"Wow, the room you picked is so pretty, big brother and sister! And there are so many beautiful clothes. You two must really love each other!"
Inside the couple's hotel, having successfully lured Su Mo and Robin into the room, Sparkle pointed at the various decorations on the wall and exclaimed with feigned innocence.
"These clothes..."
Looking in the direction Sparkle was pointing, Robin instinctively felt her cheeks burn, unsure of what to say. The princess dresses and maid outfits at the front were normal enough, and considering the hotel had a bathtub, the various swimsuits that followed were also acceptable.
But those whips and candles... no matter how you looked at them, those weren't normal clothes, were they?
So this is what they meant by a luxury couple's suite? The "luxury" is in all these weird activities?
Robin knew Penacony's prosperity had a decadent side, but she hadn't expected it to be this shocking. For a moment, she stood frozen, not knowing where to look.
Just then, after lying on the central heart-shaped bed for a minute, Sparkle immediately sprang up, full of energy.
"Thank you for your help, big brother and sister! Sparkle has rested up completely, so please allow me to take my leave—wait, what are you doing, big brother?"
Her mission complete, Miss Sparkle, the temporary NPC, was about to make an excuse to leave. She planned to leave Su Mo and Robin in this room thick with the scent of hormones, then notify the control room to play some... interesting movies to set the mood.
However, her well-rehearsed lines, which had been flowing as smoothly as water, were cut short when she noticed something was wrong.
Robin stood before her, looking a bit shy but unmoving, while Su Mo had walked directly to the door.
CLICK. He closed the door and locked it from the inside.
What's he doing?
Director Sparkle's danger sense finally kicked in, though it seemed a little late.
"What do you think?" Seeing Su Mo lock the door, Robin also snapped out of her shock from the room's... extensive features and regained her composure. After a glance at Su Mo, she immediately questioned the girl before her.
"Deliberately tricking us into coming here, deliberately arranging so many coincidences for us... Miss, I think it's your turn to explain your objective, don't you?" Robin asked with clear-headed logic.
Although the day's tour had been quite enjoyable, she clearly remembered that from the very beginning, this "couple's tour" was the product of someone's deliberate planning.
"If you're unwilling to speak, don't blame me for treating you as a criminal trying to subvert all of Penacony!" Finally, Robin threw in a threat.
While she didn't think the girl before her was that malicious, she couldn't help but make the connection. After all, she had just learned from Su Mo that a mastermind was plotting a crisis that could overturn Penacony. Then, Sparkle appeared. If she wasn't the number one suspect, who was?
At Robin's words, even Sparkle couldn't remain silent. But she didn't drop her disguise, instead letting out a frightened whimper like an ignorant little girl.
"What are you talking about, angel sister? I don't understand at all." As she spoke, she looked pitifully at the two of them. "Did little Sparkle interrupt your time together, big brother and sister? If so, I'll leave right now. I won't be a bother!"
With that, she slowly backed towards the balcony, step by step, as if planning to escape by climbing over the railing.
However—
"You're not leaving."
Su Mo's simple words froze her in place.
"Why not?" Sparkle's face fell. She slowly turned to look at Su Mo, like an innocent maiden being bullied by a villain. "Could it be that big brother isn't satisfied with just angel sister and wants to make a move on little Sparkle too?"
She spoke timidly, then closed her eyes with an expression of heroic sacrifice. "If that's the case, please be gentle, big brother. It's my first time!"
It had to be said, Sparkle's acting at this moment was truly off the charts. Kneeling on the floor looking so pathetic, even Robin couldn't help but feel a flicker of sympathy.
Of course, knowing that it was all an act, that flicker of sympathy was quickly extinguished.
"Still trying to pretend in front of Lord Su Mo? Miss, I don't know who you are, but do you really think you can get away with this?" Robin said, exasperated.
"..."
Director Sparkle's pitiful expression instantly stiffened, then turned thoughtful, and finally, annoyed.
"Fine, fine, you're right! This round is Director Sparkle's loss!" She slapped her thigh and simply stayed sitting on the floor.
Her expression as she looked at Su Mo changed from the previous tear-streaked, heart-wrenching look to that of a lively young girl pouting slightly, as if sulking over her own failure.
"You're finally done pretending?" Seeing that she wasn't going to deny it and had admitted her fault so quickly, Robin asked curiously.
"No more pretending, I'll show my hand!" Director Sparkle put her hands on her hips and declared righteously, "I am, in fact, the galaxy-famous great director, Sparkle, also known as the future Actor of the Year! I'm a world-renowned figure!"
"Uh, sorry, I've never heard that name," Robin shook her head, pointing this out. As an all-around star of film, television, and music, how could she not know of a director of that caliber?
"My apologies, I misspoke," Sparkle immediately corrected herself. "Actually, I'm a novelist of historical fiction. I made all that up just now. I'm not some great director, and what happened with your prize has nothing to do with me."
"So... can I leave now?" At this point, Sparkle's eyes were full of hopeful stars.
"No." Su Mo's curt words shattered her hope.
Robin was still pondering whether the girl's claim of being a novelist of historical fiction was true. Su Mo, however, directly exposed her real identity.
"Masked Fool, are you sure you want to keep hiding things from me?" As he spoke, he didn't move, yet an invisible starlight manifested around him.
Robin was slightly startled, recognizing the familiar power. "Memoria?"
Although Sparkle didn't have a deep understanding of it, a familiar impression quickly surfaced in her mind. It seemed that when Fuli, the Aeon of Remembrance, manifested, there was a similar starlight.
Recalling the information about the Pantheon, if Su Mo could use technology similar to the Garden of Recollection's, then what was the point of even trying to play games?
"Wait, wait! Lord Su Mo, I was wrong! Please spare little Sparkle! This small body of mine can't withstand your divine might!" The righteous, lie-spouting Sparkle of a moment ago instantly groveled.
"You were right before, I'm just a little Masked Fool, pitiful, helpless, and timid. Please, be the bigger person and don't hold it against a weak woman like me." The girl put on a tearful expression.
She was groveling, but it was hard to tell if she was genuinely afraid or just trying to win sympathy. However, her strategy didn't seem to be working. No matter what posture she took, Su Mo, who knew everything, treated her the same.
As for Robin, who was standing to the side...
"Masked Fool?" The moment she heard this name, her vigilance shot to its highest level.
While not all followers of the Aeon of Elation were villains—in fact, many of them did good deeds—it didn't stop this group of fun-seekers from having an infamous reputation throughout the galaxy, a name that made people's faces change.
A young girl who could become a Masked Fool, no matter how pitiful she looked, was definitely not some weak woman.
Therefore—
"What are you trying to do? The Family does not prohibit Masked Fools from seeking pleasure in Penacony, but if the pleasure you seek will harm Penacony, we will not stand idly by!" She became even more suspicious that this girl was the mastermind Su Mo had mentioned earlier.
After all, while others needed reasons to do things, the Masked Fools did not. As long as it brought them joy, they were capable of anything.
"Oh dear, why so serious? It's not nice to treat me like a bad guy right from the start!" Hearing Robin's warning, Sparkle pouted in dissatisfaction. "I was doing my best to help you score points with Lord Su Mo. After helping you so much, you're still wary of me. That really hurts my feelings!"
Hearing this, Robin was slightly taken aback. "Helping me... score points with Lord Su Mo?"
She looked around the room, recalled the journey so far, and realized that what Sparkle said was actually true.
The well-planned route was full of spots perfectly suited for a couple, and for her to act as a guide. Even the final couple's hotel, while a bit risqué, wasn't fundamentally problematic.
To call this a conspiracy seemed a bit of a stretch.
After all, who would go to such lengths for this kind of plot? Making up all sorts of excuses, even personally stepping in, just to ensure she and Lord Su Mo could get into a hotel room to rest.
Even if it had succeeded, let alone the fact that it didn't, how could this possibly be used to destroy Penacony?
In fact, if Sparkle's plan had succeeded and they had actually... done something in the hotel, Penacony would have become even safer because of their relationship.
After all, besides an Aeon, no conspiracy could possibly work on Su Mo.
At least, that's what Robin believed.
Once she confirmed that Sparkle's actions were not malicious, the next question arose. "Why did you do all this?" Robin asked, puzzled. She hadn't paid for this kind of customized service.
"For love, of course!" Sparkle declared righteously. "The moment I saw you, Miss Robin, your noble aura was overwhelming! I knew you were qualified to be chosen as Lord Su Mo's consort, you even have the potential to be his favorite! For a mere 5 billion credits, I will teach you the ultimate palace intrigue skills—"
"Hm?" Before Sparkle could finish her nonsense, she noticed Su Mo's sidelong glance.
"Ahem! Sorry, got carried away. Professional hazard." Sparkle immediately lowered her head guiltily.
Unable to lie or use wordplay to deceive Su Mo, she had no choice but to tell the truth.
"Alright, the truth is, I did all this at the behest of a certain existence."
"Who?" Robin pressed.
"You might not believe me if I tell you..." Sparkle raised her index finger and pointed to the top of her own head.
"It was the Lord of Elation THEIR own self who told me to do it! If you have any problems, you can go to THEM. It has nothing to do with me!" She directly sold out her ultimate boss, absolving herself of all responsibility.