For the woman, the past few days had undoubtedly been a stroke of terrible luck. But the two men blocking the supermarket entrance were just as unfortunate.
They were brothers who had barely survived three grueling days in the Dimensional Rift. Upon returning to the main world, they discovered a burning plane had crashed into their house. The fire raged for three days, consuming everything they owned.
Their house, car, money, even their phones—all lost during their time in the Rift—were now gone. In that instant, they were left with nothing.
Perhaps driven by resentment towards society after their misfortune, or simply by a desperate need to survive, the brothers had seized control of the supermarket.
Apart from these two groups, there was also a slender girl, barely taller than Sparkle at just over five feet, wearing glasses. She stood outside the supermarket, gazing wistfully at the two men guarding the entrance, her expression a mixture of longing and fear.
Because... she was the owner of the supermarket, the boss of this place.
This was all the information Sparkle gleaned after pulling everyone into her Illusionary Realm.
Sparkle had initially thought this was just another case of post-apocalyptic bullying, and she'd casually stepped in to help the unfortunate woman. But the reality turned out to be far more complex than she'd imagined.
Within the Illusionary Realm, Sparkle witnessed the two brothers at home, laughing boisterously as they guzzled beer during a lively conversation. She also saw the wife preparing dinner for her family in her own kitchen, and the young girl taking the keys from her elderly grandfather to begin running the supermarket.
Now, in this moment, who was truly at fault? And how could this situation be resolved fairly?
For some reason, Sparkle suddenly thought of the Martyr. She began to understand why so many people in White Eagle willingly immersed themselves in the Martyr's "True Illusion."
As Sparkle walked past the supermarket entrance, all the sounds of the argument vanished in an instant.
The young girl found herself inexplicably seated at the cashier's counter, a stack of money lying before her.
The wife discovered her money had vanished, replaced by a pile of bread and water.
The two brothers found themselves inexplicably standing in the middle of the road, clutching a bag of groceries.
This was the best solution Sparkle could devise for now. At least the conflict between the three groups had vanished, hadn't it?
Whether the girl could hold onto the supermarket afterward was up to her. Sparkle wasn't her family and couldn't protect her indefinitely. In truth, the best course of action might have been to abandon the supermarket entirely, gather as many supplies as possible, and hide at home.
The wife had obtained what she needed to feed herself and her child, while the brothers had secured enough provisions to survive for several days.
None of these people were at fault. The true culprit was the artificial disaster orchestrated by the Sakura Nation's government.
It was worth noting that after leaving, Sparkle suddenly noticed the Elation percentage on her System interface had increased slightly.
"Did it go up because I did something good and feel happy? No, that can't be it. It must be because those three groups are feeling happy now."
Most people don't derive elation directly from the act of helping others. What truly satisfies and delights them is the heartfelt gratitude they receive in return.
For example, Sparkle felt no elation after assisting those three groups. Instead, her mood had grown somewhat heavier.
-
Some time later, Sparkle arrived at the city's harbor. Unlike the deserted electronic street she had first encountered, or the food street with its sparse crowds, the harbor was teeming with people, every inch of space occupied.
Shoulder pressed against shoulder—this wasn't an exaggeration. The crowd's collective goal was a passenger ship preparing to depart.
"I have money! I'll buy a ticket! Let me on board!"
"I'll pay triple the price! Let me through!"
"Move! Stop shoving!"
"The ship's full! Wait for the next one!"
Clearly, in the wake of the disaster, anyone with the means was desperate to flee the city. Observing the chaotic scene, Sparkle stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Originally, she had planned to use Takashi, the stalker's identity, to buy a ticket and board the ship. But now, it seemed impossible. Even reaching the ticket counter would mean being literally swallowed by the sea of people.
"Guess there's no choice..." muttering to herself, she tapped the mask on her forehead and began to activate her Ability—or, more precisely, to explore an alternate application of her Disguise.
Isn't the essence of disguise to shroud oneself in an illusion, deceiving others' five senses to transform into another person?
What if we tweaked this sensory deception slightly, making anyone who sees Sparkle believe they saw nothing at all, and causing anyone who hears her voice to automatically disregard it? Wouldn't that create a unique form of invisibility?
Not physical invisibility in the optical sense, but rather psychological invisibility.
In the game Star Rail, Sparkle possesses a similar skill: her out-of-combat secret technique, "Unreliable Narrator," which causes all monsters to ignore her presence.
The next moment, from the perspective of others, the tall, sunglasses-wearing man who had been standing there just vanished into thin air. But then, a delayed thought struck them: Was there really someone there just now? Maybe I'm misremembering?
As for Sparkle, she had already lightly leapt onto the shoulder of the nearest person and, without pausing, began hopping across the shoulders of the crowd ahead, bouncing her way toward the departing cruise ship.
Thanks to her naturally light weight and her Ability, the people she stepped on only felt a strange, slight twitch in their shoulders, and most didn't even notice it.
"Eee-ee-ee~"
With a final leap, she landed on one foot on the metal railing surrounding the ship's deck. To maintain her balance, she had to bend forward, arms outstretched. Her dark twin braids slid down along the sides of her cheeks under the pull of gravity, and she could even clearly see her toes instinctively curling together for stability.
"Hmm~"
Finally, Sparkle lightly hopped onto the ship's deck. After confirming on her phone that the ship was indeed headed to the capital of the Sakura Nation, she murmured softly, "Next, let's find a cabin."
Since ships were much slower than planes and it was already afternoon, she likely wouldn't arrive until tomorrow. She had no intention of spending the night on deck.