"Ah… it really is me," Nahida said with a faint smile.
[??? : "I know you want to contact someone beyond the island, but not yet. So, I intercepted your communication."]
The readers didn't know who this was, so they were puzzled. Was this an enemy or a friend? What was the purpose of cutting off the communication? Why do it?
The Traveler had these questions too, but before he could ask, the other party seemed to read his mind, answering preemptively:
["Rather than asking, don't you want to find the answers yourself? This wondrous illusion represents the 'deep dream,' the truest reflection of the heart."]
["Go see it. Witness it all with your own eyes, and when the story concludes, tell me your feelings."]
The communication cut off, leaving the other party's identity and purpose unknown.
But someone capable of intercepting a device invented by Lisa was no ordinary person.
In a situation where it was unclear whether they were friend or foe, it was a bit unsettling.
[Paimon: "I'm a little scared, but… but I'll protect you! No matter what happens, I'm with you."]
Readers were touched. Paimon was so sweet—scared yet still thinking of protecting the Traveler.
Sure, she was usually the one protected, but judge the heart, not the deed.
In reality, the Traveler looked at Paimon with deep affection, making Paimon blush with embarrassment.
Lumine spoke up: "Paimon, are you secretly in love with me?"
"You jerk!" Paimon grabbed Lumine's cheeks in annoyance. "There's a time and place for jokes! I was just starting to feel touched!"
Lumine let Paimon mess around, smiling without saying a word. With our bond, why say too much?
Nahida, on the other hand, felt a bit embarrassed. So this could scare someone? She'd be more careful—poor little Paimon got spooked.
As for her actions in the story, Nahida understood. If it were her now, she'd do the same.
This group was full of fascinating people, truly interesting. Watching their dreams was such a delightful thing.
Besides, these dreams didn't harm them. They fulfilled their wishes, dispelled their inner demons—actually a good thing.
A win-win situation, so why not? Just curious what Mona's dream, the last one, would be like.
Mona's story was titled The Eternal Azure Star, a name that clearly tied to the stars.
In the story, the group gathered at the beach camp, where Mona had something important to announce.
Fischl's mental state had fully recovered, and she was very enthusiastic about the upcoming adventure. She was an adventurer, after all.
[Mona nodded: "Alright, I'll just say it."]
She had just used her hydro scrying and found a new island with a dream. She felt this time it was her turn.
That made sense. Besides the Traveler, she was the only one left, but the Traveler was unlikely.
The Traveler existed outside the three realms, beyond the five elements, so these dreams likely didn't include him.
Naturally, everyone was willing to accompany Mona to see her dream. After all, Mona had been with them for theirs.
This act of visiting each other's dreams somehow felt like dropping by someone's house.
Little did they know, it really was like visiting—Mona's house, and her house was actually pretty grand.
In fact, Mona had no idea how "luxurious" her home was.
Maybe because her original home was so extravagant, her current place seemed downright "shabby" by comparison.
She was in the low point of her life, with only a few cold billions in her account.
She worried that everyone seeing her overly "shabby" environment might change their impression of her.
Afraid she'd no longer be the mysterious, beautiful, great, powerful, cool, dependable genius astrologist Mona in their eyes.
Though Mona was quite wealthy, she had little liquid cash. She was rich but spent quickly, so her daily life was somewhat constrained.
This led to her having a rich person's wealth but a poor person's mindset, always feeling broke and shabby, the type to get mad over a one-Mora discount on takeout.
So, she worried her dream wouldn't match her image as a genius astrologist, given her "poor" mindset.
But Mona was tsundere. Though she thought this way, her words said otherwise.
[Mona: "Haha, I'm not worried at all that everyone will see an overly shabby illusion and form biases about me…"]
Did she say it? It seems she did… Did she or didn't she? Hard to say.
Yes, she's tsundere, so she says "not at all," but anyone with eyes could see, "That's exactly what's going on"!
Everyone present had sharp eyes and saw through Mona's worries instantly—especially since she said it out loud.
"Didn't expect Mona to have a bit of an idol burden," Furina remarked.
"Idol burden?" Mona didn't quite understand the term.
Lucian leaned in and whispered something in her ear.
"Ha!? I don't have an idol burden! I… I'm actually easy to get along with…" Mona's voice grew quieter, lacking confidence.
In truth, she didn't have much experience "getting along" with others. It was only after meeting Lucian that she started hanging out with everyone.
Before that, her biggest social interaction was giving readings, and she had few friends.
Plus, she only spoke the truth in her readings, and the fates she saw weren't always pleasing, leading to plenty of conflicts.
Because of this, she actually cared a lot about her friends, not wanting to be disliked by them.
Paimon chimed in to "help" Mona: "Lumine and I can vouch for that!"
Lumine nodded. "When we ate ramen together, Mona had no idol burden at all."
"She looked like she hadn't eaten in days."
"And that one time we…"
Lumine was about to keep going, but Mona hurriedly cut her off: "Stop! Don't say it!"
"Fine, I admit I have a bit of an idol burden! Just stop!!!"
As everyone knows, a scheming personality counters a tsundere. Mona couldn't handle it.
The others shared knowing smiles. You had to admit, Mona and Fischl were the kind of beautiful girls who gave cute reactions when teased.
Their reactions really made you want to tease them more. You could understand Lumine.
Fischl laughed heartily, loving this feeling of being with everyone.
Especially since, for once, she wasn't the one being teased.
In the story, she was comforting Mona too.
[Fischl reassured: "This Prinzessin has no such foolish expectations."]
Indeed, Fischl's words were meant to comfort Mona, who worried they'd expect too much and then be disappointed.
It sounded a bit like a jab, but it was genuine reassurance. That's what best friends do.
===✧✦✧===
Character Voice · Mona: About Her Adjectives
"What? You say I use too many adjectives? Do I? If it were Fischl, she'd use even more, right?"