"As long as you gain his approval, you'll finally be able to reveal your true identity!"
Another strange trial was completed.
The audience, like Firefly, could no longer hold it in.
...
: I'm seriously laughing to death. I suddenly suspect these judges are undercover agents sent by Aha.
: Each performance is more ridiculous than the last, yet they still let them pass. This scoring system is clearly based on how funny it is—the funnier, the higher the score!
: Welt has now been roasted for six minutes...
----------------------------
The barrage of comments scrolled across the screen.
At this moment, Firefly finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After passing the test of the physical challenge, Stelle and Firefly finally stepped onto the stage of the final showdown.
"Hopefully, there won't be another performance…"
Firefly whispered, "If I could skip these trials, I'd rather spend a year fighting the swarm."
"Eh, Firefly, what are you talking about?"
Stelle suddenly asked beside her.
"N-no, nothing."
The previously downcast Firefly turned back into a pitiful girl, showing a gentle smile.
Stelle didn't ask further and instead looked ahead.
There was a huge stage.
No one else was there, no props—completely empty.
But a familiar flash of red was vaguely visible.
"Hiss… no way, I think I saw… someone extraordinary."
Stelle widened her eyes.
"Hmm?" Firefly didn't understand.
Stelle didn't explain much and instead pulled Firefly along toward the stage.
As they got closer, she finally saw who it was.
But the person beat them to it and spoke first:
"Wait! You two beautiful young ladies…"
That pleasant voice, that poetic manner of speaking—
The audience immediately widened their eyes.
Could it be…
The camera reversed, focusing on the tall knight figure.
It was Argenti!
...
: Did I see wrong? Who is that? Isn't that my bro?
: No way, why would Argenti be here? Isn't this the selections in Penacony?
: Wasn't he swallowed by the Giant Sting, helped the express to go on alone, and stayed in the Giant Sting's stomach?
: Holy crap! How did he get out?!
: Wait, could this be the president's secret move?!
: Damn, very possible! We gotta stay alert!
: Friendly reminder: Welt has suffered for eight minutes already.
...
The appearance of this Knight of Pure Beauty was completely unexpected for the audience.
After all, he was a character with no setup at all.
That's why everyone was especially curious.
In the scene, Argenti gracefully said in his aria-like tone: "Oh, praise the Aeon of Pure Beauty, I didn't expect we'd meet again. Your warm faces are like spring breeze in this restless moment, soothing my heart."
Stelle helplessly covered her forehead.
Firefly curiously looked at Argenti—this was her first time seeing a living Knight of Pure Beauty.
"Wait a sec, stop flattering me first."
Stelle coughed, sized up Argenti, and asked, "So, how did you even get here?"
"I learned the Charmony Festival was approaching, so I had the rarely used One and Only's special engine go full speed to bring me to Penacony. Yet the galaxy without pure beauty is clouded in chaos."
Argenti held his chest and said compassionately, "On the way, I was delayed due to saving lives."
Saving lives?
Firefly didn't quite understand what he meant.
Only Stelle suddenly realized something.
"Fortunately, the goblin rabbit mech pilot, the wandering cat duelist, the galaxy ninja, and the Four-Wisdom Brothers were all suffering from injuries."
"So I led them here to share the harmony with countless beautiful beings."
With those words, Stelle had an "I knew it" expression and exclaimed with emotion,
"So he's the healer! Amazing!"
Firefly showed an awkward smile and didn't chime in.
Because her brainwaves couldn't comprehend the abstract names Argenti used.
"Not worthy of praise!"
Argenti bowed humbly and thanked Stelle for her compliment, then said, "But that peacock-like brilliant IPC envoy is still unwell. I do hope he could join us for this grand occasion."
Hearing this, Stelle and Firefly looked at each other in shock.
The comment section exploded again.
...
: Wait, let me get this straight—you're telling me my bro Argenti somehow burst out of the Giant Sting's belly, saved 32 people on the way, and also, for unknown reasons, rescued Aventurine? Is that it?
: Never mind how he escaped the Giant Sting's belly—just saving 32 people on the road already sounds like some top-tier healing plot device.
: Wasn't Aventurine acting really strange at that time? Acheron was there too, and it was inside a dream! Argenti still managed to save him?!
: Damn, I feel like even a flying roadside ad would get saved by this guy.
: Is this what it means to be a Knight of Pure Beauty? Is Argenti really that powerful? He's ridiculously abstract.
: No wonder it's the Pure Beauty's path—the concept itself is abstract, and the Path Strider is even more abstract.
: Yesterday I bullied a yellow dog at school, just as I was about to kick it, the screen went dark and now I'm in a hospital.
: Bro above, you made me laugh out loud.
: Friendly reminder: Welt has suffered for nine minutes now.
...
No one knew how Argenti arrived.
No one knew how he saved those people.
Thinking about it carefully,
Did he really save them "on the way"?
That's a question mark too.
In short, in just a few dozen seconds, with just Argenti's lines, he left the audience dumbfounded and deeply curious about this red-haired big brother.
It felt like, whenever the universe is in danger, Argenti would appear right then and there.
...
That was how the audience felt at that moment.
And next—
Argenti remained gentle and courteous, but also didn't explain too much about why he was there.
Just like his reason for saving people—vague and abstract.
In their conversation, only one thing was made clear.
To pass through here, they had to duel Argenti in a knight's battle.
Don't ask why they had to fight.
If you ask—well, the narrator doesn't know either. The narrator thought it was the calling of Pure Beauty. Go ask my halberd.
Of course, this battle wouldn't be too hard.
For Argenti, it was just a ceremonial fight, because Stelle and Firefly had something important to do—even if they didn't tell him.
So, this fight was more of a symbolic knightly duel.
As Stelle took out her Galaxy Baseball and exchanged a few moves with Argenti, the final stage was cleared.
Passing through the gate, Himeko and March 7th had also cleared their path.
The four regrouped and headed to their final destination.
It was an especially long road.
At the end of the road, a giant, silent silhouette loomed in the distance.
It was Sunday.
Upon seeing Sunday, the audience—who had just been enjoying the cheerful scene—was suddenly snapped awake.
Because next to Sunday, there was… no one!
...
: Friendly reminder—Welt has suffered—wait, what the hell! Why is there no one next to Sunday?! Where's my big man Welt?!