Pardofelis asked: "Oh, intel business? No problem! Go ahead—who's the gossip you want to know about?"
Mei said: "Raven."
"…?" Pardofelis froze. She really hadn't heard that name: "Who?"
Mei described: "Mm… she's about this tall, short hair, wearing all black, with red claw blades on her hands…"
Pardofelis thought for a moment: "Hm? Black clothes, red claws? Is there someone like that in the Realm?"
Mei: "…"
Pardofelis laughed: "But no worries! Hehe, Mei-nee, you might not know this, but I'm the best at finding things."
"People, objects, whatever you're looking for—as long as the reward is good enough, I'll definitely get it for you!"
Mei asked: "What reward do you want?"
Pardofelis said: "Hehe, super simple… I want to be friends with Mei-nee."
"To be honest, it's a bit embarrassing, but lately the Realm's been kinda chaotic, and running around is pretty dangerous. And at a time like this, I lost Can."
"Without him, I really can't make it on my own. Mei-nee, since you're looking for someone anyway, how about… we travel together for a bit?"
"Looking for one person is looking; looking for two is still looking. Might as well team up—I'll guide you, you keep me safe. That way I avoid a trip to hell's gate, and you save some pointless money. Win-win, right?"
Mei asked: "That's all??"
Pardofelis nodded: "Yep! That's it! Business isn't about short-term gains—you've gotta think long-term."
"Plus, when I wasn't around, my little shop still got plenty of care from Mei-nee. Consider it a thank-you to a regular customer."
Mei said: "Alright then, I'll trouble you to lead the way."
"Got it! No time to waste—let's head out right now…" As soon as she finished, she remembered: "Ah, almost forgot! Since we're becoming friends, I'll give you my Signet too."
"It's not super useful or anything, but don't worry—it's free, no charge—"
Mei looked at the Signet…
Reverie's Signet… Pardofelis.
Pardofelis, walking ahead, urged: "Come on, Mei-nee, stop spacing out."
Mei had no choice but to follow.
Along the way.
Every Honkai beast and mecha-type monster they encountered was taken care of by Mei alone.
Pardofelis exclaimed from the side: "Wow, you really know your stuff. No wonder you could beat Snake-nee."
Mei asked: "Pardo, are you planning to just watch from the sidelines the whole time?"
Pardofelis quickly said: "Oh come on, Mei-nee, I'm just a shopkeeper. Fighting really isn't my thing."
This actually surprised Mei—and all the viewers.
In the viewers' minds, the Flame-Chasers were heroes who fought to the very end. Even if some harbored ulterior motives, anyone who could face Finality wouldn't be weak.
And now there was a cat… Pardofelis saying she couldn't fight?
It really sparked curiosity, even… doubt about whether she was telling the truth.
Compared to the viewers' curiosity.
Inside the company, Pardofelis was extremely excited: "My screen time! It's finally my turn! Even though the director forced me to wear this outfit and it's super embarrassing, it actually looks really good on TV. The audience must like me a lot, right?"
She wanted to pull out her phone to check the group chat.
SAKURA kindly said: "Pardo, let's just focus on watching TV for now."
Even Kalpas chimed in: "Yeah… watching TV is way better than watching people chat!"
??
Pardofelis asked curiously: "Sakura-nee, Kalpas-ge, what's wrong with you guys?"
Li Sushang said bluntly: "Because your character just appeared. The audience still has some misunderstandings about you, so don't look yet. Wait until the plot develops a bit more—that's when you'll see their real thoughts."
"Ohhh~ Thanks! Then I'll just watch TV."
Pardofelis didn't disappoint everyone's kindness. Cats may be curious, but they don't self-torment.
On the TV.
Mei asked: "By the way, the person you were looking for earlier… who was it?"
Pardofelis said: "Didn't I tell you? It's Can. He promised to watch the shop but then vanished… really makes me worry."
"Ah, right—Mei-nee, are you allergic to cat fur?"
Mei said: "No, why?"
Pardofelis said: "Oh, good. It's just that my tail's been shedding a lot lately."
She asked mainly because among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers, SAKURA was the one allergic to cat fur.
"Hm? Wait!"
Pardofelis, following behind Mei, suddenly called out to stop her: "I can sense Can—he's nearby… this way, this way!"
Seeing Pardofelis dash off in one direction.
Mei immediately followed.
After walking along the path for a while.
She saw Raven talking to a cat: "I'm telling you… do you actually know the way back or not? We've been circling this area for like ten laps already, right?"
The cat meowed: "Meow…"
Raven said helplessly: "Don't give me that pitiful look… like I'm bullying you or something. Sigh, whatever—let's keep wandering…"
"…! Meow!"
The cat suddenly spotted Mei and Pardofelis and rushed toward them.
"Hey, wait up!" Raven immediately chased after and saw Mei: "…Huh, Mei? What are you doing here?"
"…" Mei was speechless and teased: "I should be asking you that, senior. You disappear for so long, and it turns out you're… playing with a cat?"
Raven looked utterly miserable: "Spare me. Playing with a cat? More like getting played by the cat. If it weren't for him, how would I have gotten stuck here and unable to leave?"
At the same time, Pardofelis's voice came from the side: "Alright, alright, Can, stop messing around! Mei-nee and her friend are watching… ahh, that tickles, stop licking!"
Raven: "…"
Mei: "…"
Raven asked Mei: "So… this is your new friend?"
Mei nodded: "More or less. We ran into each other on the way."
Pardofelis immediately said: "Ah! So this is the friend Mei-nee was looking for? And she's with Can—this is killing two birds with one stone… no, it's fate, the arrangement of fate!"
"Hi! I'm Pardofelis. Nobody really uses my full name. Some call me Felis, some call me Pardo—whatever feels natural to you."
"Felis…" Raven remembered: "You're the owner of the Realm shop?"
Pardofelis said: "Yep! The last seat among the thirteen, the weakest Flame-Chaser in both status and strength—Pardofelis of Reverie, genuine article."
Mei said: "…Alright, Pardo. The person I'm looking for, and the… cat you're looking for… they're both here. Can you find a way to get us out of here?"
Pardofelis said: "Getting out? Easy! I'm a business runner after all—I've got plenty of experience wandering around."
"But… hehe, strictly speaking, this is a trade secret. So… could you two please close your eyes and cover your ears? No peeking, no listening?"
"It's not that I don't trust you! It's just… you know, this is how I make a living. If it accidentally gets leaked…"
Mei said: "We'll do as you say."
Pardofelis said: "Great! Thank you for your trust! Then, no time to waste—Pardo's special service—"
A powerful sensation of weightlessness suddenly hit. Pardofelis's already somewhat fuzzy voice gradually faded away.
Her consciousness seemed to struggle, wanting to detach from her body… wanting to reach the distant darkness ahead of it…
"Hehe… thank you for your patronage, you two~"
Thanks to Pardofelis's skill, Mei and Raven returned to the main hall.
Raven also carefully explained to Mei everything she had encountered in the Realm.
Mei said: "You said you saw a space that felt like a prison…"
Raven nodded: "Yeah… how should I put it? It just felt like a prison."
Mei asked puzzled: "Felt like?"
Raven said: "I don't know how to describe it, but from the moment I entered, I already accepted that it was a prison."
"But in reality, there was nothing there—just pure darkness—except for that mysterious woman."
Mei asked: "About that woman… Raven, can you recall any more details?"
"…" Raven carefully thought back to the situation: "Before I completely lost consciousness, she seemed to say something to me… and handed me something—
"Ah! I remember! How could I forget that pendant?"
"Pendant?"
"Yeah, it's this… huh? Where's the pendant she gave me?" Raven looked at her chest where it should have been.
"…" Mei was speechless.
Raven said: "This is bad. That woman gave me a golden pendant with a fairly large sapphire embedded in it."
"She said it would help me bring the person she's waiting for to her—though I have no idea what that means."
Mei said: "Maybe… if we can find it, we'll have a chance to visit that prison again."
Raven immediately asked: "Did you think of something?"
Mei said: "Not sure yet, but don't we happen to know a friend who's really good at finding things?"
"Though it's just a guess, I feel like… she might know where that pendant is right now."
This so-called friend was, of course, Pardofelis.
And the way to find her was to go to Felis's shop.
Elysian Realm.
Felis's shop.
Mei arrived alone.
Pardofelis greeted her enthusiastically: "Hi, Mei-nee! You're back! What are you planning to check out today?"
"To be honest, I just finished inventory and dug up some old one-of-a-kind items from a few years back that didn't sell. I'm planning to clear them out cheap—see if there's anything…"
Mei interrupted her: "There actually is something I'm interested in—that golden pendant. It's pretty distinctive."
Pardofelis said: "Wow! Mei-nee, your taste is amazing! This pendant was one of the best-sellers back then. I hesitated for so long before keeping the last one…"
Mei asked calmly: "Oh, is that so?"
Pardofelis kept going: "Yeah, yeah! Whether Flame-Chasers or successors, everyone's bought those things that look useless but somehow feel really familiar, right? That's just eye affinity."
Mei said: "It does feel familiar. I recently promised Raven I'd help her find her lost pendant."
"A golden one, set with a sapphire—just like this one of yours."
"Uh… ah?" Pardofelis's eyes darted around, a bead of sweat on her forehead, but she still stubbornly said: "W-Wow, what a coincidence! Didn't expect Raven-nee to like this kind of pendant too. Great taste! Great taste!!!"
Mei looked at her with some interest: "Mm, quite the coincidence."
Pardofelis, under pressure, said: "…A-Alright, Mei-nee, stop thinking about weird stuff!"
"There's only one of these pendants left anyway… Mm, tell you what, Mei-nee—I'll give you a discount! Sell it to you cheap!"
Pardofelis shoved the pendant into Mei's hand.
Mei said: "This is basically forcing a sale now, isn't it, Pardo?"
Pardofelis quickly said: "Oh come on, Mei-nee, don't put it like that! Look—you need this pendant, right? One wants to buy, one wants to sell—how could it be…"
"It's you… you've finally come…" The gem on the necklace flashed with a glimmer of light.
Mei's consciousness gradually faded, her body collapsing uncontrollably.
When her consciousness awoke again.
She was already in a pitch-black place.
Exactly as Raven had described.
"Come to me, stranger traveler."
"The answers you seek are here."
"No need to hurry… Here, no one will rush you forward."
"You can slowly walk… the path you are meant to take."
Hearing this voice, Mei's body moved forward against her will.
Until she reached a certain cage, where she could faintly see a woman sitting inside.
The other spoke: "Stranger traveler, may I know your name?"
Mei answered uncontrollably: "Raiden Mei."
The other said: "Mei… a very warm name… I'm glad to meet you."
Mei only asked: "Who are you?"
The other said: "…Forgive me, Mei. Right now, I still cannot answer your question. It would only deepen your doubts, even lead to misunderstandings… which I do not wish. So please trust me—neither I nor this prison harbor any malice toward you."
"Think of this place as a temporary resting spot… or perhaps… an empty space that exists solely for our meeting."
"…???" Mei was puzzled.
The woman sighed: "See? A bit more doubt has appeared between your brows, but even more so—the fatigue this journey has brought you."
"You need a corner like this to rest for a while, need a friend to share your burdens with…"
"…"
Mei felt extremely strange!
Her instincts told her this woman in front of her was very dangerous, yet… she couldn't help wanting to affirm what she said.
What exactly… was the reason for this?
"It's alright, Mei." The woman spoke again: "I understand… between you and me, there are still walls standing."
???
Mei's heart jolted—this person actually knew what she was thinking?
"But… as I said, no need to hurry. Here, no one will rush you forward. The sands of time will naturally erode the walls; afterward, gentle sunlight will dispel the shadows between you."
The woman's voice continued.
But Mei felt her consciousness growing increasingly weary, and this weariness deepened further.
"Ah, as expected… for you, its burden is still too heavy… It's alright, Mei. Relax… listen to my words, close your eyes…"
"Imagine… an endless grassland, a gentle breeze blowing… mingled with the fragrance of earth and green grass…"
"You can feel… the sensation of grass blades pressed beneath you… those dewdrops moistening your cheeks and fingertips… Just like this… take a little nap on this grassland, Mei… completely release your body and mind…"
"When you wake, you will no longer feel any fatigue or pain…"
"Yes, that fatigue and pain… they never existed in the first place…"
Under her words, Mei gradually calmed.
When she awoke again in shock, she was already back in the lounge.
After asking around extensively, Mei learned that this mysterious woman was Aponia, the psychic-control-type Flame-Chaser.
And from Eden, she learned that to re-enter the Deep, only Kalpas and Elysia could help.
Before she could find Elysia.
The other approached her first: "Hi, Mei. I heard you found Natasha and even made friends with Felis? Things are going pretty smoothly."
"And… let me guess—you've already met Aponia, haven't you?"
Mei said: "Don't tell me you figured that out from my aura too."