Barcelona, Spain.
The damp sea breeze swept along the Mediterranean coast, the sound of waves lapping against the shore carrying far through the city's chessboard-like grid of orderly buildings, as if trying to reach everyone's ears.
Winding through lush forests, a convertible crept lazily along the highway, like a sluggish seal idly flicking its tail.
Fantastic Light sat in the driver's seat, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on the car door, basking in the glow of the rising sun.
Golden sunlight danced across her wavy golden hair, the gentle warmth coaxing a satisfied, drowsy yawn from her.
The passenger seat was reclined, and a quiet beauty lay curled up there, chest rising and falling softly, lost in a sweet dream.
She had shoulder-length black hair, dark as spilled ink, hastily tied back with a hairband into a loose ponytail.
But her bangs were a different story—right in the center of her forehead, a stark white streak stood out sharply against the black. The contrast was striking.
Dressed in a plain black hoodie, she wore a ribbon around her neck that trailed down to her chest, where it held a heavy camera.
Fantastic Light glanced at the deeply sleeping beauty, retracted her arm from the door, and gave the passenger's shoulder a gentle shake.
"Hey, hey. Bean sprout, Galileo, wake up."
The sleeping beauty showed no signs of stirring. Instead, she sweetly licked her lips, turned over, and let the camera on her chest slide onto the seat.
With no other choice, Fantastic Light raised her voice: "Galileo!"
"Wah! Sis, I'm sorry, I wasn't slacking off—" The white-banged girl bolted upright, her eyes still shut as she began pleading.
She brought a hand to her face, then slowly became aware of the sunlight bathing her. Lifting a palm to shade her forehead, she cracked her eyes open.
They were emerald green, clever and bright like a Persian cat's, with a charm that seemed capable of captivating the entire world.
Galileo ran a hand through her messy hair, then sat cross-legged on the seat, her green eyes gazing at the sparkling sea in the distance.
The Mediterranean lay like a serene, loving mother, gently embracing everything.
The sun, just peeking over the horizon, wasn't blinding yet—it was still tinged with a soft, warm orange, like a ginger cat hanging in the sky.
She lifted the camera hanging from her neck, flipped open the lens cap, and captured the scene before her—
Click.
Photo taken, Galileo lazily slumped back into her seat, right arm tucked behind her head. Yawning, she pulled out her phone.
"Feels like I've got a stiff neck... Why'd you let me sleep like that?"
"You're the one who stayed up all night trying to photograph the stars. We're supposed to visit La Pedrera today—when exactly did you plan to rest?" Fantastic Light replied, still driving at a leisurely pace.
"Anyway, I got my sleep. You didn't miss the sunrise, so it all worked out perfectly."
"Fine, fine, you're right," Galileo said, scrolling through her phone.
Suddenly, her finger stopped. Her lazy expression froze, and she even rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
In an instant, her sleepiness vanished. Galileo clutched her stomach, bursting into uproarious laughter. She laughed so hard she doubled over, slapping the seat, tears streaming from her eyes.
"What's gotten into you? Woke up and turned into a monkey?" Fantastic Light frowned, watching Galileo squirm and writhe in the passenger seat.
"Hey, gangly," Galileo said, poking a bare foot—sock and shoe already off—into Fantastic Light's side. "Look at this."
"I'm driving," Fantastic Light sighed, but she glanced over anyway. What she saw on Galileo's screen gave her pause, too.
Then, a smirk of sheer schadenfreude spread across Fantastic Light's lips. It was clear that if she weren't driving, she'd be laughing just as hard as Galileo.
--+--
[Sea the Stars is #1] : What are you up to?
[Astronomer] : Just woke up. What's up, sis?
[Sea the Stars is #1] : [Image]
[Sea the Stars is #1] : What do you think? Her and Urban Sea—do they look like a good couple?
--+--
The image, of course, was that one of Urban Sea hugging Platinum.
As the older sister among them, Urban Sea had been looking after her younger siblings since they were kids.
More than just a sister, she was practically a second mother to them. Without anyone really noticing, she'd ended up half a generation above the rest.
She'd retired early, too, spending her whole life fussing over her brothers and sisters. She didn't have many hobbies of her own, and her mindset had aged rapidly.
What do folks from an older generation love doing most? Well, naturally—playing matchmaker with the young ones.
Urban Sea was like a matchmaking god holding a bundle of red threads, eager to tie her siblings to arrows and shoot them straight into each other's hearts.
Galileo had been through it too. Back when she'd first met Fantastic Light on the racetrack, Urban Sea had looked at the two of them differently the moment they stepped off the track.
A month later, before either of them knew what was happening, they were sitting down together with Urban Sea on one side and Fantastic Light's parents on the other.
The thing was, Galileo got along great with Fantastic Light, but it was a buddy-buddy kind of friendship, not a romantic one.
Both she and Fantastic Light were at a loss for words; neither felt that way about the other.
But faced with Urban Sea's relentless pushing, the two had no choice but to make a run for it. They embarked on a road trip across Europe, finally escaping her endless nagging.
And now, it was Sea the Stars getting the treatment. Ha!
Galileo grinned widely as she typed back.
--+--
[Astronomer] : A perfect match, absolutely perfect. When's the wedding? I'll book them a church—make sure it's a grand affair.
[Sea the Stars is #1] : Never mind them. What about you and Light? How's that going? What's the latest?
--+--
Galileo let out a long sigh. She switched to the front camera, grabbed Fantastic Light's arm, and pulled herself into the crook of her elbow.
Fantastic Light, used to this by now, let Galileo maneuver her until she'd sent the photo to Urban Sea. Then, she shook her arm free.
Mission accomplished, Galileo flopped back into her seat and closed her eyes again.
Hah... But aside from the schadenfreude... I wonder if this new girl really beat Golden Sixty...
And... those eyes...
Galileo recalled the pitch-black pupils of Platinum she'd seen in the photo. They were like black holes, capable of sucking everything in and annihilating it.
Somehow... they felt familiar.
"Hey, Light," Galileo nudged Fantastic Light's shoulder. "If we have time, wanna go to Japan?"
"What are you scheming now?" Fantastic Light quirked her lips, neither agreeing nor refusing.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.