As the roller coaster slowly climbed the slope—
"Silas, are you scared?" Elysia turned to look at Silas. Beautiful girls couldn't stay upset forever; anxiety and anger were sworn enemies of a girl's beauty.
"If it was in the past, of course I would have been," Silas replied calmly. "But later, I found out there was someone even more afraid than me. That made me feel it wasn't so scary after all—at least, I couldn't just cower beside her. And after that, I got used to it."
Elysia blinked. "…Was that Lilith?"
Silas shook his head. "Not her. It was Astaroth. I remember her birthday wish was to visit an amusement park and see the world beyond her books. After a group discussion, we decided to keep it from Fire Moth, and I was the one to sneak her out."
Elysia understood instantly. Astaroth—yes, she remembered her. That expressionless loli…
Astaroth was one of the most dangerous psychic-type MANTIS, capable of manifesting anything she imagined into reality. Because of this, she was kept in the Deep at all times. Even as one of the Thirteen Fallen Angels, she wasn't allowed to leave except for missions.
Silas and his friends were really daring… If Astaroth had gotten too excited and turned the amusement park into a horror park, it would have been a disaster.
"Even though her face was expressionless, she was squeezing my hand so tightly it almost broke," Silas said with a wry smile. He could only hold her hand firmly and reassure her he was right there.
"She's about the same age as Rin, right? But everyone's afraid of her. At least Rin has her sister, but Astaroth… she has no family, and in the Deep where she's kept, no one even wants to approach her." Silas's voice softened. "If Griseo is the mascot of the Fourteen Flame-Chasers, then Astaroth is the mascot of the Thirteen Fallen Angels."
There was even a time when a newly imprisoned inmate tore up one of Astaroth's books, and Beelzebub, in a rage, devoured them alive.
"Hm… that child…" Elysia sighed. "I remember she liked fairy tales a lot. I even read her a few passages once. So how did Fire Moth discover her?"
"That was during the aftermath of the Eighth Herrscher incident. She was one of the very few who woke up from the Herrscher's mental attack. Since she was an ordinary human, she could only survive through MANTIS surgery, just like Griseo. But we still don't know how exactly she escaped the dream."
Though they were on a roller coaster and there were people behind them, the two kept their voices low. Anyone overhearing would only catch fragments, and certainly not understand the full meaning.
As they talked, the coaster reached the peak.
Elysia suddenly grabbed Silas's hand. "You know, I suddenly feel like I might be a little scared~"
Silas: "…"
As the coaster plunged, Elysia raised their joined hands high. "Wooo~!"
"AHHH—!"
Wait… Why did that scream sound exactly like Kosma's?
When the ride ended, Silas and Elysia turned to look back. Kosma sat a few rows behind them, pale-faced. In the seat in front of him, a middle-aged man got off, patted Kosma on the shoulder, and said, "Young man, look—your girlfriend isn't scared at all. A guy can't show fear in front of his girl."
Kosma weakly protested, "We're just friends… not that kind of relationship…"
The man glanced at the puffed-up Dystopia sitting beside Kosma, gave a knowing smile, and patted his shoulder again. "Alright, alright, I get it. You've got to work hard, son."
Kosma: "…"
A staff member also recognized him. "Hey, aren't you that kid who was screaming on the coaster earlier? You came back for another go to train your courage?"
Kosma: "…"
It wasn't like he wanted to…
Unfortunately, Elysia and Silas overheard this. Silas shrugged at Elysia. "It's obvious they were following us."
Elysia: "…"
Seriously? Couldn't they just let her and Silas have some time alone?
But then Kevin appeared to prove that—no—they could not.
He gave Kosma a quick glance. "If you're afraid, you should ride it a few more times. You'll get used to it."
Kosma: "…"
Can we not talk about this?
Then Kevin turned his gaze to Silas and Elysia, striding right up to them. He first addressed Elysia. "Elysia, I remember you messaged Silas saying you wouldn't be joining us, right?"
Su walked up, looking like he had a headache, and tried to smooth things over. "Maybe she came with Eden, then ran into Silas by coincidence."
Silas agreed with Su's version. "That's right. I just happened to see Elysia and Eden having milk tea together."
Kevin looked around. "And where's Eden?"
"She's probably with Pardofelis and the others," Silas said uncertainly. "I had something to clarify with Elysia, so we ended up walking together."
"I see…" Kevin lowered his head in thought. No issues there—but what exactly did Silas need to 'clarify' with Elysia?
Elysia narrowed her eyes at him. "Kevin, this is between Silas and me. Don't ask so many questions."
Kevin looked up. "No. I also have something to discuss with Silas."
Su facepalmed. Kevin, how am I supposed to save you? Was encouraging Silas before not enough—now you're going head-to-head with Elysia?
And given Kevin's brain, whatever he wanted to discuss with Silas was one thousand percent Lilith-related.
Elysia smiled sweetly. "Well then, since everyone has something to discuss with Silas, why don't we find somewhere to sit and talk?"
"Take us along too!" Dystopia said, dragging Kosma over and raising her hand.
Kevin gave her a surprised look. If she was present, it might make discussing Lilith tricky. But if handled right, she might even be a valuable asset.
Living by the creed of "fortune favors the bold," the president and propaganda chief of the Si-Li ship club made his decision: "Alright."
Elysia, however, found it strange. Lilith's matter wasn't something Dystopia should know too much about… Could she have misjudged Kevin?
The six of them found a drink shop and sat down.
The moment they did, Kevin eagerly placed his notebook in front of Silas. "Here—this is the result of my and Su's observations on the Ferris wheel, plus the plan we came up with. We can do a recon trip later."
Su: "…"
Speak for yourself—I didn't say a word the whole time.
Silas glanced down, with Elysia leaning over to see as well—both of them froze.
The notebook was filled with strategies for storming Atagina's villa from multiple angles to extract Lilith. Kevin even drew tactical maps… Couldn't he use that brainpower for something else?
Dystopia peeked as well and was stunned. "You guys… are planning to kidnap someone?"
"This isn't kidnapping—it's bringing her home," Kevin corrected, then gave Dystopia the most plausible explanation he could make up in such a short time:
There once was a boy and a girl who grew up together as childhood friends. The girl always liked the boy, but cruel fate tore them apart. After a great disaster, the boy walked into darkness to watch over the world, while the girl, under family pressure, had to marry someone else.
During a performance, the girl met the boy again, but they could not recognize each other. This pained the boy's closest friend deeply, so he decided to do something for them.
Elysia, Silas, and Kosma were all speechless. Holy crap, Kevin—who knew your storytelling skills were this good?
Su had already given up thinking.
Dystopia blinked. "So… this Lilith lady is Silas's childhood sweetheart?!"
Silas: "…"
She's not! She's not my childhood sweetheart!
Elysia: "…"
We can't keep this Kevin around. I'll find a time to bury him later.
Kosma: "…"
(So, this is your will, Kevin? Well… if Lilith joins the mix, she might distract Elysia, giving me time to find Michaela. Kevin, I'm sorry, but let me use your plan for a bit!)
"A touching story," Kosma commented.
Silas & Elysia: "???"
Kosma, since when did you join Kevin's side?
Kevin looked at him approvingly. "A student worth teaching."
Meanwhile, Dystopia's brain was racing. Who would have thought Silas had such a perfect childhood sweetheart? It's such a tragic story… But! Does the perfect girl always make the best partner? For the one she loves, little Pardo is still very cute too!
So she declared, "I think we should take our time with this."
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