Then again, why does Robin look so exhausted?
Sylvia planned to wait until she turned in for the night to use the two gacha pulls she had earned today.
Compared to pulling from the gacha, Robin's current state was far more concerning. Even if she was just feeling shy, a little bashfulness shouldn't have her panting this heavily.
Looking at the new rewards, Sylvia couldn't help but smile.
Yet alongside her amusement, there was no shortage of genuine concern for Robin.
Raising affection levels was great, but Robin's condition was visibly off.
That was a bit worrying.
Sylvia didn't let go of Robin's arm.
She looked at her with a tinge of worry, deliberately ignoring her still-heaving chest.
"Are you really okay...? You're breathing so hard."
Judging by the stamina Robin displayed when she previously accompanied her to explore a barren planet, her endurance shouldn't be this terrible... especially considering they were currently in a dream.
"Why don't we take a break first? You should check your condition while we're at it, just to make sure you aren't falling ill."
Sylvia looked anxiously at Robin, whose face was flushed with an unnatural shade of crimson.
No matter how one looked at it... getting into this state after such a minor amount of physical exertion was definitely abnormal.
"I'm not... it's fine. Really, it's no problem."
Robin tried her best to calm herself down, but the heart pounding away in her chest seemed to be doing it on purpose, its heavy thuds echoing so loudly they practically vibrated through her ribs right into her own ears.
Ugh... I'm totally embarrassing myself in front of Sylvia!
Robin resisted the urge to raise her hands and cover her face.
However, the wings behind her ears independently swept forward, veiling her blushing cheeks.
At the same time, they cut off the line of sight between herself and Sylvia.
It was as if by avoiding Sylvia's eyes, Sylvia wouldn't be looking at her either.
It was a bit of a flight from reality.
Meanwhile.
Mei sat in the booth, entirely silent.
Yet, her gaze never drifted far from Sylvia.
Although Mei told herself she didn't care and shouldn't care about these things, her brow still furrowed almost imperceptibly upon seeing Robin suddenly freeze like a dazed statue after Sylvia wrapped an arm around her waist.
How should she put it?
She was still a bit displeased, after all.
Sitting in the opposite seat, Sparkle bit down on her straw, propping up her head as she openly scrutinized the Self-Annihilator who was completely ignoring her.
As for how she figured out Mei's identity?
Well, that was a pretty girl's secret.
"Hehehe~ What a fascinating love triangle we have here. Why not just rush over there and snatch that little white-haired girl back?"
Sparkle rested her chin in her hands, giggling at Mei.
To be able to make a Self-Annihilator—someone with such dulled emotions—display such a rich spectrum of feelings... Sylvia's methods were truly astonishing.
Sparkle was intensely curious about how Sylvia had managed it. That was the inherent side effect of the Path of Nihility itself, after all.
"...Behave yourself, Masked Fool."
Mei knit her brows slightly, turning her head to glance cold at Sparkle.
Although Sylvia had mentioned that Sparkle was an ally, truth be told, someone with this kind of personality didn't sit well with Mei.
In comparison, even Robin's gentle disposition was preferable.
"Oh my, oh my~ Are you planning to pick a fight with little old Sparkle?"
Sparkle giggled, her tone carrying a blatant note of provocation. But such a crude provocation was never going to work on Mei.
She had heard from Sylvia that while Sparkle had a rather obnoxious mouth, she was reliable when it came to getting things done.
Thus, Mei merely offered a warning; she had no intention of making things awkward for Sylvia.
"Hehehe~ How amusing. For someone like you to harbor such an obvious sentiment of 'love'... I'm dying of curiosity. How on earth did Sylvia manage it?"
Sparkle laughed merrily, leaning her head significantly closer toward Mei.
"Those fools from the Doctors of Chaos have spent so many years trying, yet they haven't been half as effective as an outsider. I wonder if they'd be so ashamed they'd dissolve into Nihility on the spot if they heard about this."
For those on the Path of Nihility, the most fatal thing was for everything they were to become 'nothing'.
And what those Doctors of Chaos desired most was to revitalize the fading emotions and memories of Self-Annihilators.
Evidently, their success was minimal.
Mei, however, was an anomaly among anomalies. Not only had she relied on her own strength to walk far enough down the Path to reach the level of an Emanator, but even her emotions had become active.
It could practically be hailed as a cosmic medical miracle.
Sparkle was dying of curiosity.
She wished she could crawl into Sylvia's bed in the dead of night just to interrogate her on how she did it. Unfortunately, she just hadn't found the right opportunity yet.
Mei didn't respond, choosing not to even look at Sparkle.
Though she was curious about how Sparkle had deduced her identity, Mei didn't suspect Sylvia. She trusted that Sylvia wouldn't do such a thing.
As for the underlying meaning in Sparkle's words, Mei chose to ignore it. Because even now, Mei herself hadn't fully grasped how Sylvia had accomplished it.
Naturally, she had no way to answer Sparkle's question.
Right then.
Mei saw Sylvia exchange a few words with Robin.
Soon after, the two parted.
Sylvia waved at Mei before walking toward the edge of the stage, while Robin headed back to the lounge area.
"Oh wow, the little bird is back so soon? Hehehe, look how red your face is~ How innocent."
Sparkle's face practically bloomed with laughter.
Wonderful, wonderful. While it wasn't some grand crisis, she desperately wanted to see these two women duke it out right here and now.
Regrettably, neither Mei nor Robin was the type to let a comment or two stir up conflict.
"Where did Sylvia go?"
"I'm feeling a bit unwell, so I came back to rest for a while. Sylvia said she'd go grab me some non-alcoholic beverages."
Robin took a look around, gathered her skirt, and sat down right next to Mei.
This was to prevent Sparkle from pushing her away again next time.
"Aww... Such blatant favoritism from our little bird makes my heart break~"
"You don't exactly look as heartbroken as you claim to be."
Through their interactions over this past period, Robin had long since figured out Sparkle's personality.
When Sparkle was looking for amusement, one could never let their guard down.
Otherwise, you really would end up becoming the joke.
Though Sparkle's antics weren't life-threatening, honestly, it was an experience best avoided.
--+--
On Sylvia's end.
After parting ways with Robin, Sylvia navigated through the dancing crowd to a slightly more secluded area, locating the buffet zone stocked with drinks and food.
Sylvia wandered around, intending to find a SoulGlad to bring back for Robin.
While she was at it, she wanted to pick up some interesting foods for Mei to try.
Because of the whimsical nature of these dreams, many flavors that were impossible to recreate in reality could be sampled right here in the Dreamscape's delicacies.
Sylvia had been wanting to let Mei taste them for a while now.
Just as Sylvia was smiling and picking through the food and beverages, a gentle voice suddenly echoed right beside her ear.
"Long time no see, my dear."
Sylvia turned around to find that Black Swan had materialized behind her at some unknown point.
She was holding a beautiful cocktail, raising her glass toward Sylvia in a polite toast.
"Black Swan? You... seem to be living quite the leisurely life."
Sylvia felt a sudden urge to criticize whatever it was Black Swan was doing in this place. Not only was she incredibly elusive, but she had also approached her multiple times now.
Who knew what she was after?
"Leisurely? Not long ago, I accompanied a mischievous Fool through a rather pointless and open-ended game. Well, I suppose I am quite leisurely indeed."
Black Swan tilted her head thoughtfully, then gazed into Sylvia's eyes, her smile turning tender.
"Ah..."
Hearing Black Swan's phrasing, Sylvia recalled the companion mission involving Sparkle and Black Swan that she had played through.
Calling it open-ended was actually quite accurate.
After all, at the very end, Sparkle—who had been itching to make a move—had her memories inexplicably wiped by Black Swan.
Black Swan had no idea what Sylvia was thinking. Since Sylvia hadn't been around lately, she merely assumed Sylvia felt a bit awkward because of her current alliance with Sparkle.
"There's no need to dwell on it. Frankly, that Fool could have used a much better method to invite me. I actually played a small part in your friend's plan."
In that self-directed play of Sparkle's, the trickery was real, but the information she leaked was also genuine.
If one had to define it, it was essentially a rather wicked invitation extended by Sparkle to Black Swan.
Thus, after decoding Sparkle's metaphor, Black Swan had ultimately chosen to merely erase Sparkle's memory without taking any further action.
However, Black Swan's words caught Sylvia a bit off guard.
Sparkle had actually done something like that?
If one were to ask whether Sylvia had ever considered inviting Black Swan, she certainly had. But Black Swan treating Penacony like her own backyard meant that if she didn't want to show her face, nobody could possibly track her down.
Black Swan was highly satisfied with Sylvia's surprised expression.
Even Robin was still in the dark about her involvement in those machinations.
"...By the way, what exactly is your purpose here in Penacony? Did you really just come to attend the festival?"
Sylvia was deeply perplexed.
Quite a few factions had arrived in Penacony by now.
Some came for the Watchmaker's legacy, while others were after Penacony itself.
There were also those like Sparkle, who arrived bearing commissions and a desire to watch the chaos unfold.
Black Swan's presence was far more subtle.
To say she had taken action would be a stretch, as she spent most of her time concealed, harvesting memories.
Yet to say she had no stakes in this would ignore how she had shown herself before Sylvia and lent a hand to Robin.
She had indeed intervened.
Black Swan nodded with great satisfaction.
"Of course, that is precisely why a Memokeeper comes to this place. I am merely acting on occasion based on my own whims."
As she spoke, Black Swan set down her unfinished drink and offered an elegant bow to Sylvia. Then, she extended her palm face-up in a clear invitation:
"Opportunities like this are rare. May I have the honor of dancing with you, my dear?"
"..."
Sylvia blinked.
She suddenly remembered that animated short where Acheron and Black Swan shared a dance, and how Black Swan had been put through the wringer by Nihility.
Had she shifted her targets from Acheron to her instead?
But her own memories couldn't be peered into.
Didn't Black Swan already know this? She had tried that exact angle during their last encounter and failed spectacularly.
"Oh my, don't look at me like that. I know I cannot view your memories. I simply wish to understand you all a little better."
If Acheron were just operating alone, looking like a dazed wanderer, testing her would have been fine. No one would have come knocking on her door afterward to demand an explanation.
But the relationship between Acheron and Sylvia was far from ordinary.
Acheron was the type to completely wipe out a faction's entire territory just because they targeted Sylvia, and Sylvia's feelings for Acheron were unlikely to be any lesser.
Black Swan took Sylvia's hand. Within a mere two or three steps, she pulled Sylvia back into the heart of the dance floor.
Face to face, the heels of their shoes clicked rhythmically against the polished floor.
Moving in perfect synchronization with the music, Black Swan brought her eyes closer, as if attempting to analyze Sylvia's very existence through sight alone.
"My companion brought back some intriguing news. Just a short while ago, a conflict broke out on Jepella. One of the parties involved, the Ever-Flame Mansion, was leveled to the ground alongside their entire domain."
"...Is there ever a time when a conflict isn't breaking out on Jepella?"
Sylvia felt a bit helpless.
Seriously?
The uproar she had caused on the Xianzhou was significantly larger, yet word of that incident hadn't spread nearly as widely across the stars.
How did an armed conflict in a place like Jepella manage to become common knowledge across the entire universe the moment it happened?
Furthermore, they had managed to pin the suspicion on her in record time.
She had just finished discussing this with Topaz, and now Black Swan was bringing it up too.
Sylvia had initially assumed that information wouldn't flow very efficiently out of a lawless borderland like Jepella.
Why did it seem like every single faction had their eyes glued to that place?
"While that may be true, the planet was thrown into chaos by the Stellaron Hunters not too long ago. It stands to reason that the major factions would keep a close eye on it lately."
Black Swan caught the helplessness swirling in Sylvia's eyes.
She instantly deduced that because of the Jepella incident, she wasn't the first person to approach Sylvia about it today.
Amused, Black Swan burst into a light laugh.
She spun Sylvia around twice.
Then, she kindly offered to clear up Sylvia's confusion.
Every action taken by the Stellaron Hunters was for the sake of a Stellaron.
Yet they had inexplicably gone to Jepella to stir up a rebellion, leading to the collapse of the Jepella Brotherhood.
The catch was that Jepella didn't actually possess a Stellaron. In fact, the Stellaron Hunters vanished into thin air the moment the Brotherhood fell.
It looked entirely as though they had orchestrated the rebellion solely to eliminate the Brotherhood.
Naturally, the major factions didn't buy that investigation result for a single second.
Particularly because after Jepella, the Stellaron Hunters proceeded to target the Herta Space Station and the Xianzhou Loufu in succession.
Everyone knew what happened next. The Space Station's Stellaron was stolen and reportedly transformed into a Stellaron vessel, which was currently being sheltered by the Astral Express.
On the Xianzhou, the disaster of the Stellaron and the Ambrosial Arbor fueled one another, nearly turning the Xianzhou Luofu upside down.
This only intensified the suspicions the major factions harbored toward Jepella.
Everyone wanted to see exactly what move the Stellaron Hunters were setting up with their play on Jepella.
And it was precisely at this juncture that an Astral Express train arrived at Jepella.
A white-haired woman and a blue-haired woman traveled together, obliterating the Ever-Flame Mansion before sauntering away.
Many factions could only track down the blue-haired woman as a Galaxy Ranger calling herself Acheron, but the white-haired woman was far easier to identify.
The Xianzhou Alliance was a massive power capable of suppressing information and acting as a deterrent.
Even if other factions found out about what happened there, they wouldn't dare spread rumors lightly.
Jepella, however, lacked that kind of backing.
Naturally, intelligence regarding Sylvia instantly saturated the cosmos.
As these details were laid out before her, the expression on Sylvia's face became incredibly complicated.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL