"Ah, Lynelle, are you finished over there?"
Beside the trial grounds, Eden watched the costumed girl walking toward her and asked with a hint of confusion.
"But it seems you look a bit tired?"
"Can't really say tired..." Lynelle mumbled, burying her head into Eden's chest.
"Maybe it's because they finally met my true self? Both Elysia and the Snake seemed a bit... excited?"
After all, over the past few hours, Lynelle had been passed back and forth between the two like a plush toy. By the end, she'd even ended up nestled within the Snake's coils, clothes disheveled, being hand-fed.
Feeling like things were progressing at this rate, she'd probably be completely devoured in a few days... and maybe as a meal for two. How tragic.
Lynelle thought rather pessimistically.
"Is that so? That does sound quite exhausting..."
Eden didn't quite catch the girl's deeper meaning, simply assuming Lynelle's legs were a bit weak from sitting too long.
She gently wrapped an arm around Lynelle's slender waist, letting the girl experience a 'brain-melting' sensation.
"Would you like to rest a while? You can use my lap as a pillow if you'd like?"
"Though that offer is really tempting, letting Seele fight down below while I lounge up here... feels a bit too much."
Lynelle quickly shook her head, refusing the enticing proposal.
"By the way, about Seele... how's the data collection going?"
"I'm not too familiar with Vill-V's research process, but it's probably enough for her to make a judgment."
Eden looked up, and a small sphere of light, confidently woven from data streams, drifted toward Lynelle.
"When you see Vill-V later, remember to give this to her."
"Eh? Sister Eden, aren't you coming?"
"Seele's issue likely involves some of her personal privacy. I don't have concrete evidence, but from observing her combat situation, her other personality is incredibly doting on this main one, and also seems to have a bit of stage fright."
Eden smiled faintly.
"So, if we're trying to resolve her dissociative identity matter, the fewer people present, the better... Perfect timing, I haven't visited Elysia for a chat today. I can take this chance to drop by her place."
"Also, dear little Lynelle, if Elysia 'bullies' you, you can tell me you know? I wouldn't mind teaching her a little lesson on your behalf."
"That... hasn't happened yet, I think?" Lynelle averted her eyes somewhat guiltily.
While short of the final step, she felt Elysia was already intimately familiar with every inch of her body. But her intuition told her that the 'lesson' Eden meant probably wasn't the conventional kind either.
"Anyway, thank you, Sister Eden!"
--+--
"Alright, alright—"
Several dozen minutes later, after retrieving a thoroughly exhausted Seele from the trial grounds, letting her bathe and rest a bit, Lynelle led Seele toward the Spiral Workshop.
Of course, the journey involved dealing with the chattering Dark Seele—mainly because she felt the current training intensity was a bit high.
Even though Seele kept insisting on persevering, she was worried Seele was pushing herself too hard.
"I told you, Seele is really strong... She won't back down because of difficulties like this. Besides, the Elysian Realm, especially the trial grounds, has a comprehensive rescue system. Under normal circumstances, no trial-taker gets injured."
"Normal circumstances?" Dark Seele asked, puzzled. "Then what about special circumstances...?"
"You'd know a special circumstance the moment you saw it." Lynelle spread her hands.
"For example, if you find the environment around you suddenly transformed into a sea of flames that seems like it'll never extinguish, then congratulations—you might be facing the final trial with the highest fatality rate in the Realm."
"Of course, if you really encounter that situation, my advice is to let Seele take over... because the examiner for that final trial tends to be a bit more forgiving toward kids with her kind of temperament."
"Uh..." Dark Seele's expression turned strange. "This examiner you're talking about... he isn't a lolicon, is he?"
"No, no, no. He just doesn't know how to handle people who are especially gentle-natured."
Lynelle shook her head. "In the Realm, the real lolicon is someone else. But he only likes children under twelve, so clearly, you're over the limit."
"Wait, there really is one!?"
"Of course it's fake, ahem!" Lynelle flashed a mischievous grin.
"But if you ever meet him, you'll probably understand what I mean... When Klein is around, a flustered Kosma is quite amusing, especially when the innocently shrewd little Klein backs you up under your influence."
As she spoke, Lynelle gently knocked on the Spiral Workshop's door. Moments later, the door swung open automatically, but no one was seen opening it for them.
"Sister Vill-V?"
"Over here, over here..." Vill-V's voice came from the workshop's second floor, accompanied by the enticing aroma of food.
"Oh, so it's Sister Gourmet in control right now?" Lynelle's eyes lit up, and she quickly led Seele upstairs.
"Because the others are all asleep, I had to come out... and I might as well make something to replenish my energy."
As one of the relatively milder personalities within Vill-V, Gourmet was arguably one of the easier ones to communicate with.
Of course, from another perspective, even Gourmet was still Vill-V. So the moment she saw Lynelle and Seele, she guessed Lynelle's purpose.
"This young lady... I see. You're looking for the Conductor?"
"Um... probably the Scholar and the Magician too? Because I also have a small request and need their help."
"No problem. I'll wake them up for you after I finish cooking." Gourmet winked at Lynelle, then turned back to the kitchen. As she fiddled with pots and pans, she asked,
"This young lady..."
"Her name is Seele. She's a candidate for the Herrscher of Death in this era..."
"Oh, no need for that." Gourmet looked like she'd already guessed.
"After all, just from her appearance, I can pretty much tell. Plus, you brought her in... So, does she want to hand core control over to the other personality to reduce the impact on herself? Or is she planning for the two to separate entirely?"
"Hey, wait! I don't want to be separated from Seele!"
At this, Gourmet stopped what she was doing and looked at Seele with interest—more precisely, at Dark Seele, who was currently in control.
"So that's how it is... It seems the relationship between you and the other personality is much closer than I thought."
"Then we'll have to discuss this later. After all, in this area, I'm really not as experienced as the Conductor..."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.