NOVEL WEB Chapter 61: Kalpas has a Friend
To find Raven, Mei ventured deeper into the Elysian Realm, continuing her exploration.
Fortunately, along the way, she found numerous feathered arrows Raven had left behind. Some were accompanied by lingering echoes of "+3, +3," a testament to her relentless battles.
Guided by crimson feathers at the doors, Mei's path was almost entirely smooth.
However, she also encountered some tufts of fur and small traces resembling a cat toy.
Unfortunately, even after reaching the end of the trail, Mei still couldn't find any sign of Raven.
For now, there was no other path to take, and she had no choice but to return empty-handed.
Then, a voice rang out…
"Testing, one, two, three… testing, one, two, three…"
Elysia's voice echoed through the hall. It sounded like her, yet it seemed slightly altered, as if transmitted through a speaker.
Her cheerful tone made her presence unmistakable. Elysia, smiling, strolled through the hall, holding a pink megaphone.
The moment she spotted Mei, she ran over excitedly, and the megaphone broadcasted her words:
"Yay! Mei, you're back!"
"The amazing Mei who knocked Mobius flat is back~!"
"…What are you doing? And what's with that megaphone…?"
Mei hesitated, pointing at the object in Elysia's hand.
Was she really on bad terms with Mobius, or was she trying to drag Mei into it?
"This? I traded it from Felis for three crystal flowers!"
Elysia glanced at the megaphone in her hand and proudly presented it to Mei, showing it off from every angle.
"Durable, clear sound quality, and super sweet tones, it's the perfect tool to promote our strong and adorable Mei, don't you think?"
Her smile left Mei unsure how to respond.
She thought to herself, Perhaps it wasn't without reason that Mobius disliked Elysia. Everyone had their own struggles; Elysia probably did too.
"Look, it even has a recording function. Just press here, and it'll automatically play—"
Elysia continued enthusiastically, showing off her little treasure. It was clearly something she treasured deeply.
While it didn't have the multifunctionality of what Vill-V might design, nor the power of something from Mobius, and it lacked the artistic touch of Eden's collections, Elysia still adored it.
Unfortunately, not everything people loved was loved by others.
"Ah… I really want to touch her horns… I can't stop thinking about them!"
An unexpected voice played from the megaphone, causing Elysia's face to flush visibly. Why had it broadcast that?
"…"
Mei stayed silent for a long moment, narrowing her eyes.
"Ahem… uh… yeah, so as I was saying, it has a recording function! Just press here, and it'll automatically play—" Elysia clumsily tried to change the subject, pretending nothing had happened. She repeated her previous line but avoided Mei's gaze.
Sigh, Mei thought. What would Mei think of her now? Would she… let Elysia touch her horns?
"Hmm? How does this thing even work, Can? Do you know? Never mind, I'll just toss it aside, maybe someone else will want it."
The voice from the megaphone spoke again, as if in an attempt to finally shift topics.
Elysia then turned to a serious matter, suggesting that Mei visit Felis. Although Felis wasn't adept in combat, her intelligence-gathering skills were top-notch. Elysia noted that Felis might have a way to quickly locate Raven.
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"…Oh, right. Speaking of which… where's my little megaphone?"
Prompted by a reminder from the game, Elysia suddenly remembered that she had traded for an adorable megaphone from Pardofelis.
As for the incident about touching horns in the game…
What connection was there between the Elysia in the game and the one in real life? Of course, she would never do such a thing!
"...Hmm."
Kosma pursed his lips and subtly distanced himself from Elysia, as if recalling something unpleasant.
"Kosma… afraid of colors?"
Griseo tilted her head, confused. What could be so frightening here? Why was he avoiding Elysia ?
"Uh… it's all just memories, right? They should all be gone now. I collected so many exhibits over the years… sigh," Pardo remarked wistfully.
Her years of collections had been destroyed, along with those crystal flowers from Elysia … they were so sparkly and beautiful.
"It's just a megaphone. Why not ask Vill-V to make you a new one? She's been overworked lately and could use a small project to relax," Mobius said casually.
As for her own thoughts…
Heh, did no one notice what kind of content was being played on that megaphone?
This woman… she really dared to record such things and carelessly leave them lying around!
Mobius shot Elysia a cold glance, visibly displeased.
---
"Horns? What? Horns—Mei, you mustn't let some bad woman deceive you! How could you let anyone touch your horns?"
Kiana blurted out, her voice full of alarm.
She never expected Elysia to have such a peculiar interest. Thankfully, the game had given her a timely warning. No, she had to keep a close eye on Mei's movements!
"Uh… Kiana, that's just game plot—no need to get so worked up," Mei replied helplessly.
But according to the voice lines she had heard later… it seemed the other party had indeed succeeded.
She felt strangely guilty.
She could only hope Kiana wouldn't come across that particular scene. Although… why was everyone so curious about horns? Mei couldn't understand it.
"We need to stay on high alert! I'll oversee everything with the utmost care… I haven't touched them enough yet!" Kiana declared with a serious tone, her voice trailing off toward the end.
Bronya, Seele, and Fu Hua exchanged peculiar glances in their direction. They couldn't understand what these girls were secretly up to in the villa every day.
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When Mei turned her head, she noticed Kalpas nearby. He seemed to know what had just happened.
'How interesting… Was this Herrscher planning to confront her?'
Kalpas stared at her, scrutinizing her, as if imagining their battle.
The outcome didn't matter to him. The more brutal it was, the better!
"You've always wanted to see the darker side of Flame-Chasers, haven't you? Soon, your wish will come true… hahaha!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you used to avoid talking about that place. Why now…?"
Mei expressed her confusion. She didn't understand why Kalpas was suddenly so interested.
"Haha… That darkness may be worthless, but at least it holds one thing, a friend of mine."
"Now, she's left that place. The thought of us meeting again excites me, my every nerve is trembling with anticipation, Herrscher."
"You have such friends too, don't you, Herrscher?"
"...You? You have a friend? Honestly, that's hard to believe."
"Hmph! Do you think I'm some kind of freak… a beast? Aponia doesn't care about that. She and I are the same kind of person. No, she's even crazier and more twisted than I am."
"If I'm a freak, then she's an anomaly. Who else would call the depths of that place home?"
Kalpas snorted coldly, his tone mocking. It was unclear if he was mocking himself or that so-called friend.
"Aponia… I've heard that name before. A powerful psychic type of MANTIS, correct?"
"Yes, a psychic-sensor type. Disgusting, isn't it? That's exactly why I've had to wait so long. But for this… I can be patient."
"One day, I'll tear her apart, piece by piece… Those hands that everyone envies, I'll discard them in Aponia's blood and watch as they turn filthy red."
Hearing Kalpas' words, Mei fell silent.
If her memory hadn't deceived her,
"…Didn't you just say she's your friend?"
Mei confirmed again.
"Yes. What of it?"
"Just making sure… I've been here for some time now, but Kalpas… you've never considered me a friend, have you?"
"When you're dreaming. As for other times…"
"It's okay, I was just asking… I'm honestly relieved to hear you say that."
From the bottom of her heart, Raiden Mei didn't want to become his friend, not even a little.
She was genuinely glad. Even though she didn't have a good relationship with Kalpas, the fact that he didn't consider her a friend was, in her opinion, a blessing.
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In the Golden Courtyard
"Kalpas… behaving like this, who would dare to be your friend?" Elysia teased, glancing at the tall, white-haired man with an intense aura.
"Hmph—"
"Kalpas… I didn't expect you to still consider us friends."
Even Aponia was a bit surprised. She had never realized this, but despite that, she found herself feeling a little happy.
"Friends? Hah, of course—friends who would die for each other! Or, better yet, friends who wish for each other's death!"
Kalpas said coldly, the flames behind him roaring and surging. The blazing heat seemed to scorch the very air.
"huh... shy boys often say the opposite of what they mean. Since you've admitted that Aponia is your friend, Kalpas~ maybe try to be a little more polite when you speak," Elysia advised, completely unfazed by the raging flames around her.
"Ha—friends?"
Kalpas sneered but didn't directly refute Elysia. She was always like this, wasting her time on meaningless things.
In the end, what had she achieved?
---
At Theresa's Place
"Hmm… let me ask, the definition of 'friends' in this world isn't that, right? Also, in the video, that guy doesn't seem very good at making friends, does he?"
Bronie pondered for a moment, pointing at the image of Kalpas on the screen.
Wait a second—why was she suddenly feeling afraid of making friends herself?
Are all friends… this terrifying? Ripping someone apart, throwing limbs into pools of blood…
"Obviously not. For example, Theresa and I are great friends. She was generous enough to share her villa with me, and of course, I've financially supported this academy," Luo Mo tried to give an example, illustrating the deep and commendable friendship between himself and the principal.
"Generous? You call that generosity?" Theresa's mouth twitched as she rolled her eyes at Luo Mo.
"Uh… are you sure it's friendship?" Bronie raised an eyebrow, staring at him skeptically.
"Are you sure you're not just talking about a transaction?" Delta chimed in, turning to look at him.
"…Well, since you're all so doubtful, let's just say it's not. Alas, Theresa, the deep friendship between us is now gone," Luo Mo chuckled softly.
He had merely wanted to provide an example of how making friends wasn't that difficult, how did it end up getting derailed like this?
"Sigh—alright, alright. Putting aside what Luo Mo said, the friends in this world… are pretty normal. The abnormal ones are probably in that world. Seriously, how could friendships get that strange?"
Theresa sighed, massaging her temples as she explained.
Her relationship with Luo Mo, well… it wasn't exactly easy to define as "friends."
Sure, they were friends.
But which friend would occupy someone else's house without leaving? She couldn't exactly drive him away, though… In fact, she didn't mind—it made the place feel much livelier.
But that so-called "deep friendship"—was it really gone just like that? Could such a friendship even withstand the test of time?
She shot Luo Mo a disapproving glance before turning back and letting out a cold snort.
"Someone's mad~" Bronie said with a sly grin, poking Luo Mo.
"She's mad." Delta glanced at him, whispering.
"Indeed, Captain, you've angered Lady Theresa," Irene added.
"…Wait, why are you siding with her now?" Luo Mo asked, puzzled, giving Irene a quick look.
(TL/C: friendship is like love, has many forms and colors. Just look at Otto and Fu Hua. Mei and Raven, Bronya and Kiana, Tesla and Einstein.)
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Meanwhile, Mei had received more detailed information about the Deep End from Klein.
In the past, it was the name of a prison. In the Elysian Realm, it still existed.
It was special, yet dangerous. Klein sincerely urged Mei not to go near it, not to touch it.
But would Mei obediently listen? Perhaps once, a long time ago…
But in the Elysian Realm, this version of her was far removed from that description.
During this deeper venture into the Realm, Mei keenly noticed changes. The starting point was different from before, as were the monsters she faced. Their strange aura and the peculiar energy clinging to her made her feel an undeniable shift.
Even Elysia's whereabouts were unknown.
After overcoming several waves of monsters, Mei finally caught sight of her. For some reason, seeing her again in such a chaotic environment brought a sense of inexplicable calm to Mei's heart.
"Sigh, I have no idea what's going on. The Elysian Realm has become such a mess. Even our connected thoughts can't guide us to each other anymore…"
Elysia glanced around at the remnants of the battle, then raised a green, eye-like device in her hand with delight.
"Thankfully, I have this. What's it called again? The Eye of Awakener? Or Kevin's Weapon Model No. 24? Whatever, it's great for locating Herrschers. I traded a crystal flower for it!"
As for Elysia's earlier mention of shared thoughts… or this peculiar item… Mei wasn't too curious. It was, after all, a product of an advanced civilization.
What she did wonder about was… why was this thing worth less than that little megaphone from before?
She couldn't help but be curious about Elysia's valuation system.
Was it because this wasn't as pretty?
Uh… probably?
On a more serious note, Elysia had helped her locate Pardo this time, and Pardo had agreed to assist Mei in gathering clues and intel.
Finally, stepping through the gate, Mei found herself at Pardo's stall, though it looked quite different this time.
Before her was a lively young girl, counting something with great focus and interest.
Behind her swayed a slender, patterned tail, lazily flicking through the air. At its tip was a brilliant purple crystal pin, drawing the eye.
She wore only shorts and a cropped top, her attire reminiscent of a tropical dancer. On her head were light brown cat ears, whether they were an accessory or real was unclear. Her short braids were playful and cute.