"What are you planning to make me do?"
Ryuu's voice trembled slightly, yet she still looked at Elise with resolute eyes.
Oh?
That was unexpected.
Originally, she had thought Ryuu would panic far more. After all, according to the Astraea Familia Chronicles, the Ryuu who had not yet experienced the destruction of her Familia was simply too naive.
At the beginning, Elise had wondered whether what she was doing was going too far. But after thinking it through carefully, she still decided to proceed.
She had to give her something drastic. Properly temper her personality.
In the original story, Ryuu's obsession with cleanliness was rather severe. In the Astraea Familia Chronicles, she could often be seen wearing a mask whenever she was outside the Familia.
Even among elves, Ryuu's fastidiousness ranked among the most extreme. Mere physical contact with outsiders could easily lead to a violent reaction.
Elise felt she ought to help Ryuu. At the very least, her inability to tolerate contact with others needed to be resolved.
Besides, many people's impressions of Ryuu came from the main storyline—after Bell arrived in Orario—by which point she had already become a very mature elf.
Elise thought that under her leadership, the Astraea Familia's chances of being wiped out were extremely low. And if Ryuu did not experience the destruction of her Familia, she would never become that future mature version of herself.
It would be a shame.
Elise was uncertain about the consequences of that, so she chose a compromise—she would personally "correct" Ryuu's personality and see if she could help the little elf grow somewhat.
Thus, she came up with this method.
Just like in the original story, she would first push Ryuu's mind to the brink of collapse.
Elise chose to role-play as a slave owner, making Ryuu believe she no longer had any future. During the process, she constantly teased her with physical contact, pushing her nerves to the breaking point.
Under such high pressure, given Ryuu's personality, she should have collapsed easily. If she had not shown that expression of despair, Elise had even planned to go further.
Fortunately, Ryuu truly was pure—and she broke quickly.
As a result, Elise's backup measures had no chance to be used.
But what Elise had not expected was that Ryuu recovered so quickly. She was already beginning to prepare herself for the future...
Had she accepted everything?
That seemed unlikely.
No one who encountered something like this could immediately accept it. Elise did not believe Ryuu would choose to become a slave. Yet the reality before her suggested that Ryuu had made a decision...
Elise needed to test her reaction again.
"I was planning to send you out to sell yourself," she said lightly. "After all, with your looks, you're considered top-tier. And you're still so young. If I resell you, I could definitely get even more valis, right?"
Hearing that, Ryuu's body visibly trembled, and her eyes grew even dimmer.
"I... understand."
Seeing this reaction, Elise finally understood.
Ryuu had not accepted everything. She had merely compromised.
Because the outside world was nothing like her homeland. Refusal might only bring even greater suffering.
So Ryuu had no choice but to accept it—to compromise.
"Not bad. You can think that far ahead..."
For some reason, Elise felt that the Ryuu before her was somewhat different from the one in the original story.
Was there some special reason for it?
"Alright, we've soaked long enough. Come scrub my back now."
Elise turned around, no longer looking at Ryuu.
This seemed like a perfect opportunity to escape. But Ryuu understood very clearly that she had no chance of getting away.
"Understood."
Time passed bit by bit. Under Elise's instructions, Ryuu did quite a few things.
The simpler tasks were easy for her to accomplish. Even when it came to more excessive demands, no matter how unwilling she felt, she did not dare to resist in front of Elise.
What is going on?
Wasn't Ryuu supposed to be the type who would rather die than submit?
Why is it that no matter what I make her do, she doesn't resist at all... and even blushes while looking at me?
In this state, Elise simply could not connect the current Ryuu with the one from the original story.
"You don't reject me?"
For some inexplicable reason, Elise asked that question.
Though slightly surprised, Ryuu answered seriously.
"I don't. At first, I was surprised myself. But for some reason, I just have this feeling..."
"I feel like you're not a bad person."
The moment Ryuu said that, Elise realized something.
She might have overlooked the special nature of being a Lord God's proxy.
Elise herself possessed extraordinary affinity. And in this world, she had also received the blessings of Astraea and Freya...
One represented purity, the other charm. Possessing both made Elise somewhat special. Even if she did not actively release those divine blessings, the people around her would inevitably be influenced by that inexplicable force.
So Ryuu's lack of rejection was not because Elise's plan had worked, but simply because of Elise's uniqueness?
If it had been someone else, would Ryuu still be this obedient? Of course not.
Then the elaborate setup designed specifically for Ryuu had greatly diminished in effect.
"Sigh. The game's over..."
Though she said that, Elise still contentedly stored the camera and video recorder back into her bag.
Now it was time to confess everything to Ryuu.
Over the next while, Elise explained everything to the pure elf girl, including why she had done such a thing to her.
"Eh?!"
"Eh!!!"
After learning the truth, Ryuu was utterly shocked. She truly could not understand why someone would go to such lengths just to do something so pointless.
At the same time, she also learned Elise's identity—the captain of the Astraea Familia from Orario.
That only made her more confused. Weren't you called the Saintess of Scales? And part of that famous Familia of justice...
"I'm sorry, Ryuu Lion. I did something unnecessary. So to make it up to you, I can grant you one request. Is there anything you want?"
When Elise asked that, Ryuu fell silent.
She did not know what she should ask for.
The person before her had deceived her, yes. But no matter what, Elise was still her savior. She could never do something as ungrateful as repaying kindness with resentment.
Ryuu's gaze drifted unnaturally across Elise's body. For reasons she could not explain, when she was in contact with Elise, she actually felt rather comfortable...
It was strange. It was as if her obsession with cleanliness simply did not exist in Elise's presence.
This was the first time she had ever met someone like this. And she had only recently run away from home. So...
"Then... would you take me in?"