A Sinister Simulation

"Dream on, my foot!"

You, a civilian employee, dare to slap a combatant like me? Who gave you the courage?

"Who can understand you suddenly saying you want to move to Schicksal!" Clio finally got up from the ground after a while, covering his face and roaring indignantly.

"I don't understand either."

Shiora's expression was quite strange when she talked about it.

"In short, Dr. Mei, Lord Liu Bai, and Bishop Otto from Schicksal had a chat in the afternoon, and the three parties decided to merge and move everything to Schicksal Headquarters."

"... Your statement is even more absurd."

"Well... to put it another way, Otto is a woman."

"You should have said that earlier."

Clio pursed his lips.

"So, the Schicksal and Anti-Entropy have been fighting each other for so many years, it's like the left hand fighting the right hand, right? Our infiltration has been in vain."

"Stop complaining. Pack your documents and get ready to leave. Once you get to the Schicksal Headquarters, you'll have any equipment you need."

"This is great! I've been wanting to see what kind of scientists the scientists at Schicksal are all like."

The Jackal's face showed a challenging look, but his gaze immediately turned to the timid Kong.

"Moving is moving... are you planning to bring all the children you adopted with you?"

"Um."

Shiora nodded.

"I chatted with Ms. Cocolia this afternoon and realized that my previous idea of buying an island was somewhat unrealistic, so..."

"So?"

"So I think a sky island like the Schicksal Headquarters might be a good idea. Look, it's high-tech and has strong defenses. The Second Herrscher sank the island but didn't destroy the sky island."

"..."

Clio looked at the excited Shiora with great confusion.

"Actually, I think anything associated with the word 'island' is probably not a reliable choice."

"None of your business." Shiora's face darkened again.

"Tch, take it or leave it."

"Phew... It feels like it's been ages since I've been back."

Rita lay back on her large bed in her room, looking at the ghost floating in the air beside her.

"Was it on a night like this when we first met? No, perhaps to be more precise, it should be 'our first meeting after I lost my memory'... But then again, even though it's only been ten days or half a month, it feels strangely like a lifetime has passed."

"Feel the same."

Liu Bai nodded as well.

"A lot has happened."

"I originally wanted to do some things that lovers do with Liu Bai, but it seems there's no chance at all."

What should lovers do?

"Like a date at an amusement park?"

Rita tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"And then take the opportunity to steal Liu Bai's first kiss?"

"Hmm..."

Why did what Rita said give him a strange sense of déjà vu?

"... Why did you look so guilty?"

Rita frowned as she looked at Liu Bai's expression.

"Could it be that you're with other women...?"

"Cough... Does it count as a dream?" Liu Bai asked cautiously.

"Dream?"

Hearing Liu Bai's answer, Rita breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"It doesn't matter if it's a dream—but I'm a little curious about what the girl in your dream looked like?"

"..."

... Rita is indeed not easy to fool.

"Cough, even ghosts can't remember things from their dreams."

"I hope so—goodnight, darling—I've wanted to say this for a long time now."

Chapter 294 The Perilous Simulation

[Simulation progress has been loaded—]

Liu Bai slowly woke up on the unfamiliar large bed.

"Hmm...?"

Something feels off.

Liu Bai, who had just opened his eyes, felt an indescribable sense of unease.

But it felt as if I had really had a good sleep, and my brain was still a little groggy when I first woke up.

"Call..."

A soft breathing sound kept coming from beside her ear, and the warm sensation made Liu Bai's ear itch a little.

"..."

Liu Bai finally realized something and looked stiffly to his side.

Sure enough, right next to him... right next to him was a pink-haired beauty in pajamas, sleeping peacefully like a princess.

"... Elysia?"

"...?"

Seemingly because her name was called, the pink-haired girl groggily opened her eyes from her sleep.

"Good morning... Liu Bai, dear..."

"..."

Why did you say this in such a bland tone?

"Hmm, why is Liu Bai making that kind of expression?"

Elysia propped herself up on her elbows and rubbed her eyes.

Which expression?

"It's that kind of hesitant expression, like someone wants to say something but can't."

Elysia sat up on the bed, and Liu Bai also got up.

"I woke up to find a beautiful girl lying next to me. It was only because she was beautiful that I didn't show any shock."

Liu Bai sighed, glanced at Elysia in her pajamas, then looked down at her again... Wait!

"... Why have I turned into pajamas?"

Liu Bai looked at Elysia with sharp eyes.

He clearly remembered that he was wearing his usual formal attire when he slept—that is, when he saved the game.

After all, he didn't know this was a save point, and in an unfamiliar environment without a change of clothes, it would be too careless of him to just take off his clothes and go to sleep.

But now, the pajamas she was wearing had turned into purple pajamas, the same style as the pink pajamas Elysia was wearing.

"Oh, well, I noticed that you were sleeping in your daytime formal attire, Liu Bai, and I felt it might be uncomfortable, so I took the liberty of changing your clothes~"

Elysia interlaced her fingers, revealing a cute expression.

"... So you're not going to make any excuses about breaking into my room in the middle of the night?"

"Eh? So Liu Bai is going to hold a grudge about this?"

"Don't look so shocked!" Liu Bai couldn't help but complain. "Didn't someone tell me last night not to raid her?"

"Ah, that's just a worry. I'm just worried that if Liu Bai comes to ambush me at night, and I go to ambush Liu Bai at night, it would be bad if we missed each other."

"..."

Where should he even begin to complain?

"This isn't something you can just get away with with a smile, is it?"

Liu Bai looked helplessly at the smiling Pink Elf Miss in front of him.

"Huh? Isn't that right?"

"... Let's just assume it is."

What should have been an exciting scene somehow became less exciting as we talked.

Was it because my urge to complain was too strong, or was this pajama set too conservative?

"Alright, alright, Liu Bai, you always like to fuss over little things."

"... Being attacked at night is hardly a trivial matter."

Liu Bai sighed.

After saving your game, will your body still be lying in bed?

This setup is even worse than I imagined.

This time, they just changed my clothes...

"Let's go~ I'll leave breakfast to Liu Bai ~ I want pumpkin porridge~"

"Let me look for my clothes first..."

After breakfast, Elysia and Liu Bai left the rest room and set off for the amusement park again.

Unlike the first time, the amusement park started playing cheerful music today, and some rides—such as the Ferris wheel and carousel—symbolically started moving.

... It's only because it's daytime now, otherwise this situation would be quite frightening, right?

It's practically a ghost amusement park.

"So, where are we going today?"

"Today..."

Wearing a pink dress, Elysia tiptoed and twirled gracefully around the room.

"I'd like to know about Liu Bai's good friend."

"My good friend? Mobius? Or Mei? Or perhaps Hua?"

"No, no... although Dr. Mei's cooking is really quite hard work."

"... Has the night actually been that long?"

Liu Bai was slightly surprised by Elysia's answer.

"Dear Liu Bai, it's pointless to use the time inside the amusement park to calculate the time outside."

Elysia still affectionately hugged Liu Bai's arm.

"And don't worry, nothing outside can stump me."

"Well... I do believe that."