Chat Group: Starting by Swapping Bodies with Elysia?

Kalpas's treatment wasn't originally this lenient.

Even if not as extreme as the Church of Apocalypse, Fire Moth still labeled Kalpas as "extremely dangerous."

Surveillance, shackles, restraints—these were practically impossible to remove.

Until…

"MEI, you shouldn't treat Kalpas like a prisoner. She's also a victim."

"Elysia, you know that the most important thing for a leader isn't distinguishing right from wrong, but determining what is 'necessary'."

"Her dangerousness warrants such treatment—even if she will be one of us in the future."

"I must be responsible for everyone in the organization." MEI, wearing her glasses, spoke with unwavering rationality. This decision wouldn't change just because Jiang Qiao had told her that 'Kalpas' was a member of Fire Moth. Besides, everything was too far in the future, and he didn't have the time to explain everything in detail.

Of course, even a detailed explanation wouldn't be helpful, and might even be counterproductive.

No matter how trustworthy this man named Kalpas seemed… well, now a woman, it couldn't change his extremely dangerous behavior.

Kalpas was the type who, once his cherished ones were harmed, wouldn't care about the bigger picture.

Just like during the Herrscher of Corruption incident, after learning about Rin and Sakura, he had killed everyone involved.

Although those people might have deserved it, even if they needed to be dealt with, they shouldn't have been so carelessly killed as outlets for his rage. They were Fire Moth warriors, yet they were killed by a "MANTIS warrior" from within the organization.

This further exacerbated the rift between MANTIS warriors and ordinary people. Even though the relationship between them was already strained, Kalpas's recklessness had undoubtedly contributed to this division.

As for the so-called friendship—this "man's" devotion to those he cared about was undeniable, but how many people did Kalpas truly consider "comrades"?

Most people in the organization were probably more afraid of this violent "monster," not just ordinary people, but MANTIS warriors as well.

"You must understand the severe consequences if she's left unchecked." MEI was exceptionally serious. Regarding Kalpas, even [Elysia] couldn't easily persuade her.

Even if they considered her a weapon, its edge was far too sharp, and unlike Sakura, her presence would only indirectly accelerate the internal conflicts within the organization.

Fire Moth was already struggling. The Herrscher of Dominance's power had caused frequent disciplinary issues within the organization. Fortunately, Aponia's timely arrival had suppressed the situation.

But even so, it couldn't change the fact that this place was a powder keg.

If they added Kalpas to the mix…

MEI didn't even dare to imagine the consequences.

With her rational approach, MEI could tolerate [Elysia] doing certain things, because she trusted her judgment. But with others, even if [Elysia] vouched for them, MEI had to carefully consider the potential risks.

Having reached this point, Jiang Qiao naturally understood that releasing Kalpas would be difficult.

Not wanting to make things difficult for MEI, he could only compromise—at least don't treat Kalpas like a prisoner.

He said, "Kalpas has suffered enough. We shouldn't make her suffer any more."

MEI agreed.

Moreover, all of this was actually funded by [Elysia] herself—Jiang Qiao figured she wouldn't care about this small amount of money.

Since they didn't even need to allocate funds from the organization's budget, there was nothing more to discuss.

Aponia witnessed the entire conversation between the two.

"Hmm… What's that smell?" Elysia, standing nearby, sniffed the air curiously.

"Smells good…" Little Griseo also sniffed the air, drooling.

"It's the smell of pepper." Aponia nodded knowingly and entered the containment cell, opening a side door.

"Eh? There's a small garden here?!" Elysia, following behind, looked at the layout in surprise. A tree, a fluorescent lamp, a pond with fish, and on the green lawn, a masked… "well-endowed" white-haired woman was sitting on a small stool, holding a fishing rod… It seemed she was… fishing?

—Kalpas hadn't been in a good mood lately.

After being captured by those people in white coats some time ago, she had been subjected to quite a bit of torment… Well, that wasn't anything new.

Being hung up and bled dry in that remote mountain village, the pain wasn't a big deal.

But what really bothered Kalpas… well, it seemed to have run away. In any case, Kalpas was incredibly furious about waking up to find an important part of herself missing—Damn it, those bastards not only tortured me, but they also castrated me?!

And as if that wasn't enough, she now had these two lumps in front—a bust size rivaling Aponia's, making Kalpas extremely uncomfortable.

These lumps of fat were hindering her movements!

If it weren't for these things, how could she have lost to that woman who suddenly appeared?

That's right—Kalpas believed she hadn't lost to the person who knocked her unconscious with mahjong tiles; she had lost to these two soft lumps of flesh!

As for being transformed into a woman, Kalpas didn't have a concrete understanding of it yet, and even if she did, she probably wouldn't care too much. After all… could being a woman be more surprising than being an "alien"?

As an outsider with a rather unfortunate past, Kalpas clearly wouldn't care about such minor details. She wasn't going to have ███ anyway! When she needed to vent, she would just find something to punch—Kalpas's method of stress relief was simple, crude, and effective.

Of course, besides the bad things, Kalpas had to admit that she had encountered some… rare good things.

Initially, when she found herself in an unfamiliar environment, she thought she would have to endure the same kind of life as before… Well, that would have been fine too. As long as she had a place to stay, Kalpas wasn't picky.

This prison cell was far superior to the Church of Apocalypse's base or that small village.

But then, people came.

In a relatively short time, Kalpas found her cell undergoing a dramatic transformation—

A small pond with fish, a cherry blossom tree, a small garden with flowers and grass, and even her living quarters becoming somewhat… cozy? The unsettling feeling of being constantly watched had also disappeared…

For some reason, Kalpas felt that this place… wasn't bad at all.

If she could, she would like to stay here forever, just like in that small village.

She could sleep whenever she was tired, play video games when bored, fish in the pond, or even have a barbecue with the ingredients provided. Aside from the lack of company, making it somewhat lonely, life here was perfect.

Kalpas, capable of enduring solitude, had recently become obsessed with fishing.

Although it was hard to imagine that hot-tempered "man" patiently fishing with a small bamboo rod, it was indeed the truth.

With a small grill sizzling beside her, she happily played the role of a fishing enthusiast.

"Kalpas."

A gentle voice startled Kalpas, causing her hand to tremble—the fish she was about to catch got away. With her fiery temper, her anger flared up instantly.

Damn it, she had been fishing here for days, and finally, she had a chance to catch one, and it got scared away?!

Prepare to die!

"A-po-ni-a—!!!"

Kalpas, recognizing the familiar voice, turned furiously towards its owner. She was no stranger to Aponia. In fact, the latter had visited several times as a "psychologist."

Every time she came, instead of doing anything helpful, she would just drag Kalpas into pointless conversations, driving her crazy—she wanted to kill this annoying woman!

Kalpas, about to explode, saw Elysia and little Griseo hiding behind Aponia… and, of course, Fairy Ely.

Kalpas frowned beneath her mask, her anger subsiding as she sat back down on the stool.

"What?"

Even without the sanatorium experience, Kalpas had enough tolerance and patience for children. At least in front of children, she would try to restrain her temper, so as not to frighten them.

As for Elysia… she had a strong impression of this woman.

Although she wasn't strong and liked to dodge and weave during fights, as agile as an annoying "monkey," it was enough to leave an impression.

However, Kalpas's strongest impression of her was that… she had heard this woman was responsible for all of this.

She didn't feel gratitude or anything like that; Kalpas wasn't that sentimental.

She simply kept it in mind.

"The same as before."

"Hmph, you didn't bring a little girl and this… annoying woman who's as agile as a monkey before." Kalpas snorted and tried to describe Elysia in the most euphemistic way possible.

The result was quite significant.

Elysia, who had been somewhat curious, now wore a stiff expression.

An… annoying woman as agile as a monkey?!

Her anger flared up instantly!

Elysia, who had previously held some goodwill towards Kalpas, now had her favorability drop to negative.

Aaaaaahhhh, even Bad Jiang Qiao hadn't said that about her!!!

Her furious glare was unconcealed—she would glare daggers at her!

Kalpas, sensing her anger, felt a bit awkward.

… Did she say something wrong?

But she was clearly praising her!

The simple-minded Kalpas genuinely believed so.

After all—she wasn't good with words and preferred to communicate with fists.

Using animal movements to compliment someone's skills was clearly the only way Kalpas knew how to "say something nice."

"Kalpas, how can you use animals to describe people?" Aponia was still smiling, but her tone was slightly sterner, with a hint of reprimand.

"Shut up! You annoying woman who's as bothersome as a fly!" Well, now Kalpas was genuinely cursing.

This comparison made the initially angry 55kg Flame-Chaser's anger dissipate somewhat.

Well, at least she was a monkey. Aponia had been directly called an annoying fly… No! She actually called her a monkey! She was clearly much stronger than a monkey!

Of course, sensing Kalpas's "politeness," Aponia's smile became even more frightening.

She was clearly smiling, but the smile was incredibly empty, sending chills down one's spine.

The next moment, Aponia approached Kalpas and gently took her hand.

With an expression of pity, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry… Kalpas, I haven't taught you well…"

"This is my negligence, my sin… I won't run away from it."

"Please…"

"Hey! Stupid woman! Let go of my hand! Let go!!!" Seeing Aponia holding her hand and about to do something, with that "it's all my fault" expression on her ascetic face, Kalpas panicked and tried to pull her hand back, but the grip was like iron, as if welded on, immovable.

"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you! I'll listen to you, okay? Crazy woman! Let go!"

—Although "Ms." Kalpas was highly resistant to forceful methods, she seemed particularly vulnerable to soft approaches.

This development stunned Elysia, who was watching from the side.

Wow, that madwoman was so easy to handle?

Honestly, when she saw Aponia approaching Kalpas, she had broken out in a cold sweat, almost ready to draw her crystal bow in case the madwoman went berserk.

But…

This worked?

Gulp… Should she try this on Bad Jiang Qiao?

Seeing how easily Aponia controlled Kalpas, Elysia started to contemplate whether she could copy this tactic.

Although Bad Jiang Qiao seemed quite cooperative without her needing to do this… Whatever! She'll make a note of it! Maybe someday she could use this trick to deal with that bad guy!

What a gain! Elysia felt that this trip had been truly worthwhile. Besides being called a monkey, which was a bit unpleasant, she had directly learned a "trick against Jiang Qiao." Wasn't this a huge win?

"Big Sister Elysia, what are they doing?" The innocent Griseo looked at the two, puzzled.

"Uh… Big Sister is educating another disobedient Big Sister."

"Educating…"

Griseo nodded seemingly in understanding, thinking that this was "education"—Hmm, she would also educate other disobedient Big Sisters like this in the future!

Elysia, unaware of her heinous act of misleading a child, watched the scene unfold with some regret, ending with Kalpas's complete defeat!

After being poked with Aponia's soft knife, Kalpas became much more docile.

"Smells good…" Little Griseo looked at the barbecue grill by the pond, biting her finger and drooling.

"Hehe, if little Griseo wants to eat, ask Kalpas to grill some for you." Aponia knelt on the grass by the pond and said solemnly, "After my guidance, Kalpas has realized her mistake."

As she said this, she stared at Kalpas with narrowed eyes.

The somewhat creepy gaze gave the masked, white-haired woman goosebumps. But looking at Griseo's expectant eyes, she puffed out her rather impressive chest and said, "Hmph, suit yourselves—but I'm warning you, I won't hold back!"

Barbecuing was a skill Kalpas had learned after being imprisoned… Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had dabbled in it before, for example, when she went after those Church of Apocalypse followers who destroyed her town, she had taken the opportunity to practice her grilling skills.

However, her grilling style, learned from "Li Mei," was somewhat lacking in heat control, which she had now perfected here.

There was a refrigerator in the containment cell—it seemed that meat, seasonings, and even fresh fruits and vegetables were regularly delivered, making Kalpas's living conditions quite comfortable, and giving her time to learn from the books provided.

Watching Kalpas's barbecue show with wide eyes, Elysia stared at the skewers on her plate, her mouth watering.

"Wow, it looks so delicious."

The aroma of cumin made the Pink Fat Woman feel slightly intoxicated. Even her previously lowered favorability towards Kalpas for her impolite behavior had recovered somewhat.

The reddish-brown color… it looked so appetizing.

Thinking that Bad Jiang Qiao was still in Mobius's lab conducting experiments, with nothing to eat, Elysia felt even more delighted.

Hmph, Bad Jiang Qiao can only work hard, while I can enjoy delicious barbecue by this pond~ Hehe, it was indeed a wise decision not to follow Bad Jiang Qiao inside, otherwise, how could I eat such wonderful food?

That's right! Take a picture, take a picture! Elysia quickly used the chat group's photo function to capture this scene—Hmph, I'm not only going to devour this delicious barbecue, but I'm also going to rub it in Bad Jiang Qiao's face, so he can only watch!

Imagining Bad Jiang Qiao drooling over the barbecue photos and throwing a tantrum because he couldn't eat any, Elysia's smile became especially radiant.