After savoring the delicacies of sweet dreams, Firefly and Stelle arrived at the mascot statue "Clockie" at the center of Glax Avenue.
Firefly, fully embracing her role as a guide, explained:
"People have many theories about Clockie's origins—some say he was an interstellar merchant from beyond the skies, others claim he was a prisoner from the penitentiary planet, and there are even those who believe 'Clockie' is just a symbol, that no such person ever existed..."
"...Though in the animations, 'Clockie' is just a reckless braggart... Still, I like to believe the theory that he was a Nameless! After all, pioneering dreams sounds just like something the Trailblaze would do!"
"Ah! It just hit me—if Clockie really was a Nameless, wouldn't that make him your senior? Hey, wanna take a photo with him as a memento? I can help!"
[Then I'll trouble you.]
"No problem~ Here, hand me your phone."
Following the story, Guinaifen's mood gradually relaxed.
Might as well treat this as a preview of [Moment of Gold] in the game—
Once the stream was over, she could explore it herself with ease.
Just as they were about to take the photo—A delicate yet sharp cry for help came from the Clockie statue!
"Hey! Hey hey hey!"
"Help! Help-choo!"
Guinaifen took a closer look.
She hadn't noticed earlier, but now she could see three vibrant eyelashes trembling in Clockie's eye socket.
The cries for help seemed to be coming from them.
Firefly asked, puzzled, "Huh? What's wrong? Is there something on Clockie's face?"
An option appeared on the screen:
[Pull!]
With a boing, a sharp-angled little bird was yanked out.
"Hey! Hey hey hey! Thank you! Beautiful, person!"
"I will, repay you! Go to, big tree! Go to, big tree! I will, give, you pretty!"
"Ehehe~"
After letting out an adorable yet odd chirp, the little bird performed a flying motion and vanished.
Firefly, confused, asked, "What happened to Clockie's statue...? Why did you suddenly jump like that?"
[I saved a sharp-angled little bird.]
"A sharp-angled little bird...? But I didn't see anything..."
Guinaifen wore a thoughtful expression.
...
"This thing...
"Only our protagonist can see it?"
"It seems there are all sorts of strange things hidden in Penacony's dreams..."
"Masked Fools above, I've been roaming Penacony's dreams for years and never seen anything like this."
"The bird's cute—are there more?"
"This must be something Yu Ling added to the game. It probably doesn't exist in reality, right?"
"Phoenix reveal thyself! (jk)"
"I'm at that plaza right now—confirmed, there's nothing on Clockie's statue."
"I trust Yu Ling. This thing must exist in Penacony, but we just can't see it."
"Anything's possible in dreams."
"That bird might be hinting at someone from Penacony's history..."
...
Guinaifen took a sip of SoulGlad.
She set the bird matter aside for now and continued touring famous spots with Firefly!
After admiring the Penacony Grand Theater, Firefly led Stelle to the SoulGlad-themed leisure area, "Aideen Park."
Guinaifen mentally noted it down.
When she played the game herself later, she'd head here first—It looked like a lot of fun!
Soon, she spotted an attraction called the "Golden Capsule Machine."
Unlike other facilities, the prize pool here wasn't filled with useless materials.
Under the [Miracle Grand Prize] category, Two purple items stood out as clearly valuable!
[[It's Show Time], 4-Star, Nihility]
"Whoa, a new Light Cone!"
Guinaifen's eyes lit up.
She tapped to check—The figure on the Light Cone's cover was... Sparkle!
Her hand splayed open, manipulating two puppets—One resembling Sparkle herself, the other Sampo.
The Light Cone's text read:
—Who saw him die?
—I, with my little eye!
—Who took his blood?
—I, with my little dish!
—Who dug his grave?
—I, with my chisel and shovel!
Watch the wise scheme, the kings lust for power, the heroes preen—while the fool laughs and laughs—
[Now, let's welcome Miss Sparkle for this year's grand performance——————『Penacony's Night of Terror』!]
Guinaifen licked her lips.
"This Light Cone's content... feels kinda darkly humorous, doesn't it?"
"I thought Sparkle seemed cute and gentle—like the girl next door!"
"How could she be like this?"
"Something's off about this Light Cone..."
The moment she said this, the chat erupted!
"My dear Guinaifen! You have no idea—Sparkle's the most unpredictable, morally bankrupt Masked Fool out there!"
"Don't let her innocent looks fool you. You haven't seen her when she's truly unhinged..."
Other viewers quickly chimed in:
"Really? I don't buy it."
"How could such a cute girl be a Masked Fool? (doge)"
"If Sparkle's a playable character, I'm pulling even if she heals the enemies!"
...
Somewhere in Belobog, Sampo shook his head helplessly as he watched the unconvinced netizens.
Spreading his hands, he sighed:
"Ah well, I've said my piece."
"The waters in Penacony this time are deep."
"Only a fool like Sparkle would dive headfirst into this mess."
"Belobog's practically a celebrity planet now—Old Sampo's gotta seize this chance to make a fortune!"
However, When he looked back at the story, Sampo froze in shock!
In the story, He was actually in Penacony!
"Well, well—if it isn't my favorite customer, the Trailblazer sisters!"
"Long time no see, darling!"
"Who knew we'd meet here—ah, what luck!"
His in-game self squinted, flashing a trademark smile.
But!
The real Sampo immediately sensed something off.
The tone matched his style... But it was too deliberate, too direct!
Especially that "darling!"
Even for his usual schmoozing, this was overkill—
A blatant violation of Old Sampo's social artistry!
Sure enough, More red flags appeared.
When Firefly greeted him, the in-game Sampo said: "Aiya, Miss March, you've forgotten me already? After all I did for you in Belobog..."
[What kind of eyes do you have? Since when does March look like this?]
Firefly introduced herself: "I'm Firefly, an artist of the Iris Family."
"Oh! That explains it—I thought Miss March had changed way too much in such a short time."
"Pleasure to meet you! I'm Sampo, an old friend of the Trailblazer. Take care of me!"
By this point, Sampo was certain— This in-game "Sampo" could not be him!
His sharp eye for people was his proudest skill!
How could he mistake Firefly for March right off the bat?
For him, this was an unforgivable blunder.
Then, His in-game self smirked mysteriously:
"Perfect timing—pal, since we've run into each other in Penacony, how about I show you around?"
"I've been watching you two. Miss Firefly knows Penacony, but when it comes to adult entertainment... Well, Old Sampo's got her beat!"
"Come on, you two—let me show you the grown-up world!"
The moment this played out, The stream chat exploded!
"???"
"Old Sampo, what are you doing?!"
"Holy hell, Sampo—I never knew you were like this!"
"The way Sampo's talking, this has to be sus!"
"Beware the deep blue scam!"
"Sampo, you Belobog savage—stay away from Stelle and Firefly!"
Seeing the outrage, Sampo hastily typed:
"Folks! This 'Sampo' in 1.6 is not me!"
"Someone's impersonating Sampo, using his name to do shady stuff!"
"I've heard the Masked Fool Sparkle can shapeshift into anyone..."
"Stay vigilant—don't be fooled by appearances!"
A few seconds later, A viewer replied:
"Now that I think about it, Sampo being here is kinda weird."
"And his attitude's off too!"
"Is this Sampo actually Sparkle in disguise?"
"That just makes it more exciting!"
Relieved to have steered the narrative, Sampo patted his chest.
His reputation was something only he could salvage.
Then, His phone buzzed with a new message:
[Sampo, how could you be so dishonest?]
[How could you pin this on poor, innocent Miss Sparkle?]
Sampo chuckled wryly and replied:
[Miss Sparkle, stop pretending! How could Old Sampo do such a thing?]
[You're the one using my name for mischief!]
[We're both Masked Fools—have some decency!]
To be continued…
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/AlphaSenatus