Jun An spent a full day at Aponia's place before stretching lazily and leaving the Deep End.
After a busy day, he and Griseo had thoroughly punished that nun who loved to freeload food and drinks, leaving her utterly creamed like a pastry.
After a night's sleep, Jun An felt quite comfortable. Griseo and Aponia, whose recovery wasn't as fast as Jun An's, continued resting in the Deep End.
Now, Jun An had obtained Aponia's traits as a mental perception-type MANTIS, allowing him to handle psychic attacks with greater ease. Meanwhile, Aponia had gained... something.
Jun An's current mission was to visit the other Flame-Chasers, acquire their Signets to unlock the power of his Stigmata. If he bumped into Eden along the way, he'd ask her for an autograph and also commission her to make some rings and wedding dresses.
With this in mind, Jun An set off immediately. But he hadn't taken more than two steps before spotting Pardo sneaking around like a cat. Her tiptoeing figure was glistening with fragrant sweat; it looked like she had gathered quite a haul.
Aponia had apparently mentioned that due to the Elysian Realm's upgrade, interactions between things inside and outside were stronger, so Pardo's 'stocking up' frequency had increased lately, often yielding bountiful harvests.
Seeing her, Jun An immediately crept forward on cat feet and grabbed her tail, startling her so badly she jumped out of her skin.
"Ahhhhh! Who is it! D-Don't eat me!!"
Every hair on Pardo's cat body stood on end. She desperately tried to run, but with Jun An holding her tail, escape was impossible.
"Pardo, it's me, Jun An... the Captain."
"Eh, Captain? I thought... Wahala!!! Captain! Don't eat me, Captain!!"
What kind of weird scream was that?
Jun An looked at Pardo, whose voice had broken from fear, and gave her a light chop on the head with the side of his hand to bring her back to her senses.
Her reaction was within his expectations, so Jun An explained, "What are you yelling about? I just revived, I'm not a ghost."
"I-I know that!" Seeing Jun An was just petting her tail and didn't seem intent on using it to impale her, Pardo instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Looks like they really had fun and didn't notice me at all.
Since she had survived, the most important thing now was naturally—
"Brother Jun An, welcome back! Wanna come over to my place for a good meal?"
For Pardo, the greatest celebration after surviving a close call was naturally a hearty meal. Eating and drinking her fill would saturate her entire being with happiness.
"Then it would be disrespectful to refuse."
Jun An had lost a massive amount of cells and needed to replenish his nutrition right now, so he went with Pardo to the small shop she ran herself.
Pardo first tidied up her newly acquired goods, then started setting up an induction cooker, hooking it up to a generator and battery she'd procured from who-knows-where.
"Hmm, I remember Brother Jun An doesn't have any dietary restrictions, right?"
Pardo Felis then took out some ingredients from her little shop: cabbage, carrots, cat food, cat treat sticks, and even a whole live chicken.
The cat food and treats were for petting Can, so that went without saying. But looking at the big rooster clucking away, Jun An couldn't help but remark, "Why does the Elysian Realm even have this?"
Pardo grabbed the chicken, tied its feet and wings, and tossed it aside for now, explaining, "This was originally one of Sister Snake's experiments, but Can got greedy and snatched one from her lab."
"Because she's been eating well lately, I decided to raise it for a bit. Maybe for a happy occasion, or when guests come over. Luckily, Brother Jun An, you came back early. Otherwise, in a few more days, Can wouldn't be able to beat it anymore. To prevent it from bullying Can, I would have had to stew it first."
Hearing her explanation, Jun An remembered that Mobius did conduct biological experiments; live subjects were definitely necessary.
"But can this thing really be eaten?" Jun An looked skeptically at the ten-odd-jin rooster. It could potentially even beat Can, that big fat cat. Who knew what Mobius had done to it?
"Relax, relax. Sister Snake was experimenting on hens laying eggs. This one's a breeding cock."
Pardo started boiling water on the induction cooker and began rummaging through her shop for a whetstone. "According to Sister Snake, it was for stabilizing something, reproduction something... Anyway, this rooster wasn't needed anymore. It was skinny when Can brought it back; raising it to be this fat took quite some time."
Seeing Pardo Felis sharpening the knife and boiling water, Jun An stepped forward to help.
"You know how to slaughter a chicken?"
"Back in Twilight Street, I watched them do it at the big restaurants. They probably used some machine, but doing it by hand is the same."
Pardo finished sharpening the knife and brought out a bowl to collect the chicken blood. "Brother Jun An, help me hold the chicken's legs and wings. You're stronger than me, hold it steady."
"No need for such trouble."
Jun An casually launched a mental attack, instantly turning the chicken into a 'vegetable chicken', dead and peaceful.
"So convenient!"
Pardo Felis immediately started bleeding the chicken on the spot; it didn't resist at all. Once most of the blood had drained, she immediately scalded it with boiling water. But since the scalded chicken was too hot, she had Jun An lift it out.
After it cooled down a bit, Pardo Felis and Jun An started plucking the feathers right there.
"Can, these are chicken feathers, no eating!"
Pardo Felis first lured Can aside with a cat treat stick, then began processing the chicken step by step, even thoroughly cleaning the internal organs.
Soon, they managed to scrape together a hot pot.
"What about the staple food?" Jun An asked curiously, not having seen her cook rice.
"This is it." Pardo Felis brought over Can's cat food and poured a bowl for Jun An. "Don't worry, I've been eating this for half a year. Besides being a bit hard, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it!"
"..."
Jun An chewed on a piece of cat food. Although the kind he bought was indeed food-grade, safe even for human consumption, his mental fortitude wasn't as high as Pardo's.
Eating this stuff for half a year would probably deplete one's SAN points completely. It was truly amazing she could remain her usual self.
If I had known, I should have sent Pardo more instant noodles or something before I left back then, otherwise she wouldn't have ended up like this.
"Let me pet your tail and ears ten times, and I'll bring you a few boxes of instant noodles next time I come, how about it?" Jun An proposed the deal while munching on the cat food, which resembled small biscuits.
"If you want to pet, just say so. But wait till after dinner and wash your hands."
Pardo was long used to Jun An petting her; she wouldn't mind a touch or two.
"By the way, Pardo, haven't you ever thought about leaving?"
Jun An popped Can's cat food into his mouth like eating melon seeds. "The outside world is much more fun than the Elysian Realm. If you wish, Mei should be willing to support you. Aponia and Mobius would probably be happy to lend a hand when they have nothing better to do."
Although the relationships among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers weren't as united as one might imagine, their attitude towards Pardo was consistently 'sit at the kids' table'. They would likely help if needed.
And outside, just based on Pardo's merit of sacrificing herself to open the path to strike Finality in the Previous Era, it was enough for her to live comfortably for a lifetime.
"Of course, I've thought about that kind of thing."
Pardo scratched her head. "But Brother Jun An, you weren't around anymore. Our plan to go to the amusement park together also went down the drain. Sister Elysia and the others all intended to mourn for three years. How could I leave alone?"
"So, although it's a bit lonely here, it's not really any different, right? Besides, even though this place doesn't have as many fancy attractions as the outside, at least I don't have to worry about food and drink, right?"
Previously, Jun An had strongly recommended the Flame-Chasers leave the Elysian Realm to take a look around before or after the Honkai ended. To this end, Jun An had done quite a bit of ideological work on them.
For example, getting Eden to accept modern art forms to rekindle her passion for art, showing Su various complex medical cases to heighten his urgency as a doctor, promising Mobius sufficient research funds and a laboratory, giving Elysia lap pillows and coaxing her to sleep...
And so on.
If any of them could leave before the Honkai ended, they would be valuable assets.
If they left after the Honkai ended, they deservedly ought to enjoy the prosperity of the era they had saved fifty thousand years ago.
And right now, the world was rebuilding; manpower was indeed needed.
"Right, Brother Jun An, aren't you eating meat?" Pardo was wolfing down her food but saw Jun An eating slowly, chewing carefully, even eating the cat food piece by piece. This made her feel a bit embarrassed.
Brother Jun An must see that I usually don't eat well, so he's letting me have more.
But the cat food is clearly delicious.
"Mm, I'll eat. What about now? Do you still want to go out?"
Jun An asked while swishing cabbage in the hot pot. "If you want to leave, the promise I made before still stands."
Jun An's promise to Pardo was simple: just take her to an amusement park once.
Of course, this wasn't Jun An tricking Pardo; it was Pardo's own request back then.
"Haha, turns out Brother Jun An still remembers that promise."
Pardo Felis scratched her head bashfully. "Speaking of which, should I have made a grander wish back then?"
"It's not too late to make a wish now."
Jun An tasted the very unorthodox hot pot. "Consider it a little bonus just for Pardo Felis from me, no one else gets one."
"Then I really need to think hard."
Pardo had gotten smarter too. The amusement park she looked forward to had already been experienced in Sister Elysia's special area, the 'Eternal Paradise'. Besides not being able to ride the Ferris wheel with Brother Jun An, she had no other regrets.
And this time, not only did Jun An not retract the wish, he even offered a new one. Of course, she had to think carefully.
"That's fine too. After all, there are so many things outside; making a decision later is a good idea."
Jun An ate another piece of meat, then got straight to the point. "But Little Pardo, can you help me with one more thing?"
"Brother Jun An, you've already been so generous! Just say the word, I guarantee I'll help!"
Pardo patted her enormous chest, then recalled the scene of Jun An, Aponia, and little Griseo massaging each other earlier. She quickly blushed and added, "B-But massage is off-limits! Sister Elysia will kill me! A-At the very least, give me some mental preparation... m-make the bed or something..."
Pardo Felis's voice grew quieter and quieter. Jun An, preoccupied with the unorthodox hot pot, didn't think much of it. "Someone else already did the massage. I need you to help me find the other Flame-Chasers. I want to greet everyone and recollect the Signets."
Pardo Felis's finding ability was almost the strongest in the Elysian Realm. Her help would definitely allow him to get twice the result with half the effort.
"Wait till I'm full... Eh, Brother Jun An? Do you feel a bit hot?"
"Not really." Jun An was relatively heat-resistant but disliked the cold. If he had to say, it was indeed a bit warm. "Could it be because of the hot pot?"
But seeing Pardo panting heavily, even though her physical constitution was pathetically low among MANTISes, eating hot pot shouldn't make her overheat like a dog.
"No, I-I need to take off some clothes... B-But this is the only outfit I have."
Pardo felt like crying now. In the entire Elysian Realm, she wore the coolest (most revealing) clothes; even Brother Kalpas wore more than her.
"Err..."
Jun An instantly thought of something. That breeding cock...
Jun An pinched Pardo's wrist to take her pulse. Sure enough. "Didn't you say that chicken was edible?"
Thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, it was a rooster used to breed with a bunch of hens. It would be too strange if Mobius hadn't tampered with it somehow. No wonder its upper limit could surpass Can's.
"Pardo, endure it for a bit. It'll only hurt for a few moments."
Jun An clenched his fist and approached Pardo step by step.
"B-Brother Jun An, at least let me make the bed first! Wait, w-what are you doing clenching your fist like that! It's too big, it won't fit!"
Pardo's legs were already too weak to move. Although she initially misunderstood, thinking Brother Jun An was going to do something improper to her, looking at his expression, it didn't seem like he intended to help her detoxify properly either.
"I was about to ask you what you need to make the bed for,"
Jun An replied matter-of-factly. "I'm obviously helping you reset your data. Isn't the Elysian Realm designed so that a Flame-Chaser's death resets them five seconds back? Resetting to about ten minutes before you ate the chicken should do it!"
Jun An raised his small fist. "Endure it!"
Pardo was instantly horrified. "Don't, don't! I-I just ate some aphrodisiac, there's no need to die a hundred times, right? I'm most afraid of dying!"
"If you endure the pain now, it'll only be for ten minutes. Otherwise, who knows how long this drug will last?"
Jun An urged Pardo to make a decision. "Don't forget, the time you spend talking counts too."
Pardo never expected the chicken she raised would have such an effect. By now, her shorts were starting to get wet, and she'd have to die an extra time every five seconds. But dying hurt a lot.
Yet, if she didn't die, she would definitely suffer for a long time afterwards.
Who knew when the effects of a drug made by Sister Snake would wear off? Besides, she had raised the chicken for two months, and it was still like this. Did this mean if she didn't detoxify, she'd have to endure it for two months?
Thinking this, Pardo understood the real reason Brother Jun An wanted her to restart.
"No choice! Better short-term pain than long-term suffering! Better to die happy than be beaten to death!"
Pardo threw caution to the wind, lunged forward, and tackled Jun An to the ground. "Sorry, Sister Elysia! I'm borrowing Brother Jun An, just this once..."