At the edge of the island, Ellin sat cross-legged.
Sucrose plopped down onto Ellin's crossed legs.
Before them stretched a vast Dandelion Sea.
Countless dandelion seeds drifted through the strong wind stirred up by the Wind Fan Flowers.
Everything felt like a dream.
Sucrose sat on Ellin's lap and leaned back into her embrace.
Feeling Sucrose's warmth against her chest, Ellin found the words Sucrose had just spoken still echoing in her mind.
Suddenly, Ellin smiled.
She had thought that Anemo Vision had appeared too abruptly-or rather, too quietly, too uneventfully.
But now that she thought about it, wasn't that a good thing?
Not every deepening bond had to endure the trial of life-and-death separation.
What was happiness?
Happiness was the satisfaction of waking up and having your favorite breakfast.
It was the joy and emotion you felt when a close friend pressed a gift into your hands.
It was the delight of strolling through the streets hand in hand with a close friend.
It was the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that came from building your own wonderland together with a close friend.
It was the care and affection of friends and family.
It was sitting shoulder to shoulder with a close friend, watching the sunset and feeling the breeze on a cliff.
It was the peace and reassurance of spending time with friends and family.
All of these things were happiness.
Happiness and heartfelt emotion did not have to come from life-and-death separation.
In this world, many people might live uneventful lives, but they were happy all the same.
Sucrose was just an ordinary girl living in this world. She disliked fighting, and she was no warrior.
So, to her, these simple, ordinary moments were the happiness she had always sought.
Sucrose represented countless ordinary people living in this world.
These fleeting moments of emotion and happiness had piled up, little by little, into something wonderful enough to shake her very soul.
Though ordinary, these touching, beautiful moments were incredibly precious, filling her with happiness.
Ellin looked at Sucrose in her arms, then at Fischl, who was playing with Oz in the distant Dandelion Sea.
Suddenly, her smile grew radiant.
Because she had suddenly understood the meaning of her coming here.
"So this is what I've been searching for."
Many people spent their entire lives pursuing happiness, never realizing that it was happening all around them.
"I've always been chasing an ending, thinking I would find happiness once I reached it. But actually... I've already encountered so much happiness along the way."
"If I focus only on chasing the outcome, I'll miss all the happiness happening around me!"
She looked at Sucrose in her arms and Fischl playing in the distance, a happy smile on her face.
That's right. Isn't this exactly what I want?
To let the characters she loved be happy, and to live happily alongside them.
Aren't their smiling faces the very happiness I've been searching for?
Isn't this peaceful, happy moment the most beautiful of all?
"I'm so glad I came to this world. I'm so glad I met you!"
She looked at Sucrose in her arms, smiled, and asked, "Sucrose, can I really touch them?"
"Yes!"
Sitting on Ellin's lap, Sucrose nodded gently.
"These ears have attracted quite a bit of attention because they're different from other people's, so I try to hide them in my hair."
"I'm not good at socializing, and naturally, I don't like being the center of attention either. So I'm very self-conscious about people noticing my ears."
"Only Mom and Dad have ever touched them."
"You're my close friend. If you're curious, I can let you touch them!"
"Then... here I go!" Ellin swallowed.
"Mm! Go ahead." Sucrose gave a firm nod.
Ellin hesitated no longer. She reached out and took hold of Sucrose's two animal ears.
"Ah~!"
The instant Ellin took hold of her ears, Sucrose let out a little moan.
"D-don't make such strange noises!"
Ellin jolted in alarm and pulled her hands back.
"S-sorry. My ears are actually very sensitive..."
"It's fine. You can keep going."
"Then I'll keep going!"
Ellin held the pair of animal ears. They were fluffy, soft, and pleasant to touch, and they twitched under her fingers.
The more Ellin touched them, the more fascinating she found them, so she extended a finger and gently poked around inside one ear.
To her surprise, this made Sucrose shudder violently.
Rather than making Ellin stop, that shudder only made her even more reluctant to let go.
Though Sucrose managed to keep quiet, her body trembled from time to time, and sometimes she could not help squirming.
Good grief!
Ellin's eyes widened. She was sitting cross-legged, with Sucrose right on her lap.
If I were a guy, I'd probably already be...
Half an hour later, Ellin finally let go of Sucrose's ears.
"What are you two doing...?"
Returning from the Dandelion Sea, Fischl narrowed her eyes and eyed Sucrose and Ellin suspiciously. They were sitting side by side, both red-faced.
"N-nothing! I was just cleaning Sucrose's ears," Ellin said.
"Y-yes. My ears felt a little uncomfortable just now, so I asked Ellin to help clean them," Sucrose stammered.
That night.
In a bedroom of the villa inside the Sub-Space Creation.
The three girls sat together on the bed, chatting happily.
"Sucrose, Fischl, these are for you."
Ellin gave Sucrose and Fischl each a token engraved with the image of a Serenitea Pot.
"What's this?" Sucrose and Fischl asked in confusion.
"These are Sub-Space Creation Access Permits. You can think of them as keys to enter the Sub-Space Creation."
A sweet smile graced Ellin's face. "I might go adventuring elsewhere in the future and be unable to stay by your sides, but as long as you have these Realm Dispatches, you can enter this Sub-Space Creation whenever you like."
"If you miss me, just come here. Wherever I am, I'll enter the Sub-Space Creation to meet you!"
"Really?!"
Sucrose's and Fischl's eyes lit up, their faces filled with delight.
"Yes! Really!"
Ellin smiled and nodded. After becoming close friends with Sucrose, she had not only unlocked new slots in her Weapon Inventory and Artifact tabs, but also a new function for the Sub-Space Creation—A Thousand Miles Apart!
Just as its name suggested, this function allowed Ellin to meet her friends and family inside the Sub-Space Creation, even when they were thousands of miles apart.
Anyone who held a Sub-Space Creation Access Permit and had been registered in the system by Ellin could enter the Serenitea Pot at any time, from anywhere.
Whenever someone entered the Serenitea Pot, Ellin would receive a system notification telling her who had entered the Sub-Space Creation.
With this function, even if Ellin traveled to other nations such as Inazuma or Sumeru, she could meet her family and friends through the Serenitea Pot and ease the ache of missing them.
"That's wonderful! Now, wherever you go in the future, Ellin, I won't have to worry about not being able to see you!"
Fischl cheered, threw her arms around Ellin, and vigorously nuzzled her Slimes.
In the end, the three girls chatted happily late into the night before finally falling asleep, content.
Of course, even when sleeping, they stayed together with Ellin.
In the Serenitea Pot's bedroom, three beds had been pushed together side by side.
The three girls slept next to one another.
Ellin slept in the middle, while Fischl slept on the right. Hugging Ellin with one hand clasped around one of her Slimes, Fischl slept soundly.
Sucrose was more reserved. She simply hugged one of Ellin's arms and drifted peacefully to sleep.
As the three girls entered dreamland together.
On a branch of the "Small" Lamp Grass outside the villa.
Holding a Small Lamp Grass flower in his beak, Oz placed his wings over his lower belly and bowed like a gentleman.
"Oh, Miss Feng'er, you have now become a Thunderbird capable of wielding lightning, just like me. Surely you can accept my love now?"
"Your profound love moves me deeply, Mr. Oz, but please forgive me for refusing!"
"Why?!" Oz cried, heartbroken.
"Because I'm already triggering Superconduct all on my own. How could I possibly add you to the mix?"
Before you continue