Hokuto's voice wasn't loud, but in this otherwise empty environment, it sounded very clear.
At the very least, Elysia—who had been waiting for the elevator—heard him.
She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her face, confirming that she was still wearing her mask.
"Are you talking to me~?" Elysia asked back, doing her best to suppress her tone.
"Yeah."
Hokuto nodded. He didn't see any need to be vague. "You must be the person behind that pink fairy lady on pilipili, right?"
"Ah!?" Elysia quickly waved her hands. "The pink fairy lady you mentioned—I know her too, but I'm just an ordinary cute girl~~"
"I'm not that pure and lovely Elysia."
Hokuto, upon hearing this, glanced at Elysia's pink hair.
Elysia naturally noticed his gaze. "Ah, well, pink is the most popular color in the world… Hmm, one of them?"
"Lots of people like to dye their hair pink. A beautiful girl like me is certainly no exception~~"
Though her pink hair was natural.
"Hmm…"
Hokuto thought about it, but chose not to press her.
He simply switched to Otto's voice: "Hehe, perhaps~ I really did mistake you for someone else. I apologize for disturbing such an ordinary yet beautiful lady."
Just then, the elevator doors slowly opened. Without hesitation, he stepped in.
He pressed the button for the first floor, then glanced from the corner of his eye at Elysia, who had followed him in.
"Mr. Otto?" Elysia called softly.
"..." Hokuto silently watched the elevator display screen.
"Mr. Otto~ ignoring a cute girl is not what a gentleman should do." Elysia slightly raised her voice.
"You can call me Hokuto, Miss Elysia."
Hokuto finally responded, moving his gaze away from the screen and turning to face Elysia.
"Ah~ Otto—no, Hokuto. Even though we've never met in real life, you recognized me right away. That's impressive."
Elysia blinked her sapphire-blue eyes. "Do you have some kind of superpower?"
"You flatter me, Miss Elysia. I don't have any superpowers. It's just that you're easy to recognize," Hokuto answered honestly.
Elysia's face lit up with a joyful smile. "Oh? That's a compliment, right? Hokuto is saying I'm special—special enough to recognize at a glance?"
Hokuto showed a thoughtful expression, and after a moment passed, he sincerely said:
"Miss Elysia, you are indeed very special. Even though I've met many special people, you are the most special of them all."
"Ah~ this… Hokuto, that's really…"
Elysia looked at Hokuto, who was sincerely complimenting her.
She really liked this kind of icing-on-the-cake praise.
But perhaps because Hokuto seemed too earnest this time, she actually felt a rare trace of shyness, and her voice trembled ever so slightly.
"Sorry, I misspoke. I may have made you uncomfortable, Miss Elysia." Hokuto noticed the subtle shift in her and hurriedly added.
"Hmm…"
Elysia stared at Hokuto's sincerely apologetic expression for a long while. "Alright, I'll believe that you didn't mean it."
"But… I still feel quite troubled~~"
The elevator just happened to arrive.
She removed her mask, clasped her hands behind her back, and walked out confidently with a playful gait. Then she turned halfway around and faced Hokuto, who was still inside the elevator.
"You told me to call you Hokuto, but you've been calling me Miss Elysia~~"
Her eyes curved like crescent moons as she gave a sweet smile.
"From now on~ just call me Elysia~♪"
The pink fairy lady really was a natural extrovert.
Hokuto's step forward faltered slightly, his expression briefly turning awkward.
"Miss Elysia…"
"Mm-hmm?"
"I understand. Elysia."
"Yay~~"
Elysia, seeing this, finally looked fully satisfied.
She put her mask back on and walked alongside Hokuto as they exited the apartment building. After walking shoulder to shoulder for a few steps—
"Now that we're on first-name terms, can I ask you something?"
Hokuto wasn't entirely sure what being on "first-name terms" implied, but he still nodded. "Of course."
"Then I won't hold back~~"
Elysia's tone stayed cheerfully rising as always. "I heard you invited Kevin to be a character in Honkai Impact 3rd? You seem to really like using real people as Characters for game characters."
"Yeah. I think characters based on real people turn out more vivid." Hokuto replied.
"So that's it… Then, why Kevin? Ah, I'm not saying Kevin's bad, it's just…"
Elysia tapped her cheek thoughtfully with a finger. "From my perspective, there are lots of people more suited for Honkai Impact 3rd, right?"
"For example, a certain beautiful fairy…"
"Actually, I didn't just invite Kevin. I invited Sakura too," Hokuto interrupted before Elysia could finish.
Elysia: ???
"Eh!? Even Sakura too…" She was visibly shocked.
Why were all her friends joining Honkai Impact 3rd one after another?
Could it be that in the end, everyone would join—except for the fairy herself?
That can't happen!
"Is that weird?"
"Hmm… not exactly weird."
Most people might not know what to say at this point, but the pink fairy lady was not "most people."
Elysia crossed her arms. "I just think—it's odd that you've invited so many people, yet never considered me. Am I not charming?"
"I mean, I'm cute and kind, gentle and caring. I seem like a perfect fit, right?"
"So that's what the fairy lady meant."
Hokuto nearly failed to conceal his inner joy—was the pink fairy offering herself? How could he possibly refuse?
Feigning a troubled expression, he fibbed: "I just worried the fairy lady might turn me down."
"Ah~ is that all?"
Elysia shifted her posture. "Actually, I'm very easy to talk to. And I really like Honkai Impact 3rd—taking on a role in it is no problem at all."
She paused, then very seriously emphasized: "But I won't play a villain~~"
"…Of course I'd never make you a villain, Elysia," Hokuto said.
"I believe—your story will be pure and flawless."
"A very beautiful story."
"A story that exists because of you."