I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

Even though she was criticized by her university professors for being overly rational, called a diamond by her friends, and secretly regarded by most of her employees as the most unpopular department head at Rhine Lab, Saria never questioned her actions in the slightest.

Therefore, when the collapse came, the self she had to face was all the more brutal.

[It's actually quite normal. After all, you've been wearing this civilized facade for far too long, Saria. After suppressing yourself for so long, it's time to take off this mask and enjoy some good food.]

The purpose of enduring hardship is to ensure you experience the best possible moment of enjoyment. You're suppressing yourself for that purpose, right?

"..."

The voice in her blood was persuading her with a tempting proposal, only to vanish from her mind the next second.

Her shield and enamel were not raised for such meaningless things.

She had seen experimental subjects suffering terribly under the experiment, seen gruesome sights that could even challenge a forensic doctor's vomiting center, seen passersby and innocent bystanders killed for the sake of secrecy, and seen Ifrit, who had endured pain again and again under the so-called chimera therapy and was experimentally shaped into that form.

Desire, craving, love?

This thing is completely incomparable to her goals; even putting them together would be a sign of her wavering resolve, a mental demon she must overcome.

But just a moment later, these voices resurfaced.

No one will think it's wrong for you to do other things in private—don't you really enjoy wearing makeup? Even if no one pays attention to your makeup, you'll still be happy.

[So, secretly pursuing his existence and devouring him wouldn't cause any harm, would it? Why not think more about yourself? You've already saved so many, so many people, cleaned up countless messes, how long are you going to keep sacrificing yourself?]

Snapped.

The sound vanished from my mind like a kite with a broken string.

Just keep going.

Saria replied in this way.

Because the sun will still rise, and what she has to do will not change.

The dirty secrets of Colombia still need her, as an insider, to handle. Besides, Gerald himself still carries traces of Casimir, not to mention any past lovers and entanglements he may have had.

On the contrary, Gerald's suggestion to try to communicate with Himer is the change she really needs to make now.

Excessive expectation and dependence are like an addictive sweet poison. Once she gets used to the presence of this poison, her body and mind will be completely corroded, and she will never be able to return to her original path.

Things have priorities and a sequence. Even if she eventually reaches the point where she has to drink the poison, the time will not be now, but in the far future, after everything has ended.

...That must be it.

The voice seemed to realize her still-hardened thoughts, and remained silent after that.

Just like the past ten years or so that she had experienced.

--------

dong dong.

At that moment, there was a knock on her door.

Saria silently stood up and walked towards the door.

If Muirsey wanted to enter her room, he would probably use a water clone to secretly scout out the situation inside and sneak in without knocking on her door... In other words, it was Gerald who knocked on the door.

The doorknob was turned gently, and the door slowly opened. The first thing that caught Saria's eye was a pitiful elf floating in the air.

Muirsay was lifted into the air by some invisible force, like a small animal being lifted up. Even his mouth was sealed by the wind, and he could only make indistinct, mumbling sounds. His eyes were full of strong protest.

After entering through the narrow doorway, her figure immediately floated to the top of the room, swaying helplessly in the air.

Even though Saria had mentally prepared herself, she couldn't help but be stunned when she saw this scene:

"……This is?"

"This is Muirsey Flight Mode."

Gerald followed behind the flying sprite and honestly answered Saria's question: "Because I found out she was trying to do something bad, I forcibly brought her here and dumped her in front of you, ready to complain to her friends about her heinous crimes."

“Let me see.” He casually picked up a history book from the bookshelf next to Seria and flipped through its contents: “It includes, but is not limited to: triggering the conflict between Bolívar and Iberia, leading to the end of Iberian colonial rule and Bolívar’s descent into war; guiding Letania to rule Bolívar…”

“That happened two hundred years ago. Muirsayth is surprisingly old.” Seria answered Gerald’s statement with the same seriousness. “I had never thought of that before.”

"Ugh! Ugh!! Ugh!!"

Bound in mid-air, Muirsays stammered loudly, trying to use his voice to awaken Gerald's compassion.

Unfortunately, he never had such a thing.

“Then,” Gerald turned two more pages, “she instigated the Colombian War of Independence, using it as a cover to hide within Colombia, preparing to detonate an even bigger bomb. And in fact, she is a very unique lineage among the Sarkaz Blood Demons, known as the Water Demon, possessing the ability to manipulate and transform into water.”

"Is this... true?" Saria looked at Gerald's serious expression and the seemingly factual description, and suddenly felt a little shaken: "But I've never heard of this race."

Muirsey's eyes suddenly went blank.

She looked at her best friend in disbelief, as if today were the first time she had ever met Seria.

Meanwhile, Tianma, who was holding the book, froze for a moment—no, sister, where does this inexplicable trust you've always had come from?

He finally tapped the book cover with his finger, causing the little fairy to land lightly on the ground, and the gag on her mouth was removed.

Sure enough, after being freed from the constraints of language, Muirsay wanted to stop talking altogether.

She didn't run away, but just glared angrily at Vaiva, who had inexplicably committed a terrible mistake.

"I'm sorry." Fortunately, one of the men, Vayvan, was very sincere in admitting his mistake: "I shouldn't have thought that you were the one who started the Colombian War of Independence."

But it seems that only sincerity deserves praise.

"That's not it! I'm not a water demon! I'm an elf, an elf! Didn't I tell you that back in college?!" Muels shouted in despair, "What's going on between you two? Am I some kind of tool for your flirting?!"

Saria fell silent because she knew she was in the wrong, while Gerald chose to stand aside and remain silent.

He has now discovered that Muirsey's constitution clashes with the two of them when she is with them, and even a normal conversation will lead her astray.

"Sigh, I thought this guy was at least somewhat sensible, but he's made such a mess of things for me." Muels said with a bored expression, using his water clone to elevate himself, then plopped down on it and looked at Saria. "Now look what's happened, it's all your fault, I've almost forgotten all the things I had prepared to say!"

Saria glanced at Gerald out of the corner of her eye, and Pegasus, realizing the source of her gaze, nodded to her.

"Is there anything you want to say to me, Muirsey?" The unspoken understanding between them made her aware of the current situation, and she didn't want to let the opportunity slip away: "If not, I hope I can ask you a question before you leave."

“What exactly is Christen’s situation now—right?” Muirsey revealed what she thought was the answer without hesitation. “After all, you know that if I were to reveal information related to the experiment to you, it would be considered a violation of Rhine Lab’s confidentiality agreement, so you certainly wouldn’t ask about Rhine Lab’s current situation. That’s the only question left.”

"no."

The elf heard an unexpected answer from Saria.

Waifan glanced at Pegasus standing to the side again. The voice in her bloodline did not resonate at this moment, as there was no obstruction in front of her.

The only thing that could stop her was everything she was used to.

When the people she used to stargaze with left, she didn't try to stop them. So she walked alone in the wilderness afterward, picking up trash left behind by stargazers from time to time.

So she got used to being alone, used to dealing with enemies in the wilderness by herself, used to turning enamel into an indestructible shield to keep those who needed protection out of danger, and then to keeping herself out of them.

Until someone told her that she would eventually have to correct this habit.

"Since we met again, I have never asked this question on my own initiative."

"How have you been lately?"

"Saria asked."

……

The little elf stood frozen in place.

The image of Saria was reflected in Muirsey's slightly widened eyes, and tears trembled slightly in her eyes.

Her lips parted slightly, but no sound came out, as if she was thinking, or perhaps she simply didn't know how to respond to Seria's question.

"Uh, are you alright?"

After much thought, Muirsey could only use a simple word to describe his current situation: "It's not much different from before. Ferdinand wants to get rid of the directors in Rhine and put himself in the top position, but your plan is going very smoothly. He probably won't have an easy time. I don't have anything else to add."

"Hmm." Saria nodded, glanced at Pegasus again, and after about half a minute asked, "Are the plants in the Ecology Department alright? Has anything new happened?"

“MaiMai was supposed to come back from Sami around January, but she didn’t arrive in Rhine until around April, bringing a lot of children with her.”

As the elf gradually adapted to Saria's changes, her features softened, and she gently recounted, "The Icefield Cotton Grass has returned to the Arctic region. This time, our new friend isn't as curious as the last one, at least it won't fly its fluff all over the entire Ecology Department."

"I still remember that time."

Perhaps it was the familiarity with the subject matter that gave Seria room for discussion, as she now seemed quite talkative: "The researchers in the ecology department were all very nervous at the time because they believed you could talk to plants. They were afraid that you would find out from the plants who had done a bad job and then manipulate the plants to assassinate them one by one. Some people were so worried that they even came directly to me."

“Uh… I knew it.” Muirsays ran her hand through her long hair in frustration. “I should have let someone else be in charge of the journal back then. It made me spend the last few days after I came back from Sami rushing to finish my manuscript while also having to clarify some unpleasant rumors.”

"Well."

Saria fell silent, and the topic of the deck came to a temporary end.

"Alright." Seeing Vayvan's appearance, Muirsey finally laughed out loud: "I know this is a skill you're not good at. Being this clumsy must be the result of someone giving you pointers, right?"

She turned her gaze to Gerald, who was listening quietly to her: "For example, our Mr. Gerald?"

"Don't forget, I've been with you the whole time. Besides, do you think the way we acted this morning made it seem like we had specifically discussed how to deal with you?"

Pegasus glanced back with a subtle look, sensing that someone might be being a bit presumptuous: "Besides, do you think Saria would deliberately use an unfamiliar way to communicate with others just because I gave her a few pointers?"

It seems so.

Muirse stared blankly at Saria for a moment, her expression becoming complicated.

“I’m not asking these questions to make things difficult for you, Muirsay.”

Seemingly understanding the meaning in the elf's eyes, Saria shook her head: "No matter what you choose, I will understand you. After all, things have come to this point partly because of me, and I will not seek your forgiveness."

"...However, I still hope to talk to you in person about those things concerning you."

The separation from Himer and Ifrit during the Balrog incident felt like it happened just yesterday. The feather at her waist witnessed the end of the matter and her inner thoughts.

As if possessed, she took one last look at Gerald.

Pegasus's gaze remained fixed on her, and the moment Saria looked over, Gerald, as if he had expected it, mouthed those words.

Speak it out.

So she nodded gently, swallowing her hesitation and doubt, and reached into her chest to pull out her real heart.

"Because even if we become strangers in the future, I will inevitably face conflicts with you and Christensen."

Saria closed her eyes, and when she opened them, her resolve remained unchanged.

She said, word by word, "But I hope you can always be my friend, even as the sun and moon change and the stars shift, it will never change."

“I also hope to find a way that allows you and Christensen to achieve your dreams without pushing the boundaries of science.”

……

Silence filled the entire space.

Only the water that was originally beside Muirseth was now flowing slowly, gently embracing the elf's body.

"Christine won't listen to me."

After a long pause, Muirsay took a deep breath and muttered a sentence, "However, if we can find a way to create a trap to divert her attention elsewhere, it might buy us some time to try to change the situation... Besides, Ferdinand is also a big problem."

“I will take action to resolve this issue.” Hearing Muirsays relent, Saria nodded in surprise. “We still have a chance before everything comes to an end, but we must act quickly.”

"Hmm, sigh, I know, anyway, I'm just destined to be a hard-working elf, destined to work for you all my life."

Muirsey's emotions came quickly, but they also faded just as fast.

When considering real-world problems, focusing solely on potential future scenarios offers no benefit to the present situation.

She had no choice but to face reality.

So Muirsay floated back to the ground, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and casually slapped them onto Gerald's clothes, who was quietly listening to the lecture.

"...?"

Gerald actually wanted to explode on the spot, but considering that the elf lady had just gone through a series of heart-to-heart talks and confided her feelings, he ultimately held back.

In contrast, Muirse's attitude towards this Pegasus was much more complicated—if she had to put it bluntly, if he hadn't meddled, she wouldn't have seen the scene where Saria took the initiative to open up to her, nor would they be in this situation where everyone is brainstorming and thinking about how to make the three of them achieve the true ending at the same time.

The result was good; everyone except Christensen was able to chat. However, the difficulty of the mission suddenly increased from S to infinity.

"Anyway, since things have come to this point, I don't seem to have any other choice." Muirsey's worried expression now seemed to have a hint of joy and emotion. "But it's fine to stay close to Christensen. She definitely still wants me to do things for her. I'll keep you informed if anything happens."

"As for how to contact me..." she blinked, "Saria, have you been thinking of going to Rhodes Island recently?"

“Yes, we’ll be staying up there for a while.” Saria looked at Gerald and continued, “To discuss cooperation with the former researchers at Rhine Lab.”

"Next time I go to see Eve, I'll bring the documents with me." The elf waved lazily, seemingly having recovered from her earlier sadness. "If I stay with you any longer, I feel like I'll use up all the anger I've accumulated over the past year."