"Then, let's part for now See you all tomorrow~" Elysia waved cheerfully to the group as she left with Eden and Veronica.
"See you tomorrow." Silas also waved back.
The others exchanged strange looks at him. Why did it feel like the relationship between him and Elysia had changed so much in just one afternoon?
Could it be… Elysia made her move?
Kevin frowned. Something wasn't right. He felt the need to pry into this, but asking directly would be too reckless. He had to wait for the right chance.
Didn't Pardo say earlier that she wanted to play games with Silas? He'd tag along too!
On the way back to the hotel,
While driving, Veronica asked, "Miss Elysia, may I ask you something?"
Elysia was in a particularly good mood, smiling as she replied, "Of course, no problem~"
Veronica hesitated for a moment before asking, "Miss Elysia, are you and that Mr. Silas… a couple?"
Though she knew Silas was underage, Veronica still added the honorific after his name. The sense of unease he gave her was simply too strong.
"Hm… more than friends, but not quite lovers?" Elysia tilted her head. She had actually asked Silas the same question on the way back to the meeting hotel, and he had given her the same half-questioning answer.
Well, at the very least, she was now on the same starting line as Lilith… No, Lilith was still in the lead. She needed to work harder!
"I see." Veronica thought for a long moment before gently adding, "Have you ever considered that Mr. Silas may have a side to him you don't yet know?"
Elysia blinked, then recalled Eden telling her that Veronica was very good at reading people. No wonder she would say that. Silas did indeed have a colder side.
"Of course I know~" she answered with a smile. "Even if I don't understand everything about him yet, we have plenty of time. We'll come to understand each other better."
Veronica fell silent after that. Elysia's words made it perfectly clear—she truly liked that young man. And though she was aware of his hidden, detached side, she still chose to love him. There was no more to say.
After all, if a boy's tenderness for a girl is genuine, and the girl knows of his other side but still accepts him, then there's no problem.
Back at Eden's temporary hotel suite.
The moment they entered, Eden couldn't help but ask:
"Ellie, you and Silas on the Ferris wheel… did something happen?"
It was the only explanation for the sudden leap in their relationship.
Elysia threw herself onto the soft bed, thought about it, and decided not to tell Eden about making another move. Instead, she said:
"At sunset, under the Ferris wheel, until night fell—we stayed in each other's arms until the very end~"
Eden: "???"
Wait a second… That sounded… She thought Elysia and Silas had simply had another serious talk up there. How did it turn into hugging until the end?
Could it be Silas had finally woken up? After all, he was Silas, not Kevin… If so, she was sincerely happy for her dearest friend.
But still… Silas probably still had to consider Lilith, didn't he? That must be why Elysia had told Veronica their relationship was "more than friends, not quite lovers." After all, Lilith was his adjutant—the first to confess, the one who understood him best, who had spent the most time at his side… and the one who "made her move" the fastest.
Whatever the case, their relationship improving was good enough. In Eden's eyes, the two were like twin stars circling one another in the night sky, saving each other.
Mm. She still had to find a way to bury Kevin first, though.
She still carried a deep grudge over that team-building noodle dinner. A dozen warriors eating noodles together… she had replayed that scene at least ten times! If Silas hadn't gone, she would never have—cough, cough. She was only there to observe him for Elysia's sake. Nothing else. Absolutely.
Meanwhile, at the hotel where Silas and his group were staying, inside the room of Pardo and Dystopia.
Pardo sat cross-legged beside Silas, glanced at Kevin sitting on his other side, then looked at Rin, who was on her bed with Sakura watching the game screen. Dystopia and Kosma sat on another bed, while Su leaned against the window.
…Something's not right here.
Originally, she had only wanted to invite Silas to play games. But then Rin begged to join too. She couldn't say no to a child, and she couldn't let Sakura handle it all alone either. Then came Kosma—well, at least Sister Dystopia could keep him in check.
But why were Kevin and Brother Su here as well?!
In the end, everyone was here…
Forget it, forget it. At least she was sitting next to Brother Silas while playing. Pardo didn't ask for much—if she couldn't have him all to herself, just being at his side was enough.
People should learn to be content with what they have, right? She consoled herself like that.
Truth was, Pardo wasn't very good at games. In the back alleys of Sundown Alley, just surviving was already a blessing—who had the time to play video games?
Sakura wasn't much better either. As far as she remembered, she'd only played a few times with Rin… and since she wasn't very good, whenever they got to the harder stages, Rin would usually end up going to Silas or Mastema for help…
QAQ
So in the end, when buying this game, the two of them had relied on the opinion of a six-year-old Rin…
Silas unwrapped the package, took a look, and said:
"Ah, Unforgivable Sin II. Not bad at all."
It had later been released up to Part 9. Judging from the plot design and hidden easter eggs, it really should have gone on to at least Part 13 to properly finish. Unfortunately, the studio had been in Mu Continent…
Silas had played all the way from Unforgivable Sin I to IX, either with Rin or with Mastema.
Speaking of which, Mastema was actually a lot like Pardo. She just wanted to be a shut-in hacker living her lazy life. The only reason she'd become a MANTIS in the first place was because she'd taken money to hack into Fire Moth's internal systems, crashed the whole thing, and ended up dragged to the operating table…
During the Tragedy of Binding, even though her legs had been shaking the whole time, she still followed along…
Kevin glanced at Silas, who was staring blankly at the game disc in his hand, lost in thought. He considered—he'd seen something like this among Mastema's things before. So… was Silas reminded of her?
Silas soon came back to himself, slid the disc into the console, and said:
"This game has a lot of hidden mechanisms and secret missions. If we go through everything, it might take hours."
"Sounds good." Kevin picked up a controller. He could game too! In fact, his skill level was probably second only to Silas among everyone here. After all, Kevin's earliest character setting was basically a male Kiana. And besides… the rest of them were honestly terrible.
"This one allows up to four players at once. Anyone else want to try?" Silas asked while showing Pardo the buttons.
"Me!" Rin raised her hand.
Silas fell silent for a moment, then said:
"Then it'll just be the three of us."
Children shouldn't be playing video games like this. Bad habits might form. Rin was only six, after all. Even if this particular game was all-ages—able to filter out inappropriate content, like removing blood entirely—it was still too soon.
"!"
Rin puffed her cheeks angrily. She was the one who picked the game! Why wasn't Big Brother Silas letting her play?
"Big Brother Silas, you're mean!" she said, teary-eyed.
Silas didn't even turn his head.
"When you're a few years older, then you can play."
Rin looked up at her sister, hoping she'd speak up for her. But Sakura only patted her head and said gently:
"Be good, Rin. Silas is right. You're still too young. Watching is enough."
Rin: "..."
(ノꐦ ๑ ́Д'๑)ノ彡┻━┻
So the rest of them just sat and watched as Silas, Kevin, and Pardofelis played the game.
"This spot should have some kind of mechanism… something that opens the gate leading to the underground labyrinth," Silas said while moving his character around to search.
"Is it this one?" Kevin asked as he controlled his character to press a switch.
Sure enough, a hidden door appeared.
"Uh… Brother Silas, Boss Kevin…" Pardofelis followed behind their characters, "Shouldn't we, you know, finish the main quest first? The princess is still stuck with the Demon King…"
Silas and Kevin glanced at each other, then spoke in unison:
"That's not important."
Pardofelis: "..."
Something felt off about how this was going… If this were real, that poor princess would be way too miserable…
Oh well. As long as she could play games with Brother Silas, nothing else mattered anyway.
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