Both Robin and Sylvia knew it.
As a superstar, acting and keeping her emotions in check were basic job skills for Robin. But still, that reaction just now hadn't been something she'd put on for Sylvia.
She'd only let her guard down because they were alone, and that was why she'd slipped up.
Yet the more Robin thought about it, the more that excuse sounded like something she'd made up to act cute and make Sylvia stay.
To be fair, if she were Sylvia and saw someone act like that, Robin would've thought the other person was putting on a show too. After all, she'd been a superstar for so many years. How could she fail at controlling her own face?
Ugh.
Robin gave a sad little whimper in her heart, then looked at Sylvia with care. "Would you believe me if I said I didn't do that on purpose?"
Her voice had so little force behind it that even she began to doubt herself. Had that whole chain of reactions just been her body acting on the professional instincts of a superstar? Had it all come out on its own?
"I believe you."
Just as Robin started to spiral, Sylvia's voice pulled her back to the present. "Huh?"
That bright, easy tone had no trace of doubt in it, as if Sylvia hadn't hesitated over the question at all. Even Robin failed to react for a moment.
Or rather, when Robin herself didn't even trust her own answer, why could Sylvia believe her with such firm ease?
Robin opened her mouth, but she didn't ask. She only looked at Sylvia's face, then her eyes, and couldn't help raising a hand to pinch her cheek.
After that, she lowered her gaze a little and smiled with a warmth that could melt someone.
"Thank you."
Sylvia scratched her hair. That thanks felt a bit out of nowhere. Robin's question just now, of course, hadn't been a big deal to her.
Robin just wasn't the sort of girl who played the sly little devil. If she were that kind of person, she would've slipped up long ago during all those times they'd been alone together. Why would it only happen now?
Sylvia didn't get it, but she still smiled and nodded at Robin. She hadn't sensed the little essay running through Robin's head at all. She hadn't even taken it to heart.
She only thought Robin, with all those rich expressions, looked so fine and pretty that she'd almost been charmed right in.
"Well... once I find Mei, I'll go back to reality and visit you. Don't miss me too much."
Robin blushed and pushed Sylvia's shoulder. Her watery eyes seemed like they could speak, and they glared right at Sylvia.
What was that supposed to mean? What kind of thing was that to say? She made it sound like Robin was some little girl who couldn't stand being lonely.
Though, yes, Robin did think being alone was boring, and she'd be glad if Sylvia came to keep her company. But that wasn't the same thing. It was not the same thing at all. It was not, not, not because she was scared of being lonely and wanted Sylvia with her!
Just from looking into Robin's eyes, Sylvia felt as if she could hear her grumbling beside her ear.
The corners of her mouth rose before she could stop them. Seeing Robin's gaze turn sharp, Sylvia raised both hands at once.
"Then I'll go find Mei first. You should hurry back to reality and get some rest."
With that, Sylvia walked off with a grin. Robin watched her go until Sleepie took her away from Dreamflux Reef. Then Robin rubbed her still-warm cheeks and sighed.
"Honestly... how am I supposed to get along with her? I don't even have anyone I can talk to about this..."
For the first time, Robin found herself troubled by feelings like these. She couldn't go to a coworker for advice, and she couldn't tell her brother about something so private.
The only person she could let her guard down around was Sylvia, the very cause of all this unrest.
As for Miss Sparkle, Robin skipped over her as soon as she remembered the woman was one of the Masked Fools. Who knew whether Sparkle would turn around and turn it into some cheap rumor, then spread the news of "Robin's romance" across the skies? Just thinking about it was scary.
Robin let out a quiet sigh. After she sorted the files on the table, she left at an easy pace.
--+--
On the other side, Sleepie sent Sylvia to the place where Mei had gotten off earlier.
"Mei went this way before?"
Sylvia pointed in one direction, then turned to look at Sleepie, whose head poked out from the shadows.
"~"
After getting Sleepie's answer, Sylvia followed that corridor out. The closed-off Reverie in the Dreamscape had warped space, and there were also out-of-control members of the Dreamjolt Troupe wandering around.
Of course, none of that counted as trouble for Sylvia. She used a bit of stealth and slipped around the small things blocking the way.
"No clue where Mei ran off to. If I make a round and still can't find her, I'll head out and send her a message."
It wasn't that she was all that worried about Mei's safety.
After winding through the place for a while, Sylvia reached the bar of The Reverie.
She thought it would be an abandoned bar, but not only was it quite clean, there was also a Halovian woman behind the counter greeting her.
"You should be a guest this time, right? Hello, welcome to Dreamjolt Hostelry. What would you like to drink? I'm Siobhan, the one in charge here."
There was also a middle-aged man sitting at the bar with a glass in hand.
"What's going on today? This damned place doesn't see a soul all year, and now people keep showing up one after another."
"Gallagher?"
Sylvia raised a brow, then walked over and sat in front of Siobhan. "It's my first time here. Could I have something sweet and refreshing?"
"Of course. I'll recommend something for you."
Siobhan didn't turn her away. She soon got to work behind the bar. As for Sylvia, she asked after Mei at once.
"Gallagher, have you seen anyone else here? Did you see Acheron?"
"The one who's always by your side? Saw her. She passed by with a woman called Black Swan. I was going to offer her a drink, but she walked right off."
Gallagher shrugged and smiled. The hand holding his glass lifted one finger and pointed in a certain direction.
Black Swan? Mei had already met Black Swan? Then why hadn't she gone back to Dreamflux Reef to find her?
Whatever. At this point, she might as well have a drink first.
Sylvia looked at the stemmed glass Siobhan set in front of her, and at the pretty liquid inside it.
"Here you are. One Sweetened Mood."
"Thanks."
Sylvia picked up the glass and took a sip. Mm, it was good. Next time, she'd bring Mei here to try it.
Thinking that, Sylvia took another sip.
--+--
At the same time, in some corner of The Reverie near the edge of the Dreamscape...
Clang.
Mei sheathed her blade. Along with the bug's harsh shriek, some unseen thing died.
"...No idea where that bug was hiding. How did it get merged into the Synesthesia Dreamscape?"
Mei hadn't gone back for two reasons. For one, Sylvia still had things to handle, and Mei herself hadn't had a good look around Penacony yet, so she'd planned to wander a little. For another, she'd noticed some strange movements in this place.
The beat of wings, for example. Strange whispers, too. Out of curiosity, she'd followed them all the way here.
In the end, Mei found that some bugs from who knew where must've been active in the Asdana Star System. Then, for some unknown reason, their dream and mental link had reached Penacony.
Mei hadn't found much yet. But with things like the Swarm, if you found one, that meant this damned place had at least a whole nest hidden somewhere. Worse, it might even be a swarm led by a Swarm King.
"Does the Family know about this?"
Mei looked toward the end of the warped space for a moment, then turned and left. If she kept going, she'd leave this dream and enter the sea of Memoria.
The trail should've led outside. Even so, Mei stopped. She'd only taken some free time to look around, and there wasn't even a phone signal here.
At the very least, she had to go back and tell Sylvia before deciding what to do next.
--+--
Sylvia was still drinking at Dreamjolt Hostelry.
Gallagher and Siobhan both seemed to have seen a lot. After chatting with them for a while, Sylvia found herself hooked. She heard plenty of gossip about things that had happened in Penacony.
At least Gallagher really did know a lot. He could say a few words about many things in Penacony.
In that sense, though Sylvia had decent strength, she'd been in this world for less than a year, and she'd only visited a handful of planets. She couldn't compare with someone like Gallagher, whose age was anyone's guess.
Mei pushed open the door at the end of the corridor and followed her memory back to that bar. She'd planned to taste what this strange place had to offer. If it was good, she'd bring Sylvia over to support the place.
Yet after she stepped inside, she saw Sylvia already sitting at the bar, deep in cheerful conversation with the owner named Siobhan.
"Sylvia? How did you find this place?"
"Hm? Mei! You came back by a different route?"
Sylvia heard her name and turned around. Who else could it be but Mei?
"I went looking for you after things at Dreamflux Reef were done. You took so long to come back that I was scared you'd gotten lost."
At Sylvia's teasing, the corners of Mei's mouth curved a little. Lost, huh. The old her had been quite prone to that.
Places she'd passed through and sights she'd seen had slipped from her mind before she knew it. As a result, if the roads were even a bit complex, she could end up circling around. But now, that wouldn't happen.
"I only found something odd, so I went over to take a look."
As Mei answered, she walked over and sat right beside Sylvia. As usual, Siobhan asked what she wanted to drink. Mei only said she wanted one of the house specials.
Once Mei finished ordering, Sylvia asked, "What kind of odd thing? This place has never lacked odd things."
"Mm... I found some traces of the Swarm. I didn't see it, but I should've cut down a bug."
"Huh?"
Sylvia froze. Why would the Swarm be in Penacony too?
She didn't doubt what Mei said was true. Sylvia didn't know much about the types of Swarm bugs, but the True Sting alone had the power to cause illusions.
If they could drag people into the Synesthesia Dreamscape, then of course a bug could sneak into this dream.
"Miss Acheron, did a bug enter the dream?"
Behind Sylvia, Gallagher couldn't hold back and joined the talk. This wasn't something to joke about. If a bug had really entered the dream too, then Dreamflux Reef, which had almost no defenses, could suffer for it.
Even Siobhan frowned and looked at Mei, as if she wanted to confirm the answer.
Mei thought for a moment, then said, "It shouldn't have. I didn't see any Scions of Propagation in the dream. I only caught some traces leaking in. I followed them and struck the bug outside the dream."
At that point, Mei tilted her head and looked past Sylvia at Gallagher. "Mr. Gallagher, does the Bloodhound Family really not know whether there's a swarm lying hidden in the Asdana star system?"
"Hah. Good question. The Family should've collected a few strange objects, but odds are they haven't found the target."
Gallagher lifted his head and took a drink. Penacony's peace was the most important thing to the Family. If the Family had truly found a swarm in the Asdana star system, they wouldn't leave it hiding here.
The only explanation was that the Family truly couldn't find it.
Mei nodded and said no more. The Swarm was the sort of thing everyone hated. If she ran into it, there was no harm in cleaning it up.
The bar fell quiet for a short while. Soon, Siobhan's recommended drink reached Mei. Sylvia didn't ask why Siobhan had nothing better to do than open a bar in a place like this. Who was this damned place even meant to serve? The Bloodhounds investigating The Reverie?
Holding that question in mind, Sylvia and Mei said goodbye once Mei finished her drink.
"How did it go?"
There had been other people at the bar, so Mei hadn't asked about the details. Only after they'd left the hall behind did she ask what Sylvia had gained today.
"Pretty well. At least near the accretion disk, I found the Stellaron's power. The information was right."
"That's good. Where are you going next?"
"Back to reality first. Robin's been busy for so many days, and she needs rest. Do you want to..."
Sylvia tried inviting Mei, but Mei only shook her head.
"I was planning to go take a good look around the Twelve Hours. I've been in Penacony for so long, but I've never truly seen what this sweet dream is like."
Robin had most likely invited only Sylvia. Though Sylvia hadn't said it, Mei guessed it with ease. Mei wasn't afraid of things getting awkward, but Robin was another matter.
Robin had worked hard lately. It was better to let her rest. That was what Mei thought.
And besides, she did want to see whether the dream of the Twelve Hours was as beautiful as the rumors said. Or whether beneath its lovely shell, it was a nightmare full of conflict.
Sylvia studied Mei's face. In her heart, she tried to guess whether Mei was being considerate of her, or if she really did want to walk around. But that was a shame. Mei's face showed little to begin with.
If she didn't want Sylvia to notice something, Sylvia would have a hard time finding a flaw.
"All right. Hurry along, then. I only want to see whether this dream is worth saving."
Mei raised a hand and rubbed Sylvia's head. Penacony, drowning in luxury and pleasure, was the kind of place where people fled from reality. It was hard to imagine such a place not drifting toward Nihility.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL