MGSFV?! Chapter 496. Mei Opens Her Eyes—She Is...; The Blue Surpasses the Indigo
When Elysia saw the two slightly "mischievous" options that popped up after she clicked "No,"
She was surprised—yet not too surprised.
That's the Elysian Realm style.
Everyone expresses what they think, without hiding anything.
And even if you tried to hide it—
It wouldn't help.
She smiled slightly, then casually clicked one of the options.
The second round of balloon shooting began.
This time, Elysia was clearly much more serious.
In less than thirty seconds, she scored over thirty points.
Tsk.
Looks like you really can't just mock her as a "washed-up skill-less streamer."
She really does have something...
And the time of this second balloon shooting round seemed quite a bit shorter than the last.
Just after a few shots—
It was already time to end.
And it was around this moment that Mei, who held a sure lead and wasn't afraid of being overtaken, had enough leeway to shift her attention and listen to her surroundings.
Only to discover once again—
(...It's so quiet.)
(Those two haven't said a word since the game started.)
(Aren't they being a bit too serious?)
Do Bronya and Kiana really always go totally silent whenever they're playing games?
Not only did Mei begin to faintly sense something strange,
Even the players were starting to feel that something was off.
Ah—wait, that's not right.
They already knew this was a dream.
It's just that… some of them had willingly allowed themselves to be swept away in this sweet dream.
Even knowing it's fake—
They still wanted to believe it was real.
How to put it...
If Mei thought the same,
Then Elysia's true goal might never be fulfilled.
Elysia approached the three girls in the guise of a tour guide, taking them to play the claw machine and then the balloon game—
All of it had purpose.
So, having tried this hard—
She probably hoped, at least a little, that something would change for the better.
...
Back to the main topic.
Mei noticed something was wrong.
The players, after a moment of thought, began seriously watching Mei's reaction going forward.
After the second round ended—
"What a surprising result—Mei might actually have a talent for shooting games?"
Elysia said that—again.
Mei frowned slightly and couldn't help but ask,
"Elysia, did you just repeat something you said before?"
"Hm? Did I? You must've misheard, Mei~"
Elysia replied in a tone of feigned innocence.
[She didn't mishear, right? Elysia definitely said that line twice.]
Because of the incident earlier when the player slacked off—
Mei ended with an extremely low score, and the tour guide's line "Mei might actually have a talent for shooting games?" felt especially unkind.
So... they had a strong impression of that line.
Which means... they were almost certain Mei hadn't heard wrong.
[Could the dream be starting to loop? A lot of stories use that kind of setup.]
[Or maybe... there's a deeper meaning.]
Reasonable guesses flooded in.
And clearly, Mei didn't think her memory was so bad she'd forget something she just heard.
"No, I'm sure I didn't mishear it."
"Kiana, Bronya—did you notice?"
As soon as Mei turned her attention to them, the previously silent Kiana immediately became animated.
"Mm, she did just say that again."
Bronya and Kiana both began to speak logically and clearly—
But only after Mei focused on them.
"If someone in a sci-fi movie started repeating themselves, Bronya would suspect they might not be a human, but rather a bionic robot."
At this point, it seemed the three had reached a consensus—
That something was off with the fairy-like tour guide standing before them.
So then...
How would our dear Tour Guide respond?
"Bronya's hypothesis is certainly bold."
Admitted?
As if. This was Elysia, after all~~
Even if she were to admit it, she'd probably say:
"Aiya~ As expected, I can't fool clever, cute girls like Mei~" …something playful like that.
And more importantly, she didn't seem like she planned to admit anything.
So next came—
A very Elysia-style response:
"So, anyone want to come check for themselves? Like pinching my face, or holding my hand, or something?"
She looked genuinely amused—
As if she weren't about to be touched, but about to touch someone else.
So full of tricks...
And the moment Elysia said this—
Mei: "..."
Mei went completely silent.
The livestream chat also exploded as expected.
In-game Kiana and Mei both turned toward Elysia in unison.
"Why are you two looking at me like that?"
Elysia blinked and asked as she casually tapped forward—
Advancing the dialogue.
...
After a moment—
Mei seemed to have finally gathered her thoughts.
"What I said just now—was just to confirm if that was a scripted line the tour guide uses to improve guest satisfaction."
"Aiya~ and here I thought we were already such close friends."
Elysia replied, completely sincere.
...Friends?
Mei's heart stirred again at Elysia's words.
That feeling again—so familiar, so strongly déjà vu...
But—why?
Why couldn't she remember anything?
[Mei!!]*N
Once, twice, three times—more and more players were growing anxious.
Even though it's just a dream. Even though this Elysia might not be the real Elysia.
Still—it's such a rare chance.
If missed, there may never be another encounter with Elysia again.
So—Mei! Open your eyes!
Look at the Elysia in front of you!
Only—
Mei: "..."
She tried hard to remember for a while, but still came up blank.
The scene was clearly baiting the player's emotions—
But it wasn't ready to fully trigger them just yet.
So...
It felt like this: you're on the stairs, see a lone black stocking, pick it up, and rush forward—only to find that the fairy lady has just entered her room.
You stand there, stocking in hand, looking at the firmly closed door—
That frustratingly suspended mood.
You can't move forward, but you don't want to walk away.
Your emotions get stuck in this delicate limbo.
Mm...
Let's just say—it's very Honkai Impact 3rd to do this.
That little "emotional jam," just so you remember—this is Honkai 3rd.
...
Back on topic.
Since Mei didn't say anything,
Naturally, with Elysia's personality, she wouldn't leave the atmosphere awkward.
So...
"Well, putting aside whether I'm a so-called bionic robot... at least up to now, haven't I done my job pretty well as a tour guide?"
She paused here and looked at Mei seriously.
"If we part ways here—we might never meet again in the amusement park, you know?"
[?????]
[No way, don't do that.]
"Missing out on a beautiful girl like me—won't you regret it?"
[Even now she doesn't forget to praise herself (Mobius disdain.jpg)]
[But... the one in front of us is the beautiful girl we'd regret missing out on!]
[That's right, that's right.]
[Mei-nee, don't miss out—on Elysia-nee.]
The stream chat flooded the screen.
And Elysia—who knew what was coming—
Looked at this line and couldn't help but suspect Hokuto was playing word games.
"Amusement park" won't happen again—but anything not the amusement park is still on the table, right?
She murmured internally.
Unlike the players who were panicking—
Our fairy herself wasn't panicked at all, even had the leisure to joke about it.
This...
One reason was probably because she knew what was coming. She knew the real emotional hit hadn't arrived yet.
Another was...
No matter what happens in the end—
As long as the journey gives everyone the strength to move forward,
Then it's something she can face "with a smile."
Even if such a beautiful moment can't last a bit longer—
That's still okay.
Moving forward is more important.
Whether she's a tour guide—
Or just Elysia—
She is always such a beautiful girl.
...Well, excluding Herrscher of Corruption.
So...
"So, how about trying to trust me a little more?"
In-game Elysia said with heartfelt sincerity.
[...That's exactly what she said before too—in the Realm, when Mei had doubts about her, didn't Elysia also say the same thing?]
[How did Mei respond back then? I forgot?! Oh no—did I get caught by the Stigma Plan?!]
[I think Mei didn't actually say anything directly back then.]
[Times change... suddenly feeling melancholic.]
[Chin up, XDM—now's the time to give Elysia a serious response! Come on, General Mei!]
Faced with this moment of déjà vu—
The livestream chat came alive with reactions of all kinds.
In the game—
Several lines of Mei's inner thoughts flashed across the screen.
(The strange sense of unease in Mei's heart grew stronger, and the faint dizziness from before crept once again onto her nerves.)
(...)
(To part ways with this strange tour guide? Or continue pursuing Elysia's intent with caution?)
(Mei waited, hoping her two "companions" would offer their opinions.)
Elysia: Hmm?
Elysia: Did they seriously write "companions" in brackets? Hints like this—so subtle, and yet so obvious.
Of course, Elysia wouldn't break the fourth wall and spoil anything.
She pushed the thought away and kept reading.
(But at this moment, her companions also seemed to fall into thought—no one answered Elysia.)
Mei: ?
[?]
Some players also slowly typed a question mark into the chat.
[What are you "?"-ing about? We already know Mei is dreaming, don't we?]
[I'm just wondering why Kiana and Bronya in the dream sometimes speak, sometimes go silent.]
The player who typed the "?" shared his thought.
[Hmm... maybe the Stigma Plan was trying to conserve memory space—so it didn't simulate unnecessary dialogue?]
[Conserving memory, huh? Actually makes sense. The Stigma Plan has to render dreams for seven billion people—computational load must be astronomical. Cutting corners on side details to reduce pressure sounds... pretty reasonable.]
[What we imagined the Stigma Plan to be: perfect dreamscape, everyone gets what they desire, eternal paradise.
What it actually is: if the dreamer doesn't notice, cut the corners—just make it work.]
[Reminds me of what Hopper once said: "Stigma Plan? That's it?" (dog head emoji)]
[Hopper clearly said that about Herrscher of Reason...]
...
Back to the plot.
Though Mei felt suspicious about Kiana and Bronya's quietness—
Whether due to some mental influence from the Stigma,
Or because her attention was more focused on the fairy-like girl before her—
Or perhaps another reason—
In any case, she didn't dwell on it.
Instead, she chose to respond to Elysia.
"Inhale~~ exhale~~"
Mei took a deep breath.
What was her decision?
The lively chat fell silent—everyone focused on in-game Mei.
"Elysia..."
"What's the next attraction you want to show us?"
She chose to continue seeking out Elysia's true intent.
[Mei really can't let go of Elysia (foggy look)]
[The next one must be... eating peanuts with your eyes on a roller coaster (serious)]
What the players said—was actually Elysia's original plan.
As for now...
"Mmm~~ Looks like Mei has made up her mind—so I'll need to get serious too!"
"I was going to take you all for another round on the roller coaster..."
Another?
"But your clever guide has decided to change plans on the spot."
"Next up is the amusement park's secret attraction."
Secret attraction?
What could it be?
Just as that thought rose—
The game scene changed.
The four of them arrived...
At a place they were all very familiar with.
Here—
They had once encountered something unforgettable.
That was—the Herrscher of Corruption.
[Don't tell me it's the Ferris wheel scene again? Will the Tour Guide put on a violet-blue outfit?]
[It's about to turn into a nightmare, isn't it??]
Letting Elysia wear violet and ride the Ferris wheel with Mei?
Hokuto: ...…
Even he hadn't thought of such a theme park attraction.
For once—
The players' wild imaginations had truly impressed him.
Hokuto: I hereby declare—you are all ready to graduate (）
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