"What's wrong, Firefly?" Stelle blinked innocently.
"...Nothing." Steam rose from Firefly's head. "Let's keep going."
With her leading the way, they continued forward, winding past numerous forks.
The Sewer was covered in all kinds of graffiti, standing silently on the walls beneath lights that flickered between bright and dim.
Eventually, they stepped into darkness again, then gradually climbed back up to the surface.
Strangely enough, they emerged onto a rooftop, where a cluster of billboards stood.
By now, Firefly seemed to have calmed down. The blush had faded from her face, but she still hardly dared look at Stelle.
Stelle felt awkward too. She had never expected an instinctive gesture to make the atmosphere between them so strained...
Some tourists had also come through other passages to admire the view here, and The Family had even installed Telescopes specifically for them.
Firefly walked to the edge of the rooftop and rested both hands on the railing.
"...Look. It's beautiful here, isn't it?"
"Normally, tourists aren't allowed up here, so we need to be a little careful."
"Then who are they...?" Stelle glanced sideways, signaling that Firefly shouldn't overlook the other people.
"That's why I said normally... This isn't a dangerous area. It's the border of Golden Hour. The Family is still building the Dreamscape farther out."
Stelle walked over to Firefly's side and took in the forest of towering buildings before them.
Clusters of lofty buildings rose in layers across this world. In the farthest reaches, one building even stood silently beyond the sky, touching the world outside.
"And my secret base is in there." Firefly looked behind her.
"Let's sneak inside."
But they had only rounded a corner when a member of the Hound Family, positioned just out of sight, stopped them.
"Excuse me, ladies. The area ahead is