『 "Clown?" Stelle felt a twinge of confusion at the word Sampo had uttered.
"Hey now, don't be so impatient! Just let Sampo keep you in suspense for a moment longer!" Sampo replied with a grin, playing coy.
The bodyguard nodded upon hearing this. "Yeah, no problem. I'll go tell her. You guys wait here for a bit."
Having said his piece, the bodyguard turned and walked into the establishment. He emerged a short while later, looking at Sampo. "Got it. She said these alone won't cut it, so she threw in a 'Shattered Dream' for you. Said you'd know what to do with it."
"Oho, Big Sister really thinks of everything! Many thanks, many thanks," Sampo chuckled as he accepted the items.
"Oh my, looks like we're just missing one thing now. We need to find an arcade machine nearby… Oh, would you look at that? What a coincidence, there's one right at the entrance of the salon. Come on, come on, let me show you something fun."
Sampo pointed toward a television set across the way. Hotaru and Stelle looked in that direction and saw an old-fashioned TV displaying a black-and-white image of a cool little figure holding a rocket launcher.
The three of them approached the device. Hotaru stared at the television, which seemed utterly out of place, and asked in puzzlement, "This TV… why has it been dumped on the roadside?"
"Haha, wrong again, Miss Hotaru! This is an arcade machine—not that electronic trash from Punklorde, but a game much more befitting the atmosphere of the Dreamscape!" Sampo explained with a laugh. 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Hm? What do you mean by electronic trash? Do you believe I won't appear in front of you in the next second and leak your entire internet history to the public?
〘Hanabi〙: Uh… haha… I just remembered I left the gas on at the tavern. I'm going back to turn it off.
〘Belle〙: What a ruthless tactic.
〘Stelle〙: Lol, Hanabi just got owned.
....
『 "I say, Miss Stelle, why don't you try touching it and see what happens?" Sampo rubbed his hands together, grinning at Stelle.
"Try it? I'll try it," Stelle declared confidently, crossing her arms.
"Um… I think—just my opinion—there might be something fishy about this TV," Hotaru cautioned Stelle. She wasn't entirely sure herself, but she quickly added a sentence that fully validated Stelle's feelings.
"However, if you want to try, that's fine too… I trust your judgment."
Stelle glanced at the two—or rather, three—people who had all turned to look at her in unison. Even the cool guy with the big nose and sunglasses jittering on the screen seemed to be watching her.
Stelle reached out toward the television. The moment she touched it, there was a flash of white light, and Hotaru and Sampo suddenly grew massive.
No, wait. They didn't get bigger; I got smaller!
Sampo looked at Stelle, who had transformed into Hanu, struggling to suppress his laughter. "…Good heavens!"
Hotaru, on the other hand, was shocked. "Oh my…"
"How did you turn into… that?" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: If I remember correctly, this is a character from the Clockie cartoon.
〘Clockie〙: Tick-tock! That's right, he's Brother Hanu, my very best friend!
〘March 7th〙: Wait, am I seeing things? Is the person speaking up there… Clockie?
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: But isn't he a cartoon character from your world?
〘Herta〙: Your trip to Penacony is certainly interesting; even cartoon characters are manifesting in reality now.
....
『 Having transformed into Brother Hanu, Stelle heard Hotaru's question and replied, "I don't know! What's going on?"
But because Stelle had turned into a cartoon character—specifically, a stoic, silent, werewolf big brother who loved to act cool—her response came out only as a grunt representing her emotions.
Stelle let out a very cool "Hmph."
"You've become so… so cool," Hotaru praised, looking at Stelle.
"You look absolutely terrific right now, my dear!" Sampo exclaimed.
"So, why did she turn into this?" Hotaru asked Sampo, the instigator of this event.
"Don't get it, do you, Miss Hotaru? She was just sucked into the TV and swapped bodies with this Brother Hanu here—hold on, let me take a closer look…"
Sampo walked up to the TV and read the settings displayed on it aloud.
"Look! This thing is called Hanu's Adventure. According to the plot summary, you've been shrunk by Boss Stone's strange device and have to undergo a thrilling adventure, using your tiny body to save the Town of Dreams…"
"Now, you have to complete the things Brother Hanu did in the cartoon—or touch this TV again—to change back." Sampo looked at Stelle and offered two methods for returning to normal.
Stelle wanted very much to say that she would never trust Sampo again, but the words left her mouth as another very cool "Hmph."
Hearing this, Sampo automatically filled in the blanks, assuming Stelle had chosen the first option. He pointed to a grate behind Stelle that looked suspiciously like a sewer entrance, printed with Brother Hanu's portrait.
"Oh, it says here 'Enter the hole to begin the adventure'—clearly, you have to squeeze in there to start your challenge, my dear."
Hotaru looked at Stelle and said, "…We'll be cheering for you."
"Haha, of course—I wish you victory right out of the gate," Sampo laughed.
Stelle let out one final cool "Hmph" before entering the hole. After experiencing quite an adventure, she successfully transformed back.
Hotaru looked at the restored Stelle with concern. "Ah, you're back! Are you alright?"
Stelle shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine. It was actually kind of interesting."
Then, her tone shifted sharply as she turned to question Sampo. "Is there anything you'd like to explain, Sampo?"
"My dear, you performed wonderfully! Look at what this is—'A Moment of Freedom'—you've obtained it."
Sampo pulled out a pair of handcuffs, but one of the cuffs was made of a donut. To mimic the open catch of a real iron cuff, the donut had a bite taken out of it.
"Now everything is ready; all we need is the dream. Follow me, everyone—it's time for you to experience true entertainment!"
Having said this, Sampo led the two to their first destination since Stelle had entered the dream: Dr. Edward's Dreamscape Sales Store. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Round and round we go, back to where we started, I guess.
〘March 7th〙: So the "true entertainment" is a Dream Bubble.
〘Hanabi〙: This isn't just an ordinary Dream Bubble. It's a special Dream Bubble made by yours truly, Hanabi-sama~.
〘March 7th〙: Is there something special about it?
〘Hanabi〙: Just keep watching, and you'll find out.
....
『 "Welcome to the Dreamscape Sales Store. Dr. Edward is dedicated to serving you." Dr. Edward welcomed the three arrivals.
"The Stelle of the Astral Express, we meet again—haha, and you've brought two interesting friends with you!"
"Hi, Dr. Edward. I'd like to treat my friends to something… interesting. You know what I mean." Sampo gave Dr. Edward a knowing look.
"Certainly. Dr. Edward welcomes guests who seek thrills! Shall I read your dream, sir?"
"Yeah, just use mine. The one from last night will do perfectly," Sampo nodded in reply.
"Uh… what is he doing?" Hotaru asked, puzzled.
"Allow me to explain. This is a service our store offers to veteran guests: You can hand over a dream you've recently experienced to me, supplement it with the relevant emotional prototypes, and it can be crafted into a personalized Dream Bubble that can be experienced repeatedly."
"You can do anything you want?" Stelle pressed.
"Correct! Looks like you're catching on. You've had those kinds of dreams where you wake up wishing there was more, haven't you?" Sampo said, looking at Stelle.
Hotaru murmured softly, "A dream where you wish there was more…"
"It seems Miss Hotaru is already eager to try. Don't rush, don't rush. As a demonstration, let's use my dream first to get a feel for it." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: A Masked Fool's dream… feels like it's going to be super abstract…
〘Stelle〙: If it's not abstract, I'm not playing!
....