『 Under Hotaru's lead, Stelle arrived at the Oti Mall. Just as Hotaru was about to start her introduction, she was interrupted by a burst of demonic sound.
"Drink this bottle of SoulGlad, happy sweet dreams arrive so fast~" The demonic and brainwashing advertising jingle sang out from the mouth of a billboard, which walked toward Stelle as it sang.
Stelle sized up the billboard in front of her. She shuffled a step to the left, and the billboard followed her to the left. Then, Stelle turned her head to look at the vehicles speeding rapidly down the road and revealed a mischievous grin. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: You aren't thinking of…
〘Dan Heng〙: It is something she would do.
....
『 Hotaru watched Stelle, who had started playing around, without speaking, simply observing her silently.
Stelle eyed the car in front of her, found the perfect timing, and made a sudden dash, charging to the opposite side of the road.
The billboard behind her, seeing Stelle rush out, followed suit.
Bang—
Billboard, deceased~
Stelle pointed at the fallen billboard on the ground and laughed loudly. Hotaru looked at the laughing Stelle and smiled, "You really have a lot of energy!" 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Are you sure that's not mental illness?
〘SoulGlad Billboard〙: Feed me peanuts! Feed me peanuts!
〘Stelle〙: Why do you have a lisp now?
〘Belle〙: Probably from being angered by you.
....
『 After having her fun, Stelle returned to Hotaru's side and smiled, "Continue the introduction, hehe."
Hotaru smiled and nodded, then looked around at the numerous shops and began to explain.
"Speaking of the first stop for most people after entering the dream, that would naturally be the Oti Mall! The dreamscape sales stores here are super famous. Besides that, there are all kinds of luxury goods, apparel, trendy toy stores, and even car dealerships—as long as you have enough Alfalfa coins, buying anything isn't a problem."
"These items can not only circulate within the dream but can also be brought back to reality through extra services. However, the car dealership's sales window isn't open to the public right now… you'll have to wait for a future opportunity to buy a car."
"Outside the mall is the plaza. Come here—I'll treat you to something delicious~"
Stelle followed Hotaru to a food street.
The two stopped in front of a dessert shop.
"We're here. Hey, have you ever heard of this saying that goes, "In a dream, hunger is the most precious spice?"
"This place has the vast majority of Penacony's specialty delicacies, like Clock Pizza, Oak Cake Rolls, Alfalfa Salad… and the classic SoulGlad! Pick whatever you like, it's my treat!"
Stelle looked at Hotaru, scratched her head, and half-jokingly said, "My consumption level is a bit high…"
"It, it should be fine, right? I still have some savings…" Hotaru said uncertainly.
Stelle walked into the shop with a solemn expression. Discovering that the desserts on the menu were all quite expensive, and thinking that she shouldn't make Hotaru spend too much, she ordered two of the cheapest ice creams. After ordering, she walked out of the shop.
Seeing Stelle come out, Hotaru said, "Did you order? Then I'll pay the bill."
"I like the Oak Cake Rolls from this shop the most; I eat one every day." After saying this, Hotaru laughed happily.
Stelle asked with concern, "Is the calorie count okay?"
"No, no problem! It's in a dream anyway…" Hotaru hurriedly replied.
"Let's eat while we walk, on to the next stop~" 』
『 ....』
〘Belle〙: That is completely the way an old married couple interacts.
〘March 7th〙: So shippable, give me more.
〘Stelle〙: Shipping everything will only harm you.
〘Stelle〙: But please lock this pair down for me!
〘Hotaru〙: Pam_Shy.jpg
〘Hotaru〙: When you come to Penacony, I'll treat you to Oak Cake Rolls~
〘Silver Wolf〙: The air seems to be filled with the sour stench of love. Do you guys have a clue what's going on?
....
『 The two ate as they walked, and Hotaru led Stelle to the center of Clockie Plaza, where a statue of Clockie stood.
"Look, this statue is Penacony's famous cartoon character—Clockie!" Hotaru introduced.
"From Penacony's longest-running, most famous cartoon animation. It tells the adventure stories of the protagonist, Clockie, and his friends living in Dreamville—it has been serialized for over ten thousand episodes to date!"
Stelle looked at the cartoon image in front of her, feeling inexplicably familiar, and retorted, "Is there really no risk with this image…"
"Eh, risk? Why? Clockie is a household name, a big star in Penacony, there shouldn't be any problem… right?"
Hotaru became unsure after Stelle's question. She decided to change the subject and turned to look at Stelle.
"But did you know? It is said that the prototype for Clockie is that famous—Watchmaker."
Stelle asked curiously with eyes as clear as a college student's, "Watchmaker?" 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: I can tell, you've been playing dumb this whole time! Oh you, Stelle!
〘Stelle〙: Do you have any evidence?
〘Hotaru〙: It doesn't matter. If Stelle is willing to listen, I can introduce it a few more times. Besides, I lied to Stelle too, didn't I? This way, we're even.
〘Silver Wolf〙: She's completely immersed in it.
....
『 Hotaru said with a look of astonishment, "Eh? You actually don't know? He is a legendary tycoon in Penacony's history, the founder of the dream world, the person who turned Dreams into reality!"
Then she introduced enthusiastically, "Regarding the Watchmaker's origins, opinions vary: some say he was a traveling merchant from beyond the sky, some say he was a prisoner from a prison planet, and others say the Watchmaker is just a symbol and that such a person doesn't actually exist…"
"No one knows exactly what his background is, but everyone wants to replicate his success and become the next Watchmaker!"
"His deeds spread across the galaxy, causing those with dreams in their hearts to flock here. One banquet after another created the Planet of Festivities we have today. In Penacony, this name is known to everyone, unheard of by none."
"Although the Clockie in the animation is just a reckless braggart… I still believe most in the theory that the Watchmaker was a Nameless! After all, something like reclaiming a dreamscape sounds very Trailblaze!"
Speaking of this, Hotaru seemed to suddenly think of something. She paused for a moment and said excitedly, "Ah! I suddenly realized—if the Watchmaker really was a Nameless, wouldn't he be your senior? Hey, do you want to take a photo with him as a souvenir? I can help you."
"Aha, I know how this goes. You're gonna charge me a lot just for taking the pic, aren't you?" Stelle said fearfully, recalling the forced photo she encountered at the Xianzhou, which cost her several thousand credits.
Hotaru shook her head and said, "Of course not! What were you thinking?"
Stelle switched her phone screen to the camera and handed it to Hotaru. After Hotaru took it, Stelle walked next to the statue, and she heard the statue make a sound.
"Hi! Hi hi hi!"
"Help! Help chirp!"
Stelle looked up at the Clockie statue; the sound seemed to be coming from a moving eyelash…
"Huh, what's wrong? Is there something on Clockie's face?" Hotaru asked, looking at Stelle who had suddenly stared at the statue.
"Help! Help chirp! Chirp me out chirp! Help chirp!" The eyelash issued a cry for help again.
Stelle jumped up and plucked the eyelash out. Subsequently, a small bird appeared, thanked Stelle, and flew away, saying before it left that she could go to a place called the Great Tree to find it for a Reward.
"Clockie's statue… was something wrong with it? Why did you suddenly jump up just now?" Hotaru asked in confusion.
Stelle turned her head and sighed, "So I can still jump…"
Hotaru nodded and said, "Yes, you jumped just now… very suddenly."
"Hmm… since you're okay, let's head to the next stop. It's not far from here, follow me~" 』
『 ....』
〘Herta〙: Interesting. Another thing only the little one can see?
〘Silver Wolf〙: Looks like our character can't jump in the game? Otherwise, It wouldn't emphasize it so many times.
〘Black Swan〙: Currently, the people or things Miss Stelle can see that others cannot are Little Misha and the Origami Bird.
〘Belle〙: I can't see any common ground between them at all.
〘Raiden Mei〙: Indeed, the clues are still too few right now. Let's wait for the light screen to continue playing; we'll find out sooner or later.
....