"Jiang Qiao, where are we?"
Elysia, feeling a bit lost in the unfamiliar environment, subconsciously wanted to consult her external brain.
But the other person didn't respond to her. The fat woman, keenly sensing something was wrong, looked around, but didn't see Jiang Qiao.
Subconsciously, she looked at herself.
Slender, white, and tender hands, her own figure that she was proud of, and her soft, smooth pink hair. Had she… switched back?
Elysia instantly realized this.
But, that couldn't be right! They clearly hadn't done anything to switch.
Trying to recall what had happened earlier, she remembered that Jiang Qiao had merely held her hand. Then, a bright light appeared in his hand, and she had become like this.
"Such a strong sense of incongruity."
Elysia subconsciously squeezed her palm, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed.
Although the fat woman's academic qualifications weren't ideal, her sense of smell and intuition were extremely sharp.
She could easily feel the sense of incongruity in her body, and the surrounding environment. The only thing she wasn't too sure about was whether this sense of unfamiliarity was because she hadn't used her own body in a long time.
"Are you alright?"
A girl's voice rang out beside her, attracting the fat woman's attention.
When she saw the other person, Elysia instantly became vigilant.
That extremely revealing and somewhat lewd shrine maiden outfit, and that pretty and resolute face.
—There was no doubt that the one who appeared in front of her was Donkey Ears!
Wait, where were her ears?
As her gaze slowly moved to the top of the other person's head, Elysia's originally wary heart suddenly sank. She couldn't help but scream internally:
—Where are your donkey ears?!
Although she was still a very cute girl without the donkey ears, very much to her taste, she really wanted to personally touch those cute donkey ears!
"Ah, excuse my rudeness. I am Yae Sakura, the shrine maiden of Yae Shrine in Yae Village."
Although Yae Sakura felt that it was a little strange that Elysia's gaze kept lingering on her head, she still bowed politely.
With that welcoming smile, Elysia couldn't continue staring at her. Although she was confused, she still showed her usual smile:
"My name is Elysia. As you can see, I'm a beautiful girl, as brilliant as flying flowers~"
As she said this, the fat woman was crying internally.
She finally said it!
This self-introduction was clearly her line!
But because her body was in the hands of Jerk Qiao all this time, she was only a spectator.
God knows how the fairy lady felt watching her body introduce herself to others!
If this continued, Elysia felt like she would start to think: Could it be that she was Jiang Qiao, and Jiang Qiao was the real Elysia?
"Elysia?"
For Sakura, who was in the Far East, hearing a name that was so different from the Far Eastern style naturally made her a little confused. However, she then nodded as if she understood:
"Oh, are you a traveler from somewhere else?"
"Your name is Yae Sakura? Hmm… Sakura, such a nice name~"
Elysia went closer to Sakura and looked her over with a smile. She hummed and praised:
"Just like your name, you're a very beautiful girl~"
Although she didn't know what was going on at all.
But since she had finally gotten her body back, and such a cute girl appeared before her,
Then Elysia, I, will not hold back!
"...You flatter me."
If this kind of enthusiastic attitude and passionate gaze had been directed at a man, then Yae Sakura would have politely asked them to restrain themselves. But living in a village in the countryside, Yae Sakura, whose views were rather simple, naturally wasn't as wary of girls.
Even so, she blushed and took a few steps back as she responded softly.
—Such a familiar feeling!
It felt like another version of Kallen. No...this traveler named Elysia might even be more proactive than Kallen.
Yae Sakura couldn't help but have such a bold thought.
Dangerous, how dangerous!
However, this kind of youthful and innocent act instantly excited the fat woman.
A smile appeared in her eyes. She subconsciously licked the corner of her mouth. If you looked at her from another person's perspective, she definitely seemed very alluring and cute.
Such a cute reaction~ Could it be that she was the passive type?
"You should be more confident in your beauty. But I like shy girls too~"
"Hey, Elysia?!"
Just as the fat woman was about to continue her advances on Sakura, a familiar voice came from not far away.
It was Kiana and the others!
"You're in this strange place too?"
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya, who had been knocked out by the black fog, quickly went to Elysia.
Needless to say, Kiana and Mei recognized Elysia.
As for Bronya, she was a little confused as she looked at the unfamiliar Elysia.
"You know each other? That does make things much simpler."
"Sorry, I have something I need to do. Excuse me."
Sakura, who was being overwhelmed by Elysia's advances, quickly excused herself and left.
Elysia, who was planning more advances, was stunned.
She puffed up her cheeks. She looked very angry.
Damn it! They didn't even exchange a few words yet!
The fat woman, who was planning to "take down" the other person, looked at Kiana, Mei, and Bronya with dissatisfaction.
But, instantly, her eyes lit up.
Weren't these three very cute girls as well?
It was just that it hadn't been appropriate to approach them when she was still using Jiang Qiao's body.
Hmm~ Since you let my prey escape, then you guys won't be escaping from me~
A "dangerous" smile appeared on Elysia's face again, and she went up to them:
"Hi~"
However, before she could say anything else, Kiana knocked Elysia on the head.
The white-haired fluffball looked at Elysia, who had the appearance of [Elysia]. She hesitated for a moment, and asked uncertainly:
"Are you Jiang Qiao or Elysia?"
That question instantly turned Elysia to stone.
I, I, I! Isn't it obvious?! Do I not look like Elysia?!
"Asking something like that, I'm really going to cry! Kiana!"
Elysia puffed up her cheeks, tears welled up in her eyes. She looked like she was about to cry, as if she was accusing them of something.
As soon as she said that, Kiana instantly understood:
"That's right! It's the crybaby Elysia!"
"What crybaby Elysia?! I'm Elysia!"
Elysia, who hadn't ignored the prefix, widened her eyes and expressed her dissatisfaction.
In Kiana's eyes, had the method to distinguish Elysia turned into—the crybaby Elysia/the reliable Elysia?!
Such a thing, Elysia, I, would absolutely not accept!
Elysia was the only one in the world!
"Kiana, you're so mean! But if it's Mei, you can definitely tell me and the fake Jiang Qiao apart, right~?"
Elysia, who was very irritated at Kiana, looked at Mei with an expectant gaze.
She had noticed that Mei's gaze was different from Kiana's erratic one right from the start. It was very direct and certain.
It was obvious that Mei had recognized that she was the real Elysia from the very beginning!
Mei, who was facing Elysia's expectant gaze, hesitated for a moment and then finally responded to her expectations, nodding.
Indeed, she had noticed the difference between Elysia and [Elysia] from the very beginning.
"See? I knew that Mei was the one who understands me the most. I like Mei even more than Kiana~"
Like a child throwing a tantrum, Elysia pointed at the white-haired fluffball with her index finger, and her cheeks puffed up.
The latter scratched her head. She clearly didn't know what she was talking about.
—She didn't expect Elysia to like her.
It might be rude to say this,
Although Kiana also thought that Elysia was very cute.
But, she had to betray her ancestors here, she might be more interested in the handsome, reliable, incredibly strong, and cute Jiang Qiao version of Elysia than the super beautiful Elysia, who was like an idiot in front of her.
Even though men weren't a part of her XP, if it was Jiang Qiao in an Elysia skin, then the white-haired fluffball thought it would be fine!
And Mei also smiled at the pink girl, who was very happy that she had been recognized.
After the misunderstanding with the real and fake Elysia last time, she had learned her lesson and could now easily distinguish between the two of them.
Her method of determining which one was Elysia was—the more real Jiang Qiao was Jiang Qiao. The more real Elysia was Jiang Qiao. And the less real Jiang Qiao was Elysia.
In conclusion—
The less real Elysia = The real Elysia!
This was the equation that Mei had painstakingly figured out to distinguish between the two of them!
—It's great that she didn't ask how I recognized them.
Bronya, who was next to her, looked at the three of them, who were clearly having a good time, with a confused look.
Wait, who was this person called Elysia?
Why did the three of them seem so familiar with her?
For some reason, Bronya had a feeling that she had been left out.
Like she was the only one who hadn't participated in the four-person party.
…Seele, I miss you.
Elysia, who had been dealt a blow, temporarily abandoned the idea of flirting with the beautiful girls and asked:
"So, where exactly is this place?"
"We don't know either. After Mei and I were hit by that strange fog, we woke up here. Bronya had been here even earlier than us."
"...This seems to be some kind of memory space. After encountering the enemy, Bronya noticed that the enemy was unusual. Therefore, Bronya pretended to be defeated in order to learn more about the enemy, and ended up in this place."
Bronya explained her judgment about this space, and also how she had entered this place, without blushing or her heart racing.
Hearing that she had pretended to be defeated, Elysia's expression turned a little strange.
—Did your "pretending to be defeated" refer to having your Project Bunny taken as well?
However, she didn't expose Bronya's lie. Instead, she just looked at her with a smile.
Bronya, who felt her heart racing from being stared at, continued nervously:
"After arriving in this place, Bronya met the shrine maiden named Yae Sakura, and then followed her to rescue a drowning person named Kallen. Afterwards, when helping her gather herbs, Bronya encountered the idiot Kiana and Mei nee-san."
"And then, we met you."
Kiana continued Bronya's story, adding the ending.
"I see."
Hearing all this, Elysia nodded in understanding.
She remembered that before she entered, Jiang Qiao had told her that this battle wasn't over yet.
A memory space… that meant that they had to defeat something.
So, what should they do next?
Hehe, something like that, it was time for me, the genius strategist Elysia, to make my appearance!
Elysia, who had always dreamed of being a female Zhuge Liang, held her chin, putting on a deep-in-thought expression.
This dependable look instantly made the three of them serious. Thinking that she had a plan, they quickly asked:
"Elysia, what should we do next?"
"Uh… how about setting fire to the mountain?"
Elysia, whose brain was running at full speed, but couldn't think of anything, glanced at the mountain in Yae Village and subconsciously suggested a countermeasure.
"?!"
Kiana, Mei, and Bronya's gazes instantly turned to doubt.
Bronya was also speechless at the suggestion from this unfamiliar girl:
"Are you serious?"
Well,
This plan wasn't actually that bad. In fact, it was very feasible.
If this was a memory space, as long as the space was destroyed, then the mastermind behind this would have nowhere to escape.
However, this method was very familiar, very, very familiar.
Simple, crude, direct, and effective.
A certain someone would have definitely given her a thumbs up.
"Forget it."
As the one who had proposed the plan, Elysia was actually the first to reject it.
She wanted to be the female Zhuge Liang, but she wanted to be the kind who was full of witty plans, and not the "female Zhuge Liang" who sets things on fire.
Even though she knew that this was just a memory world, but looking at those living faces, and also, that cute girl named Yae Sakura, Elysia really couldn't bring herself to set fire to the mountain.
Elysia, who wrinkled her brows and sniffed her nose, asked in confusion:
"By the way, do you guys smell something strange?"
"A strange smell?"
"There aren't any strange smells here… wait, there is! I know that smell. It's the smell of something burning! The old fart would always fill the house with this smell when he was using the Might of An-Utu to cook!"
"Wait, something is burning…"
They abruptly looked towards where the smell was coming from, where billows of thick smoke were rising from above the small town.