After Elysia's little outburst...
Not only did Noldrei not change her back into a Herrscher, but he also gave her two lashes of his whip, tossed her onto the bed, and ignored her.
Elysia was actually about the same height as Kiana, but she weighed 5 kilograms more. Where those extra kilos went was self-evident.
Noldrei's tentacles were as sharp as ever. By the time Elysia came to, it was already dark.
In her hazy state, she vaguely felt like she might be sleeping somewhere she shouldn't be.
The Herrscher body was nice, and the human body was nice too, it was just that the human body was a bit more sensitive and fragile.
"Wait! I didn't come here to do this!"
She just felt sticky all over. While she had indeed experienced a pleasant and relaxing activity, but...
At this thought, Elysia suddenly remembered the time she had lived on Noldrei's body.
That body was extraordinary; it was a body that never had to worry about getting dirty. Even without bathing, it would be absolutely fine.
'So, do I just need him to turn into a slime and pass over my body to get clean?'
As if a terrifying image had popped into her head, Elysia immediately stopped her racing thoughts.
She climbed out of bed, and her hand was pricked by a strange, hard object.
Elysia picked it up and saw it was Sirin's hair ornament!
"Hm?"
Elysia looked around, then gently lifted the heavy blanket covering her.
Bronya was clinging tightly to one of Sirin's legs, showing no intention of letting her go. Sirin, in turn, was gripping a long lock of white hair, completely unaware that the hair's owner was already frowning.
Kiana shifted her head back and forth, trying to find a more comfortable sleeping position, but one of her legs was pinning down the waist of Elysia, who was just trying to get up.
'What... on earth did I do?'
Elysia's head was spinning. Just when she arrived, she had been worried about Noldrei's lonely life.
Now she understood. Back in the small villa, he had a one-a-day rotation.
Now he was just taking them all on at once, was he?
Looking at the chaotic scene, Elysia felt something wasn't quite right, as if something unusual had been added to the mix.
She pulled a white, flowery ribbon from under Kiana and examined it closely.
"Is this a garter for her leg?"
After a quick check, Elysia felt this garter was a bit too big.
"Ah, isn't this a maid's headdress?"
Elysia had a sudden realization. This was indeed part of a maid outfit.
But she looked left and right and saw no maid outfit, which made her think she might be mistaken. Could it really be a decorative leg garter?
"It really does look like a headdress..."
After a brief comparison of the girls' figures, Elysia made a tragic discovery: the headdress only fit properly on her leg. If the younger girls wore it, it would just fall off.
This definitely wasn't because of her leg, so it must be a maid's headdress.
Elysia fumbled with her own clothes. Thankfully, most of her clothes were still on. She was just a bit weak in the knees and trembling from the two lashes.
Just as she carefully climbed off the bed, she saw Noldrei sitting nearby, watching her.
"Phew!"
Elysia let out a soft gasp as a tentacle immediately wrapped around her and lifted her from the bed, carefully supporting her long hair so it wouldn't be pulled.
"You scared me to death..."
"Go take a bath first," Noldrei said calmly.
"And here I thought you were living a lonely life. Seems I was overthinking things. With so many beautiful girls keeping you company, even I want to squeeze in," Elysia still had the heart to tease him.
Noldrei hesitated for a moment before explaining, "They came to cause trouble together, so I had to whip them until they passed out."
Elysia stared at him, stunned. "You'd better have only whipped them," she said cautiously. "Look at the state they're in!"
"If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have whipped them for no reason. At most, I would have just kicked them out. It's precisely because I whipped you that I had to whip them."
Noldrei's explanation was rather convoluted, but Elysia understood his predicament in this situation.
She tried to persuade him, "How about this? Come stay in the Elysian Realm with me for a few days? From lolis to onee-sans, handsome young men to cute shotas, the Realm has it all. I'll introduce you to the Flame-Chasers, and then you can figure out how to deal with Kevin's problem."
Elysia was surprisingly nonchalant, not caring about what happened after she was whipped unconscious. She actually trusted Noldrei's character. If he said he just whipped her, then that's all he did.
"There's no need. We'll talk about it later when there's a chance. Take this with you." Noldrei tossed the greatsword in his hand to Elysia. "It's useless to me now; it's just a weapon that's not very easy to handle."
"Relay my words to Kevin and see what he thinks."
After Kevin had returned from becoming Finality, he had left this weapon, the Cleaver of Shamash, with Noldrei. But Noldrei considered it a gift left for Kevin by MEI.
Besides, apart from the Herrscher Core, the thing was useless to Noldrei. And for a civilization that possessed the Authority of Finality, they could have as many Herrscher Cores as they wanted, making the location of a single Divine Key completely irrelevant.
Elysia reluctantly caught the dead-heavy greatsword.
Her expression was complicated; for a moment, she didn't know what to say.
It was one thing for a beautiful girl like her to arrive during the day and not be properly hosted. But to be kicked out at night in such a disheveled state, and forced to carry this completely useless greatsword back...
If she returned to the Realm like this, how could she, Elysia, ever hold her head up high in front of Eden and the others? Best friends for tens of thousands of years, and this is how she suddenly returns?
However, Noldrei had no intention of asking her to stay. He even shot her a look that said, 'Why are you still here?'
"You really are a loveless fellow," Elysia teased. "Shouldn't you follow the proper procedure? Say a few tender words to me, or maybe an ambiguous farewell?"
Noldrei looked at her, astonished, and then glanced at the girl behind her who had been woken up by the noise.
He asked seriously, "Are you serious?"
Suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine, Miss Elysia immediately gave up on pursuing the matter.
"Well then, I'll be leaving. I won't disturb your rest."
The awakened Kiana used her tentacles to cover Bronya's and Sirin's ears. She smiled and asked, "Aren't you going to take a bath?"
Elysia shuddered and shook her head. "No, I have to deliver an important message to Kevin."
Kiana rested her chin on her hand, watching Elysia's retreating back.
"Amazing," she praised. "To run at that speed with a new human body. She's not even a Herrscher anymore, but she's still so strong."