"The train is a vehicle, not a murder weapon, pa!"
Pom-Pom stopped its tears and spoke to him angrily.
"Don't twist my words. I didn't crash into anyone."
Leon stated that he was, in fact, in transit.
However, crashing the train into people wasn't unheard of in Penacony, but generally speaking, that kind of crashing couldn't compare to the thrill of driving it yourself. Even crashing into a wall this time couldn't compare.
"Wuwuwu, Pom-Pom really misjudged you!"
Pom-Pom wiped away its tears.
"The person who inherited this ticket is truly cut from the same cloth as that Nameless who bombed the train, pa!"
It had thought that Aha, the worst of the Nameless, had a rare change of heart and gave his ticket to a junior with a true 'Trailblaze' spirit. The 'Trailblaze' spirit was there, but it was unlikely for a Nameless who crashes trains into people to have a 'Trailblaze' spirit.
"Since when did you start hiding a girl away?"
While Pom-Pom was complaining, a stir came from the other side.
"Wa-oh~ What a lovely lady?"
Sparkle said as she casually undid the shackles on her hands.
The shackles fell to the floor with a clatter.
It was a good thing she was short like Fu Xuan, otherwise the train floor would have cracked.
"I thought you weren't interested in women."
Sparkle playfully put her hands behind her back and began to circle March 7th, sizing her up from all angles, searching for what was so special about her that this Ranger would keep her around.
"Hmm~ Someone from 'Remembrance'?"
Sparkle caught a familiar scent from her.
"Are you just fated to be involved with people of 'Remembrance'?"
She said, looking back at him.
"To think you not only have a Memokeeper, but you've also had a girl of unknown origin with you all along."
She was very curious about what answer he would give.
"What do you have to say about littering?"
But the moment Sparkle turned her head, she saw Leon slandering her, which almost made her lose her composure.
"I think she's worse than me."
Leon pointed at the shackles the amoral Sparkle had casually tossed aside and turned to say to Pom-Pom.
Boarding the train meant she was in the same boat as him.
"As the saying goes, rather than looking for your own faults, it's better to slander others."
"Except for Passenger March 7th, Pom-Pom won't be issuing tickets to any of you, pa!"
Pom-Pom's cheeks puffed out, its two large ears raising to form an X.
Then it picked up the shackles and walked off in a huff.
Leon watched it leave.
"Alright, now it's time to talk about the intelligence you mentioned."
He retracted his gaze, preparing to chat with Sparkle.
With a click, a flash of light was gone in an instant.
Just as Sparkle turned to see Leon slandering her, Leon turned to see a very similar scene.
"Cheese!"
Sparkle had taken the camera hanging from March 7th's waist, held it high, and tricked a half-aware March into taking a photo with her.
"What are you 'cheesing' about? We're talking business."
Leon spoke up to draw her attention back, telling her not to corrupt March's innocence.
"Do you have a Jade Abacus? Come add Sparkle as a friend~!"
Sparkle returned the camera to March 7th and took out her Jade Abacus from somewhere.
"Believe it or not, I'm about to kick you from the party, you humorous action-forward girl."
Leon told her to hurry up. With only a 50% action forward effect, his patience for her was also only at 50%.
"What kind of stupid nickname is that?"
Sparkle demanded to know what he meant.
"Alright, alright, why are you being so fierce?"
She put away her Jade Abacus, abandoning her plan to add him as a friend.
"Isn't this about business?"
Sparkle placed her hands on her hips, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. "The business is simple. Your Memokeeper friend is trapped."
"It's that simple."
"Trapped by what?"
Leon hated two kinds of people the most: first, those who only tell half the story, and second.
"What else could it be? The Garden of Recollection, of course."
Sparkle knew he would ask and gave the answer she had prepared long ago.
"Although I don't know what she touched upon to get imprisoned by the Garden of Recollection." She continued, "But it's certain that your Memokeeper friend's situation is not looking good."
"Maybe she could be brainwashed by the Garden at any moment?"
"You know, this bunch of Memokeepers loves to play mind control games."
After speaking, Sparkle began to observe his reaction.
But Leon showed no reaction, simply looking at her and asking:
"How do you know?"
Sparkle didn't mind answering this question.
"I was looking for some fun and ran into a Memokeeper. I ended up getting some intelligence from him."
She skipped over many details, only summarizing the key parts before speaking.
"Is that so?" Leon hummed.
Touched upon something to get imprisoned.
Did he even need to ask? It had to be Amphoreus.
It seems many people in the Garden of Recollection don't want Black Swan to disrupt their game.
Sigh, I really didn't expect a backstabbing.
It seems most of the Garden of Recollection are extremists. Compared to them, a pure soul like Black Swan is far too harmless.
"Do you know which Garden of Recollection it is?" Leon asked.
Since the matter was clear, the solution was also obvious.
It was simple. Just eliminate the Garden of Recollection, right?
He just didn't know which branch of the Garden of Recollection it was. He remembered Black Swan saying there were many.
"Of course I know."
Sparkle nodded, saying in a fake, high-pitched voice: "But why should I tell you, my dear Ranger~"
"Hehe, you'll talk."
If she really didn't, he'd just throw her back to the Corporation later. She chose to be difficult instead of making a perfectly good equivalent exchange.
He couldn't be bothered to argue.
[You want to kill a Memokeeper?]
Evernight, who had heard their conversation, suddenly popped up, her voice echoing in his mind.
[Whether it's the Garden of Recollection or its lackeys.]
[If you're going to cause trouble for them, then you must count me in.]
Evernight said, her voice showing a rare fluctuation.
"You have a deep grudge against these Gardens?"
Seeing her proactive attitude, Leon recalled what she had said not long ago and asked.
[Of course. The kind of grudge that cannot be shared under the same sky.]
There was a clear coldness in Evernight's words.
She was born from this bottomless obsession. How could she not have a grudge against the Garden of Recollection? It was a grudge that was her life's goal.
"Alright." He didn't refuse.
Even if he didn't actively seek them out, this group would sooner or later come looking for March 7th.
In other words, the Garden of Recollection was an enemy from the very beginning.
Since they were bound to clash sooner or later.
And now that a suitable opportunity had presented itself, how could he possibly let it go?
Battle! (Meaningless close-up)
"Alright, alright, then Lady Sparkle will reluctantly tell you."
Seeing as he was begging so bitterly (facing a direct threat), Sparkle chose to be merciful.
She was also very curious about what could garner so much attention from the Garden of Recollection, and even more curious about what fun the story sparked by this thing could bring her.
It was true she didn't have the ability to get it, but didn't she have Leon?
He could completely make up for her lack of stats and start the fun, couldn't he?
_____
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