"The love-hate relationship between Shiraori and Ariel."
In the original work, if Kumoko's 'Body Brain' hadn't eroded Ariel's consciousness, the two would never have reconciled.
Beryl had no intention of helping Kumoko. She had a prior agreement with Evil God D that Evil God D would protect Kumoko's life before she became a god.
Therefore, even though Kumoko was being hunted by Demon Lord Ariel, Beryl wasn't worried.
[Elaina: "Teacher Zeref, thank you for your guidance. I've become a full-fledged Witch."]
In the Chat Group, Elaina's message suddenly popped up.
Witch...
Elaina becoming a Witch in the original work was supposed to be a year later.
Beryl pondered, 'Is the time flow difference between the different worlds in the group really that great?'
Or did Zeref's guidance cause Elaina to become a Witch much earlier?
In the anime "The Journey of Elaina," Elaina's magical talent was exceptional. To temper Elaina's temperament, Elaina's mother, Victorica, found her former disciple to be Elaina's teacher.
Before becoming The Ashen Witch in the original work, Elaina served Fran almost like a servant for about a year.
It had only been a few days, and Elaina had actually graduated.
[Zeref: "@Elaina, this is the result of your own efforts. I only gave you a little inspiration, so you don't need to call me teacher."]
[Elaina: "Yes, Mr. Zeref."]
[Zeref: "There's no need for that; just call me by my name."]
In the God of Destruction Realm, Beryl watched Zeref and Elaina's conversation in the Chat Group.
To be honest, Beryl was a little curious.
How many days had passed in Elaina's world?
It seemed that the time flow in each group member's world was different.
For example, Kumoko had already progressed to a battle with Demon Lord Ariel.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "@Elaina, how did you graduate from your teacher Fran, and how long did it take?"]
[Elaina: "One week. I only used one week to defeat Teacher Fran."]
[Elaina: "Teacher Fran also said that I might surpass the Witch named Nike in the future."]
Elaina's explanation surprised Beryl quite a bit.
The flow of time was indeed different.
Moreover, the plot had also become chaotic.
After thinking for a moment, Beryl still decided to tell Elaina about Nike.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "@Elaina, do you know where that Witch Nike is?"]
[Elaina: "Does Group Leader know?"]
As soon as she heard the name Nike, Elaina became interested. "The Adventure of Nike" could be said to be her introductory reading.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "The author of "The Adventure of Nike" is right beside you. Guess who is it?"]
[Elaina: "Beside me? Could it be… Teacher Fran!"]
The only Witch beside her seemed to be Teacher Fran.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "Your Teacher Fran is Nike's disciple."]
[Elaina: "R-really?"]
Elaina was excited. She never expected that Nike, whom she admired the most, had a disciple right beside her, who was also Elaina's teacher.
"Really, Teacher Fran, you didn't reveal anything at all."
Lying on the lawn, Elaina rolled around in a 'death roll'.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "@Elaina, you've actually met Nike before."]
The message that popped up in the Chat Group left Elaina a little confused. When had she ever met Nike?
Could there be some powerful Witch living in seclusion in the town?
She carefully typed a message into the Chat Group.
[Elaina: "Is it a resident of the town? Is Witch Nike living in seclusion here?"]
The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed.
Isn't it common in novels to have powerful Witches who, after traveling the world, find a quiet place to live in seclusion and study magic?
[World's No. 1 Princess: "@Elaina, I'll give you a clue about Nike. She has ash-gray hair like you, and her personality is also similar to yours—very 'scum'."]
[Elaina: "Group Leader, that's slander! How am I 'scum'?"]
[World's No. 1 Princess: "Listen to me. There's one last clue. Listen carefully."]
Looking at the Chat Group, Elaina held her breath.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "The last clue is, Elaina, you see her every day, and your Teacher Fran was also found by her."]
Seeing the message on the public screen, a question mark slowly appeared above Elaina's head.
Ash-gray hair, 'scum', seen every day, plus found Teacher Fran.
Leaving aside the last point, Teacher Fran was a Witch she unexpectedly met while practicing magic behind the mountain.
But, the first three conditions...
Elaina: "…"
Excluding the possibility that the Group Leader was fooling her.
A certain person's figure appeared in her mind.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
How could her gentle and virtuous mother be Nike, and even more 'scum' than her?
Elaina walked home in a daze.
Unconsciously, she returned to the living room and saw her mother cooking lunch.
"Nike…."
Elaina couldn't connect the powerful Witch who traveled the world with her mother in front of her.
"Mom… Teacher Fran, did you find her?"
Elaina's mother didn't answer. Instead, she brought a plate of pastries from the kitchen and placed them on the table in front of Elaina.
"Elaina, what did you guess?"
"You… are Nike?"
Elaina asked tentatively, her hand unconsciously rubbing the corner of her skirt under the table.
"Yes, I thought I could hide it from Elaina for a bit longer! I didn't expect to be discovered so quickly." Victorica reached out and stroked Elaina's ash-gray hair, revealing a gentle smile.
"W-why?"
Elaina ultimately hadn't traveled for a long time like in the original work, so she wasn't prepared for her mother's identity.
She could be said to be a novice who had just become a Witch, at least in terms of experience.
"If you are Nike, why did you let Teacher Fran teach me? Teacher Fran is your disciple, right?"
Elaina couldn't understand. Why would a powerful Witch let someone else teach her own daughter?
"Ah, about that, Elaina, do you want to hear the truth?" Since Elaina had said the name Nike, it wasn't surprising that she had guessed Fran's identity.
Elaina nodded.
"Because it's hard to be harsh… After all, you are my own daughter, and being too harsh would feel a bit bad. Moreover, when Fran was my disciple, I often bullied her, so I thought she would be very interested in teaching Elaina."
"That's your reason?"
Elaina's pupils widened as she looked her mother up and down, as if she was meeting her for the first time.
Was this person really her mom? Could she have been swapped?
She was exactly as the Group Leader said, so 'scum'.
"Eh, is Elaina angry?" Victorica playfully poked Elaina's nose.
"Actually, I originally wanted Fran to temper your personality. Your magical talent among your peers is too strong, and such pride would cause a lot of trouble later. But I changed my mind in the end." Victorica paused and said, "Because little Elaina seems to have found her own path."
"Can you tell Mom what happened in the past half a month?"
"I…" Elaina hesitated.
[Elaina: "Is the Group Leader here? Can I reveal some things about the Chat Group?"]
Elaina was a little worried, so she asked the Group Leader for her opinion first.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "You can, but be careful."]
[Elaina: "Thank you."]
With the Group Leader's permission, Elaina told Victorica about joining the Chat Group.
Victorica listened carefully to Elaina's unexpected encounter.
"Elaina actually found a teacher, and… that teacher sounds much stronger than me, but what about his curse, a god's curse?" Victorica pondered, resting her chin on her hand.
After a long while, Victorica looked at Elaina and smiled slightly: "Elaina, is becoming the strongest Witch also because of the group?"
"Yes, that's right, Mom."
"Then work hard. My daughter, even compared to people from other worlds, you can't be too weak."
Victorica thought for a moment and said, "How about this? For the next month, I will personally train Elaina."
Given Elaina's strength, Victorica originally wanted her to travel the continent first.
But, now it seems...
Since there was an opportunity from other worlds, as a mother, it was impossible to stop her.
"Eh? Really? Mom is going to teach me?" Elaina was a little excited.
She had never seen her mother use magic growing up, but from the conversation just now, perhaps it was just that she was too weak to notice.
Elaina's matter temporarily came to an end.
On the other side.
Teyvat Continent.
"Your Highness, the Rite of Descension in Liyue has begun." Enjou reported from behind Lumine.
"How are the preparations?" Lumine glanced behind her upon hearing this.
"Everything is ready. As long as Your Highness can hold back Morax, even if we go to full-scale war with Liyue, we are confident in taking them down."