章節 20: Chapter 20: Uncle Atul, the Frog

"Hey, my dear Eden, would you like to give me a loving hug?"

"Of course."

As they played, they suddenly embraced, startling Bronie.

After their tender embrace, Elysia looked at herself again.

"Bronie, could you give me a warm hug?"

"Of course you can..."

A sweet fragrance filled the air, followed by a soft sensation of suffocation.

Bronie's eyes widened, feeling her mind go blank.

Was this something she could enjoy?

This encounter made her life worth living!

If life had an achievement system, hugging Elysia would definitely be considered a rare one.

After all, even if you entered the Elysian Realm, there was no guarantee of seeing Elysia, right?

Perhaps the reason she could see her was because of the unique way she entered the paradise. It was assumed to be Elysia's, so naturally, she had to see who this person was that could bypass the world serpent's blockade and enter the Elysian Ream.

Wasn't this a wonderful encounter?

"Hehehe, Bronie is so soft and small, very cute!"

"I still have plenty of room to grow."

Bronie didn't want to be considered too small.

Despite her mature behavior, her height was the only issue.

But didn't she add some height with the rabbit ears on her hood?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Then I'll continue playing, okay?"

"You go ahead..."

Who knows what Elysia was thinking.

But Bronie was confident in her future growth potential.

Eden controlled the cat, moving back and forth on the ship, while in the kitchen, fish just caught were being cooked.

Honestly, seeing everyone still needing to eat in the afterlife world, Eden couldn't help but feel a bit hungry.

"Elysia, how long has it been since we last ate?"

"Well..."

Elysia also needed some time to remember.

Memory bodies didn't need to eat. At first, everyone was a bit unaccustomed, but to avoid increasing Klein's workload, they hadn't eaten much.

Everything here was completed through cognition. Even if they ate every day for fifty thousand years, eating the same taste repeatedly wasn't really necessary.

So, after thinking it over, Elysia's answer surprised Bronie slightly.

"Since entering the Elysian Ream, except for Eden, no one else has eaten anything!"

"As for me, I usually just taste the wine from my memories. Would you like to taste it? It won't affect a child's body; it's just a taste from my memories."

Eden took out a golden wine glass filled with red wine.

Bronie hesitated for a moment, then gulped it down.

"Cough, cough, cough... forgive me, I'm not used to fine wine; it tastes average."

"Hehehe..."

Eden chuckled.

"You don't taste fine wine like that. I'll teach you properly in the future. Perhaps you'll appreciate the richness and sparkle behind the wine's story."

"Perhaps, I still have a lot to learn."

"Alright Eden, let's continue our game! Gwen is waiting for us to rescue him!"

"Right."

The game resumed because there was no pause; the scenery on the ship shifted from noon to evening.

Under the sunset, the sea had a unique charm.

Then Gwen led the protagonist to cut wood, mine, and wade in shallow water.

After collecting enough materials, they could farm on the ship.

Beehive Castle was the nearest populated island. With more people, naturally, traders would appear.

And the traders had the seeds needed for farming.

Gwen thought the trader was too greedy, so she confronted him, demanding he adjust the seed prices to a reasonable level.

Like a caring big sister.

But Gwen didn't plan to help with farming. Because even though she usually had mature behavior, she would only add chaos to farming, just like her father's empathy.

"I think you should find some new friends."

"It's not that I dislike the idea of us wandering the seas together. But you're a Spiritfarer. The ferryman's mission is to find souls and help them fulfill their last wishes, no matter how trivial. I heard there's a place not far from here where someone might need your help."

"New friends? What kind of person would it be?"

On the map, Gwen marked the location of the next character.

Elysia had anticipated it, and Gwen's identity had been successfully shaped.

A protective older sister, a strong woman, a guide.

And the next characters, each one would definitely not be worse than Gwen.

There might be some differences, but from Undertale, it could be seen that Bronie was actually very gentle with everyone.

"Let's set sail. Only by reaching our destination will we know the final result, right?"

Elysia was like a curious baby, always asking questions, but Eden knew this slightly embarrassed Bronie.

After all, spoilers would reduce the enjoyment of the game by half.

"And I bet if he's the one I think he is, you'll definitely like him."

"Go on, set sail."

Gwen added, then went on to do her own thing.

Although the protagonist's ship didn't need sails, just setting a destination on the map was enough.

But if they passed by anything on the way, the ship would still be seen passing through that area. In other wrords, the ship wasn't just a cutscene; it was really sailing.

Of course, on a two-dimensional plane, it was hard to notice.

On the way to Beacon Creek Island, there was a fierce thundercloud surrounding it, but fortunately, it was only raining in the sky, occasionally with a little lightning, which didn't pose any threat to the ship.

In this afterlife world, everything seemed so peaceful, without any danger.

After arriving at Beacon Creek Island, they went right, deep into the island, where a lonely soul was standing by the pond.

Approaching and interacting, the other party spoke up.

"Hey! Great! I found you.

Listen, I just dropped my lemon into that pond.

My fingers were so sticky, and it just slipped out accidentally.

Why, you ask?

Good question! I've been eating delicious berries all day, look at my hands, I swear.

I've been experimenting.

I wanted to squeeze some lemon juice onto these wild berries.

Now look, only berries are left.

Unless you can help me, right below here."

The center of the pond emitted golden light, indicating something could be caught underwater.

A simple task, right?

However, Eden's controlled cat was very afraid of water. If forced to go underwater, the cat would walk on the surface using the Everlight.

So Elysia did it.

A lemon!

After fishing it up, she handed it to the other party, but they didn't take it.

After a reminder not to squeeze it, the other party proposed the idea of coming aboard for some food and drink.

This was exactly what a ferryman of souls was supposed to do.

Find lost souls and bring them aboard, gradually fulfilling their wishes.

"It feels like the other party knows Stella."

Elysia was always accurate in her assessments of people. Although she hadn't spent much time with the other party, facing such a familiar request, she sensed something unusual.

Coupled with Gwen's words.

It seemed Gwen also knew the other party?

"Why not check the description of that lemon in your backpack?" Eden suggested, and Elysia hadn't considered that. After opening the backpack, she saw the description of the lemon. It was a plastic lemon.

"This is a joke," Bronie explained.

"I totally fell for it..." Elysia chuckled lightly, completely surprised that the other party would leave such a joke. Then the two returned to the ship.

"Wow, this ship is really amazing! The real big news is coming, you little rascal. Get ready for a family reunion!"

Gwen was already waiting at the bow of the ship. And further ahead, the soul they had met before stood there, waiting to return to its true form. Elysia approached and interacted. Then, a familiar golden light flashed. And this time, what appeared before everyone was a chubby blue-green frog.

"Wow!"

Elysia looked at the chubby frog and felt a sense of security all over her body.

"It's me! Stella, your uncle Atul! Surprise, aren't you? I hope you're happy to see me! I've been on the island for a while now. Can't wait to explore the scenery and the sea with you! I've been thinking alone, feeling lonely. And now I finally see you! Bean sprout. Let's set sail and have a great adventure together! Onward! Wait... is that..."

Atul seemed to have discovered something and hurried to the stern of the ship. Elysia was completely led by Atul.

"So it's her Uncle..."

"But if we meet in this world, that mean..."

Eden's expression wasn't actually good. Meeting again in this afterlife world, how sad it was...

"Perhaps it's not so bad, my dear Eden. Meeting a long-lost relative again, isn't that something to be happy about? And the most important thing is that he's also in trouble, with unfinished wishes. Helping him is also a rare opportunity, isn't it?"

"You're right, Elysia. Everything often has its two sides, and we shouldn't just focus on the bad side."

Follower Atul arrived at the stern.

"I knew it! It's the Sea Master 2000! I've never seen it with my own eyes, just heard all kinds of legends. They say with it, you can catch the biggest and most beautiful fish. Wow, Stella! You're really good to yourself!"

"Of course!"

Elysia responded from outside. And Eden said, "Unfortunately, it seems like we've been catching a lot of junk lately. I don't know what's going on."

Yes, during the process of finding Atul, after multiple attempts by the two, they only caught garbage. At that time, they just thought they were unlucky.

"Wait a minute! You're missing a few bolts. Let me guess, you've mainly been catching junk, right? Hmm, that won't happen again in the future!"

Atul said, then began to modify the fishing platform. "It's clear that Uncle is a very enthusiastic and cheerful person."

"Yes, my dear Eden, that's the problem. Why would such an enthusiastic and cheerful uncle linger in the afterlife ocean?"

The keen Elysia noticed this subtle contradiction. And in her eyes, Atul's behavior was actually diverting the protagonist's attention, so as not to notice some of his inner vulnerabilities or sadness. Because he was someone who was prone to overthinking.

He had claimed that before. And after Atul's role was highlighted, having only caught garbage for so long, Elysia felt even closer to him.

Trying to fish again, this time they finally caught an octopus. It was the first time they caught an octopus, and this octopus struggled before being caught.

After catching something, Atul would happily slap his belly to congratulate you. And he wouldn't hesitate to praise you.

It could be seen that Atul was a character who liked to make Stella happy as much as possible. So Elysia temporarily suppressed her doubts and approached Atul to interact.

Then she rushed up for a big hug. The chubby big frog. It sounded a bit disgusting, but in this scene, it felt so heartwarming. "The setting of this hug is really well done,"

Elysia sighed after hugging Atul.

"Because sometimes a hug really can make people forget a lot of worries and deepen the bond between each other, don't you think?"

"Would you like another hug from me?"

Elysia responded to Bronie.

"No, let's forget it, because doing this too much can inevitably make people feel dependent, which is not good."

There was also a cooldown time for hugs in the game. It took some time, at least a day, before another hug could be given.

"That's too bad."

Elysia could see that Bronie still liked hugs, but since Bronie had already refused, it was better not to do it.

"But it's not necessarily a pity. If you don't mind, how about holding a gathering in the Elysian Ream, inviting everyone from the Elysian Ream to experience the cuisine of the current era again? I can do my best to recreate them, and they'll all be different." Atul was a very food-loving guy. On the ship, discussions ranged from repairing and upgrading the ship to cooking.

And now, it seems like everyone in the Elysian Ream is almost forgetting about these things. Bronie feels like this is an opportunity to bring them beautiful memories.

"Great! Then I'll really look forward to it!"