【After Clockie expressed his gratitude to Stelle again, he left with Misha.】

【"Follow me, and this time, don't let any invisible friends call you away..." Firefly turned her back and let out a light, small huff.】

【There seemed to be a scent of vinegar floating in the air of Penacony... That must be an illusion, right?】

【The two took a pinball machine to a cafe, and Firefly indicated that this was the place.】

【"Is this the secret base?" Stelle looked around at the coming and going crowds. It could indeed serve as a base, but it wasn't "secret" at all?】

【"No, not that..." Firefly blushed and awkwardly pointed to the manhole cover behind her: "——It's here."】

【This was a bit awkward. Stelle lowered her voice unconsciously: "There are people watching around here..."】

【"It's fine! Anything can happen in a dream, and plenty of people fall from the sky every day—pedestrians are long used to it. I'll demonstrate first—it'll be a bit dark at the beginning, so stay close to me."】

【After speaking, the young girl lifted the lid right in front of her and nimbly crawled inside.】

【"..."】

【Crawling into a sewer with a beautiful girl was a novel experience for the first time. Stelle had many thoughts, but since she was already here...】

——

Gintama.

"Inside won't be full, right?"

"Gin, no one here can teleport."

In front of the coffee table at the Yorozuya, the three stared at the screen showing Firefly and Stelle crawling into the sewer.

Gintoki lay on the sofa, his dead fish eyes devoid of ripples: "Ah... my heart is already dead. Not a metaphor, I'm truly envious to the point of heart failure."

Kagura chewed on her vinegar kombu and tilted her head: "Huh? What's there to be envious of about crawling into a sewer? It's smelly and you'll run into rats, aru."

"The point isn't the sewer!" Gintoki suddenly sat up, "It's two people crawling into the sewer together! This youth! This romance! This—"

"Your youth and romance have a bit of a heavy scent..." Shinpachi pushed up his main body on the bridge of his nose.

"And don't you think it's strange? Why must you crawl into a sewer to go to a secret base? This is clearly Firefly's little scheme!"

"Gin, you're just jealous, right?" Kagura swallowed the vinegar kombu in her mouth in one gulp, "If you're really that envious, why not try crawling into one with Hijikata-san next time—"

"Shut up! We are a serious shonen manga! Not a BL doujinshi!"

——

【The girl with black twin tails suddenly stopped on the side of the road. She put her hands on her hips and suddenly said: "Hey, I'm asking you..."】

【"Is your way of attracting a girl's attention by openly following her?" She turned back, her twin tails swaying gently with the movement, "It's been almost half a system hour."】

【Gold Dust walked out of the shadows openly and said lightly: "To be precise, 45 minutes. Happy times always fly by, don't they?"】

【The girl sneered: "Heh, Little Peacock... You have a pair of pretty eyes. Is your hometown in Tzigania?"】

【Gold Dust put one hand on his hip: "Want a further hint? For instance, I am an Ivejin?"】

【"Hmm... My eyes aren't as high-quality as yours, but I'm not blind..." The girl mocked coldly, "——The whole universe knows about you Tziganian people, right? Born liars, thieves, social butterflies... Honey-mouthed and sword-hearted, true to the name."】

【"If you ask me, you're better suited for staying under a manhole cover than in a dream..." The girl looked around and actually found a manhole cover beside her, smiling and giving Gold Dust a wink "...Ah, there's one right there, go on~"】

【"No need, dark corners don't match my temperament. This dream is more suitable for me—frivolous, vain, gaudy..." Gold Dust seemed indifferent to the girl's aggressive remarks, his smile remaining on his face, "...And it doesn't rain! My outfit is quite delicate; it can't withstand the wind and rain."】

【She raised her chin slightly, not hiding the mockery in her words: "Put away that cheeky tongue, Little Peacock. Please go back. We are Masked Fools, not idiots, and we don't plan on playing friend games with the IPC's lapdog."】

——

Arcane.

"This Gold Dust really gets dissed wherever he goes. If it were me, I'd definitely punch that little girl right in the face—seeing if she still dares to say such things—"

On the park plaza of Piltover, Vi and Caitlyn were sitting side by side on a roadside bench watching the screen. Seeing the black-haired girl mocking Gold Dust without restraint, she subconsciously clenched her fist—but forgot she was still holding a can of beer, spraying the liquid all over herself.

Caitlyn sighed helplessly, took a stack of tissues from her pocket and handed them to her: "You're always like this, hoping to solve problems with violence. In my opinion, he doesn't have a good temper..." She narrowed her eyes slightly, "It's... habit."

"Habit of being a punching bag?"

"Believe me, no one reaches a P45 position in the IPC by being a punching bag."

Caitlyn shook her head, her long blue hair fluttering in the warm wind of the sunset, "Perhaps for some, they think his identity as a Tziganian is a dark side he can't show, and tearing it out is enough to humiliate Gold Dust. But for him, the identity of a Tziganian is just a card in a poker game, as long as it can be played at the right time... whether it's insulting or not doesn't matter."

"Just like my mother always brings up 'the daughter of the Kiramman family', although I hate it, I have to admit... this is also a card of mine, at least in some high-society occasions, playing this card can save me some unnecessary trouble."

"As for that little girl wearing a mask..." Caitlyn smiled slightly, "I think she just wants to provoke Gold Dust. Perhaps for the Masked Fools, watching people get furious is part of the fun."

Vi was amused too: "But she didn't expect Gold Dust to not care at all."

"Hmm, I guess Gold Dust probably hasn't dealt with the Masked Fools for the first time, he's very familiar with their routines." Caitlyn nodded, "The more she tries to humiliate Gold Dust, the less Gold Dust takes it to heart. However, I also don't know what Gold Dust is thinking, actually wanting to cooperate with the Masked Fools."

"Little Cake, you seem very familiar with the Masked Fools... How do you know they can't cooperate?" Vi cast a suspicious glance at Caitlyn.

"Not familiar, but do you remember back in the Swarm Disaster... that part about the Masked Fools?"