Several more seconds passed. Only after confirming the danger had truly passed did Pardo finally relax, collapsing like a deflated ball.
She silently let out a huge breath. The arm clamped around Cyrene's waist and the hand covering her mouth simultaneously released. She leaned back against the stone wall on the other side and raised a hand to wipe away the non-existent cold sweat from her forehead.
"Phew... that was terrifying..."
She patted her chest, still shaken. Her cat ears popped up alertly from her hood and swiveled vigilantly. "Sister Snake was chasing way too hard today! It's just an old glowing jar, is it really necessary...?"
Only then was Cyrene free.
She staggered slightly, steadying herself against the wall. Her pale cheeks were flushed from holding her breath and the tension, and her blue eyes held lingering shock mixed with confusion.
"Um..."
Cyrene spoke, her voice still a little weak. "Th-thank you... but could you please tell me first..."
Before she could finish, Pardo turned around, her beautiful heterochromatic eyes looking at Cyrene. Her expression instantly switched to a bright, slightly fawning smile: "Oh dear! Sorry, Sister Elysia! It was an emergency just now, I hope I didn't hurt you?"
Sister Elysia?
Cyrene was stunned again.
She blinked, trying to understand the address.
"I..."
She pointed to herself hesitantly. "I am not 'Sister Elysia'... you might have the wrong person. I am Cyrene."
"Huh?"
The smile on Pardofelis's face froze for a moment. She tilted her head, her cat ears also drooping slightly in confusion. She scrutinized Cyrene, her gaze lingering especially on the face and petite figure that were highly similar to Elysia's but noticeably more youthful.
Immediately, she smacked her palm with her fist in a gesture of sudden realization. A "I get it now" smile returned to her face, tinged with playful teasing: "Oh—! Right! Sister Cyrene! Look at my memory!"
She leaned in closer, her eyes curving into crescent moons, and lowered her voice in a secretive tone. "Don't worry, Sister Cyrene, I understand! Role-playing, right? The 'Cyrene' character you're playing this time, Sister Elysia, is super cute! And the name is nice too! It's just..."
She gestured to Cyrene's height and asked curiously, "You just got so much smaller, didn't you? What new item did you use to transform? Or is it a newly acquired... uh, ability? Can you teach me? Maybe I can use it later when running away... ah, no, when exploring!"
Cyrene: "..."
Watching Pardo's "I completely understand and will cooperate" attitude, she felt like her explanation was hitting a soft but stubborn wall.
The other party seemed certain that she was just playing a character named "Cyrene," and was "Sister Elysia" herself.
This deeply ingrained misunderstanding left Cyrene momentarily unsure how to clarify, especially right after experiencing such a bizarre hiding episode.
She opened her mouth, just about to more seriously explain her origins and that she wasn't the person Pardo knew when—
"Found you, little kitty who steals things~"
"Let's see where you can slip away to this time~"
That eerie, fatally sweet female voice, like a ghost, appeared without warning right outside the cluster of plants where they were hiding!
Close at hand!
Pardo's fur practically stood on end at that moment!
Her heterochromatic pupils suddenly narrowed into slits, and all the color drained from her face.
"Waaahhhh—!!"
It was a purely instinctive reaction; she didn't even have time to think.
Pardo let out a short shriek, and with a speed that left afterimages, she scooped up the still-confused Cyrene again, holding her tightly like a life-sized doll. Her legs exploded with astonishing power, and she suddenly dashed out of their hiding spot!
"Bang!"
She didn't even have time to use the door or a regular path; she slammed straight through a small, half-open side door leading to a passage. Her figure, accompanied by a chaotic string of "Sorry, excuse me, ahhh!"
shouts and Cyrene's faint gasps from being jostled almost to pieces, instantly vanished into the dark, winding passage behind the door, leaving only the sound of frantic running rapidly fading away.
Silence returned to the corridor.
A few seconds later, the cluster of broad-leaf plants was gently pushed aside by a pale, slender hand with nails painted an eerie green.
Mobius slowly stepped out of the shadows.
Her emerald snake eyes watched the passage where Pardo and Cyrene had disappeared. Instead of anger that her prey had escaped, her lips slowly curved into an arc of keen interest.
The smile made her beautiful face appear even more sinister and dangerous.
She extended the tip of her tongue and lightly licked the corner of her mouth.
"How clever... she even found a 'little helper'?"
The Astral Express, Observation Car.
Soft starlight streamed through the wide, curved windows, reflecting off the dark floor and intertwining with the warm yellow light inside the car to create a peaceful atmosphere.
Black Herta was leaning on the sofa.
Her grayish-white long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her purplish-black eyes were currently focused on several glowing screens suspended before her.
The screens were divided into several real-time views, like an omniscient surveillance network:
Screen One: At the entrance of a quiet courtyard on the Xianzhou Luofu, "System" was holding an enormous feather duster, seriously dusting away non-existent dust from the courtyard wall. Several passing neighbors cast strange looks her way.
Screen Two: In the intricate corridors of the new district of the Elysian Realm in the System Space, Pardofelis was dashing wildly, holding Cyrene, who was dizzy and whose eyes looked like mosquito coils. Mobius's faint chuckle could be heard in the background. The pink-haired girl's confusion—a look of "Who am I and where am I?"—was a stark contrast to Pardo's panic.
Screen Three: In the Paradise Hall, Elysia was still wearing her pink star-shaped sunglasses, dancing energetic steps to the music.
Eden sat nearby, holding her forehead, her wine glass untouched for a long time.
Meanwhile, Kevin had appeared in the corner sometime, wearing his Starry Sky Sunglasses, arms crossed, seemingly enjoying the performance seriously.
Screen Four: Outside Fu Hua's room door.
Fu Hua herself was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, her brow slightly furrowed. She listened to the faint, curious exclamations about the novel shower equipment coming from inside the room. Her face held its usual composure, but a hint of rare distress was hidden deep in her eyes.
Black Herta's gaze calmly swept over the scenes. Her face, delicate as a doll's, was expressionless, but the slightly upturned corners of her mouth betrayed a hint of her amusement.
She raised her hand, her slender fingertips gently tracing the air, bringing up another semi-transparent interface.
[Core Repair Status: 38.97%]
The progress bar was slowly and faintly creeping upwards. Every subtle jump seemed to correspond to a small piece of chaos, misunderstanding, or unexpected development in one of the scenes.
"Hmm..."
Black Herta made a slight humming sound, tapping her chin with her fingertip.
"By intervening indirectly and guiding them to spontaneously generate dramatic conflict, the feedback of joy received is fragmented but consistently sustained... Every little bit helps."
She hadn't personally attended any location recently to cause major events (except for remotely assisting Jack and Raven's courier business). Instead, she acted more like a chess player, gently nudging one or two pieces on the existing board, then observing with keen interest how these skilled "actors" would react based on their own personalities, sparking unexpected results.
The effect was good.
The emotional fluctuations generated by the Flame-Chasers of the Paradise as they adapted to the new environment, and the interactions triggered by them, were slowly repairing her Core.
"Almost 39%..."
A calculating light flashed in Black Herta's purplish-black eyes. "A good milestone. So, before pushing for 40%, how about a little more... interesting seasoning?"
Her gaze drifted across the screens.
A vague outline of a plan was forming in her mind.
She needed a moment to refine it and choose the most amusing entry point.
"No rush."
Black Herta said softly, picking up a cup of coffee the System had just delivered and taking a sip.
"Let the fun... fly a little longer."
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!