Chapter 242: Stelle (Putting on a mask): Robbery
"Support the Cosmic Trash Company meow, support the Cosmic Trash Company thank you meow! Thank you Wolf Lord for the tip, thank you Famous Detective, thank you Galactic Traveler~"
"Sparkle, what are you playing? We have to go."
A massive, golden armored hand abruptly reached into the frame and clamped down on the girl's shoulder. Looking at the distinct, heavy gauntlet on the screen, Rekka's eyes narrowed slightly. The design felt extremely familiar.
It looked exactly like the Emperor of Terra's oversized hand.
"Eh, wait, wait, wait, wait—I haven't played enough yet—" the white-haired version of Sparkle exclaimed, thrashing against the grip.
The stream signal violently glitched, cutting to black. A cold, system-generated message popped up on the screen: This account has been banned.
Rekka leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. The style of that golden glove looked suspiciously like Stelle's handiwork. But the voice protesting in the background didn't sound like her at all.
Who was that?
...Never mind. It wasn't his problem.
"Eh? Why did the stream suddenly end and get banned..." Rozaliya muttered, tilting her head. Beside her, Liliya blinked in equal confusion.
"I'm not sure," Sparkle giggled from across the room.
Then, she paused. Wait. Who was that [Sparkle] on the screen?
Sparkle tapped her chin, pondering the situation. Something felt entirely off; that [Sparkle] definitely wasn't her doing.
"Alright, I admit, I do have an alt account called Sparky," she confessed, waving a hand dismissively. "But that person shouldn't be my virtual avatar. First of all, that [Sparkle] has way too many extra decorations on her, and if you look at the details, she's completely different from my actual online image."
Saying that, Sparkle pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a few times, and shoved her account profile into the twins' faces.
"See for yourselves! Although I can log into this account, I definitely wasn't using it to stream just now, and I don't have any clones running around doing it either!"
"It's really not you?" Rozaliya asked, squinting at the screen.
"I'm skeptical," Liliya deadpanned.
"Skepticism +1," Rekka chimed in without looking up.
"We've shared our hearts! How could you betray me like this?!" Sparkle pointed an accusing finger at them, clutching her chest as if she had been physically struck by their lack of faith.
"Where's the heart-to-heart?" Rekka retorted. "Communicating with you requires keeping eight hundred different schemes in mind at all times."
Sparkle huffed, spinning on her heel and marching out of the room in a theatrical display of offense.
"Forget it," Rekka muttered, returning his attention to his terminal. He was in the middle of an intense round of Galactic Power Scaling Party.
A few minutes later, a rhythmic knocking echoed through his door.
"Big Swindler, open the door. Open up."
It was Sparkle again.
"The door's not locked. Come in yourself," Rekka called out, not taking his eyes off his screen.
Surprisingly, she was actually quite polite about it, pushing the door open normally instead of picking the lock or blowing it off its hinges.
"Rekka, I'll show you something good," Sparkle said, shaking a sleek clothing bag in her hand. The fabric rustled enticingly.
"Not interested."
"Hey, hey, hey—stop playing that Galactic Power Scaling Party," Sparkle whined, leaning over his chair. "Sparkle-sama has a brilliant idea. Let's go tease the little gray-hair! You're a Masked Fool today, after all," she giggled, poking his cheek.
"I gave the mask to Stelle," Rekka replied flatly, finally pausing his game. "Now I am The Fool."
Just a regular fool.
"I don't care if you're a Masked Fool or The Fool, you have to play with me now," Sparkle demanded, crossing her arms. "Think of it as mental compensation for me not finding any fun for so many days and actually becoming the joke myself."
Rekka sighed, rubbing his temples. "...Fine."
"Great! Then I'll go take a shower and change clothes while I'm at it." Sparkle skipped over to his en-suite bathroom, pulled open the door, and turned back to shoot him a highly meaningful, teasing look. "Hmph hmph, don't peek~"
"I won't. There's nothing worth seeing," Rekka replied dryly.
"People who say that usually look the hardest!" she shot back, slamming the door shut.
Soon, the sound of splashing water echoed from the bathroom, accompanied by the muffled, cheerful sound of Sparkle humming a lively tune.
A few minutes later, Sparkle knocked on the inside of the bathroom door.
"You Big Swindler! You Big Swindler!"
"Don't call me Big Swindler."
"Okay, Big Swindler," she chirped. "Alright~ Mr. Rekka! Sparkle is begging you. I accidentally dropped a newly bought stocking outside in the hallway just now. Please go pick it up for me! Thank you!"
Rekka stared at the bathroom door for a long moment. "...Fine."
He stood up and walked toward the main door. Even though he knew with absolute certainty that this might be one of Sparkle's elaborate tricks, he pulled the door open and stepped out into the corridor.
Looking at the situation outside, Rekka fell completely silent.
"Boss, look. Little Blue Light has a mask."
Rekka blinked slowly. "Why do you have Sparkle's stocking on your head?"
"Stelle gave it to me. She said it's a robber's mask," Little Blue Light answered with absolute, innocent honesty, the sheer nylon stretching awkwardly over its small form.
Turning his head, Rekka saw another figure standing a few feet away. She was tall, holding a baseball bat, and had a black stocking pulled entirely over her head, squishing her facial features into an unrecognizable mush.
"Stelle?" Rekka asked, his voice flat.
"How could you recognize me at a single glance?!" Stelle gasped, taking a dramatic step back in sheer shock.
"You..." Rekka started to speak, but the words died in his throat.
Is this really some kind of abstract performance art?
"Why did you think I wouldn't recognize you?" he asked, his expression completely deadpan.
"Because that's how it's always played in movies!" Stelle argued, gesturing wildly with her bat. "As long as you put on glasses, you won't be recognized! Or when the villains in movies put on stockings, they become completely anonymous! I think my current disguise is perfect. Even if March came out here right now, she definitely wouldn't recognize who I am."
"You've been lied to by movies," Rekka stated, his face devoid of all emotion.
Right on cue, the door at the end of the hall slid open, and March 7th stepped out, humming quietly to herself.
"Hello, robbery!" Stelle instantly pivoted, marching right up to March and raising her baseball bat high into the air.
"Argh! A robber! There's a robber on the Astral Express!" March 7th shrieked, turning pale with fright. With a zero-frame startup, the temperature in the hallway plummeted. Frost crackled through the air as she instantly manifested her Six-Phased Ice, forming a giant, jagged ice hammer roughly as tall as a person. She hoisted it up, ready to smash the intruder into frozen dust.
"...Wait!"
March froze mid-swing. She squinted, leaning closer to the masked assailant. Something about this robber seemed a bit off.
Oh, right. The clothes.
"Stelle, why are you dressed like a pervert?" March asked, lowering the massive ice hammer with a heavy sigh.
Seeing the interaction, Little Blue Light—with the stocking still securely fastened over its head—sidled up to Stelle. Following her lead, it raised its two small, glowing hands toward March 7th in an incredibly cute, non-threatening gesture.
"Robbery. Want candy."
A few seconds later, having successfully received a strawberry lollipop from a very confused March, Little Blue Light contentedly pulled the stocking off its head.
In the end, Sparkle only got one of her stockings back.
"Where's the other one?" Sparkle asked, stepping out of the bathroom. She looked like a premium skin straight out of Honkai Impact 3rd, the black and red fabric clinging perfectly to her frame. "Oh~ could it be that you secretly hid it and then pretended to say you couldn't find it?"
Sparkle looked at him as if she had seen right through his soul, the corners of her mouth curling up into a sly, victorious grin. "Don't hide it, bring it out~ If you really like it, I can also give you this black stocking I've worn. I don't mind whether you want to smell it or wear it."
"...Go outside and look, and you'll understand," Rekka sighed, pointing a thumb over his shoulder toward the hallway.
Sparkle stared at him, her pink, star-shaped pupils full of playfulness.
"Could it be that my stocking grew wings? If you really want to collect it, just say so, Rekka. After all, Sparkle-sama isn't that kind of stingy person. It's not impossible to give you an original-flavored one."
Despite her teasing words, Sparkle still padded over to the door, poked her head out, and looked down the hallway in the direction Rekka indicated.
The chaotic sounds of Stelle and Little Blue Light playing a very intense game of robber and police echoed from the far end of the corridor.
"Robbery!" Stelle shouted, sprinting past the doorway. She still had the black stocking pulled tightly over her head, clearly very satisfied with her new, flawless robber's mask.
Sparkle slowly pulled her head back into the room. She closed the door.
"...Sorry, Rekka. I misunderstood you."
Sparkle reached out with utmost solemnity and shook Rekka's hand. It was a handshake worthy of a historical painting—the reconciliation of the century with her 'King'.
But Sparkle decided to let it go. At least this time, she wasn't the one who had become the joke of the Express.
That was pretty good. Pretty good... right?
"I actually don't wear this outfit much~" Sparkle pivoted smoothly, spinning around to let the black and red dress hem shimmer brilliantly under the cabin lights. "But anyway, how is it? Isn't it pretty?" She stuck out her tongue, showing off her new look with a playful wink.
"You look like Kurumi Tokisaki," Rekka noted, leaning back against his desk.
"Then I'll take that as a compliment~" Sparkle beamed, before pausing, her eyes widening slightly. "Wait. You actually didn't snap back at my joke today, and you even praised me... Could it be that you're actually overflowing with sympathy for me? Or..."
"I never said I hated you," Rekka interrupted calmly.
Sparkle froze, her teasing smile faltering for a split second. "...Eh?"
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