『 Hearing these words, the fury in Aventurine's heart was completely ignited. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and desperately tried to suppress his anger. Yet, in the end, he could not contain it. He suddenly spoke, his voice laced with unmistakable rage, demanding of the man, "How much did you pay?"
The man had not expected such a reaction from Aventurine. He froze for a moment, then let out a cold sneer. "What?"
Aventurine glared intensely at the man who had bought him, as if wishing to tear him apart and swallow him whole, squeezing the words out from between his teeth.
"My price. How much money did you spend to buy me?"
"Oh? You want to know that? Sure." The corners of the man's mouth curled up into a contemptuous smile, and he replied softly, "Sixty Tanba, no more, no less."
Hearing this number, Aventurine clenched his fists tighter, staring deathly at the man outside the cage. Gritting his teeth, he spoke. "I want to make a bet with you."
"Half of sixty—thirty Tanba… As long as I can return alive, you must give them to me. Do you dare to bet?"
"Hahaha, you want to bet with me? Fine, you've got guts!" The man laughed heartily first, giving Aventurine a thumbs-up. Then, his face suddenly turned cold, and he flipped his thumb upside down, his voice becoming chillingly harsh.
"—But sorry, that's impossible. Slave, don't forget your place. You don't even have the right to sit at the table."
"You are just a chip, a life held in someone else's hand to be thrown away. Either you help your master bring back more chips, or… You never return at all."
As he spoke the last sentence, the man's tone grew increasingly icy, the threat implicit within it glaringly obvious.
"All, or nothing—don't make me lose face, 'lucky hound'."
Leaving behind these cold words, the man turned and walked away, leaving Aventurine standing alone in the cage, a raging fire burning in his heart.
"All, or nothing…" Aventurine muttered the phrase in a low voice, as if trying to brand it deep into his very soul.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his flesh, feeling an intense fury and resentment toward his current plight. 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: So that's where his catchphrase comes from…
〘Dr. Ratio〙: Some use their childhood to heal their whole lives, while others spend their whole lives trying to heal their childhood.
〘Stelle〙: Sounds pretty tragic…
〘Qingque〙: Speaking of which, now that Aventurine is an IPC executive, shouldn't he have plenty of ways to get rid of that slave serial number on his neck?
〘Topaz〙: Perhaps he wants to use that shameful string of numbers to remind himself.
{Alright, that's enough of Aventurine's story for now. Let's head over to the Express Crew~}
〘Silver Wolf〙: How come there's no scene transition this time?
{Wasn't that me transitioning the scene? Don't sweat the details~}
....
『 Led by Gallagher, the trio arrived at the Dreamjolt Hostelry. There, Siobhan, a female bartender with an NPC-like face, saw Gallagher approaching and sighed.
"What brings you here, Gallagher?"
Gallagher gestured toward the trio and smiled at Siobhan. "A few old friends came knocking. Got a moment, Siobhan?"
"I've been free all day. Everyone, welcome to the Dreamjolt Hostelry—"
"We sell everything on the menu, except SoulGlad—we don't serve such boring drinks here. We sell nothing in the bar, except happiness—we only wish for you to laugh heartily."
"What would you like to drink? I'll prepare it." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Oho, not bad~
〘March 7th〙: What a Big Sister with personality.
....
『 March 7th nudged Stelle's shoulder. "Hey, hey, look, she's such a cool big sister."
"Just like Serval's style!"
Stelle glanced at Siobhan, then nodded in agreement. "It's literally her!"
"Oh? Who is Serval? Introduce me sometime," Siobhan teased.
March 7th scratched her head awkwardly. "Ah, she heard me…" 』
『 ....』
〘Serval〙: Hahahahaha.
〘Gepard〙: Sis, you're laughing a bit too loudly.
....
『 Gallagher looked helplessly at Siobhan, who was teasing the two girls. "Stop teasing them, my good bartender. Don't trouble yourself, I'll show off my skills today."
"I'm getting old. If I don't practice, I'm afraid I'll even forget the trade I used to make a living. Where did you put the raw ingredients for mixing?"
Siobhan pointed to the counter. "Right there, under the counter. Since our guests have come from afar, aren't you going to whip up some special custom drinks?"
Gallagher nodded, looking at Stelle and the other two. "My thoughts exactly. Friends, do me a favor—look around the bar and bring back the ingredients you like."
"This case is probably going to take a long time to discuss. I'll prepare some suitable drinks for you all—tailor-made, non-alcoholic."
March 7th pointed to the bar counter in confusion. "In the bar? Isn't everything we can use right there on the counter?"
Siobhan explained. "This is the Dreamscape, lovely lady. As long as you wish, anything can be swallowed—tranquility, hunger, confusion, weariness… we have it all, right at your fingertips."
Hearing this, March 7th looked at Stelle. "Hey, she called me a lovely lady…!" 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Does this feel familiar to anyone?
〘Stelle〙: Beautiful lady…
〘March 7th〙: Am I really just a stand-in?
....
『 "Even in reality, mixing drinks isn't just about combining liquids and ingredients. A mixologist captures the atmosphere of the bar, focusing on the blend of technique and story, adding a little touch of mystery and anticipation…"
Siobhan took over from Gallagher. "…only then can they brew the unique flavor of each person's life together with the customer."
"In other words, what you drink depends on fate. So don't overthink it. Hesitation is the ultimate enemy of enjoyment," Gallagher shrugged.
March 7th, and Stelle began searching for mixing ingredients. The two arrived at a counter, where March 7th was drawn to a bottle of beautifully colored liquid.
"Hey, look, the liquid in this bottle is quite pretty. The label says… Sweet Dream Syrup • Extra Thick. Can't seem to find an expiration date, but the sealing date is…"
March 7th picked up the bottle and looked at the slightly blurry words on it. Once she saw it clearly, her eyes widened in shock.
"Half an Amber Era ago?!"
She hastily put the bottle down and looked at Stelle. "If someone drinks this, something bad will definitely happen…"
Stelle put her hand on her chin, thought for a moment, and said to March 7th, "Maybe it hasn't expired yet."
March 7th pointed at the bottle from before, making a disgusted face. "Ugh… this stuff has clumped up, you can't even shake it… Even if it hasn't expired, I absolutely don't want to drink this." 』
『 ....』
〘Qingque〙: There's an old saying in the Xianzhou: wine gets mellower with age. Syrup should be the same, right…
〘HSR Seele〙: Syrup from half an Amber Era ago has only clumped up?! Should I say 'as expected of a dream'?
....
『 Siobhan looked at the bottle of syrup they were staring at and smiled. "You've taken a liking to my treasured syrup? Don't worry, this is a dream, you won't get an upset stomach. It's been aged for a long time, so the taste should be quite excellent. Take it, it's perfect for treating lovely guests like you."
"Ah… then… then we'll take it for now." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: You've completely lost yourself in those compliments of 'lovely'.
〘March 7th〙: Ehe~
〘Dan Heng〙: Syrup from half an Amber Era ago… I can't even imagine its sweetness.
〘Silver Wolf〙: Probably enough to make Kafka lose her composure?
〘Belle〙: That's pretty impressive.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: That's pretty impressive.
〘Hanabi〙: That's impressive, pretty.
....