"Is Lumina an idiot or something?"
After putting a considerable distance between herself and Lumina, Sparkle glanced around, sensing for any lingering traces of Lumina's presence. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief.
That woman is terrifying... Even with all my precautions, she detected me so easily...
Still, it's a relief. Despite her overwhelming power, she clearly has some screws loose.
Lady Sparkle concluded, her initial impression of Lumina hardening into a firm judgment.
"If she's an idiot, this should be much simpler, right?"
Sparkle pulled out her phone, opened a messaging app, and tapped on a chat window labeled "Boss." As she scrolled through the hundreds of text files crowding the interface, her lips twitched involuntarily.
What a lunatic! If the Boss hadn't doubled the pay and promised endless entertainment here, I'd have ditched this job the moment I got paid and run.
Who in their right mind would just dump hundreds of scripts on someone and tell them to choose different scripts based on Lumina's actions and actual circumstances, then act accordingly? This has to be some kind of sick joke.
Even the formidable Lady Sparkle couldn't help but feel utterly speechless at this absurdity.
But hey, at least Lumina's a complete idiot—a foolish, saintly idiot, hee hee hee.
Sparkle's fingers danced across her phone screen, scrolling endlessly until her gaze settled on a text file titled "If Lumina Were a Fool."
"Hee hee hee, Penacony, the land of dreams~"
"What surprises do you have in store for me?"
She saved the file, though she wasn't in a hurry to read it. Pocketing her phone, she cast a veiled glance in a certain direction.
"Hmm~"
Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~♪ hmm~ hmm~ hmm~♪ hmm~ hmm~ hmm~♪
Humming softly, Sparkle paid it no mind. With her hands clasped behind her back, she skipped away, humming her signature tune.
-
"She's so beautiful!"
In the real world, within Little Bear's Livestream, as the player-controlled character entered Penacony and had their first encounter with Firefly, a goofy, infatuated grin spread across Little Bear's face.
It was fortunate that Little Bear appeared as a 2D avatar to viewers; otherwise, they would have suffered a severe case of social suicide.
However, the constant stream of infatuated laughter emanating from the live stream wasn't much better.
Of course, these infatuated sounds weren't necessarily all coming from Little Bear himself.
[Hey! You greasy neckbeards, keep your hormones in check! Disgusting! Pathetic! She's my wife, not yours! Go find your own wives and stop simping over mine!]
[Damn it! Is it really fun being a Cao Zui? I'll Pure Love Firefly you all to death, one Cao Zui at a time!]
(SpyNote: 曹贼 (Cáo zéi): Literally "Cao the Thief." A derogatory nickname for the warlord Cao Cao (155–220 CE), portraying him as a treacherous schemer in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In modern slang, used half-jokingly for someone cunning or sly.)
[Oh, so you're back to "pure love"? Calling pure love for beautiful girls "pure love" now?]
[You lot... all you do is keyboard warrior online, drowning in virtual worlds and simping over characters from another dimension. What good are you in the real world? You probably stutter even talking to girls in real life, right?]
[We're young people of the new era. Our focus should be on national affairs and our own realities, not getting lost in the two-dimensional world and obsessively losing our minds over virtual characters! Oh, by the way, Firefly and I are getting married next week. I hope you'll all come and give us your blessings. (Smiles)]
"Don't die, Firefly! Don't die, Firefly!" After their frenzy, blessings for Firefly's life and safety poured forth.
This must be a happy, lighthearted, and sunny story. Firefly definitely won't die, right?
At that moment, everyone remembered the words of a teacher from the Preview live stream. Looking at the beautiful, youthful, and innocently adorable Firefly before them, they decided to trust him one last time.
"Enough about that. You're new to Penacony, so you're probably not familiar with the place yet. I'll take you on a tour of the town," Firefly suggested to the protagonist in the game. Before the protagonist could even respond, she had already dashed ahead, leading the way.
"A date! A date! This must be a date!" Seeing this scene, both Little Bear and some viewers in the live stream grew serious.
But their serious expressions didn't last long. In the next moment, their determination faltered as the camera perspective abruptly shifted.
"No way! You're switching perspectives right before something this important? miHoYo, are you trying to kill me...? Oh, never mind."
Little Bear was about to unleash a torrent of colorful language at miHoYo, but when he saw whose perspective had been switched to, he obediently clamped his mouth shut.
[Trailblazer's Perspective] -> [Lumina's Perspective]
[Wife!]
[Wife!]
[Oh no! My date with Firefly has been discovered by my main wife! What do I do? Urgent!]
[Let's all join in then! (smirking)]
For someone who embraces polyamory, both Firefly and Lumina are "my wives." A date is a date, no matter who it's with.
"Ahem, since my wife Lumina has interrupted our date with my wife Firefly, let's just have her take over as my date for now," Little Bear chuckled, revealing himself as a polyamorous enthusiast. "I'm not picky! As long as someone's going on a date with me, anyone's welcome!"
"A date? As if!" Lumina scoffed, her eyes flickering with disdain as she watched the live stream displayed on her System screen outside Dewlight Pavilion in Penacony. The voices echoing from the stream grated on her nerves.
To even think of dating me, you'd need a beautiful girl at least my equal in looks, she thought smugly, tossing her soft, holy-glowing hair.
Then, she turned her gaze to Dewlight Pavilion and strode inside.
Normally, Dewlight Pavilion isn't open to the public; only invited guests are permitted entry.
But for Lumina, such restrictions were meaningless. Her striking beauty and undeniable aura served as the ultimate "invitation," one that few dared to challenge.
She could probably dance right in front of the Interastral Peace Corporation's board of directors' office without anyone daring to stop her.
Hmm... Though I'd never actually do that, of course.
Once inside Dewlight Pavilion, Lumina wasted no time. She pinpointed her target's location and moved directly toward him.
It's worth noting that, compared to the various "trials" Aventurine and Dr. Ratio faced upon arriving at Dewlight Pavilion, Lumina's path was remarkably unobstructed.
Soon, Lumina arrived at the room where her target was located.
Knock, knock, knock.
To showcase her gentle, generous, and understanding nature, Lumina refrained from barging in. Instead, she knocked with ladylike grace.
"Come in," a voice called from within.
Only then did Lumina grasp the handle, gently open the door, and step inside without making a sound, radiating elegance and virtue.
"Hmm? Miss Lumina, what brings you here?"
"Have you encountered any trouble during your visit to Penacony?"
"Rest assured, whatever difficulties you've faced, the Family of Penacony will spare no effort to assist you."
Upon recognizing Lumina, the man engrossed in paperwork immediately rose to greet her, his expression one of surprise. He inquired if she had encountered any trouble and assured her that the Family would assist her in resolving any issue.
Hearing this, Lumina smiled faintly and replied, "Mr. Sunday, I haven't encountered any trouble. I'm simply here on a quest to ask you a few questions."
"Ah, I see, Miss Lumina. Please, let's sit down and talk," Sunday replied, feigning realization. He gestured toward the seats in the room.
Lumina nodded and settled into a nearby chair.
"What questions do you have for me, Miss Lumina?" Sunday placed a bottle of luxurious Suleida soda in front of her before settling into the chair opposite her, deliberately avoiding the head of the table.
He was careful not to ask who had commissioned Lumina's quest.
It seemed that even as one of Penacony's key figures—the Head of the Oak Family—Sunday still maintained a highly amicable stance toward Lumina.
"The questions I want to ask concern the Nameless aboard the Astral Express."