Chapter 146. A Tradition-Subverting FPS?
The moment she saw Elysia, Seele's mouth fell open, and Bronya's eyes went wide.
"Seele, did you know Elysia-sis was coming today?"
Remembering what Seele said earlier, Bronya asked in confusion.
"S-Seele didn't know..."
Noticing the doubt in Bronya-sis's eyes, Seele's little face scrunched up.
She really didn't know Elysia-sis would come today.
She had just casually mentioned something about her brother, and who knew Elysia-sis would actually show up?!
Could her mouth really be blessed?!!
"Why didn't you say something before coming over?"
Seeing Elysia, Xander didn't even have time to be surprised before he hugged the girl who rushed into his arms.
"Hm?
I did tell you."
"Told me wh—"
His voice cut off.
Xander suddenly remembered that late last night, when he was half-asleep, he really had received a message from Elysia.
[Xander , I've prepared a surprise for you.
Remember to receive it tomorrow~]
Looking down at the big pink fairy in his arms, rubbing and snuggling against him, fragrant, soft, and clingy, this really was quite the big surprise.
"Mm-hmm.
Looks like Xander remembered~"
"It really is a surprise."
His gaze turned a bit helpless.
Xander had just tightened his arms when he felt Elysia rise up on tiptoe.
Her soft, moist lips came close to his ear.
Warm breaths spilled lightly.
Her springy lips brushed his earlobe as she spoke, yet what she said moved him even more: "As agreed, I've come for you."
"...Welcome."
Pressing down the rousing sonata in his chest, Xander exhaled and spoke gently.
...
"Hey, are you two coming in or not?"
Bronya crossed her arms, a hint of impatience in her otherwise calm gaze.
They'd had the door open for ages, and they were still hugging in the doorway.
Whispering secrets they wouldn't let anyone else hear—did they really think the great Ducky didn't exist?!!
"Oh?
Jealous already?"
Elysia poked her head out from Xander 's embrace, her pink eyes curved in a smile.
Bronya didn't expect Elysia to say that out of the blue and was momentarily stumped.
She definitely wouldn't admit that to her face.
Just as she steadied herself to say something, that pink fairy suddenly appeared right in front of her.
"Yah!
Two years no see, and Ducky has become a perfect pretty girl!
Come, let Elysia-sis give you a hug~"
Before she even finished, Elysia had already hugged her as Bronya stared in a daze.
"W-Wait..."
Before Bronya even started to struggle, Elysia let go and changed targets.
"Seele is still just as cute.
Come on, call me Elysia-sis~"
"Um... Elysia-sis..."
"Waa!!!
So obedient, so obedient.
No wonder Xander likes you so much.
Now I totally understand~"
"Eh?
Does Brother like Seele that much?
Hehe..."
After rubbing Seele's little head and taking a deep breath of her adorable energy, Elysia turned her gaze to the curious Kaguya.
"You're Xander 's fiancée, right?"
"Mm."
Kaguya had never met Elysia in person before.
She had only heard bits and pieces from Bronya and Seele.
Now that they met face-to-face, she was understandably curious.
"Wow, another pretty girl."
Looking closely at Kaguya—though she wore only a simple long dress—the poise in how she sat on the sofa and that relatively restrained Eastern beauty, exquisite without being showy, was like a mellow wine that intoxicates with just a glance.
Letting go of Seele, Elysia sidled up to Kaguya.
Amid Kaguya's slightly stiff expression, she hugged Kaguya's arm.
"You're so beautiful.
This poise, this charm—even I'm drawn to you.
Oh, and you can call me Elysia-sis just like Seele~"
Looking at Kaguya, Elysia's eyes practically sparkled.
"Mm... Elysia-sis..."
Those two words were ultimately a bit embarrassing to say.
And being approached so intimately by someone she wasn't familiar with made the relatively reserved Kaguya uncomfortable.
Only because Elysia was a woman, and someone her husband knew well, did she refrain from pulling away.
Catching Kaguya's pleading glance at him, Xander walked over with Elysia's luggage, set it aside, then turned his palm into a "knife" and tapped Elysia lightly on the head.
"Ow!"
Elysia clutched the top of her head and glared up at him.
"I know you're excited today, but Kaguya's personality leans introverted.
This kind of intimate physical contact—save it until you two get more familiar."
"Is that so?!"
"Mm."
Facing Elysia's searching gaze, Kaguya nodded a bit shyly.
"Ah, don't worry.
We'll be good friends in no time, because..."
Elysia blinked at Kaguya with a smile.
"I just love being with pretty girls~"
So straightforward a compliment was a bit much for the more traditional Kaguya.
Her cheeks flushed as she turned her head away.
"Really so cute~"
After "bothering" Kaguya, Elysia finally turned to the last person.
Kiana sat off to the side alone.
She'd been happily watching the fun, but when she noticed Elysia's probing gaze turn her way, her heart skipped a beat.
"E-Elysia-sis, long time no see~"
She forced a smile and said hello, then sprang to her feet.
"Haha, I won't get in the way.
I'm off."
Before anyone could respond, Kiana bolted.
Relying on a sixth sense gained by sacrificing IQ, she felt that something bad would happen to her if she stayed.
"Don't overthink it.
There's nothing between Kiana and me.
I'm just here to hang out today."
Understanding the meaning in Elysia's eyes, Xander hurried to clarify.
"Eh?
Really not?!
But that girl is so cute!"
Elysia answered in shock.
"Do I have to make a move on every cute one?!!"
"Don't you?
For my sake, Xander , can't you try a little harder?!"
"?"
His brain snagged on something strange for a second.
When he came back to his senses and noticed the sly look on Elysia's face, he immediately understood.
"Don't slander my innocence."
He pinched Elysia's cheeks, then turned to pick up the suitcase beside him.
He hefted the not-so-heavy weight and asked in puzzlement, "Just this little bit?"
"Of course not.
But as for cross-border delivery efficiency, Xander , you should know, right?"
"That's true."
He nodded.
Elysia suddenly raised her hand.
Sweeping her gaze around and letting it rest, one by one, on Bronya, Seele, and the others, Elysia's smile turned a little meaningful.
"So, where am I sleeping tonight?"
...
At dawn, Xander's biological clock woke him right on time.
He opened his eyes and looked at a ceiling he wasn't all that familiar with, and his mind gradually cleared.
He reached out and felt around on both sides.
There was nothing in the empty space around him.
He sat up, and a thin sheet slid down from his upper body.
Looking at the quiet studio around him, he couldn't help but sigh.
He suddenly understood why "three monks have no water to drink."
Only when Elysia asked that question yesterday did Xander realize there was a big problem.
There were only two bedrooms at home.
All the other rooms had been converted into things like a studio and a walk-in closet.
Let Elysia share a room with Kaguya?
Definitely not.
Let Elysia share a room with him?
Even more impossible.
After careful "discussion," Xander was successfully kicked to the studio.
He set up a camping cot from a previous trip and laid a quilt on it.
That would be his little nest for the next few days.
Bronya, Seele, and Kaguya were now all squeezed together in his big bed, while Elysia took Kaguya's room.
Downstairs, Bronya had already gotten up early.
With a cup of coffee in hand, she researched all kinds of materials on her laptop.
The day before yesterday, Xander had only explained some general concepts and sketched a rough map on the fly.
As for the specifics, she needed to dig in properly.
As for Kaguya, she had been assigned to study various firearms basics to build a foundation for making the gunfeel as good as possible later.
According to that guy Xander's "pie," this would be a game that could overturn current FPS gameplay, which had them both very excited.
In the public mind, FPS meant holding a gun and trading shots with other players behind cover, or wading into monster hordes and venting overwhelming firepower.
What would this brand-new style be?
They'd pestered him for ages and even tempted Seele to act cutesy, but Xander had only smiled and revealed nothing.
Seele got teased for half a day and still didn't get a shred of info.
Truly useless.
"I'll show you once the proposal is written."
That was all he ever said.
Just then, the sounds at the stairwell interrupted her thoughts, and Bronya raised an eyebrow instinctively.
There, clearly just out of bed, Xander was being stopped by Elysia in a nightgown.
She leaned in toward him, rose on tiptoe, and wore a sweet smile.
"Don't move.
Let me use your eyes as a mirror~"
She gazed seriously into his eyes, lifted a hand, and lightly smoothed the pink bangs on her forehead a few times.
Seconds later, Elysia suddenly beamed.
She dipped her head and pecked the corner of his mouth.
She danced back a step, then clasped her hands behind her back, bending lightly to outline an enticing curve that showed off her figure.
Looking up at Xander with a smile, she said, "As expected, I'm still a perfect pretty girl today~"
Chin propped in her hand, Bronya just watched quietly.
She thought she'd feel jealous like yesterday, but seeing it now, she found she didn't actually hate it that much.
The thing she'd worried about so much—now that it was actually happening around her—suddenly didn't feel so serious.
But that guy Xander... was he blushing?
Elysia really did have a knack.
The corner of her mouth slowly curved up, and Bronya quietly made a note in her heart.
"Ducky, you're up so early.
What are you working on~"
The sweetness of spending time with her lover had given Elysia a lovely morning.
In high spirits, she quickly noticed Bronya sitting in the living room.
After Xander went to wash up, she bounced over.
She rested both arms on the sofa back and craned her head curiously.
"Designing the new game's maps.
Considering vertical differences in terrain is pretty fun to build.
Also, Elysia-sis, my name is Bronya."
Bronya took a sip of coffee and spoke evenly.
"Eh?
Don't you think 'Ducky' sounds super cute?
For a pretty girl like you, Bronya, having a nickname or two is totally normal."
Then Elysia's tone turned.
"Of course, if that nickname would make you uncomfortable, I won't use it.
After all, I would never do anything that makes a cute girl feel sad~"
"...It's not that... forget it, do as you like."
Looking at the pitiful look on her face, Bronya sighed helplessly.
She clearly saw Elysia as a rival, but when facing her for real, she really couldn't bring herself to dislike Elysia-sis.
After breakfast, Xander sat on the sofa and took out his phone.
He typed seriously, and from time to time made a short call or two.
"Xander , whatcha doing?"
After chatting a bit with Kaguya to deepen their rapport, Elysia soon sidled over, hugging his arm and leaning against him.
Feeling the softness enveloping his whole arm, Xander suppressed the restlessness in his heart, put down the phone, and smiled.
"Nothing much.
I just wanted to ask if St. Freya Academy could let us move in early."
"Early?"
"Mm."
He nodded and continued with a headache.
"The company is too far from home, and the commute is a real pain.
But it's relatively close to St. Freya.
Production on the new game is ramping up, so it's not ideal for the three of us leads to keep living at home.
And also..."
He looked at Elysia, then dipped his head to kiss her cheek and said "fiercely," "I don't want to be the one sleeping alone again."
At that, Elysia raised her brows, eyes smiling as she muttered to herself, "Mmm~ then tonight, I might stay up very late.
And after I wash up, a fairy with foggy senses might wander into the wrong room.
Xander , remember to lock your door tight, okay?
Don't let me go to the wrong one~"
"...Don't worry.
I'll definitely lock it!"
With that almost literal hint, Xander put on a serious face and answered earnestly.
Just then, Seele—who had just finished tidying the kitchen and was passing through the living room to help her brother collect laundry—stopped in her tracks.
"Brother, what are you talking about?"
Her pure sky-blue eyes blinked up at him, and Xander instantly broke into a cold sweat.
At that moment, Elysia suddenly smiled.
She leaned in, lowered her voice, and whispered, "So, Seele, want to come wash up together?
Remember to wait until your Bronya-sis is asleep~"
"!!!!"
Seele's face flushed in an instant.
She stepped back, flustered hands waving as she stammered, "S-Seele prefers going to bed earlier, so I won't join."
And just before she left, she added in a small voice, "I won't tell Bronya-sis."
As soon as the words fell, she bolted upstairs, cheeks blazing and feet pattering away.
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