"Yahoo~!"
Holding the trophy, Yaoshi tossed it up and caught it again and again, letting out a gleeful squeal each time she caught it.
She had now withdrawn the extra mouths on her body, becoming that harmless-looking girl once more.
"Husband, when shall we join the situation in Penacony?"
"No rush. Things haven't reached the point where we need to step in yet. Just enjoy yourself..." Zhang Xiu tapped his chin.
"Ha, Penacony is so big. We've been having fun for days, and how much have we actually seen?"
He knew full well what sort of storm lay ahead. "These peaceful days won't last long. Firefly and Stelle must be about to enter a deeper Dreamscape, too."
"Stelle, could you come a little closer? I want to ask you something..."
Firefly's somewhat solemn expression and lowered voice alerted Stelle that something was wrong, so she leaned closer to her.
"May I ask... did you come to Penacony alone?"
"My friends went to other Dreamscapes."
"I see." Firefly lowered her head briefly, then raised it again. "You might have noticed already, or perhaps you haven't, but I've been taking you on detours this whole time, visiting all sorts of places. That's because..."
"Because someone is following you." Stelle's eyes widened. She had never realized something like this could happen.
She instinctively tried to turn around and check, but Firefly stopped her. "Don't look back. I'm certain you're his target. He hasn't lost us once since we said goodbye to Mr. Gallagher."
"I wondered whether he might be your friend, but my instincts told me he wasn't."
Under Stelle's gaze, Firefly closed her eyes, then rattled off information about the man as though she had activated a cheat:
"He's about a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, give or take two centimeters.