The Delicate Young Thief with No Strength to Hurt a Fly~ (Continued)

"La Signora. Elinore, are you hungry?"

Rita took out a bag of hand-pulled noodles and showed it to Elinore.

"... Are you sure you can eat what you found here?"

Elinore questioned this.

Rita smiled and said, "Found in the kitchen, it looks like something that originally came from the hotel... Theoretically, it should be edible? At least I didn't sense Honkai energy in the noodles."

"...I'll pass." Elinore forced a smile.

You're not even sure?

"Okay, please let me know if you get hungry."

Rita effortlessly picked up the small pot, lit a flame with Honkai energy, and started cooking noodles on the spot with mineral water.

Elinore watched this scene, momentarily speechless.

Was Rita too relaxed, or was I too tense?

How can you still have an appetite at this point?

Bang--!

"!!"

The sudden gunshot made Elinore jump up instantly.

The flames of "Rita" next to it were immediately extinguished.

"Rita, did you hear that?" Elinore stared intently upstairs.

Gunshots... This shouldn't be a sound a "monster" could make.

"Certainly."

Rita bowed slightly to Elinore, then took out her scythe.

"It seems we need to go up and take a look."

"Um."

After a brief exchange, both of them walked cautiously up the stairs, constantly on guard against the possibility of strange creatures appearing from their blind spots.

Upstairs, the sound of gunfire continued unabated.

Could it be Liyue's rescue?

"Rita, can you hear anything?" Elinore looked at Rita.

She was not familiar with firearms.

"... Judging from the sound, it should be a pistol. Two people?"

"..."

Elinore's expression turned slightly puzzled.

Two people?

What can two people do?

"There seem to be fewer monsters."

"They must have all been drawn there by the gunfire, right?"

"Rita" guessed.

"After all, when it comes to playing games, the most annoying thing is probably uninvited guests."

"I find uninvited people annoying in any situation."

Elinore bluntly retorted, and quickened her pace.

Since the mastermind behind this wants to eliminate the intruders, Elinore cannot stand idly by.

Elinore wasn't good at strategy, but she understood the most basic principles.

The purpose of the strategy is to annoy others and accomplish one's own goals.

She is determined to save the person the mastermind behind the scenes wants to kill.

"...So cute." Rita chuckled, resting her chin on her hand.

"Huh?" Elinore suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. "Rita, what did you just say?"

"I am saying you are absolutely right."

"Hmm... isn't this a bit too enthusiastic for a welcome ceremony?"

Bullets rained down, violently and precisely tearing apart the surrounding dolls.

"But I, the Phantom Thief Purple Iris, won't let you stop me!"

(It's coming.)

The phantom thief... no, Kallen's gaze flickered slightly toward the stairwell.

(Three, two, one...)

"Hold on, we're coming!"

Elinore froze as she stepped out of the stairwell and saw the purple figure surrounded by dolls.

"Yo~ My friends, you've finally arrived!"

"...Let's go, Rita." Elinore looked coldly at the purple-clad phantom thief before her. "Let's pretend nothing happened."

Even though her figure was completely different from Remembrance, how could Elinore forget this outfit?

The absurd Purple Iris Phantom Thief... a pointless game of make-believe.

Kallen Kaslana.

That woman who always had wild ideas.

This kind of person... let's just let her perish together with these puppets.

There is absolutely no need to save them.

"Hey? Don't be so cold, Elinore."

Kallen immediately started speaking in a coquettish voice as she watched Elinore turn and walk away.

Elinore, who had already turned around, immediately stumbled.

When did this woman become so pretentious?

Elinore had at least served as Kallen's adjutant for a period of time.

Her assessment of Kallen was simple: she was exceptionally capable and morally sound, but her ideas were completely impractical.

... In any case, Kallen was always a "decent person" in her memory.

—At least she can't produce such a sweet, coquettish voice.

So much so that Elinore's first thought upon hearing this voice was—if she had acted this coquettishly back then, would she have already charmed her brother into a lovestruck fool?

"I don't know you." Elinore's cold response carried a hint of barely suppressed emotion.

"Hey~ Why is this happening~ Please~ Elinore, aren't we best friends?"

"Who said we're good friends?! Stop talking to yourself, you woman!"

Elinore, unable to bear it any longer, threw Black Keys at the doll.

"Five hundred years! You're still playing your clichéd phantom thief game!"

"Hey? What's so cliché about it? There are updates and iterations, you know."

What updates and iterations have been made?

"Hmm... see these dual pistols in my hands? The weapons have been upgraded!" Kallen clinked her pistols together. "And there's a new special weapon, the Purple Kite Dart!"

"Nobody's interested in your childish games!" Elinore was unexpectedly annoyed by Kallen's complete lack of propriety.

"...Looks like we still have to try to save her, right?" "Rita" said helplessly, trying to smooth things over, and rushed forward with her scythe in hand.

"Ah~ I'm saved~ It's been so long, Elinore ~"

Kallen patted Elinore on the back in a carefree manner.

"...You don't really need any rescue, do you?" Elinore said with a dark expression.

Dual pistols?

No, isn't this thing just a limiter?

This woman is incredibly strong; she could throw Judah around like a whirlwind.

Given the distance between them now... to put it bluntly, Elinore could easily tear Kallen and Rita apart.

Yes, there's absolutely no need for anything fancy. This guy's strength is off the charts. Even if times have changed, Kallen from back then could definitely tear Valkyries apart now.

... Not to mention that Kallen has kept up with the times over the past five hundred years.

The Schicksal was able to restrain Kallen back then was entirely due to "programs" and "rules"... oh, and Kallen was injured.

"Elinore, what are you talking about? I'm a ranged young lady who can't even kill a chicken."

"Honestly, I feel like throwing up."

Elinore was so annoyed by Kallen's coquettish yet manipulative behavior that she ground her teeth in frustration.

Elinore could stand up to the upright young knight she once was, but now, facing a five-hundred-year-old super rogue, Elinore can only keep a dark expression on her face.

"In any case, Kallen, please shut up first—how did you get in here?"

Left with no other choice, Elinore could only call Kallen by her first name.

"Of course, I was invited in by a handsome guy." Kallen clutched her heart, looking lovesick.

"...How disgusting." Elinore said coldly, "Your brother was so good to you..."

"Hold on, Otto and I broke up five hundred years ago, and you were still around back then, weren't you?"

"..."

"And my feelings for Otto... well, how should I put it... I think Otto has a mother complex."

"Ha--!?"

"Look, he likes me because I was the only one who supported him when we were kids, right?" Kallen said, resting her chin on her hand with a serious expression. "This is clearly a lack of love, isn't it? Hmm... I can't believe I didn't realize that back then, my apologies..."

"You bastard... how dare you insult your brother at a time like this..." Elinore trembled with rage.

"Alright, alright, I've known him for way longer than you have," Kallen waved her hand. "Your feelings for him are probably just wishful thinking, aren't they?"

"You--!"

"Well... on another note, if Otto is willing to call me 'Mom' now, I wouldn't mind going back."

"Nobody tells you that kind of thing—!"

For a fleeting moment, Elinore actually thought that what he said made some sense.

"And what makes you think I'm just admiring it—!"

"Did you believe back then that Otto could overturn Schicksal?" Kallen's lips curled into a slightly cold smile.

If you want to bring up those old, trivial matters, fine, I'll go along with it.

"..." Upon hearing this, Elinore immediately paused.

At that time.

To overthrow Schicksal?

"I believe he can do it—but he doesn't trust me."

"It's different! Back then..."

"At that time? When? He could have overthrown Schicksal with you and Vera..." Kallen sneered, arms crossed.