Eden's voice came through the call.
"I see… no wonder you didn't tell me, Elysia. If it can help you all, then I'm very happy to support you."
Eden received Elysia's call and agreed without the slightest hesitation. After all, she was human.
"Elysia, you really don't have to hide it from me. This is the first time I've heard about the Honkai as a calamity, but I already sensed something long ago."
"Hehe. My dear Eden, I just didn't want to drag you into it," Elysia said with a smile—and she meant it.
Eden smiled helplessly. "Elysia… a disaster like the Honkai that can threaten the entire world—do you really think anyone can stay completely untouched?"
"I can fund you, no problem. But I want to personally go and take a look at the Flame Chasers."
If possible, she also wanted to join the ranks fighting the Honkai.
"Pick a time. I'll come get you," Elysia replied naturally, without any objections. Besides being her close friend, Eden would also become the Flame Chasers' biggest financial backer later.
A close friend turning into her boss…
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Wouldn't that mean Eden could squeeze her however she wanted from now on?
Kinda thrilling, honestly.
Koji was wandering around inside the Flame Chasers' facilities. At this point, the upper echelon had all been turned into puppets by Vill-V, so the ones actually running things now were Mei and the others.
"Big brother, are you someone from the Flame Chasers?"
A small blue-haired girl walked down the corridor. Koji recognized her instantly—Griseo, back when she was little.
She was young, but not shy at all. If anything, she stared at Koji with curious eyes.
"No. I'm more like a guest of the Flame Chasers," Koji said, gently patting Griseo on the head.
Griseo had a special ability: she could see colors on people, and use them to judge whether they were good or evil.
"Big brother has my color on you…" Griseo said in a crisp little voice.
Koji froze for a beat—then it clicked. He'd met the Griseo from the Elysian Realm.
That ability really was something. Even in this Honkai world, it was rare—no wonder she was a major figure.
"I've met another you."
Griseo nodded, half understanding, half not. She was still just a kid—how much could she really grasp?
"Mom… do I have a little sister too?"
At that moment, Blanca and Hen walked over. Griseo hugged Blanca's leg and asked with bright curiosity.
"A little sister?" Blanca repeated.
Then Blanca's eyes turned dangerous as she stared straight at Hen.
"Hen, (censored) you'd better explain yourself. Don't tell me you've got some illegitimate daughter I don't know about?"
Hen's survival instinct detonated on the spot. "W-wife, listen—listen to me! I only have you! How could I have an illegitimate daughter?!"
If rumors like that ever reached Mobius, he'd be finished.
Even though Blanca wasn't Mobius's subordinate anymore, Mobius and Blanca were extremely close. And Mobius had always been pretty unhappy about Hen "stealing" Blanca away. Every time they met, Mobius never gave him a good look.
"Hmph. I'll believe you wouldn't dare," Blanca said softly. "Griseo, you probably don't have a little sister."
She was just scaring Hen. She trusted that he wouldn't cheat.
"But big brother said it," Griseo said, pointing at Koji. "He said he knows another me."
"Kid," Hen said irritably, "you better explain this properly. My innocence almost died just now."
He couldn't let his image collapse in front of Griseo.
"I really have met another Griseo," Koji said. "Just… in another world."
Hen paused, confused. But Blanca—who had once been Mobius's assistant, and whose intelligence and talent were top-tier—understood almost immediately.
"I really want to see what Griseo looks like when she grows up," Blanca said with a smile.
Herrscher after Herrscher kept appearing. The Honkai destroyed civilization with cold indifference. Blanca didn't even know if she'd ever get the chance to see Griseo grown up.
Hen fell silent. As a soldier, he didn't fear dying in battle—but what he couldn't put down in his heart was Blanca and Griseo.
The Herrschers were getting stronger and stronger. He didn't know if he'd be able to come back alive every time.
"This is what Griseo looks like when she grows up."
Koji formed an energy projection, and an older Griseo appeared.
The childishness was gone. Her figure was graceful and well-proportioned, and her aura carried a mature, dependable steadiness.
"Grown-up me?" Griseo's eyes sparkled. Inspiration bubbled up in her head—she could draw this.
"So pretty," Blanca murmured, her eyes shining. As expected of her daughter.
Being able to see her daughter grown up eased some of her regret—even if misfortune awaited them in the future.
"She really does look a lot like you, Blanca," Hen said, lifting an eyebrow. "Inherited your beauty perfectly."
Then Koji added, "This is a work by Griseo—'Teacher World-Painter Griseo'—from a certain world bubble."
He took out two comic volumes.
The title was: The New Transfer Student Is Dangerous.
Hen: "…"
Blanca: "…"
The title alone was already awful. After flipping through the contents, the two of them felt their vision darken.
What is this even supposed to be?
"That white-haired guy… that's Kevin, isn't it?" Hen said, staring at the character in the comic. The sense of familiarity hit him like a wave. "That has to be Kevin."
Kevin had actually been drawn into Griseo's comic.
Absurd.
"I want to ask," Blanca said, her smile stiff, "how old was Griseo when she drew this?"
It wasn't that they were disgusted by this kind of thing. They were just suddenly realizing they might need to rethink how to educate their own Griseo.
Koji smiled. "Roughly elementary school to middle school age."
"Hen," Blanca said slowly, "our daughter… she won't draw something like this in the future, will she?"
"I… don't know," Hen said, unable to guarantee anything. "Maybe she really will."
How to put it…
It wasn't 18+ or anything.
It just felt… weird.
"Mom, what are you looking at? I want to see too," Griseo said, lifting her head curiously.
Since it was something another "her" drew, she naturally wanted to learn how to appreciate it, too.
"No, Griseo," Blanca said immediately, snatching the comics back and putting them away. "You can't."
If Griseo saw it, that would be bad.
Just imagining Griseo drawing comics like this in the future made Blanca's vision go dark again. Better for her to draw something proper—this style really didn't seem suitable for Griseo.
Hen nodded in agreement. Later, maybe. Not now.
"What comics? Let me see~"
Elysia suddenly appeared. She smoothly took one of the volumes from Hen's hands and started "appreciating" it on the spot.
Seeing who it was, Hen couldn't help but sigh.
No wonder they had zero defenses. If it was Elysia, then of course this would happen.
She joined the Flame Chasers so late, and yet her strength still casually crushed all those "senior" veterans like them.
Hen truly didn't understand it.
How did a girl train herself into that kind of power…?
(End of Chapter)
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