A-rank Valkyries among them. Every single one held a Honkai energy weapon.
Without question, Schicksal had arrived.
But even more shocking than that—
"Cecilia, it's time for you to come back."
"Bishop..."
A familiar figure stepped forward.
Otto Apocalypse had appeared in person to retrieve Cecilia, which showed just how much he valued the Schariac Holy Blood flowing within her.
Otto studied Cecilia for a few seconds. After confirming she was unharmed, his gaze shifted to Elias.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Otto Apocalypse, the current bishop of the Schicksal organization. May I ask who you are, where you come from, and what your purpose is?"
"I have no obligation to answer your questions, Otto Apocalypse."
Elias raised a highly international hand gesture. At the same time, he could not help thinking that no matter when or where he saw this man, he always felt the instinctive urge to crush that soulium face.
"..."
Otto's eyes narrowed slightly.
Recently he had realized that someone had been playing him. Intelligence teams he had dispatched had been deliberately misled by a mysterious organization, returning with nothing but false information.
At one point the blame had even been pushed onto Anti-Entropy. Otto had indeed taken the bait, exchanging several very "friendly" clashes with Welt and even losing one soulium body in the process.
But that was not entirely due to his own misjudgment.
On the night Cecilia disappeared and the Schicksal transport convoy was attacked, the attacker had indeed been Welt from Anti-Entropy.
Aside from that, the only other suspicious person had been a Kaslana who had appeared nearby.
Now Siegfried was already under his surveillance, and there was no sign of Cecilia anywhere around him. As for hiding someone... Otto did not believe those straightforward Kaslanas were capable of pulling off such a scheme.
However, since Cecilia had now been located unexpectedly, Otto planned to take the opportunity to retrieve Siegfried as well.
(Siegfried: Damn it!)
With Anti-Entropy the only remaining suspect, Otto had not hesitated to send forces to attack them.
After fighting for an entire day, however, he discovered that Anti-Entropy seemed to be searching for Cecilia as well.
Only then did Otto realize that Schicksal had been played by someone.
It was not until yesterday, when a photo accidentally taken of Elias and Cecilia on their date spread online, that Schicksal finally discovered their location.
An unexpected third faction.
"Judging by your tone, you seem to dislike me quite a lot. Why not remove your mask and allow me to remember exactly what I might have done to offend you? That way I can properly apologize."
"Apologize? I'll teach you the simplest method. Delete your consciousness data, destroy all your soulium bodies, and die. That might repay one thousandth of the crimes you've committed."
"..."
Otto's eyelid twitched.
Other than confirming that this man despised him and knew quite a bit about him, he had gained no useful information.
And any organization capable of deceiving Schicksal had to be at least on the level of Anti-Entropy.
Otto became even more eager to remove Elias' mask.
But before that—
"Cecilia. Why are you still standing there?"
"Bishop, I..."
"Your mission failed, and you failed to report in for three entire days. Do you realize that because of you, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy engaged in a clash that caused severe casualties on both sides?"
Otto spoke with a deeply pained expression.
"What?!"
Cecilia gasped.
"And yet you are standing beside someone who clearly holds hostility toward me. Does this mean you have betrayed Schicksal, Cecilia?"
"No! I would never!"
Cecilia's face turned pale. She had never imagined that such a disaster had occurred while she was enjoying her brief taste of freedom.
For a moment, guilt nearly drowned her.
Then Elias' voice sounded beside her.
"Idiot. Don't let this bastard fool you."
"Huh?"
"Severe casualties my ass. Anti-Entropy lost a dozen mechs. This guy lost one soulium body. A few Valkyries got minor injuries and are currently on paid leave."
Elias' killing intent was slowly rising.
Using a person's personality weakness for psychological manipulation had always been Otto's style.
And the kinder someone was, the easier it was for them to fall into his traps.