Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

"Ahmm…" Happily biting into the glistening grilled meat, Elysia's smile gradually froze.

This taste… this taste…!

—Unfortunately, although Kalpas had learned to cook and her grilling skills had drastically improved during her imprisonment, one flaw remained unchanged.

That was the chili peppers!

Just like her fiery temper, the barbecue made by Kalpas could also give the consumer the "experience" of being roasted by fire.

In her words:

Barbecue without chili peppers has no soul! Let it all burn! Hahahahaha!!!

The not-so-bright Elysia hadn't noticed this danger and had foolishly jumped right in.

From the perspective of a girl who loved sweets and disliked strong flavors, Elysia's expression was undoubtedly a sight to behold.

Her entire face scrunched up, rapidly heating up—it was clear that the 55kg Flame-Chaser had completely changed color, entering a critical state.

Of course, she wasn't angry at all; she only had one thought in mind.

So spicy, aaaaaahhhh!!!

Elysia wanted to cry out in agony, but Master Chef Kalpas, who had noticed something amiss, stared intently at her. Even through the mask, Elysia could sense her saying—Do you have a problem?

This was especially evident in the half-eaten skewer in Elysia's hand—Kalpas absolutely abhorred wasting food, and… You spitting it out means you're not satisfied with my cooking, right?

In Master Chef Kalpas's logic, dissatisfaction = displeasure, displeasure = fight!!!

"Hmph, can't you handle spicy food?" Kalpas grumbled, her tone filled with disdain.

Hearing this, Elysia felt a surge of anger and wanted to retort—So what if I can't handle spicy food?!

Aren't girls supposed to be unable to handle spicy food?! Look at Aponia, she… Aponia…?

Elysia looked at Aponia, who was calmly munching on the fiery red barbecue, and was dumbfounded.

She looked down at the skewer in her hand, then at Aponia's—the latter's might even be redder than hers.

But… she wasn't even frowning?

Was this the difference between people? Elysia questioned her existence.

Of course, even without Aponia as an ally, the 55kg Flame-Chaser had no qualms about admitting she couldn't handle spicy food. After all, forcing herself to eat it would only be self-torture, wouldn't it?

However…

"Delicious, Big Sister Elysia~" Griseo, munching on the red skewer, mumbled contentedly with puffed cheeks.

Kalpas looked satisfied and nodded approvingly.

Elysia, on the other hand, stared at the little artist, her eye twitching: "…Do you like this, little Griseo?"

"It's a bit painful, but it's a strange feeling, delicious~ Can't Big Sister Elysia eat it?" Griseo asked, her innocent magenta eyes filled with confusion.

—Although most children couldn't handle spicy food, for Griseo, who was like a blank canvas, she still possessed "infinite" tolerance.

Chili peppers, something she had rarely tasted before, were a novel and interesting experience for her.

And the taste was actually quite good.

Elysia's expression stiffened.

…I-If she said she couldn't eat it, wouldn't it mean she was even less capable than little Griseo?

This wasn't just embarrassing on the level of "you're at the same table as a child," but embarrassing on the level of "you're not even as good as a child"!!!

No way! Absolutely not! How could she be inferior to a child?!

Driven by her "adult vanity," Elysia could only force a smile and say, "Of course not, I quite like this too."

"Hmm? Then these are all for you." Kalpas thoughtfully placed another large pile of "hellishly spicy" skewers onto Elysia's plate.

At this moment, the pungent smell of chili peppers alone made Elysia's face turn green… oh, it was already completely red, never mind.

Looking at the lethal amount of barbecue, Elysia suddenly regretted coming here. But looking at Aponia and Griseo, who were enjoying their food, and Kalpas, acting as the "supervisor," she could only brace herself and try to finish it with tears in her eyes.

Endurance!

After a long while, Elysia excused herself, saying "I seem to have something to do," and hurriedly left with Fairy Ely. Griseo was left in Aponia's care, who would later bring her to Blanca.

"Huff… huff… huff… So spicy! Really spicy!" Elysia, gulping down tap water in the restroom, looked at her reflection in the mirror, resembling a cooked shrimp, and felt terrible.

"Hee hee, serves you right for trying to save face." Fairy Ely snorted, mocking her, "Look, your lips are swollen, aren't they?"

"What else could I do?! If I'm not even as good as Griseo, I'd lose all face! You didn't see the look in Kalpas's eyes… Sob, it hurts…" Covering her sausage-like lips, Elysia mumbled and groaned.

"It's all Bad Jiang Qiao's fault! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be suffering like this!"

Going to the training grounds only to be force-fed dog food by the Blanca couple, then going to Kalpas's containment cell and being stuffed with a lethal amount of spicy barbecue… Elysia's stomach was still churning.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have stayed outside the lab…"

"…Really, why can Griseo and Aponia eat such spicy food?!"

Fairy Ely blinked. As a continuation of Elysian Realm Elysia's data, she naturally knew why.

Griseo was probably influenced by Ato's genes; he actually liked spicy food. Also, there was her unique characteristic of absorbing and reflecting emotions—this wasn't something she gained as a MANTIS warrior, but an innate trait, amplified by the MANTIS surgery.

Because of this, emotions and personalities could be easily reflected by her, let alone the mere sensory "spiciness"?

As for Aponia—Fairy Ely knew she wasn't actually that tolerant of spicy food.

She was simply not a picky eater.

Children from the lower levels were like this. For them, even having a full stomach was a luxury. Aponia, from the choir, had slightly better conditions than the lower-class citizens, but not by much.

Moreover, the essence of spiciness was actually a type of "pain."

And Aponia's personality made her particularly obsessed with "atonement."

Atoning through pain, it wasn't surprising that Aponia would do such a thing.

To even think of competing with these two, she was indeed an idiot.

"Alright, let's go find the meanie."

"Yeah!" Elysia puffed out her cheeks and nodded angrily.

She had suffered so much outside, while that bad guy was perfectly fine. How could she tolerate this?

The furious Flame-Chaser returned to Mobius's lab and saw Mobius lying languidly in a chair.

How should she put it? This was a rather rare sight. With Mobius's personality, she would rather immerse herself in experiments twenty-four hours a day. Rest? As if! There was no time for rest!

Let alone lying lazily in a chair like a salted fish.

"Mobius, where's Jiang Qiao?" Although curious, Elysia was more concerned about the other person who should be here.

"Hmm… Oh, hmph, it's you… Elysia." Mobius, lying in the chair, feeling completely drained, was a bit surprised to hear her voice, then glanced at her. "Hee hee, after finishing what needed to be done, he naturally left."

"Huh?"

"That bad guy didn't even tell me?!" Elysia's eyes widened, her cheeks puffed out.

She was starting to get angry!

"Didn't he tell you? Oh dear, I wanted him to contact you, but it seems you didn't answer." Mobius said with a smile. Strangely, her smile was somewhat… seductive.

Although not unusual considering her age, seeing her so radiant, as if she had just had a spa treatment, was quite rare… Oh, it seemed to have happened once not long ago.

"Hmm?" Elysia quickly checked her communicator and saw Jiang Qiao's message. She felt annoyed.

Playing with little Griseo, how could she have remembered to check her communicator? Plus, she had muted it, so… she hadn't noticed at all.

"Damn it!"

"By the way, Mobius, why do you look so languid?" Although annoyed, Elysia finally asked curiously.

"Hmph, is there a problem?"

"Of course not, it's just that you usually… This isn't like you, Mobius."

"I occasionally want to rest too, especially after high-intensity exercise. Shouldn't I rest well?" The green-haired woman lying in the chair said with a slightly unnatural expression.

How should she put it… the battle hadn't gone as planned.

Although Mobius, confident after receiving the body Jiang Qiao had prepared, launched a fierce offensive and even gained the upper hand for a while, even almost seeing the dawn of victory—making this guy ███ and beg for mercy!

But ideals were beautiful, and reality was often cruel.

Even if she could cheat with the authority of Creation, restoring her stamina countless times, using Herrscher powers required Honkai energy.

Ordinary Herrschers had no such problems; connected to the Imaginary Space, their Honkai energy reserves were infinite.

But the Herrscher of Death core Mobius had received had been neutered by the Will of the Honkai—it didn't have the ability to regenerate Honkai energy.

It had a fixed amount of energy, and she could only replenish it by absorbing Honkai energy from the environment or devices.

This meant that Mobius's Honkai energy reserves weren't actually that large.

Of course—even so, she didn't think she would lose. After all, after her previous defeat, Mobius had spent some time researching, and her "collecting" techniques were now top-notch.

That snake-like "feeling," combined with sufficient stamina… even if she couldn't manipulate her muscles like that guy, so what? Mobius, having reverted to her teenage form, had intended to finish him off in three seconds.

And then—once again experiencing the rod's critical hit, directly striking her core, Mobius was successfully "beaten" silly from a sassy "female brat."

… Her mind couldn't think straight.

With her thoughts scattered, Mobius couldn't use her powers and could only instinctively endure the relentless onslaught.

Although she had managed to use her powers by resorting to underhanded tactics—Mobius, realizing she couldn't achieve a quick victory, thought that she was a Herrscher after all, even if she couldn't instantly defeat him, by dragging the fight into a war of attrition, she would ultimately win.

After all, she was most confident in her endurance.

There were only exhausted oxen, not broken fields, didn't he understand?

… Well, Mobius admitted she couldn't last that long.

Even if she had enough Honkai energy, that guy could withstand her powers—and beat her until her mind was completely muddled.

And if her mind was muddled, the outcome went without saying.

In the latter half of the "match," she could only babble incoherently.

Gritting her teeth, she declared, "I didn't lose! Eek—!"

Unfortunately, Snake's willpower didn't match her words.

The reason she was lying here so languidly was because she had been beaten into a state of mental exhaustion.

This wasn't something the power of Creation could fix.

Or rather, even if it was fixed, she still felt incredibly uncomfortable and listless.

Otherwise, how could Mobius just lie here lazily after finally obtaining what she had always yearned for?

"Hmph." Not admitting defeat, but acknowledging her lack of mastery and momentary carelessness, Mobius, recalling her "tactical retreat," huffed with slightly flushed cheeks, leaving Elysia confused.

Although she had a certain "mischievousness" towards Elysia, the mentally exhausted Mobius couldn't be bothered with it. She squinted at Elysia and said bluntly, "Alright, if you have something to do, go find that guy. I don't have time to chat."

She needed to rest and recover, then quickly begin researching the Herrscher of Death's powers and this newly born Herrscher body.

This concerned the future of human evolution, and… Mobius felt it necessary to master everything, so she could get even with that guy in the future!

"Hmm… alright then." The clueless Elysia nodded, then asked with concern, "You should rest well too, Mobius."

Although she didn't know the details, she could tell that Mobius was quite tired—Elysia, considering her a comrade and friend, was concerned about her physical condition.

How should she put it—towards such an Elysia, Mobius actually felt a twinge of "guilt," but it instantly transformed into another strange feeling… a rather exciting one.

Suppressing this inexplicable pleasure, Mobius turned her head away and mumbled, "…Hmph, don't bother with me, I'm perfectly fine."

"Hmm, take care and rest well." Elysia smiled and was about to leave, but then Mobius's voice called out from behind,

"Elysia."

"Hmm? What is it?" Elysia turned around, puzzled. After a brief silence, Mobius warned,

"…You better make your move on that man quickly."

"..." Elysia blinked and nodded. "I understand."

After she left, Mobius leaned back in her chair, a slight smile playing on her lips.

—After all, if you were too slow, someone else might beat you to it.

The women around that man weren't exactly "good women."

At least—she wasn't.

…Well, she had already told that annoying woman; whether she listened or not was another matter.

Thinking this, Mobius wrapped herself in the small blanket Jiang Qiao had left behind and drifted off to sleep.

Mmm—in her dreams, she could dream of riding on that guy, wreaking havoc!

And he could only cry and beg for "mercy."

Hee hee~ I'm Mobius!

Elysia, unaware of all this, walked out of Mobius's lab and then, with quickened steps, buried her face in her hands… Her cheeks, all the way down to her neck, were flushed crimson.

"Really, saying such things…" Gently touching her rapidly beating chest, Elysia blushed and grumbled.

No matter how wild her imagination ran, or how bold her actions might sometimes be, it was all based on the premise of "no one knowing," or rather, "only she knew."

Essentially, she was just an adolescent girl.

If certain things were brought out into the open… Elysia felt dizzy just thinking about it.

Of course, the 55kg Flame-Chaser didn't take Mobius's strange warning to heart.

After all, she felt that her progress with Bad Jiang Qiao was already quite astonishing—she was already sharing a room and a bed with him!

Borrowing each other's bodies, sleeping in the same bed, wasn't this progress fast enough?

Although Elysia occasionally worried about the other girls around him, based on her observation and analysis,

So far, she was far ahead of the competition!

As long as she made a move, Bad Jiang Qiao would be hers for the taking!

Elysia was very pleased with this advantageous situation.

—How could I possibly lose?