Odi Mall.
Koji and the others were enjoying dreamland delicacies at the Clockie Restaurant. None of them had ever experienced eating inside a dream before, so of course they were going to savor it properly.
"Delicious."
Ei was eating a Hundred-Layer Sundae (Zero Calories)—a sundae so absurdly huge in both size and portion that it looked like pure caloric annihilation, the kind of thing that would normally wreck your health and your weight.
But this was a dream. No consequences. The shop even intentionally added the words (Zero Calories) right after the item name.
This kind of dessert was Ei's absolute favorite—the kind she simply could not resist.
"Which genius came up with this cake?" Yae Miko stared at the slice of cake in front of her—Stargazy Slice Cake—and immediately lost her appetite.
A fish head was placed right on top of the cake, as if it were staring up at you. For most people, one look was enough to kill any desire to even find out what it tasted like.
Since money wasn't an issue, Koji ordered one of everything. If they couldn't finish it, they could always bring it back to Teyvat later as local "specialties."
"This snack is famous in Penacony," Robin said with a smile. "But most people are just here to appreciate the 'unique' shape and satisfy their curiosity. Not many actually eat it."
She'd heard of it, but she'd never tried it—because the presentation was simply too much.
"Fontaine seems to have something kind of similar," Furina said, also eating a Hundred-Layer Sundae. Like Ei, she strongly preferred sweet desserts. "It's something the Melusines like."
Anyway, most girls weren't exactly built for something like Stargazy Slice Cake. Fish head plus cake—was that really supposed to taste good?
"Pfft—pfft—pfft…!"
"What is this cake?! The texture is so weird!"
Paimon took one bite of the brown cake and immediately spat it out. The mouthfeel was… indescribable. She truly hadn't expected that, because it honestly didn't look that bad.
"That one's the Oak Cake Roll," Robin said. "It's not exactly a delicacy."
She'd eaten it once. Once was more than enough.
On some remote fringe planets, poor people would mix sawdust into bread just to stay full. Later, that practice mutated into a rich-person quirk—some performative "remember the hardship, cherish the sweetness" nonsense.
This Oak Cake Roll was packed with food additives. From its appearance to its composition, it was practically a piece of oak wood. Without sheer willpower, it was genuinely hard to swallow.
"Then how is she managing to eat it?"
Paimon pointed toward a lively teenage girl who gave off the vibe of a friendly neighbor—the childhood-friend-next-door type. She was calmly eating the Oak Cake Roll, bite after bite.
Sitting beside her was a Stellaron sprite. The atmosphere between them looked exactly like a little couple on a date.
Koji glanced over—and also sensed Kafka-mom and Wolfie hiding in a nearby alley. It was like parents stalking their kid's date, and it was hard not to laugh.
Kafka noticed Koji looking their way. She blinked at him, then kept watching her kid's "date."
Firefly didn't even know Kafka and Silver Wolf were here. If she did, she'd absolutely blush herself into a crisis.
"It's actually not that bad."
Firefly swallowed the remaining piece of Oak Cake Roll. Aside from the fact that she hadn't eaten it before, there was another reason: it was cheap.
She hadn't brought many credits with her to Penacony.
"You're seriously amazing," Paimon said, full of respect. "I don't like that cake at all."
She loved enjoying good food—she was not here to suffer.
Eating an Oak Cake Roll was like chewing wood chips. And it wasn't even tasty. The flavor was just… aggressively average.
"Exactly. There's no way I can swallow that texture," Stelle agreed. "I tried one bite. When I tried to swallow, it even scratched my throat."
"Stelle, sorry… I honestly think it's fine," Firefly said awkwardly.
"Try this instead, Miss Entropy Loss Syndrome."
Koji offered Firefly the Hundred-Layer Sundae.
Firefly didn't take it. She just stared at him, shocked.
The fact that she had Entropy Loss Syndrome—only the Stellaron Hunters should know that. No one else was supposed to.
"Entropy Loss Syndrome? What kind of illness is that?" Stelle asked anxiously.
They hadn't known each other long, but she genuinely treated Firefly as a good friend. Hearing that her friend was sick—there was no way she wouldn't worry.
"I'm sorry, Stelle… I didn't tell you," Firefly said softly. "For people with Entropy Loss Syndrome, their physical structure enters an irreversible, chronic dissociation. Little by little… they disappear."
She explained the symptoms to Stelle.
"That sounds kind of like a Self-Annihilator who's been tainted by Nihility," Koji said.
"Mm… maybe a little, but it's different," Firefly shook her head. "Right now, across the universe, there probably isn't any treatment."
It was an illness shared by the Glamoth Iron Cavalry—mainly designed to restrict technology from spreading.
"I asked around. Himeko has heard of it," Stelle said. "She said a genius like Ruan Mei might have a way to treat Entropy Loss Syndrome."
"Huh?"
"A Genius Society genius… can do that?"
Firefly hesitated. She knew how incredible Ruan Mei was, but she'd never met her. Why would someone like that treat her?
"Leave it to me. I'm really familiar with Ruan Mei—I can ask her," Stelle said, patting her chest.
Last time, she helped Ruan Mei with an experiment and fought a clone of an Emanator of Propagation. If she hadn't been strong—and if there hadn't been a time limit—things could've gone very, very wrong.
So yeah, on that front, Ruan Mei really hadn't behaved properly. She owed compensation.
And Stelle could use that compensation to make Ruan Mei find a way to treat Entropy Loss Syndrome.
"If it's possible… then I'll have to trouble you," Firefly said quietly.
She desperately wanted to live—at the very least, she didn't want to wither away because of Entropy Loss Syndrome.
Ruan Mei was a famous genius in biological science. If she intervened, maybe—just maybe—there really was a chance.
"Kafka… can that Ruan Mei really solve Entropy Loss Syndrome?" Silver Wolf asked.
The Stellaron Hunter "family" was actually pretty harmonious. They genuinely cared about each other.
"Maybe," Kafka said. "But we have no connection to that genius. Even if we find her, she might not provide treatment."
A genius's temperament—if they weren't interested, money wouldn't move them.
"Still… Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome should interest her," Kafka added.
Across the universe, this illness was rare. And Firefly's physique would definitely draw Ruan Mei's attention.
The only truly active Glamoth Iron Cavalry left… was Firefly.
"Let's see if our 'kid' can persuade her," Kafka said. "If not, we'll have to find another way."
"Ruan Mei has a decent chance of curing a genetic illness like this. Otherwise… we can only look for the power of Abundance."
They'd asked around about plenty of people before, and they'd also gotten suggestions to seek out Ruan Mei.
The problem was opportunity. Without it, that genius wouldn't even look their way—unless they used a word-binding technique.
But against a genius like Ruan Mei… would that even work?
No one knew. With a brain like hers, she'd definitely have thought about something like that.
The answer was unknown. But given how far a genius could go, it wasn't impossible that she could make it happen.
(End of Chapter)
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