[Listening to Elysia's playful remarks, Ato sighed:
"Who would have thought that the little girl brought back by soldiers from [Vostok] back then would now become their [benchmark]."
"That's two different things, right? I joined Fire Moth through proper recruitment, completely relying on my own efforts."
"Besides, I'm far from being a [benchmark], am I? Otherwise, I would have changed all of Fire Moth's team emblems to pink already♪"
Ato laughed helplessly: "Have mercy on me. Pink uniforms? Are you trying to force me to defect?"
"If you're not convinced, you can try to surpass me!"
Elysia was very confident in her own strength! "I'm afraid there won't be any chance for me to show up then. Look, your [rival] has already appeared."
The man's hand slid through the air, pulling up the training pod records. For the first time, the number [2] was written before Elysia's name. "Haven't seen this name before, is it a newcomer?"
Ato replied: "I haven't seen it either. I heard there's been a strange guy recently who joined Fire Moth for the reason of... his girlfriend? Too interesting, maybe it's him? Haha."
"Wow, that's so romantic! I'd really like to meet him and his girlfriend."]
[Pardofelis]: "So it was Boss Kevin, no wonder then."
[Qingque]: "A rookie surpassing Elysia in combat - is this the talent of the first Flame-Chaser?"
[Sakura]: "Kevin... he's truly gifted by nature."
[Pardofelis]: "I remember it was the Third Honkai Impact, right? In Nagazora. Boss Kevin was still an ordinary person back then, yet he brought Dr. Mei out while wielding a baseball bat, fighting through a horde of Honkai beasts!"
[Pardofelis]: "Oh right, Dr. Mei looks quite similar to Sister Mei, just more scholarly than Sister Mei."
[Theresa]: "...Is this a coincidence?"
[Bronya Zaychik]: "Bronya remembers experiencing the Third Honkai Impact in Nagazora together with Kiana and Sister Mei."
[Kevin]: "It's not a coincidence, but why... you'll find out later."
[March 7th]: 'If it's not a coincidence... then are Kevin and Kiana counterparts?'
[Ato neither confirmed nor denied, suggesting to Elysia: "Isn't tonight the organization's [Traditional Night]? The newcomer probably won't be absent. Since you're so interested, why not go look for him at the dance?"
Knowing that tonight was a banquet, the Miss Pink Elf naturally carefully selected her outfit. Though there was a small incident in between - Mobius brought a pile of pink dresses to Elysia's room. After throwing the clothes back"My, Dr. Mobius is still so shy. And here I was kindly preparing clothes for her. She should try changing styles occasionally."
When she arrived at the banquet, Elysia creatively wore a maid outfit to the venue, subtly inquiring about information on the newcomer. Just then, Elysia heard a female voice: "Excuse me, have any of you seen a young man with white hair?"
Elysia turned to look, thinking: (My, we're discussing girly topics here, I won't disturb them. But that purple-haired girl... she's quite pretty, I'll remember her.)]
[Kiana]: "A whole pile of pink dresses? How many did Elysia give Mobius?"
[Elysia]: "Aren't they pretty♪"
[Mobius]: "Hmph!"
[March 7th]: "...That girl must be Dr. Mei, right? Whether Elysia was interested in Kevin or Dr. Mei, I can't really say."
[Sparkle]: "Can't it be both? I want them all~"
[Raiden Mei]: "Dr. Mei does look very similar to me."
[Stelle]: "Acheron, Mei, and Dr. Mei - actually quite easy to tell apart if placed together."
[Elysia]: "Simple, just have them cook♪"
["Ah... sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going and bumped into you."
Elysia was lost in listening to the gossip around her when she accidentally bumped into a white-haired youth in a suit holding a wine glass. "No... it's my fault for standing in such a place and blocking your way."
The youth smiled sheepishly as he apologized to Elysia, his sapphire-like eyes incredibly clear. "The drink didn't spill on you, did it?" Look, I caught the glass."
Elysia was also surprised by his reflexes and didn't hesitate to praise him. The white-haired youth scratched his head somewhat embarrassed, seeming not very good at handling such direct compliments. "That's really too much praise. I've just played basketball for a few years. A few months ago, I was still a student."
"Ah, right, have you seen a girl with purple hair? She wears glasses - I'm looking for her."
"...Sorry, I just joined not long ago. It's my first time attending this kind of occasion, I'm a bit nervous. Please don't mind me."
Elysia happily pointed the way for the youth, who thanked her very happily: "Wow, thank you so much. Ah, after talking for so long, I haven't introduced myself yet... how rude of me."
"My name is Kevin. Kevin, the new recruit of Fire Moth. And you—"
Mei put down the file seemingly somewhat incredulous, asking Elysia: "This is... your first meeting with Kevin?"
Mei and Elysia marveled at Kevin's changes and brought up her hometown [Vostok-51]. Back then, Elysia's deepest impression of it was just Fire Moth taking her away from there. It seemed something had happened there at the time that took many residents away, but nothing was found. The incident was eventually classified as a false alarm. In Elysia's words, what followed was quite normal - growing up bit by bit, then traveling, and finally joining Fire Moth.]
[Raiden Mei]: "This really isn't Kiana?"
[Guinaifen]: "There's a kind of beauty untouched by knowledge."
[Elysia]: "Wow, Kevin back when he was a sunny, cheerful young man! It's been so long since I've seen this version of Kevin♪"
[Pardofelis]: "I've seen Boss Kevin's past - am I going to be silenced? Sister Elysia, please save me!"
[March 7th]: "What exactly happened to make Kevin become so obsessed like this?"
[Hi3rd Welt]: "I actually understand Kevin a bit now. If I went through similar things as Kevin, I might become even more obsessed than him?"
[Silver Wolf]: "Like Blade?"
There's a question - do you want Corruption to die in its cradle, killed by Kevin right after birth? Or keep it and let Elysia and the others teach it? After all, Corruption's fundamental nature isn't bad - it just wants to live and lacks common sense about life. This choice doesn't affect the novel's direction - the only difference is adding Corrosion to the chat group.