After being thoroughly toyed with, Expert finally managed to escape Elysia's clutches.
She shrank into a corner like a startled little rabbit. The Expert, who normally devoted herself wholeheartedly to work, had never suffered such humiliation.
Back in the original storyline, Expert had silenced Kevin with nothing more than a single glance when he questioned her creations. And now... she had been reduced to Elysia's dress-up doll...
I need to work. I need to work...
And with her perpetually gloomy temperament, no matter how she thought about it, it simply didn't match a princess attribute. If anything, she looked more like a despairing princess who had escaped from some tragic prison.
Yet Elysia seemed to greatly appreciate this novel visual effect. "See? Just as I imagined. Cute Vill-V wearing this really has a special charm."
Expert: No. I refuse to look at the mirror.
Elysia cupped Vill-V's cheeks in both hands and gently turned her head toward the dressing mirror. "Come on, just one glance, alright? Look at how radiant you are."
"Mm~" Expert broke down at a single look.
This was bad. At this rate, Expert was about to turn back into Id.
...
"With Elysia here, I have the strength of a hundred people working at once!"
Under Elysia's influence, Expert became increasingly strange. Her work grew more and more diligent. She had always been hardworking before, but now she was like someone injected with adrenaline.
Elysia: Three chapters to capture Expert. After all, I am the ultimate yuri queen of Elysian Realm.
Scholar: A person who knows why they live can endure any kind of life.
Lecturer: See, Expert? I didn't lie to you. Once the fanatic buff is applied, work progress is no problem at all.
Before Expert completely broke down, Conductor finally stepped forward to face the Elysia that all the Vill-Vs found so daunting.
"Let's talk, Elysia."
Conductor was not like Expert, who, even after practically exposing herself, would bury her head in the sand like an ostrich and pretend nothing had happened.
Wasn't that just feeding Elysia's curiosity? No wonder Expert ended up getting entangled and used as a dress-up doll.
Moreover, Elysia had clearly come here with a request. At the very least, Conductor did not believe she was charming enough to make Elysia want to stay here indefinitely. At least Dr. Mobius was cuter than she was.
Yet Expert had failed to see that, keeping Elysia here like this. Truly hopelessly dense. Even Kevin understood women's hearts better than Expert. Perhaps she should go learn from Kevin.
In truth, it was mainly because Expert only knew how to bluntly drive people away: "Please leave the workshop." If someone stubbornly refused to go, she would generally choose to blast them out with armed equipment.
Unless the stubborn person happened to be Elysia...
Still wearing her kitchen apron, Elysia wiped her hands dry with her adorable pink towel as she spoke. "What's wrong, Vill-V? Do you want to talk about new invention ideas again?"
"That's fine. I always have time to listen to you. Elysia is right here."
Conductor glanced at the room, now filled with cute daily items Elysia had purchased. It seemed she truly intended to stay long-term.
So Conductor decided to be direct.
"Actually, I am a bionic robot equipped with a multi-personality program..."
"On second thought, it feels unnecessary to use some mysterious identity in front of you. It would only make you more curious."
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I—we—are Vill-V. My name is Legion. We are many, yet we are one."
"You may say each personality is Vill-V. You may also say we are a collective will. Interpret it however you like. In the end, everything converges into Vill-V."
"Mm, Vill-V has multiple personalities?" Elysia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"To be precise, not exactly. It is a simulation of thought."
"For example, suppose I have two preferences: liking sweet rice dumplings and liking savory rice dumplings. These two ideas do not conflict, correct?"
As she spoke, Conductor used Magician's trick to conjure two rice dumplings out of thin air. This sort of simple magic was well within her capabilities.
"Now, I separate the idea of liking sweet rice dumplings and the idea of liking savory rice dumplings."
"The me in the morning likes sweet dumplings." Conductor raised the sweet one.
"The me at night likes savory dumplings." Conductor raised the savory one.
She then separated the two dumplings further. "Both of these ideas are Vill-V. But because our thoughts differ, our actions naturally differ as well."
"Thus, the morning me practices eating sweet dumplings to perfection, while the night me perfects the art of wrapping savory dumplings."
"Even so, the morning me and the night me are both me. Our essence has not changed."
"What Vill-V has done is slice her thinking apart, allowing the morning me and the night me to exist simultaneously, even to communicate with each other about whether sweet dumplings are better or savory dumplings are superior."
Conductor used the two dumplings like little figurines, making them act out a miniature domestic scene on the table.
"In fact, ordinary people can do something similar. Vill-V is simply a genius who has pushed it to the extreme—performing these fragments of thought so vividly they are nearly real individuals."
Conductor had no intention of hiding this from Elysia. This was not merely a response to Elysia's so-called sincerity, nor some dramatic gesture of exclusivity.
This information had been meant for Elysia eventually. The timing was simply appropriate. After all, Conductor required Elysia's Herrscher abilities.
If Elysia could accurately understand Vill-V, it would make the execution of Conductor's future plans far safer.
If Elysia misunderstood Vill-V as a robot, the possibility of Vill-V truly becoming one was small—but not zero.
"And I am one of them..."
From between the two dumplings, Conductor picked up the savory one and introduced herself.
"Long time no see, Elysia. Though perhaps this is our first proper introduction. I am Conductor. Of course, that is merely a codename. You may also simply call me Vill-V."
Elysia picked up the sweet dumpling and made it mimic their first meeting.
"Hi there, wise and elegant Conductor. My name is Elysia. As you can see, I am a cute, beautiful, and powerful girl who has just joined MOTH~"
Hearing the sweet dumpling speak, the savory dumpling complained, "Your first meeting with Vill-V was with me, you know. And hasn't it already been a year? Saying you just joined MOTH seems a little inaccurate."
The sweet dumpling shook its little "shoulders" mischievously. "Mm-hm~ I want to meet every Vill-V as if it were our first encounter. If I used a different greeting, wouldn't that be unfair to the Vill-Vs who arrived later? After all, everyone wants to be the 'first Vill-V to meet Elysia,' right?"