Chapter 164: The Socially Doomed Boy and the Socially Doomed Green Snake

Project Bunny has terrain scanning capabilities and can also scan through walls. With Project Bunny's help, Bronya quickly found the mechanism hidden behind the wine cabinet.

As the mechanism turned, the cabinet made a clicking sound and slowly opened inward. Footsteps approached from behind the cabinet.

"Let me see what kind of banshee is causing trouble!"

Kosma was furious. He had finally found a chance to leave the Elysian Realm and try something new, only to have his drink stolen!

As the mechanism door opened, there was another door inside. The soft footsteps stopped, and the door opened slightly.

"Who are you looking for? Sister Eden said not to open the door for strangers... Eh? Bronie, Bronya, Sister Pardo, and Au-... Sister Ellie."

"Wait, what did Griseo just call Elysia?"

Bronya was stunned, but Elysia burst out laughing happily.

"That's not the point. The point is, Griseo, how did you end up in here?"

"Sister Eden told me to stay here. After getting separated from Kosma, I got lost. Sister Eden said I should stay here. Look, I've drawn a lot, fan art of Persona, and some of Titanfall..."

Griseo was quite relaxed, in stark contrast to everyone else's survival game mode.

Kosma was speechless.

"Hey, didn't you know I was looking for you all this time? You were so close to me. Why didn't you come out and say something?"

Griseo innocently shook her head. "I didn't know."

"…Wait, weren't you the one who took the bottle from my hand?"

"No, it wasn't me! It was the Healthy Drinking Spirit. Mother Aponia said that a long time ago, there was a spirit that could fly anywhere in the world following the scent of alcohol. The spirit loved alcohol and people who loved drinking but hated those who caused trouble when drunk or sneaky kids who shouldn't drink."

Well, the truth was out.

The culprit was Griseo!

Oblivious to the group's reactions, Griseo continued, "When it meets such people, the Healthy Drinking Spirit uses magic to steal bottles from their hands. Sister Eden said thanks to the spirit's efforts, people can enjoy their drinks happily."

"I bet Eden had at least ten bottles of wine to come up with that story."

Bronie couldn't help but comment, while Kosma, finding a kindred spirit, looked at her as if to say, "Bronie, you truly understand me!"

"Hmph! Kosma wanted to be a naughty kid sneaking a drink, so the spirit took his bottle. It has nothing to do with me!"

Griseo crossed her arms, speaking righteously.

Kosma's eyes then turned to the bottle near the drawing paper.

"Technically, Griseo, we're definitely older than five thousand years, right?"

"…No, we're still minors in our current bodies!"

"And what about the bottle behind you?"

"I don't know!"

Griseo didn't seem as confident now.

"And the surveillance? The cameras seem to be watching the bar..."

"Sorry, Kosma."

Seeing Griseo's pitiful expression, Kosma deflated instantly.

"Fine, don't make everyone worry again. You know I've been looking for you."

"Actually, when I saw you talking to the figurines, I wanted to come out and find you."

Great, Griseo's usual self-incriminating statements crumbled Kosma's persona.

But such things always happened in the Elysian Realm.

"And when you were playing cowboy alone at the bar, I really wanted to join in~"

"…Griseo, please don't mention these things in front of everyone…" Kosma glanced at the others.

Elysia, Pardo, Bronie, and even Bronya were all stifling their laughter.

Indeed, if this Honkai couldn't be resolved and the Ark plan had to be executed, he might just sign up again, so he could leave the solar system right away...

"So, where is my dear Eden?"

Elysia looked around. Wine should have attracted Eden, yet she was nowhere to be found. Elysia was genuinely worried about Eden's whereabouts.

"Sorry, Sister Elysia, I don't know."

Of course, Griseo wouldn't know where Eden went. She was too busy making BL fanfiction of Persona 5's protagonist, Ren Amamiya.

"So, Kosma, have you finished exploring the other areas? Did you find anything that looks like a key, or have you seen any canned food?"

Bronie temporarily set aside the search for Eden. The decor of each area in the castle clearly wasn't Vil-V's style, so Bronie had a good reason to suspect that Eden might have been involved in the castle's design.

"Yeah! What about Can? I didn't see any near Brother Su either!"

Pardo suddenly realized, but unfortunately, they hadn't encountered any side paths along the way, let alone the location of any canned food.

"It's here~"

Griseo pulled out a key from the room effortlessly.

"It's that simple!?"

Pardo felt it was too easy to be real. Normally, she enjoyed treasure hunting, but obtaining something so easily took the fun out of it. She watched as Griseo handed the jeweled key to Elysia, who then passed it to Pardo. Pardo didn't seem very pleased.

"Because Griseo is here. She's so cute, how could anyone trouble her?"

Bronie pointed at the adorable Griseo, who cooperated by widening her eyes and staring at everyone. Instantly, everyone's hearts melted.

"Alright, Bronie, you have a point. Besides, didn't Kosma mention they experienced an escape room challenge? Finding the room where Griseo was could be considered a challenge."

Not wanting to upset Griseo, Pardo relented quickly, though her restless little tail wagged nervously.

"Alright! Since we have the key, let's regroup with the others. Maybe Sakura and Mobius are still waiting for us to rescue them! By the way, Bronya, what are you doing? Kids shouldn't drink alcohol!"

Elysia retrieved the key and put it away.

"Bronya is making Molotov cocktails. If necessary, she plans to destroy this castle. Hopefully, it won't come to that."

Though the Flamechasers had various ways to destroy the castle, Bronya still wanted to add her own touch to the battle. Of course, it would be best if there was no need for a fight.

This area had only one corridor, leading to the bar where Kosma had stayed. There was also a staircase to the second floor

However, the staircase was blocked by a door that seemed fixed in place, as if the space itself was locked.

No doubt, it was the work of the Aeon. It must be an employee passage, Bronie noted the place and followed the group back to the main hall of the castle.

"This castle is huge, with many secret passages. The left side has a game room and dining hall, and the upper floor has more activity rooms and a library. Griseo and I unlocked many doors and explored much of the area. Griseo accidentally fell into a secret passage, which I think Eden designed."

Kosma explained the layout since he and Griseo had arrived and explored this area ahead of everyone else. Finding the keys would heavily rely on Kosma's help.

"Kosma, have you seen any other keys elsewhere?"

"In the game room, there's a key in a picture frame. I thought it looked nice, so I took note of it."

That direction was where Mobius' team was headed.

"There are many interesting mechanisms inside, requiring a lot of time to solve. Clues are scattered across different rooms. Griseo and I became familiar with the area after going back and forth."

As they spoke, they reached the first door in the corridor. Opening the door, Elysia saw an incredible scene.

Mobius, wearing an elegant dress, sat like a noblewoman, with Fu Hua dressed as a butler standing beside her. Sakura, dressed as a maid, poured tea for Mobius.

"Am I seeing this right? Mobius in such a beautiful dress!"

Like a lily in the wild, the mad scientist's aura disappeared, as if Mobius had always lived here as a pampered princess.

"You already found the key!?"

Seeing Elysia, Mobius reacted like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Of course, we found the key! But that's not the point! Mobius, you look so beautiful in that dress! I have to capture this moment!"

Fu Hua lowered her head, pretending to be invisible.

Sensing Fu Hua's embarrassment, Elysia turned to her too.

"You look both handsome and beautiful, Hua!"

"No, it's just something I had to do to get the key…"

"The key?"

Elysia looked around. Besides an oil painting of an unknown noble family having tea, everything seemed normal. No, the painting depicted the original spot of the key, and below it was a golden card.

"Recreate the painting's scene to unlock the treasure room key."

So that's how it was.

"Mobius, you look lovely in the dress~"

"Can we stop talking about the dress? How about you wear it and complete this challenge for me?"

"No!"

Elysia's response was firm.

"Mobius' charming moment, how could I interrupt? Bronie, project a camera for me; I need to capture this beautiful moment!"

"Alright!"

As the shutter clicked, a high-resolution polaroid camera slowly produced the photo. Then came the digital camera.

Click—

Each click raised Mobius' blood pressure a bit more until the painting in the room flipped, revealing the key inside.

"It's finally over… You'll pay for this!"

Mobius fled the scene in shame, likely heading to the changing room.

As for Sakura, she simply tore off the maid outfit, revealing her swimsuit underneath, not caring about her image. Fu Hua straightened her tie.

"Griseo, Kosma, it's good to see you. It seems Vil-V's activities didn't trouble you?"

"Kosma said it's something we shouldn't talk about…"

"Hm?"

Fu Hua frowned, and Bronie sensed there was fun to be had.

"No, Griseo and I just did an escape room in the castle. The key was easy to get, nothing we can't talk about…"

"And Kosma talked to his figurines~"

Alright, Griseo unintentionally made Kosma socially awkward again. Kosma now wished he could find a time machine and go back to punch his past self.

Why did he do such absurd things back then?

He was already five thousand years old!

"And drank milk at the bar."

Bronie chose to rub salt in the wound.

"Drinking more milk is good for your health. Even though we've been in the Elysian Realm for so long, Kosma, your current body is still underage."

As usual of the elmhead, Fu Hua's comment hit the mark, thoroughly silencing Kosma who was too embarrassed to speak.

"So, we've got two keys now? I often hear explosions upstairs; I wonder if you heard them too. Kevin's situation might not be optimistic. I suggest we head up quickly."

Back in her swimsuit, Mobius diverted the topic as soon as she saw Elysia.

"What a shame. If Mobius wore something even more pink and girly, it could be even more interesting~"

"Unfortunately, Elysia is too fat to fit into such clothes. If she did, her true form would be revealed, so let's skip this topic!"

"No, I'm not fat!"

"Yes, you are. No rebuttals!"

As the two seemed ready to argue until the end of time, another explosion sounded above.

Alright, Kevin's combat power was formidable, but if they faced the Aeon, what then?

In the end, Elysia stopped bickering and said, "Let's go. We need to get the last key. Kevin might be fighting Vil-V; we have to help!"

"Yes, with your over 100-pound weight, go help Kevin~".