Chapter 11

"If we don't have someone with enough clout to vouch for us, we'll only be able to enter the Upper City as tourists at best. In the worst-case scenario, we might even end up as prisoners."

"...But didn't they seal off the Underworld?"

Miss March 7th fell into thought. After a moment of contemplation, Miss Asta suddenly pulled out her beloved baseball bat, smiled faintly, and looked at old Sampo, her voice taking on a cute, saccharine, and passive-aggressive tone.

"Our dear Mr. Sampo should have a way, right?"

"...That's too much. Please, just act normal."

"What do you mean? Brother Shirou, he actually called me 'saccharine'."

"Promise me, next time you pull out the bat, use it for actual effective persuasion. Relying on the 'gentle' nature of words won't sway people."

Chapter 022: Encountered a Wild Pink Fatty! (2/4)

Old Sampo naturally had a way to get into the Underworld.

Otherwise, how much money could he possibly make just by scamming and cheating in the Upper City?

The Silvermane Guards weren't just for show. Although they were portrayed as a bit pedantic and rigid in the game's story, they were still a proper army, complete with civil and military officials.

It wouldn't be difficult to find a few capable individuals among the civil officials. Even if they couldn't arrest Sampo himself, they could still disrupt his dealings and cripple his channels.

Therefore...

Old Sampo, quite wisely, shifted the focus of his business from the Upper City to the Underworld. Although the Underworld didn't offer as much profit, it was stable.

"After the Upper City closed off the access routes, the Underworld, following a brief period of internal strife, now has some management bodies in the form of various organizations."

"While they can't openly represent the Silvermane Guards, the vast majority of miners and wanderers still follow the management of these organizations."

"The largest of these organizations is called 'Fire'. The person we'll be meeting later is from Fire."

Passing through a deep tunnel, descending from the surface to the underground, it felt like instantly transitioning from a cold winter to a scorching summer. Upon reaching a wider area, one could see a peculiar town constructed from a mixture of dilapidated buildings and flowing "gold" minerals.

"'Geodust'," Sampo explained, pointing to the oddly shaped golden ores. "That's a necessity for Belobog to resist the cold tides. The mining areas primarily extract this type of ore."

"This is the only valuable thing in the entire Underworld. After the channels were closed off a few years ago, its value is now almost equivalent to gold."

"Gold? Can 'Geodust' save lives, but can gold be eaten? Only those crazy big shots upstairs would like such impractical stones."

Upon hearing Sampo's explanation, the contact person from the Underworld emerged from the corner of a narrow path. She appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in surprisingly thin and light, peculiar leather armor. She stood before them, her somewhat messy long hair slightly obscuring her face. However, the visible parts of her features were enough to be called "beautiful." Despite her cold and unapproachable expression, she possessed an unexpectedly icy and aloof aura.

Sharp-tongued, long black hair, flat-chested, ice beauty...

Shirou looked at the girl who had suddenly appeared and thought of a certain highly regarded model student from a certain prestigious high school he had encountered in a slice-of-life world during a previous teleportation.

"Isn't this Miss Seele? It's a great honor for old Sampo to have you here to meet us today."

"Cut the crap."

The cool-toned girl approached Sampo, scrutinizing everyone for a moment before suddenly scoffing.

"You brat, you've been controlled by these people, haven't you? You're usually not this well-behaved."

"However, these people controlling you... they don't have that rigid aura of the Silvermane Guards."

Her gaze shifted constantly among them, and she was slowly mobilizing Imaginary Energy within her, like a coiled tigress ready to pounce. If Shirou and his companions made any move that she perceived as aggressive, she would retaliate without hesitation.

"Food."

Shirou looked at the girl, who seemed ready to attack at any moment, and said with a light smile, a single word that was enough to shatter her psychological defenses.

"I can bring you enough food to fill this entire town."

"...Why should I believe you?"

A tremor in the girl's voice was uncontrollable. Rationally, she shouldn't believe the ramblings of this stranger she had just met, but... what if there was even a one-in-a-million chance it was true?

"Projection, commence."

The man raised his hand, uttering syllables she couldn't comprehend. Then, within her sight, a strange cylindrical object materialized without warning and landed heavily at her feet.

"'Endless Rice Bag'. As long as you have enough Imaginary Energy, it can continuously dispense rice."

Tawara Touta, the martial ancestor of Japan from the Heian period, was not particularly strong as a Heroic Spirit. However, the Noble Phantasm elevated from his life's legends possessed considerable functionality. Legend has it that he was gifted a treasure by the dragon gods of the lake, from which an endless supply of rice could flow. What Shirou was projecting now was this legendary 'Endless Rice Bag'.

"Imaginary Energy?"

Seele, who had come up through unconventional means, didn't understand what Imaginary Energy was, nor what a Path entailed. There were countless individuals in the universe like her who knew nothing of the Aeons but had stepped onto a Path through sheer willpower. After Shirou briefly explained a couple of things to her, she eagerly began to inject all her controllable Imaginary Energy into the Endless Rice Bag.

Instantly, in the next moment, the mouth of the rice bag suddenly burst open. Like a water pump whose gate had been lifted, white rice gushed out like a long-accumulated flood. In just two or three breaths, the rice that poured from the bag had covered the girl's knees. She stared blankly at the rice that reached her knees, and after a long pause...

She suddenly grabbed a handful of raw rice and unhesitatingly stuffed it into her mouth. Feeling the dry, hard, and strange texture, tears involuntarily welled up in her eyes.

"It's real... real food."

She looked at the expanse of white as far as she could see. The color, which should have been as cold as the external snowfields, now appeared exceptionally vibrant in her pupils.

While the girl was still immersed in the surprise brought by the Endless Rice Bag, Mr. Emiya quickly took out his phone and took multi-angle photos of her. He hadn't forgotten the commission from Miss Himeko. However, with only Seele present now, the impact was clearly not enough. They needed to get the entire Sea of Butterflies group together before they could go and "mine" old Welt's gold.

"Seele, Cocolia, Bronya, and Natasha."

"It's a shame Kafka isn't here... Wait, raising the bar too high at once might not be conducive to a steady stream of benefits."

Shirou was also calculating his own gains, then glanced at the emotional value gained from the scene at the Endless Rice Bag, a happy expression appearing on his face.

"230 points... plus what I've gained during my time on the space station..."

Mr. Emiya smiled even more happily as he glanced at the total of 1148, feeling a sense of harvest akin to an old farmer during a bountiful season.

"I'll wait until I have enough for fifty pulls before I try my luck."

As he put away the system interface and looked at Seele again, preparing to say something, a strange link suddenly and unexpectedly connected with him. At the same time, a vibrant voice echoed in his ears.

"Hello, hello, can you hear me? Hello, hello, can you hear me? This is the special channel for the beautiful girl Elysia, who is as lovely as a flower?!"

A wild, pink fatty has appeared!

Chapter 023: I really like something the Trailblazer said. (3/4)

"Hello, hello, can you hear me? Hello, hello, can you hear me? This is the special channel for the beautiful girl Elysia, who is as lovely as a flower?!"

Tapping on the broken fragments of the Sword of Fallen Gods, the flower-like girl mumbled incessantly, "Strange, why is there no response?"

"Could it have failed?"

"Elysia, don't worry. Perhaps the other party is currently unable to reply to you."

Sitting opposite the flower-like girl, the world-renowned singer, Eden, gently soothed her best friend's emotions.

"Even when you call someone's phone number, you have to wait for them to accept the call. Just wait a little."

"My dear Eden, this might be a first contact! I might be the first Earthling to make friends with an alien?!"

"So, you should be even more patient and wait for their reply, Elysia... Perhaps, that unknown existence over there could be a turning point in our fight against the Honkai."

"Eden! They replied! They replied to me!"

"What did they say?"

"...They asked if I was Elysia of the Flame-Chasers or Elysia of the Elio's Dream."

Elysia tilted her head in confusion, looking at her best friend as if seeking an answer. After a moment of silence, her expression suddenly turned serious.

"He knows our origins? He even knows our future?"

After entering Rock Town, Seele temporarily arranged for them to stay at an inn. She herself took the projected Endless Rice Bag to find the true leader of the Fire.

Seele understood that how to face Mr. Emiya and his group next was not something she, an ordinary member of the Fire who was only skilled in combat, could decide.

March 7th and Asta went exploring various places in Rock Town as a team, while Teacher Dan Heng planned to gather some information about the local situation. Once the other members of the Astral Express had left, Mr. Emiya quickly returned to his room and began to link to the first beacon that had actively contacted him using his Nen.

"Elysia, is it? I'd like to ask you, are you currently Elysia as a member of the Flame-Chasers, or Elysia who has entered Elio's Dream?"

"...What is Elio's Dream?"

"It's an electronic space created by Vill-V to store the memory data of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers."

"I haven't heard of Vill-V creating something like this. Does that mean you know our future?"

"You can think of it as me having seen a script that has been performed normally. In that script, less than ten people from your entire civilization survive to the next generation. Before the final trial, you all copied your memories into Elio's Dream as nourishment for the next generation."

Upon hearing the information from Mr. Emiya, even someone with Elysia's optimistic nature found it difficult to accept. She remained silent for a long time before looking at her best friend, her lips parting and closing. After a while, she managed to organize her thoughts and explain the situation to her.

Hearing this, Eden's expression grew even more serious. After a long pause, she spoke in a deep voice, "Elysia, this matter is no longer something that just the two of us can keep secret. Perhaps we need more data and information to confirm the truthfulness of what he said. At the same time, we also need more personnel to discuss how to communicate with him."

"...Should we tell the Flame-Chasers leadership?"

Although the girl who had experienced the vicissitudes of life still believed in the goodness of the world, she was not oblivious to the darkness of some politicians. Honestly... she didn't quite trust the upper echelons of the Flame-Chasers.

Eden also noticed Elysia's hesitation. After a moment of thought, she gave her reply, "We can discuss this matter with Dr. Vill-V. Since he said that Dr. Vill-V ultimately established Elio's Dream and stored the memories of the thirteen Heroic Spirits, it's highly likely that Dr. Vill-V is trustworthy. At the same time, we can also use the Elio's Dream plan to test Dr. Vill-V. If she approves of this approach, perhaps... it could also be a way to verify what he said."

"Also, Elysia, you can ask him about his needs. Free things are often the most expensive. If he truly has requirements and we can meet them, then it would be an equal transaction."

She was once a globally renowned singer. If it weren't for the fire that burned down half of Australia, she would still be active on major music platforms today.

Having become such an excellent singer, she naturally wouldn't be ignorant of certain matters. The capitalist nature of the entertainment industry was no different from politicians. She absolutely did not believe in gifts given for no reason. Only when there was a genuine connection of mutual interest could a preliminary trust relationship be established.

"...Eden, do you think there's a possibility that he saw our script and became our fan?"

Facing her best friend, who viewed things very realistically, the girl, as fleeting as flying flowers, suddenly smiled. A hopeful glint flickered in her eyes as she murmured softly, "If everything about us is a grand performance, with you and me, and everyone from the Flame-Chasers, I don't believe that knowing all of this, he would be indifferent to the performance we put on."

Hearing Elysia's words, the singer blinked in surprise for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh heartily.

"That's something you would say, Elysia."

"Since that's the case, do as you think is right. No matter what, I will support you."

"That's my good Eden."

After smiling and hugging her best friend, Elysia tapped the fragments of the Sword of Fallen Gods again and said, "Friend from afar, can you tell me your name?"

Hearing her reply, the voice on the other end paused for only a few seconds before responding.

"I am Shirou Emiya, a Nameless walking the path of Trailblaze, a masked fool treading the Path of Joy. In the near future, through the connection you have with this sword in your hands, you will eventually reach the cosmic starry sky where I am now, pass through the Imaginary Tide Belt of the Solar System, and arrive at this more vast galaxy."

"Elysia, I look forward to meeting you and you, the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. It would be too regrettable if your end were to be confined to that small planet."

"Also, our time to communicate now is limited. After the Sword of Fallen Gods and my connection here become more stable, you can enter the 'space' I created through the 'Login Phrase' to meet me. I have already prepared the 'Login Phrase' for you, please remember it."

"Oh? Is it a cute line?"

"Yes, it suits you... The 'Login Phrase' is, 'I am Kamisato Ayaka's dog'—!"

"...Huh?"

Chapter 024: Just tell me if the program ran. (4/4)

I really like Elysia... pfft.

I really like Lumine's line, "I am Kamisato Ayaka's dog!"

"It's a shame I can only speak during preview livestreams. Otherwise, Elysia would definitely have enjoyed more fun."

With a single utterance, she could encompass half of Sumeru. The phrase "a flexible dog in the mountains" completely cemented the image of the "scummy Lumine."

Although this is the behavior of her creator, it shouldn't be projected onto the character.

But unfortunately, I am a mute camera. The only place I have a chance to speak is at the tea party during the preview livestream.