Chapter 327: Penacony Arc 『 Part Twenty-two 』, The Eternal Matrix of the Penacony
"It's far too cliché!"
Another female writer, her hair tied in a high ponytail, suddenly slammed her hand onto the desk.
"It should be written like this: at the exact moment Stelle raises her fist to strike Tatalov—Tatalov bursts into tears and confesses his love!"
The piece of deep-fried tofu held between Yae Miko's chopsticks fell to the floor with a soft thud.
"It turns out everything was just to get Stelle's attention! Those oppressed Trashcan-folk? All actors! And as Stelle's fist pierces his chest, Tatalov gradually regresses into a golden trashcan, desperately trying to clasp Stelle's hand. When Stelle, horrified, pulls her hand from his chest, she finds her palm covered in warm tomato sauce…"
"If the Editor-in-Chief is satisfied, we can follow up with a 'crematorium' arc where Stelle chases after the trashcan—"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Before the writer could finish, Miko interrupted her impatiently.
"That might be close to the vibe of Penacony, but it's drifted quite far from humanity. Fine, fine, that's enough for today. You may all go back and rest."
As the two withdrew, Miko suddenly glanced toward the folding screen beside her and offered a faint smile.
"Ei, which one did you prefer?"
The cloyingly sweet scent of Dango Milk drifted from behind the screen.
"…The second one."
Raiden Ei's voice sounded muffled.
"Mainly because I find it difficult to imagine Sampo's face while weeping and confessing. I… really want to see it."
—
「 Stelle opened her eyes only to see Sampo wearing a look of feigned regret. "Ah, what a pity—I really wanted to see how you'd handle the Garbage King...."
"A shame, truly! Such a profound dream, cut short by Miss Hotaru's intervention…" Sampo cast a meaningful glance at Hotaru. "…I was looking forward to seeing the expression on your face the moment you discovered the truth."
Hotaru instinctively lowered her head.
Stelle asked curiously, "What are you trying to say?"
"Say? No, 'reveal' would be the word…" Sampo wagged a finger. "The truth about this 'Sweet Dream'—isn't that what you're looking for? Don't let the beautiful scenery delude you, dear. A comfortable environment breeds blind men."
"Don't you think this Dream Bubble is a lot like the current Penacony? Hmm? A crowd of people with ulterior motives squeezed onto a narrow stage. No one wants to be caught in the spotlight, so they push poor little Gray-Hair to the front—"
"You're not at home anymore, kid — you've wandered into the depths of the unknown. Let me put it to you straight — don't let yourself get enticed by that glowing light. I'm going to be very disappointed if you get bamboozled by the likes of them.
"A glowing light..." Stelle mused.
"—Look, is that little girl even still there?"
Stelle spun around. Sure enough, Hotaru, who had been by her side just moments ago, was gone.
"She claims to be a local but doesn't know how this world works — all she's got is street smarts. Who exactly is she? You don't find her the least bit... suspicious?"
"Take my advice: if you have questions, go confront that girl. Don't let her run away with her tail between her legs, haha." 」
「 .....」
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
Inside the tavern, Sein slammed his tankard onto the table, sending ale splashing everywhere.
"Hey, hey, hey… If Stelle is willing, does a shifty merchant like you really need to run your mouth?"
He narrowed his eyes, staring at the blue-haired man in the sky-screen who was whispering into Stelle's ear.
"Stelle has followed the Express to save so many worlds, rescued countless people, suffered so much hardship… and now she comes to Penacony only to find another mess. Can't she just enjoy a nice romance now that she's finally met a cute girl in a dream?"
Having finished his rant, Sein struck the table again with a heavy thump, looking even more incensed.
Stark, gnawing on a meat steak, said indistinctly,
"But Sampo is doing it for Stelle's own good. It's a well-intentioned warning."
"You can't trust a single punctuation mark that comes out of a follower of 'Elation'!"
Sein frowned, his cheeks flushed with drink.
"This guy was stalking them in secret, and n-now he shows up to drive a wedge between Stelle and Hotaru… Do you remember when this guy was in Belobog? He spoke to us. You have to realize, not even the Emanators of Destruction or the Hunt have spoken to us, yet this fellow can sense our presence."
Sein took a deep breath, his drunken expression becoming more serious than usual.
"This just goes to show… not only is this guy no good, he is also incredibly, incredibly strong."
"But after all that, Hotaru did run away looking guilty, didn't she?"
Stark shrugged.
"…Perhaps she has some difficulties she can't talk about? After all, she's so young and out in Penacony all by herself."
Sein tilted his head back and drained more liquor.
"In any case! A girl like that couldn't possibly be a villain! Just think back… the way she looks at Stelle—shy and sincere, sometimes even s-stuttering her words… she is absolutely a one-in-a-million, pure-hearted girl!"
Stark scratched his head.
"Since when did you become such an expert on women?"
Sein suddenly coughed violently, the tips of his ears turning slightly red.
"T-That's common sense! It's as obvious as knowing whether wine has been watered down!"
—
「 (What exactly did Sampo mean? Is Hotaru hiding something? …I need to get an explanation from her.)
Stelle arrived at a corner of a park and found Hotaru standing alone, gazing at the night sky.
"…"
She turned her body away, looking into the distance as if avoiding Stelle's gaze. After a long silence, she turned back and spoke softly.
"…I'm sorry," the girl said earnestly.
"I want to know the truth. Tell me, please."
The girl nodded. "Yes… I… I did hide some things from you… For example, I'm indeed not a local, and the Bloodhound Family isn't chasing me for no reason… There were other reasons I walked with you… ...But still, I appreciate your help. I mean it from the bottom of my heart."
"And my admiration for the Nameless is also genuine. You guys have been to a lot of worlds, met people from all walks of life, and experienced all sorts of things. Every day is a new beginning for you guys..."
Hotaru took a deep breath, her fingers unconsciously rubbing the hem of her skirt. Her chest heaved slightly, as if she were trying to pack all her courage into this single breath.
"I want to take you somewhere, if I may? It's not a tourist attraction this time. Quite the opposite… It's more like my 'secret base'."
"There, I will tell you everything I know… as much as I possibly can." 」
「 .....」