Hidden Stage: Eurasia Blossom's Data Chamber – Bedroom Stage
The sky of the bedroom stage was painted in shades of pink and various other surreal colors, forming a dreamlike atmosphere. The puddle of water that covered the entire floor gently reflected the clouds above. Just looking at it filled the heart with peace and a strong desire to sleep. In that quiet, soothing space, a sudden flash of light burst forth.
Through that light, Luf and I arrived at the stage. After taking a mont to collect my thoughts, I quietly gave Luf a warning. I knew well enough what kind of setting Eurasia Blossom was.
"Luf, from here on, keep quiet. Walk softly, talk softly. You know what I an, right? The Eurasia family loves sleep."
Luf nodded silently, understanding imdiately. As expected, he was quick to grasp things.
Splash—
I took my first step to search for Blossom's data, but imdiately froze in place. Since the entire floor was covered in water, every step made a loud splashing sound. Even if it was only ankle-deep, caution was necessary. Luf and I focused divine power on our soles, allowing us to walk on the surface of the water as we continued our path.
After several minutes of silent walking, Luf, who had been quietly operating the Lighthouse, poked in the side. He was pointing toward a specific direction—his Lighthouse must have detected sothing. Loop took the lead, and I followed behind.
"Looks like it's over there."
"Yeah."
We whispered softly to each other, gazing at the sa spot. Far off on the horizon stood a single bed.
I had imagined that a stage called "Bedroom" would have multiple beds like so kind of cozy master bedroom, but instead, there was only one bed in this dreamlike place. Not that it mattered much.
Having found what we were looking for, we hastened our steps toward the horizon where the bed was.
Before long, the pink sky faded into dusk, and a crescent moon rose as a gentle night fog began to spread. I could see why anyone here would want to just lie down and fall asleep while admiring the sky. Whoever designed this stage did a fine job.
As Luf and I admired the stars, moon, and misty night, we finally arrived before the bed where Blossom lay sleeping.
Huff, huff...
The data of Blossom was fast asleep, wearing a sleep mask and a nightcap, tucked snugly under the blankets—a young girl lost in her dreams.
Wow, Gustang married a kid like this?
For a mont, I almost cursed at Gustang, but I rembered that this was Blossom's data from when she was still a D-rank Regular. Still… she looked way too young.
—Hyung, what do we do now?
Once we got right in front of the sleeping Blossom, Luf didn't even dare to speak aloud. Instead, he sent a ssage through his Pocket. I replied the sa way.
—We have no choice but to wait. If we woke her, who knows what might happen.
Huff, huff...
"..."
"..."
Nine hours had already passed. Watching soone sleep peacefully while staying wide awake yourself was tougher than expected.
Huff, huff...
After twelve hours, I felt like Liu Bei waiting endlessly for Zhuge Liang to wake up—when finally, the sound we'd been waiting for reached our ears.
"Yaaawn~ Aaaahhh..."
A yawn and a stretch. Blossom's data sat up, stretched her arms, smacked her lips sleepily, and slowly removed her eye mask.
"..."
What greeted her gaze were the haggard faces of and Luf, standing there like ghosts. Seeing us, she calmly put her mask back on.
"...Guess I'm still dreaming."
"It's not a dream."
A mont of silence.
"...Kyaaaah?! Who are you people?!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After several minutes of explanation, Blossom's data crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and tapped her arm with a finger.
"So, let get this straight..."
"Yes."
"If you lose your bet with Zahard, I have to go into the mirror?"
"That's right."
She opened one eye and looked at with suspicion.
"And if I go into that mirror, my very existence disappears?"
"Yes."
Blossom's data had only received the mirror from Zahard's data—she hadn't even bothered to check what kind of mirror it was before falling asleep again.
No wonder I'd found it strange that soone who loved sleep so much had chosen to vanish. Turns out she entered the mirror thinking, just as Zahard told her, that it connected to sowhere else.
"But… you actually made that kind of bet with Zahard?"
"Yes."
"Are you insane?!"
BOOOOOOM—!
The tranquil shinsu in the area suddenly accelerated violently. The problem was, the surge was on a level beyond imagination—ordinary people would have their bodies burst apart instantly under that kind of flow.
I quickly cast a shinsu barrier over Luf to protect him. So the rumor was true—she really was the best Wave Controller among the Ten Families.
KWOAAAHHH—!
Even for , it took full concentration to control the raging divine currents. It felt like a car suddenly jumping from 10 km/h to 350 km/h. My body needed ti to adjust to the change.
After a while, I finally managed to slow down the flow and calm Blossom's data.
"...What the—? You? How did you—"
"Cough, cough... Please, calm down first. The world is all about give and take, after all."
"If you do a favor, I'll return it in kind."
As I finished speaking, the turbulent shinsu around us gradually returned to its normal state.
Blossom's data narrowed her half-open eyes and shot a cold glare.
"I don't want anything other than sleep. I've got no intention of disappearing, so just be satisfied and leave this stage. Helping you sounds like a hassle, and I don't feel like it."
Finishing her words, she put her sleep mask back on and tried to lie down again.
Well, that won't do.
I needed her to persuade Gustang. In other words, if I wanted Gustang to cooperate, I had to convince Blossom's data first.
I adjusted the shinsu I'd wrapped around Luf, turning it into a perfect soundproof bubble. Then, I made one last offer to Blossom.
"I can let you et your daughter."
"…Daughter? What are you talking about all of a sudden? I'm not so desperate to see soone that I'd go through the trouble of helping you."
She sounded completely uninterested—as if saying "I've got plenty of daughters in the Eurasia family."
But when she started to lower her mask again, I played my final card.
"Not just any daughter. The one you had with Lord Gustang."
Sprang!
"What?!"
The sleep mask went flying as Blossom's data sat bolt upright, eyes wide open, staring straight at .
Good. Hook, line, and sinker.
"It's true. Her na is Eurasia Enne. She's… still young, for now."
If a child born between two of the Ten Great Families existed, it would've been headline news across the entire Tower.
The fact that I hadn't heard even a whisper of her na yet ant she probably wasn't born at this point in ti.
Still, saying that out loud would sound like mockery—so I didn't.
"If you help , I'll make sure she boards the Hell Train soday. Don't you want to see her, even just once?"
I'd heard that Eurasia Blossom cherished her daughter deeply. And if the child was one she shared with Gustang, there was no doubt she'd want to et her.
As for the truth—that she was one of Zahard's princesses, and what would ultimately happen to her—well, that was sothing I couldn't reveal. If I ntioned it here, she'd only grow suspicious. I'd have to leave that to the data version of her that remained behind.
After several minutes of silence, Blossom's data took a long, deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
"...You'll keep that promise, right?"
"I may lie sotis, but I never break a promise."
"Heh… You know, that actually makes trust you more. There's sothing… different about you. So, what is it that you want?"
What I wanted from her was simple: to recruit Gustang.
The two of them had a decent relationship, so convincing him not to vanish shouldn't be too hard. Ideally, I'd pull both of them to our side.
Truthfully, whether the data of the Ten Family Heads disappeared after my bet with Zahard ended didn't really matter to —but since Eduan's data had his own goals, I had to see this through.
I told her my plan, and Blossom's data accepted. But as she listened, she tilted her head.
"I thought this was supposed to be a one-on-one duel? What's the point of recruiting us to your side?"
"Well, before Zahard can win you over, I want to bring you to our side first. And I'd like to get a bit of direct help from certain people—especially you and Lord Gustang."
I smiled lightly.
"For the next two weeks, would you mind teaching a bit about shinsu?"
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