Chapter 162: Goodbye, My Little Pink Fairy

“I… I’m here, aren’t I?”

Celeste’s voice was laced with an unconscious indulgence, a soft, doting tone she didn’t even realize she was using.

She awkwardly raised a hand, patting Elaniel’s trembling back twice. The gesture felt like she was trying to soothe a large, majestic cat that had finally found its owner and was now desperately seeking affection.

Except this particular cat’s embrace was far too tight. Celeste felt the air being completely crushed from her lungs, squeezed out by that stunning, suffocating softness.

“Okay… you can… loosen up a little,” she wheezed. “I can barely breathe…”

Elaniel’s body shuddered as if waking from a dream. She hurriedly released her arms, but her hands immediately clamped onto Celeste’s shoulders, gripping them tightly as if terrified she might dissolve into a burst of bubbles at any moment.

Under the moonlight, the Elf Queen’s wine-red eyes were frighteningly bright, locking onto Celeste with an intensity that seemed to brand her very soul.

“Sorry, I…” Elaniel struggled to steady her breathing, her chest rising and falling in a stunning curve. But the irrepressible smile blooming at the corners of her lips had already betrayed her sheer ecstasy.

Celeste quickly waved a hand in dismissal. “It’s fine, it’s fine. You just have a habit of popping up out of nowhere; you gave me a scare. Speaking of which, what’s with all this? Why did you wrap this place in so many layers of… barriers?”

“To protect it, of course,” Elaniel said, her tone matter-of-fact as she pointed to the Teleport Waypoint beneath Celeste’s feet. “This is the only connection between us. It stands to reason that I would guard it with the highest level of defense.”

Having said that, her voice softened again, taking on a fragile quality, as if she were trying to confirm a miracle. “Can you truly… come back anytime?”

“Of course.” Seeing her like this, Celeste felt an inexplicable pang in her heart and nodded vigorously. “Whenever you want me to, whenever I’m free. Anytime.”

“That’s wonderful.”

The smile on Elaniel’s face fully blossomed. In that single instant of radiance, every moonlight rose in the garden seemed to pale and wither in comparison.

She took Celeste’s hand with a practiced ease, pulling her to sit at the white jade table. The movement was so familiar, so natural, it was as if they had spent countless years together just like this.

“It’s so late. You haven’t slept yet?” Elaniel asked, pouring her a cup of hot tea that emitted an exotic, fragrant steam.

“I had just laid down, actually. Then I remembered I hadn’t tested this teleportation function yet, so I decided to pop over.” Celeste cradled the warm teacup, feeling the chaotic emotions from the cross-world jump slowly being soothed by the rich aroma of the tea.

“I thought I’d have to chant some incantation or draw a complex magic circle. I never expected it would just be a matter of waiting for a progress bar to fill.” She looked down at the `as i have written` in her hand, clicking her tongue in amazement. “This Catalyst… it’s really something else.”

Elaniel’s gaze also fell upon the ancient-looking black tome, her eyes filled with pure curiosity. “It doesn’t belong to any known system of magic in our world. I can feel that the power it contains is ancient and… unfathomable.”

She tilted her head, looking like a student with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. “Besides teleportation, does it have any other functions?”

“Other functions?”

Celeste froze. Elaniel’s question was like a bolt of lightning that detonated in her mind, instantly cleaving through the fog of her thoughts.

‘Right! I still haven’t summoned Mimi to let her out for a breath of fresh air!’

It wasn’t that she had forgotten; she just hadn’t found the perfect “unboxing” environment. Ever since she’d gotten the new equipment, there had always been someone around.

Summon her in the dorm? Her sister would definitely pounce, demanding to know everything and treating the poor thing like a new plushie to be endlessly rubbed and cuddled.

Out in the wild? What if some elite mob jumped out of a bush and completely ruined the mood of their long-awaited reunion?

She needed a place that was perfectly safe and completely private. It had to be brimming with ambient energy, and ideally, have a top-tier bodyguard standing watch nearby.

Celeste’s gaze subconsciously swept her surroundings.

The Elf Queen’s palace garden… perfectly safe.

Just her and Elaniel… completely private.

The nearby branch of the sacred ancient tree was radiating a life force so dense it was practically dripping… brimming with energy.

And sitting right across from her, a genuine, combat-extraordinary Her Majesty the Queen was watching her with curious eyes… a top-tier bodyguard (and the sole audience member).

‘Wait a second… isn’t this the five-star, platinum-tier VIP summoning room I’ve been dreaming of?!’The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, and she wanted to slap herself for her own stupidity.’God, I’m such a dumbass! With a perfect venue like this on call, what the hell was I agonizing over before?!’

“Yes! Of course, it does!” Celeste’s voice rose, sharp with excitement, her eyes shining with a frightening brilliance. “It… it can also summon a companion!”

“A companion?” Elaniel’s interest was clearly piqued.

“Yes. A… a very, very important companion of mine.” Celeste took a deep breath, trying to suppress the thrill surging through her chest. She met Elaniel’s curious and expectant gaze, and a new thought surfaced.

To be able to witness the return of an old friend alongside this new one… there was something deeply meaningful about that.

“Do you want to see?” Celeste asked.

“Of course!” Elaniel nodded without a moment’s hesitation, her body leaning forward slightly in anticipation. “I could feel it. When you mentioned ‘her,’ your entire aura changed. She must be very special to you, right?”

“Yeah,” Celeste’s voice grew a little deeper. “She is… a lingering obsession I can’t seem to let go of.”

“Then let me see her, quickly,” Elaniel urged, looking even more eager than Celeste herself.

Celeste stood and walked to an open patch of grass in the center of the garden. She closed her eyes, sinking her consciousness into the `as i have written` and touching the skill she had been anticipating for so long.

[Remembrance Spirit Travel]

She reached out, palm facing upward toward the Fragmentum, and called out that familiar yet distant name in a tone that was almost pious.

“I choose you! Come out, Mimi!”

The moment her voice fell, the pages of `as i have written` began to flip wildly, rustling loudly as if caught in a phantom gale. A cascade of pink light particles, as brilliant as cherry blossoms in full bloom, surged from between the pages.

The particles swirled and gathered in mid-air, finally coalescing into a gently pulsating cocoon of light.

Elaniel subconsciously held her breath, her wine-red eyes reflecting nothing but that miraculous glow.

The cocoon of light slowly unfurled, its gentle luminescence receding inward to reveal what lay within.

A small, pink creature, about half a meter tall, floated silently in the air.

It had long, fluffy ears that resembled wings. It wore an exquisite little pink outfit, with a brilliant ruby embedded in its chest. Trailing behind it was a fluffy tail almost as large as its entire body.

Its eyes, one half-blue and the other half-purple, held pupils shaped like two sparkling pink stars.

It blinked, curiously observing this strange new world, and the two figures—Celeste and Elaniel—standing before it.

“Mi… mi?” the little creature tilted its head, its soft, sweet voice filled with a hint of confusion and curiosity.

That voice.

That face.

Celeste stared at the little pink fairy, an exact replica of the one buried deep in her memories. Her throat felt as if it had been clamped shut. A scalding, sour sensation rushed up into her sinuses and stung the corners of her eyes.

The world before her instantly blurred.

Not a single thing was different.

‘Dammit… System…’she screamed in her mind, her thoughts choked with unshed tears.’This time… for once in your life… you actually did something right!’

Her heart, which had been shattered by the plot of Amphoreus, felt a sudden injection of warmth. All the cracks and fissures were rapidly mending.

This wasn’t some fake phantom. It wasn’t just a string of cold data.

It was a living, breathing, moving, talking pink fairy.

Long time no see.

My companion.

[Elysian’s Note: Having a good time with the story? Every single bit helps immensely: