"This is Herta's Curio Collection Room. Though, honestly, I'd rather call it the junk storage corner."
"After all, Herta hasn't touched any of this stuff since dumping it here. The dust piled on these curios could probably fill the entirety of The Blue."
Still haunted by the impression Clara had left on her earlier, March 7th managed only a pained smile—worse than crying—when Clara extended the invitation. She reluctantly agreed.
Following a rough map of the station they'd picked up along the way, the group arrived at a room cluttered with various curios.
"Hey there, Little Gray, you should take that one." Clara pointed at a baseball bat not far away, addressing Stelle, who was standing a safe five meters away next to March 7th.
"Not that you'll need to fight with me around, but carrying a weapon at least gives you some peace of mind."
Stelle followed Clara's finger to the bat. It was as if she'd spotted a long-lost love. She dashed over, grabbed the bat, and hugged it tightly to her chest.
"Hey! Is that bat your wife or something?"
Seeing Stelle's tender affection, March 7th couldn't help but tease.
Stelle held the bat for a good while, savoring the feeling, before belatedly registering what Clara had called her.
"I'm not 'Little Gray.' My name is Stelle."
"Sure thing, Little Gray. No problem, Little Gray."
Stelle: …
If she hadn't just witnessed Clara's terrifying power, she would've swung this bat right at the back of that little gremlin's head.
For some reason, the moment Stelle picked up the bat, an incredibly strong impulse surged in her heart.
'See that shorty over there? Go on, give her a good whack!'
Stelle didn't know why such a thought popped up. It felt like this person in front of her had done something terrible to her in some past life.
Honestly, Stelle really did want to slam the bat into the back of Clara's head. But remembering the display of power earlier, she forcefully suppressed the urge.
Whacking her on the head? Hell, she'd probably get herself killed the moment she got close, before the thought even fully formed…
"Little Gray, are you thinking about how to whack me in the back of the head with that bat?" Watching Stelle's ever-shifting expressions, Clara instantly guessed what was on her mind and asked with a playful grin.
"N-no… of course not." Hearing this, Stelle immediately stashed the bat away, trying to look perfectly innocent.
"Want me to show you how it's done, then~?" A baseball bat appeared in Clara's hand. She twirled it a few times, as if hinting at something.
Seeing the bat in Clara's hand, Stelle took a step back. For some reason, the moment Clara produced it, a wave of primal fear washed over her.
Watching Stelle's reaction, Clara let out a light laugh and put the bat away.
"Alright, Little Gray, I'm just joking. How could I ever bear to hurt you?"
After saying this, Clara turned her gaze to a gun-shaped curio not far away and slowly walked toward the Rating Pistol.
"I heard Herta has a curio that can give a score to any living being in its line of sight. This must be it."
"Rating Pisol? Let me try!" Hearing this, March 7th trotted over to the device and struck a cute pose.
Sensing March 7th enter its range, the strange gun's closed eye suddenly snapped open. It spun wildly for a few moments, then fixed March 7th with a dubious stare.
["Rating invalid!" Its eyeball swivels around three times before suddenly widening. After a brief impasse, its eye shuts, wearily.]
"What the heck?" March 7th blinked, utterly confused.
"The scoring logic of the Rating Pisol is unknown. Getting 'Rating invalid' isn't that surprising." Clara stepped into the device's scanning range, letting it evaluate her.
["Rating invalid!" Its eyeball swivels around three times before suddenly widening. After a brief impasse, its eye shuts, wearily.]
"Pfft, seems like its reputation is all hype," March 7th said.
Hearing her, Clara smiled and looked at March 7th.
"What? Getting this close to me now? Not scared anymore?"
"Uh… I think you're a good person." After a moment's hesitation, March 7th presented Clara with a classic 'good person card.'
Clara: ?
Clara was speechless. She then turned her gaze to Stelle.
"Little Gray, want to give it a try?"
"No, no, no way." Stelle shook her head frantically in refusal.
"Hmph, no one gets to refuse me." In a flash, Clara teleported right in front of Stelle, grabbed her by the collar, hauled her over to the Rating Pisol, and forced a scan.
"Hey! I just said you were a good person, and you're already proving me wrong?" Seeing this, March 7th quickly drew her weapon, aiming her bow at Clara.
"Chaser, why so tense? I'm just having her take a test. I won't hurt her." Clara tossed Stelle into the device's scanning range, clapped her hands, and addressed March 7th.
"What do you mean, 'Chaser'?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Clara chuckled lightly and then ignored March 7th.
[The Rating Pistol gazes at Stelle: "84 points!" it announces.]
"84 points? Why does it work fine for you?" Sensing Clara genuinely meant no harm, March 7th put her weapon away. She stared at the score given to Stelle, baffled.
Not convinced, she walked back into the Rating Pistol's range for another test.
["Rating invalid!" Its eyeball swivels around three times before suddenly widening. After a brief impasse, its eye shuts, wearily.]
"WHY?!"
"While the Rating Pistol is a curio, it likely has a threshold. When something exceeds that threshold, it simply can't produce a measurement." Clara explained calmly, dispelling March 7th's confusion.
"That threshold seems pretty darn low then," March 7th retorted, a bit exasperated.
She knew her own level well enough. If it couldn't even score her, no wonder Herta had left it here to gather dust.
"Perhaps it's not that its threshold is too low," Clara said, giving March 7th a mysterious smile.
"Not too low? Then what is it?"
"Don't tell me I have some hidden power inside me?" March 7th spread her hands, her tone joking.
Hearing this, Clara's smile widened. Her gem-like pupils fixed intently on March 7th's eyes.
"Hey… no way. You don't mean I actually do, right?" Even March 7th, as clueless as she could be, understood the implication in that look.
"Let's go. Wasting too much time isn't good."
Clara didn't answer March 7th's question. She simply turned and walked away.
"Hey, wait, wait, wait! Tell me! Please tell me!"
Seeing this, March 7th hurried after her, completely forgetting the awe and fear Clara had inspired earlier.
After both March 7th and Clara had left, Stelle was left alone, dumbly hugging her baseball bat. After a moment, she snapped out of it and scurried to catch up.
…
March 7th: Regarding (Clara)
Aaaargh! Will the riddlers just get lost from the universe already!
…
T/N: From the wiki
In the English localization, the exact wording of this phrase varies for specific characters. This distinction does not appear to exist in the original Chinese dialogue.
The possible variants are:
"The rating pistol's eyes [sic] look at ..." — used for Black Swan, Misha, and Sparkle
"The rating pistol gazes at ... it announces." — used for all other characters
This appears to be a translation error.
…
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