Chapter 19: Well, it's just sugar

[The crusade against the fifth Herrscher ended so suddenly, leaving everyone at a loss, especially since you had made so many preparations. Even the Fire Moth had prepared for the annihilation of all teams, just to get information about the Herrscher so that Elysia could kill him... but none of this could be done.]

　　[Also, even though the Herrscher was dead, the top leaders of the Fire Moth were not happy but became more nervous. After all, judging from the traces Kevin found at the scene, the Herrscher was killed in an instant, and this terrifying combat power that could kill the Herrscher instantly was actually out of their control, which made them feel more and more dangerous.]

[Thanks to this, many plans that were once abandoned due to danger have been brought up again - they need to be able to fight against that terrifying force, so the slight price paid is inevitable and necessary]

　　[…Anyway, they are not the ones who have to pay the price]

　　[But this leads to another problem - the scientific research team headed by Dr. Mobius and Dr. Mei suddenly gained a lot of say, and even had the ability to influence the topic, which is undoubtedly something some people don't want to see]

　　[Someone needs to conduct those dangerous experiments - but that person cannot be him; super-powerful weapons are developed - but they must be in his hands; there can be a person in charge - but that person must be him; it is okay to pay - but the reward must be far greater than the payment... They have always held on to this idea, pulling each other at the meeting of the Fire Moth]

　　[And now, a few people have suddenly intervened in this delicately balanced power table, and because of their importance, it is not convenient to kick them out... This makes some people very annoyed]

　　[After thinking for a long time, they decided to use "outside the rules" means, and thus contacted - Poison Pupa]

　　[Since it's not convenient to kick you out directly, then you can just die suddenly without any complaints, right? ——What a neat and simple method. It's not the first time I've used it anyway, so it doesn't matter.]

　　[They need a "fire-chasing moth" that is stable enough, well-behaved enough, and can be perfectly held in their hands, so occasional pruning is necessary.]

　　[After all, only in this way can they better and more attentively deal with the Honkai, right? —That's what they said]

　　[It was also at this moment that the blade of the poison pupa was aimed so clearly at someone at the Fire Moth conference table for the first time.]

　　——————————

　　"Sakura? Sakura? Are you thinking about something?"

　　"Ah...I'm sorry, Elysia."

　　Sakura shook herself off, took off her headphones, and spoke apologetically.

　　"Hehe~ I don't mind~ After all, isn't it cute when Sakura is in a daze~?"

　　Elysia sat down next to Sakura, her similar long pink hair swaying behind her. Their equally beautiful faces were close to each other, and the two looked like sisters.

　　"Is Sakura thinking about something? Let me guess... is it Wang? Or... is it me?"

　　"Elysia..."

　　"Hehe~ It's me after all~"

　　"No, that wasn't an answer..."

　　"That's Wang? Ah~ As expected, you two have a really good relationship~"

　　"...Elysia, stop teasing me."

　　Sakura sighed, not wanting to dwell too much on this topic with Elysia...mainly because she couldn't convince her otherwise.

　　"Well, Sakura looked very distressed, so...are you feeling a little better now?"

　　Elysia said briskly.

　　"...well enough."

　　"Eh~ Is that so? Sakura is in trouble, right? Do you need the cute and charming Elysia to help? You know, Elysia is very popular~"

　　"......"

　　Sakura was silent, closed her eyes, and seemed to be thinking about something.

　　Finally, she sighed and seemed to have made up her mind.

　　"In fact..."

　　Then, her attitude became a little awkward, as if she was shy.

　　"Oh yeah? Oh yeah yeah?"

　　Elysia's eyes curved into crescents, and she leaned close to Sakura's ear and whispered as if she understood.

　　"It's still something you want to see, right~?"

　　"...Um."

　　Sakura nodded slightly, then took out a small bag full of candies from the backpack beside her.

　　It was a small pink bag that matched the cherry blossoms very well. There were some cherry blossom patterns on it. The style was unique, but it looked a bit rough. It didn't seem to be a purchased product from an assembly line. It looked a bit like a handmade product, and the work of an unskilled novice.

　　...Hmm? Manual? Unskilled? Newbie?

　　'Giving something you made yourself to someone you love...ah how romantic~'

　　Elysia felt like she was about to jump up with the joy in her heart.

　　Elysia once thought that her reunion would cause a gap in the relationship between Xiwang and Sakura, but after talking with Sakura, she found that this problem did not exist at all. Instead, the most critical issue was how to make the two of them willing to take that step.

　　But now... Sakura actually took the initiative to attack? XiWang is too much to let a girl take the initiative~ But don't let Sakura down when the time comes~

　　"So~ what can I do for you, Sakura?"

　　"...I hope you can help me deliver it."

　　Sakura looked away slightly.

　　"But for something like this, it would be better to hand it over to the other party in person, right?"

　　"......"

　　Sakura didn't say anything, but just turned her head away and handed the small bag in her hand towards Elysia.

　　"Hehe~ As expected, Sakura is very cute~?"

　　Seeing Sakura's look, Elysia stopped chasing her, took the small bag from Sakura's hand, and put it away carefully.

　　"Thanks."

　　Sakura said in a weak voice.

　　"Then~ Sakura, can you agree to a small request of mine?"

　　"Please go ahead."

　　"Sakura will have to talk to Wang afterward ~"

　　"...Can."

　　"Also~ I want to hear what songs Sakura usually listens to~"

　　"These are two requests, right?"

　　"Please~ I'm curious~?"

　　Elysia shook Sakura's arm, and then quickly held down Sakura's other hand that was about to cut the song.

　　"Don't change the song! Sakura always changes the song secretly, and Detective Ely always finds out!"

　　"...All right."

　　"Yeah~?"

　　Sakura paused, and Elysia celebrated her small victory.

　　Then, Elysia slowly approached Sakura, tilted her head slightly, put her ear on her neck, and listened carefully to the song that Sakura subconsciously turned down the volume.

　　"......"

　　Although Sakura really wanted to remind Elysia that the distance was too close, she didn't say it in the end and just waited silently.

　　"Hmm~ I heard it~ The song in it, um... um?"

　　Elysia felt that there was something wrong with the melody that came into her ears.

　　Not sure, listen again.

　　"......"

　　With her eyelids slightly lowered, Elysia concentrated on appreciating it for five seconds... Well, in less than five seconds, her expression became a little strange. She straightened her back quickly, stood up from Sakura's side, and took a half step back to the side as if she was frightened.

　　"Is it actually... this style of music?"

　　"Any questions?"

　　Sakura wondered.

　　"Ah... um... of course not. After all, everyone has their own preferences. I just felt that... uh... you might not get along well with a friend of mine... I... I'll go first~ I'll go deliver your gift~"

　　Elysia was unusually embarrassed, then turned around quickly and left quickly.

　　"......"

　　Sakura silently watched her leaving back, with a hint of loss flashing in her pupils.

　　She subconsciously raised her hand and gently touched the cherry blossom pendant hidden under her clothes, remaining silent.

　　In the end, she just put her headphones back on and played her favorite music.

　　There probably won't be anyone willing to accept it anymore.

　　Someone's figure flashed through Sakura's mind. The figure gradually tilted, and finally leaned to the side. She closed her eyes and immersed herself in her own world.

　　.........The other side.........

　　"knock knock~ Wang, I'm here to play with you~"

　　Elysia imitated the sound of knocking on the door and shouted outside Xiwang's room. Then she took out the small bag that Sakura gave her and looked through it in her hand.

　　Hmm...what would Sakura give me If it's just candy, don't they often give it to each other? Or is there something else hidden in it Hmm...like a small confession note~ After all, this is the only thing that can make Sakura too shy to come over, right?

　　Elysia thought so, but although she was very curious, she did not open the bag directly to look. After all, this was a little secret between the two of them. She couldn't see it at first.

　　"...Xiwang?"

　　But after waiting for a long time, Elysia didn't see Xiwang coming to open the door. She called out again uncertainly and knocked on the door again.

　　But still, no one responded.

　　'That's not right. He should be in the room at this time. I didn't see him when I passed by the training room, and he wasn't with Sakura... Could he have secretly gone to that place?'

As Elysia was thinking this, she quietly put her ear to the door, as if she wanted to listen to whether there was any sound inside and confirm whether there was anyone inside.

Then, Elysia heard the faint sounds of struggle and Xiwang's painful gasps.

"Xiwang?!"

At first, Elysia was a little unsure, but after listening carefully, she found that it was indeed Xiwang's voice. This made Elysia a little anxious. She grabbed the door handle, twisted it hard to break the door lock, and broke into the house.

"…Elysia?"

Xiwang raised his head slightly, looked at the person who broke in with a blurred vision and asked in a somewhat weak voice.

"I'm sorry for making you worried."

"......"

Elysia looked at Xiwang, who had locked himself in a corner, exhausted and mentally a little abnormal, and was stunned and speechless.

"you..."

"Sorry... could you... could you hold that for me?"

Xiwang interrupted Elysia's words and pointed at the candy box on the table in the distance, causing the chains that bound his hands to clank.

Only at this moment did Elysia notice that the direction he was facing, the direction he had been trying to move but was trapped by the chains, was exactly the candy box placed in the distance.

"......"

Elysia silently put the candy box in front of him, and Xiwang took it slowly with trembling arms.

He was trying hard to control his frenzy and impatience in front of Elysia, but after getting the candy box, he couldn't help becoming anxious again. He quickly rolled out a handful of candies from the box, without carefully counting how many there were. He just stuffed them into his mouth, chewed them casually, and swallowed them. Then he looked a little more relaxed.

"......" x2

Silence permeated between the two.

"…What is that?"

"sugar."

"Just sugar?"

"Just sugar."

Xiwang responded softly, casually putting the candy box aside, while groping for the key from the corner next to him and unlocking the chains that bound him.

"…I'm sorry Elysia, I can't go out with you today."

After putting the chain away and being silent for a while, Xiwang spoke while relaxing his wrist.

"Ah? Ah... No, I should be the one saying sorry. After all, I broke in without permission and broke your door... I will compensate you~ So please forgive me~"

Elysia seemed to have recovered a little, and her tone and expression returned to their original cheerful state.

"Okay, I forgive you."

Xiwang responded almost immediately. After all, he would not blame Elysia for such a thing.

"By the way, I came here today to bring you Sakura's gift. Please accept it with gratitude. And remember to look for Sakura later."

Elysia took out the small bag and handed it to Xiwang.

"I got it, and... I will."

"Then I'll wait for good news from you two~ Hehe~"

"......"

"But it seems like you still need to rest~ Then I won't disturb you for now~ Have a good rest~"

As Elysia spoke, she retreated towards the door. When she was about to close the door and leave, she leaned over and spoke to him again.

"Ah, I'll fix the door for you soon~ Don't worry~"

Then she closed the door and left quickly.

After walking for a distance, Elysia quietly tightened her sleeves, paused slightly, and then immediately turned around and walked towards the direction of Mobius Laboratory.

"Dr. Mobius, please open the door."

"...You actually gave me a heads up in advance. What's going on? Have you gotten yourself into trouble again? Or are you just here to cause trouble in my lab?"

Mobius' voice came through the intercom at the door.

"I won't open the door for you if you don't make it clear."

"...I need your help."

"…Haha, that's rare."

Although she really wanted to tease Elysia for asking her for help, she could still feel that Elysia was talking about something very serious, so she just chuckled and sighed, and then let Elysia in.

"Tell me, if what you call help is something as trivial as [trying clothes], I guarantee that you will be in trouble, Elysia."

"I was hoping you could help me analyze this."

Elysia took out a small candy box.

"Isn't this that guy's thing? How did it get into your hands?"

Mobius, who had been trying to catch Xiwang to the research platform, had naturally seen this candy box. Although Xiwang had never let anyone else touch it, not even Sakura, it was now in Elysia's hands... But if you think about it carefully, it wouldn't be surprising if it was Elysia.

"Please, can you help me analyze the ingredients inside? This is very important."

"...Please wait a moment."

Seeing that Elysia had not used that relaxed, joking tone for such a long time, Mobius obviously understood that Elysia really took this matter seriously. She immediately took the candy box and called her new assistant Klein, asking her to stop what she was doing and help her analyze what was in front of her.

Soon, Mobius returned to Elysia and said to her with a frown.

"Elysia, go find Mei now... No, I'll notify Mei. Go tell Kevin to stay with Mei more recently. Just find a reason... protection, date, or if he's in the mood to do some reproduction, just let him stay with Mei."

"...What?"

"Someone wants to assassinate Mei."

Mobius took out a small piece of paper. The cipher text on the paper looked familiar to Elysia. There was also some powdered sugar on it, which obviously showed that it was taken out from the candy box just now.

"The ciphertext above was written using the ciphertext you made up as a joke. This is the message I just deciphered. Considering what happened to the Fire Moth recently... the accuracy of this message should be fine. Tell Kevin and Mei so they can be prepared."

Elysia remembered that it was a party organized by her. She made a decryption game for everyone to play, and the ciphertext was in that game.

"…What about the other stuff in there?"

Elysia was stunned, and didn't even pay attention to why Mobius could decipher the ciphertext she had made as a joke. She had clearly said that she was not interested... But Elysia just asked this at this time.

"Anything else?"

Mobius was a little confused.

"It's just sugar."

"Just sugar?"

"What else? Wait... you didn't come here to deliver this message?"

Mobius soon realized what Elysia was wondering about. She originally thought that Elysia had forgotten the code of the game and came to find her. Now it seems...

"…It's okay. I'll go find Kevin first."

Although Elysia still had something to say, considering the message on the note, she closed her mouth and left quickly.

Things have their priorities and urgency. What is more important now is to tell Dr. Mei that someone is ready to use "outside the rules" means.

Just, hope...are you...really okay?

'Is that really just sugar...?'

Elysia was worried in her heart.

......

............

"Ha ha..."

Only when the sound of Elysia's footsteps had completely disappeared did Xiwang completely relax. He panted, rushed into the room with a hurried and hurried pace, took out a small box of candy from the cabinet, and poured it into the palm of his hand.

At first, he wanted to carefully count the number of candies in his palm, but in the end, he couldn't help it and stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing them with all his strength.

"call..."

It was not until this moment that Xiwang completely relaxed. His body slowly slid down and sat in the corner of the bedroom against the wall.

"I'm sorry... for lying to you..."

Xiwang murmured softly, then gently rubbed the slightly rough small sugar bag in his hand, took out a pink candy in the shape of a cherry blossom, and slowly put it into his mouth.

The sweet taste with unique floral aroma slowly spreads in the mouth, and the monotonous sweetness in the mouth is gradually permeated by this light floral fragrance.

He savored the special taste carefully, as if he wanted to engrave this unique sweetness and the feelings contained in it in his heart.

But in the end, he lowered his eyes slightly and muttered to himself with a little disappointment.

"sorry..."

......

............

Late at night a few days later, in a quiet park, a small boat was drifting quietly on the lake.

"…She's here."

Kevin sniffed the air briefly and spoke softly.

"Sure enough, she is very punctual."

Soon, the girl he was protecting behind him, Mei, also smelled the faint floral scent.

But what followed was a bone-chilling cold, and Kevin kicked up the greatsword hidden on the side of the boat. While protecting Mei behind him with one hand, he used the sword to block in a dark direction with the other hand.

clang——

There was a crisp sound as the two weapons collided with each other. The huge force caused the small boat under the two men to shake slightly, causing waves, but the boat was soon stabilized by the rapidly freezing lake surface.

After a moment of stalemate, the other party quickly withdrew, but this also allowed the two to see clearly the weapons held by the other party.

The prototype Honkai energy weapon - [Ice Tantian], which was supposed to be used against Honkai beasts, is now being used against humans.

"......"

It was obvious that after the failed attack, the opponent did not intend to let the two of them go. After a brief silence, she launched another attack, but they were all blocked by Kevin one by one.

A layer of ice formed on the surface of the lake around the boat, and then the ice was cracked by the shaking of the boat, but was soon frozen again by the cold air. The ice surface broke and solidified back and forth, becoming thicker and thicker.

"It's enough to get here."

Mei spoke at the right time.

"I think this is enough to prove that you can't kill me in front of Kevin, and naturally you can't complete your mission."

"Perhaps we should talk business now, right? Miss Forget-me-not in the Poison Pupa."

"…Your intelligence network is larger than I thought, Dr. Mei."

The cold blade stopped attacking, and a pink figure gently landed on the ice outside the boat.

"Sure enough, you are a very good choice."

Sakura slowly put away the sword and sighed softly.

"You passed the news of the assassination to us through your own means. You wanted to negotiate a deal with us, right?"

Mei pushed up her glasses and said.

"Yes, but you may need to contact my superiors later...although the current situation is all my own decision."

"But I think you should be interested. After all, you are more willing to focus on fighting against Honkai rather than the internal struggle for power, right?"

"…You're right, but what can we gain?"

"A sword called Forget-me-not, and an Ally with sufficient deterrent power... although the latter one needs to be discussed by you."

Sakura said softly.

"Accordingly, I hope you can use your power to protect someone."

"If you mean your sister Rin..."

Before Mei could finish her words, the bone-chilling coldness struck again, leaving an icy-blue trail in the dim night and finally stopping in front of Mei, unable to move forward an inch.

Kevin blocked the swift attack.

"ha..."

After a moment of stalemate, Sakura finally sighed and withdrew her action.

"Should I say you are worthy of me, Dr. Mei? Logically speaking, Rin and I's information should be well protected."

As long as there is no sign of defection, her and Rin's information will be kept confidential by Poison Pupa with the highest standards. This was what was promised at the beginning.

"You should have more faith in the people you choose."

Mei pushed up her glasses, not seeming to be frightened by the attack.

"Back to the topic just now. If it's your sister Rin, then you can change your request. She is now in the base of the Fire Moths, being taken care of by one of my colleagues. I can guarantee that your sister will receive the same protection as the [Family of the Fire Moth Warriors] in the future. If necessary, you can also ask Dr. Mobius for better protection in my name."

"Like you said, our focus now should be on resisting Honkai rather than fighting for power. We do need a sufficiently stable environment to ensure our research, and a comfortable environment requires sufficient deterrence to maintain... I will talk to your boss about what happens next."

"But in order to ensure the progress of things later, you may need to stay in jail for a few days."

"No problem, and...thank you."

Apparently, Mei agreed, which made Sakura feel a little relieved.

"So, do you have any other requests? I'll agree to them depending on the situation."

"...there is none left."

Someone's image flashed through Sakura's mind, and then she shook her head and chuckled.

"Real?"

Mei raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, after all... if we say more, it will be dangerous for both of us."

"Too."

Considering Sakura and his identities, Mei quickly figured out the key.

"Then... it's a pleasure to work with you."

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Dr. Mei."