["What are you looking at?" Stelle suddenly asked.]
[The next instant, the girl's gentle expression returned to normal. She gave Stelle a perfectly timed smile.]
[She spoke somewhat stiffly: "…There's no time to waste. Shall I show you around?"]
[Ahead was an amusement park. After giving Stelle a brief introduction, Firefly helped her exchange some Aideen tokens and let her enjoy the rides first. However, midway through, Firefly said she was going to get two drinks. Even after Stelle used up all her tokens, Firefly still hadn't returned.]
["Firefly is taking so long… why hasn't she come back yet?"]
[Stelle looked around and found Firefly at a nearby beverage bar. She walked over proactively and chatted with Firefly while drinking.]
["…I'm really grateful that you chose to help. Because of that, I get to introduce this paradise to you — it was willing to accept me even though I don't belong here. I love it too, so I wanted… to share it with others." Firefly looked at Stelle sincerely.]
["Could it be… you really are a stowaway?"]
[Firefly nervously clutched her chest: "I… I have a legal identity… now…"]
[After speaking, her gaze glanced into the distance again before she warily pulled it back. She unconsciously lowered her voice and had Stelle move closer to her. She had an urgent question she wanted to ask.]
["…May I ask, did you come to Penacony alone?"]
——
Mob Psycho 100.
The air conditioner in Spirits and Such Consultation Office hummed softly. Reigen Arataka sat with his legs crossed, twirling a ballpoint pen. After seeing Firefly's question to Stelle, he finally couldn't help but click his tongue.
"So, lackey," he pointed at Firefly on the Celestial Screen with a worldly-wise expression, "beautiful, delicate, fragile women like this… are all scammers!"
"Uh… huh?" The lackey didn't react for a moment and looked up blankly.
Dimple floated nearby with a disdainful look: "Hey hey, Reigen, don't teach the kid dangerous wrong ideas. How is Firefly scamming anyone? Have you ever seen a scammer who self-damages 20k first?"
Reigen remained expressionless and waved his hand lightly: "Heh, I've already seen through her completely. This woman has been signaling her accomplices from the start — like just now! She looked away again. She doesn't think such a cheap trick can fool others, does she?"
"Don't you have persecutory delusion or something? If you're sick, go get treatment and don't influence the kid." Dimple rolled his eyes. "Then tell us, what does she want to scam?"
"Of course it's both feelings and money." Reigen spread his hands, looking at Dimple with contempt. "How could a beautiful girl from the sky fall for you for no reason? Even in Penacony, such daydreams won't happen. That 20k was just bait thrown out to make Stelle feel guilty and easier to hook later!"
"Look, she's already asking if Stelle came to Penacony alone. What does that mean? Hm?"
The lackey looked down at his teacup in a daze: "Master… what does it mean?"
"It means she's already planning how to deal with it if Stelle comes looking for her after she's done scamming both money and body." Reigen looked pained and regretful. "Sigh, Stelle is still too young. She actually fell in love with such a female con artist. She can't handle this illusory romance… She should leave it to me. I'll talk to Miss Firefly. I'll handle it for Stelle!"
Dimple raised his hand and gave Reigen a hard flick on the head.
"You bastard! That's your real intention, isn't it?!"
——
["I am. At least for now." Stelle smiled slightly.]
["I see… You might have realized it, or maybe not, but I've been leading you around in circles to various places earlier because…"]
[Firefly's gaze sharpened: "…because someone is following you."]
[Stelle was about to turn around but was immediately stopped by Firefly: "—Don't turn back. I'm certain his target is you. He hasn't lost us since we parted with Mr. Gallagher. I thought he might be your friend, but my intuition tells me he isn't."]
[Firefly closed her eyes, recalling the other party's information: "He's about 1.8 meters tall, with an error of within two centimeters. He has a strong build and has clearly trained. His stride is long but makes no sound when stepping — very light. This footwork won't leave footprints…"]
["…It seems he's very skilled in combat — the covert kind. His palms are wide but his fingers are slender and flexible. I guess he's used to using blades. Short blades, daggers…"]
["Do you know someone like this? Wine-red coat, green eyes, dark blue hair…"]
[Firefly opened her eyes and looked warily behind Stelle: "Ah… he's here!"]
[Stelle turned around abruptly and saw Sampo's signature sly merchant smile and his hands rubbing together like a fly.]
["Yo, isn't this my loyal big customer — the Trailblazer sisters!" Sampo waved at Stelle. "It's been a while, darling!"]
——
Fate.
"Wait, shouldn't this guy be in Belobog?" Rin Tohsaka widened her eyes. "Has Jarilo-VI already achieved interstellar folding leaps for space travel?"
Saber gently set down her teacup: "Perhaps Belobog has prospered again with the Company's help? Or…" She frowned slightly. "The Masked Fools' colleagues brought him to this land of dreams."
Shirou Emiya scratched his head: "Still, it's pretty nice seeing a familiar face here…"
Rin Tohsaka suddenly noticed Archer's unusual silence. He stood with arms crossed, saying nothing, his sharp gaze locked onto Firefly.
"Archer? What are you thinking about?" Rin waved her hand in front of him, thinking he was spacing out.
Archer snorted lightly and shook his head: "Compared to that merchant, this little girl called Firefly is clearly more worthy of attention, right?"
"She could determine the opponent's height, dominant hand, and even weapon just by observing from afar, and her final conclusion was completely accurate — this level of insight is something only those who have crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood would possess."
"Indeed… such precise intuition and judgment is not something an ordinary person can easily achieve." Saber nodded as well, agreeing with Archer's view. "…This girl is probably very strong… No, extremely strong."
——
["Uh… who is this?"]
[Seeing how familiar Stelle was, Firefly also relaxed her guard.]
[Upon hearing this, Sampo pouted in dissatisfaction: "Aiyo, Miss March, you don't remember me? After I helped you guys so much in Belobog…"]