"You know my name?"
Elysia looked at Durandal. "But I don't recall ever introducing myself?"
"Who knows?"
Durandal mused, a playful lilt in her voice. "Maybe I've had my eye on you since the moment you were born~"
Truthfully, Durandal was referring to the video Ellie-chan had posted on Bilibili – the Honkai Impact 3rd new S-rank character trailer for "Miss Pink Elf♪".
As for what meaning Elysia might read into those words, that was beyond Durandal's control.
Sure enough, upon hearing Durandal's remark, Elysia's expression shifted almost imperceptibly.
But just as quickly, that sweet, radiant smile was back on her face.
She suddenly took a step forward, leaning in and tilting her head up to look at Durandal. "Hehe, in that case, it seems I simply must join this 'Flame-Chaser' organization of yours, mustn't I?"
"Correct."
Durandal retreated a subtle step before nodding. Truth be told, she'd never intended to give Elysia a choice in the matter from the very beginning.
"Alright then~"
Noticing Durandal's slight retreat, Elysia's lips curved into a faint smile as she straightened up and glanced around. "So, Miss Durandal, how do you plan to deal with all these... witnesses?"
Suddenly being put on the spot by Elysia, the surrounding Fire Moth soldiers were taken aback.
After a moment's hesitation, one soldier, realizing they couldn't remain silent, stepped forward.
"Miss Durandal, I'm not sure why you hold such an impression of the Fire Moth organization, but I sincerely request you join us. With your help, humanity will surely be able to defeat these monsters!"
Durandal's gaze fell on the speaker. She could sense that while all Fire Moth soldiers present were in awe of her after witnessing her defeat the Second Herrscher, and didn't believe she would attack them, a thread of fear still lingered in their hearts.
Only this person before her had mustered the courage to step forward and extend an invitation on behalf of Fire Moth.
Although Durandal had no interest whatsoever in joining Fire Moth, she felt a flicker of curiosity about this individual.
"And you are?" Durandal asked.
"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Emile."
"Emile... That adjutant of Kalpas's, and later one of the Herrschers of Domination. No wonder..."
After retrieving the related memories of this person, Durandal suddenly said, "How about you join our Flame-Chasers as well? I'll find you a... 'wonderful teammate'."
Kalpas probably hadn't even descended upon the Sundown Alley yet, but that didn't stop Durandal from securing a future adjutant for him in advance.
"Huh? This..."
Emile was visibly stunned.
He never expected that his courageous attempt to recruit Durandal would result in him being invited instead.
To be honest, he was somewhat tempted.
After all, no matter how strong Fire Moth was, hadn't they nearly failed to hold the line just now?
If this young woman hadn't descended from the heavens, Emile honestly found it hard to imagine how humanity could have achieved victory.
This Second Herrscher's abilities were just too broken; every attack could be teleported away.
They had nearly exhausted the ammunition depot of an entire military district, altering the very landscape, and sacrificed several battalions of soldiers, yet their enemy remained completely unscathed.
Every soldier present could feel it—the Herrscher remained here not because of their containment, but because it was toying with their lives.
Once it grew bored, they had no means to prevent it from leaving to wreak catastrophic destruction upon the cities and the entire world.
But such an unpredictable, powerful enemy had fallen to this young woman in just a few rounds.
Emile understood the situation clearly: it was Fire Moth who needed Durandal, not the other way around.
With power like hers, what did it matter if she operated alone? She could still hand the Herrschers their backsides, couldn't she?
Seeing Emile fall into silent contemplation, Durandal didn't press him. She simply nodded. "I can give you time to consider it. However, you will soon witness exactly why I believe joining Fire Moth is a waste of time."
With that, Durandal snapped her fingers. Krishna, whom she had left at the spot where the Second Herrscher vanished, seemed to receive the command and swiftly trotted to her side.
Durandal gently stroked Krishna's head. "Krishna, I'll need to trouble you a little more."
So saying, she swung herself onto the horse's back and extended her right hand towards Elysia. "Get on."
"My, aren't you... direct~"
Elysia had originally hoped the Fire Moth soldiers might delay Durandal a bit, but they'd proven ineffective—not only failing to detain her, but even losing one of their own in the process.
Now, left with little choice, Elysia reached out, took Durandal's hand, and allowed herself to be pulled up onto the horse behind her.
And so, Elysia sat in front with Durandal behind her. From this posture, it easily looked as though Durandal was holding Elysia in her arms.
Once seated, Elysia seemed completely unaware of, or unbothered by, the intimate nature of their position. Instead, like an inquisitive child, she ran her hands over Krishna's metallic, gleaming exterior, her face a picture of astonishment. "This texture... it's completely different from what I imagined~"
Durandal gave a slight squeeze with her legs, and Krishna shot forward, speeding across the snowy plains at a pace that far surpassed any ordinary vehicle.
Elysia's boundless curiosity made Durandal forget her slight initial discomfort. "What did you imagine it would feel like?" she asked.
Elysia thought for a moment. "I imagined it would be much harder and colder to the touch, like real metal. But actually feeling it... its temperature is close to a human's, and what looks like a metal shell is actually just a protective keratin layer. When you press down, you can even feel the elasticity of the muscles beneath the skin. It's just... very different~"
Struggling to find the right words by the end, Elysia finished her description with a slightly coquettish tone.
"I see..."
A faint smile touched Durandal's lips. This version of Elysia seemed less composed and effortlessly charming than the one Mei would later encounter in the Elysian Realm, appearing more like an innocently naive young girl.
"So then, Miss Elysia," Durandal said from behind her, "could I trouble you to give me directions?"
"Directions?" Elysia asked, turning her head slightly. "Where do you want to go?"
"Chiba Academy."
--+--