"I'm a local here in Penacony. My name is Firefly, and I'm a performer with the Iris Family—I also do some acting on the side."
Firefly introduced herself as she led the way.
But Stelle wasn't particularly interested in who she was. She had already met too many people on her journey with the Astral Express, and most of them were just passing faces she'd only see a few times.
So, knowing their identities was useless. Was it going to come in handy during a boss fight or when dealing with a Stellaron?
In reality, most of them were of no help. Stelle simply enjoyed the conversation, and sometimes, admittedly, her judgment of a person's character was based on their looks.
To put it bluntly, Stelle's judgment was skin-deep: she decided who to like and who to fight based on her first impression.
Even her friends from the Herta Space Station and Jarilo-VI, she hadn't actually known them for very long.
For someone with amnesia, everyone was new, existing in a gray area between trustworthy and untrustworthy.
Only her friends on the Express crew were the ones she had truly been through life and death with, the ones who had earned her trust.
[So, to put it bluntly, you're only going with her because she has a pretty face and a nice voice, right?]
'*Don't put it like that. It's not like we should go find someone ugly with a grating voice, right? Besides, this is the cosmos! A universe with such advanced technology, not some backwater planet like Jarilo-VI you can't even leave. How could there possibly be any ugly people?*'
Stelle refuted Noldrei's words, arguing that the only reason it seemed this way was because the universe was simply full of good-looking people. It was a statistical outcome.
It had nothing to do with her being obsessed with pretty faces.
"I often handle reception work around Glaux Avenue. I saw you earlier, just wandering around aimlessly, which is why I took the initiative to come talk to you. Up ahead is the Oti Mall. The dream-vending shop there is super famous."
Firefly pointed to a giant eyeball on one side, on which hung a huge neon sign.
The eyeball rolled around restlessly, and there was no telling what it was looking at.
Stelle asked curiously, "How does this dream-vending shop work?"
Firefly explained, "It preserves the dreams that people have left behind here, and then sees if someone fated comes along who likes them enough to buy one."
[So they're just second-hand dealers? They make it sound so high-class.]
Stelle completely agreed with Noldrei. Ever since she'd learned that dreams were just spiritual products to be consumed and sold here, her fundamental fantasy about the dreamscape had completely collapsed.
It was all that damn Noldrei's fault, always spouting realistic nonsense and shattering the fantasies of a child who had only just been born.
"Over there is the car dealership. As long as you have enough Alfalfa Coins, you can buy whatever you want. You can even have it brought back to reality through an extra service."
Stelle figured that, given the situations on other planets, buying a car would be useless. It probably wouldn't comply with local traffic laws, and even getting a license plate would be an issue.
Not to mention, there were many places where they couldn't even drive.
Could you drive a car in a working space station? Could you drive on the eternal snowfields of Jarilo-VI? Of course not.
"Looks like this car is useless to me. Why design something like this? I don't see anyone in this dream driving. Look, all the vehicles on the road are hovercrafts. Why would they put a four-wheeled car here?"
"Is it for the collecting hobby of the rich and powerful? That feels a bit strange. Or is there something special about this car?"
Stelle's questions left Firefly completely stumped. She stammered, unable to explain what was going on.
It would have been one thing if she actually knew, but the problem was, she genuinely didn't.
"Th-that... I-I don't know either. Maybe the people of the Alfalfa Family have special hobbies."
Firefly couldn't answer any of these questions.
"You're not a very qualified guide, are you? You don't even know this... Forget it. Just show me if there's anything fun to do."
Firefly finally let out a sigh of relief. She immediately refocused on her job as a guide.
[This guide is no good. Is she really a local?]
'*Your questions are too tricky. Normal people don't look into these things.*'
[When you go to a new place, don't you learn about the local history? If you don't understand the history, how can you figure out how the local people developed?]
'*That makes some sense...*'
Stelle took Noldrei's words to heart, deciding that in the future, she would head straight for libraries and such places to look for historical artifacts and learn more. It would give her a better edge when fighting bosses later.
"This is Eildon Park. There are a lot of amusement rides here. If you want to play, you have to exchange for game tokens."
Stelle first glanced at the surrounding rides and suddenly felt a wave of boredom.
"Isn't this just a slot machine? Is there anything newer? Anything more interesting? You can find this stuff in many worlds. Even the Xianzhou has similar places to play. Changle Street even has games that are more fun than this..."
"Isn't there anything more fun and exciting? We're already in a dream, so why are we still playing slot machines like in reality? Why do we still have to spend money on game tokens like in reality?"
"If that's the case, didn't I enter this dream for nothing?"
Firefly was stunned. She stared blankly at Stelle, unable to think of a single reason to object.
"You mean to say... you want to play something you can't play in reality?"
Firefly thought for a long time. It really was hard to find a place in Penacony to play something that didn't exist in reality.
Stelle nodded. "Think about it. In reality, I'm bound by all sorts of rules, obstructed by various local factions, and can't do many things for moral reasons, or because of practical limitations, or the threat of real-world problems, and so on."
"I was thinking, could I do some things here that I can't do in reality? Otherwise, what's the point of dreaming? Is it just to experience things I can already experience in reality?"
'*Why don't you just say you want to kill, burn, and pillage?*' Firefly thought to herself. She held onto one last shred of hope that the Nameless of the Express weren't that kind of person.
But unfortunately, the one she was talking to was not the simple Stelle.
Stelle was indeed a simple child, but now—she was no longer simple!
Firefly shook her head, her beautiful long hair scattering gently over her shoulders. "If you're talking about other things, I'm afraid I can't help," she said softly. "After all, the members of the Hound Family also keep an eye on these things and don't allow people to cause trouble in Penacony."
Stelle's eyes lit up slightly. "You mean to say that even Penacony needs real people to enter the dream and then manage it in the same way as reality?"
Firefly stared at her with wide eyes, as if she were looking at some kind of monster.