Looking at her dear Eden, even through the barrier of a mask, it was obvious she was radiating pure joy.
Elysia, still struggling to accept reality, could only keep hypnotizing herself with a frantic internal monologue: 'As long as they don't say it out loud, it isn't real. Nothing happened.'
Her main strategy was total escapism.
"Elysia? It's getting late... since we've tried every ride in the theme park, don't you think it's time we head back?"
Seeing Elysia in such an interesting state, the wealthy Eden—having already achieved her primary objective—spoke up with a hint of irrepressible amusement.
She addressed her dear best friend, her reliable wingwoman, and the person most likely to be the maid of honor at her future wedding, telling her it was time to go home.
"Ah... right, right! It is... getting late, isn't it?~"
From an objective standpoint, Eden's tone was merely a bit cheerful. After all, considering the prying eyes of the crowd, the wealthy tycoon didn't plan on immediately jumping into the phase of openly gloating at Elysia.
But having witnessed the two of them literally swapping masks, Elysia was now looking at the world through 'lesbian-tinted glasses.'
It felt like every time her gaze brushed against that "blinding" accessory on Eden and little Seele's faces, she could hear a hint of deliberate bragging in her best friend's voice!
'Eh? Is my wife Elysia... jealous? Why does she sound so salty?'
Sensing that Elysia—who was also one of her wives—sounded strangely bitter, Lunelle naturally lowered her head like a shy little ostrich.
She knew that the moment she opened her mouth, she'd be dragged into a messy lover's spat.
However, after a brief moment of inner triumph, a sobered Lunelle suddenly remembered a crucial detail she had almost overlooked.
'Wait! Before I got close to Eden, Elysia almost never showed any outward signs of caring when I got cozy with other beautiful girls. Why such a huge reaction this time? Could it be... that Elysia has actually loved Eden all along?!!!'
Sigh.
Of course! She should have realized it sooner...
Elysia had pushed her away and distanced herself so many times; wasn't it obvious her heart belonged to someone else? Was that why she kept her distance?
'If I've gone and passively won over the woman Elysia actually loves, doesn't that make me a "despicable villain" who stole her true love in her eyes?'
'Sob, sob... even if Elysia has the best temper in the world, her affection for me must be in the negatives after I pulled this "stealing her girl" move, right? How am I supposed to add her to the harem now? QAQ'
In an instant, the tiny spark of joy Lunelle felt from Elysia being "jealous" over her turned into a thick wave of bitterness.
Feeling inexplicably down, Lunelle could only look down silently at her chest—which, as you know, conveniently blocked the view of her own feet.
Amidst her sadness, she couldn't help but marvel internally at how "well-developed" her main wife Seele's body truly was!
Poor Elysia, of course, had no idea she had somehow caused little Seele to have such bizarre misunderstandings.
It wasn't until much later, when Elysia finally couldn't take it anymore and chose to confess face-to-face, that she learned with utter speechless frustration that the Seele she'd been head-over-heels for since day one thought she was in love with her best friend, Eden.
That ridiculous mix-up had made Elysia laugh out of pure exasperation, but it also led her to use certain "well-known" methods to viciously reclaim every ounce of her bottled-up grievances from her cute wife Seele, with interest.
But, that's a story for another time...
For now, since the wealthy Eden was bold enough to expose Elysia's secrets right in front of Seele, showing off her confirmed relationship with the girl was an even easier task.
It was a pity Elysia was wearing a mask and sunglasses just like her, and they were in a crowded public place—not the ideal moment for a grand reveal.
Otherwise, Eden wouldn't have been able to resist stepping up for a classic "unveiling the bride" moment by snatching those sunglasses right off.
With those thoughts in mind, the three girls returned to the luxury car.
Even though evening had arrived, the only modern city in the Australian sector was still packed with people. Although Eden had made arrangements, they had to wait for her staff to clear a route through the traffic before they could head back.
After a short period of self-hypnosis and adjustment, Elysia had managed to steady herself by the time they reached the car.
She had seen little Seele being pinned down and coddled by all sorts of beautiful girls before; she could convince herself this was fine.
'It's just holding hands between "friends," it's not a big deal!~ Even... even I've held little Seele's fragrant, soft little hand a few times!'
Thinking about her own experiences holding Seele's hand allowed Elysia to—as long as she looked away—temporarily ignore the sight of Seele and her best friend Eden openly holding hands in front of her. Since she'd done it too, she could just barely withstand this level of psychological stimulation.
Because the car was private enough, the three girls removed their masks and sunglasses to breathe while they waited.
Seeing Elysia's cute act of forced composure and blatant escapism, Eden—who knew her friend inside and out—confirmed it in her heart.
Elysia's reaction, which she could never hide when it came to beautiful girls, proved she definitely had feelings for Seele.
She just didn't understand why Elysia, despite having those feelings, hesitated to confess.
While Eden didn't particularly mind sharing the adorable Seele with her best friend—after all, Elysia deserved at least sixty percent of the credit for her meeting and eventually dating Seele—she certainly wasn't about to proactively hand her over. She wasn't Elysia, after all.
In fact, a bit of a mischievous streak took hold of Eden.
She was genuinely curious: 'If I told the escapist Elysia right now that Seele and I are officially dating... what kind of hilarious expression would she make?'
'I'm actually "really" looking forward to it!'
Being a woman of action, Eden immediately put her "playful" idea into practice.
Moving beyond mere hand-holding, Eden suddenly reached out and boldly wrapped her arm around Seele's waist, pulling her in close right in front of Elysia's eyes.
"Eek?!!!"
Lunelle was visibly startled by this sudden physical affection.
If she hadn't reacted in time and pulled back her instinctive struggle, the shock might have triggered her Herrscher-level physical stats to give the "underhanded" Eden a very painful surprise.
Since she had just agreed to be Eden's girlfriend, Lunelle was only slightly annoyed by the sneak attack. But then she thought of Elysia's "ice queen" act—always avoiding her and barely saying a word...
'Hmph! Since Elysia doesn't want to talk or be close to me anyway... it's much better to be close to an appreciative wife like Eden!'
With a bit of childish spite toward Elysia, Lunelle simply accepted Eden's embrace.
If it weren't for the "Simulator" restricting her initiative, Lunelle might have staged a full "husband-stealing" drama right there just to spite her.
Lunelle was completely unaware that her current mental state was like a young wife throwing a tantrum at her husband.
However, even though she mistakenly thought Elysia's true goal was Eden, she was also secretly looking forward to seeing what kind of face Elysia would make when she realized her best friend had been "stolen" away.
Whether it was because their brain waves finally synced or just sheer coincidence... in Elysia's eyes, the two "darlings" sitting together waiting for her to break down actually looked like a perfect married couple.
Witnessing such a "horrific" scene, Elysia's hard-won composure shattered instantly.
Elysia: /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~
'Is it possible that I, the top lesbian of this age, am actually the "third wheel" here? Sob... whether it was Eden or Seele, I met them first! Why, why did things turn out like this!'
For no reason at all, the squirming Elysia felt like she shouldn't be sitting in the car—she should be sitting under the car!
Seeing the once-composed Elysia wilt like a dried seedling, her spirit drained by a single hug, Eden felt a pang of sympathy. Even though Elysia was technically an adult in her early twenties, she looked so pitifully aggrieved.
Eden hadn't expected Seele to be even more important to Elysia than she had imagined.
Seeing her friend's pathetic state, she lost the heart to keep teasing her. After all, if it weren't for Seele, the two of them were close enough to have discussed marriage.
Furthermore, even though she was dating Seele now, Eden knew that Seele had already passively attracted more than one beautiful girl before her.
Given Elysia's feelings, even if she was suppressing them now for some unspeakable reason... who could say what the future held?
Based on her test today and her deep knowledge of Elysia's character, Eden made a prediction: Two years, tops!
The emotions dammed up in Elysia's heart were bound to explode eventually. She just wondered what kind of "dangerous" things Elysia might do to the little darling once she let the "beast" out.
Fortunately, two years was plenty of time for Eden to use her massive wealth and influence to secure a high-ranking position within Fire Moth.
Once she had power, she could "misuse" it to transfer Seele to her side as a cute "personal secretary."
To Eden, being a personal secretary meant... well, "you know exactly what it means."
Having gauged Elysia's feelings and seeing how much of a "loser" her friend looked, Eden refrained from any further excessive PDA for the rest of the trip.
After using her capital to clear the way again, Eden drove them directly to the gates of the Fire Moth Australian Branch.
Realizing she'd be too busy preparing for her concert to spend much time with Seele soon, Eden turned to her.
"My lovely Seele-sensei, don't you have anything to say to me before we part?"
Since they were on Fire Moth property and away from outsiders, Eden had already removed her mask. she leaned her face close to Seele's, clearly looking for a sweet little parting gift from her new girlfriend.
"Um... have a safe trip, Eden?"
Lunelle, who had a bit of a hidden "pervy" side herself, immediately understood the hint for a kiss.
But restricted by the Simulator's rules against taking the lead, she could only act "pure and innocent," pretending to be completely oblivious to the hint. She tried to brush it off with a polite, cute blessing.
Seeing her brand-new girlfriend acting so "uncooperative," Eden laughed in exasperation.
Then...
"Mmph!!!"
Lunelle felt her face gently cupped by Eden's hands. A second later, as expected, she was stripped of her right to breathe freely by the dominant and forceful Eden.
This scene, of course, played out right before the eyes of the "very much extra" Elysia, shattering what was left of her heart.
However, Eden—lost in the sweetness of the kiss—was entirely unaware that a mature, stunning red-haired woman had been waiting at the branch gates for Seele's return, and she had seen the whole thing, too!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon!
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.