Sylvia returned to her room and entered the dreamscape.
Mei had found a place to drink in the Golden Hour. By the time Sylvia tracked her down, several glasses were already scattered across the table.
"Drinking already? You didn't waste any time."
Sylvia sat down next to Mei, reaching over to snag her glass and take a sip. The flavor was a bit too strong, not really Sylvia's type.
"I just happened to wander over here. Are you done talking with Miss Robin?"
Mei didn't seem to mind having her glass snatched away.
Sylvia nodded and said, "Yeah, I managed to glean some rather interesting information. I'll fill you in on the details later. This drink of yours doesn't taste all that great, though."
Mei nodded, taking the glass back from Sylvia's hand. "I prefer strong flavors."
Despite her words, Mei narrowed her eyes slightly, letting the liquor linger in her mouth before slowly swallowing it.
Seeing this, Sylvia reached out and snatched it right back. "Robin heard you arrived and said she wanted to come over and meet you. Do you mind?"
"Either way is fine. Where are we going?"
"The Moment of Blue Hour."
As soon as she finished speaking, Sylvia tilted her head back and drained the rest of Mei's drink, tipping the remaining ice cubes into her mouth and crunching on them.
Mei shook her head helplessly. Stealing a drink right out of her hand like that—how childish could she get? Then, she picked out an ice cube of her own, popped it into her mouth, and joined Sylvia in crunching away.
"Come to think of it, I only took a quick look at the Blue Hour before leaving last time," Sylvia remarked. "Going to a ball when you don't know a single soul is honestly a bit weird."
Of course, the main reason was that she had been hit on by quite a few men the moment she walked in. It had been an incredibly awkward situation for Sylvia to handle, so she left shortly after arriving.
It easily ranked as one of her biggest failures. Still, if she told Mei about that, Mei would definitely be upset, so it was better to keep it to herself.
Recalling what she knew about the Blue Hour, Mei looked at Sylvia with curiosity. "The Blue Hour, huh? Do you even know how to dance?"
Granted, in this grand cosmic era, the variety of dances performed at balls was immense, but she had genuinely never seen Sylvia dance before.
Sylvia simply shrugged and said with a smile, "I don't, but I can learn on the spot. Robin definitely knows how, and it's not like the steps are going to be that complicated."
--+--
The Radiant Feldspar.
It was a massive cruise ship sailing across the ocean of memoria. Inside the vessel, a grand and spectacular ball was permanently underway.
Having received a message from Robin, Sylvia and Mei located her resting in a booth right next to the dance floor. Robin had already changed into a gorgeous blue evening gown and was waiting for them.
The moment Sylvia came into view, Robin stood up. Her eyes locked onto Sylvia, and a bright smile bloomed across her face.
"You're finally here, Sylvia! And hello to Sylvia's friend. I'm Robin."
"Hello. I am a Galaxy Ranger, Acheron."
"Would you like something to drink first?" Robin picked up a couple of goblets nearby and handed them to the pair, offering an apologetic smile.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I took the liberty of ordering my favorite flavor."
"It's fine." Sylvia lowered her head and took a sip. It had a refreshing fragrance that was exactly to her liking. "This tastes great. What's the name of this drink?"
"A Resplendent Rendezvous." Robin winked at Sylvia.
"What a fitting name." Sylvia took Mei's hand and sat down opposite Robin, in no rush to join the dance floor just yet.
Mei knit her brows slightly as she tasted the beverage. It was richly sweet yet crisp on the palate.
It wasn't that it tasted bad, but after hearing Sylvia's reaction just now, Mei inexplicably found herself disliking the drink.
"You've been helping me all this time, yet I haven't even given you a proper chance to unwind here in Penacony," Robin said warmly, raising her glass. "Let's have a drink first and soak in the atmosphere. It might be a little noisy, but sitting in a quiet corner like this is actually quite nice."
"Cheers!"
Sylvia and Acheron raised their glasses, clinking them together.
"Come to think of it, Miss Acheron seems to have arrived with Sylvia. Are you two traveling together lately?" Robin asked curiously as she sipped her drink.
Sylvia usually preferred to operate alone, so bringing someone along was a rare sight, which naturally piqued Robin's curiosity.
"Yes, I boarded Sylvia's Astral Express."
"Oh? Has that train from last time already been repaired? Can I go see it?" Robin instantly realized which train she was talking about. After all, she had been one of the people who helped discover it.
Hearing that the train was fully operational again immediately sparked her interest.
"Of course, of course! I even kept a room reserved just for you," Sylvia welcomed her warmly. "If you ever feel tired in the future, you're welcome to come aboard the train anytime to relax."
While Robin's direct combat capabilities might not be extraordinary, her supportive abilities using the power of Harmony were definitely the real deal. Sylvia was more than happy to welcome a beautiful girl onto her train.
"Thank you, I'll definitely visit," Robin replied. Then, Sparkle suddenly crossed her mind. "By the way, does Sparkle know the train has been repaired?"
"I haven't even seen where she's run off to. Her account is always impossible to reach," Sylvia muttered, pouting helplessly.
Sparkle was simply too elusive. Her contact information was real, but she was rarely online, making her completely impossible to track down.
Robin smiled softly. Sparkle was indeed like that. When she wanted to find you, you'd turn around and she'd be right there; when she didn't want to be found, she vanished entirely from the face of the universe.
They chatted in the booth for a while longer. Seeing that Mei had drained her glass in just a few gulps, Sylvia offered a helpless invitation.
"Why are you drinking so fast? Are you that eager to teach me how to dance?"
Clink.
The glass met the table with a sharp, crisp sound.
Mei offered a knowing smile but said nothing. Instead, she stood up and extended her hand toward Sylvia. Her meaning was unmistakable.
Sitting across from them, Robin watched their interaction with great interest, silently guessing the nature of the relationship between Sylvia and this Miss Acheron.
In Robin's eyes, Miss Acheron rarely showed much expression when facing anyone other than Sylvia, usually maintaining a somewhat blank, stoic look.
Yet, the moment Sylvia spoke, or whenever Miss Acheron looked at her, that otherwise hollow expression instantly softened into something incredibly tender. A smile would even grace the corners of her lips.
Just like a moment ago, when Sylvia extended her invitation—Robin had clearly caught the fleeting smile that danced on Acheron's lips.
"My... it seems Miss Acheron trusts you implicitly, Sylvia," Robin remarked with a smile, looking at their joined hands.
Being called out so blatantly about their closeness made Sylvia feel a bit shy and embarrassed.
Mei, however, was far more candid. For the first time, she looked at Robin with a smile—though it was perfectly clear that the smile hadn't bloomed for Robin's benefit.
"Yes. To me, Sylvia is someone of utmost importance."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL