"Elysia aside, Elias, could you at least think about the consequences! Do you have any idea what kind of uproar this would cause worldwide if it got out?"
"What's up with this pair of idiot lovebirds? How can their brain circuits be this perfectly in sync?!"
"I honestly thought you had common sense, Elias, but apparently, I was wrong. This is absolutely absurd."
The women's faces all twitched uncontrollably. They looked at the white-haired boy before them with a mix of envy, jealousy, and helplessness—because he had actually gone and founded a religious group called the Church of Ely.
Did you two really not plan this together beforehand?!
"Eli, I can't believe you did something like this for me. Sniffle~ I'm so touched! Come here, let me hug you!"
"It's nothing, Ely. I just wanted more people to see how wonderful you are. Emmm, the doctrine's still being revised though. Later, I'll need to ask you a few questions to make sure it reflects your intentions."
Elias lovingly stroked Elysia's soft pink hair.
Then, leaning closer, he breathed in her faint floral fragrance and nibbled lightly on the pointed tip of her elf ear.
Though when it came to ears, Sakura might have had the advantage, Elysia had far too many other charms that Elias adored.
As he once put it—
Even if he were locked in one place for hundreds of years without internet access, as long as he had an Elysia by his side, he would never be bored.
"Oh my, that's making me blush. But since it's your idea, I won't stop you!"
Elysia immediately wrapped her arms around his head, pressing his face into her chest. Her radiant smile was one of pure, sugar-sweet bliss—hundreds of times sweeter than candy.
Though she was certainly startled that her boyfriend had founded a religion in her name, even Elysia—who was never easily embarrassed—felt her cheeks heat up.
But after thinking about it, she realized she wasn't really in a position to say anything. After all, Elias was just doing the same thing she had done.
What truly made her happy was how they'd both, without discussing it beforehand, acted in perfect harmony. She wanted to show off to everyone—See? Elias and I are soulmates!
...
"Ahem! Leaving the Eli Gate aside for now, absolutely no to this Ely Gate nonsense! Elias, disband it immediately, or at least step down and dissolve the organization!"
Dr. Mei frowned deeply. Although her words were directed at Elias, her sharp glare swept across the others in the room.
She was thinking—These troublemakers are making me play the villain again!
My favorability's already lower than all of yours. What if he starts to hate me because of this?!
Of course, what Mei didn't know was that Elias' affection for her had always been maxed out—ever since the very first moment they met as children.
After all, even though Elysia was the girl Elias loved most in the Previous Era, Raiden Mei was the first girl he'd fallen in love with in this one.
The "wife who cooks" held a position that was not only special, but sacred.
And since Mei was the alternate counterpart of Raiden Mei, sharing her exact face, that alone was enough to keep Elias' affection for her forever at full.
In theory, Mei only needed to take one step forward—just a little bit of initiative, a little bit of "giving"—and she could easily and effortlessly win him over.
So why hadn't Elias ever made a move on Mei?
Two reasons.
First, though she looked exactly like Raiden Mei, he knew full well she wasn't her. They were two souls—two entirely different people.
Second, Elias wasn't particularly desperate. Or rather, while his desires were certainly strong, he was surrounded by Elysia, Mobius, Aponia, and Sakura. If he ever wanted, he could be satisfied anytime.
So he never felt unsatisfied—and thus, never felt the need to "pursue" Mei.
Of course, if Mei were to offer herself up to him, he wouldn't hesitate to "devour" her completely.
Which was to say… Mei's "rank" was simply too low.
She didn't even understand the most basic "white-giving" skill of a two-dimensional heroine, forever stuck at the level of theoretical tactics and never capable of practical execution.
It served her right—having full affection yet still unable to get into his bed, constantly being pushed by the other women to take the blame, and even having her identity stolen and suppressed by an AI replica of herself…
Truly, while Raiden Mei of the Current Era was a goddess of war, this Mei of the Previous Era was a total loser.
A beautiful face wasted on a housewife archetype.
"Elias, could you please be a little more self-aware about your influence? If someone else had done this, fine, but you? Do you have any idea how long this would stay on the trending list if people found out you created the Church of Ely?"
Dr. Mei's tone was earnest, almost pleading.
"Uh… I think it could probably stay trending for years…"
Elias scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
He was at least somewhat self-aware.
As the most renowned figure in the previous civilization—and as humanity's savior—if news spread that he'd founded a religion devoted to one particular girl, it would indeed cause a global sensation.
Elysia would likely become the world's public enemy.
After all, the fame of Miss Pink Elf was far beneath that of Elias. She wasn't even as well-known as Eden, the era's musical superstar, or Mobius, the scientist who developed the cure for the Honkai disease.
Although anyone who had actually met Ely would instantly understand her beauty and how perfectly she matched Elias, most people in the world had never seen or heard of her.
When the time came, they'd only envy Elysia for being loved and adored by the world's most brilliant and radiant boy—and resent her for monopolizing his affection.
"So, for Elysia's sake, and for your own good, Elias, you should either disband the Ely Gate or step down and let someone else take over."
Dr. Mei sighed and rubbed her forehead, trying one last time to persuade him.
"...No."
The white-haired boy refused flatly.
"Huh?!"
"No! This is my church, and I'll never hand it over to anyone." Elias tightened his arms around Elysia, then declared with full confidence and conviction:
"The leader of the Ely Gate must be me—and only me! Because no one in this world loves Elysia more than I do!"
"Mm! Me too, me too! No one in this world loves Elias more than I do!" Elysia instantly echoed, rubbing affectionately against him.
The two already pressed so close together somehow managed to grow even more intimate. The pink elf's E-cup "slimes" were now completely flattened against Elias' chest.
Everyone present felt a wave of nausea.
Not out of disgust, but because they'd eaten far too much dog food today—they were practically full to the throat.
Even Kevin, who had planned to go out for noodles, rubbed his stomach and decided he'd lost his appetite.
"Don't worry, Mei. I made sure to use a disguised identity when I created the church. No one will ever find out it's me."
Elias said confidently, all while enjoying the warmth of the pink elf in his arms.
"...Sigh~"
Dr. Mei exhaled helplessly.
When Elysia was on trial, she'd been untouchable thanks to Elias' protection. But Elias himself needed no protection—because he was invincible.
Even if they knew what he was doing was inappropriate, what could they do about it?
Who could possibly stop Elias?
If being spoiled was a child's privilege, then being willful toward the world was the Savior's right.
And the only girl in the world capable of making Elias obedient was, at this very moment, happily snuggled in his arms. There was no way Elysia would ever oppose or restrain him.
"Forget it. I'm tired. Do whatever you want."
Dr. Mei waved her hand bitterly, clearly done arguing. There was no point. After all, no one in this world could control Elias. As long as he was happy, that was all that mattered.
"Uh, wait, Mei, could you maybe approve a bit of funding for me too? I'd rather not use Eden's money to expand the church—it just feels wrong somehow. But my personal savings are running low… so, my dear Mei, could you help me out?"
Elias asked, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Eden's money isn't okay, but mine is? And since when did you start picking up Elysia's bad habits instead of her good ones?"
Mei's eye twitched violently. Still, she could help.
After all, Eden was already officially his girlfriend. Using her money to develop a religion devoted to another woman would be far too inappropriate. But since Mei hadn't established that kind of relationship with him yet—well, she guessed it was fine.
(Mei: Where's a table? I need to flip one right now!)
"Uh, I can make you the deputy leader of the church too."
"Who the hell wants to be your deputy in the Church of Ely?! Forget it! Here—take the money yourself!"
Completely breaking down, Mei tossed her checkbook straight at him.
Meanwhile, she was already planning to deduct the exact same amount from Mobius' next-year research budget.
If it were the Church of Elias, she'd gladly fund it out of her own pocket with pride and joy—but for Elysia? Absolutely not. That pink-haired menace had already won far too much.
"Yay~! Thank you, Mei! Ely Gate~!"
Elias cheered gleefully as he accepted the check, immediately writing himself a comfortable three hundred million.
...
After that, both the Eli Gate and the Ely Gate flourished side by side. Since both were technically funded by the Fire Moth, development proceeded completely unhindered, with new followers joining every day.
Elias and Elysia made a joint decision: to ensure that everyone in this era would either join the Ely Gate, the Ely Gate, or simply both.
After all, it was all in the family~
However, unlike Elysia, Elias didn't have that much free time. His focus was now on preparing for the upcoming challenge—the Ninth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Earth—a name that filled him with pressure.
According to the original records, the Ninth Herrscher was basically a self-destruct soldier sent by the Honkai itself.
Upon descending, it immediately created a massive black hole, completely destroying the Mu Continent—an event that had resulted in hundreds of millions of deaths.
That was only based on known data, of course. And since fate had already shifted because of Elias' existence, the Honkai would likely adjust its strategy as well.
"Although I never intended to clear this world in one go, and the main objective of this round is only information gathering, slacking off isn't a good habit. No matter what, I should aim for a no-damage run. I need to think this through carefully…"
The Herrscher of Earth's power was gravitational control.
A power Elias was quite familiar with, considering he was also the Herrscher of Reason.
Creating Star of Eden, pseudo–black holes—
Those were practically instincts encoded in his DNA.
But precisely because he understood it so well, he knew how troublesome it could be to deal with. Even with low odds of failure, a single misstep could prove disastrous.
"Speaking of the Mu Continent, they've been doing quite well lately."
Elias mused while glancing toward several newly added figures within the base—tiny, adorable robot warriors, even smaller than Sheele's dolls.
After the Eighth Eruption, the Mu Continent had launched a project known as Equipment: Living Form, which utilized programmable soulium to create simulated cores and weapons—small autonomous combat units.
Each of these miniature robots possessed powerful learning capabilities, and thanks to soulium's programmable nature, they were effectively born as seasoned warriors.
Due to their doll-like appearance, these little robots came to be known as—ELFs (Equipment: Living Form).
"You've really outdone yourself this time, Elias. Is this what happens when someone's too famous? You can do whatever you want and still have everyone's support."
Vill-V commented with an amused sigh as she observed the growing number of ELFs within the base.
After learning that the Mu Continent had initiated the Equipment: Living Form project, Elias immediately used his authority to intervene.
He declared that these artificial lifeforms—originally designed as weapons and expendable units in the war against the Honkai—would possess the same human rights as ordinary people, protected under law.
"Heh, even if I didn't do it now, they'd gain human rights eventually. Sure, the ELFs would inevitably clash with humanity during that process, but the end result would remain unchanged."
Elias shrugged and casually picked up one of the tiny, adorable ELF units, gently toying with it. The little robot obediently allowed him to do as he pleased.
The creator of the ELFs was Dr. Einstein—an alternate counterpart of the messy-haired scientist from the Current Era, equally fond of chocolate.
Her foundational directives for the ELFs were threefold:
Do not harm humans.
Oppose the Honkai.
Survive.
According to the original timeline, these ELFs would bring humanity countless victories against the Honkai. However, many would be lost in battle, eventually awakening their survival instincts.
This would lead to the Artificial Intelligence Crisis of the Previous Era.
In the end, the ELFs would abandon the battlefield to preserve their existence and attempt to coexist with humans as a new form of intelligent life. Though the path would be turbulent, both sides would ultimately reconcile.
Elias: "Since that's the destined outcome anyway, I might as well skip straight to it. That shouldn't trigger any unnecessary timeline corrections, right? Ah~ ELFs are just too cute."
Elias' decision to grant the ELFs human rights shocked the entire world, but Dr. Einstein herself voiced strong support for his ruling.
Combined with the Savior's unmatched prestige, Eden's public endorsement, and the ELFs' undeniably adorable appearances, the world ultimately accepted his decree.
Upon hearing the news, the ELFs—beings already capable of thought and emotion—collectively developed immense affection for Elias. Thus, the white-haired young man gained the privilege of freely petting these tiny cuties whenever he pleased.
Now, ELFs and MANTIS fought side by side against the Honkai, building genuine bonds along the way.
In short, relations were progressing remarkably well.
As for the increasingly frequent marriage applications from humans wanting to wed their ELF partners, Elias decided to leave that problem for Mei to deal with…
Meanwhile, he couldn't help but marvel at how absurdly flexible human "XP systems" were—people really could fall for anything. Anyone developing romantic urges toward a robot probably deserved to be shot on sight.
Elias: "By the way, when's my custom Elysia doll going to arrive? I can't wait to pet it already!"
Elysia: "And when's my custom Elias doll going to be ready~? Vill-V, could you please hurry up~?!"
On a related note—
Mobius had already built herself a Klein doll and even programmed its core personality as a workaholic. As a result, the First Research Lab now had not one but two tireless workers.
In other words, the serpent's pool of "overwork victims" had just doubled.
And apparently, Mobius had even used Klein's own salary to fund the doll's construction. For the record, Klein hadn't been paid in almost a year…
Elias: "You know, Mobius, if one day someone hangs you from a lamppost, I honestly won't be surprised."