The next day, Diancie didn't wake until almost noon.
The light from the giant diamond even pierced through the window, shooting straight into the room.
Looking out at scenery completely different from the surface, Elias felt a fresh curiosity.
But Diancie, still hazy with sleep, obviously had no mood to care about any of that.
She rubbed her drowsy eyes, covered her little mouth as she yawned, and felt a wave of weariness.
Half-awake, catching sight of Elias sitting not far away, she suddenly felt at ease.
"Elias, did you stay in the room all last night?"
She mumbled the question at him.
In her memory, she had this feeling he'd gone out for a while last night.
It was just that her mind had been too foggy, and she couldn't tell if that was dream or reality.
Hearing her, Elias gave a slight shake of his head. "No, I went out for a bit last night."
"What for?"
Diancie scratched her head, puzzled.
She knew Elias couldn't go too far from her, so he could only move around near the doorway.
She couldn't imagine anything fun to do at a doorway.
"I was going to go out and read."
"But the moment I stepped out, I ran into Dianna."
Elias pointed at the books on the table and answered with a helpless look.
Diancie blinked blankly at his explanation.
Having just gotten up, her thoughts still weren't very clear.
But soon… her expression froze.
Who was Dianna?
She suddenly realized Elias had just dropped a name she wasn't familiar with at all.
And the way he put it had problems too.
By rights, shouldn't she be the only one who could see him?
Thinking that, she lifted her head, wanting to ask.
But before she could open her mouth, Elias cut in, explaining first:
"Dianna… is your queen."
"Because you've grown stronger, she can see me now."
He had never intended to hide the fact he'd met Dianna.
Only…
After hearing this, Diancie's face grew even more dazed.
Your Highness knows about Elias?!
Before Elias explained, she had already faintly guessed as much.
After all, a name like "Dianna," so close to her own, was distinctive enough.
Yet when it was truly confirmed, a flustered, irritable feeling still rose in her chest on its own.
Like a treasure she'd dug up herself, suddenly discovered by someone else.
Even if the other person was her Queen, it still left her chest tight and uncomfortable.
"Her… Highness didn't give you a hard time, did she?"
After smoothing out her mood a little, Diancie asked Elias carefully.
As she spoke, her gaze never left his face.
Elias thought for a moment.
Aside from being a bit distant in attitude, Dianna hadn't really made things difficult for him.
On the contrary, they had even reached a kind of cooperation later.
So he simply shook his head. "No. She just asked a few basic questions."
Hearing how earnest he sounded, Diancie finally let out a breath.
Even so, she still regretted growing stronger so fast.
If not for that, Elias wouldn't have been noticed by her Queen.
But… if she didn't get stronger, then he would never be able to have a real body.
Thinking it through like this, it felt like a dead loop she couldn't untangle.
"Mm…"
She frowned, aggrieved.
Then she looked at Elias. "Elias, let's go see her Highness first, okay?"
From the looks of it, after learning about Elias, the Queen didn't seem to plan on doing anything to him.
But just to be safe, she felt they should go meet her face-to-face.
No matter what, in her impression, the Queen's attitude toward humans had always been quite rejecting.
And Elias—who looked like a human—whether he fell into the scope of that dislike… that was hard to say.
Thinking of this, Diancie grew even more nervous.
What if she doesn't let me keep raising Elias…
---
[You naturally had no objection to Diancie's proposal.]
[All the way there, she kept fidgeting with her fingers, looking full of anxiety.]
[Even though you offered a few words of comfort, it didn't help much.]
[Only when you reached the center of the territory did Diancie's mind seem to clear.]
"Your Highness."
Spotting that familiar back, Diancie raised her small hand and greeted her as usual.
On any other day, the other would have turned and given a nod in acknowledgment.
What Diancie didn't expect was that this time, when the figure turned, her first glance wasn't toward Diancie.
Almost reflexively, Dianna looked first at Elias standing to the side, then realized it had been Diancie calling her.
She smoothed the corner of her mouth and gave Diancie a quiet "Mm."
"Did you need something from me?"
Her tone was cool.
Though Diancie still felt a bit miffed, seeing that her Highness didn't seem intent on pursuing anything, she couldn't help relaxing a little.
"Your Highness, lately I wanted to go to the human world again to look for books."
Diancie used a negotiating tone.
Even if Elias looked safe for now, she still wanted to take him and retreat to the human world first.
Only… unlike last time—
This time, Dianna refused without even thinking:
"No."
The sternness in her voice made Diancie flinch on instinct.
"Why?"
She puffed out her cheeks, dissatisfied.
"Is your strength where it should be?"
Dianna asked coldly, and as she spoke, she gave Elias a look.
At once, Diancie understood—she meant her own strength, minus anything owed to Elias.
"And can you read human writing?"
Dianna followed up.
Clearly, she had already guessed that the previous translating of sentences hadn't been Diancie's own ability.
In that instant, Diancie's momentum dropped sharply.
She suddenly realized that if she took Elias out of the equation, she was still the same as before—no real progress to speak of.
But…
"Elias also really wants to go out."
Diancie still murmured.
She had already decided that once they got back to the human world, she would have Elias train her hard.
Dianna's eyes tightened.
So Elias had told Diancie they'd met.
As the ghostly companion at Diancie's side, it was normal he wouldn't hide it.
Only…
Even so, she frowned—feeling, somehow, like she'd lost a round.
---
T/N:
"Looks like this is the last day you'll be hearing from me—for now, at least."
"Bonus chapters will be released tomorrow, so if you've been hoarding your patience, you won't have to for much longer."
"If you want to support the translator, there's still Patreon: patreon.com/wisetl. It's optional support—early access is just a side benefit, not an obligation."
"And don't forget the Powerstone deal: every 100 Powerstones = 1 bonus chapter (100ps = 1 chp, 200ps = 2 chp, 300ps = 3 chp, and so on). If you want more chapters after tomorrow… you know what to do."
"If you'd rather talk than throw stones, the Discord is open: discord.gg/wisetl. Go scream, speculate, or bully the translator about cliffhangers there instead of in your heart."
say bye bye and thank you to maomao!!