Stepping out of Robin's room, Sylvia took the long way back, stopping at the bar to grab a drink before heading to her own quarters.
When she reached her door, however, she found it standing slightly ajar. Brows furrowed, she pushed it open, only to find Sparkle had somehow slipped inside while she was out.
Click.
Sylvia closed the door behind her and looked at Sparkle, who was already watching her. "I thought you went back. What are you doing in my room?"
"I'm just here to keep our little promise~" Sparkle chirped, pushing herself up from the sofa and waving Sylvia over with a mischievous grin.
She hopped toward Sylvia, tilting her head to steal a sip from the glass in Sylvia's hand.
"Slurp— mmm, not bad at all."
"What promise?" Sylvia asked, setting the glass down on the coffee table as she sank into the sofa.
Sparkle stood on the other side of the table, shaking her head with a look of mock disappointment. "The script, of course! I'm a woman of my word, you know."
"But we haven't even succeeded yet," Sylvia countered.
The Astral Express was still en route to Herta Space Station, and there was no telling how long the repairs would take. Even once fixed, whether it could set sail as smoothly as Himeko's remained a mystery.
It was anyone's guess if they would even make it in time for the Charmony Festival. Because of that uncertainty, Sylvia hadn't brought up the script. She hadn't expected Sparkle to take the initiative to leak the intel.
"My, my~ Is our little white-haired friend feeling particularly honest today? It doesn't matter, hee-hee! Now that our Express is in Lady Herta's hands, I have plenty of confidence."
"...What do you mean 'ours'? Nothing's official yet. Besides, you're just a member in name only." Sylvia rolled her eyes. Even if they had found the train together, the thought of having a Masked Fool on board every day was enough to ruin anyone's sleep.
"Hee-hee, who can say for sure? Anyway, let's move on~ Let's talk about that girl you're so worried about." Sparkle gave Sylvia a pointed wink, teasing as if there were something scandalous between Sylvia and Firefly.
Sylvia knew arguing was pointless, so she simply gave up on the banter. "Fine. Let's hear it. What's the story?"
"So impatient! Let me wet my whistle first." Sparkle pulled up a chair, sat down, and took another long gulp of Sylvia's drink.
With a faint flush creeping onto her cheeks, Sparkle swayed her head rhythmically. "The truth is, Silver Wolf brought me in to help script three 'deaths' for Firefly."
Three deaths...
Sylvia immediately thought of the time Firefly had been impaled by "Death." That surely counted as one. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been such a focal point. But the way Sparkle phrased it—"scripting"—did that mean the details of those deaths weren't actually written in stone?
Sylvia rubbed her chin, piecing things together based on what she remembered.
Perhaps the Stellaron Hunters couldn't interfere directly, or maybe Silver Wolf had her own tasks to attend to, leading them to commission Sparkle to step into the Penacony game.
If Firefly's three deaths all occurred within the Dreamscape, then naturally, they wouldn't result in true demise.
But looking at it from another angle... if no one intervened, was it possible for Firefly to meet a permanent end in reality?
"Hmm... is that all?"
"That's the most important part! Of course, if any other fun 'elation' pops up, I'll certainly be joining in."
Sylvia nodded, but then paused, looking up at Sparkle. "Wait... do you only know the general gist of what's happening in Penacony? You don't have a detailed script either, do you?"
"Aha! You caught me already~ Hee-hee! Silver Wolf said she didn't have a detailed one either, and even if she did, I wouldn't read it." Sparkle spread her arms wide, looking perfectly carefree.
"Where's the fun in knowing everything beforehand?"
Knowing some information was an advantage—it let her chase "elation" however she pleased. But knowing everything? That just killed the joy of the hunt.
Sylvia nodded, unfazed. Typical behavior for a Masked Fool. Seeing that Sparkle had closed her mouth and had no intention of continuing, Sylvia didn't press further.
The more pressing matter was Firefly. If the script called for three deaths, she should be safe for at least the first two. The real danger lay in the final one.
Well... I should probably see what Firefly thinks about all this, Sylvia thought, recalling the sweet girl.
As a member of the Iron Cavalry of Glamoth, Firefly was more than just "cute." She had her own will and her own pursuits.
"By the way, Sparkle—based on what you're saying, Firefly must know about this too, right?"
"Yup, yup! But anything else is my little secret. I'll be taking my leave now~" Sparkle casually swiped Sylvia's drink and looked ready to finish the whole thing. The flush on her face deepened.
It was hard to tell exactly how much it took to get this girl drunk.
Sylvia stood up and slammed her hand against the doorframe, blocking Sparkle's path.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Sparkle asked.
With her reddened face and watery eyes, anyone else might have been fooled by her "damsel in distress" act. But Sylvia knew her nature all too well.
She reached out and snatched the glass back from Sparkle's hand, then tilted her head back to take a sip herself.
"I'm the one who bought this wine."
"Tch~ Stingy! Blehh!" Sparkle stuck her tongue out at Sylvia before darting out the door.
Watching the door swing shut, Sylvia smiled and shook her head. With Sparkle gone, Sylvia teleported directly to Herta Space Station.
The freighter carrying the damaged Express hadn't arrived yet, but Sylvia had beaten it there.
Even though Asta had heard about Sylvia's abilities before, her sudden appearance on the station still gave the girl a fright.
Since it wasn't her first visit, Sylvia gave a quick wave and headed straight for Herta's office. She wanted to see exactly what this "big project" was all about.
The Herta puppet standing near the office was motionless, clearly offline. However, before Sylvia could even call out, the puppet jerked to life.
"You're here. Good. Come and test the new version of the Simulated Universe."
"A new version? What's the update?"
"We updated the timeline within the simulation."
"?"
Seeing Sylvia's confusion, Herta explained, "Based on the previous tests, I've found that the Path of Trailblaze is much more likely to attract a reaction from the current Aeons than the ancient Path of Permanence. My guess is that the Permanence simply died too long ago."
Herta shrugged, not guaranteeing the theory was correct. But the fact that Sylvia's simulations kept attracting that nuisance, Aha, was undeniable. Herta was done dealing with the Elation's nonsense.
"So, Ruan Mei and I have attempted to turn back the clock in the Simulated Universe, returning to an era surrounding the birth of an Aeon inextricably linked to the Permanence."
Herta's tone grew excited. Rumor had it that the birth of Propagation was a splintering from the Path of Permanence.
To investigate the beginning and end of the Aeon of Propagation, a "Permanence" like Sylvia was the perfect candidate!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.