"Honesty."
For a brief second, QM Foolishness genuinely considered throwing Rita out of her Graveyard of Bones.
But that impulse passed quickly.
She recalled the tone in the ssage Starsea Foolishness had just sent through the coin, that casual familiarity, and whatever strange relationship existed between this girl and her other self...
If she let this one go, she might never find another conversation partner this suitable again.
Soone who knew Starsea Foolishness.
Soone who spoke in a way that didn’t irritate her.
Soone who, frankly, was pleasant to look at.
QM Foolishness’s gaze lingered on Rita, expression unreadable.
Rita, under that stare, felt a subtle pressure building. The reputation of Vineborne really was terrible... even QM Foolishness looked like she was on guard against being tricked.
As for who caused that reputation, Rita didn’t even need a second to figure it out.
She decided to take the initiative and raise the stakes.
"To be honest," Rita said, "when the course ended, Starsea Foolishness gave a ti window. 7:22:17 to 7:25:17. That’s why I deliberately ate Dustfire’s al before that point."
QM Foolishness’s brows moved slightly.
A ti precise down to the second. That was indeed the window when her Graveyard of Bones connected to reality.
In that instant, she understood.
This wasn’t random. This was deliberate.
Starsea Foolishness had arranged this eting.
Her gaze swept past the floating lantern helm behind Rita, then returned to her face.
"What rank are you in Starsea?"
Rita didn’t hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
"Where you and Starsea Foolishness rank in creativity," she said, "that’s where I rank in combat."
QM Foolishness went completely still.
A few seconds passed.
Then she nodded.
"It seems your racial talent really is honesty."
B80 and Rita both fell silent.
Rita seized the mont to pull the conversation back on track.
"So," she said, "why did you cooperate with her to create Foolishness Ga? You don’t seem to hate her at all."
QM Foolishness answered calmly, almost detached.
"It has nothing to do with her.
"She and I are simply the sa person who chose different paths. Like versions of ourselves from different tilines.
"And honestly... it’s interesting, isn’t it?
"We can et. We can talk. We can compare ideas."
She paused slightly, then continued,
"When we walked different paths, many of our beliefs diverged as well."
"Did Quiet Mountain try to eliminate you?" Rita asked.
"Of course not." QM Foolishness shook her head. "It doesn’t care what we think. It only cares whether we can win the final match.
"It’s the sa as you. Do you care whether Wrathful Moon or Cat’s Ideal likes you more?
"No. You only care whether they obey you, and whether they’re useful."
Rita didn’t refute that.
From QM Foolishness’s retelling, the beginning of Quiet Mountain had been... absurd.
While others were struggling to understand the rules, calculating strategies, or hunting each other for badges, the two Foolishnesses had already found each other.
A short exchange of coded language.
A quick confirmation that neither of them was an idiot.
And then—
Straight to the workshop.
Everything else beca background noise.
While other players tested each other, QM Foolishness was proudly presenting her best creations.
While Quiet Mountain copies hunted Starsea originals, Starsea Foolishness calmly discussed design philosophy.
While Starsea teams coordinated attacks, the two of them were sketching blueprints for Foolishness Ga.
Calls from teammates? Ignored.
Battle invitations? Ignored.
The workshop doors were sealed.
Anti-interference asures activated to the maximum.
Inside, two craftsn worked day and night, imrsed in creation.
To everyone else, it was a survival ga called Quiet Mountain.
To them, it was sothing closer to: collaborating with another genius version of myself to push creation to its limits.
The existence of a "copy" solved a problem that had clearly bothered both of them for a long ti.
Why is there no one else as smart as ?
Now there was.
And not just soone equally intelligent, but soone who thought differently.
Even now, QM Foolishness seed to relive those thirty days with lingering satisfaction.
Rita watched her carefully.
She had seen Fireglints in World Sigh before. When they beca emotional, their eyes and hair would shine like gemstones catching light.
That brilliance was their defining trait.
But the Fireglints she t in reality were different.
Fury Prayer was quiet, distant, almost perpetually tired.
Starsea Foolishness... was sothing else entirely. Detached, controlled, even rebellious in her own way. She had given away her gemstone eye. Even changed her appearance.
To Rita, that felt almost... wrong.
Like a Vineborne breaking her own vine.
So now, seeing QM Foolishness glowing—literally glowing—with excitent, Rita felt sothing strange.
Relief.
At least this was what a Fireglint was supposed to look like.
QM Foolishness suddenly pulled out a thick notebook, its spine embedded with gemstones, heavy enough to look like a reference to.
Her expression turned serious, even troubled.
"She hasn’t co to see in a long ti," she said. "I’ve accumulated so many ideas. I’ve been waiting. But she just won’t co."
Rita almost said sothing careless.
Sothing like: maybe it’s better she doesn’t co.
But she stopped herself.
Instead, she asked, "How long has it been? Or... did sothing unpleasant happen the last ti she visited?"
QM Foolishness answered without hesitation.
"She said that Foolishness Ga has been gathering dust in a player’s hands.
"It hasn’t gained a new special bullet in a long ti.
"Even the player who owns it thinks it’s a useless toy. The only reason they keep it... is because it carries the na Foolishness."
Her tone was calm.
Too calm.
There was no anger. No resentnt.
Only a faint trace of dissatisfaction. Not even toward the player—more like... toward the situation itself.
"And then?" Rita prompted.
"And then," QM Foolishness said, "I proposed a solution.
"I told her we could use my remaining will to reconstruct the revolver chanism.
"If we pushed it beyond the limits of a toy, maybe players would start treating it like a divine relic. Competing for it. Valuing it."
She paused.
Then added quietly,
"And after that... she never ca to see again."
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