Chapter 43

and then stopped in her tracks.

"Hey, let me ask you..."

"Is your way of attracting a girl's attention by blatantly following her? It's been almost half a system hour."

The girl turned around,

and said to the man in front of her.

And this man was exactly Aventurine.

"To be precise, it's 45 minutes. Happy times always pass quickly, don't they?"

Furina: "Aventurine, that big villain, has appeared again!"

Furina: "This time, he's actually following such a cute girl?"

Furina: "Could it be that besides being a villain, Aventurine is also a big pervert?!"

Furina: "This is too scary!"

Seele: "Pah, shameless!"

Paimon: "Aventurine, he wouldn't really be planning to do something bad to this girl, right?"

Topaz: "Uh... it shouldn't go that far."

Topaz: "Although his actions have some problems, he is not a pervert."

Aventurine: "Oh my, being able to hear a colleague help me defend myself makes me so excited."

Stelle: "Then what is Aventurine doing?"

March 7th: "You'll know if you keep watching!"

In the video.

"Heh, little peacock... you have a pair of beautiful eyes. Is your hometown in Sigonia?"

The girl was not afraid of Aventurine,

but instead showed a playful smile.

"Want a further hint? For example, am I an Avgin?"

Aventurine smiled.

"Well... my eyes are not as good as yours, but I'm not blind..."

"—Is there anyone in the universe who doesn't know you Sigonians?"

"Born liars, thieves, social butterflies... honey-mouthed and sword-hearted, true to your reputation."

"If you ask me, you are more suitable to stay under a manhole cover than in a dream... ah, there is one right there, go ahead~"

Although the girl looked cute,

her verbal aggression was incredibly strong!

She pointed to a manhole cover not far away,

and wanted Aventurine to stay in there.

The implication was,

Aventurine is just a rat that belongs in the sewer.

"No need, dark corners don't match my temperament. This sweet dream is more suitable for me, frivolous, vain, and flashy..."

"......And it won't rain! My outfit is very delicate, it can't withstand the wind and rain."

The girl's aggression was very strong,

but Aventurine's defense was not just for show.

As a person of Preservation,

the girl's words obviously couldn't break his defense.

Venti: "Who is this girl? Such strong aggression! You really can't judge a book by its cover!"

Lumine: "It looks a bit like the real body of the twin-tailed girl's phantom at the beginning of the video."

Welt: "The mask on her head... could it be a Masked Fool?"

Himeko: "Could it be..."

Sparkle: "That's right, the girl above is me."

Sparkle: "How about it, is it unexpected, is it a surprise?"

Paimon: "Ah?? Sparkle, so this is what you look like?"

Hu Tao: "Just from the appearance, you can't tell her sharp-tongued characteristics at all."

Stelle: "Yo, the girl looks pretty good, this lady likes it!"

March 7th: "Uh... you like any girl who looks good, right?"

Stelle: "Yearning for beauty is human nature! Don't you think so, Argenti?"

Argenti: "That's right, people are born to pursue beauty!"

Argenti: "And there is no doubt that the beauty of the Aeon of Beauty, Idrila, is enough to make the entire universe fall for it!"

Stelle: "Of course, I won't forget the fact that she played with me!"

Stelle: "If I meet you, see if I don't spank your butt hard!! (Cold.jpg)"

Sparkle: "Forget it, little gray hair, you want to spank me. I'll stand there and let you hit me, and you still won't be able to hit me."

March 7th: "Then we'll help her hit you together!"

Sparkle: "Hee hee hee, then let's wait and see. Let's see who hits whose butt. If your butt is swollen, don't cry out loud."

In the video.

"Put away your playful tongue, little peacock. Please go back, we are fools, not idiots, and we don't intend to play friend games with the company's lapdogs."

Sparkle's words became more and more sharp.

"Oh, is that true? Have you never made friends with people from the company?"

Aventurine asked back.

"Do you think I haven't read the history of Penacony?"

"Don't try to drag me into your boring office politics."

Sparkle snorted coldly.

"Fools—from the moment you were invited to participate in this grand gala, you had no choice. Choose a side in time, don't let yourself lose everything."

Aventurine's expression was calm.

"You sound very confident~ as if you have already handled that chicken-winged boy from the Family."

"How did you do it, little peacock?"

"Strip off your clothes and kneel down to apologize to him, promising that the company will definitely not have any designs on Penacony?"

"Friends... forget it, you only treat others as chips."

Sparkle's tone was sarcastic,

and her aggression further strengthened.

"Aren't chips good? At the gambling table, only chips won't lose themselves."

"Look, the friends from the Garden of Recollection and the Astral Express understand this truth, they are very smart."

Aventurine's expression remained calm,

and he was not affected at all.

His tone was also as calm as an ancient well.

"But smart people wouldn't enter the game from the beginning."

"Look, am I a bit smarter?"

"Listen, little peacock, you are also someone who has received an invitation from the tavern."

"Want to invite a Masked Fool to join? You can, use your brain, what exactly does the Aeon of Elation want."

"Give you a hint: since you can't persuade anyone, why not consider finding a mute to be friends with? At least he won't refute you, haha."

"Goodbye~"

Sparkle said a few words to Aventurine with interest,

and then walked away.

"Thank you! Making friends with a mute—I will keep it in mind!"

Looking at Sparkle's back as she left, Aventurine said with a smile.

"..."

"Sigh... what a trouble. It seems I still have to go and meet the Family."

Aventurine turned around,

and looked into the distance.

He sighed helplessly.

Stelle: "I have to say, Aventurine is worthy of being an elite of the company!"

Stelle: "This indestructible defensive power really makes me admire him!"

Stelle: "Sparkle's verbal aggression is so strong, and he was able to remain calm throughout!"

Stelle: "This defensive power, I'm afraid he has received the true teachings of Preservation!"

Sparkle: "Indeed, even I am very surprised by this."

Sparkle: "This little peacock, in terms of endurance, is really not to be underestimated~"

Sparkle: "And the more this is the case, the greater his threat, isn't it?"

Sparkle: "Chicken-winged boy, you have to keep a close eye on him. Otherwise, be careful, you might lose everything~"

Sunday: "Thank you for your reminder, Fool, but you don't need to worry about that."

Sunday: "The Family has its own ways to balance him."

Paimon: "Uh... Sparkle's cursing is really ugly..."

Paimon: "If I were cursed like this, I guess I would have cried sadly long ago, right?"

Sparkle: "Is that it? You think this is ugly? But I haven't even started to perform yet~"

Ganyu: "What?! This is not even performing? Then... then how terrifying would Sparkle be if she started performing? (Shocked.jpg)"

Stelle: "Cut, you can't even break Aventurine's defense, what are you bragging about?"

Sparkle: "Heh heh heh, that's just because I didn't want to be the same as this little peacock. Otherwise, I would let him understand what real aggression is!"

Aventurine: "Sorry, I didn't let Miss Fool have fun, that's really my fault."

"Hey, Masked Fool."

"I didn't expect that the future me would even have to seek help from a Masked Fool."

"It seems that this matter is really very tricky."

Aventurine saw his conversation with Sparkle,

and couldn't help but chuckle.

Masked Fools are all people who seek fun,

if not necessary, he actually doesn't want to deal with Fools.

Because Fools act without scruples and without rules.

You never know what these people who seek fun are thinking in their heads.

Moreover, they are called Fools, but they are actually smarter and more cunning than anyone else!

Therefore, Aventurine generally doesn't want to turn such troublesome people into his own chips.

Because the risk is too great.

But if it must be so, then he has to try it.

Amber: "Making friends with a mute?"

Amber: "Is this some kind of proverb?"

Arlecchino: "It sounds like a cryptic hint."

Paimon: "But why would Sparkle hint to Aventurine? Aren't they always at odds?"

Arataki Itto: "Yeah! They clearly tore each other's faces off and started cursing directly! And they cursed so ugly!"

Zhongli: "Because for now, they have no actual conflict of interest."

Zhongli: "Mr. Aventurine's goal is to conquer Penacony."

Zhongli: "And this Miss Sparkle... seems to be just for... finding fun?"

Stelle: "The followers of the Aeon of Elation are like this."

Venti: "Ehe, then appropriate guidance might lead to even greater fun!"

Sparkle: "Oh? Not bad. You actually guessed some of my thoughts."

Sparkle: "It seems that you are also someone suitable to be a Fool. How about it? Are you interested in joining the tavern?"

Sparkle: "I can write a recommendation letter for you."

Venti: "Ehe, then I am truly honored."

Venti: "It's just a pity that I can't get out of Teyvat now. I have no chance for such a good opportunity."

Sparkle: "Then when you come out, you must come to find me. The tavern is just lacking talents like you~"

Jean: "...Mr. Venti, please... be serious!"

Paimon: "That's right, hurry up and do something serious, Venti!! Don't look for fun anymore!!"

Venti: "Ehe!"

In the video.

"Come this way—"

After Stelle went down the manhole,

in the sewer filled with syrup,

after experiencing a period of dark crawling,

she successfully arrived at the entrance of the secret base that Firefly mentioned.

And as soon as she came out,

she heard Firefly calling her from not far away.

Immediately, she began to rendezvous with Firefly.

"Look, a very beautiful place, right?"

"Usually, tourists are not allowed to come here, so we have to be careful not to be discovered by others."

Firefly stood inside the fence,

looking at the beautiful buildings in the distance,

and said to Stelle with a smile.

"Is there really no problem?"

Hearing that tourists are not allowed here, Stelle asked with some worry.

"Don't worry, it's not a dangerous area."

"You can understand this place as the border of the Golden Hour, the dream further out, the Family is still in the process of construction and transformation."

"And my secret base is inside here."

"So, let's sneak in."

Firefly introduced it to Stelle,

and then looked at her with full expectation.

"Alright!"

Firefly's appearance,

made Stelle unable to bear to refuse.

So she nodded and agreed directly.

Thus,

Firefly led the way happily in front,

while Stelle followed closely behind her.

Nahida: "The music here is really nice."

Nahida: "It gives people a quiet and peaceful feeling."

Furina: "Yes, yes, I always feel there is an inexplicable beauty."

Yun Jin: "The previous music tended to be a feeling of surprise, fantasy, and joy."

Yun Jin: "And the current music has a lyrical feeling."

Stelle: "Bad!! This music always gives me a bad feeling!"