"I admire your courage, but I won't deny the foolishness of that idea, after all..."
Bai Luan flashed a friendly smile at Sparkle:
"My punches hurt quite a bit."
Bai Luan then rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, looked at Sparkle, and asked with a smile:
"If the two of us fought, who do you think Aha would help?"
...
Sparkle looked at Bai Luan and said with a hint of helplessness:
"You act like this, and you still claim you're not the Masked Fool?"
"I was never the Masked Fool to begin with."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Sparkle put one hand on her hip, looked at Bai Luan, and said with a sarcastic tone:
"Didn't you admit last time that you were the Masked Fool?"
"That was merely a compromise made to get Aha to take back Their mask."
"So you're denying it again?"
"If I deny it, I deny it."
Bai Luan shrugged indifferently, spreading his hands:
"At worst, they'll deduct two points from my credibility score."
"It seems the only thing separating you and the Masked Fool is Aha's mask."
Bai Luan said with a hint of pride:
"If They give it to me and I don't want it, what can They do? Poor Aha, crying and throwing a tantrum because the mask can't be given away. Waaah, so pitiful."
Seriously! God of Fun!
Someone is mocking you right to your face!
If you have any backbone, come out and respond! Be energetic, don't lose face!
Perhaps Aha heard Sparkle's thoughts, because They actually responded.
A mask materialized near Bai Luan and flew straight towards his face, seemingly intending to put itself on him... Bai Luan was stunned for a moment watching the incoming mask.
"I really didn't expect it, Aha. Since you're so sincere, even after what I said, you're still willing to send me the Fool's Mask."
As Bai Luan spoke, he reached out, seemingly ready to catch the mask.
The instant his hand was about to touch the mask, his hand gesture suddenly changed into a One-Finger Zen power accumulation.
"But some things just aren't going to happen~"
Then his index finger flicked out, instantly shattering the Fool's Mask.
"If it's not a mask I like, I outright refuse!"
Stelle watched Bai Luan refuse the Fool's Mask and fell into contemplation.
She wasn't thinking about Aha being here, nor was she thinking about Bai Luan rejecting the powerful Fool's Mask. What was going through her little head right now was—shattered in one flick? How much force did that take? Does Uncle's finger hurt?
The moment Bai Luan shattered that Fool's Mask, another Fool's Mask materialized from a different direction, having changed its appearance, and flew toward Bai Luan.
"Seriously... I said I don't want it, are you deaf!?"
Bai Luan slapped that mask away, and then even more masks appeared.
"Nice..."
Bai Luan was momentarily chased around the bar by this pile of masks, during which he displayed incredibly flashy footwork, dodging countless masks with various tricky maneuvers.
Even Welt Yang couldn't help but praise him:
"What a twist!"
Finally, Bai Luan found a way to stop Aha from welding the Fool's Mask onto his face.
He took out his Cyber Mask and put it on his face, one step ahead of the Fool's Mask.
Bai Luan, wearing the mask, stood still, hands proudly on his hips. The real-time goofy smile displayed on the Cyber Mask accurately reflected his triumphant grin.
Excuse me,
This equipment slot is already occupied~
Seeing Bai Luan put on his mask, all the Fool's Masks vanished one after another.
Bai Luan seemed to sense a hint of reluctance in the retreat of those masks.
Aha: I will definitely return!
『The line is there, but who will provide me with the Grey Wolf-style spinning, being knocked into a shooting star effect that I'm missing?』
I said, you're not building an atomic bomb, why bother with such detail?
After the brief farce played out, Bai Luan walked back to Stelle's side.
Sparkle looked at Bai Luan as he returned and said with a smile:
"Seriously, stop worrying about your Space Station job. Go to the tavern; people there will do anything for fun."
Bai Luan looked at Sparkle and kindly warned her:
"You should really shut up now."
"Why?"
"Because if you keep talking, a terrifying Herta will refresh and make you shut up."
...
Sparkle couldn't help but complain:
"Is she really that scary?"
"Sparkle, you better do what Uncle says. He's not kidding."
...Hearing this, Sparkle looked strangely at Stelle.
Putting aside the matter of whether she would be attacked by a terrifying Herta, there was something else more worth complaining about.
She looked at Stelle and asked in confusion:
"Why do you call him Uncle?"
Hearing this, Stelle flashed an "I knew someone would finally ask" smile and replied:
"Because he held me when I was little."
Sparkle tilted her head in confusion:
"When you were little?"
She recalled that the little grey-haired one was a complete entity the moment she was born on the Space Station, right?
How could there be a concept of 'when she was little'?
Seeing Sparkle's confusion, Stelle smiled and asked:
"There's actually a story behind this. Do you want to know? (╹ω╹)"
Sparkle nodded.
Seeing Sparkle nod,
Stelle smiled even happier.
"I won't tell you. (╹▽╹)"
That's right, Stelle.
Bai Luan reached out and high-fived Stelle.
Sparkle: ...Watching Bai Luan and Stelle high-five right in front of her, a thought suddenly popped into her head:
Should I just blow up on them?
Never mind, I probably can't beat him up.
"Boring. I'm leaving."
"What, aren't you staying a bit longer?"
Sparkle glanced at Bai Luan and said:
"I'll come back when you're gone."
Then Sparkle darted away, vanishing from the spot.
It looks like this really rattled her.
Hmm... it will probably take a while before she thinks about seeking revenge.
After this short farce, the bar resumed normal operations. Stelle mixed a few special drinks for Welt Yang and Himeko, and after finishing them, they said goodbye to Stelle and left.
Sparkle's antics had clearly drained a lot of Stelle's energy, and mixing drinks until now made Stelle feel exhausted.
Now Stelle was standing in front of the bar counter, starting to doze off slightly.
The sight of her little head uncontrollably nodding up and down reminded Bai Luan of himself attending morning self-study during his school days.
Why force yourself to stay awake?
She should just lie down and sleep for a bit.
Sleeping at this time is the most comfortable.
So Bai Luan spoke to Stelle:
"If you're sleepy, go sleep on the side for a bit. I'll watch the bar counter."
Stelle looked at Bai Luan; sleepiness had already taken over. She was truly exhausted.
"Thanks, Uncle. I'll just close my eyes for a bit. Wake me up if a customer comes."
"Go on."
Stelle yawned, then lay down on the bar counter a short distance away and fell asleep.
Hmm... it's rare to see her this quiet.
Bai Luan slightly softened his movements.
Afterwards, a few more customers came to the bar for a drink, but they weren't very interested in specialty drinks; no one wanted to try anything new.
Time passed peacefully like this... until Kafka arrived at the bar counter.
"Yo, long time no see."
"Long time no see."
Kafka looked at the sleeping Stelle nearby and smiled.
"There was a time when she used to fall asleep peacefully by my side just like that. It brings back memories."
"Of course."
Bai Luan said while polishing the barware:
"After all, family is by her side"