What happened next aligned pretty much with the plot Sylvia remembered.
Kafka had Stelle deal with the approaching pursuers.
She used that opportunity to share some information with Stelle, framed as "truths."
As for Sylvia, she didn't get involved.
Because this was information Kafka needed to give to Stelle, and indirectly, to the Astral Express.
Once again, she watched Stelle walk away.
After several rounds of using her Spirit Whisper, Kafka had finally managed to suppress Blade's Mara-struck state.
She seemed much more relaxed now.
"Darling, there's actually one more thing I'd like to ask of you."
Kafka raised a hand to her chest and gave Sylvia a slight bow.
"What?"
Sylvia thought Kafka might ask her to lure Yanqing away, or something along those lines, but instead, Kafka brought up Penacony:
"Before long, Sam will head to Penacony to prepare for the next phase of the script."
"I know that. She mentioned it to me too."
Sylvia nodded in acknowledgment, but Kafka continued:
"Then did she also tell you that her body is incapable of dreaming? That she can't enter Penacony's dreamscape through normal means?"
"...Huh?"
Sylvia looked at Kafka in surprise. This... Firefly really hadn't mentioned this at all.
"For someone who can't dream to enter the Dreamscape, the cost would be comparable to 'death.'"
Kafka's tone was even, but her words made Sylvia frown.
"I'm not part of the Penacony script, so I don't know the details. But that's what Silver Wolf said. She's very worried about Sam, but she can't deter Sam's resolve."
There was such a thing?
What kind of condition is 'can't dream'?
Sylvia was puzzled, but it seemed Kafka didn't know the specifics either—just that it was a fact.
"...I see. Thank you for telling me this."
So just entering Penacony would already cost Firefly a price.
"I'll ask Silver Wolf about it later. Though when I tried contacting her during the day, she ignored me."
"Oh, that."
Kafka seemed to recall something amusing, a happy smile spreading across her face.
"You can ask her about that yourself when the time comes, haha~"
"..."
Sylvia pursed her lips, staring helplessly at Kafka. I didn't know you were the type to keep people in suspense.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kafka noticed Stelle approaching and said to Sylvia:
"This is the final act now, darling. You can wait inside."
Sylvia nodded, not refusing.
Having Stelle alone was enough.
If Sylvia were still there, pretending to be under Kafka's control, wouldn't that just be an open invitation for Jing Yuan to show up immediately?
That would be going too far.
And the subsequent events unfolded much as Sylvia remembered.
After answering Stelle's questions and defeating Yanqing, Blade finally regained his senses.
With that, Kafka's script came to an end.
Blade, for now, had no plans to leave the Xianzhou and instead wanted to meet someone.
--+--
Outside the courtyard.
Kafka saw Sylvia stop walking.
"Are you waiting for Stelle?"
"Of course. After all, I'm the one who brought her here. But Kafka, are you planning to leave alone?"
"Blade said he still has someone to meet. Since it's not part of the script, it means it doesn't matter what I do."
Sylvia nodded, then asked curiously:
"The Xianzhou's starport isn't open yet, is it? Will it be easy for you to leave?"
"Haha~ Are you worried about me, darling?"
Having her intention pointed out so directly was a bit embarrassing, but Sylvia nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Don't worry. Silver Wolf has already arranged a shuttle for me. I just need to leave the Xianzhou."
As she spoke, Kafka raised a hand and waved at Sylvia.
"Then I'll say goodbye for now, darling. I really love the coat you gave me."
Sylvia watched as Kafka quickly disappeared from view. Not long after, Stelle finally finished her conversation with Blade and walked back.
Her head was lowered, deep in thought, as if she'd heard some shocking information from Kafka and Blade.
Sylvia didn't disturb her, simply leading the contemplative Stelle outward, planning to escort her back to the Express first.
She could also grab a meal with the Express crew while she was at it.
Still curious about what Kafka had mentioned regarding Silver Wolf, Sylvia sent another message to Silver Wolf asking about it.
But again, there was no reply.
This kind of situation usually only happened when Silver Wolf was deep into grinding some game.
Sylvia switched apps and checked her friends list on the gaming community.
That's weird. Silver Wolf's gaming account showed she was online, playing one of her usual games.
Her playtime had already surpassed twelve system hours.
The version update wasn't today either—that's still two days away.
Since Sylvia played the game too (though not as much), she was aware of the current state of things.
Recently, the game had been in a "dry spell"—all the new content from the last update had been exhausted.
Right now, it was all about grinding for materials and gear.
For the average player, that would take a lot of time, but for Silver Wolf, she could probably do it blindfolded.
It shouldn't be so demanding that she couldn't spare a moment to reply.
Sylvia scratched her head, deciding to just go find her in the game once she got back.
Just then, Stelle suddenly lifted her head, her gaze intense as she looked at Sylvia.
"Sylvia."
"What is it...?"
Sylvia had been thinking about Silver Wolf.
Stelle's sudden exclamation gave her a start.
"I've been giving serious thought to what Kafka said earlier."
"Mm, and what about what she said?"
Seeing Stelle's serious expression, looking like she'd genuinely pondered it, Sylvia couldn't help but become earnest too.
She wanted to hear what conclusions Stelle had drawn.
Sylvia wasn't entirely clear on how many details had been discussed during their "truth" Q&A.
Mainly because the in-game dialogue options were limited to four choices, and Sylvia hadn't deliberately searched for answers to the other options.
So she didn't have a complete picture of everything that was said.
Sylvia waited for Stelle's answer.
Stelle took a moment to gather her thoughts, then looked at Sylvia with a slightly shy expression.
It made Sylvia feel something was off.
But she couldn't recall anything odd in what Kafka had said.
Soon enough, Sylvia regretted ever thinking Stelle could say something sensible.
Scratching her head, Stelle planted her hands on her hips and declared to Sylvia:
"I think I'm here to join you two! Your relationship with Kafka. Right, ol'—"
Before she could finish, Sylvia raised her fist.
Stelle chuckled, swallowing the last word.
"We've gotten our certificate too!"
"That was in the Simulated Universe. Wait, no, hold on—when did we get a certificate?"
"Just the other day, when I went to test the Simulated Universe again. Hehe~"
"..."
Can we please ask Herta to just delete Aha from the Simulated Universe's underlying code altogether?!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.