As the morning gradually passed, Petra and the girls wandered through the enormous Central Square.
Rather than heading anywhere in particular, they simply moved with the flow of the festival, wandering around aimlessly, and occasionally stopping whenever something interesting caught their attention.
The deeper they went, the livelier the atmosphere became. The crowds continuously passed through the streets while the sound of distant music echoed in the surroundings. Everywhere one looked, there was something happening, and everything that happened was either new or exciting!
Like a child exploring the unknown, they pressed on.
Aside from the countless people, the surrounding space was filled with street performers that gathered near the roadside, peddlers loudly advertising strange and unorthodox treasures, idle practitioners discussing rumors surrounding the Secret Realm, and foreign races that moved through the crowds while carrying unusual weapons. Perhaps the most interesting thing was the large variety of magic beasts that didn't originate from the cross continent. Occasionally, in addition to the people in the square and those walking on the elevated platforms and viewing towers, someone would leap across the rooftops, while floating lights lifted by magic drifted lazily through the sky.
Petra slowly wandered through this chaos.
She continuously ran around to look at random things and run to random places, before eventually returning to the group on her own. While Wind followed behind with a frustrated expression, Mell ignored her, not treating Petra like a child. Unlike Wind, Mell understood that Petra liked to run around and play, not because she was a child at heart, no, instead, she simply didn't like to sit still.
Mell couldn't possibly know, but they all vaguely understood Petra's situation. Regarding this, perhaps only Mell could feel that the 'previous' Petra was a very sedentary person, so her constant need for knowledge and chaos was likely a remnant from her previous life.
Anyways, Mell couldn't possibly know, so—
Mell calmly continued to guide everyone through the crowded streets, occasionally stopping to organize the group whenever they began drifting too far apart.
Just like this—
The morning slowly moved forward beneath the noisy atmosphere of the Opening Festival…
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Bang!
After an unknown amount of time, Petra suddenly staggered slightly after colliding head-first into someone rushing past through the crowded square.
"Uwah—!"
Her little boots scraped against the stone floor as she wobbled dramatically backwards, before barely managing to regain her balance while her arms flailed through the air.
Wind and Mell immediately turned around to look at Petra—
But Rose and Lira glared at the figure disappearing into the distance!
"Petra?" Mell called out, slightly surprised.
One had to know that bumping into Petra, whether it was accidental or not, usually resulted in an extremely bad outcome! Losing half your body was a good end, but disintegrating on the spot was much more common. Since the man was able to leave untouched, either he was immune to poison, or Petra had let him go for some reason. Meanwhile, the person who bumped into her didn't even stop, he didn't even trip, he just kept running.
Not receiving an answer, she turned her gaze to the figure in the distance…
She had seen her face, albeit just briefly... It was a tall, dark-skinned woman wrapped in layered black cloth who silently slipped through the crowd at a frightening speed. Even while running, her movements remained strangely quiet, to the point where it almost looked like she was gliding rather than stepping. The woman had dark brown skin like chocolate, and strange black runes that wrapped around her neck like a snake-shaped spring tattoo. She had a faint trace of being a Telltera, only she was missing the massive physique and oppressive aura. After taking a second look, they were distinctly different. Instead of an underground hunter, the woman felt more like a shadow, the kind of clan that didn't fight and preferred to partake in assassinations.
Petra stared at the retreating figure.
Then—
"FUCK! You rude, stinky bastard! Damn granny! You tattoo-faced, feather-faced, fucker Fuck!!" she angrily shouted after her in a cute and childish voice while stomping one foot!
"Come back here! Apologize before running away! Hump!"
"Do you think that this little master will let it go!? Bah!"
Several nearby people immediately looked toward her.
Their faces were full of shock and confusion, because none of them had even seen the woman…
Unfortunately—
When they looked, the fleeing figure had already vanished…
Petra, realizing this, blinked innocently and closed her mouth.
Only then did she realize something unusual.
That person didn't seem to possess much of a presence, but there was definitely no touch of magic…
How odd…
Could it be a racial trait?
Wind frowned slightly, realizing the same thing…
"…Shadow Clan?"
Rose's expression also shifted slightly.
The 'Shadow Clan' was a rather infamous assassination clan that originated from the underground world. They were not locals of the Cross Continent, or at least she didn't think that they were. Not many people knew where the underground world connected to the surface, but she had never heard of one on the Cross Continent.
As for the reason Rose recognized the Shadow Clan when Wind did not, that was because back in the Silversong Forest, where she—he, Rell, had grown up, aside from their Red Ring Tribe, there was also the Black Tail Tribe, which was a surface clan that originated from a distant branch of the Shadow Clan.
Unlike ordinary dark-element races, the members of the Shadow Clan specialized in concealment, infiltration, and assassination techniques that blurred the boundary between physical bodies and magic. Many of their abilities had become innate abilities that could be performed without needing spiritual energy. Rumors had it that high-level members of this clan could travel through the darkness like literal liquids, hide inside reflections, and even temporarily erase their own presence from the perception of others, like flexing a muscle.
Naturally, most normal people absolutely hated dealing with them…
But was Petra normal?
Of course not!
The moment she felt the abnormality, she decided to spare her, much to the woman's good fortune.
Petra narrowed her eyes while staring toward the crowd where the woman disappeared.
"…Interesting…" She muttered.
After a moment of thought, her mind turned and sent out a signal, then the girls continued…
* * *
Petra and the girls continued wandering,
The noisy square gradually dulled as the group of girls followed a set of stairs leading to one of the elevated walkways that led away from the central square. Compared to the packed streets, this area felt far calmer and more refined. The stone roads became wooden planks, the decorations were more elaborate, and the density of spiritual energy became noticeably greater, like a refreshing gust of wind.
They followed this elevated platform for quite some time…
Eventually, a massive circular structure appeared ahead of them.
They approached.
It resembled a gigantic outdoor amphitheater built directly into a part of the city. Petra had no idea if it was a recent addition or an old and repurposed part of Llynun, but it immediately caught her eye.
Tall curved walls formed from pale white stone surrounded the entire structure, isolating the interior from the noise of the festival outside, while leaving the top open to the morning sky. Vines filled with tiny, glowing flowers weaved in and out of the stone, while large hanging gardens overflowed from the upper eaves. Before the entrance lay two small parks, each featuring a long black bench where one could stop to rest. Before even entering, the faint sound of music could already be heard from inside.
The girls followed the flow of people through one of the large archways leading in...
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Inside—
The amphitheater opened into layers upon layers of descending booths that surrounded a massive central stage. Thousands of people had already gathered to watch the ongoing performance, while illusions formed from formations projected drifting lights and floating fauna above the arena to create a magic canopy that completed a nature-themed atmosphere.
Petra walked in and looked around.
Her little hands rested on a low railing as she took in the surroundings with great interest.
Currently, a fluffy girl was dancing on the stage below.
"…Uuo?" Petra blinked in surprise.
Uuo was a famous figure who was the closest thing to an idol that existed on the Cross Continent. She was the mascot for a certain female 'fan merchant' whose business was spread throughout the five regions of the Cross Continent, but Petra had also heard that she came from overseas. She had first heard about her when she was shopping for a special alchemy tool that needed to use 'super secret suction technology'—their words, not hers—and inadvertently learned a little about this fluffy pom-pom girl with legs.
Her big black eyes narrowed as she looked down at the stage.
In the center of the stage, the singing Uuo happily spun around and danced with a group of strange white creatures that looked like a mix between sheep, cotton balls, and tiny cannonballs with legs. They all possessed soft woolly bodies, tiny curled horns, and little stubby legs, but every so often, one of them would suddenly launch itself through the air like a fluffy projectile before violently bouncing harmlessly off another performer. As for Uuo herself, Petra didn't know if she was a slightly older version of whatever race that was, but Uuo possessed a more humanoid, although a bit childish body, with her legs and shoulders exposed, and wore a huge pair of parachute pants made of wool.
Petra also knew that although the small girl looked incredibly huggable and cute, the previously mentioned 'fan merchant' referred to the hidden weapon, or more specifically, the type of weapon that usually appeared in conversations alongside terms like 'poison', 'seduction', and 'assassination'.
Indeed, although Uuo looked like a cute child bouncing up and down while singing and dancing, appearances were often deceiving!
"Baaah~!"
"Baaaaah~!"
"Baaaaaaah~!"
The crowd erupted with cheers!
As the stadium shook, Petra and the others turned away.
Behind them, the cheers of the crowd continued to rise and fall, while Uuo's performance continued in the background. Petra glanced back one last time, her little nose twitching, as another woolly creature launched itself through the air and did a somersault followed by a swift spin.
She hummed, and an idea suddenly popped into her head!
"...Why does that look so fun? Do we have room back home for a few—Smack!"
Before Petra could even finish her words, Rose chopped her on the head!
"Child abuse!" Petra screamed!
"Hump!"
Petra glared while guarding her head, "Damn! I'll deal with you when we get home! Hisssss~! If I remember correctly, ever since Lilly was rescued, she's been working on a new style of clothing, but she hasn't found a good model yet, right? Hehehehehehehe!" Petra squinted maliciously at Rose, then scanned her whole body with an extremely unsettling, serpentine-like stare. "Hehehe! Your perfect! Perfect! I'll let her know when I get back! Yeah! Its good to volunteer, isn't it!"
Rose, who was trying to act tough, froze in place and instantly regretted it!
Deep despair!
That was what she felt!
How could she act on a moment of impulse!
She already knew better!
Being exposed to Petra's little stare, Rose unconsciously covered her chest, which was an action no man should ever do! Unlike Noah, Rose had already fallen completely, and she understood that if she complied, this would be her last nail in the coffin!
Damn it!
She just knew that Petra was looking for an opportunity!
Although Mell and Wind looked over, they were clearly both confused and had no idea what Petra was talking about. Unfortunately, Rose did know! She knew all too well! She had actually walked in on it! Ever since little Lilly had returned from the Azurefell Family that night, she had developed a strange new, erm… fetish? No, but there was definitely a word for it…
Mm, she had become addicted to making a very unique type of erotic clothing!
From her innocent face, you would never be able to tell, but that little girl had a very dark side to her…
Anyway, Rose knew that if she didn't want to become a dress-up doll for those strange clothes, then she had better hide for a while when she returned!
Lira looked at her big sister with eyes full of pity…
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