["So, what is your answer?"
"Indeed, as you said, some people I've met here are hard to define as 'good people' in the universal sense."
"Even those outside their circle harbor various purposes, conceal their secrets, and even hold contradictions among themselves, conflicting with one another."
I can sense a common belief from these people, or perhaps... an [obsession]."
Mei looked firmly at Elysia and answered seriously: "...[The will to fight for something.]"
"Perhaps this is the most precious gift the apocalypse has given humanity."
A breeze blew past, scattering countless cherry blossoms behind them as the pink twilight showered upon Elysia. Elysia clasped her hands behind her back and playfully said to Mei: "Yes, you're right."
"They were never perfect heroes - they simply happened to be the ones who appeared at that place, at that time."
"And precisely because of this, I believe if it were others, they would have made choices that differ in small ways but align in major ones... perhaps they might have done even better?"
"This is the eternity of [beauty], the [true self] that I believe in."]
[Star]: "Help! I think I saw a succubus!"
[March 7th]: "Truly worthy of being called a maiden beautiful as flying flowers. She really wasn't lying."
[Kiana]: "So beautiful, I almost... wait no! Damn it! Elysia!"
[Qingque]: "It's over, it's over. Even Kiana has been charmed by that certain fairy."
[Stelle]: "No one can resist Elysia!!"
["This place carries too much of the past unrelated to [truth], and because of this... they didn't vanish into dust along with the Previous Era."
"You're destined to never see all the stories, not even glimpse a corner of the complete picture. The entirety of thirteen lives... is something so complex, yet so wonderful."
"The meaning lies in what I want to [believe] during this process."
"That will determine what you [obtain] when you reach the end," Elysia responded. "In the end, I still couldn't escape your [trap]."
Mei looked at the playful and cute Elysia with some affection in her eyes. "After taking such a long detour... your goal never changed from the beginning."
"Calling it a goal is a bit exaggerated," Elysia replied with a smile. "But what you said is indeed my little wish. Consistent throughout... it's my [persistence]."
"I think the current Mei can face [my ending] with composure now."
"I hope so, but I'm somewhat surprised."
Mei continued: "You who never liked [lying], still told a little lie about the matter of [your Herrscher identity]."
"[The 13th Herrscher]... you didn't need to hide it from me for so long."
Mei looked gently at Elysia, just like how she used to look at Kiana. "Mhm."
Elysia rarely showed some melancholy: "You're right, perhaps... I really told a big lie, the only [lie] of my life."
"After all, I get scared too."
"If Mei knew about my identity as the [13th Herrscher], maybe... you wouldn't greet me with a smile like before?"
"Would you doubt me? Would you... distance yourself from me?"
Elysia's voice grew softer, making her anxiety more palpable, afraid that Mei would distance herself because of this. "Am I... quite disappointing?"]
[Eden]: "My dear Elysia, you have never disappointed anyone."
[Stelle]: "Elysia is Elysia. How could we distance ourselves because of something like a Herrscher identity?"
[Theresa]: "Exactly! Though it might sound strange, St. Freya already has plenty of Herrschers. Why would we distance ourselves from you because of your Herrscher identity?"
[Herrscher of Sentience]: "Hey, what's the big deal? I'm still a Herrscher too!"
[Raiden Mei]: "Elysia, though we've never met in reality, I believe we can become friends too."
[Kiana]: "And me, and me!"
[Elysia]: "Mei, Kiana, aren't we already friends? ♪"
[Sparkle]: "My~ Kiana has fallen too. As expected, rookie Kiana is no match for veteran Elysia."
[Mei answered without hesitation: "That you would think this way does disappoint me somewhat."
"When you called yourself the vice-leader of the Flame-Chasers, I didn't let my guard down either.
Similarly...
[the 13th Herrscher] wouldn't make me treat you differently."
"Even if you became a Herrscher... so what? Am I not a Herrscher too?"
"Is this answer sufficient?" "Mhm... more than sufficient!"
Hearing Mei's firm answer, Elysia once again showed her energetic smile. That girl who was always thought to have [ulterior motives] - all her words and actions before Mei, everything she revealed, perhaps from beginning to end, was only for this one [answer]. In the distant past, on that night when she donned pure white garments and wore her once-in-a-lifetime new makeup as she walked toward the final conclusion... Did she get the answer she wanted? "Even if... you became a Herrscher..."
"Even if you became a Herrscher—"
In the silence, Mei's sharp senses detected something wrong: "Hm?"
A familiar voice pulled Mei back to reality. She followed the sound and looked - under the sunset, Elysia's smile was pure and sweet. Light fell upon her cheeks, flowing down along her fair skin... Wrapping around her soft body, something faintly visible loomed behind her in the haze. It was... A megaphone. With recording function too! ♪
Mei fell silent, Mei pondered, Mei gritted her teeth: "Elysia...!"
All sentimentality dissipated in the face of Elysia's farce.]
[Pardofelis]: "Uh... gotta say, that's our Elysia for you."
[Stelle]: "This little megaphone is practically a black history collector."
[Sparkle]: ["With recording function too! ♪"]
[Sparkle]: "Mei-Mei, you really got tricked by that bad woman~"
[Kiana]: "How dare you play with Mei's feelings! Hmph!"
[Silver Wolf]: "This little megaphone is definitely the main DPS of the entire Elysian Realm! Who knows how many people's black history it has recorded!"
[Pardofelis]: "Oh no,Can, do you think we undersold this thing to Elysia-nee?"
[Aventurine]: "What a good business mind you have."
[Stelle]: "Is this the mutual appreciation between lucky profiteers?"
[Aventurine]: "Just appreciation and regret, that's all."