"Chiba Academy? Listen…"
Elysia was about to reply when she suddenly seemed to remember something, her tone turning even more peculiar.
"So, you didn't even know where we were going, yet you just took me and left like that?"
"What, is that not allowed?"
Durandal, for her part, saw nothing wrong with it.
She didn't want to stay put and have to deal with the higher-ups from Fire Moth who were surely on their way. She really had no interest in dealing with those people.
"Alright then…"
Elysia felt a bit helpless. People always said she was hard to read, but right now, the girl sitting behind her seemed even more incomprehensible.
"Chiba Academy… judging by the name, it should be a school, right? Are you going there to study?"
Elysia suddenly perked up with interest and seemed to try to turn around. But the moment her head moved, Durandal stopped her with a single hand.
"Stop fidgeting."
Behind Elysia, where she couldn't see, Durandal's cheeks were faintly flushed.
Although Krishna was far steadier than an ordinary horse, if Elysia turned around abruptly at such close quarters, they might inadvertently end up in some… overly intimate positions.
It wasn't that Durandal was repulsed by the idea, she just… wasn't prepared for it.
And besides…
Durandal's eyes lowered slightly, her clear blue pupils veiled by shadow.
Elysia… wouldn't fall in love with any single human. Because she loved everyone.
Therefore, Durandal had to prevent anything that might make her fall too deeply.
Keeping her feelings for Elysia at the level of a player's fondness and pity for a character was fine.
At most, it could progress one step further, into the kind of mutual understanding and comradely bond Elysia shared with Eden and the others.
Anything more than that was unnecessary, as it would only bring her needless distress.
Seeing that Elysia had settled down, Durandal finally answered the earlier question. "You could say that. Going to school. At my age, shouldn't I be in school?"
The real reason, of course, wasn't that, but it didn't stop Durandal from saying it with a hint of teasing.
"Moreover, I think you should go to school too, Elysia. What do you think?"
Hearing Durandal's answer and retort, Elysia was taken aback.
She cupped her own face in her hands, seeming to genuinely consider the matter.
Finally, Elysia reached a conclusion. "While I do look like I should be in school at this age, I believe my wisdom is already sufficient. The teachers at school couldn't possibly teach me anything, so it's better not to cause trouble for others, don't you think?"
"Oh?"
Durandal chuckled. "I'm afraid that's not for you to decide, Elysia!"
Elysia: "…"
Truly, she found this person a bit hard to handle.
Since Elysia didn't know where Chiba Academy was either, Durandal simply had Krishna carry them out of the snow fields first.
When a human city came into view in the distance—a town, to be precise, as nothing large could really develop near the Siberian snow plains—Durandal finally dismounted, helped Elysia down, and then sent Krishna 'back'.
Watching Durandal perform her 'now-you-see-it-now-you-don't' trick with the horse live on site, Elysia exclaimed in amazement, "Where did you put her?"
As she spoke, Elysia circled Durandal a few times, even reaching out as if to pat her down, checking if she had some hidden dimensional pocket on her person.
Naturally, Durandal wasn't about to let Elysia touch her so easily.
This woman was an expert at pushing her luck. Mei's experiences in the Elysian Realm were a prime example, and Durandal had no intention of following in those footsteps.
If she let Elysia touch her now, the next thing she knew, the other girl might offer to let her touch back…
All that touching back and forth… what if feelings developed?
She absolutely refused to fall for such a 'troublesome woman'. After all, that would be far too arduous.
"Alright, let's go into the city to find information about Chiba Academy."
To prevent Elysia's wandering hands from getting any ideas, Durandal simply took hold of one of the other girl's hands.
The soft, smooth texture made her mind go blank for a moment… In any case, two unusually dressed beauties thus made their appearance hand-in-hand in a small town bordering the Siberian snow plains.
The moment they entered the town, Durandal noticed countless passersby staring at her and Elysia.
To be precise, they were staring at Elysia.
After all, what she was wearing right now was far too eye-catching.
The uniform of the famous Fire Moth soldiers, an organization under the United Nations—even if ordinary folks didn't know exactly what this unit did, they well understood what that uniform represented.
"She really is a magnet for trouble!" Durandal thought to herself.
Thus, Durandal, who had originally planned to head straight for an internet cafe to search for information on Chiba Academy, had to first find a clothing store to get Elysia a change of clothes.
She picked out an outfit for herself as well.
After all, in the dead of winter, wearing the white armor of her Herrscher form would probably seem a bit too… breezy in others' eyes.
Fortunately, the clothing of ordinary people in this Previous Era wasn't much different from modern attire in Durandal's perception. So, she chose a short, beige down jacket and a pair of jeans for herself.
Over there, Elysia did the same, picking out the same style as Durandal but in a different color.
Seeing Durandal look at her with a somewhat indescribable expression, Elysia responded with a sweet 'wink'. "I think your taste in clothes is quite good, and we have similar figures, so I picked the same style. Mine's pink though. So, how do I look?"
Durandal closed her eyes and sighed inwardly.
When she made the decision to recruit her into the group of Flame-Chasers, she had already prepared herself for this, hadn't she?
After all… this was Miss Pink Elf!
If she wasn't constantly tempting others, how could she live up to the name 'Elf'?
It was just that none of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were normal people; otherwise, someone would have surely learned the meaning of a 'broken heart' from Elysia long ago.
When she opened her eyes again, Durandal had suppressed all inner turmoil.
Thank goodness this body still retained its original owner's memories.
With that 'dumb goose's' experiences as a foundation, she could at least resist Elysia's charms for a little while.
After all, Durandal earned that nickname not just because of a homophone—it was a true and well-deserved title.
"Since you think it looks good, then please, pay up."
Durandal patted Elysia's shoulder and made a 'please' gesture, clearing the path to the checkout counter.
The smile on Elysia's face instantly froze.
"So, you didn't even have any money, and you just brought me here to buy new clothes?"
Elysia kept telling herself internally to stay graceful, but she couldn't help the slight crack in her expression.
--+--