After leaving the lounge, Raiden Mei noticed Pardofelis sneaking around behind a pillar, waving at her.
"Hey, Sister Mei, over here, over here!"
"What is it?"
"I heard you still need to go to the Deep Layer?" Pardofelis lowered her voice, "This time, I can be your guide!"
Raiden Mei raised a brow. "Didn't you refuse before?"
"That was then, this is now~" Pardofelis said.
"Back then, who knew if Kosma would be there or not? If I stood on your side and got caught by him… both me and Canned food would be done for!"
"So this time, I'll take you through a little side path. We can bypass Kosma..."
"Why not just take me directly to the Deep Layer?"
"Uh… that…" At that, Pardofelis's face showed a hint of difficulty.
"If it's just Kosma getting mad, then at most, it's just… well, being done for…"
"But if I take you straight to the Deep Layer, and Brother Kalpas or Sister Nia find out… then I'll really be taken apart into 'Pardo' and 'Felis'..."
Raiden Mei sighed. "Alright."
"Mhm mhm!" Pardofelis immediately perked up again.
"Actually, that place isn't much different from the Deep Layer. Even if we run into Kosma, I can translate. After all, I've memorized that book Sister Elysia gave me!"
"So what's the price for this… series of services?"
"Hehe~ as expected of Sister Mei, you see through everything~"
Pardofelis scratched the back of her head awkwardly, then pulled out a small slip of paper. "Of course, considering Sister Mei's credibility, this time you can pay on credit~"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"It's all Sister Elysia's words. She said you're someone especially trustworthy, someone who always keeps her promises." Pardofelis explained innocently.
"With Sister Elysia as a guarantor, I feel totally at ease."
Hearing that, a chill of dread flickered through Raiden Mei's heart, and she asked, "Just to be sure, what exactly did Elysia tell you?"
"She said you promised to let her touch your horns, that's all. Why? She's been running around with a loudspeaker announcing it everywhere." Pardofelis blinked innocently.
Raiden Mei's expression instantly darkened like the bottom of a pot. "Elysia…!"
———
[As expected of Elysia!]
[I can already picture Elysia running all over the Realm with a megaphone]
[Elysia: Testing, testing~ The Elysia who touched Miss Mei's horns is back~]
[Mei: You'd better have a good reason!]
———
[Back to the Video]
Under Pardofelis's lead, Raiden Mei finally made her way through the Dream of the Painted World and arrived at the deeper part of the studio.
Here, the sky looked like a spilled palette, multicolored paints flowing through the clouds.
Most striking of all was a massive painting hanging in the sky, dreamlike colors rippling across the canvas.
Beneath the painting, a blue-haired girl sat high on a ladder stool, focused on her work.
The girl wore a loose white dress, her long blue hair tied lazily with a matching ribbon.
Her slender fingers held a paintbrush, lightly dotting colors on the canvas, her entire being seeming to blend seamlessly with the surrounding hues.
———
[Holy crap, this is Griseo!]
[Mom, I've fallen in love again.]
[You're in love literally every second, aren't you?]
[And barefoot, too… this exquisite delicacy can't be wasted, slurp~ slurp~]
[Did someone call the purity police yet?]
———
[Back to the Video]
"Is that you, Kosma?" Griseo asked softly without turning her head, her voice as light as a falling feather.
When no one answered, she finally turned around, a trace of confusion flashing in her clear eyes. "Hm?"
"Hi, little Griseo, long time no see~" Pardofelis greeted warmly.
"Pardo. And… who?"
Griseo tilted her head, looking at Raiden Mei, confusion written across her small face.
"Sister Mei, I forgot to tell you," Pardofelis whispered near her ear. "This child's a little shy. Don't scare her, okay?"
Raiden Mei looked at the petite girl before her, full of doubts.
She had expected this "Griseo" to be quite young, but not such a little child.
What she couldn't understand even more was… in the Previous Era, even children this small were sent to the battlefield to fight the Honkai?
"Hello, Griseo." Raiden Mei unconsciously softened her tone. "My name is Raiden Mei."
"Color," Griseo suddenly said.
"Hm?"
"Favorite color."
Raiden Mei blinked for a moment, then realized.
"You're asking what my favorite color is? Let me think… probably orange, and red."
"Orange, red…" Griseo repeated softly, her gaze gradually going distant. "Sky, crab… ocean, coral… hmm…"
Suddenly, she turned around, paintbrush moving quickly across the canvas, as though struck by inspiration.
Pardofelis quietly tugged at Raiden Mei's sleeve and whispered, "Ah~ little Griseo's gone into painting mode again. Perfect time for us to sneak past her quietly…"
"Sister Mei…" Griseo's voice suddenly rang out, "why are you sad?"
"What?" Raiden Mei froze.
"It's like… a little bird fell into the lake."
Raiden Mei was momentarily speechless, unable to respond to the sudden question.
Just then, a familiar voice came from afar. "Who's there?"
"Ah, Kosma!"
Seeing the figure in the distance, Pardofelis nearly jumped out of her skin, but quickly forced herself to act calm. "Oh, wh-what a coincidence, you're out for a walk too?"
Kosma walked over in silence, his gaze shifting between the three of them.
"Hello, Kosma." Raiden Mei took the initiative to greet him.
But in response, there was only silence.
"Pardo, a little help?"
Hearing that, Raiden Mei looked at Pardofelis.
"Oh… right, almost forgot…" Pardofelis cleared her throat and mimicked Kosma's tone, "Raiden Mei…? Why is she here… oh, it's Pardo."
Raiden Mei was briefly speechless. She hadn't thought that Elysia's book would actually be this useful.
Kosma's gaze shifted to Griseo, and the latter said softly, "It's okay, Kosma. I like the new colors."
Pardofelis continued translating, "…Since Griseo said so, I'll let it go for now. But…"
"Come with me to the 'Hall,' Kosma," Griseo put down her brush. "I think… I've found some new inspiration."
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