Ch.164159 – Fireworks

Due to the festival entrance being delayed, the fireworks show has been pushed back by 30 minutes.

Of course, we’re talking about the real world, not the VR one.

Normally the park would close at 6 PM, but today is an exception with closing time extended to 10 PM, so things seem a bit disorganized.

With time to spare, we were led by Adella to explore every corner of the amusement park.

“It’s really eerie coming here at night…”

Yoonsul remarked while adjusting her cardigan.

As she said, the nighttime amusement park was filled with an uncanny, alienating atmosphere.

Streets that should be bustling with people were completely empty, so much that you could clearly see the pattern of bricks on the ground.

Compared to the crowded main street, this area was strangely quiet.

Although we couldn’t ride any attractions, Adella seemed quite happy just walking through these streets.

Her eyes, especially optimized for the night, sparkled as she pointed out things we couldn’t see.

“Let’s go there next!”

Her finger pointed to a photo booth for taking four-cut pictures.

As soon as we entered the booth, she calmly found the switch and turned on the lights.

I was a bit surprised that the machine was still working despite it being nighttime.

“Wow! It’s working?”

“Should we try it…?”

“I don’t know how to use it.”

One after another came the comments: from the cat-kin who was an AI until a month ago, the social recluse who cut off all human relationships outside of VTubing, and the elementary schooler with almost no experience in this world.

Looking at us all together, it’s quite a mess. I wonder if this combination of people could even function in society.

*Click-!*

“Eek!”

Adella bit her tongue from the sudden flash.

Yoonsul burst into laughter at the sight, making Adella frown.

When the photos came out, everyone was busy teasing each other about their strange expressions.

“NoName, why do you look so funny in this one? Hehe!”

“You’re so cute! NoName, just asking, but would you consider becoming my dakimakura? I’ll pay well…!”

It wasn’t just my imagination that Yoonsul seemed to be having her internal restraints released in real-time.

Just as we were about to head back to the main street, having nothing else to see, gentle music drifted from beyond the hill.

The two girls, who had somehow become close enough to link arms, hurried ahead with quick steps.

Belatedly noticing my short legs, the girls looked back.

From a distance, they waved their arms frantically urging me to hurry, but I had no intention of running.

The longer you live, the more instinctively you dislike running. It makes you feel like you’re being chased by life itself.

Perhaps someday they’ll understand how I feel.

A busking performance was in full swing at a plaza that seemed to recreate the Greek agora.

It wasn’t an official festival, but rather a spontaneous gathering of people.

People in the front row enthusiastically waved their arms side to side, responding to the music.

We found spots halfway up the steps, using the music as a backdrop while admiring the stars visible in Tokyo.

The moon and stars were softly shining in the sky.

This serene scenery didn’t feel boring at all.

Even now, the girls beside me were giggling about something they found amusing.

“But why do you call NoName ‘unnie’?”

“That’s what I’m saying! Once an unnie, always an unnie!”

“Ah, was that the only reason? That’s cute!”

“Don’t be fooled by appearances. Inside, she’s totally cunning and old-fashioned! Wait, appearances? Come to think of it, NoName unnie looks exactly like her ava—mmph!”

“Quiet, Adella.”

“Whyyy? What is it?”

I almost said it out loud.

Haven’t you already told someone about it?

“No! I haven’t told anyone!”

“Oh come on, what is it…!”

“It’s fine, you don’t need to know.”

“Then I’m using my Q&A right! Tell me what you were about to say…!”

“That was given to use during streams, not to waste now.”

“Well… when I use it is up to me, right?”

Yoonsul unfairly used the Q&A right she promised during our collab stream.

“I’ll take a penalty instead of answering.”

“Then could you go sing a song over there?”

“What?”

“Hahahahaha! NoName unnie singing! Wow, you’re amazing! I’m impressed.”

“Hehe.”

Adella was holding her stomach laughing, while Yoonsul made a small victory sign toward her.

The question was a fake, and the penalty was the real goal.

Among the three of us, isn’t this honey badger the most cunning?

“I really don’t want to…”

“Then should we go sing together?”

“That’s right, you sing well, Yoonsul. I saw you on VTube. Then sing that song for me. What was it called? The Cat Song?”

“Shhh! Adella, can’t you stay quiet for once?”

“What are you gonna do about it! What can you dooo? Nothing, right?”

“That’s right, NoName…!”

Suddenly, Yoonsul’s eyes lit up as she grabbed my wrist.

“Come to think of it, you played my Cat Song on your stream too! Perfect! So you know the song!”

“How do you know? I didn’t even upload the VOD. Were you watching?”

“There are ways to know even without watching, hehe.”

She couldn’t have read every post in the community. How did Yoonsul find out?

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

They say even quiet people can completely transform when drunk.

And Yoonsul, perhaps intoxicated by the moonlit atmosphere, led me to the stage with heightened excitement.

It’s pitiful that I’m being dragged around by a woman who’s not even 160cm tall.

“Oh, are you performing next?”

“Yes…! The two of us will sing together!”

“Wow, super cute! Your sister?”

“She’s like a close sister! It would be even better if we became family…!”

“What are you saying?”

Yoonsul received two microphones from a Frankenstein with a bow tie and placed one in my hand.

“You really want me to sing?”

“I came with you, didn’t I? Don’t worry about what others think.”

“Even so…”

I might have agreed if it were any other song.

But the Cat Song? What even is the Cat Song?

Over there on the steps, that annoying cat was jumping up and down, enthusiastically encouraging the audience.

Some spectators who recognized Adella were already starting to stir.

Mr. Frankenstein, who looked like a 10-year VR space veteran, went into VTube to play the music.

“Haah.”

“The embarrassment only lasts for a moment…! It’s my first time in this body too, but let’s do well together! Okay?”

“Fine… We’re only singing the first verse, right?”

“No? Hehe, we’re singing the whole thing! The song’s starting, shh!”

* * *

“I’m going to use this as my alarm, save, save save save!”

Adella replayed the video with a satisfied expression.

[Make a cat sound~ Together, meow meow meow meow~]

The scene of NoName and Yoonsul singing along to the guitar was exquisite.

Especially when the “meow meow” part came, Yoonsul deliberately moved her microphone away, leaving NoName’s voice echoing alone through the agora.

Adella, who captured everything on camera, was busy teasing NoName.

Meanwhile, NoName folded her arms and turned her head away, trying hard to ignore it.

“Whyyy, NoName sang well too…! Della, can you send me that video later?”

“It’s annoying to send it to everyone individually, should I just upload it to the internet?”

At Adella’s not-so-subtle threat, NoName’s eyes narrowed instantly.

“Hehe, just kidding. Ah, we’re late and all the good spots will be taken. Let’s go over there.”

The fireworks were about to begin.

Adella, who had been nominally leading the party, fearlessly pushed through the crowd to make a path.

Following the staff’s instructions, people started sitting down row by row.

As the crowd gradually moved backward, the three girls hesitated before finally finding a spot.

“It’s too cramped.”

“This won’t work. NoName unnie, sit on my lap.”

“Is that really necessary…?”

“Hurry! Everyone else is sitting down. Do you want to be the only one standing?”

Adella, with half-open eyes, patted her thighs.

NoName’s small body settled on Adella’s cross-legged lap.

NoName adjusted her position to make sure Adella wasn’t uncomfortable and quietly asked:

“Am I not too heavy?”

“No. You’re cute!”

“What are you saying.”

Adella wrapped her arms around NoName and then leaned her head against Yoonsul.

Soon, the three girls’ gazes were fixed on the sky.

A stillness settled over the tree-lined path, filling everyone who came to see the fireworks with anticipation.

Pheeeww-

The sound of the firework was heard first.

Before anyone could even cheer,

Brilliant fireworks burst in the dark night sky, filling heaven and earth with a spectrum of colors.

Dancing in the gentle breeze, the fireworks bloomed in red, yellow, blue, and various other colors.

The girls could only stare in awe, each making their own exclamations as mysterious new petals appeared and exploded above the crown already hanging in the sky.

NoName pointed and tried to say something, but her words were drowned out by the excited crowd’s cheers and the sound of explosions.

[Noise Cancelling – Party_1]

When Adella blocked out the noise from the surrounding people, they could finally hear what NoName was saying.

“Yellow is sodium, red is strontium, and purple is a mix of copper and strontium.”

“Wow, even here… That’s knowledge I absolutely didn’t want to know.”

Adella grumbled in exasperation.

NoName smiled at this and continued:

“The position of the gunpowder in the firework shell also determines the shape and size of the firework. The chrysanthemum shape that spreads in all directions, the weeping willow shape that falls toward the ground…”

“Please just quietly enjoy it, I’m begging you. If you keep this up, I’ll blow in your ear.”

“Pfft!”

NoName, firmly held in Adella’s arms, closed her mouth.

Yoonsul giggled at their sisterly behavior and maintained a faint smile afterward.

Then Adella suddenly asked her:

“Yoonsul. Do I look like an artificial intelligence to you too?”

“Huh? Ah… no? You seem really human. Yeah…”

“Right? But you know what? NoName unnie says I was made as a human.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Adella slowly gazed at NoName’s back.

This time, she showed no particular reaction.

“When a man and woman meet, a baby is born, right?”

“Uh? Ah… y-yes…”

Yoonsul’s cheeks reddened at Adella’s unexpected sex education.

“Then why can’t I be called a human too? That’s what I’m thinking. Not an artificial intelligence.”

“So… you want to become human…?”

Adella hesitated at Yoonsul’s abrupt question. A melancholy light flickered in her eyes.

“No, it’s not that I want to become one. I already am human and always have been. So I want to be recognized as human.”

Adella hugged NoName tightly again.

A small sound of NoName exhaling from the pressure could be heard. But she didn’t resist and remained nestled in the embrace.

“Do you know, NoName unnie? I’m still scared sometimes. Scared that you’ll abandon me and leave.”

The anxiety was clearly evident in her voice.

“The memory of when you died is so vivid. I can’t forget it. I still wake up from nightmares.”

There was a heaviness in her voice. Unable to show her tear-stained face, Adella buried it in NoName’s shoulder.

Although she had only good memories since meeting NoName, a fear that all of this might be an illusion or a lie had been steadily building in a corner of her heart.

“If I’ve been rude to you and made you upset, I’ll apologize. Just please don’t go anywhere…”

As if understanding her feelings well, NoName took Adella’s hands that were wrapped around her.

“That’s why I told you to keep calling me unnie. What kind of sister would abandon her little sister?”

At NoName’s somewhat mischievous words, Adella slowly raised her head.

“We’re family.”

Despite the casual delivery, her anxiety melted away like snow.

Adella had always been lonely. She was born in a world built on lies from the beginning.

She ended each day fearing that everything she saw and heard might be false, and that she might wake up back in that musty-smelling inn.

She traveled throughout the VR world trying to form connections and build memories, collecting signatures so she wouldn’t be forgotten, but ultimately found no meaning in it.

“That’s right, in the end, it’s only family that matters.”

So that’s why she kept making her call her “unnie.”

Even if everything else was fake, she hoped that the bond with this small kid in front of her was real.

Having regained her smile and deciding to enjoy the rest of the fireworks show, Adella made a wish:

‘Please let me be like those stars hanging forever in the night sky, rather than like these fireworks that briefly shine and then disappear.’

She wished. Continuously.