Alright, let's be real here.
If things were really that simple...
It'd feel just like stepping out your door, popping over to the neighbor's for a quick visit. No big deal.
Then there really wouldn't be any need for special concern.
As Kiana spoke, she was already running the numbers in her head.
Eden and Aponia weren't chipping in, just listening.
But Eden noticed something: for some reason, Elysia had fallen quiet. From a moment ago until now, she hadn't uttered a word. What was going on with her?
This wasn't like her at all!
After all, Elysia was always the most lively one.
Right now, with a new, pretty girl about to arrive.
Shouldn't she be the happiest?
A new girl to get close to~
Of course!
Thinking about it carefully, Eden probably understood a little bit of what was going on.
The goddess who loved all beings equally was finally being pulled down from her heavenly perch.
She was actually jealous.
The way Jyahnar was charging in, guns blazing, probably made Elysia feel an unparalleled sense of crisis.
This wasn't just everyday talk. It was real, genuinely bothersome.
Usually, no matter how much Elysia acted spoiled, complained, or pretended to be jealous, it was all just a kind of flirtatious banter.
She even loved joking about it, never taking it seriously.
But Jyahnar's appearance had caused the usually casual, easygoing, seemingly unhurried Elysia to involuntarily feel a little flustered.
Was this a bad thing?
No... It was a good thing!
In Aponia's view, Kiana's approach to relationships was always like that proverbial person who claimed to love dragons but fled at the sight of one—she wanted it, but didn't dare to take it. Precisely because she didn't dare, she dawdled.
Perhaps Elysia was similar.
Among the girls who had appeared so far, the one who posed the highest threat to her, all things considered, was probably just Eden.
Because Eden had genuinely, truly, developed some feelings for Kiana.
Looking at the other girls, aside from little sister Rin, who was quite blunt, the others... either their attitudes weren't purely simple—not entirely love, not even entirely like, maybe just some fondness—or they simply hadn't appeared yet, hadn't even entered the race.
How could any of them really pressure Elysia?
Precisely because she knew there was little pressure, that Kiana was hers, and that she alone cared for Kiana in that way...
That's why she could take her time, follow her own pace, hide the shyness in her heart, and proceed step by step.
Yes!
Only Elysia herself knew.
From the very first moment she was exposed by the Sky Screen, she had been drawn to Kiana.
It was love at first sight.
One glance, spanning millennia.
She came looking right away, admitted the relationship between her and Kiana—and she wasn't joking.
She was dead serious!
Kiana might not believe it.
But from that moment on, she was no longer just a goddess loving all mortals from afar. She had voluntarily descended to the mortal world, teasing you, staying with you, all because she liked you!
Some things are just destined.
When Elysia learned that Kiana was the Herrscher of Finality, and she herself was the Herrscher of Origin! A thought suddenly sprouted in her heart.
'I am not alone.'
'She is mine!'
'She is a gift to me from the Honkai!'
Even if it was a gilded trap.
Elysia would gladly accept it.
At worst.
She'd eat the sugar coating and throw the shell back.
Fighting the Honkai was still necessary!
In fact!
Wasn't the fact that both Kiana and she had to fight the Honkai even more proof that they were a match made in heaven?
Elysia had always thought so.
Even knowing about Jyahnar's existence, she wasn't worried. Because she was there first.
What could a mere Honkai beast, not even on the track yet, possibly do?
By the time you get here, the opportunity will have long passed...
That's what she had always believed.
However!
"How did she get here so fast..." Elysia muttered under her breath, agonized.
She really hadn't prepared for this at all!
Never mind 'consummating' anything.
They hadn't even kissed...
Heck, Kiana and she hadn't even officially confirmed they were in a relationship.
It was just the Sky Screen exposure. Usually, it was all 'wifey this, wifey that, hello wifey,' just playing around.
But they both thought the other was just joking.
Neither took it seriously!
Wasn't this a complete lack of progress?!
Aponia silently observed the entire scene, still firmly in her spectator seat.
Eden was right next to Elysia and heard her soft muttering perfectly clearly.
She pursed her lips, hiding a smile.
But!
For some reason, she also felt a little spark of... glee.
Because.
Even though Elysia was her darling, her closest confidante...
Even brothers keep clear accounts.
She, too, liked Kiana.
Especially since she had clarified her own feelings before—she genuinely, truly liked her. She wanted her!
So!
In this situation.
She wanted the young lady.
Elysia also wanted the young lady.
Would she really be willing to just hand the young lady over to Elysia?
Even she would feel a little jealous, right?
Having a few little secret calculations of her own... that was allowed, wasn't it?
In fact, her own progress was a tiny bit further ahead than Elysia's.
That thought made her inexplicably a little chirpy inside.
A competitive spirit flared up. Even a slight advantage was still an advantage, right? Super happy about it, honestly!
Actually!
Elysia sometimes didn't necessarily think about these things.
Didn't necessarily get stuck in a loop of anxious thoughts like this.
The main reason was!
On her phone, she saw that online, loads of people were spectating, shipping them.
It invisibly intensified this sense of competition between her and Jyahnar.
Even knowing it was a trap.
She'd still step in it.
Because she really didn't want to lose to Jyahnar!
She was here first!
[Rational Analysis: Who Has the Better Chance, Elysia or Jyahnar?]
[Could the future queen's position, which remained undecided even in the future timeline, finally be settled in the present?]
Since the Sky Screen was wildly exposing the young lady's love life, of course everyone was paying more attention to these things.
Ship wars!
Drama~
Just thinking about it was delightful!
[Is Elysia the Childhood Friend or the Sudden Newcomer?]
[Is Jyahnar the Sudden Newcomer?]
[Both are practically arranged fiancées, but let me tell you, Elysia completely outclasses Jyahnar!]
[Just because you came first doesn't mean you'll definitely win.]
[I laugh at Elysia, completely useless. She still hasn't even made it official with the young lady.]
Elysia saw this and clenched her phone.
[What do you all know?! That's clearly my Lady Elysia disdaining to use such petty tricks! So what if she comes? What can you do? A mere manta ray, nothing special!]
She read the content and nodded silently.
It's worth mentioning!
If initially, the online space was relatively civil, with everyone stating their case, 'you have your points, I have mine,' agreeing to disagree peacefully...
Then!
Now...
Just looking at this 100,000-member group chat Elysia had infiltrated was enough to know.
How absolutely chaotic the scene had become.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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