"Want to take a gamble?" Angel put the question to Laplace.
Laplace turned to Gleipnir.
Gleipnir was the key to whether the relay could succeed, so Laplace left the choice to her.
Gleipnir did not answer at once. She closed her eyes, and a nebula appeared around her.
She seemed to merge with it, giving off an air of profound mystery.
When Gleipnir opened her eyes within the shifting nebula, she finally gave her answer.
"We can try!"
"A new round of challenges has begun! This time, we have an intense relay race!" Under the spotlight, the host, wearing slapdash clown makeup and a bright red suit, shouted with all his might. "And this time, we have new Challengers!"
"Ta-da!"
The host dropped to one knee and pointed both hands theatrically into the darkness.
At his gesture, five spotlights fell from above and illuminated the group.
There was Rabbit Girl in her Black Rabbit costume, Laplace in her Silver Fox costume... and Angel, Gleipnir, and Luigi.
Angel looked calm. He had seen what Laplace had gone through before, so he knew how this prelude to the race worked.
Gleipnir seemed to dislike the harsh light against the darkness. She narrowed her eyes and said nothing.
Only Luigi reveled in being the center of attention. He could not see the audience, but wave after wave of cheers from the darkness made him feel as though he truly stood on a stage before thousands. As a performer, he loved those cheers.
Though Luigi could not move yet, he already wore a practiced smile, nodding to the darkness around him.
Anyone who could hear Luigi's thoughts might have been startled. The little figure in his mind was shouting excitedly, Louder! Yes, that's it! The roar, the cheers! Spin, dance—woohoo!
Luigi was probably