A Date / I Love Harmony!

Firefly did not seem to care about being a temp worker. The Family was such a massive force that not everyone could become a member. Caelus, on the other hand, felt that the Family was blind. A pretty girl like Firefly was only a temp worker? Maybe she could not rival Robin exactly, but each had her own charm. Caelus chose both.

"Let's not talk about that. I'll show you around. This way."

Firefly waved at Caelus, then led him toward the main street. She suddenly seemed much livelier. Watching her from behind, Caelus noticed a flower-shaped lantern hanging from her lower back, with something glowing inside it. Now he understood why she was called Firefly.

"You introduced yourself. Why didn't you ask my name?"

Caelus caught up to Firefly and asked as he walked beside her. He only had the identity of a Nameless at the moment, yet Firefly had not asked for any details.

"Th-that's because..."

Firefly's expression immediately turned flustered. She looked at Caelus, wanting to explain herself, but she had no idea how to come up with a reasonable excuse. She could only look at him helplessly.

"You already know my name, don't you?" Caelus continued.

"Y-yes. I actually know you."

Firefly felt that forcing an explanation would be worse than simply telling the truth. She nodded in acknowledgment of Caelus's words, though she did not say where she knew him from.

"Though this might be a rude question, are you going to tell me later that you admire the Star Rail Express and want to board it, but couldn't find a way in, so you could only become my family member? Then, because I'm handsome, you fell in love with me at first sight, dated me, got intimate with me, became my wife, and then suddenly betrayed me when Penacony got into trouble, telling me you were actually someone else in disguise and the real Firefly wasn't you—then ran away after scamming me out of money and my body?"

Caelus blurted out everything on his mind in one breath. Firefly merely stared at him blankly. Even with her experience, it was hard for her to understand why Caelus had come up with such an outrageous theory.

"No, no, no! Why would you come up with such an incredible deduction? Do I really look that much like a bad person?"

After recovering, Firefly shook her head repeatedly. Whether she was a bad person or not, at worst she would rob him and kill him. Why would she do something so excessive?

"You don't understand. I've been traumatized by bad women."

Caelus sighed. Firefly felt a little sorry for him. If this had truly happened to Caelus, then he really had been unfortunate.

"Uh, I see. Even if my words might not be very convincing, I swear I will never actively harm you."

Firefly raised her right hand to her chest as she spoke. Seeing her willing to make such a promise, Caelus's doubts eased. He could not let one snakebite make him fear ropes for ten years. Otherwise, would he ever date again? So, he accepted the company of this unfamiliar girl, Firefly.

"For most people, their first stop after entering a dream is naturally the Oti Shopping Center. The dream stores here are incredibly famous."

Firefly led Caelus to the plaza he had passed earlier. Doctor Edward was still embedded in the wall. Firefly was not sure whether it was her imagination, but the huge eyeball seemed to avert its gaze the instant it saw her.

"Besides that, there are all kinds of luxury stores, clothing stores, trendy toy shops, and even dealerships. As long as you have enough Clover Coins, you can buy whatever you want."

Firefly did not pay much attention to Doctor Edward's reaction. She pointed at the shops surrounding the plaza and introduced the concept of Clover Coins. Caelus had no idea what those were; he had always used Credits when buying things before.

"These items can circulate within the dream, and through additional services, they can even be brought back to reality. However, the dealership's sales counter is temporarily closed to the public... We'll just have to wait for another chance to buy a car."

Firefly pointed at the luxury cars displayed near the plaza. They were all capable of flight and looked incredibly cool—the perfect choice for showing off one's wealth.

"They can be brought back to reality?"

Caelus asked in surprise. He had wondered why there were so many shops in the dream, but had not thought much about it at first. He had assumed they were just there for saving progress; after all, the games he played had plenty of shops too.

"Huh? You didn't know? It's explained in the Dream Manual."

Firefly looked at Caelus in surprise as well. She had assumed he certainly knew these things already and had only mentioned them casually, yet it had produced an unexpected effect.

"No, I didn't. If I already knew, wouldn't such a wonderful guide miss have said all that for nothing?" Caelus said with a smile.

"Hehe, you're still as amusing as ever."

Firefly smiled at Caelus's words. She had many secrets, and Caelus knew that she had met him before, but he did not dwell on it.

"Outside the shopping center is the plaza. Come on, I'll treat you to something delicious~"

After showing Caelus around the plaza, Firefly headed down another street. When food came up, her expression brightened. She looked just like an ordinary girl with a keen interest in delicious things.

"Here we are! This place has most of Penacony's specialty foods, like Clockie Pizza, Oak Cake Roll, Clover Salad... and classic SoulGlad! Pick whatever you want—I'm paying!"

Firefly stopped at the entrance of a restaurant. She introduced the menu to Caelus as if reciting treasured items, her tone growing more cheerful. Caelus felt as if he really were on a date with a pretty girl, and he was in an excellent mood.

A Date

"My spending level is a little high," Caelus said honestly.

"Th-that should be okay, right? I still have some savings. Here."

Firefly looked a little uncertain, but she still dug two purple Credit notes out of her wallet and handed them to him. Ten thousand each, twenty thousand in total.

To be honest, Caelus would normally consider this amount of Credits too little even for polishing his shoes. But people gave money its purchasing power, and people could also give it other value—such as emotion. These two Credit notes were Firefly's savings, and now she was using them to treat Caelus to something good. Their meaning had begun to grow heavier.

"Champagne, fries, burgers, pizza, ice cream cones, Oak Cake Roll—I'll take all of it."

Before Firefly could react, Caelus ordered twenty thousand Credits' worth of food. Her savings vanished in an instant. A faint reluctance appeared in Firefly's eyes, but she did not say that Caelus had ordered too much.

"Also, pack ten of every food item in your store for me. Charge this card."

Caelus gave the waiter his additional request, then handed over a black card. The waiter accepted it with a smile and nod, then went to the kitchen to prepare the order.

"Huh? Didn't we agree that I was treating you?"

Seeing Caelus pay with a credit card, Firefly asked in confusion.

"You are treating me. The things we ordered earlier were bought with your money, and I'm not giving it back. It's just more convenient to pay by card."

Caelus folded up the Credits Firefly had given him and slipped them into his pocket. This was Firefly's kindness, so naturally he would not refuse it.

"Is that how it works?"

"You used your pocket money to treat me, so a personal bond has already formed between us. Since courtesy demands reciprocity, I should definitely treat you in return too—whether it's food or going out to have fun together. Don't you agree?"

As Caelus spoke, he extended his right hand to Firefly. Firefly looked at him for a while, then smiled and extended her hand as well. When their palms touched, warmth passed between them. Dreams were truly that real.

"Mm, that's right."

Firefly agreed with Caelus. She had actually been looking forward to forming such a connection with him, but she was rather clumsy and did not know how to do it. Caelus, however, had high emotional intelligence and could guide her.

"What do you like to eat?"

Caelus soon received the food he had ordered. His hands were full of packed containers. These things could be stored in the dream passport, like a magical little pocket dimension, and taken out whenever he wanted.

"Oak Cake Roll. It's my favorite. I have to eat one every day."

Firefly answered without hesitation. It was obvious that she truly loved this cake roll; otherwise, she would not have added two words of emphasis.

"Then this is for you. I think the pizza is pretty good."

Caelus nodded and handed Firefly the cake roll he had bought, while taking a slice of pizza for himself. It really did taste good, and eating in dreams would not make him gain weight.

"Then let's eat as we walk. Hehe."

Firefly held the cake roll in both hands and took a bite before smiling. Caelus followed her again. The two chatted as they ate, and by the time they reached a plaza with a statue, they had just finished their food.

"This way, this way. Look."

Firefly led Caelus beneath the statue, looked up at the black statue more than ten meters tall, and solemnly introduced it to him.

"This statue is Penacony's famous cartoon character—Clock Boy!"

Caelus looked up at the statue before him and felt it was somewhat abstract. It had a thin body with spindly limbs, but an oddly flat head that did not match its body. Its flat face was a clock dial, and its hour and minute hands stuck out from both sides of its nose. That was why it was called Clock Boy.

"It comes from Penacony's longest-running and most famous cartoon series. It tells the story of Clock Boy and his companions living and adventuring in Dreamville, and it has already run for over ten thousand episodes!"

"But do you know? They say Clock Boy was modeled after the famous Clock Keeper."

Firefly was diligently carrying out her duties as a guide, telling Caelus what she knew. Caelus heard the name Clock Keeper, but it meant absolutely nothing to him.

"I don't know. Never heard of him."

"Just as I thought, you really don't care about Penacony at all. He was a legendary tycoon in Penacony's history, the founder of the dream world, the man who turned dreams into reality!"

Firefly explained with a smile. She was not looking down on Caelus's knowledge; she was merely teasing him. Their relationship was gradually moving toward friendship, which was a good sign.

"Now that you put it that way, I get it. So it was him."

Caelus nodded. He only knew that a genius had transformed the prison into modern-day Penacony, but he had not known that genius's name. Now he did.

"There are many theories about the Clock Keeper's identity. Some say he never existed, and there are countless other speculations. But I prefer to believe he was a Nameless—your predecessor, in other words."

"Oh? Your sixth sense is pretty good. A passenger of the Star Rail Express did end their journey here."

Caelus smiled and praised Firefly. He still remembered Pom-Pom's request. Even if someone told him that the Clock Keeper was a Nameless, he would not be surprised. These were all the bonds the Express crew would encounter, just like the bond between him and Firefly.

"Mm, because Trailblazing through dreams sounds very Trailblaze-like, doesn't it?"

Firefly raised both hands and held the statue before her within her palms, her tone full of longing. Caelus could hear it clearly: this girl longed for Trailblazing, for that kind of free and unfettered travel.

"It really is. Ah-Ying, you're a genius," Caelus praised her again.

"What's Ah-Ying? That sounds strange."

Hearing the nickname Caelus had given her, Firefly smiled with her eyes curving into crescents. She did not think it was rude, because she had already secretly learned what kind of person Caelus was.

"It's a nickname. You can call me Ah-Caelus too."

"I won't. That's too intimate."

Firefly raised her eyebrows slightly, stuck out her tongue at Caelus, and made an adorable face. She might look a little silly, but she would not fall for something so easily. As for what happened in the future, that was another matter.

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I Like Harmony!

"Since we have the chance, why don't we take a picture with Clock Boy? Everyone does it."

Firefly somehow produced a camera and asked Caelus what he thought. Since she had put it that way, Caelus naturally did not refuse. He stood beneath Clock Boy and raised one hand in a V sign.

Firefly pressed the shutter, completing the photo of Caelus and Clock Boy. She took out the photograph and gave it to Caelus, but secretly kept a negative for herself, intending to take it back as a memento.

As Caelus examined the photo, he noticed it was somewhat different from the real thing, like one of those spot-the-difference puzzles. He looked up at Clock Boy's statue and discovered that its eyelashes could move, but the eyelashes were absent from the photo. So Caelus jumped on the spot and pulled out the moving eyelashes.

Caelus looked at the thing in his hand. It was actually a piece of paper. Earlier, it had been stuck in a joint of Clock Boy's statue. Now, the paper puffed up as though inflated and turned into a little bird.

"Origami Bird, thank you, chirp. Come beneath the big tree, thank you, chirp."

The Origami Bird flapped its wings at Caelus in thanks, then flew away. Caelus watched the disappearing bird with a strange expression, unable to understand what it was.

"What's wrong? I saw you jump just now."

Firefly approached Caelus and asked curiously. At this distance, Caelus could smell the faint fragrance on her body. He took a deep breath and committed the scent entirely to memory.

"You didn't see it?"

"See what?"

Firefly widened her curious eyes. Her colorful irises looked even prettier now, so Caelus continued explaining.

"There was something called an Origami Bird stuck on the statue just now."

"No, I didn't see anything." Firefly shook her head.

"Was it a hallucination?"

"No, this is a dream to begin with. Everyone has different tolerance for Memory Matter. Maybe some things can only be seen by special people. There are many things in dreams that cannot be explained."

Firefly raised a finger and pointed to Caelus's head as she explained. Caelus felt that made sense. He was no ordinary person to begin with—he was a Stellaron. Was it not perfectly normal for him to see strange things?

"That's true. Rather than thinking about that, we should keep sightseeing."

Caelus quickly forgot about the Origami Bird. It had not tried to hurt him anyway, so it did not matter.

Firefly smiled and led Caelus toward the next scenic spot. It was a floating bridge connecting two streets. Looking ahead from the bridge, they could see a grand structure floating in midair. Caelus felt it looked familiar from afar. It seemed to be the halo floating above Robin's head.

Robin was not human, but a demi-human species known as the Halovian. Though they looked a bit like the angels found in many stories, they had absolutely nothing to do with such things.

"Do you see that building in the distance? That's the famous Grand Theater, another important landmark of Penacony!"

As Caelus's guide, Firefly naturally had the duty of introducing every landmark here. She raised her hand and pointed at the floating building in the sky, telling him of its past and present.

"Don't you think its outline is unique? In reality, it was once Asdana's central prison. The Family renovated it in the dream, transforming it into the dazzling Penacony Grand Theater of today."

"From the moment it was built, the Grand Theater has continuously played hymns of Harmony for the entire dream world."

"No wonder there's background music everywhere. I was wondering where it came from."

Caelus stroked his chin. Firefly gave a soft laugh at his strange remark, then continued.

"At the once-per-Aeon Grand Gala, Family members gather in the theater to welcome the descent of the Choir of Harmony, which blesses Penacony with lasting peace."

"The Choir of Harmony?" Caelus asked curiously.

"Mm, it is the incarnation of Harmony. I've never seen what it looks like either. I've only heard that it might be a band."

"Oh, right. Robin follows the Path of Harmony. I like Harmony."

Caelus nodded. He liked Harmony girls far too much. There was not a single unattractive girl on the Path of Harmony, especially Robin.

Firefly secretly curled her lips at Caelus's words. She did not follow the Path of Harmony, and hearing him say he liked Robin left a bitter taste in her heart. Was she really that inferior?

"Come on. Let's go take a look at Aideen Park."