"Wake up... wake up..."
"...Hey, Stelle! Stop sleeping! The sun's already shining on your butt..."
At March 7th's call, Stelle slowly opened her eyes, then stood up from the Dream Pool.
Seeing Stelle looking groggy, March said worriedly, "Are you okay? Can you hear me clearly? I couldn't hear a single sound from the room. I was scared to death."
Stelle frowned slightly, feeling a terrible headache. "Am I dreaming?"
"You're not dreaming. This is reality, the Reverie Hotel. The Order's sweet dream is over." March said, "Although it's already been several days, just thinking about it still makes me break out in a cold sweat. The Astral Express's trailblazing journey almost ended in Penacony..."
March sighed, put her hands on her hips, and glared at Stelle reproachfully.
"You're pretty carefree, sleeping like a log. I was left with psychological trauma. I haven't even dared close my eyes at night these past few days, afraid that once I fell asleep, I'd never wake up again."
"Sigh... Looking at you, you probably dove headfirst into the dreamscape again and stayed there for several days. Maybe you even drank too much SoulGlad."
"How do you have no self-control at all? Nero, Bailu, Hook, and the others didn't spend ages diving into the dream like you did. Didn't you say something cool back then about 'we must eventually wake from the dream'..."
Stelle narrowed her eyes. As time passed, her mind gradually became clearer. The next second, she said dismissively, "But I'm awake now, aren't I... The Dream of Ena was so busy. If I didn't sleep for a few extra days, I'd get dark circles under my eyes. Come to think of it, how's the Stellaron?"
"The Stellaron has already been sealed," March said. "As for the impact of this whole thing, ordinary people have no idea what happened at all. They just feel like their memories are a little blurry, as if someone had emptied out a section of them."
"How could no one remember such a huge dream and crisis..." Stelle curled her lips. "It was probably Miss Black Swan's doing. Though it could also have been the influence of the Nihility's power within Miss Acheron. After all, that was what woke everyone up."
"Either way, not remembering these things is also a form of protection for ordinary people. Finding out too much knowledge they shouldn't know on a whim can make a person go crazy."
March said, "That's what Nero told me, anyway. He also said it was like how students get sleepy after absorbing too much knowledge."
"Oh, right. As for this matter, the Family's public explanation is that 'the Charmony Festival was attacked by a Stellaron of unknown origin and was forced to stop.' After all, there's no way to put the Order's affairs on the table and talk about them."
"Right now, the four Great Families other than the Oak Family are doing their best to calm the aftermath. Our Astral Express crew was also invited to the Radiant Feldspar, the Family's airship for receiving distinguished guests, to participate in an important meeting as witnesses."
March's tone became lighter, as if she had completely gotten into the vacation mindset. It was obvious that she was quite excited about visiting that Radiant Feldspar.
"Now we're just waiting for you. Hurry up and get ready. Once you're ready, we'll set off!"
So Stelle began packing. While doing so, she asked March about some other information. For example, the Radiant Feldspar was an airship the Family used to receive distinguished guests, the Iris Family had sent over many gifts, as well as exquisite button models and things like that.
But what Stelle cared about most was what March had dreamed about in the Dream of Ena.
March answered like this, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? When I was dragged into the sweet dream, I only felt a cold tentacle reaching into the depths of my memory. But it seemed like there was something else there, so it left right away."
"After that, I started having dreams about eating tons of food, drinking tons of stuff, and buying everything in sight... Sunday couldn't have thought that was the kind of life I wanted, could he? Waking up from that kind of illusion... piece of cake!"
"You'd better really think it was a piece of cake." Stelle grinned mischievously. Judging by her tone, March had said the last sentence with great reluctance.
At this point, she had finished packing too, so she said, "I'm ready. Let's go find everyone."
"Okay! Let's go, let's go! There's still some time before we board. Let's go to the Reverie Dreamscape Bar and meet up with everyone first."
———
[Dreamscape, Golden Hour]
Firefly stood by the railing, looking down at the streets below. Behind her was a cafe, and the manhole leading to Dream's Edge was nearby.
The next moment, a flash of light appeared, and Silver Wolf's projection appeared beside her.
The invisible ruler of Punklorde glanced at the people and traffic below and casually commented, "Living in luxury and pleasure, just like Epsilon. What do you think? Is it the same as the dreamscape you imagined?"
"You asked me that when we first came here." Firefly said.
"Yeah, I remember your answer was no back then. But after everything that's happened, I think you quite like it."
"But just a reminder, don't forget you're still on the Bloodhound Family's wanted list. Keep a low profile."
"And this time is different from before. The person in the photo isn't Sam, but Firefly. For you, that should count as quite a novel experience, right?"
"It is." Firefly nodded. "As Kafka put it... this is also the part missing from my life."
"But not being able to move around freely is still pretty inconvenient. Silver Wolf, can you help me?"
"I knew you'd say that..." Silver Wolf laughed. "Don't worry, it's already taken care of. I hacked the entire system and didn't leave a single trace."
"Don't do anything conspicuous, and don't provoke guards who recognize you. Follow those two rules, and no one will care about you. You can go wherever you want."
"Thanks." Firefly said.
"No need to thank me." Silver Wolf shook her head. "Speaking of which, how does your body feel? Did that kid's treatment work on you?"
"I'm not really sure..." Firefly said.
"That's normal. After all, it was in the shared dreamscape." Silver Wolf said. "Actually, I think you could give it a try. According to the information I found, that kid really is..."
"But it seems like it helped. No, it helped a lot." Firefly interrupted Silver Wolf. "Hmm... I don't know. It's hard to describe this feeling, but it seems like... I can see things more clearly..."
"That's a good thing." Silver Wolf said. "Hmm... our mission in Penacony is already complete. What are you planning to do with your free time?"
"I heard people from the Genius Society came too. Want to go do something big with me?"
Firefly looked at Silver Wolf's confident smile and shook her head.
Her instincts told her that she probably shouldn't go mess around with Silver Wolf.
"Not going? Fine." Silver Wolf didn't really care about Firefly's decision. She continued, "Kafka asked me to pass on a message, 'If you see anything good in Penacony, get one for me too. Just charge it to my card. You know the password.'"
"She didn't say exactly what. Maybe some dresses, coats, sunglasses, or something... Anyway, you know more about this than I do. You're usually the ones talking about fashion."
"Sure, I'll keep an eye out." Firefly nodded. "The Oti Mall has lots of choices. Do you think she'd like some pretty little accessories, like... hair ornaments and brooches?"
"Hmm..." Silver Wolf thought for a moment. "That sounds more suitable for a little girl. You should keep them for yourself."
"Also, Blade told you to be more careful. He didn't say it outright, but that's probably what he meant, 'In Penacony, temptation will appear again.' He really is pretty indirect when he talks."
Firefly smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. He's just being concerned. Don't worry, Silver Wolf. You know me.
"I won't do anything. I just want to walk around, use my own legs, and experience more of this world. I want to buy Oak Cake Rolls. During my time in Penacony, I'll eat one cake roll every day, from the first day to the last."
"But today, I can buy two and give you half. If you don't like it, then I can enjoy twice the happiness. Or I could bring one to Kafka. She never turns one down. Or maybe... give one to Blade. He'll like it."
Listening to Firefly, Silver Wolf said, "How about this? I'll bring two for each of you three. I heard Penacony is releasing a new game soon."
"This time, I'm going to win back everything I lost. Besides, that kid won't care about this. He might even be happy to buy you guys some good food."
Hearing this, Firefly looked at Silver Wolf very seriously.
She immediately understood what Silver Wolf was planning to do, and she couldn't help remembering the many times Silver Wolf had inexplicably lost to Nero in game matches and completely lost her cool.
"You're serious?" Firefly asked.
"New game, everyone's a beginner. Of course I'm serious." Silver Wolf had the pride of a master in the gaming world.
"Will you win?"
"I will."
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