"How could that be? I really did just get here too."
Dr. Ratio lied without even needing a draft, righteously laying out fabricated facts.
Stelle tossed her already-empty Soolada glass bottle into the trash and walked shoulder to shoulder with Dr. Ratio through Golden Hour.
No matter how many times she had come here, the scenery had never changed. It was still a dazzling dream of bliss, a paradise everyone admired enough to squander their fortunes just to cling to it.
"It really has been a long time, Dr. Ratio."
The Trailblazer flashed Dr. Ratio a playful smile and spotted an ice cream cart parked not far away.
She went over and bought two cones, handing one to Dr. Ratio.
"Since we don't have time for a meal, at least do me the honor of having a little ice cream cone."
An ice-cold ice cream really was quite nice in this weather.
Dr. Ratio accepted it. Judging by color alone, he could not tell what flavor the cone was.
On a whim, he lowered his head and took a lick.
So sweet.
Why was it Soolada-flavored?
At the same time, the Aeon of Elation in the Trailblazer's mind began chattering away again.
Aha: Didn't you say you were going to rest on the express today? I took a lap around the Simulated Universe, and when I came back, I found that you'd gone behind my back and treated a handsome guy to ice cream in Penacony?
Stelle: What do you mean, behind your back? Don't talk like you're some aggrieved spouse! Besides, I hadn't planned on coming to Penacony today. Plans just couldn't keep up with the changes.
Aha: Mm-hm, I see. Well, since we're already here, there's no time like the present. My emissary, let's begin the conquest plan now♪
Stelle: Hey?! Aha, who gave you permission to make decisions on your own?!
No matter how much Stelle denounced that awful Aeon, the facts could not be changed.
The new conquest target had been decided: the man currently standing beside the Trailblazer—Dr. Ratio!
Stelle wore a strange expression as she cursed Aha a few times in her head. When she turned around, she saw Dr. Ratio looking utterly sickened by the sweetness.
What he was holding was... ah, a region-exclusive ice cream flavor that could not be found anywhere but Penacony—Soolada flavor!
Stelle lowered her head and looked at the ice cream in her own hand, which she had already taken one lick from.
It was vanilla, an unremarkable flavor that was not especially stunning but would never be a bad choice.
It looked like Dr. Ratio did not like Soolada flavor very much. Maybe she should trade with him?
As she thought that, her body moved faster than her brain could issue the command. Before she even realized what she had done, the Trailblazer swapped their cones at light speed.
Dr. Ratio looked at the ice cream Stelle had stuffed into his hand. It had clearly been licked once, its top scooped inward with signs of melting.
He looked at the vanilla ice cream in his palm, then at the Soolada ice cream the girl beside him was holding.
Both cones bore clear signs of having been sampled by their previous owners.
Was this...?
An indirect kiss!
Dr. Ratio froze abruptly.
What kind of absurd development was this?
He only saw the Trailblazer as a good friend, but the Trailblazer wanted to win him over?!
A storm of thoughts erupted through Dr. Ratio's mind.
Why, though?
He was not someone people found likable.
Just as Sparkle had said, Cygnians were born liars, thieves, social butterflies, honey-tongued and dagger-hearted—true to every word.
Dr. Ratio had also once said that he was a Cygnian slave with a product code around his neck.
Dr. Ratio knew that too many people respectfully called him an "outstanding elite executive of the Interstellar Peace Corporation" to his face, only to sneer at him behind his back.
If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching the author instead. Maybe it was just renamed!
In truth, Dr. Ratio had never cared. He did not care at all how others judged him. In those dark, endless years of the past, he had already suffered enough. He would never trust humans again.
He firmly believed that no one in this world would sincerely want to get close to him, that no one would be willing to offer him even the slightest bit of love.
Perhaps because he knew Miss Stellaron was too innocent and too kind, he had used lavish spending as a pretext to keep drawing closer to her.
Sometimes, only sometimes.
Dr. Ratio thought that perhaps he was just a little too lonely.
And the Trailblazer was, clearly, the person best suited to be his friend.
Stelle would never say anything excessive. She even treated him to ice cream, and when she saw that he did not like Soolada flavor, she did not mind an indirect kiss in the slightest as she traded with him.
Dr. Ratio blinked hard.
Did Penacony have wind too?
It probably did.
Otherwise, why did Dr. Ratio's eyes feel a little sore, a little red?
It had to be the wind.
He lowered his head, as though trying to hide some emotion, and took a huge bite out of the melting top of the ice cream.
It was delicious.
Dr. Ratio thought. Ever since his net worth had exceeded a hundred million, he had eaten countless premium delicacies.
Yet now he discovered that the most delicious ice cream actually came from one of Penacony's most commonplace mobile carts?
The most important reason was that the Trailblazer had bought it.
Because the Trailblazer had bought it, it was exceptionally delicious.
Dr. Ratio sped up his consumption of the ice cream.
He had to finish it quickly, or it would all melt.
He could not waste the Trailblazer's kindness.
"Is vanilla really that good?"
Watching Dr. Ratio devour the ice cream in huge bites, the Trailblazer could not help murmuring inwardly.
She had seen Dr. Ratio briefly space out after accepting the vanilla ice cream.
At that moment, Stelle suddenly realized that swapping them had been somewhat inappropriate.
How should she put it? From the perspective of two people of opposite sexes, it was a little inappropriate.
But from the perspective of conquest, it could not have been more appropriate.
She practically wished she could do something to close the distance between them!
But seeing Dr. Ratio's stunned expression, she had originally wanted to play coy and cover it up, saying something high-minded and polite like, "Ah, sorry, I didn't think it through. I'll go buy another one."
But before the words could leave her mouth, Dr. Ratio had already polished it off at lightning speed as though he had never eaten ice cream in his life?!
Looks like Dr. Ratio really liked vanilla.
That was the only conclusion Stelle reached.
Mm, he must have a particular fondness for vanilla, which was why he loved it so much.
Yes, that had to be it!
The two of them were completely not on the same wavelength.
But the result was good.
For now, Dr. Ratio believed that the Trailblazer was interested in him, while the Trailblazer...
Really was interested in Dr. Ratio.
Meanwhile, the Trailblazer was still urgently seeking Aha's help in her mind.
Stelle: What should I do, Aha? How am I supposed to move someone like Dr. Ratio, a wealthy company executive? He probably doesn't care about anything, does he?
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