Honkai: Man(Sludge) From Future

After her visit to the outside world, Elysia quickly sized up the state of the Current Era.

Although the world was rife with regional conflicts, lingering feudal warlords, and pockets of racist ideology, and although the gap between rich and poor was immense and trust between people was practically non-existent...

Overall, people were still managing to survive. It was a pretty good era, at least far better than the feudal age where they lived at the mercy of the elements.

Mobius neither agreed nor refused Noldrei's offer, but she did have a good long talk with the other Flame-Chasers before she left.

For Mobius, evolution was ugly, while life was beautiful. But in Noldrei's eyes, both were beautiful; life only became ugly when it stopped evolving.

Their philosophies weren't exactly diametrically opposed, but they were certainly at odds.

However, Noldrei ran into an unexpected person here.

Miss Raven.

"Hm? What are you doing here? I remember... you're the one who fought Sirin back in the day, right?"

Noldrei remembered her. She was the one whose entire family had been destroyed by Sirin, which was why she had come for revenge.

"..."

Miss Raven felt she had come at a very bad time. How did she, a World Serpent operative, run into the mastermind behind the Herrschers?

Could she not escape such a fate even by hiding in the Elysian Realm?

Thinking of the children living and eating for free in Academy City, Raven did have to thank Noldrei for covering her substantial childcare expenses.

It made him seem like a total sucker.

"What was your name again? Looks like you didn't win that fight against Sirin."

It would have been better if Noldrei hadn't brought it up. The mere mention of it made Raven feel like she'd gotten a raw deal.

Fighting a Herrscher and earning less than a common researcher was one thing, but earning even less than corrupt officials? It made her feel like a complete clown.

Honestly, if someone else had Raven's abilities, they would have already been on the fast track to the top. Yet Raven was still hesitantly running a small bar. It just went to show that a person's suffering is closely tied to their own mindset.

Seeing Raven gave Noldrei a sudden flash of inspiration. He turned to Mobius and asked, "Hey, isn't that a living person who came in? Why didn't you possess her and get out?"

Mobius glanced at Noldrei, then at the empty spot where Miss Raven had just been standing before she vanished.

"I tried. She runs too fast. Never gave me the chance. She must have been tipped off by someone else. Not everyone is like you, willing to just hand their body over to others."

"I see..." Noldrei genuinely pitied Raven. To think she'd joined an organization like World Serpent, only to have someone covet her body after getting in.

"I was the one who tipped her off, you know. Otherwise, you wouldn't be seeing Miss Raven anymore."

Elysia was completely unbothered by the fact that she had foiled Mobius's plans to become a body-snatching protagonist. Just as Mobius was about to break out of the Elysian Realm and start a new, Reverend Insanity-style villain arc, Elysia's tip-off nipped the grand plan in the bud.

"Good job. If she had actually gotten away, where else would I find such an outstanding researcher?"

Elysia had always thought Noldrei was a terrible person. "Don't you care at all about poor Miss Raven?" she asked, dissatisfied.

"What's that got to do with me? No one else cared about Sirin when she was locked up. We're all from the same country. Isn't it only natural for someone to come seeking revenge after what was done to Sirin?"

Noldrei was completely indifferent to Miss Raven's suffering. In his eyes, her pain was no different from the pain of someone in Africa—worth noting, but not by much.

Mobius seemed to be explaining something to a young girl, though it was unclear if the girl was someone important.

The girl seemed exceptionally worried that Mobius would get into trouble with the wrong people once she was out.

But Mobius didn't seem to care at all. After sending the girl away, she prepared to leave the Elysian Realm—which to her was nothing more than a cage—with Noldrei and Elysia.

"Let's go. We can settle the rest of our accounts after we get out."

Mobius spoke only to Noldrei, clearly having little interest in acknowledging Elysia.

And just like that, the three of them vanished from the Elysian Realm once more.

The sudden departure of her two boisterous friends left Eden feeling a little lonely.

"Sigh... What do you think Mobius will get up to once she's out? Do you think that man can keep her in check?"

Sakura was unsure about Mobius's situation. She thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know, but it probably won't be a big problem. Since Elysia thinks it's fine, we should just trust her."

"Really? With Mobius's scary personality, will it really be okay?" Miss Pardo didn't think this was a good thing at all, especially with how intimidating Mobius was.

"Compared to Mobius, I think Noldrei's personality is scarier, don't you?" Hua felt that Mobius's departure was a bit rushed. She even suspected that Elysia had teamed up with an outsider to trick Mobius. "Didn't you see it? That subtle glance Elysia and Noldrei exchanged as they were leaving?"

"Hua, how are you so sharp? You can even read their glances? Are you some kind of protagonist from a novel?" Eden thought Hua was being a bit dramatic. Who could really read that much into a look?

Hua quickly waved her hands, explaining, "I don't mean they're plotting something sinister. I'm just wondering if they dug a pit for Mobius and are just waiting for her to fall in. Mobius has had a pretty tragic life from the start. Who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause when she gets out. It's not like our time, when there were people who could keep her in line. At least she listened to MEI."

Pardofelis started to get scared. "Is it that scary outside?" she asked, shrinking back. "Maybe I should just stay here?"

She had already lived for so long; even if she died now, she would have come out ahead. There was no reason to go for one last gamble with a madwoman like Mobius.

"Then let's make a bet," Eden said, a new idea sparking in her mind. She smiled. "I'll bet that this time, Mobius will be taught a lesson the moment she steps out."

Pardofelis thought it over and decided it would be better if Mobius did get taken down a notch.

So she also bet that Mobius would be taught a lesson.

Soon, everyone else's bets were in...

In the end, everyone had bet that Mobius would be taught a lesson.

Snakey really wasn't popular, was she? Everyone was betting against her. Finally, the ever-earnest Hua declared that she would maintain the balance of the game and bet on Mobius to win.

Unfortunately, everyone knew about Hua's luck. It wasn't just bad; it was consistently terrible.