Time rewinds.
Elysia, dressed in a fairytale-like wedding gown, was just about to summon her magnificent longbow.
A tear suddenly streamed down Jeanne's face, which had been puzzled by Elysia's actions.
"Jeanne, why are you crying!?"
Elysia paused, looking at Jeanne with some surprise, then, as if remembering something, she exclaimed,
"Could it be a revelation...?
Don't worry, don't worry, it's not that serious. A cute girl wouldn't just log off like that; she'll probably just have a long, sweet sleep~"
Elysia comforted Jeanne with a smile.
She seemed to believe that Jeanne had 'seen' through revelation the price she would have to pay to seal Tomie.
She thought Jeanne was crying for her.
"?"
Jeanne looked at Elysia with a puzzled expression, and the confusion in her eyes hurt Elysia deeply.
"Hmm~ I guessed wrong!"
Elysia said, her slender hands sinking into her 'fattest' spot, on the verge of tears.
"I suddenly feel very sad, but... it doesn't seem to be because of you, Ely..."
Faced with her friend's pitiful, expectant eyes, Jeanne hesitated for a moment but still spoke honestly.
But honest words became sharp arrows, piercing Elysia's heart completely.
"Waaaaah! Seriously... Ellie, I can cry..."
She pretended to wipe her eyes, her pretty face full of grievance.
"Sorry..."
Faced with Elysia's behavior, the gentle saintess felt a pang of guilt and quickly apologized to her.
"Just kidding, Jeanne doesn't need to apologize. I'm just curious; if it's not because of me, then what exactly did you see just now?"
Elysia stopped feigning helplessness, waved her hand, and then her eyes sparkled as she put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and asked with a curious look.
She was very curious about Jeanne's sudden tears.
If it wasn't her, then who made the Holy Maiden shed tears?!
Given Jeanne's character, she certainly wouldn't shed tears for herself; she was a true saint, a martyr.
Even if she were burned at the stake as a witch, she would accept her fate with equanimity.
So...
"I saw it... Elysia, your face is covered in graffiti?"
Jeanne spoke 'seriously' in an uncertain tone.
"?"
Elysia blinked, pulled back from her leaning posture, pointed to herself, and her beautiful smile froze.
"On the left is a turtle, on the right is a husky that looks like it's looking down on people, and on the forehead is a cat slapping its paws..."
Jeanne explained in a thoughtful and detailed manner, but she herself did not know why she was crying.
This scene, on the contrary, left a deep impression on her, but it seemed somewhat different from her revelatory abilities...
However, Elysia was unaware of this; she thought it was a revelation from Jeanne.
"So you've realized that someone drew smears on my face while I was asleep!!!"
Elysia, realizing what was happening, raised her sweet voice a few notches, her tone filled with disbelief.
"How could anyone be so heartless as to do such a thing to a cute young girl!
A crime! It's an outrageous crime!!"
Elysia stood with her hands on her hips, looking quite angry, but still very cute.
Despite saying that and being very angry, Elysia still remembered the important matter.
"Jeanne, you must protect me this time. If something like that really happens, I'll really cry!"
Entrusting her cherished beauty to Jeanne, Elysia drew her longbow, poised to draw it with a graceful gesture, this time adding a shout:
"An arrow imbued with love and hope, please..."
She hadn't finished speaking.
"Caw!"
A black raven swooped down like an arrow, abruptly stopped at the window, kicked it open with its claws, flew in, and stood proudly on one leg atop Elysia's arrowhead, gazing at her.
"Little crow, don't disturb the beautiful girl's splendid performance! That's not gentlemanly at all!"
Although she noticed the crow's unusual behavior, Elysia said she was ready to act at that moment!
"Stealing someone else's kill isn't exactly ladylike behavior!"
Just then, the crow spoke, and it was the sound of Hayashi.
"Huh! It's Hayashi?"
Elysia looked at the talking crow and let out a sweet sound of surprise.
"That's right, it's me! I can handle Tomie, so there's no need for our Sleeping Beauty Princess—Elysia—to take action!"
Seemingly there to inform and stop Elysia, the crow nodded gracefully after saying this, then spread its wings and flew away in the blink of an eye.
The ornate longbow vanished from Elysia's hand. She stared blankly at the spot where the raven had flown away. After a long while, she suddenly spoke to Jeanne, as if she had a knack for grasping the essence of the matter:
"Jeanne, tell me, was the one with my face painted in your revelation the work of Hayashi?"
Why do you say that?
Jeanne exclaimed in surprise but subconsciously felt that what she said was right.
"A beautiful girl's intuition!"
Elysia's face blossomed into a sweet smile, like a flower in bloom.
Although there were no related memory fragments, she inexplicably locked onto Hayashi.
Or perhaps it wasn't entirely without reason? Because Hayashi had just addressed her as 'Sleeping Beauty Princess'.
How could he know he would fall into a deep sleep after shooting that arrow!
When did he learn to control crows?
But none of that matters! Elysia doesn't care how Hayashi knew; Hayashi said he'd take care of Tomie, so Elysia is at ease.
The important business is done!
Now all she cares about is having her face painted on; how could anyone do such a terrible thing to a cute girl?!
—Although that was just Jeanne's revelation!
But Elysia didn't care; she had a feeling that Hayashi would really paint her face messy.
Jeanne nodded at Elysia's willful answer, but seeing Elysia's vengeful expression, she hesitated and said,
"Elysia, your intuition is always very accurate, but those are prophecies, revelations. Since nothing has happened, they shouldn't count, and didn't Hayashi just save you so you didn't have to shoot that arrow?"
"Hmm~! One thing at a time! Tomie is the important matter. I'm naturally very happy and grateful that Hayashi can help me get rid of Tomie!
But drawing faces is a private matter; it's a provocation; it's a declaration of war!"
Seeing Elysia's high spirits, Jeanne was speechless. She felt that although Elysia was acting like she was wronged and holding a grudge, she was actually quite smug.
But she actually enjoys it?
Provocations and declarations of war are all just excuses.
She just wanted a more legitimate reason to tease him.
Jeanne felt a slight envy for Elysia's appearance...
"You really believe Hayashi can handle this?"
She shook her head and asked with some concern.
"That's a beautiful girl's intuition too!"
Elysia resumed her smiling expression, blinked coquettishly, and said in a tone of trust that left Jeanne speechless.
It gives off a vibe that even if Hayashi cheated her, she would still help him count the money, but given Elysia's intelligence... that's unlikely.
"No, no, it's not that bad!"
Jeanne shook her head inwardly, not thinking that she was any better than Elysia.
Elysia and Jeanne were not kept waiting for long.
Soon, she and Jeanne received a report from Yukino about Tomie.
Then came reports about Tomie from all over Japan.
Tomie, who was living in a wealthy man's house, disappeared after a crow appeared.
—In a shopping mall, Tomie is spotted by crows, then disappears, causing confusion among witnesses that needed the activation of a memory erasure program.
—In a school classroom, a crow appears, and Tomie disappears. Students, bewildered by Tomie, accuse each other of taking her away, leading to a violent conflict. Requests are made for military intervention and psychological counseling for the students…
——...
As reports arrived, Jeanne's expression gradually relaxed. Hayashi had handled Tomie, the most difficult problem to deal with.
All they need to do is clean up the mess.
Those who were bewitched by Tomie... need to receive proper mental treatment, and it's unknown whether they can recover…