Higokumaru laughed when she heard Elysia's cry for help.
"Even if you're going to cry for help, at least call out a decent name."
With mocking words, a sneer appeared on Donkey Ears' beautiful face. "Besides, it's too late to cry for help now, isn't it?"
"Too late? I don't think so~"
Suddenly, the energetic voice of a young girl rang out. That signature voice not only made "Elysia" show a look of delight, but even Donkey Ears herself froze on the spot.
But a moment later, she abruptly pulled out the blade at her waist and swung it backwards.
—Unfortunately, there was no result.
A pink girl slowly walked in from the side, coming into Higokumaru's view. Looking at that familiar face, the somewhat distorted Donkey Ears was stunned.
If the fat woman's expression only made her feel familiar, then the moment this face of [Elysia] appeared in front of her, Higokumaru's brain went completely blank.
Some fragments appeared in her mind. Within them, she could vaguely see the figure of a pink girl.
"I never thought that Project Bunny would have been directly controlled. That was indeed something I hadn't expected."
"But it's not too late to fix things, right?"
[Elysia]'s face showed a hint of surprise as she looked over her good teammates, but it was quickly replaced with a calm and natural look.
She then looked at Higokumaru, who was frozen in place, and slowly revealed a smile that was very characteristic of this body:
"So—"
"Should I say this?"
"Rin, long time no see?"
That fragmented smile reappeared at this moment. The ominous fog that filled Nagazora City North Station became chaotic, just because of the name that the girl had spoken.
—Rin.
The 12th Herrscher, the Herrscher of Corruption, and also, the most important person in [Setsuna] Sakura's life, her little sister.
Of course, the current Higokumaru was far from the short, understanding girl she once was.
She was merely a part of the Herrscher of Corruption.
But no matter what, Rin was indeed a part of Higokumaru's past and present.
In Jiang Qiao's eyes, as the Herrscher of Origin, this was an undeniable fact.
"The first thing you did after our reunion was try to cut me. I'm really heartbroken~"
Perhaps it was his nature as a drama queen, or perhaps he was just letting the [Elysia] body do its thing. Jiang Qiao, whose role was simply to liberate her true nature, and add fuel to the fire, had flawlessly performed a young girl's charm.
Even Elysia, who was standing by the side, wanting to say something, was stunned.
Uh, what?
What was happening?
Didn't she call Jiang Qiao to fight?
Why was she chatting with her and even greeting her?
And that look, it seemed so familiar.
Did Jiang Qiao know that Donkey Ears?
The fat woman's brain, whose capacity and number of cores weren't very impressive, was running at full speed, then quickly crashed.
Ely, I, doesn't know anything!
Elysia felt a little depressed as she looked at the increasingly skillful [Elysia].
—Why are you so good at this?!
Higokumaru trembled as the dead memories were constantly being stirred up, and after a while, she finally collapsed.
This scene left Elysia speechless.
"She just... collapsed like that?"
"It seems so. It looks like [my] charm is just too much~."
Jiang Qiao was a bit surprised as well. He touched his chin, and revealed a natural and proud expression. With [Elysia]'s appearance, his smug look was especially cute.
A fight? There was no need for something so crude.
Just three sentences from him, and Donkey Ears was captured!
This was what it meant to subdue the enemy without fighting!
"How is it? Am I very talented at being [Elysia]?"
"I already knew that! There's no need for you to point it out!"
Elysia, who had been shown off to, puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish. She glared at Jiang Qiao with dissatisfaction.
Although she was very unwilling, she still had to admit that she had been defeated in this round.
But—
A fairy would never give up!
Elysia, I, wouldn't lose to you in this! Jerk Qiao!
Just you wait!
The fat woman, who was silently cheering herself up in her heart, secretly waved her small fists to encourage herself.
Then, she suddenly remembered her unreliable teammates and looked at the collapsed and motionless Kiana, Mei, and Bronya. She couldn't help but ask with some confusion:
"But why haven't Kiana and the others woken up? Didn't you say that you had already taken care of that pretty girl?"
"Hmm… they probably won't be waking up any time soon. And, this matter is not over yet."
Jiang Qiao glanced at them, and saw through everything with his divine pink eyes. He shrugged:
"I can't just get rid of her so easily. How troublesome."
Although [Elysia] could shock Higokumaru to a certain extent, [Elysia] was only someone who had left a deep impression on Rin. It wasn't very realistic to try to solve this by using these things on Higokumaru, who had been sealed for 50,000 years, whose heart and mind were filled with nothing but hatred and resentment.
Of course, he never expected that things could be resolved so simply.
But if it was possible, he still hoped to resolve this matter quickly.
After all, he had only seen half of Eden's concert~
Jiang Qiao was thinking about the unfinished concert when Elysia, who had heard that the battle wasn't over yet, was stunned. She subconsciously used her brain hotline:
"Then, what should we do, Jiang Qiao?"
"Seriously, stop asking me everything!"
Jiang Qiao irritably raised his hand and tapped the fat woman, who always asked him whenever there was a problem, on the head. However, due to their height difference, he, who was currently [Elysia], had to stand on his tiptoes and raise his arm to do this.
The fat woman was also very angry and retaliated.
But she didn't hit his body, she directly hit her own head!
Jerk Qiao, you hit my head! Then I'll hit your body's head! It's your body anyway!
Elysia, who was hitting her own head, suddenly had a brilliant idea—she seemed to have discovered an effective way to take revenge and counterattack the bad Jiang Qiao!
So, she fiercely hit her head and then quickly moved to the next stage, hugging her head and crouching down for defense.
Tears flowed.
"It hurts!"
Just when the fat woman vaguely realized that this method of revenge might not have been appropriate, she heard the girl's voice that was full of helplessness and irritation:
"—Seriously, what are you doing? If you don't hurry up, I'll just leave you behind~"