Naive, pure, quiet—Sparkle was already putting on the perfect display of how people define the "ideal girl," and watching her act, Pei Guang began to seriously consider the situation.
He could roughly guess why Sparkle would disguise herself like this to approach him.
Surely it was because she thought sticking around him meant fun, it meant entertainment.
Well… she actually guessed right.
If things went by the normal flow of a story, following the player's team around wouldn't always be fun, but it definitely meant understanding the whole process clearly. Along the way, there really would be some events interesting enough to catch a Masked Fool's eye.
But if she really wanted to enjoy that fun, she could've just joined directly. The Masked Fools were skilled at disguises, yes, but changing into a whole different person like this: there had to be another reason.
So what was the reason?
Normally, Pei Guang wasn't the narcissistic type who'd assume someone liked him.
Even in a game world, with easier affection mechanics, you'd still have to grind favorability, right? Even without that, there'd at least be a "hero saves the beauty" process.
But this time? There was no such process.
With his sharp player's brain, Pei Guang thought of a possibility.
"Don't tell me this Masked Fool's plan is to raise my favor, push March away, then when I waver, dump me, so I end up in some tragic 'chasing my wife after the crematorium' plot?"
And how to deal with it? Pei Guang decided he didn't need to. As long as he never showed affection back, wouldn't the plan just fail? As long as he didn't forcibly switch affection targets, what was there to be afraid of?
Normal people might fall for beauty, but when a player doesn't want to be tempted, they can clear the whole run as a pure virgin if they want.
Other motives? He really couldn't think of any.
Interfering with his main story? Well, when some jokester disrupts the main story, isn't that just part of the main story itself?
Besides, Sparkle had already let him experience some pretty interesting dream experiences, and even gave him a weird new skill.
Overall, she counted as someone on his side: as long as she didn't get in the way of his March route, it wasn't a problem.
As for her disguising herself to get close? He'd just assume she really wanted to hang out but was too embarrassed to ask directly.
Experience the story, enjoy the game… why overthink it? That'd be exhausting.
At that moment, Pei Guang's eyes flashed with wisdom, and Firefly, watching from the side, felt an odd sense of comfort.
Seeing this cute girl with that clever look in his eyes—did it mean he was thinking something about her?
Having sorted his thoughts, Pei Guang nodded. "Alright, I'm not the type to pass up a freebie. But my appetite is pretty big. Your money—"
Sparkle lowered her head, speaking shyly and nervously. "It's fine, there's enough money… anyway, if I don't spend it, then…"
In her eyes flickered pain and regret, as if she had some tragic past. But quickly, a smile returned to her face. "You don't need to worry about that~ Ah, right—this lady, what's your name?"
Sparkle deliberately shifted the topic, as if trying to drag herself away from the sadness, and looked at Firefly.
Firefly responded with a self-introduction. "Hello, my name is Firefly. I'm an artist of the Iris Family."
Hearing that, Sparkle immediately clung to Firefly's arm. "Nice to meet you, Firefly-sis~ You're so pretty~"
Pei Guang added from the side, "Not just pretty—her body smells nice too~"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Both Firefly and Sparkle turned to look at him.
Firefly sniffed herself in confusion: smell? What smell? While Sparkle's face turned red from his bold words.
Pei Guang: "Mm-hm?"
Just as he was about to keep teasing Sparkle and messing around with Firefly, his gaze suddenly shifted to the Clockie Boy statue.
For Pei Guang, watching a pretty girl's expressions was just a bit of eye candy, nothing more.
What truly caught his interest was that statue.
How could a fragrant girl compare to a statue whose eyes actually moved? That was a statue with moving eyes, for crying out loud!
The statue looked ordinary at first, but when Pei Guang stared at it earlier, he noticed something odd: the eyes had moved.
He walked closer. The statue was worn and rusty, clearly neglected, but still standing here for some unknown reason.
Firefly asked, "That statue? Is something wrong with it?"
Sparkle pulled out her phone, looking at Pei Guang expectantly. "Do you want a picture with it? I can take one for you."
Strangely, when Sparkle said that line, Firefly felt like her own line had been stolen. From the moment this girl appeared, Firefly had felt something was off, like she had a very strong ulterior motive.
But then Firefly lowered her head.
Because when it came to ulterior motives… she wasn't much better herself.
Still, she quickly adjusted her feelings.
Yes, she had her reasons for approaching the Trailblazer; but meeting Pei Guang and going through all these experiences really did make her happy. Treating him to food and fun was truly how she felt.
She had no intention of harming him or his companions. She had nothing to feel guilty about.
At that moment, her confidence returned.
But just as she lifted her head with confidence, her expression froze completely. Not only hers: Sparkle's face also froze when she saw Pei Guang's movements.
Pei Guang had climbed onto the Clockie Boy statue.
At first, everyone thought it was just another eccentric wanting to take some kind of unusual photo. But after climbing up, Pei Guang moved behind the Clockie Boy, aimed at its short-pants-covered backside, pressed his hands together, and stuck out his index and middle fingers.
"Secret technique! Thousand Years of Death!"
His fingers were wreathed in Savory Truefire as he jabbed toward the Clockie Boy's butt.
At the very instant he was about to touch it, the Clockie Boy came alive: "Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Stop right there!!!"