"You and me?"
Seeing Cogita's intrigued expression, Elias unconsciously repeated her words.
After hearing his hesitant response, Cogita's lips curled into a playful smile, nodding lightly.
"That's right. We've known each other for a very long time."
"You must've guessed as much already, haven't you?"
Cogita pointed gracefully at herself as she spoke.
She was certain—since Elias had asked such a question, he must have felt some familiarity toward her too.
This realization didn't surprise Cogita.
Even if becoming a ghost had erased his memories, the lingering sense of familiarity was much harder to erase.
Not to mention, they'd spent nearly a century together. It was perfectly normal for Elias to feel familiar with her by now.
However…
Cogita thought that if she didn't properly leverage this situation, it wouldn't be in line with her usual style.
And indeed, after hearing her words, Elias subconsciously nodded again, confirming Cogita's guess.
But still…
He couldn't help but feel they hadn't just casually known each other. Could their relationship have been deeper?
Seeing the confusion on Elias's face, Cogita sat up slowly, continuing softly:
"Think carefully. Our relationship was actually quite intimate back then."
As she spoke, she slipped her delicate, fair feet into her slippers.
With a gentle push, Cogita rose and walked gracefully until she was standing less than half a meter away from Elias. Then, pulling out another chair, she sat down casually.
Cogita rested her chin in one palm, gazing at Elias expectantly.
Noticing her movements, Elias's body involuntarily tensed up.
Cogita's words were very suggestive, and her current posture seemed intentionally intimate.
He couldn't help but start imagining… certain possibilities.
"You really can't guess?"
Cogita softly asked, eyes sparkling mischievously as she watched his expression closely. Then, she continued:
"I can give you a hint—we once lived together under the same roof."
"That painting over there was made by you, for me."
As she spoke, Cogita pointed toward a nearby wall.
Following her finger, Elias saw an oil painting of Cogita hanging quietly.
Judging by the condition of the paints, it was clearly quite old.
At the lower right corner of the painting was a small, easily overlooked signature: "Eli".
At first glance, one might never notice it, but Elias instantly recognized it as his own handwriting.
In fact, it was identical.
This lent considerable credibility to Cogita's words.
"Then… are you my older sister?" Elias ventured cautiously, after some thought.
Cogita definitely didn't look old enough to be his mother. After careful consideration, this seemed like the safest guess.
Unfortunately, Cogita immediately shook her head without hesitation.
"Do you really think we look alike?" she asked lightly.
Hearing this, Elias shook his head.
Their hair colors were completely different, let alone their facial features. They definitely didn't look like siblings, or even related at all.
If they weren't blood-related but had still lived together…
Inevitably, Elias's mind wandered toward certain conclusions.
"It's exactly one of those possibilities you're thinking of right now," Cogita murmured, narrowing her eyes slightly as she helpfully clarified.
She had absolutely no intention of resuming her former role as Elias's guardian.
After all, that troublesome fox Zoroark had already tormented her enough back then precisely because of that title.
At the same time, she didn't want to explicitly deceive Elias either.
Allowing him to fill in the blanks himself would probably yield better results anyway.
After speaking, Cogita noticed Elias genuinely pondering over her words. Feeling satisfied, she softly added:
"You can take your time thinking about it. No rush."
Her mood was exceptionally good right now.
Seeing Elias again after so long, she felt she could stare at him forever without tiring.
In fact…
If she wasn't afraid of startling him, she might have already jumped directly into his arms.
Hearing Cogita's words, Elias temporarily suppressed his urge to keep questioning.
But just as she'd anticipated, he'd already formed a vague guess about the nature of their relationship.
If it really was that kind of relationship…
It would certainly explain Cogita's deep concern for him.
But even so, something still felt slightly off.
Especially given Cogita's expression—she didn't seem to be lying, exactly, but there was definitely a hint of guilty hesitation. She even avoided meeting his gaze directly.
Shaking off his lingering curiosity for now, Elias instead turned his attention elsewhere.
"Cogita, what about Diancie?"
Elias suddenly recalled the Pokémon who had first found him.
Throughout these nearly one hundred years of sleep, Diancie had rarely visited.
And the few times she did, she'd merely observed him from a distance, then quickly departed. Each time, she'd radiated an air of pitiful sadness.
He'd always wondered—what exactly was going on with her?
Now that he'd finally regained his freedom, Elias wanted to see her.
On the other side, upon hearing Elias mention Diancie, Cogita's previously cheerful expression froze instantly.
She nervously twisted her slender fingers together, gaze drifting anxiously to the side.
She didn't want to answer Elias's question.
Yet clearly… it wasn't something she could easily avoid.
But if she answered truthfully, she feared Elias might decide to leave her.
In the end, Diancie was the Pokémon who'd originally found him.
Even though Cogita had carefully taken care of Elias for nearly a century, he might still want to return to Diancie's side.
After waiting so long, she couldn't bear losing him again…
"That Pokémon hasn't visited you properly in such a long time…" Cogita muttered softly, turning her head away.
It was clear she really didn't want to answer.
At this, Elias carefully studied Cogita's expression.
Noticing her evasiveness, he narrowed his eyes slightly, asking calmly:
"There isn't some other reason?"
He'd found it strange earlier—Diancie didn't seem the type to hand him over so easily. Even Dianna hadn't managed to convince her to give him up.
Yet she'd willingly left him with a human like Cogita?
Facing Elias's pointed suspicion, Cogita's expression grew increasingly uncomfortable.
It seemed that hiding the truth wouldn't work after all.
Aside from Elias's own suspicion, Diancie herself was bound to show up sooner or later.
And once Diancie saw Elias awake without Cogita informing her, she definitely wouldn't let Cogita off easily.
Thinking this, Cogita sighed softly.
If Elias truly wanted to leave, there was nothing much she could do anyway.
With some reluctance, she slowly turned back toward Elias, casting a faintly resentful glance at him as she murmured quietly:
"Aren't you worried I might shove you back inside that diamond?"
As she spoke, Cogita glanced pointedly down at the necklace still dangling from her chest.
The diamond remained crystal-clear and radiant as ever.
But unfortunately for her, it seemed Elias would never obediently stay inside it again…
---
Cogita: Terrified Elias will be snatched away by Diancie.
Diancie:Terrified Elias will be snatched away by Cogita.