In the end, Elysia ended up paying.
After all, Durandal was truly broke.
Durandal had crossed over with nothing but the clothes on her back.
The only 'external object' she had was the Gnius device—invisible and inaudible to everyone else—that solely issued her missions and doled out rewards.
"You look much prettier when you smile."
Seeing Elysia's sulky expression, Durandal offered her assessment.
Elysia stayed silent.
Was she throwing a little tantrum?
Elysia at this stage… really was just like a child, wasn't she?
Durandal sighed helplessly. "I never imagined you cared so much about money. Don't worry, I'll pay you back for all the expenses along the way."
Elysia bared her teeth. "It's not about the money! It's about the attitude, you know? Durandal, I've never met a human like you!"
Watching Elysia suddenly fly into a rage, Durandal felt utterly bewildered. At the same time, she realized the fixed image of Elysia in her mind was slowly crumbling.
Then again, that made sense—a living, breathing person was bound to be different from a two-dimensional character.
"But haven't you met one now?"
Durandal pointed at herself. "The real me, right in front of you. I'm human through and through."
Elysia said nothing.
Ugh, she was tempted to pull out her bow and use a little magic to put an end to this infuriating blockhead right here and now!
Of course, Durandal had no idea Elysia was already contemplating 'murder.'
When they reached the internet cafe, Durandal once again stepped aside toward the counter. "I don't have any ID, and I'm broke. You'll have to get us a computer."
Elysia stood there silently.
Her face blank, movements stiff, she pulled out her credit card and ID, renting two machines.
Noting that Elysia had gotten an extra one, Durandal didn't comment. She casually picked a station, sat down, booted up, and started gathering information about this world online—not limited to just Chiba Academy.
While researching, Durandal happened to glance over and saw Elysia wearing that sweet, familiar smile again.
Only now, she was controlling an archer in-game, ruthlessly slaughtering enemy after enemy. The contrast was… unsettling, to say the least.
"I didn't expect you to have violent tendencies."
As she spoke, Durandal subtly shifted her seat, as if trying to put some distance between them.
Once again, Miss Pink Elf's smile froze on her face.
Elysia turned to Durandal with an utterly deadpan expression. "You were sent by the heavens just to torment me, weren't you?"
Durandal: ?
Three hours later, Durandal and Elysia stepped out of the internet cafe. The sky outside had begun to darken.
The setting sun in the west seemed to struggle, unwilling to bid farewell to the two beauties, but in the end, it yielded to nature's laws and sank reluctantly, going off to shine upon the other half of the world.
"Are you hungry?"
Durandal rubbed her stomach. She could feel the emptiness and lack of energy, but her exceptional physical condition allowed her to push through—she could even go days without eating if needed.
Still, since there was no real constraint, Durandal saw no reason to suffer. She decided to find a place for dinner.
Elysia shot her a glare. "I'm full—on anger!"
"But I'm hungry."
Durandal pondered for a moment. "Since you're not hungry, you can just watch me eat. After all, you'll still need to pick up the tab when we're done."
Elysia: ???
In the end, despite claiming she was 'full on anger,' Elysia still followed Durandal to a small noodle shop in the town, where they ordered a large bowl of beef noodles.
This was a specialty of Shenzhou—who'd have thought she'd get to eat it in a foreign land like this?
Before her transmigration, Durandal had been an ordinary college girl from a country with customs and culture similar to Shenzhou, so the beef noodles felt like a taste of home.
But watching Elysia handle chopsticks with such practiced ease surprised her. "Have you been to Shenzhou?"
And perhaps it was more than just a visit.
Take, for example, a certain Snezhnayan diplomat who also often got treated as a wallet—despite having stayed in Liyue for who-knows-how-long, he never quite got the hang of chopsticks.
By comparison, Elysia's chopstick technique might even be more proper than Durandal's own.
Elysia didn't look up, as if treating the bowl of beef noodles in front of her as a mortal enemy.
After taking several fierce bites, she grumbled, "Yes, I've been there. I even stayed a long time. Shenzhou has such a long history, after all—it's worth taking the time to study properly."
Durandal nodded at that.
She didn't press further about what exactly Elysia had been studying.
It was probably just using Shenzhou's history to research human development—a god loving humanity, an age-old trope.
Neither of them had huge appetites. Though with their physique, they could easily put away ten more bowls if they wanted—but there was no need.
After a single bowl of beef noodles warmed her stomach and eased that hollow feeling, Durandal glanced outside at the now fully darkened sky. "Looks like we'll have to find an inn to stay the night here and set off tomorrow."
By now, Elysia seemed to have fully embraced her role as the 'wallet.' She pulled out her credit card and waved it in front of Durandal. "Alright, where are we staying? And did you find out where Chiba Academy is?"
"I saw an inn on our way out of the cafe. Let's stay there."
With that, Durandal stood up and started leading the way.
Elysia had already paid for the noodles when they ordered.
As they walked, Durandal answered Elysia's earlier question. "As for Chiba Academy's location—I found it. It's in Nagazora City, on Honshu in the Far East. About… four thousand seven hundred kilometers from here?"
Elysia: "'About'? 'Four thousand seven hundred kilometers'?"
She emphasized each word sharply. Even for someone who didn't care much about money, her wallet was already aching in anticipation.
"So there's no way we can ride your Krishna there? We'll have to take a plane?"
Elysia spread her hands. "But without identification, how are you going to board a flight?"
Durandal, however, didn't seem worried. She grinned at Elysia. "I didn't have ID before, but now… it's practically being delivered to us."
Then, she pointed toward a few thugs who had just appeared not far away.
"Even if they're just low-level hoodlums, through them, I think we can solve my little 'no ID' problem."
Hooligans hanging around a Siberian town…
The first thing that came to Durandal's mind was the infamous Russian mafia.
--+--