Two days later, in the bustling Commercial District of Penacony's Dreamscape, which was brilliantly lit as always, with crowds flowing endlessly, Lucian held Robin's hand and strolled alongside her at an unhurried pace.
Robin wore a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, keeping a low profile, yet the excitement in her eyes could not be hidden.
Lucian, on the other hand, wore a neat black outfit with a black coat, paired with golden-rimmed black sunglasses, looking stylish and charming.
From time to time, Robin picked up accessories from roadside stalls and held them up against Lucian for comparison, or pointed at beautiful dresses in the windows of clothing stores, letting out soft exclamations of surprise.
"Lucian, does this one look good?"
"Yeah, it looks good."
"What about this one?"
"You look good in anything."
"Fufu, that's such a cop-out~"
Robin complained with her mouth, yet the corners of her lips lifted high.
In others' eyes, the two clearly looked like the most ordinary couple, enjoying a rare moment of leisure—the atmosphere between them was sweet and relaxed.
Meanwhile, not far away, Sparkle, who had just arrived in Penacony, stopped in her tracks and then mumbled to herself while gazing at a group of boys laughing together.
"Heh, that Chicken Wing Boy is really popular—there are so many kids with middle-parted hair everywhere. Honestly, it's pretty funny."
Sparkle glanced at the festive surroundings while remarking casually, but soon paused as she spotted familiar faces.
"Hm? Isn't that Robin? Wrapped up that tight and I still recognized her..." Sparkle muttered, raising her brows. "And that handsome guy getting all close with her... hmm, is that the boyfriend who blew up online? Heehee, this is getting kinda interesting..."
Now that she saw Robin, before going to mock the Chicken Wing Boy (Sunday), she decided to tease his little sister first.
Sparkle quickly slipped into an empty alley, then put on a chick mascot costume she created with her power of Elation as a disguise.
Satisfied with her appearance, Sparkle immediately charged straight toward the couple, and in that instant, a giant, fluffy chick mascot suddenly burst out of the crowd, its target clear—Lucian!
"Hey, handsome big brother!"
Sparkle was just a few meters away from Lucian as she let out an extremely excited scream from inside the chick costume, but at that very moment—
*BANG!*
A massive round object suddenly shot over from the opposite side and slammed directly into her, sending her flying and making her roll across the ground several times before stopping.
Lucian, who had turned his head upon hearing someone shouting, frowned as he saw the kind of scene that only happened in idol dramas. Seeing such a coincidental accident, he could not help but suspect that the chick had ill intentions toward him and had triggered the Law of Calamity.
Meanwhile, the nearby crowd, who witnessed the sudden incident, immediately began to discuss in confusion.
"How'd a bubble pinball even get launched over here?"
"Yeah, this isn't even on the launch path. Who the hell was running the thing?"
"Poor chick."
In the Dreamscape, the so-called bubble pinball was both a recreational attraction and a transportation mechanism in which people sat inside and, as the name suggested, were launched away like a pinball.
Still, it was supposed to follow a predetermined path that was both safe and known for rarely having accidents, so the fact that it veered off in this way was unusual.
"I didn't mess up the controls! I crashed into another bubble pinball and got launched this way. An accident, really!"
As soon as the rider of the bubble pinball climbed out, he exclaimed repeatedly, trying to prove his innocence.
Fortunately, this was inside the Dreamscape, a place where no one would die from accidents, so no one cared much about an incident that would have been fatal in reality.
However, when the rider was about to apologize and offer compensation to Sparkle, she ignored him entirely, got back on her feet as if nothing at all had happened, and then continued charging straight toward Lucian before hugging him tightly.
"Big brother! Give me your autograph! Sign my clothes! Sign my heart!"
Sparkle exclaimed like a fangirl, rubbing herself hard against Lucian's body in exaggerated, ridiculous movements, while nodding at Robin from time to time as if deliberately provoking her.
Seeing the scene, the surrounding crowd, amused by this overly enthusiastic mascot, gradually gathered to watch the show. In their eyes, this mascot evidently did not care about her own life at all, only about chasing a handsome guy.
Thanks to Sparkle's act, Robin was pushed back a step by her fierce momentum.
"I'm sorry, but... who are you supposed to be?"
Robin looked at the chick mascot hugging Lucian's waist with a mix of irritation and amusement. In her eyes, the fact that this mascot had been hit hard by a bubble pinball and yet still did not care, instead desperately wanting Lucian's autograph, was far too intense and odd.
"I'm his girlfriend. And you? Who are you?"
Sparkle tilted her head to glance at Robin, then answered before casually asking back, acting completely clueless about Robin's relationship with Lucian.
Robin couldn't help but look at Lucian in confusion, her gaze full of questions.
Was the one inside the chick costume another one of his women?
Who was she?
Why did new women keep appearing every day?
"...I don't know her."
Being stared at questioningly by Robin, Lucian calmly shook his head and denied the claim.
"Big brother! I crawled through ventilation ducts for three whole days just to see you! Look how devoted I am!"
Sparkle spoke passionately, then pulled a marker out of a pocket on the belly of the chick costume and stuffed it into Lucian's hand.
"Quick, sign it! Here!"
Sparkle pointed at the fluffy chest area of her chick costume.
Lucian lowered his gaze, looking at the overzealous 'chick' clinging to him.
If one could see the eyes behind his sunglasses, they would notice that those eyes showed little emotion, to the point of near indifference.
It was only natural, for Lucian could tell that the enthusiasm this mascot gave off felt too deliberate and too artificial. Moreover, as an Emanator of Elation, he could clearly sense that the one inside the chick costume carried a strong power of Elation.
In other words, the one inside the mascot suit was almost certainly a Masked Fool.
And if the one inside the costume was a Masked Fool, it meant that all this farce was one-hundred-percent just their usual prank, deliberately causing trouble purely for amusement, as always.
As for who the one inside the chick costume was, since the voice was slightly muffled by the costume, aside from knowing that the one inside was a girl, he would have to tear it open to determine the exact identity.
"Let go. I don't know you."
Lucian's voice was calm, devoid of emotion.
"No!"
Sparkle hugged Lucian even tighter, then lifted her head, looking at him through a slit in the costume with a pair of sly, lively eyes glittering with mischief.
"Big brother, just sign one! Once you're done, I'll go! Otherwise... I'll keep hugging you forever!"
As these words fell, Sparkle even wiggled the chubby butt of her chick costume, making the crowd watching the show burst into laughter.
Lucian, feeling that talking was just a waste of time, silently raised his left hand and, using only two fingers, precisely pinched the hidden zipper pull at the back of the chick costume's neck.
Sparkle seemed to sense danger and tried to dodge, but unfortunately for her, Lucian's hand was faster.
*ZIIIP—!*
A sharp, clear zipper sound resounded as Lucian pulled his hand downward.
When the chick costume was split open down the back, like peeling open an enormous edamame pod, Sparkle was instantly exposed beneath the bright lights and the gaze of the crowd.
However, instead of the red kimono she usually wore, Sparkle was now dressed in what appeared to be a tightly fastened high school student uniform.
Seeing the scene, the crowd was stunned, not expecting that inside the chick mascot costume was actually a cute girl.
"Uhh... Surprise?"
Sparkle glanced at her own body, then looked at Lucian and hesitantly raised the marker still gripped in her hand toward him.
In front of Lucian now stood a delicate, beautiful girl with glasses and long dark brown hair hanging freely, looking pure and lovely, exquisitely pretty, like an innocent porcelain doll.
At the sight of her, the corner of Lucian's mouth lifted slightly.
If he had not known Sparkle, he really might have been fooled by the innocent appearance she was currently showing.
Now, he finally understood why that bubble pinball accident had happened—Sparkle must have been trying to prank him, but, thanks to the Law of Calamity, she had gotten cursed by misfortune.
Lucian ultimately decided not to expose Sparkle's identity, wanting to see what kind of trouble she planned to stir up. In any case, with the Law of Calamity as a safety net, he was not afraid of her causing chaos.
Sparkle looked at her chick costume on the ground, then at Lucian's expressionless face, before immediately tossing aside the marker and pulling out her phone.
Now, the manic enthusiasm she had shown earlier vanished, replaced by an innocent and elegant expression.
"Come closer, big brother! Smile! Say cheese~"
Sparkle forcibly squeezed herself between Lucian and Robin, raised her phone, and then—
*Click!*
As the flash went off, the photo was taken.
In the frame, Sparkle occupied the center, smiling brightly and flashing a peace sign.
Lucian was pushed slightly to the side, his face completely blank.
Robin was entirely shoved to the edge of the frame, with only half her sunglass-covered face visible, looking distinctly startled.
No matter how one looked at it, it was undoubtedly an utterly terrible photo.
"Perfect!" Sparkle exclaimed with a cheerful smile, gazing at the photo with great satisfaction. "Thanks for your time, big brother! Bye-bye!"
With that, she put away her phone as if she had just completed an important mission, waved at Lucian, then turned around, skipped into the crowd, and disappeared.
"Uhh... What just happened? She's so weird!"
Robin removed her sunglasses and stared in the direction where Sparkle had vanished, speaking with a thoroughly speechless expression.
"Just ignore her," Lucian said calmly, gently squeezing Robin's hand. "I mean, she's a Masked Fool, so causing trouble is something she loves. If you see her again, stay far away. Let's go, keep shopping."
"Eh? Such a cute girl is a Masked Fool?"
Seeing Robin's surprise, Lucian couldn't help but smile teasingly.
"Looks don't determine nature, little bird..." Lucian said while shaking his head. "As the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover. Just like you—on the surface, you're like a pure angel, but in bed, you're like a tempting devil."
"Uhh, you're awful..." Robin complained with a pout, her face flushing slightly. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be like that... Hmph!"
Lucian chuckled, then raised his hands in surrender.
"Fine, my fault."
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