Chapter 322: Penacony Arc 『 Part Seventeen 』, The Absolute Gridlock of the Penacony
「 After expressing her gratitude to Gallagher, he departed to attend to his own affairs.
"Thanks to your timely intervention! Otherwise, I might have truly been…" The girl paused for a beat, "…taken away."
The girl introduced herself as Hotaru, a local of Penacony—a performer from the Iris Family, currently working as an extra. Since there were no performances scheduled for the day, she had ventured out for a stroll, never expecting to be mistaken for an illegal entry.
Hotaru volunteered to act as Stelle's guide, offering to take her around to experience the sights.
As they spoke, Stelle noticed Hotaru's lashes flutter as she cast a wary glance around them, her eyes lingering particularly on the boisterous crowds as if something were lurking within. Yet, she swiftly composed herself, returning her focus entirely to Stelle.
Considering she was indeed in need of a local guide, Stelle accepted Hotaru's suggestion, following her on a comprehensive tour of Penacony. 」
「 .....」
〜Kaguya-sama: Love Is War World〜
Within the sprawling estate of the Shinomiya family, the girls were gathered in the bedroom, their eyes glued to the screen displaying Hotaru and Stelle traversing the streets of Penacony.
"This is absolutely a date!"
Kaguya sat perched on the bed, death-gripping a throw pillow.
"Activating Stelle's protective instincts by playing the damsel in distress, then creating an opportunity for solitude under the guise of gratitude… She calls it a tour, but in truth, it's a date. This woman… her tactics are masterful."
Truly unfathomable.
Ai Hayasaka took a silent sip of the black tea in her porcelain cup.
"If Milady could learn even a fraction of Hotaru's methods, I suspect the President would have been conquered a hundred times over by now."
"Ha—Hayasaka!"
Kaguya's face instantly flushed a vivid crimson, like a cat whose tail had been trodden upon.
"How can you compare the President to Stelle? Stelle is a girl! Romantic tactics used against girls…"
Her voice trailed off, her fingers unconsciously twisting the lace trim of her garment.
"…Against someone like the President, such things are useless…"
Hayasaka set her teacup down, the porcelain meeting the silver tray with a crisp clink.
"Milady, if you wish to capture your quarry, you need only remember one thing—the most cunning hunters often present themselves as the prey."
"Perhaps you might consider creating a suitable opportunity to be alone with President Shirogane?"
Hayasaka picked up her phone, scrolling through the recent school schedule.
"Ah, right. Milady, the school is organizing a choral competition soon. Student Council members are required to participate. Why not use this chance to ask the President for private coaching in the music room?"
"The setting sun, a deserted classroom, just the two of you, 'guidance'…"
Hayasaka, thoroughly satisfied with the plan, gave the young lady a thumbs-up.
"You'll even have his singing voice all to yourself."
"S-such petty tricks…"
Kaguya buried her face in the velvet pillow, her voice emerging muffled.
"The President would surely see through them in an instant…"
"And what if he does? Could he possibly refuse? Did you see Stelle refuse Hotaru's little ploy in the sky? Though she might not have realized it at the time… it doesn't matter. At the very least, Hotaru succeeded in securing time alone with Stelle."
Hayasaka allowed a faint smile to play on her lips.
"Trust me, Milady… when the time comes, all you'll need to do is claim your territory."
—
「 As they wandered, Hotaru eventually led Stelle to the entrance of a restaurant.
"And here we are. Have you heard the saying? In dreams, hunger is the most precious spice." Hotaru gestured toward the establishment. "This place has almost every delicacy Penacony has to offer. Pick whatever you like—my treat!" The girl patted her chest with a flourish of bravado.
"My spending habits are a bit… high," Stelle remarked, glancing sideways at her.
This sight instantly drained the girl's confidence. "I-it should be fine, right? I do have some savings…"
With that, she handed over her meager stash of private funds to Stelle—a total of twenty thousand credits.
Stelle discovered that ordering one of every item in the shop came to exactly twenty thousand credits. Talk about a coincidence! Without a moment's hesitation, she purchased the lot.
Hotaru's voice began to tremble. "Um… th-this…"
But the die was cast. Hotaru could only force a smile. "All finished? You… certainly have an eye for quality! Haha… Th-then, I'll settle the bill…" 」
「 .....」
〜BanG Dream World〜
"That girl…! This is—this is just too much!"
Taki instinctively tightened her grip on the cloth she was using to polish a glass, her eyes fixed on Hotaru's strained smile on the screen. Her brow was furrowed, her lower lip bitten hard enough to leave a faint mark.
Seeing Hotaru, who was clearly working just as hard as she was, lose all her hard-earned savings in a matter of seconds hit Taki with a sharp pang of sympathy.
"Does Stelle have any idea how hard it is to save up from part-time work?! In a situation like that, you should be trying to save money!"
Anon noticed Taki's polishing movements becoming erratic and forceful. She quickly whispered a reminder,
"Rikki, don't break the glass. Be careful not to cut your hand…"
But Taki seemed not to hear, her irritation only mounting.
"I don't think there's any need to worry. That Hotaru-san… her attitude toward Stelle seems quite extraordinary,"
Soyo remarked, elegantly sipping her tea.
"What do you mean, 'no need to worry'? Is it because it wasn't your money that you don't care?"
Taki shot a glare at Soyo.
"Heh…"
Soyo lowered her gaze, her thick lashes casting a shadow over her face, perfectly masking the fleeting flicker of displeasure in her eyes. Her lips maintained a polite smile, but the tips of her fingers gripping the handle of her cup had turned white.
"Taki, such a rash judgment is hardly appropriate."
Soyo gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"This Hotaru-san recognized Stelle as a Trailblazer at a glance. For a local of Penacony, a mere performer of the Iris Family… isn't her insight a bit too keen?"
"And what's that supposed to prove?"
Soyo set her teacup down. The base met the tray with a clink slightly sharper than usual.
"What I am saying is that their meeting may not have been an accident, but a calculated inevitability. I suspect Hotaru-san has other designs on Stelle."
"Hah? Designs? You're making her out to be some kind of villain."
Taki couldn't understand it. To her, Hotaru appeared to be nothing more than a harmless, ordinary girl, yet in Soyo's mouth, she sounded like a calculating conspirator.
"Rikki, a 'design' doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, right?"
Anon chimed in with a smile, attempting to diffuse the tension between the two.
"Maybe… uh… Hotaru-san just likes Stelle? Think about it! A beautiful young girl from the Iris Family, unwilling to be shackled by the opulence of Penacony, dreaming of the sea of stars outside… She decides to use this carefully planned encounter to join the Astral Express, embarking on the 『 Trailblaze 』 while dating Stelle! Wouldn't that be a wonderful development?"
—
( Translator-kun: Welp, the intrusive thoughts have won. I play the game with the JP dub and watched the stream of Su-chan, so my brain is hardwired to use 'Hotaru' instead of Firefly. So starting now, I'm going to address Firefly as Hotaru. I know some of you might react the same way you did when I used 'Pam' for Pom-Pom, but I can't help it... the urge is too strong. Also, don't worry, I won't use any JP names for other characters; it's just that those two are my favorite HSR characters. )