"If only I had made my move earlier…"
"Grrr! Damn that Elysia…"
Misteln and Sheele leaned gloomily over the counter, full of frustration and envy, watching the white-haired boy discuss diamond ring designs with the clerk. Elias hadn't said it outright, but anyone could see who that ring was meant for!
In both their minds, the same image flashed: Miss Pink Elf proudly showing off her ring finger, with a radiant diamond glittering on it.
The two girls quickly shook their heads hard, replacing Elysia's face with their own in the fantasy before finally regaining some calm.
"It's fine, it hasn't actually come to that yet. For all we know—well, even if it's a one-in-a-billion chance—maybe this ring isn't for Elysia. After all, probability theory says nothing is ever truly impossible. And I don't need to dwell on it too much. As long as I hold on a little longer, I too will definitely have…"
Misteln clenched her delicate fist, crushing the cup of vanilla milk tea in her hand. Her crimson lips bit down hard. For the very first time, this [Idea] tasted the bitterness of overwhelming jealousy.
If not for how meaningless it would be, and how it would only make her look like a sore loser, she would have already thrown herself into Elias' arms, begging for a ring of her own.
But watching Elias shake his head again and again at the clerk's designs, determined to craft the most perfect ring in the world…
"No, I can't just sit back and let this happen! Emergency countermeasures are required right now!"
Misteln immediately picked up her phone and opened a group chat.
[Anti-Pink Elf / Anti-Elysia Alliance!]
This was an invite she had suddenly received one day after joining Fire Moth. Misteln had accepted without hesitation. And sure enough, inside were…
Group owner: Enemy of the Stars
Members: Likes Lab Rats, YaeYaeYae, Honest Guy from Shenzhou, Repent Now, I'm Just a Cat, Eight Geniuses…
(By the way, Hare's nickname was Dreamweaver Bunny.)
Just from the names, anyone could guess what kind of group this was.
At first, Misteln, as the newest member, had high hopes. She thought this was a true resistance movement that could overthrow the Pink Elf's reign. But after a while, she realized…
The leader was incompetent. The members were useless.
They never came up with any real strategies. Forget overthrowing Elysia—they spent every day mocking each other in pointless squabbles. It was nothing more than a loser's quarrel group.
(Dr. Mei, I thought you were a wise leader who could rally us against Elysia. I never expected you to be this unreliable. What a disappointment.)
Misteln glanced at today's chat log and sighed. Mei was still buried in work on her Prometheus project. Despite having debuted so early, her actual performance had been so underwhelming.
Normally, Misteln wouldn't have cared. But this was no ordinary time—Elysia was already about to cross the finish line!
Misteln decided she had to shake this pack of women awake.
If they didn't set aside infighting and unite against the Pink Elf now, soon it would be too late!
[Dreamweaver Bunny: @everyone! Emergency! Red alert! Anyone who doesn't respond within three seconds should just leave the group!]
[Likes Lab Rats: Hm? Pretty bold for a newbie, already ordering your seniors around?]
[YaeYaeYae: Busy on a mission, can't talk much.]
[Enemy of the Stars: @Dreamweaver Bunny, what's going on?]
[Superstar: What happened?]
[Repent Now: @Dreamweaver Bunny, would you like to come to me and receive some [Discipline]?]
…
Reading their completely relaxed replies, Misteln no longer hesitated. She dropped the bomb.
[Dreamweaver Bunny: @everyone — Today, Elias came to the jewelry shop to custom-order a ring… You know what that means.]
[Superstar: Σ(△|||)]
[Eight Geniuses: Σ(△|||)]
[Repent Now: Σ(△|||)]
[Enemy of the Stars: This is a disaster!!]
…
At that very moment—
In the middle of surgery, Mobius' hand slipped, cutting straight into the "volunteer's" main artery.
On a mission, Sakura suddenly lost her footing and fell from the ceiling, landing right in front of her target.
Working on a new weapon, Vill-V accidentally brushed a self-destruct switch and blew herself up.
…And so on.
At that moment, everyone dropped what they were doing—or more precisely, dealt with it as quickly as possible.
Mobius shoved the surgery onto Klein. Sakura went full-cleave mode and wiped out all her enemies. Aponia just gave her guest a quick dose of [Discipline] and dismissed them.
[Likes Lab Rats: Details! Explain what's going on!]
[YaeYaeYae: A ring? Wait, is this… for a proposal…?]
[Superstar: Looks like this time we really have to join forces. We absolutely cannot let Ely reach the finish line!]
[Dreamweaver Bunny: That's right. I can't stop Elias, so you all have to handle Elysia!]
[Eight Geniuses: Calm down, everyone! There's still room to maneuver! Elysia's strong, sure, but if we all team up she's not unbeatable! The key is not letting her reach Elias, and we'll need a good excuse to move against her…]
Watching the usually quarrelsome group suddenly engage in a heated, serious discussion, Misteln couldn't help sighing to herself. Truly, only when faced with crisis could humans unite as one.
Just as they were wavering on what to do…
[Enemy of the Stars: I have an idea. Why don't we just declare Elysia a Herrscher?]
Everyone: "???"
[Enemy of the Stars: Of course, without telling Elias. We'll strike first and explain later. Mobius, Vill-V—you two work together to fabricate a fake Core. That way we'll even have 'evidence.']
[Dreamweaver Bunny: …You really are ruthless, Dr. Mei!]
[YaeYaeYae: But if Elias finds out—]
[Likes Lab Rats: You'll be dead, Mei. Absolutely dead!]
[Enemy of the Stars: Doesn't matter. I have my own ways to clear suspicion. Now let's work out the details of the operation.]
The group collectively drew in a sharp breath. Misteln silently apologized for underestimating Mei earlier. Even if she was a loser, she was still vicious!
Of course, actually defeating Elysia was impossible. But using it as a pretext to delay things—that was a solid plan. The group carried on discussing.
In a gathering full of geniuses, it didn't take long before a plan titled Operation: Stop Elysia from Wearing the Ring was drafted.
Looking at the flawless, detailed strategy, everyone sighed in relief. Perhaps things weren't hopeless after all.
[Dreamweaver Bunny: Excellent. Then let's act according to plan.]
[YaeYaeYae: Got it. Remember, Elysia must not learn about the ring ahead of time!]
[Superstar: Even more important—don't let her meet Elias. If she does, he'll definitely protect her!]
[Eight Geniuses: In that case, we can't fail. Let's move!]
No one worried about leaks. After all, look at the group name. Even Hua and Pardofelis wouldn't betray them. There was no way a mole could exist here!
But just as they thought that—
A twist struck!!
[Enemy of the Stars: Hehehe~ Too late now!]
[Likes Lab Rats: Mei, what do you mean?]
[Enemy of the Stars: Why, because I—Miss Pink Elf myself—already know~! Surprised? Shocked? (*≧▽≦)]
[Everyone: "Σ(っД;)っ" xN]
Before their eyes, the group owner "Mei" suddenly changed her avatar and nickname. The endless starry sky icon became a pink crystal flower, and the name "Enemy of the Stars" turned into Pink Elf Loves Elias.
Inside the mall, Misteln suddenly shuddered.
Something clicked in her mind. She whipped her head up to scan the surroundings—and sure enough, a pink figure was already rushing toward them.
"Elysia! How did you—!!"
"Miss Pink Elf makes her dazzling entrance! Where's my beloved Eli? Where's my ring? Oh my~ isn't this Misteln? Thanks so much for the valuable intel~"
Elysia suddenly appeared on the scene, her smile brighter than ever, with a smugness she couldn't hide.
At the same time, the group members finally realized what was going on. Each of them nearly crushed their phones in shock.
Damn! So the "Mei" in their group chat…
Had been this elf in disguise all along!
"So that's how it was! I should've known—Dr. Mei would never let the group degenerate into endless infighting. How careless of me, not even considering this possibility!"
"Hahaha~ Watching you all squabble every day was so entertaining. If no one minds, could we just pretend not to know Mei was my disguise, and continue on as usual?"
Elysia spoke cheerfully to Misteln while simultaneously sending the same message as a voice note to the chat.
Because of her innocent personality and overwhelming strength, many often forgot just how clever—and sly—this elf truly was.
Long ago, Elysia had predicted that the women vying with her for Elias' affection would one day form an alliance against her. So she took the initiative—creating the "Anti-Pink Elf / Anti-Elysia Alliance" herself, disguised as Mei.
It was a secret group, so no one publicized it.
Everyone already knew each other, so there was no need for meetups.
Thus, her disguise was flawless.
For so long, no one suspected a thing. She gained plenty of laughs and intelligence in the process.
After all, she had been the one to create the group and send the invites. And since Mei and Elysia had such different speaking styles, no one ever doubted it. Who would have thought she was a fake!
[Likes Lab Rats: Elysia! What did you do with the real Mei?!]
[Pink Elf Loves Elias: What Mei? I have no idea. After all, Mei was never in this group to begin with~]
[Honest Guy from Shenzhou: Terrifying… This move, a clever swap, was seamless perfection.]
[I'm Just a Cat: Oh my gosh, Ely you're amazing—but also so scary!!]
[Pink Elf Loves Elias: Hua, Pardofelis—even if you flatter me, it doesn't erase the fact you joined this group. None of you hesitated for even a second before accepting my invite. I'm truly so disappointed… I treated you as my best friends, yet you betrayed me like this…]
Everyone: "..."
[YaeYaeYae has left the group.]
[Likes Lab Rats has left the group.]
[Superstar has left the group.]
[Dreamweaver Bunny has left the group.]
…
Just a minute ago, the chat had been full of fervent activity. Now it was empty. As the group's only remaining member, Elysia sighed and shook her head, her face the picture of "regret."
But the next moment, the pink elf put her hands on her hips and burst out laughing.
"Operation: Delay Successful!"
"So that was your goal all along…"
Misteln's face darkened.
Elysia's plan had been simple—she had deliberately brought up strategies in the chat, steering everyone into earnest discussion. Meanwhile, she herself had already been on her way to Elias. The elf knew perfectly well that he was her ultimate shield. As long as Elias was by her side, no one could so much as touch a strand of her hair.
And as for how she knew the exact location… The two of them had shared their real-time locations long ago!
"Well~ it wasn't only to buy time. I also really wanted to see how everyone would react if I said I was a Herrscher." Elysia winked, her tone dripping with mystery.
"Hm? Why would you do that?" Misteln blinked, suddenly feeling this wasn't so simple.
"Secret~! You'll find out in the future, Misteln. And when you do, it'll be a huge surprise."
Elysia smiled faintly, playing the role of the riddle-maker.
Before Misteln could press her further, the mischievous elf walked straight toward the white-haired boy.
Meanwhile, Elias had just finished finalizing a preliminary design with the clerk. When he turned his head, he was startled by the sight of a radiant pink figure that made his heart skip.
"E-Ely?! What are you doing here?"
"Hi~ Eli, long time no see!"
"Uh, we saw each other four hours ago… Well, alright, it has been a while."
Elias blinked, then nodded. Four whole hours apart had felt unbearable. He quickly pulled Elysia into his arms, inhaling deeply as though to replenish his "pink elf element."
"Phew~ So Ely, why are you here? I thought you were going to sleep all day."
"Coincidence! Pure coincidence! I was just wandering nearby, and what do you know—I ran into you here. I just got here, so I didn't see anything at all~"
Elysia blinked innocently, lying without a twitch.
As an elf with sky-high emotional intelligence, she knew perfectly well she had to play dumb and keep things quiet in this situation.
Truthfully, when she saw the message in the chat about Elias ordering a ring, she had nearly exploded with excitement. Just imagining Elias slipping it onto her finger was enough to turn her into a steaming kettle.
"Oh, that's good. Ahem—I mean, why don't you just join us for the rest of the outing?" Elias sighed in relief. He had no doubts about Elysia's words.
Even though this girl—whose very name meant "True Self"—was a terrible liar, Elias always chose to believe her.
Because she was Elysia.
"Mm~ Yay! Date time with Eli!"
"…" x2
Misteln and Sheele, not far away, twitched at the corners of their eyes.
This pink elf really had no limits! After winning so much already, she still had the nerve to cut into their date with Elias. Unforgivable!
They had to find a way to punish her!
...
At the same time, back at Fire Moth base—
"So… what do we do now?"
In Mobius' lab, the women had decided they could never let something like today happen again. All future "Down with Elysia" meetings would be held offline.
But reality wasn't like the internet. Only Eden, Sakura, Aponia, Vill-V, Mobius… and perhaps a little girl named Griseo, happily doodling in the lab, had shown up.
One overly shy "Honest One" and a certain cowardly cat had chosen not to attend.
"Elysia really got us this time."
"Damn it. The enemy's not only strong, she's cunning too!"
"The situation is looking grim…"
Just as the group grew more serious—
"Huh? Why's everyone gathered here?"
The outcast herself appeared—Mei. She strode in proudly, pulling along her newly-finished robot girl.
"Perfect timing! Vill-V, could you evaluate Prometheus professionally? And maybe have your 'expert' persona check if there's anything left to improve?"
"..." xN
"Eh? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Mei frowned, feeling something was off. Why were they all giving her those pitiful stares?
Everyone: "We were only toyed with by Elysia. But you, Mei—you're the real tragic one. Even your identity got stolen. Still… thanks. Having you around makes the rest of us feel so much better about ourselves…"
—
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