Sparkle was stunned.
In dreams, she had used Sampo's memories to create trash cans to mess with people; actually, all the trash cans in this dream bubble were things she had put in as a prank.
But how had Stelle managed to summon one? And that trash can even looked strong?
Ridiculous. Fake trash cans she made up had turned real.
Wait… if you counted the Preservation trash can she'd heard of before, maybe the idea of trash cans being alive wasn't so impossible after all?
Looking at the trash can Stelle had summoned, both Sparkle and Firefly fell silent. Stelle, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement at the sight.
That muscle, that sturdy Can… symbols of strength.
The only pity was that its body was gray, not pink all over and cute like Below One Bucket.
"Hmph~"
Sensing Stelle's gaze, the trash can gave a dramatic snort.
Sparkle leaned in with curiosity while Firefly reached out, wanting to touch it. The moment her fingers brushed the trash can, a silky sensation ran through her hand—soft, smooth, unrestrained.
She felt a supreme sense of satisfaction, as if she were the princess from that fairy tale lying atop nine mattresses, all worries, exhaustion, and duty melting away.
In that moment, Firefly felt that what she was touching wasn't a trash can, but the very essence of life itself.
Her eyes shone with awe.
She hadn't imagined such a perfect being could exist in this world!
Its body was rounded yet bore the marks of time. Its limbs were thick and powerful, radiating unmatched security with just a glance.
Firefly looked at the trash can with reverence.
"It's just a trash can," Sparkle muttered.
The last time she had used one to prank a Memokeeper, he'd only laughed.
But these two? They were gazing up at it in worship, admiration and even devotion.
Her words caught the trash can's attention. Instead of targeting her, it posed a question to everyone present.
"What is vast enough to hold all the filth of the world, yet so fragile that a single needle can pierce it?"
Sparkle's mind buzzed.
She had such a strong sense of déjà vu: it felt like she herself had once posed this exact riddle, disguised as a trash can, to some Memokeeper.
But this time, it wasn't an act. This time, it was a real trash can.
Before she could answer, Stelle jumped in: "A trash bag!"
Trash can: "As expected of the Trailblazer, both wise and brave! You've solved the riddle. This is your reward."
The trash can handed Stelle a golden trash bag. Just holding it, she instinctively felt luck was coming her way.
She opened it and found inside a complete set of limited-edition manga.
Some poor soul's treasured collection must've been thrown out by their family, only for this useful trash to finally reach the right hands.
Seeing what Stelle got, Sparkle couldn't help but find it interesting. These really appeared out of thin air. Even if it was just a dream, conjuring such odd items was amusing.
Then the trash can spoke again: "A can weighs five tons, and three questions must be asked. What can block filth, suppress ill omens, and yet remain unyielding against the fiercest storm?"
Half-entranced now, Firefly cautiously raised her hand: "A trash can? …Right?"
Trash can: "As expected of a gentle, clever, and lovely young girl. Correct. This is your reward."
Another golden trash bag.
Firefly, copying Stelle, opened it. Inside was a sack filled to the brim with clover coins, at least a million by the look of it. Enough to let her feast in dreams to her heart's content, maybe even treat Pei Guang and Stelle to a wild spree in the dream world.
This was making her genuinely curious. The trash can just dipped into the void and pulled out garbage bags—and inside were such fascinating treasures?
Now she was interested.
"Guess it's my turn~"
Sparkle looked at the trash can expectantly.
In response, it crossed its arms, peered at her through the crack between lid and Can, and asked: "The final question: How many trash cans are there in this universe?"
"?"
A massive question mark popped above Sparkle's head.
What kind of nonsense was this? The questions for the other two had been perfectly normal, but hers was so abstract? It was harder than asking how many stars exist in the universe.
At least someone was actually counting the stars. But the number of trash cans?
Nobody knew, not even the Aeon of Erudition.
Faced with such a ridiculous riddle, Sparkle was indignant: "You gave them normal questions, but you throw this at me? Are you picking a fight?"
The moment she said that, the trash can spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick with a shout: "USELESS!!"
It was so fast that none of the three even had time to react.
The kick landed squarely on Sparkle, and before she could even realize what had happened, she was booted back into the real world.
That dazzling kick made Stelle and Firefly clap without thinking. The trash can accepted their applause with a gentlemanly bow before striding off into the distance.
As it walked, its form faded until it once again became the miniature trash can, reappearing in Stelle's hand. She carefully placed it back into the shared storage space.
Job done, Stelle turned to Firefly: "See? That's the charm of the trash can."
Firefly nodded vigorously: "It looks silly at first, but… after meeting it, I think it's actually really fun…"
Stelle put her hands on her hips: "Of course! Let me tell you, besides this one, we also know another trash can, he's a Preservation Emanator. He mails us little gifts every now and then. I'll introduce you someday."
Firefly: "A Preservation trash can…"
Firefly didn't know what kind of expression she should be showing.
For now, just smiling should be enough, right?
She couldn't understand why Pei Guang and the others had gotten involved with a trash can. There were clearly plenty of normal-looking things around.
As for the trash can, it insisted that it was the first thing to drop golden light for the Trailblazers. And not just one, but two at once: both top-tier.
So while for outsiders it might seem like an abstract trash can, for the Trailblazers, it was a treasure.
In reality, Sparkle suddenly opened her eyes wide. The kick from the trash can didn't hurt, but the humiliation was maxed out.
Being kicked out of the dream by one of Pei Guang's special skills was already bad enough. But now, being called useless by a trash can and then kicked out of the dream again?
If this got out, it would be too embarrassing!
By the God of Fun, if He saw her getting kicked out of a dream by a trash can, He'd probably laugh at her for a lifetime.
But jokes aside, Sparkle wasn't planning to just let this go.
She was going to make that trash can understand the power of the Masked Fools.
Sparkle returned to the dream and began loading in.