In White Eagle, a petite girl with a hooded figure, spoke into the phone. "So, it's just the two of us now, right?"
The contrast was stark. She remembered their last meeting, where the Wizard had used magic to project everyone's images, allowing them to confer face-to-face. Now, they were reduced to a simple phone call.
The male voice on the other end confirmed, "That's how it looks. The Prophet is still playing dead, as usual, refusing to respond. The Hunter and Wizard are likely dead. The Hermit has already departed, and Mad Lion called in recently to cast his vote in favor. That leaves only you and me undecided."
The girl pursed her lips. "What's the point of arguing? We already have two votes in favor. Even if we both oppose it, it would only result in a tie. But the Hermit's already on his way. Fine, I'll vote in favor too."
The man sighed. "Those two—the Wizard and Hunter—what happened? How could attending a meeting lead to them getting caught in a Dimensional Rift?"
Half an hour after the Hermit declared war on the Sakura Nation, White Eagle officially issued their own declaration of war, citing a righteous cause:
To avenge the Wizard and Hunter!
War was about to erupt.
-
The perspective shifts back to Robin, who is sitting on her bed, gently swinging her cute little feet clad in white ankle socks. Her mind is preoccupied with the Dimensional Rift on Nawajima.
From the horror-themed Dimensional Rift at Longcheng School to this Otherworld rift, both were undoubtedly artificially created by the Sakura Nation. What's truly astonishing is that the Sakura Nation knew precisely what lay within these rifts before they even manifested.
This indisputably positions the Sakura Nation as the global leader in dimensional research.
However, what concerned Robin most was whether the Sakura Nation understood that this second Otherworld Dimensional Rift led to a real world.
It was understandable that the ordinary citizens of Nawajima remained ignorant, treating it as a mere instance and everyone within as NPCs. But what about Director Fujiwara? Did he know the truth?
If he didn't, there was nothing more to be said. But if he did, wouldn't that imply that the Sakura Nation had mastered a method for stably opening Dimensional Rifts to other worlds?
This realization sparked an idea in Robin's mind: could this be... a glimmer of hope for returning home?
She had been in this world for over four months. Completing Robin's "Songstress" objective took three months, while Firefly's "Iron Cavalry" objective was accomplished in just over a month—less than two months in total.
Though she had made many friends and acquaintances during her time here, she had never forgotten her ultimate goal: to return home.
Of course, even with a stable method for opening Dimensional Rifts to the True Otherworld, it was like opening a blind box. The chances of finding a normal Earth were vanishingly slim, especially given the suspected existence of countless parallel Earths.
But regardless, it was still a sliver of hope, wasn't it?
"If only I could get my hands on detailed information about Dimensional Rifts from the Sakura Nation," Robin murmured to herself.
As if on cue, the System Notification for her delayed lottery results finally appeared the instant she finished speaking.
Drawing complete...
Just as when she first acquired the Firefly identity, Robin found her perspective splitting into three. One view showed her home in the Dragon Nation, another showed the ship sailing toward the European Union, and the third abruptly materialized on a street engulfed in flames.
"What the hell? Where am I? The Middle East? Africa?" But when she spotted a slanted sign by the roadside with Japanese characters, it dawned on her: she was actually in the Sakura Nation, specifically Nawajima—the very place she had just left!
What is this? she wondered. Did a Dimensional Rift just spit me back here after I barely boarded the ship?
Silently muttering "System," she summoned the interface before her:
Beautiful Girl Masquerade System at your service.
Host: Mu Heng
Current Identities: Robin, Firefly, Sparkle
Current Objectives: Songstress (Completed), Iron Cavalry (Completed), Elation (0.01%)
"Sparkle?!" she exclaimed, taken aback.
Like Robin and Firefly, Sparkle was also a character from the game Star Rail. When she first appeared, she came across as a mischievous "bratty girl" with a penchant for causing chaos and fun.
While some of the initial impressions might have been slightly off, Sparkle's mischievous nature was undeniable.
For instance, there was a scene that particularly impressed her: Sparkle unleashed a torrent of scathing insults on Aventurine without uttering a single curse word. Yet Aventurine, true to his Path of Preservation, remained completely unperturbed. Afterward, Sparkle casually commented on Sunday, instantly provoking a reaction from him.
In the game, Sparkle's official description read:
One of the Masked Fools, elusive and unscrupulous. A dangerous master of comedy, obsessed with acting, possessing a thousand masks and capable of assuming countless personas. Wealth, status, power... none of these matter to Sparkle. The only thing that drives her actions is "fun."
Of course, regardless of Sparkle's true nature, at this moment, she was simply herself.
"Wait a minute, does this System actually have a 'spoken word becomes reality' function?" she muttered to herself, now transformed into Sparkle. Just moments ago, she had been wishing she could obtain information about Dimensional Rifts in Sakura Nation, and then she had drawn Sparkle, with the location set there as well.
Using Sparkle's abilities to accomplish this would be ridiculously easy!
Lost in thought, she wandered over to a roadside shop. Through the shattered glass of the storefront, she could faintly make out her reflection: long, dark pigtails cascading down her back, their tips fading into a pale red hue.
Within her burgundy eyes danced a sakura blossom pattern. Though her expression was neutral, the mirror seemed to capture an unspoken smile playing on her lips.
Like Robin, Sparkle wore a neck ring, but hers was adorned with a delicate bell at the front. With a slight tilt of her head, the bell chimed with a crisp, clear sound.
Two thin straps crossed just below her collarbones, securing her garment while leaving her delicate shoulders fully exposed. When she raised her arm slightly, she could see her collarbones shift beneath her skin, and the smooth, hairless skin of her armpit.