"Oh~ so that's how it is. A little darling orchestrated this whole farce, huh?"
Some time later, after a "friendly" exchange with Black Swan and listening to Sampo's detailed account of the entire incident from start to finish, Lumina wore an expression of dawning realization.
She then turned to Black Swan, her face full of apology, and bowed her head slightly. "I'm so sorry, Miss Black Swan. I completely misunderstood you."
"I thought you had a special fondness for trash cans... I'm truly sorry."
Lumina's lowered head and soft voice made it seem as if she were sincerely apologizing to Black Swan.
"Ha ha ha... No, it's fine, it's fine," Black Swan stammered, already feeling the urge to flee and put some distance between herself and Lumina. However, with so many eyes watching, she couldn't possibly make such a move.
Forced to respond to Lumina's apologetic smile, Black Swan could only manage a strained smile in return.
As for what Lumina and Black Swan had actually said to each other earlier, no one knew.
Before speaking, Lumina had blocked out their voices, so even those standing nearby—Acheron, Sampo/Sparkle, and others—had no idea what the two were discussing.
All they could see was Lumina pressing close to Black Swan, then Lumina pulling out an Image Stone. Black Swan's expression changed dramatically before she finally pursed her lips and, as if summoning every last ounce of her strength, spoke a few words—seemingly agreeing to some unspeakable condition Lumina had proposed.
Given Lumina's character and reputation, she wouldn't do anything truly outrageous, would she?
That was the explanation the group had for Lumina and Black Swan's private conversation.
Lumina smiled faintly, acting as if nothing had happened, ignoring Black Swan's rigid expression, and turned her gaze to the overturned Trash Can beneath the Clockie statue. "Mr. Sampo, Miss Black Swan, I'm quite interested in this matter. Where were you in your investigation? Please continue."
"Don't mind me. Just pretend Acheron and I are a wisp of air," Lumina added, taking Acheron's wrist and pulling her back a few steps.
Acheron offered no objection.
"..."
Hearing this, Sampo and Black Swan exchanged glances but remained silent. They knew any objections would be futile.
"Then let's get on with it," Sampo said, not particularly bothered. "Open the lid and yank Sparkle out." After all, it wasn't him they were after.
His gaze fell on the trash can where Sparkle was hiding, eager to end this farce quickly.
"Hmm... Wait a minute. Something feels off," Black Swan murmured.
Though Lumina had interrupted her train of thought earlier, as a practitioner of the Path of Remembrance, Black Swan hadn't forgotten the entirety of her previous reasoning. She quickly spoke up, trying to stop Sampo's actions.
But Sampo was eager to "clock out" and moved with lightning speed. Before Black Swan could finish speaking, he had already flung open the trash can lid.
"!"
As the lid swung open, Sampo seemed to have witnessed something horrifying, terrifying, and frightening. His pupils contracted sharply, and he froze in place, as if paralyzed by some unspeakable horror.
"Sparkle... Sparkle... She... She... She..."
After a moment, Sampo snapped out of his daze, hastily retreating two steps and pointing a trembling finger at Sparkle in the trash can, unable to utter a single word.
Seeing this, Black Swan's eyes narrowed. Then, as if recalling something, a knowing smile curled her lips—a smile that seemed to say, "Everything is proceeding exactly as planned."
Pfft!
When Lumina saw that smile again, she recalled the scene at the masquerade ball and couldn't help but burst into laughter, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
"Ahem, excuse me. I just remembered something funny," Lumina said, waving her hand dismissively to signal everyone to ignore her and carry on with their tasks.
Yet after uttering these words, she inexplicably raised her haughty chin and winked at Black Swan, as if to say, "So, I've made my move~"
Black Swan: ...
Even the ever-elegant Black Swan felt a flicker of heat rise to her face. She barely suppressed the urge to punch Lumina, taking a deep breath to regain her composure.
Impressive. She can actually restrain herself?
Seeing this, Lumina couldn't help but regard Black Swan with newfound respect, though a small part of her felt a twinge of regret.
I'm always carrying an Image Stone, so if Black Swan can't control herself and throws a punch, I'll just say it again:
"Dear Miss Black Swan, you wouldn't want a video of you publicly striking Lumina to go viral across the Cosmos, would you?"
"You wouldn't want the Garden of Recollection to be caught in a storm of public backlash, would you?"
"Don't worry, I'm not a bad person. Just cooperate obediently from now on, and nothing will happen, okay?"
[This... This isn't right, is it?]
The System, which hadn't made an appearance in ages, heard Lumina's words—words that sounded like... no, words that sounded like a villain's monologue. It doubted its own audio processing. Where did my pure, flawless, kind, and gentle Saintess go?!
"What's wrong with that? I don't see anything wrong. In fact, I think it's perfect," Lumina said matter-of-factly, completely oblivious to the sinister implications of her words.
Heh heh heh... Heh heh heh.
Lumina seemed to be relishing this feeling. Once she had a person's weakness in her grasp, she could...