[After Clockie expressed his thanks to Stelle once more, he left together with Misha.]
["Follow me. This time, don't get called away by your invisible friend again…" Firefly turned her back, letting out a soft, small hum.]
[There seemed to be a faint vinegar scent in Penacony's air… It must have been an illusion, right?]
[The two took a pinball machine to a café. Firefly said this was the place.]
["This is the secret base?" Stelle looked around at the coming and going crowds. It could indeed serve as a base, but it wasn't "secret" at all?]
["N-No…" Firefly's face turned red. She awkwardly pointed at the manhole cover behind her: "—It's here."]
[This was a bit awkward. Stelle unconsciously lowered her voice: "There are still people watching around here…"]
["It's fine! Anything can happen in the dream. Every day lots of people fall from the sky—passersby have long gotten used to it. I'll demonstrate first—It'll be a bit dark at the start, so follow me closely, okay?"]
[With that, the girl lifted the cover right in front of her and nimbly slipped inside.]
["..."]
[Going down into the sewers together with a beautiful girl—this was a brand-new experience. Stelle's thoughts were complicated for a moment, but since she had already come this far…]
——
Gintama.
"Won't it already be full inside?"
"Gin-san, no one here can teleport."
In front of the tea table at Yorozuya, the three stared at the sky screen showing Firefly and Stelle crawling into the sewer.
Gintoki sprawled on the sofa, his dead-fish eyes showing no waves: "Ah… my heart is already dead. Not a metaphor—I'm really so envious my heart stopped beating."
Kagura chewed her pickled seaweed, tilting her head: "Huh? What's so enviable about crawling into a sewer? It stinks and you might run into rats, aru."
"The point isn't the sewer!" Gintoki suddenly sat up straight. "It's two people crawling into the sewer together! This youth! This romance! This—"
"Your youth and romance have a pretty heavy smell…" Shinpachi pushed up the glasses on his nose.
"Also, don't you think it's strange? Why go to a secret base by crawling into the sewer? This is clearly Firefly's little scheme!"
"Gin-san, you're just jealous, aren't you?" Kagura swallowed the pickled seaweed in her mouth. "If you're really that envious, how about next time you try crawling in with Hijikata-san—"
"Shut up! This is a proper shonen manga! Not a BL doujinshi!"
——
[The black-haired girl with twin tails suddenly stopped on the roadside. She placed her hands on her hips and spoke: "Hey, let me ask you…"]
["Is your way of attracting a girl's attention by openly following her around?" She turned her head, her twin tails swaying gently with the motion. "It's been almost half a system hour."]
[Aventurine walked out from the shadows openly and said calmly: "To be precise, 45 minutes. Pleasant times always pass quickly, don't they?"]
[The girl sneered: "Hah, little peacock… You have quite beautiful eyes. From Sigonia, right?"]
[Aventurine placed one hand on his hip: "Want a further hint? For example, that I'm an Avgin?"]
["Hmm… My eyes aren't as good as yours, but I'm not blind…" The girl mocked coldly, "—Who in the entire universe doesn't know you Sigonians? Born liars, thieves, social butterflies… honey-mouthed but sword-hearted, true to the name."]
["If you ask me, compared to the dream, you're more suited to stay under a manhole cover…" The girl looked around and indeed spotted a manhole cover nearby. She gave Aventurine a smiling wink: "…Ah, there's one right there. Go on~"]
["No need. Dark corners don't match my temperament. This beautiful dream suits me better—frivolous, vain, flashy but insubstantial…" Aventurine seemed completely unconcerned by the girl's aggressive words, his smile still present on his face, "…and it doesn't rain! This outfit of mine is quite delicate. It can't withstand wind and rain."]
[She slightly raised her chin, not hiding the mockery in her words: "Put away that witty tongue of yours, little peacock. Please leave. We are Fools, not idiots. We have no intention of playing friends with the IPC's lapdogs."]
——
Arcane: League of Legends.
"This Aventurine really gets roasted no matter where he goes. If you ask me, his temper is too good—If it were me, I would've punched that little girl right in the face and seen if she'd still dare say such things—"
In the park square of Piltover, Vi and Caitlyn sat side by side on a roadside bench watching the sky screen. When she saw the black-haired girl openly mocking Aventurine, she subconsciously clenched her fist—only to forget she was still holding a can of beer, spraying herself all over.
Caitlyn sighed helplessly and took out a stack of tissues from her pocket to hand to her: "You're always like this, wanting to solve problems with violence. In my opinion, he's not good-tempered…" She narrowed her eyes slightly, "…but… used to it."
"Used to being a punching bag?"
"Trust me, no one reaches P45 in the IPC by being a punching bag."
Caitlyn shook her head, her blue hair fluttering in the warm evening breeze. "Perhaps for some people, they think being an Avgin is his shameful side, and they only need to viciously tear that side out to humiliate him. But for him, being an Avgin might just be another card in the deck. As long as he can play it at the right time… whether it's humiliating or not doesn't matter."
"Just like how my mother always brings up 'the daughter of Clan Kiramman.' Although I hate it, I have to admit… it's also one of my cards. At least in certain high-society occasions, playing this card can save me some unnecessary trouble."
"As for that masked little girl…" Caitlyn smiled slightly, "I think she simply wanted to provoke Aventurine. Perhaps for the Masked Fools, seeing someone fly into a rage is part of the fun."
Vi grinned: "But she didn't expect Aventurine to not care at all."
"Mhm. I guess Aventurine isn't dealing with Masked Fools for the first time. He's very familiar with their routines." Caitlyn nodded. "The more she tries to humiliate him, the less he takes it seriously. Still, I don't know what Aventurine is thinking, actually wanting to cooperate with the Masked Fools."
"Cupcake, you seem quite familiar with the Masked Fools… How do you know they can't cooperate?" Vi gave Caitlyn a puzzled look.
"Not exactly familiar, but do you remember during the Swarm Disaster… the part about the Masked Fools?"