Since Vill-V's stamina was truly lacking—she could exhaust herself even just playing games—the gathering soon shifted, turning from a gaming session into a relaxed and pleasant tea party.
A warm tea party atmosphere filled the air. The delicate tea table was covered with all kinds of exquisite pastries and fragrant tea, and on the floor were placed bucket after bucket of adorable instant noodles. Aside from "adorable," Vill-V could think of no other word to describe those pink noodle buckets.
Clearly, they had been prepared by Elysia for Kevin. Unfortunately, Kevin had not come at all, wasting Elysia's good intentions.
Still, the thought of an instant noodle tea party was rather amusing. Vill-V decided that someday she would find a chance to drag Kevin and Mobius into hosting one together.
The beautiful girls sampled pastries while chatting about their hobbies and amusing moments from their lives, leisurely sharing little secrets between girls.
Elysia opened a novel with a faintly yellowed cover and shared her favorite romantic scenes with the other two girls. From time to time, she read lines aloud in a gentle, melodious voice, as though telling them a bedtime story.
The moment was so lovely that Minori almost believed this was not the cold and ruthless MOTH, but rather a private garden for girls.
Beautiful times always passed in the blink of an eye. The girls' gaming tea party had already reached its curtain call, and the girls said their goodbyes.
Holding the open book in her hands, Elysia pointed at one of the illustrations inside with an expectant gaze. "Let's go watch a meteor shower together, and then make beautiful wishes—just like in a fairy tale."
Minori replied, "But meteor showers aren't something you can see whenever you want."
Starlight shimmered in Elysia's eyes. "Meteor showers are indeed rare. But precisely because of that, they're even more worth imagining and looking forward to."
After seeing Minori off, Elysia clasped her hands together and looked at Vill-V with eyes full of anticipation. "The ball is about to end. Do you have anything you want to say to me? For example... that I'm even cuter today than I was yesterday?"
Expert Vill-V took a deep breath, her eyes glowing softly. She nodded gently, her voice filled with warmth. "Although this ball wasn't lively, it carried a romance unique to you, Elysia. I will treasure it in my heart—along with your cuteness. As long as one feels with sincerity, everything in the world can become beautiful. Even playing video games can be filled with romance."
"Expert, you've started saying... very romantic things too, haven't you~" Elysia remembered that not long ago, Expert had still been a Vill-V shrouded in gloom. Now, she could smile at her openly.
"Yes. That's why I enjoy hosting gatherings like this. They allow us to understand one another better."
Expert Vill-V sighed. "It's a pity that most people in MOTH have no intention of understanding one another."
Elysia must feel sad about that. Vill-V sighed inwardly.
If people could truly understand one another and unite, then 'Honkai' would not be unbeatable.
Noticing the slight distraction in Vill-V's eyes, Elysia chuckled softly in comfort. "Everyone has their own goals. Perhaps they simply haven't encountered the right reason yet."
Elysia took Vill-V's hands and smiled sweetly. "Vill-V, the fact that you were willing to attend my ball already proves that what I've done isn't meaningless, doesn't it?"
...
While Vill-V was attending Elysia's ball, Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius were also present at a gathering—an academic seminar concerning a certain man.
Kevin had received a confidential message from Dr. Mei and secretly recovered Siegfried's corpse, bringing it to Mobius' laboratory.
Inside Laboratory No. 3, Siegfried lay within a medical tank. Though his appearance was somewhat "ghastly," neither Dr. Mei nor Dr. Mobius cared in the slightest. Kevin, however, cared very much.
Is he the "Instructor Siegfried" Ato mentioned? Didn't he already die during the Second Honkai Eruption? Why would he appear at the scene of the Fourth Honkai Eruption? Why is he connected to Mobius' laboratory? And why has he become this... absurd-looking state?
Kevin had far too many questions at this moment. If Mei had not also been involved in this research, he might have already suspected that Dr. Mobius was falsifying casualty lists and secretly harming MOTH soldiers.
Yet Dr. Mei had not told Kevin more details regarding Siegfried.
"Oh my, how very interesting..."
Dr. Mobius stared at the real-time data displayed on the computer screen, her eyes gleaming. "It's a pity that Vill-V isn't here. Otherwise, she could witness with her own eyes... just how tenacious our little white mouse's vitality truly is."
Upon hearing this, Kevin could not help but think: Vill-V? She's involved in this as well? What role does she play here? Does she still maintain contact with Mei? Is she trying to use Mei as a spy within MOTH?
Kevin felt a trace of concern that the anti-MOTH leader might deceive or exploit Mei, though not too much. He had complete confidence in Mei.
Clearly, Kevin still did not know that Vill-V had already joined MOTH. In his impression, she remained the leader of the organization opposing MOTH.
Dr. Mei, on the other hand, knew more. She had even met with Vill-V many times. But she had no intention of letting Kevin involve himself.
After all, opposing MOTH was far too dangerous. She did not want Kevin entangled in the schemes they had set in motion.
Dr. Mei's fingers brushed across the tabletop, selecting a report from the stack. It was a detailed research report concerning the Third Herrscher's accompanying Honkai Beast—Shesha.
"Since Vill-V did not attend, that likely means she already understands the characteristics of Shesha's cells."
Mobius snatched the report away and let out a mocking laugh. "You truly hold Vill-V in high regard. Perhaps she... is simply a fool bewitched by Elysia's beauty?"
Mobius could not help recalling how, not long ago, Vill-V had looked at her with admiration, constantly edging closer to her. A trace of amusement flickered across her lips.
"Experimental Subject CMB-001... is the child of the three of us. Yet she herself did not come... to shed tears of emotion for our child's resurrection. Instead, she ran off to attend another woman's dull ball... She truly is an unqualified mother."
She had just left her side, only to throw herself into Elysia's arms. Hah, woman!
As expected, only by devoting oneself to infinite truth was one truly reliable. Vill-V was utterly undependable.