Noldrei hadn't expected to actually hook a fish.
Just moments ago, he and Stelle were getting ready to start slaughtering the people of Penacony, and now someone had served themselves up on a silver platter.
[The person following us appeared after Firefly did. That means Firefly herself is also a bit suspicious.]
[That way, we won't have much of a guilty conscience when we make our move.]
'*Bro, is it really okay to kill people in a dream? I'm a little nervous now. It's my first time preparing to do something like this. Tell me about your experience with killing, maybe I can prepare myself mentally.*'
[Don't mistake your trembling hands for nervousness. You can trick yourself into thinking it's the excitement before the kill!]
'*Is it really okay to lie to myself like that?*'
Stelle was indeed a little nervous. After all, she had just been happily chatting and shopping with Firefly, and in the blink of an eye, she was about to find a dark corner and stab her!
When had she ever done something so thrilling in her life?
'*I'm a little excited. I need to think about what kind of pose would look coolest while stabbing someone. If it comes down to it, you can make the first strike for me. After you start, maybe I'll get the hang of it and go for the second one.*'
Firefly, at this moment, had no idea where Stelle's excitement was coming from.
After all, Stelle was now keenly aware that she was in a dream. Stabbing someone in a dream wouldn't actually kill them; she had already figured that out when she fell from the sky.
In the dream, Stelle showed no killing intent at all. It was as if she had found a new form of entertainment.
She really was a fast learner—the perfect student!
"We're here. It's quieter here, and you can see the beautiful scenery in the distance..."
Firefly trailed off, because the footsteps of a third person had appeared behind them.
Stelle also sensed the shift in the atmosphere and turned to look at the person who had been following them.
It was a familiar face—a very familiar face to Stelle.
Sampo. He had the look of a "Brother Sampo" from some high-class escort service, like the main attraction at first glance. In reality, he was a well-known hustler from the Belobog Underworld, a man with extensive connections who, like a legendary NPC, seemed to know a little bit about everything.
"Sampo? What are you doing here?"
Stelle was surprised to see her acquaintance here, so much so that her murderous intent dissipated quite a bit.
They did have a bit of camaraderie, after all. She couldn't just "kill" him like this.
"Surprised, aren't you? Thanks to you, Jarilo-VI has really opened its doors now."
Sampo spoke with great enthusiasm. "See? Even a guy like me can find a way to come to a luxurious place like Penacony to enjoy life. What do you think? Excited to see an old friend?"
[An acquaintance? He doesn't look very reliable.]
'*Don't worry. In the past, he was a very reliable NPC. Now he's slipped down the reliability rankings in my heart. You're the most reliable one now!*'
For once, Stelle praised Noldrei's usefulness in her mind.
And why not?
Having Noldrei with her was like having a second brain, and this second brain was far more useful than her first one.
Stelle narrowed her eyes. "Excited? Why are you following me?"
"Seeing an old friend in a place like this, I had to come and say hi, didn't I? I just saw you two were having fun shopping, so I waited for an opportunity to greet you. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
This Sampo was no different from the one in Stelle's memory, but she had certainly never expected to hook an acquaintance while fishing.
This made Stelle hesitate, her face a mask of indecision.
'*Which one should I kill first?*'
[You're asking me? You might as well ask me who I am. Just pick one and try it out. It's not like anything special will happen. So why not test if this Sampo is the same one you know?]
[There are so many ways to shapeshift in the universe. Who knows when your memories might have been read by someone else?]
[Just like my current state, it's not impossible for someone to have made a move on you while you were unconscious or otherwise occupied. And have you forgotten? We're in a dream. Isn't it possible that Penacony used your memories to create a shell of someone you know?]
'*Damn it! The people of Penacony are so sinister!*'
The hesitation on Stelle's face vanished instantly. Compared to Firefly's situation, Sampo's seemed far more suspicious.
[I have a suggestion. For example, you could spare Firefly. That way, someone will definitely continue to follow her.]
[We can use Firefly to keep baiting people out to kill them!]
'*You're the experienced one, bro!*'
Stelle's expression had already shifted from hesitant to resolute, and now it was a mask of beaming enthusiasm.
"I don't really believe you," she said helplessly, "but do you have a room key? This thing."
Sampo had no way of knowing that the Stelle before him was not just Stelle, but a hybrid of two minds.
He took out his own room key and waved it in front of her. "See? Now you can rest assured, right? By the way, why not ask the young lady next to you if she has a similar room key?"
Stelle walked happily over to Sampo and patted him on the shoulder. She turned to Firefly and said, "Now I'm relieved. Firefly is a local, so she doesn't have a hotel room key; she must have her own place to stay. This is a friend I met on Jarilo-VI. He helped us a lot when we were dealing with the Stellaron. You two can get to know each other..."
She led Sampo over to Firefly. "This is my guide for now. She's been showing me around The Golden Hour."
Sampo raised an eyebrow. "I see! No wonder! You've got a knack for making friends, my girl. You can connect with people so easily."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and extended a hand toward Firefly, smiling. "Since you're a friend of the Nameless, you're a friend of old Sampo..."
SHINK—!
Memoria fluid splattered onto Firefly's clothes.
Firefly's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at what Stelle had done.
Stelle had a smile on her face, as if she hadn't just dispatched her own friend.
And in her hand was the crimson lance of Preservation.
"Just as I thought. You can't really die in a dream... This isn't a normal human body. It must have been deliberately constructed this way to protect a person's consciousness."
Sampo turned his head in shock, looking at the Nameless who had been smiling and chatting with him just a second ago.
The crimson lance burst into scorching heat, vaporizing 'old Sampo' on the spot.
Stelle toyed with the room key in her hand—the very one Sampo had just shown her.
She looked at the key and burst out laughing. "Hahaha! I really did hook a fish!!!"
At that moment, a sense of elation she had never experienced before welled up in Stelle's heart!
'*Being the villain feels this good? Why didn't anyone ever tell me!*'