Firefly looked at the haggard man slowly approaching, arms crossed, and said coldly, "Sir, stalking is not a good habit."
"Reveal your true identity and state your intentions, or you'd better prepare to be set ablaze."
For those who harbored ill intentions toward her, Firefly would often let SAM deliver the incinerating destruction of countless stars. But if someone dared to have malicious designs on her precious Stelle, her methods would be far crueler than anything associated with [Destruction].
"Sister, let's talk this out. I mean no harm."
Sparkle, disguised as Sampo, helplessly raised her hands to show she meant no ill will, while letting out a heavy sigh in her heart: Ugh, I remember this girl used to be a Stellaron Hunter, but at least she was relatively gentle and friendly back then.
What's with this situation now? Are you trying to kill me with that look, friend?
Seeing that Firefly showed no signs of lowering her guard, Sparkle pointed helplessly at Stelle in the distance. "I'm a friend of that sister over there. My name's Sampo. Why don't you ask her if she knows me?"
Firefly narrowed her beautiful eyes. "A friend? If you're a friend, why not just come forward openly? What's with the stalking?"
"I-I just wanted to create a little surprise…" Sparkle sighed again. "Please, sister, I really mean no harm."
Seeing the sincerity on her face, which didn't seem like a lie, Firefly softened her tone. "Stay right here. I'll go ask."
"Alright, alright…"
Firefly turned around, and her expression instantly became gentle and radiant. She skipped lightly, humming a little tune, and approached Stelle with a smile. "Stelle, do you know a blue-haired man, about one meter eighty tall, who says his name is Sampo?"
"Nope, don't know him."
Stelle shook her head without hesitation.
Since arriving in this world, she had already figured out that the characters here were either completely reversed or absurdly exaggerated compared to their original versions.
If Sparkle had been reversed, she'd probably be off somewhere mourning the dead instead of showing up disguised as a Belobog wildman trying to get close.
Clearly, this Sparkle was the enhanced version.
Let alone an enhanced Sparkle—even the original could easily trick her into a daze with just a little scheming.
Besides, with Mikhail still alive here, even if there were some hidden secrets beneath Penacony's calm surface, there was no need for Sparkle to be the one to reveal them.
So, pretending not to know her was the safest choice—although, technically, she shouldn't know Sparkle in the first place.
"I see, got it." Firefly nodded, her smile growing even brighter. She held up a slender finger. "Wait for me a sec, I'll be right back."
"Okay, I'll wait for you."
Firefly turned around, and the smile on her face began to widen eerily, tinged with a hint of madness.
Her small hands trembled slightly with excitement, and the aura she exuded grew increasingly dangerous.
Hah… how dare you pretend to be Stelle's friend to get close? You must have bad intentions… You're really asking for it.
She returned to where Sparkle had been waiting, only to find, to her surprise, that the guy had vanished without a trace.
"Hmph, escaped, huh…"
Firefly scanned her surroundings and muttered, "Ran away… Hmph, you're lucky. If I didn't want to avoid wasting time on you, you wouldn't have gotten off so easily."
…
Sparkle hid in terror behind a nearby building, confirming that Firefly wasn't chasing her before letting out a slow sigh of relief, her heart still pounding.
What has this world turned into? She loved stirring up fun, but only if it didn't turn her into the fun. If she hadn't been cautious and overheard Firefly's conversation with Stelle, she might've been hunted down by that Stellaron Hunter by now.
And what was up with that little gray-haired girl? She'd appeared as Sampo, and yet Stelle acted like she'd forgotten her?
Thinking of all the absurd things that little gray-haired girl had done, Sparkle felt this assumption was perfectly reasonable.
"No… wait, I can't jump to conclusions."
Sparkle shook her head vigorously, reorganizing her thoughts. "From the information I've gathered so far, whether it's Sunday, Black Swan, or Firefly, they all exhibit starkly contrasting behaviors. Combined with other background details, it's clear: this is a universe where characters' personalities are reversed."
"So, assuming that little gray-haired girl is some naive, clueless little thing would be a completely wrong judgment."
"Could it be…?!"
Suddenly, a bold hypothesis flashed through Sparkle's mind. "That little gray-haired girl… could she be hiding her true capabilities too?"
"It's entirely possible she didn't fail to recognize Sampo—she might've chosen not to. With so many factions converging in Penacony right now, a chaotic mix of players, Sampo, as someone from the [Elation] faction, would naturally draw attention."
"And the reason she didn't acknowledge me could very well be because she doesn't want this Stellaron Hunter to know that they've already made contact with the [Elation] faction—or even formed an alliance!"
The more Sparkle thought about it, the more it made sense, as if she'd unlocked the door to a new world. "Yes, yes… it all adds up. That little gray-haired girl is reversed too, and she's far more cunning than I imagined."
"If I didn't know this was a reversed universe, I might've actually been fooled by that innocent, doe-eyed face…"
"Hmph, hmph, hmph… Trying to out-act Lady Sparkle? You're playing with fire!"
After a whirlwind of brainstorming, Sparkle felt she had grasped the true way to navigate this version of Penacony: form alliances, and target those who originally seemed foolish and easy to manipulate!
It was decided. If the little gray-haired girl was too tricky to approach, she'd go find other Trailblaze faction members instead. Hmm… yes, she'd seek out March 7th!
To be absolutely safe, she'd disguise herself as the little gray-haired girl first to test the waters, hehe.
…
"That Sampo guy left?"
Seeing Firefly return in less than a minute, Stelle immediately asked with concern.
Firefly nodded gently. "Yup, just some creepy stalker guy. Hehe, it's probably because you're too charming, so you attracted someone like him."
Stelle scratched her head, a bit embarrassed. "Really? I think you're the more charming one… By the way, how did you get him to leave?"
"I called over some nearby Hounds and warned him not to follow us anymore. Pretty clever, right?"
"Of course! You're the smartest!" Stelle grinned silly. "Let's pick up where we left off… What were we talking about? What's the main event?"
Firefly clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly with a playful expression. "You want to know?" "Yup!" "Not telling you~" "Aw, come on, please!" "…Hehe, follow me then. I'll take you somewhere with something really cool."