Chapter 705 - 705: An In-Depth Mental Exchange with Black Swan

"Hiss—"

Throughout Black Swan's long career as a Memokeeper, she had never encountered anything this bizarre.

The person being observed had manifested inside his own memory space through sheer force of will.

"Commander, I'm sorry. I... I shouldn't have investigated your private life without permission..."

She kept backing away while repeatedly bowing and apologizing.

Her face burned hot from fear and embarrassment.

She could not afford the consequences of angering an Aeon. Even if this was only a realm of consciousness, the other party was the embodiment of a Path's might. Crushing a memetic life-form like her would be effortless.

Clack—

After only a few steps, her back pressed against one of Eternal Snowfall's cabin doors.

Logically speaking, this was a memory, and a Memokeeper should have been able to come and go freely. Yet Black Swan felt the entire space had been sealed shut, trapping her aboard the ship.

"Pfft—"

Setsuna was neither angry nor irritated. He merely beckoned toward her.

"Why are you panicking so much? It's not like I'm going to do anything to you. Come here."

Whoosh—

The girls who had been surrounding him vanished in an instant. They had only ever been phantoms within the memory.

Now, only the two of them remained in this space.

"..."

Black Swan struggled internally for a moment before reluctantly walking forward.

"I'm very sorry. I-I saw something I shouldn't have without receiving your authorization..."

Her fear made her voice come out in a stammer.

"What did you see?"

Setsuna asked with a smile.

"I saw the history of the Starsea Empire's development and conquests, and... and..."

"And you together with the shipgirls, Spirits, and Heroic Spirits... um..."

It was Black Swan's first time witnessing such a scene, and her face turned bright red from embarrassment.

She seriously began to wonder whether the Path of Elation Setsuna commanded pursued stimulation in the same manner as Slaanesh. After all, that Chaos God was also a lord of pleasure.

Yet judging from how the previous Aeon Aha behaved, this Path seemed to be more about being an absurdly dedicated thrill-seeker.

"Was it nice to watch?"

Setsuna took a sip of tea.

"Uh... I-I never have, so... so I wouldn't know..."

Black Swan answered haltingly.

"Oh..."

Setsuna gestured for her to come a little closer, then casually pulled the woman into his arms.

"Ah—"

Even though they were both consciousness forms inside the memory space, they somehow managed to touch one another.

Black Swan felt an incomparably real sensation spread through her body.

Warm and solid.

Ever since abandoning her physical body and existing as a meme, she had never experienced anything this vivid.

"Th-This is..."

Setsuna pulled down her hood, revealing her beautiful pale-purple hair.

"You've watched for so long. Why not experience it for yourself?"

"!!!"

Black Swan was horrified.

What?!

He would not even spare a Memokeeper who existed as a memetic life-form?!

She had heard some rumors about the Commander while living in the Starsea Empire. Aside from shipgirls, Spirits, and Heroic Spirits, there were apparently horse girls, vampires, and even indescribable eldritch gods.

She had assumed that since she lacked a physical body, matters like this could never possibly involve her. Apparently, she had still been far too naive.

Black Swan instinctively struggled twice, a trace of panic appearing in her golden eyes.

"Wait, Commander, Lord Sacrosanct, I-I-I... I only..."

"This is your punishment."

Setsuna extended one finger and pressed it against her forehead.

He traced it downward over her delicate face and the bridge of her nose, across her snowy-white neck, before stopping at her chest.

"C-Could we use a different form of punishment?"

"Sure."

Setsuna gave her a meaningful look.

"You recklessly peered into a god's memories and thoughts without permission."

"Under the most lenient possible punishment, I should completely strip away your memories, destroy your consciousness, and expel you from the Starsea Empire."

"Would you prefer that?"

"...Ah!"

Black Swan could not shake the feeling that Setsuna had set a trap for her.

He had tempted her into peeking at his memories, then seized on it as an excuse to punish her.

But he was an Aeon, and the rules were his to make. If she had anyone to blame, it was herself for failing to suppress her curiosity.

If she had merely looked at the memories he deliberately showed her, nothing would have happened. She just had to get clever and go searching for secrets on her own.

"I-I understand."

She timidly agreed.

"B-But I don't know how to..."

"It's fine. I'll teach you."

Setsuna could not help marveling at just how extraordinary the memory space was.

Whether smell, touch, or any of the other senses, everything was indistinguishable from the physical world.

...

"Ah—"

After an unknown amount of time had passed,

Black Swan murmured softly as her consciousness gradually returned and she slowly woke.

"Mm..."

She instinctively rubbed her temples. The gesture held no meaning for a memetic life-form, but her consciousness was still temporarily muddled.

Turning her head, she discovered that she was resting against Setsuna's legs, enjoying the rare privilege of a lap pillow.

"Oh, you're awake?"

"!"

Black Swan jolted.

She instinctively sat upright.

Lowering her head, she examined her body, touching herself here and there.

Mm. Her clothes were still there, perfectly neat and properly worn.

Yet her body carried an indescribably strange sensation. Despite being an information-based life-form, she felt as exhausted as though she had just run a marathon.

Every sensation she had experienced inside the memory space had been transmitted back here all at once.

"What happened?"

Gudako stared at her suspiciously.

"Just now, you came looking for the Commander and said you wanted to see his memories. Then the two of you found a room alone and went off to do some divination."

"Not even two or three minutes later, you were carried out unconscious?!"

Compared with the mysterious and elegant Memokeeper who had first arrived, Black Swan now looked considerably more seductive. A faint blush colored her cheeks, and her eyes were moist and hazy.

Gudako knew this condition all too well. Something had definitely happened.

But firstly, the timing did not match, and secondly, Black Swan did not even possess a physical body. Gudako could not make sense of it at all.

"Two or three minutes..."

Black Swan experienced a strange sense of temporal dislocation.

The flow of time inside the memory space depended entirely on Setsuna's personal will.

As long as Setsuna refused to let her leave, she had no way to escape. She had been confined aboard Eternal Snowfall until the Aeon was completely satisfied and finally allowed her to go.

"Tch..."

Humanity's Evil shifted her gaze toward Setsuna.

"What method did you use to deal with her?"

"We simply had a somewhat in-depth mental exchange."

Setsuna answered concisely.

"???"

Gudako deliberately took the phrase out of context and focused on the words "in-depth."

"Commander, you're invincible."

"From the physical world all the way to the metaphysical realm of the mind, there's no one left who can stop you. You're the God of Orgies."

"Mm-hm."

Setsuna neither confirmed nor denied it.

He lifted Black Swan's chin and gently kissed her.

"If you want more memories, I'll be waiting for you in the memory space anytime."

"Of course, those memories won't be free. Just like today, you'll need to pay something in return."

"Mm..."

Black Swan struggled for a long time, unsure how to answer.

In the end, she could only force a few words from her lips.

"Th-Thank you for your guidance, Lord Sacrosanct..."

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