A beautiful girl who transmigrates into a Herrscher of the Void is treated like an elf and conquered

"Oh? I was wondering who it was. It's that 'lucky pervert' big brother from yesterday!"

Its tone sounded relaxed, but combined with the girl's disheveled state, it seemed even more out of place and heartbreaking.

“As you can see,” Yoshina continued, swaying her body as she spoke on behalf of her master.

"Yoshina is quite weak right now. If possible, we hope this guy who suddenly appeared isn't here to hurt Yoshina, okay? After all, we did give you 'special services'!"

The puppet's words still carried that cynical banter, but Shido could clearly sense the blue-haired girl hiding behind the puppet.

—Those deep blue eyes, peeking out through the gaps in the shelves like those of a startled fawn, were filled with deep unease and vigilance.

Just as Shido took a deep breath, preparing to respond to the hermit's wary yet teasing greeting, Kotori's urgent "Wait a minute!" interrupted him in his earpiece.

Almost as soon as the Hermit finished speaking, three options quickly popped up on the main screen of the Fraxinus's bridge:

① "Ah, long time no see. How are you?" (A friendly greeting)

② "What lucky pervert! Who are you calling a lucky pervert?!" (Humorous retort)

③ "Hoo... Who's that? I'm just a wanderer passing by." (Showing off his masculinity?)

Kotori, seated in the captain's seat, licked her lips, scanning the options as if examining horse racing odds, before ordering, "All crew, begin selecting!"

Following her command, the crew below the bridge immediately pressed the buttons at their sides. The results appeared almost instantly on the small screen next to Kotori.

The number of votes for ①, ②, and ③ is strangely close!

"Huh? We should choose ②!" a crew member exclaimed excitedly. "That's the kind of sarcastic line that the main characters in bishoujo games often use! It'll definitely liven things up! This is definitely the one!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, someone immediately objected from a conservative perspective: "However, making comments without fully understanding the other person's personality might risk angering them, right? I think option ① is the safest and most prudent approach!"

"No, no!" someone else joined the debate. "Based on the existing combat data, it's clear that the Hermit is the type that almost never attacks humans! So now we should boldly choose option ③ and use our manly spirit to decide the outcome! That's the shortcut to victory!"

“…Hmm.” After listening to the three reasonable arguments, Kotori rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a brief two seconds, and then, as if she had made a major decision, spoke decisively into the microphone: “—Shido, the answer is ③.”

“…What kind of answer is that…” Shido listened to the instructions coming through his earpiece, feeling his cheeks twitch slightly. He couldn’t help but sit on the floor and mutter a complaint under his breath. This option not only sounded strange, but it was downright bizarre and embarrassing.

"Hmm? What's wrong, big brother?" The puppet Yoshina tilted her head deftly, seemingly curious about Shido's silence and subtle reaction.

There was no time for hesitation or thought. Shido steeled himself and obeyed the order to stand up.

He looked around and saw an overturned chair nearby. He gritted his teeth, put one foot on it, and tried to strike what he thought was a cool and unrestrained pose...

He tilted his head back slightly, brushed his hair back from his forehead in a somewhat affected manner, and said in a deliberately lowered tone, tinged with a sense of world-weariness (in his own opinion):

"Phew... I don't know that kind of guy. I'm just a wanderer who happened to be passing through..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shido felt a strong sense of shame surge through his body like an electric current, and his toes curled up awkwardly inside his shoes.

This is even more unbearable than facing the hail of bullets from AST!

The puppet Yoshina, controlled by the Hermit, clearly showed a dumbfounded expression and fell into an eerie silence, even her mouth, which was opening and closing, was frozen in place.

Time ticked by, and the atmosphere became so awkward it was almost frozen.

"...Hey, hey, Kotori. What should we do now? This atmosphere..." Shido couldn't help but complain to Kotori in a low voice, feeling like a clown who forgot his lines on stage.

However, the instant he finished speaking—

"Pfft... Ha... Ahahahahaha!"

Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, the puppet Yoshina burst into a loud and comical laugh, shaking her head and swaying her body.

"What? I didn't expect my older brother to be such an interesting 'comedian'! Haha, you can hardly find someone like that these days!"

Its laughter was infectious; although the words were archaic, the undisguised joy instantly dispelled the previous tension and awkwardness.

"Ha...haha...I'm glad you like it..." Shido scratched his cheek and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

He silently grumbled to himself that almost no one used the word "comedian" anymore, but wisely chose not to say it aloud. In any case, the atmosphere had finally eased, which was better than anything else.

"See~" came Kotori's voice through the headphones, tinged with smugness and a sense of "everything is under control".

"...Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I doubted your judgment earlier."

Shido responded softly, finally feeling a sense of relief. He composed himself, turned around, and faced the blue-haired girl leaning against the shelf, still tired but seemingly less afraid.

—And her lively partner who was in charge of "speaking".

At least, the first step, though tortuous and shameful, has been taken.

Chapter 212 Unexpected People

Just as Shido secretly breathed a sigh of relief at having broken the initial awkwardness, the gaze of the puppet Yoshino, or rather, the gaze Yoshino cast through the puppet, seemed to deliberately refocus on Shido's face.

"Oh, but..."

Yoshina continued in her distinctive tone, leaning slightly forward, appearing quite enthusiastic.

"I never expected to run into that 'lucky pervert' guy again in a place like this, haha! To be honest, Yoshina would love for interesting people like him to come and hang out with us~"

Its tone sounded light and cheerful, but the following words carried a subtle hint of melancholy and helplessness:

"But... everyone outside seems to really dislike Yoshina~ If I get dragged out of here, I'll immediately be subjected to a continuous 'bang bang bang' attack~ It's really a headache~"

After saying that, the puppet burst into exaggerated laughter again, as if using a joke to cover up the heaviness in its words.

"Oh my, what a... cheerful and lively sprite." Shido couldn't help but think to himself.

Kotori's voice, expressing her agreement, immediately came through the right earphone:

"Ah, indeed. It seems she's the type who hides her true feelings with a cheerful demeanor." Sure enough, even Kotori came to a similar conclusion.

Then, Shido noticed a word that caught his attention in the words of "The Hermit"—or rather, Yoshina. He softly asked:

"Hey... what is this 'Yoshiona' you just mentioned? Is it your name?"

Upon hearing Shido's question, the puppet made an extremely exaggerated expression of surprise, as if performing, with its mouth wide open.

"Oh no! What a huge mistake!"

Yoshina patted her "forehead" with her paws (puppet hands).

"Yoshinon, I completely forgot to do the most important part: my self-introduction! My apologies! 'Yoshinon' is just my name! Isn't it cute? Isn't it cute?"

It shook its body excitedly, asking a series of questions, its tone full of anticipation and a little bit of pride.

"Ah, yes..."

Infected and overwhelmed by the puppet's heightened emotions, Shido unconsciously responded in accordance with its words.

"What a nice name."

"Right, right~!" Yoshina seemed even happier.

At that moment, Kotori's analysis, tinged with surprise, came through her right ear: "--Yoshina? Hmph, this spirit is different from Tohka; she has her own name."

"Ah..." Shido only realized what Kotori meant after she said that. Indeed, Tohka didn't have a name when she first appeared in the world.

The name "Shixiang" was given to her by her.

However, at that moment, Yoshina suddenly brought her "face" closer, interrupting Shido's thoughts.

"So? What's your big brother's name? Tell Yoshina~"

Faced with this direct question, Shido honestly answered:

"Ah... Me. My name is Shido. Itsuka Shido."

"Shido~"

Yoshina repeated it in a drawn-out tone, then commented in a cheerful voice.

"It's a really nice name! Oh well, but it still doesn't beat the name Yoshino~"

"Oh...oh...thank you."

Shido smiled somewhat embarrassedly, and tried to naturally call out the other person's name in order to shorten the distance between them.

"That... Yoshina?"

"Yes! What is it?"

The puppet responded immediately and lively, expressing its appreciation for Shido's ability to use its name so readily.

"I really admire Shido's pioneering spirit in inserting names he just memorized into conversations so easily!"

Seeing the puppet Yoshina spread her arms wide in an extremely exaggerated manner, as if to embrace the whole world, Shido gave a helpless wry smile, but still decided to ask to clarify his doubts. He continued:

"No, it's nothing important. Um... the name 'Yoshino'—it sounds cute, but it's not the name of this puppet, it's your name, right?"

After he finished speaking, his gaze passed over the comical rabbit hand puppet and tried to look directly at the silent blue-haired girl behind it.

—Those sapphire-like eyes, now filled with weariness and timidity.

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Yoshina, the puppet who had been keeping the conversation flowing with cheerful words from the very beginning and who never seemed to have a dull moment, suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

The plush rabbit remained frozen in mid-air, its arms outstretched, but it made no further movement or sound.

Immediately afterward, a rapid "beep! beep! beep!" alarm sounded in Shido's right earpiece, along with Kotori's anxious voice:

"—Shido! Her mood suddenly dropped drastically! It's nearing the danger threshold! What did you say? Did you touch a nerve?"

"Huh...? No, I..." Shido was also a little flustered by this sudden change.

"I just don't understand why she keeps using ventriloquism to speak instead of speaking naturally... I just voiced my question directly..."

Just as Shido was explaining into the earpiece, the silent puppet suddenly moved.

It moved slowly, almost silently, to Shido's face, so close that it was almost touching him.

Then, in a tone that remained steady but had lost all its previous comicality, even carrying a hint of emptiness, he said:

"—I don't understand what Shido is saying... What is 'ventriloquism'?"

Its tone was eerily calm.

Incidentally, because it's a hand puppet, the sewn-on smiling face's expression remained unchanged, still retaining its comical look.

However, it is precisely this extreme disconnect between voice and expression, and the indescribable coldness hidden beneath that calm tone, that makes it so striking.

Shido felt a heavy, almost tangible pressure bearing down on him, and he involuntarily took a small step back, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

“No, no… that… I…” He tried to explain, but was speechless for a moment. The atmosphere was so heavy that it was almost suffocating.

In this suffocating silence and stalemate— "Tap...tap...tap..."

A series of crisp footsteps, the sound of high heels on the gravel floor, came from the stairwell not far away, growing louder and more jarring in the quiet space.

A voice, tinged with amusement and even a hint of wicked laughter, broke the silence, answering Shido's earlier, storm-ridden question:

"Yoshina, that's the name of this rabbit lady."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure slowly descending from the shadows upstairs. Long silver hair, golden eyes, and a black and white spirit outfit that exuded a rebellious yet magnificent aura—it was the elf codenamed "Celestial Judgement."

She wore a smile as if she were watching an amusing drama, her gaze shifting between Shido, the frozen puppet, and the trembling blue-haired girl behind him.

She tilted her head slightly and announced clearly in a teasing tone: "And the other one is Yoshino. Did you hear me? Little Shido~☆"

Ah Quan's sudden appearance and her insightful observations instantly pushed the already complex situation into an even more unpredictable direction.

Chapter 213 Unexpected Behavior

The sudden appearance of the "Celestial Judgment" elf was like a bombshell dropped on the bridge of Fraxinus!

The main screen clearly captured the figure with silver hair and golden eyes, dressed in black and white spirit armor. It was none other than the codenamed "Judgment" who had previously slaughtered the gang with thunderous methods and demonstrated extreme uncontrollability!

It wasn't Chika they had anticipated, but this more dangerous alternate personality with unknown knowledge!

"The Judgment of Heaven?! What is she doing here?!"

Kannazuki Kyohei quickly sought instructions, his face unusually serious.

"Commander! What do we do now? Should we immediately and forcibly recall Shido?"

"Oh no! Shido is in danger!"

Will she clash with the "recluse"?

"The target spirit's emotions were already unstable, and this variable added on..."

A suppressed gasp and anxious discussion erupted on the bridge, disrupting the previously orderly combat rhythm.

Kotori's face also turned extremely ugly. She bit down hard on the jewel in her mouth and quickly gave the order: