Chapter 173: What Do You Mean You Just Watched As Firefly Was Kidnapped?
The gentle, sweet Firefly and the puppy-like Stelle had just wrapped up a wonderfully happy outing together. After parting ways with the Trailblazer, Firefly naturally wandered off alongside another woman—one who was notably fair-skinned, stunningly beautiful, and exceptionally well-endowed.
So, who exactly was this mysterious, glamorous companion?
Why, it was none other than Firefly's 'most trusted comrade' from the Stellaron Hunters... Constance.
Yeah, right.
In reality, Constance—the Dahlia of the Ever-Flame Mansion—had genuinely been thrown for a loop by Firefly. Having tapped into the Dreammaster's authority to manipulate memories, Constance had just received some absolutely stunning intel directly from the girl.
What on earth did she mean by a 'little Nanook' running around in the dreamscape?
What kind of terrifying existence was a 'little Nanook'?
"I was just as shocked when I first found out," Firefly said, nodding earnestly as they walked down the neon-lit street. "That person can actually serve as a living vessel for the Path of Destruction. He uses pure rage as a sacrifice to force the Path of Destruction to descend upon him."
Constance stared at her, keeping her elegant smile frozen in place. 'Is this for real?'
Originally, Constance had assumed she could easily pry some juicy secrets from the girl. She had subtly tampered with Firefly's perception, implanting the false memory that Constance was a fellow Stellaron Hunter. As expected, the sweet-natured girl hadn't noticed a thing.
But wasn't the secret she just unearthed a little too massive?
The moment Firefly opened her mouth, she casually dropped a bombshell terrifying enough to instantly vaporize the entire Asdana star system—and perhaps a few million surrounding light-years—into cosmic dust.
"Are you interested in him too?" Firefly asked, tilting her head.
"Yes. There are... many things I wish to know," Constance replied, keeping her voice smooth like velvet.
'I want to know if he is going to explode at the slightest provocation,'she thought frantically.'I pray he has a relatively decent temper. I already fled all the way to this world of Memoria, yet the Path of Destruction still managed to track me down? Does Destruction really love me that much?!'
"For example?" Firefly prompted.
"For example... what is his temper like?"
"Well, although he can be a bit annoying when he talks sometimes, he takes really good care of his companions."
Constance fell silent for two agonizing seconds. She was asking about his volatility, not his moral character.
However, judging by Firefly's relaxed demeanor, this guy named Rekka at least wouldn't spontaneously detonate for no reason. That was a massive relief.
Firefly tilted her head again, a fleeting sense of dissonance washing over her. Her companion felt a bit... different today. Yet, her altered memories firmly insisted that Constance was a loyal member of the Stellaron Hunters, someone she could trust with her life.
"He is indeed a very interesting person," Firefly added thoughtfully. "But if you plan on getting close to him, I highly suggest you prepare yourself mentally."
"Oh?"
"He might figure out all of your secrets and background information in just a single meeting."
Firefly genuinely believed that. Honestly, if Rekka suddenly started walking the Path of Finality one day, she wouldn't even be surprised.
Firefly's warning made Constance's usually unflappable heart skip a beat. Figure out everything in a single meeting?
"You don't seem to believe me," Firefly noted.
"It is not that I doubt you, it is merely that... it sounds a bit exaggerated." Constance elegantly adjusted the wide brim of her hat. Under the flashing neon lights of Penacony, her purple pupils gleamed with a calculating light. "However, I suppose I must remain vigilant."
As she spoke, the ethereal blue flame dancing at the tip of her tail flickered nervously. Until she completely figured out this 'Rekka' anomaly, she absolutely could not afford to act rashly.
"Let us go," Constance murmured, steering the conversation. "Doesn't Elio's script have other tasks for us?"
"Yes, that is true," Firefly agreed, falling into step beside her.
Meanwhile, back with the Express crew.
"Hey, little grey-hair, how come you trotted back here all by your lonesome?"
Sparkle lowered the script in her hand, tilting her head at Stelle.
"Huh? Is it weird that I came back alone?" Stelle blinked, leaning casually on her baseball bat.
"Weird? It's incredibly weird! Where is that little firefly that is usually glued to your side?" Sparkle's brow furrowed.
"Firefly left with her companion," Stelle answered innocently.
"Companion?"
Sparkle's chaotic brain stalled for a second. What companion? Did Silver Wolf hire another contractor behind her back? She had been explicitly told that Silver Wolf only brought her in this time to help Firefly handle the script's tricky 'safely passing through death' clause.
"Eh? No, wait, I... you, sigh, ugh!" Sparkle spat out a string of beyond understanding, frustrated gibberish, sounding like a malfunctioning toy. "What the hell?! My mission target got hijacked by some random extra?!"
Sparkle literally jumped into the air, landing with an exasperated stomp.
"What companion?! Lady Sparkle is the only companion!"
Stelle stared at her. "?"
"Huh? Of course! Someone specifically hired Lady Sparkle to come and play with you all! Otherwise, why do you think a genius like me would just randomly appear here?!" Sparkle waved her arms frantically. "But that is not the point! The point is, who is the person that kidnapped the little firefly?!"
Stelle blinked slowly, her trash-raccoon brain still struggling to process the sheer volume of chaotic information Sparkle was screaming at her.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Stelle held up a hand. "You said you were hired to play with us?"
"I said that is not the point!" Sparkle shrieked, grabbing Stelle by the shoulders and shaking her. "The point is the kidnapper! What does she look like?! What is she wearing?! Which way did she go?! There are actual kidnappers running around Penacony! No wonder Silver Wolf paid my fee!"
"Just... a woman. Black hair, purple eyes, wearing a really big hat..." Stelle squinted, trying hard to recall the details. "Her skin is super fair, and, uh, her... assets are very big. Much bigger than yours."
Stelle looked down at her own chest, then gestured vaguely at Sparkle's.
Sparkle's expression instantly cycled through five different shades of offended fury. You just have to bring that up every single time, don't you?!
"Lady Sparkle is not angry. Lady Sparkle is not angry," the Masked Fool muttered to herself, aggressively rubbing her temples.
"This is exactly why you shouldn't trust big-chested women. They usually lie," Rekka chimed in, raising a finger with absolute scholarly conviction.
Nearby, Delta looked down at her own perfectly flat chest. Was she supposed to feel happy about that?
Sparkle took a deep, shuddering breath. Then she took another. No, she definitely needed a third one to prevent a murder.
"So—let me get this straight," Sparkle ground out through a forced, twitchy smile. "You mean to tell me the little firefly was kidnapped by some big-chested woman she didn't even know, in broad daylight, right out in the open?!"
"It is not that they didn't know each other," Stelle corrected, her tone completely innocent. "Firefly said she was a companion. She trusted her very much."
"She says she is a companion, so she just is?!" Sparkle threw her hands up. "She says she is a Stellaron Hunter, so she is?! She says she is—"
Sparkle's rant cut off abruptly. Her crimson eyes widened as a very serious, very dangerous realization clicked into place.
"It's a Memokeeper!"
"Wait, you're saying that woman is a Memokeeper?" Stelle asked, finally grasping the gravity of the situation.
"Exactly!"
"March! March, emergency! Code red!" Stelle yelled, immediately dialing her phone.
Dingdong!
March 7th arrived at the scene with record-breaking speed, practically skidding to a halt.
"What is the situation?!" the pink-haired archer gasped, clutching her camera.
"Coo-coo quack-quack! Coo-coo! Quack-quack!" Stelle began gesturing wildly, her panic reducing her to absolute bird noises.
My super soft, sweet, adorable, fragrant, perfect little white-and-green cake was kidnapped by an unknown, evil Memokeeper!
"What?! Is the public security in Penacony really this bad?!" March cried out in outrage. "Should we go find the Bloodhound Family?!"
"Find the Bloodhounds my foot!" Sparkle yelled. "If we just sit around waiting for those mutts, your precious little firefly is going to be completely brainwashed by that Memokeeper into something unspeakable!"
Unspeakable.
Stelle froze, absolute horror washing over her face. Anything but Firefly getting brainwashed! Firefly was one of her absolute favorite people in the entire universe!
Panic took over. Stelle grew so anxious she began spinning around in rapid circles, looking exactly like a panicked husky that had just gotten its tail stepped on.
"Calm down, calm down," Rekka sighed, reaching out to grab the spinning Trailblazer by the collar to stop her momentum. "If that woman is a Memokeeper, her goal is extremely clear. She just wants to extract information from Firefly. After all, Firefly knows quite a bit about the script."
Rekka, of course, already knew exactly who the culprit was.
The Dahlia, right? Constance.
She definitely had that classic femme fatale aesthetic going on. Honestly, he wasn't even sure if she could be considered a true villain. Judging by her recent actions, she actually seemed more like a decent person backed into a corner. When all was said and done, it looked like Constance just wanted to use the Stellaron Hunters to rewrite her own doomed fate.
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