MGSFV?! Chapter 212. Elysia's Book Series; Pardofelis's Overwhelming Survival Instinct

"Actually, I think Mei is also showing signs of becoming a 'timer puncher' in the Elysian Realm."

Kiana blinked and said, "Kevin is cryptic, Mei is… speechless."

Elysia chuckled and joined in, "Yes, yes, Mei's speechless moments in the Elysian Realm might be more than all the previous main story combined."

Mei: "..."

"And who do you think is to blame for that, Elysia?"

"Hmm…"

Elysia paused for a moment, then answered playfully, "First, we can rule out Elysia, who, just like Mei, is a gentle, kind, beautiful, and cute girl?"

Mei: "..."

Ruling out the 'prime culprit' first—seriously?

"I'm afraid the last person we can rule out is you, Elysia," Mei stated flatly.

"Eh, is that so?"

Elysia paused, thought seriously for a moment, then said, "Hmm… I guess it is. But this is probably just the necessary growing pains as Mei and Elysia get to know each other better. With a little effort, it'll pass."

"See? Thanks to Elysia, Mei is already getting more and more used to the atmosphere of the Elysian Realm, right?"

Mei: "..."

Mei stayed silent, while Kiana felt as if something had just rolled right over her face.

"Ahem, let's stop here. This topic isn't suitable to dig into any further."

——

In the story, Mei and the cryptic Kevin naturally didn't have much to talk about.

From him, she got some information about Kosma, learning that he was once the boy Kevin had scolded to tears four times in a single day.

After parting with Kevin, Mei waited for a while in the lounge until Elysia finally arrived, and immediately stepped forward.

Mei was clearly unsettled—after all, she'd had her horn touched by Elysia, and Raven had seen it. The social death alone was bad enough, yet she still hadn't achieved her goal.

Anyone would be anxious.

Faced with the storming Mei, Elysia gave a reasonable explanation.

The place Mei had just arrived in, the World-in-Painting, was called the Dreamscape of the Painter, and it was a necessary path to reach the deepest depths.

As for why Kosma appeared there to block them, perhaps it was simply because he didn't want Griseo, who was painting deep in the dream, to be disturbed.

And to help Mei deal with this 'knight blocking the road,'

Elysia even took out one of her painstaking works — One Hundred Questions for the Silent Boy.

Of course, what players found most worth commenting on wasn't that Elysia produced such a book.

By now, the pink fairy could do anything strange and the players wouldn't be surprised.

What really amazed them was Mei's response:

"No need. That One Hundred Questions for the Thousand Masks… I'll finish reading it first."

[Mei actually read it?]

[I thought she'd thrown One Hundred Questions for the Thousand Masks away long ago—turns out she's been seriously studying it?]

[Hahaha, I'm going to die laughing in the Elysian Realm today.]

[Even Mei can't resist uncovering the secrets of Kalpas's mask, huh.]

In the end, Mei didn't accept Elysia's fervent recommendation of One Hundred Questions for the Silent Boy.

This left the players a bit regretful. If it were them, they'd happily take it and then flip through it right in front of Kosma…

Or, even without doing something so 'Elysia-like,' it would still make a nice souvenir from the Elysian Realm, wouldn't it?

Leaving Elysia behind,

Mei reorganized the information she had.

The deepest depths… she had to go there. As for Kosma, Elysia had said he wasn't always there—so she just needed to pass through when he wasn't around.

As she was thinking,

Pardofelis's voice came from nearby: "Hey, Mei-sis, over here!!"

Mei: "...?"

Once she called Mei over,

Pardofelis immediately said she could take her around Kosma and into the Dreamscape of the Painter.

Naturally, Mei asked why she wouldn't just take her straight to the deepest depths.

"Uh… well… how do I put this… If it's just Amo getting mad, the worst is that I can't get away with it."

Pardofelis stammered, "But if I took you to the deepest depths, and Kalpas and Nyah found out… I'd really be taken apart into Pardo and Felis…"

[Pardo）（Felis.]

[At least not taken apart into Pa·rdo·fe·lis.]

[Poor kitty, truly too humble (lol).]

The players were laughing themselves silly at the kitty's usual survival instinct.

Then Pardofelis suddenly changed the topic to guide fees—not surprising. If the kitty wasn't thinking about making a little money, that would be the real surprise.

The key point was—she was even willing to write Mei an IOU.

The reason being…

Thanks to Elysia's loudspeaker efforts, the entire Elysian Realm now knew Mei was a woman of her word—and could even be coaxed into letting someone touch her horn.

At this, Kiana also realized something.

So when Elysia said she could be happy all day, she meant running around with a loudspeaker saying it all day?

[Loudspeaker: Miss Mei who knocked Mobius flat let me touch the horn on her head!]

[So the loudspeaker setup was foreshadowing for this payoff?]

[Mei: Is it still too late to silence her?]

[Now I see why the loudspeaker was worth three crystal flowers.]

——

From Pardofelis, Mei learned that Elysia had gone around with the loudspeaker spreading news of her horn-touching incident.

Now, from the "cat girl" aged 50,000 years to the "snake woman" aged 50,000 years, everyone knew about it.

Although Mei felt deeply vexed, considering she probably couldn't beat Elysia, she decided not to pursue the matter further.

It proved that the pink-haired girl could thrive so well in the Elysian Realm not only because she was extraordinarily cute, but also because she was strong enough to fend off trouble from Mei… or certain green-haired women.

——

Back to business—

Soon Mei was once again heading toward the deepest depths. This time, under Pardofelis's guidance, the kitty really did help her avoid Kosma.

The two moved forward smoothly—until they were about to reach the destination.

A monster suddenly appeared behind Pardofelis, sending her scrambling everywhere.

"Mei-sis, help me!"

"Pardofelis, aren't you a Flame-Chaser? Just take it down."

"I told you, I'm not good at fighting."

Watching the utterly bedraggled Pardofelis, Mei was stunned.

This was completely different from what she had imagined.

Wasn't Pardofelis supposed to be hiding her strength all along?

Several thoughts flashed through her mind, but she still drew her weapon and helped Pardofelis eliminate the monster.

"Hoo~~ ha~~ finally… finally safe…"

Pardofelis looked as if she had just survived a great disaster.

Mei felt a twinge of guilt. "…Sorry, Pardofelis, I didn't think… you were actually…"

"Mei-sis, you didn't think… I was hiding my strength, did you?"

"..."

At that moment, Mei finally believed Pardofelis wasn't being 'low-key'—she really was weak.

Of course—Pardofelis was just a kitty with maxed-out luck.

To ease the awkwardness, Mei immediately took Pardofelis toward the next layer.

The surroundings turned into a distorted space of the artist.

In the distance, they could see a little girl sitting on a tall chair, carefully painting colors onto a huge scroll before her.

It was the eleventh Flame-Chaser, Griseo of Starry Impression.

And interacting with Griseo was much easier than Mei had expected.

She had thought it would be another reclusive child like Kosma, but no—fortunately, it wasn't the case.

Still, a Flame-Chaser was a Flame-Chaser—there were always some 'oddities.'

For example, while talking with Mei, Griseo suddenly, without warning, immersed herself into the painting.

Clearly, you don't get to be a fusion warrior without a touch of social awkwardness.

Mei was startled, but Pardofelis, knowing Griseo's personality, quickly beckoned her to sneak away together.

Just as they were about to slip away—

Griseo's voice rang out again: "Mei-sis… why are you sad?"

"What?" Mei was surprised.

Griseo continued: "It's like… a little bird falling into the lake."

Mei fell silent.

The viewers also pondered what Griseo's words meant.

Until someone sent a comment:

[If Raven were here, would Griseo say: Raven-sis, why are you sad? It's like… a small island sinking into the sea.]

[??? The mood was instantly destroyed by your comment.]

[Hahahaha, 'small island sinking into the sea,' you're so mean.]

[Raven·Pacing (upper), Raven·Rolling (middle), Raven·Vowing (lower).]

[This stream is really full of talent (lol).]

Elysia had originally wanted to expand on the topic, but after seeing that comment, she instead said:

"I don't think Griseo would say it like that. She'd probably use a more abstract metaphor."

"For example, 'a woman quietly gazing at the far end of the sea on a beach.'"

"Wouldn't it be best if there were a line of narration floating in then?"

Hokuto followed Elysia's lead: "No matter the cost, humanity must defeat the Honkai?"

"Pfft~~ 'Otto'-san, you really get it."

Mei: "..."

She realized there really was a reason why Elysia and Hokuto got along so well.

It's just…

"You two shouldn't be using your chemistry in such weird ways."

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