Chapter 95

Aventurine didn't quite understand Sparkle's riddle.

【You know better than I do, who was watching with longing eyes as the little bird that couldn't sing died in front of them?】

【Of course it's you, little peacock~】

Sparkle said with a giggle.

【I'm asking you... what do you mean by becoming a mute?】

Aventurine asked with a livid complexion.

【Hehehe, asking when you already know; because you're also about to be like her, never able to speak again.】

Sparkle laughed with some schadenfreude.

【...】

Aventurine was silent.

【However, in my opinion, this is not a bad thing, because...】

Sparkle changed the subject, stopping mid-sentence.

【Because I'm about to touch the truth, right?】

Aventurine already had an idea in his heart.

【...Oh?】

Sparkle was slightly surprised.

【Fool, why do you think I was carrying this broken bag, distributing cheap jewelry all over the street?】

【This was all for you to see.】

【The more miserable I am, the more likely I am to lure you out...】

【I've waited for you for a long time; considering how hard I've worked, won't you reward me with an answer?】

Aventurine stated the purpose of doing all this,

which was actually to lure Sparkle out.

【What reason do I have to help you?】

Sparkle was noncommittal.

【Don't you want Penacony to fall into chaos?】

【I can do it, I just need to verify one thing: at that time, the mute you told me to find...】

【...was it really referring to Robin?】

Aventurine asked with a frown.

【...】

【...What if I say no?】

Sparkle said eerily.

【Thank you.】

【This word sounds so intimate for the first time.】

Aventurine had already obtained the answer he wanted.

【Fine, I underestimated you.】

【But what good will that do?】

【Let me tell you—the mute, the people who fit this definition, there were originally two.】

【But Robin is already dead, and the other one... she is still in Penacony, but I'm afraid you'll never find her again.】

Sparkle gave more detailed information.

【Fool, now I can be completely certain that I have been on the right path from the beginning, never deviating.】

【I only lack two things: first, the meaning behind the truth; second, the method to reveal it.】

Aventurine looked as if he had victory in his grasp.

【Hahaha, that's great!】

【It's time for my favorite part, the stubborn dead duck—don't you still know nothing?】

Sparkle laughed until she was doubled over...

【No, no, I have already proven through various signs that it does exist, and that is enough...】

【As for the answers to these two questions, seventeen... no, sixteen system hours are enough for me to handle everything.】

Aventurine appeared very confident.

【Sixteen system hours, is that really enough?】

【Then let me add some fuel to the fire for you.】

【Here, take it.】

【This is my treasured Mutually Assured Destruction button; I have an identical one myself.】

【As long as one of us presses it, the other will immediately explode along with all of Penacony.】

【If you really want the IPC to move into Penacony, want it so badly you can't stand it...】

【Then blowing up the table is not a bad way to go.】

【At worst, we can just start over!】

【That's what the IPC is good at, right?】

【Heeheehee, when you're at your wit's end, just press it.】

【Of course, you can also contact me; consider it my end-of-life care!】

Sparkle gave Aventurine an exquisite button,

saying that as long as it's pressed, Penacony will be blown to bits.

【That's so dangerous...】

【I guess the Family didn't take your words seriously at all?】

【Otherwise, how did you manage to smuggle it in?】

Aventurine looked at the button,

and couldn't help but make a snide remark.

【Hehe, you just need to know that I have the ability to do so.】

Sparkle laughed.

【I'm afraid I have to decline your offer; who knows if this little toy of yours is actually useful?】

【By the way, I don't intend to look for the other mute friend you mentioned, but I'm very happy to hear that this person is still in Penacony.】

【I will handle the rest myself: I will prepare a grand opening performance for the Family's downfall.】

【When it reaches the climax, the high walls will collapse, people will wake up, and those who cannot speak will speak again—】

【—When that time comes, please press the button and set off a big firework to cheer me on.】

【See you, Fool.】

Aventurine said goodbye to Sparkle and walked away.

【Haha, even at this point, you still have the heart to spout nonsense... however, it's a deal.】

【You must not, don't let me down, okay?】

Furina: "Wait, this content, it feels like there's so much information!"

Furina: "Aventurine distributing money all over the street was actually just to lure out Miss Sparkle?"

Hu Tao: "It looks like it, but Miss Sparkle, why are you always pretending to be someone else?"

Hu Tao: "Isn't it better to use your own original appearance?"

Sparkle: "You don't understand that."

Sparkle: "If I don't do this, how can I muddy the waters~"

Paimon: "Hmm, but they started speaking in riddles again."

Paimon: "Paimon really doesn't understand!"

Paimon: "Is there any kind person who can explain it to me?"

Lumine: "Although this is also a riddle..."

Lumine: "But combined with some previous events, it's still possible to understand a little."

Lumine: "For example..."

Lumine: "The mute that Miss Sparkle reminded Aventurine to find earlier was not Miss Robin, but Miss Firefly."

Lumine: "And for another... perhaps Miss Firefly... didn't die?"

March 7th: "Huh? Miss Firefly didn't die?"

March 7th: "Then where did she go?"

Stelle: "Sparkle said, she's still in Penacony."

Stelle: "But it seems very difficult to find."

Stelle: "Could it be that she's trapped in some lost dream?"

Stelle: "But it doesn't matter, I will definitely find Firefly and save her!"

Firefly: "Stelle, thank you. (Heart.jpg)"

Amber: "I have a question: how does Miss Sparkle know so many secrets?"

Amber: "I just feel like there's nothing in all of Penacony that she doesn't know."

Eula: "That is indeed the case, as if this Penacony were her old home."

Silver Wolf: "She is a Masked Fool; with a Fool's ability, it's too simple to find out about something."

Nahida: "I wonder if you've noticed, Miss Sparkle seems to have been guiding everyone toward the truth all along."

Navia: "That's right, although Miss Sparkle has been speaking in riddles, she is also the most honest person."

Navia: "What she says basically contains subtle guidance."

Stelle: "Could it be that Sparkle is also a Masked Fool with a bottom line?"

Stelle: "It's just that her personality is a bit nasty?"

Sparkle: "Hahahaha, my stomach hurts from laughing~"

Sparkle: "This is the first time I've heard someone say that I'm also a Fool with a bottom line~"

Sparkle: "This is truly so much fun~"

Collei: "Miss Sparkle... is that Mutually Assured Destruction button of yours... actually real?"

March 7th: "It should be fake, right?"

March 7th: "Could the Family let such a dangerous thing in?"

Stelle: "I was able to get in; do you still not have an idea of the level of the Family's security?"

March 7th: "Ah, this..."