『 Hotaru led Stelle to a scenic overlook. Standing there and looking upwards, they could see a theater suspended in the air. It was grand and luxurious, emanating a faint blue glow. Not far away, there were telescopes provided for guests to view the Grand Theater.
Hotaru leaned against the railing, pointing at the distant theater, and said to Stelle, "Do you see that building in the distance? That is the famous Grand Theater — another important landmark of Penacony!"
"Don't you think its silhouette is quite unique? That's because, in reality, it used to be the Central Prison of Asdana. The Family renovated it within the Dreamscape, transforming it into the radiant Penacony Grand Theater we see today."
"From the moment it was completed, the Grand Theater has constantly played the 'Ode to Harmony' for the entire Dreamscape world."
"And during the Charmony Festival, held once every era, members of The Family gather in the theater to welcome the descent of the Harmonious Choir, bringing blessings of eternal peace to Penacony."
"The place where we are standing right now is the best viewing spot in the Golden Hour! Look, they've even set up telescopes here! The Charmony Festival for this era is about to open soon, so remember to come here early to save a spot, okay?"
Stelle smiled and nodded, indicating she would. Hotaru took Stelle's hand and smiled, "We're done looking here, let's go to the next place. There are lots of entertainment facilities there; there's bound to be something you like."
Hotaru held Stelle's hand and led her toward the next location. Stelle didn't say a word the whole way; she just kept looking at the girl pulling her forward, thinking to herself that it would be wonderful if time could stop right at this moment. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: She's completely fallen for her…
〘Elysia〙: But if it's a beautiful girl like Miss Hotaru, even I would fall for her♪.
....
『 Hotaru brought Stelle to a large park. In the distance, there was a giant soda bottle that sprayed soda every few seconds, accompanied by a crisp pop sound. In the sky, there were rainbow-colored musical scores with notes flickering in and out of sight.
Hotaru let go of Stelle's hand and smiled as she introduced the place to her, "This is the largest park in the Golden Hour, and also the symbol of Penacony's soda culture."
Speaking of which, she pointed to the soda bottle still spraying in the distance and said, "Look, that super-giant soda bottle is the headquarters of the SoulGlad Enterprise!" 』
『 ....』
〘Fu Xuan〙: Spraying soda every few seconds, plus that popping sound… can anyone really work in a place like that?
〘Topaz〙: Maybe it improves employee focus? That's a decent idea, I'll make a note of it.
....
『 "It is said that SoulGlad originated from a sweet medicinal water popular during the prison era, invented by Mr. Sousa, hence the name Sousa Juice. Later, the interstellar merchant Aideen discovered the business opportunity within it and bought the formula for Sousa Juice. He injected a large amount of bubbles into it, renamed it SoulGlad, and created Syrupism— claiming that drinking SoulGlad is a brand-new way of life, and used this to create the commercial miracle we see today."
"Did you know? In the original formula for Sousa Juice, there was an ingredient called Dreamleaf that went completely extinct. So now, you can only taste the flavor of Original SoulGlad within Penacony's dream."
"And only here can you fully understand the true core of Syrupism…"
Hotaru suddenly paused mid-sentence, her eyes becoming cautious as she glanced sharply at a spot behind Stelle.
Stelle, noticing Hotaru's strange behavior, asked, "Is something wrong?"
Hearing Stelle's question, Hotaru turned back and flashed a perfectly measured smile at her.
"No time to lose, let me show you around!"
With that, Hotaru took Stelle's hand. As she was pulled away, Stelle looked back but didn't notice anything unusual. 』
『 ....』
〘Trigger〙: They are being followed.
〘Belle〙: Eh? Trigger, you can see the light screen too?
〘Trigger〙: Yes, Manager. I was also quite surprised when I first saw the light screen.
〘March 7th〙: Being followed?
〘Trigger〙: Yes, this is a soldier's intuition.
....
『 Hotaru took Stelle to the park manager, and using Stelle's Dream Passport, they obtained ten tokens.
Hotaru smiled politely at the manager, "Thank you."
Then she turned to Stelle and said, "Let's hurry and try out the nearby attractions. The goal is tentatively set to — spend all the tokens!"
"Play hard, party hard!" Stelle laughed with her hands on her hips.
"Yay, play hard, party hard!" Hotaru let out an incredibly cute cheer. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: I'M DYING AWSL(ah I'm dead)!
〘Hotaru〙: Hmm? What's wrong?
〘Silver Wolf〙: This is really… surprising.
....
『 And so, the two arrived in front of the most tense and exciting project: Dreamscape Slots!
Watching the constantly spinning numbers, their moods fluctuated along with them. This was probably the attraction of such projects: uncertainty.
Although most of what the two spun were small prizes, they were very happy because they were with each other. 』
『 ....』
〘Aventurine〙: Friend, next time you play this, remember to bring me along. I guarantee you'll make a fortune every single time.
〘Topaz〙: Then please explain the situation with the stocks last time.
〘Aventurine〙: That was definitely a setup by capital.
....
『 When Stelle spun a grand prize, Hotaru clapped her hands happily and looked at her with admiration, "Wow, you're so lucky."
Stelle waved her hand proudly, "Average, average, third best in the world~"
Hotaru looked at the goofy Stelle and smiled, "The tokens are all used up. Let's go to the bar over there; I have something I want to tell you."
After saying this, Hotaru reached out her hand to Stelle, but because she had forcefully pulled Stelle the last time they held hands, she hesitated and started to pull her hand back.
However, in the process of retracting it, Stelle's hand grabbed hers. Hotaru looked up to see Stelle beaming a ten-billion-point smile at her.
Feeling the warmth on her hand, Hotaru said nothing, simply returning a smile to Stelle. Then, hand in hand, the two walked toward the bar not far away. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: You two are already so sweet you don't know which way is up.
〘Elysia〙: The bond between girls is truly wonderful♪.
〘Pardofelis〙: Sister Ellie, say what you want, but don't rub my head! Isn't Can right next to you?
〘Eden〙: Can has run into my arms.
....
『 The two arrived at the bar and stopped. Hotaru looked at Stelle and asked, "Did you have fun?"
"This land of dreams — Penacony — the Golden Hour, it's pretty great, isn't it?"
Even though she had been very happy just a moment ago, Hotaru spoke these words with a trace of sadness in her tone. Stelle sensed that hint of sorrow.
"You sound a little sad… why?"
Hotaru shook her head and replied, "I wouldn't say sad. It's just… this dreamscape is too philanthropic, too tolerant."
"It is vast and deep, like an ocean, where even obscure little nobodies can sleep peacefully within it."
"I am truly grateful that you chose to help. Because of that, I could introduce this paradise to you — it is willing to accept me, even though I don't belong here. I love it too, which is why I wanted to… share it with others."
Stelle chose to continue playing dumb, "Aren't you a local?"
Hotaru smiled upon hearing this, "I am… at least for now…" 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: She knows, she knows, and she also knows that she knows.
〘Li Sushang〙: Oh, oh, oh! I know this one. Mother said it before, this is called 'Xing Zhao Bu Xuan' (Fortunate Zhao Not Hanging)..
〘Dr. Ratio〙: …, it is 'Xin Zhao Bu Xuan' (Tacit Understanding) .
〘Li Sushang〙: Oh right, right, right, it's that 'Xing Zhao Bu Xuan' (Fortunate Zhao Not Hanging).
〘Aventurine〙: Looks like the Professor needs to put on his plaster head.
....