"That damn gambler—do Sigonians learn [theft] in preschool?"
Doctor Ratio quickly pieced it together. So Aventurine had swiped the milk tea while Stelle wasn't looking.
No… it was also possible she'd left that [flaw] on purpose.
"Sorry, I never went to school, and my parents really didn't teach me that… regrettably, they left before they could."
Ratio fell silent for a moment. "…I meant no offense."
"For all we know, Penacony has been a [Harmony] conspiracy from the very beginning."
With this unexpected gift, Aventurine's entire demeanor lightened considerably.
"Sigh~ If you ask me, that invitation was a self-orchestrated smokescreen. Maybe they're planning something outrageous at the Charmony Festival…"
"Or the real sender is someone else, and the Family's just playing along to set an even bigger trap. Doesn't matter—Family, [Clockmaker]'s legacy, whatever. As long as I can use it."
Ratio stepped in front of him. "Get to the point. What's the plan?"
"No need to spell it out yet." Aventurine pocketed the amber crystal. "…It's not time to show my hand—though you've already seen it."
"My parents did teach me one thing: [Friends are an Avgin's weapon.] With [Harmony] watching us like a hawk, the more [friends] we have, the better."
"Let me think… the Garden of Recollection has already made contact with the Express. The Annihilation Gang… heh."
"The Pontiff of the Eternity Church seems to have some kind of deal with that gray-suited guy. The Knights of Beauty—we don't know if they'll show. As for the [Tavern] crowd…"
Come to think of it… things looked a little off. Kind of isolated, actually.
"…Speaking of which, I just ran into the Church's elf priestess and some woman calling herself a Galaxy Ranger. Something feels wrong. Go dig into her background for me…"
Aventurine turned—Ratio was gone.
"Huh? Where'd he go?"
He shook his head. "Sigh~ He can't hate me that much. Guess I'm on my own."
...
The Golden Hour. Stelle clutched the soap Freesna had given her and soared freely through the dream.
Then, right in front of Robin and Sunday, she performed a perfect free-fall.
Before arriving, she'd met a light-blue-haired bellboy named Misha in the Corridor of Fading Memories.
The [Daydream Hotel] in the dream was under renovation, so this place was just a temporary transit hub—no wonder it looked so bare-bones.
Even if it ruined the guest experience, Stelle firmly believed that once she reached [The Golden Hour], all worries would vanish!
[The Golden Hour] was one of Penacony's twelve dreamscapes, corresponding to [midnight].
Here, dream-time was forever frozen at the instant before 12:00 a.m. Tomorrow never came, and tonight's revelry would never end…
Perfect—this was peak [Eternity]! Which meant Adrian would definitely show up in [The Golden Hour]!
Of course, that didn't mean time actually stood still. To avoid burdening visitors' minds and bodies, the dream's time scale matched reality.
"Penacony's dream is essentially a world built from memoria. Only by understanding its nature can visitors move freely within it," Robin explained to Stelle.
"It's like someone learning to swim—they often sink at first because they can't adjust to buoyancy. But once the body adapts to the water, they can float effortlessly."
"Stelle, you really are special. Normally, aside from the Garden of Recollection's Memekeepers, ordinary people can't manipulate memoria so freely."
Robin had to admit she was impressed—Stelle adapted to the dream world almost instantly, without any [Harmony] tuning.
"Haha~"
Stelle laughed. As expected of a universe-famous singer—she sure knew how to talk.
"Please enjoy the beautiful dream paradise the Family has prepared for you. We'll excuse ourselves now—have fun!"
Meanwhile, at the Oti Mall…
Adrian's feet skidded to a halt. He stared up at a shop sign that read [Tavern of Elation (Special Milk Tea Edition)]. The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably, as if he'd witnessed a cosmic-level absurdity.
"Looks like this isn't the hotel lobby… and definitely not your new milk tea shop," Acheron said, biting into the peach she always carried.
She'd finally figured it out—Adrian's obsession with milk tea ran bone-deep. He'd been fixated on it since the moment they met.
"To think… someone in this dream shares my exact idea. But I don't sense a familiar aura, so it's not HIM."
"Hmph." Adrian let out a meaningful snort, a dangerous smile spreading across his face. Someone had beaten HIM to the best storefront.
This was clearly… provocation. Blatant provocation.
[Tavern of Elation (Special Milk Tea Edition)]
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
Adrian rang the bell twice.
"Welcome to Little Ye's Milk Tea Shop~ What can I get for you two~?"
A guy with Adrian's exact face appeared, radiating [Elation] so strongly it practically spilled out, his smile blindingly bright.
But when "Fake Adrian" saw the real one standing outside, his grin froze solid. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
"Given the situation… should I charge a copyright fee? What do you think… Sparkle."
"Tch~ Lame."
Sparkle pouted, instantly dropping the disguise and revealing her signature mischievous face—now filled with the frustration of a prank gone wrong just before payoff.
She pushed the door fully open with a huff. "Come in, come in~"
"Three seconds. Name the mastermind."
"Aww~ Where are your eyes looking? I run a tavern! A legitimate tavern! How can you slander me and call it a milk tea shop? This is defamation!"
Acheron's brow furrowed slightly. The Masked Fool's very first words had been "Little Ye's Milk Tea Shop"—ironclad evidence of guilt.
Sparkle pulled a pristine, beautifully framed business license from under the bar and slammed it on the counter, chin raised triumphantly.
"Perfectly legal operation, fair to young and old alike! If anyone's to blame, it's you for being too slow~ Business is all about speed!"
Adrian completely ignored her excuses—even sparing the license a glance was beneath HIM. He simply tilted his head toward Acheron and said calmly:
"Chop this place down. Illegal structure. Eyesore."
Acheron rested her hand on her sword hilt and quietly recited her line:
"I weep… for the departed…"
"Hey hey hey! Let's talk this out—no need for violence~" Sparkle panicked and rushed to Acheron's side, frantically fanning her with her hands.
Sparkle pursed her lips. So this was how you bullied people with power… No, wait—HE was the biggest power of all.
Oh, this damn strength-supremacist universe!
Then again, Adrian being an Aeon didn't actually stop her from having fun.
Dying at the hands of one Aeon and one Emanator? If word got back to the [Tavern] crew, they'd brag about it for at least ten… no, hundreds or thousands of Amber Eras!
Sigh~ But Sparkle was, after all, an honest Masked Fool. A Stellaron Hunter friend had entrusted her with a job—she had to complete it no matter what.
Three deaths… three deaths…
Wait—if she killed the target herself first, then had the peach-eating lady do it, and finally Adrian… that made exactly three deaths!
And so neatly structured: Pathstrider, Emanator, Aeon… Wow, super prestigious, right?
Hiss—maybe she really was a genius?
"Fool, drop those ridiculous thoughts." Adrian's voice snapped Sparkle back to reality.
Across the entire cosmos, few factions dared pit themselves against an Aeon in a cricket fight—and the Masked Fools she belonged to were one of them.
There's a saying: Masked Fools rather die than live without fun.