Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Jiang Qiao: Have you guys used your scratch cards? What did you get? Quickly show me.

He had gotten some strange and useless stuff. Naturally, his curiosity made him wonder what the other group members had gotten.

Soon, he got some replies.

Yunyun: It's Explosion magic...

[Explosion Magic (Megumin Version)]

That was what Yunyun had gotten from a single scratch card.

Kyoko: I got a golden apple.

Unlike the others, Kyoko wouldn't hold back. If there was something interesting, she would keep playing until the end. So, she spent all of her 30-plus points on scratch cards. However, she only got one thing—

[Golden Apple]

A famous treasure in Greek mythology that caused a dispute between three goddesses. However, in Kyoko's eyes, it was just a golden apple that tasted really good.

Kyoko's comment was—It tasted amazing! I want to eat more!

Hu Tao: I think I got something weird...

[Spirit of Haggart]

Director Hu completely didn't know what this thing was used for.

Jiang Qiao was also a bit confused.

He knew about spirits. They were like souls, origins, and things like that. The most memorable one to him was probably from Monster Rancher.

Was this maybe something like the [Spectre of Puni]?

Perhaps it was some kind of monster that was released later.

It probably wasn't anything important.

Jiang Qiao, who didn't have any memory of this, didn't pay much attention to this matter.

"I should focus on handling the matter in front of me first~"

The pink girl, who had already changed into the Flame-Chaser outfit from the future, casually撩ed her hair near her ear and looked at the exquisite poster in her hand. A charming curve appeared on her lips.

—Famous artist and singer Eden will soon be holding a concert tour.

"Although this sounds like I'm slacking off, I'm very excited about the concert of that [Golden] Flame-Chaser~."

Of course, Jiang Qiao wasn't participating in the concert just because he wanted to.

For the sake of the blueprint that he had planned in his heart, he had to meet with that [Elysia]'s best friend in advance.

Besides, hadn't he lied to Elysia before, that the outfit had been designed by some wealthy lady?

If when Elysia swapped back later, she didn't see the wealthy lady, wouldn't he be so embarrassed?

So, even if it was just to save face, Jiang Qiao had to keep up this lie.

Considering all that—

"Well then, my dear Eden, let us have a romantic encounter ahead of time, shall we~?"

The young girl's slender index finger, soft and smiling, caressed the image on the poster of the woman with a beautiful appearance and a noble aura. The girl's bright, clear blue eyes were filled with a hint of amusement.

...

Before Grey Serpent was the wreckage of a destroyed communicator. It was projected in a way that he could see very clearly.

Needless to say, this was the result that Raven had reported immediately after noticing something strange.

Unlike Grey Serpent, who didn't want to lose face in front of his lord, and thus, wanted to report only after he had results, Raven, as a mercenary, didn't care about those things. If she noticed a clue, she would report it. Money was all that she cared about!

"You believe this is Fire Moth's emblem?"

Grey Serpent's hoarse voice didn't show his emotions. He just stared at the wreckage with his red mechanical compound eyes and asked Raven.

"Don't ask me. I don't care. But doesn't it look pretty similar to you?"

"That's impossible. Fire Moth had long since disappeared with the Previous Era. They can't possibly still exist."

Grey Serpent obviously couldn't believe that this thing had any connection with Fire Moth.

What was the meaning of just a broken, highly similar emblem?

The world was big. It wasn't like there weren't other extremely similar patterns.

If it was just a moth pattern, then comparing it with the image libraries of the entire world, they could definitely find a match.

At that moment, Jackal joined the conversation and provided technical support:

"The restoration is complete. This is indeed Fire Moth's emblem, but the database left behind by the Previous Era doesn't have any data on this kind of portable communicator."

"Of course, this doesn't mean that it's not Fire Moth's."

As a rigorous researcher, Jackal didn't jump to any conclusions.

Because the database of the Previous Era couldn't be said to be completely accurate. After so many disasters, and after 50,000 years had passed, some data was bound to be flawed or lost.

"Hey, could it be that some old Antique from the Elysian Realm snuck out without you noticing?"

Raven couldn't help but tease when she heard this.

If some old Antique from the Elysian Realm had snuck out and caused this, then it wouldn't have been strange.

Jackal, who was responsible for this, couldn't help but retort:

"That's impossible. The Elysian Realm's data is normal. I haven't received any news of any of those lords coming into reality."

"Hah, so you're saying that a ghost caused this? In broad daylight, some device belonging to Fire Moth, something that has long been thrown into the dustbin of history, was resurrected from the dead?"

Raven, who didn't mind watching the show, casually joked about this "supernatural event" that was right in front of them.

"...Actually, the possibility that this came from a ruin isn't impossible."

After thinking about it, Jackal offered another possibility.

Although most of the Previous Era's legacy had been inherited by World Serpent, some of it was also obtained by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.

It wasn't impossible for a communicator with a Fire Moth emblem to have been excavated.

Of course, this theory was very difficult to hold up.

Because even though this communicator was military-grade, there was no way that it could have withstood the wear and tear of 50,000 years.

Even if it really could survive that, the cost-benefit ratio of restoring this thing wasn't worth it.

After all, it was just an ordinary portable communicator.

Of course—

There was also another possibility.

Someone deliberately made this Fire Moth communicator with the intention of misleading them!

If that was the case, then the person behind this would cause them to feel a chill down their spine.

As World Serpent executives, they had to consider all possibilities.

Quickly, Grey Serpent began to make his arrangements:

"Jackal, bring that communicator to the Elysian Realm. You might find some useful information there."

"Raven, you continue to investigate. Focus on investigating that man named Jiang Qiao. Be careful. That man is definitely not as simple as he appears."

Although he wasn't worried about the safety of Raven, who possessed the Seven Thunders of Retribution, Grey Serpent still specifically warned her.

"What about you?"

"Me?"

Facing Raven's question, Grey Serpent's hoarse voice became the end of the conversation between the World Serpent executives:

"—Since things have come to this, I need to personally consult with our lord."