After Stelle left, Sparkle turned her head, looked at Nero, and raised an eyebrow.
"So, little ancestor, what do you think of Penacony's current situation?
"You may not be the one pushed to the front, but in many people's eyes, you're far more dazzling and precious than that gemstone."
Nero looked at Sampo's face in front of him, frowned, and asked, "Can you use your own face?"
Sparkle showed an expression that said, Just as I thought. The next moment, illusory flames rippled through the air, and Sampo's figure disappeared.
In his place was a girl with twin ponytails. She wore a red and white mask on her head, a red dress, wooden sandals, and little bells tied around her ankles with red cords.
Back in her original form, the girl narrowed her light red eyes slightly as she looked at Nero. A smile hung on her face, giving her an unreadable air. She looked quite imposing.
The next moment, however, she raised a hand and rubbed her ear.
She had to admit, when Nero had grabbed her ear earlier, it had really hurt.
"You really don't hold back~" Sparkle looked at Nero, half complaining and half teasing. "Why were you so rough with a coworker, especially a girl? You don't know how to treat a lady with any care at all."
"Who told you to turn into Sampo?" Nero shot back, making it clear that she had it coming.
Sparkle pouted.
"If I didn't turn into Sampo, what better choice was there? It had to be someone all of you knew, and it also had to make sense for them to show up in Penacony. It's not like there are that many useful identities to choose from."
As she spoke, Sparkle walked over and sat beside Nero. Looking up at him, she continued, "Hmm... This time, Sparkle lost the game. Sampo was right, you're not easy to deal with. Little ancestor~ how did you see through Sparkle's disguise?"
There were no outsiders around now. Sparkle didn't need to hurry off to handle the commission she'd accepted, so she simply chatted with Nero, acting the same way she did when she was bragging with the others at the Tavern.
Nero glanced at Sparkle and sat down on the stone edge of the flower bed himself.
As for Sparkle's question, there was no way he was going to tell her, "I know the plot. I transmigrated when I was pulling for you after finishing this part of the story."
Even if he did say it, Sparkle would probably just treat it as entertainment.
She'd probably laugh even harder.
But Nero was a good kid. After being here for so long, he'd gradually realized that even without Secretary Tong, he was still somewhat special.
To protect the locals, there was no need for them to know certain information and knowledge, even individuals with strong acceptance like followers of the Path of Elation.
What kind of information, spoken by what kind of person, would have what degree of impact on a listener's mind was impossible to predict.
If you were lucky, maybe you'd just suffer dizziness and headaches for a day or two, get a nosebleed, and perhaps have some memory loss. If you weren't lucky...
Nero thought of what had happened during the Swarm Disaster experience. One was HooH, and the other was Tayzzyronth.
Neither of those two had ended well in that experience. Although they had only been information models created inside the Simulated Universe, they were enough to illustrate the problem.
A similar warning had also appeared when his soul left his body on the Luofu. Although Aha could be unreliable, sometimes what that guy said really was worth believing.
Nero clearly remembered that during that meeting, Aha hadn't looked directly at him even once.
For Sparkle's sake, Nero didn't answer immediately.
Fortunately, he really did have another way to judge her, so hiding part of the truth wasn't exactly lying.
After a brief silence, he looked at Sparkle and pointed at his own nose.
"I smelled it."
"Smelled?" Sparkle blinked. She remembered that when they had first met, after Nero let go of her ear, he had indeed leaned closer and sniffed.
But that still didn't make sense.
Sparkle considered herself quite familiar with old Sampo. There was no reason she shouldn't have been able to disguise herself perfectly.
"That shouldn't be possible." She shook her head. "Sparkle's Sampo should have been flawless. There's no reason the smell would give me away."
"Different people smell different. There are some very subtle differences." Nero looked at Sparkle and spoke seriously.
He really could do that. After all, he could tell with the naked eye exactly how many hairs Pom-Pom had shed during a fixed period of time, as well as the length of every single one.
Clearly, that frightening physique wasn't limited to his eyesight alone. Perhaps this was one of the benefits of a body forged from Fragments of Beauty.
Seeing the doubtful look on Sparkle's face, he simply held out his hand.
"Smell it yourself and you'll know. The scent on me is definitely different from yours."
Sparkle raised an eyebrow at Nero, but did as he said.
She first lifted her own hand and smelled it, then leaned over and smelled Nero's hand.
A dry, fresh fragrance drifted into her nose. It wasn't strong, but it was distinct, and it was indeed a scent she had never smelled on herself.
Sparkle narrowed her eyes.
The scent was rather pleasant. It would work well whether used for sleeping incense or perfume.
"What brand of perfume do you use?" Sparkle asked, thinking she'd buy a bottle later and study it so she could add another variety to her sleeping incense.
However, the boy beside her shook his head.
"I don't use perfume."
"You don't?" Sparkle froze. "Can someone's body really have this kind of scent naturally?"
Nero didn't seem bothered by her confusion.
"See? I told you people smell different."
Sparkle stared at Nero's face for a long time but couldn't find the slightest trace of a disguise.
That reminded her of what Sampo had said when she suggested making contact with Nero.
His acting is completely natural. You can't tell what's real and what's fake. Everything he says and every expression he makes looks completely genuine.
Judging from how excited Sampo had become the moment he mentioned this kid, he had probably suffered quite a few silent losses at the child's hands.
Still, that guy was living pretty comfortably in the factory now.
Thinking back, Sparkle remembered something else Sampo had mentioned, so she asked Nero, "I heard that guy Sampo say you're on pretty good terms with the God of Elation, and that you even have Their photos. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true!" Nero puffed out his chest and grinned. "Aha is my good brother. Otherwise, how could I use Their name for my factory?"
After saying that, Nero suddenly remembered that he had once sent Sampo Aha's "private photos." Sparkle must have heard about it from Sampo, which was why she brought it up now.
Smiling, he pulled out his phone.
"You want Aha's photos too? Add me, and I'll send them to you!"
"Huh?" Sparkle froze.