A slightly cool autumn breeze swept through the air. Sparkle was wearing minimal clothing, leaving most of her skin exposed, yet she felt no chill.
She lowered her head and clenched her fist. This body was perhaps stronger than it appeared, possessing remarkable coordination and agility.
For instance, she felt she could effortlessly stand on one leg and raise the other until her foot touched her cheek.
Of course, feeling it was one thing; actually doing it was another. Sparkle had no intention of trying such a feat in public. Even if no one was around, it would be far too embarrassing.
Maybe I should let a clone handle it, she thought.
But that wouldn't work. Clones were mere puppets, capable of rotating their heads 720 degrees. Whether a clone could lift its leg over its head was utterly irrelevant!
Lost in these bizarre thoughts, Sparkle gently snapped her fingers. Instantly, all her clones began to slowly dissolve from the ground up. Soon, only several masks remained floating in the air, their wine-red glow gradually fading into nothingness.
Having familiarized herself with her abilities, Sparkle naturally turned to her primary objective: infiltrating the Sakura Nation's Dimensional Rift research facility and examining its research data.
Such a facility couldn't possibly be located on a remote island like Nawajima. Her current target was the Sakura Nation's capital, home to the Bureau of Anomalous Investigations.
Yes, the Sakura Nation had adopted the same Bureau of Anomalous Investigations system as the Dragon Nation, complete with identical positions, titles, and organizational structure. It was a direct copy.
The Dragon Nation had always been the one doing the copying. When had they ever been copied by others?
But this wasn't particularly important. In fact, being the source of the copied system only proved its excellence and sophistication, didn't it?
Sparkle randomly chose a direction and set off with small, brisk steps, her head constantly turning to survey her surroundings. A strange sense of unease began to creep over her.
It wasn't until she had been walking for three or four minutes that she realized what felt off: everything around her seemed slightly enlarged and taller than normal.
But the truth was, the environment hadn't changed at all. She had simply become shorter—or, more precisely, the body she now inhabited as Sparkle was simply too short.
When she first arrived in this world as Robin, her height was around 160 centimeters, only slightly shorter than she had been in her previous life. With heels, she was almost the same height, so she didn't need much time to adjust.
Firefly's height was similar to Robin's. Having already adapted to Robin's height, she naturally didn't need to adapt again to Firefly's.
But now, things were different. Sparkle was simply too short.
To put it bluntly, her perspective was more than a head shorter than before. To be precise, her height was just over 140 centimeters, according to official game data.
Because of her clothing, Sparkle's legs appeared longer, making her seem taller overall. But in reality, she was unmistakably a young girl—a loli in physique.
Moreover, this couldn't be altered through her "Disguise" ability. Disguise didn't physically transform her body. Even if she used an illusion to make herself appear two meters tall, her actual perspective would remain unchanged.
"Damn it!" Sparkle pouted helplessly. "This is going to take some getting used to."
A few more minutes passed as Sparkle wandered aimlessly until she spotted a digital store. Without hesitation, she turned and walked inside. The door was open, but predictably, the place was deserted.
Sparkle scanned the display counters before picking up a smartphone with a predominantly red design.
Free shopping!
She had no choice. In this era, navigating without a phone was practically impossible. After turning it on and connecting to the store's Wi-Fi, she pinpointed her exact location and found directions to the nearest pier. However, another problem quickly arose: she had no SIM card, or more precisely, no legal identity.
When Robin was in the Dragon Nation and Firefly in the European Union, the authorities had swiftly intervened to secure official identities for them. But it was clear no one in the Sakura Nation was going to assist her in obtaining such documentation. Besides, she had no desire to become a "Sakura Nation Person" anyway.
This meant she was now completely off the grid, an undocumented resident.
While this might be a life-threatening issue for others, it was trivial for Sparkle. Identities were child's play to manipulate. She could become anyone she wished.
After leaving the electronics store, Sparkle followed the map she had just consulted, heading toward the nearest pier. The best way to reach the Sakura Nation's capital was by boat, but if that proved impossible, swimming there wasn't entirely out of the question.
In any case, flying was out of the question, as all airports in the Sakura Nation were closed.
Just then, Sparkle paused slightly and glanced back. She spotted a man in sunglasses freeze mid-step before abruptly turning and walking into a roadside shop.
His stalking technique was laughably obvious. Sparkle had noticed him the moment he appeared.
This was the perfect opportunity to test her newly discovered illusion ability. She tilted her head slightly, her striking wine-red eyes locking onto him. In the next instant, the man stopped in his tracks and began walking straight toward her.
"Who are you? Why are you following me?" she asked, feigning confusion.
"Because... you're just so cute," the man stammered, his eyes fixed on her. "I saw you and couldn't help but follow..."
Obtaining information from someone completely lost in an illusion should have been child's play. However, the answer Sparkle received left her utterly bewildered.
Huh? What the hell?
She had initially assumed the man was a late-arriving official from the Sakura Nation. But instead, he turned out to be just an ordinary person who had been smitten at first sight?
No, no, no. After a few more questions, Sparkle's expression grew even more perplexed. This wasn't even a case of lust. The man had no ulterior motives whatsoever. He was simply an ordinary stalker.
Yes, ordinary. In the Sakura Nation, stalkers were shockingly common. They would stand on street corners, spot an attractive passerby or a cute little girl, and start following them without reason or purpose. They didn't kill or set fires, rob or assault anyone—they simply enjoyed the thrill of trailing others.
In short, they were psychological deviants.
In fact, stalkers were so prevalent in the Sakura Nation that they had even enacted a special Stalker Regulation Act. It was almost absurd.