NOVEL NEXT Chapter 344: Carnival Game?
After a short drive, they made it to the city centre. And currently, they were exiting a store that sold mobile devices.
"They seriously didn't have the phone you wanted?" Lillian asked, glancing towards the object clutched in the woman's hands.
It was a pure white box with a large, sharp, and stylised 'N' on it, which was formed with intersecting arcs. It was primarily a deep blue but had other colours that gave it a reflective look.
Marionette unravelled the box while making a slow and disappointed nod, "Yes. It seems NOVA-Line doesn't have any models with the hardware that I prefer..."
Pulling the device out of the box, she scrutinised it.
It was a 6-inch phone with rounded corners. It was made with a durable aluminium alloy frame, which had a ceramic back that was resistant to scratches while also providing anti-fingerprint properties.
And meticulously, the NOVA-Line logo was etched into the back of the phone.
Pocketing her phone, the Assassin then muttered with an expressionless face:
"I'll also need to transfer all of my data from my last phone."
"You really gotta tell me how you broke it—"
"No."
Lillian pouted, then exclaimed:
"Oh, come on! I'm dying of curiosity here!"
Marionette, staring at Lillian's puffed cheek, raised her hand and pinched the girl's soft cheek. This led the Rabbit to squeal as they eventually broke free.
Marionette, smiling slightly, answered:
"If you really must know... It was destroyed during the incident. Will that suffice?"
Lillian, who was rubbing her cheek, paused and gave the Assassin a deadpan look, "You already told me that... I want to know how it became broken in the first place!"
Marionette folded her arms, standing in place, "Then how about you tell me where you disappeared off to? Perhaps when you do, I will tell."
Lillian, feeling the woman's eyes narrowing on her, gulped before slowly glancing away.
She then stated in a rebellious tone:
"Heh. Good luck, I'm not telling you that."
"... Tch."
Marionette then snatched Lillian's left hand and began to stroll forward.
Lillian couldn't help but chuckle wryly at this as she looked down at their wrists. For today, they wouldn't be wearing the handcuffs, which was a relief for her.
She then raised her eyes and took a look around.
The city centre of Restara. It was home to a variety of entertaining shows and operas, while also having historical places such as museums and art galleries.
In the past, Restara had been more of a medical nation. Home to the best doctors and medical care the world could ever have. Well, the care out of the four nations.
However, after a couple of centuries or so, the South Nation had leaned more towards battle than healing, allowing it to be able to contend with other nations if it were ever invaded.
"Lillian..."
Lillian, feeling a pat on her shoulder, eventually blinked back into reality.
Looking around, she found herself inside a museum. And this section seemed to hold fractured remains of great monsters.
She turned to the side and found Marionette's hand on her shoulder. She gave the woman a head tilt and asked:
"Were you calling for me?"
Marionette gave a subtle frown.
"I was... Are you so interested in that notebook that you forgotten what we've been doing?"
"Huh?"
Looking down, she found the notebook that she was using as a guide to be open in her hands.
Earlier, she did remember that she took it out to see what was next on the agenda, but she didn't realise it had been opened the entire time.
Lillian gave a soft giggle, putting it away as she found the Assassin to be pouting a bit. She slowly brought her hand and interlocked it with the woman's.
Marionette, feeling her hand clutched by the girl, couldn't help but instinctively tighten her hold. She looked away before pulling Lillian forward.
The two then went on to enjoy the museum with Lillian pointing and pulling the Assassin over to see, and Marionette, who walked around with some mild interests.
Eventually, they finished their journey through the museum and began walking around the city centre, taking a look at statues of important individuals, buying and walking around with desserts.
Marionette, who was currently holding a waffle cone with chocolate ice cream, watched as a man balanced himself on a comically large balloon as children huddled around them.
Her eyes narrowed before looking around with a hint of disgust at what she saw. But then, her eyes lit up as she found Lillian standing behind her.
And... She was currently looking down at her notebook...
Lillian flinched as she found arms wrapped around her neck. Looking up, she found Marionette staring down at her with a slight pout.
She then heard her say:
"Pay attention to me..."
Lillian felt something crack inside her heart as she heard the woman say this. And she immediately placed the notebook back into her ring before rubbing her cheek up against the Assassin's.
Soon enough, they decided to partake in a nearby carnival game.
Which... Left Lillian feeling frustrated as she tightened her grip around a rubber ball that could pop at any moment.
She glared at a metal can that, although had been hit countless times, hadn't yet wobbled once.
She pointed angrily at it:
"This is rigged!"
The owner of the game then walked over, twirling his moustache elegantly as he exclaimed:
"It is not!"
"Oh, yeah? I hit that thing with three of these balls you gave me. It's either I have the strength of an infant or those cans are without a doubt glued to the wooden shelf!"
Marionette, who was watching this unfold, looked towards the prizes hanging over them.
It ranged from silly toys to small plushies to larger ones.
She then asked Lillian:
"Which of these is it that you want?"
Lillian gave an exasperated sigh before pointing towards an overly large stuffed white rabbit.
"That rabbit... But at this rate, I feel like I'm not going to be able to win it."
Marionette, folding her arms, held her chin in thought as she pushed her hand out towards Lillian and gestured for the ball.
Lillian pulled back before giggling hesitantly, "Hehe, I can do it—"
However, a split second later, the ball was snatched out of her hand.
After being given the rubber ball, she stood in front of the stand and casually threw it towards the metal can—
Thump...
—And watched as it bounced off without any reaction.
Marionette gave a slow hum.
And just as she was about to buy another round, she found that Lillian had already paid for it with a playful grin on her face.
Marionette blinked at her before smiling slightly.
After grabbing another rubber ball, she wrapped it in a thin and solid layer of darkness.
Then, she used the measured strength needed to knock it down—something she had gauged from her earlier throw.
And the moment the ball crashed into the metal can, it tore through it with ease.
Even going as far as breaking through the wooden shelf behind it.
The owner of the game and the nearby people gaped at this. But they immediately ran as the tent of the carnival game wobbled.
Marionette, tilting her head at this, watched in the corner of her eyes a liquid tentacle reaching towards the hanging stuffed rabbit.
She turned towards Lillian and found the girl holding it out to her with a cheeky expression:
"I'd say that you knocked it down~"
Marionette tilted her head, grabbing onto the soft rabbit. She scrutinised the plushy and found it rather appealing. However, she was nonetheless confused.
"Do you not wish to hold it?"
Lillian rubbed the back of her neck with an embarrassed smile.
"W-well... I wanted to be the one to win it for you, but... I guess this works too, right?"
Marionette, hearing the girl's reason, looked down at the stuffed rabbit again for a moment. She then wrapped her arms around its chest tightly before burying her face into the back of its head shyly.
Her nose then twitched for a moment. And after a few twitches, she then pulled the rabbit away from her and gestured to Lillian to take it.
Lillian, seeing that the Assassin didn't want to hold it anymore, couldn't help but smile wryly. Did she not want it?
"D-do you uh... Not want it—?"
But she was quickly interrupted.
Marionette then demanded in an adamant voice, as though she had ulterior motives:
"Hold it for a while. And hold it tightly."
Lillian tilted her head and nodded slowly, "Sure...?"
She wrapped her arms around the rabbit and couldn't help but melt into its softness. And the moment she was doing this, she heard the sounds of a camera flashing.
Her face twitched as she slowly brought her face up, watching as Marionette was holding the camera of her phone towards her.
The Assassin had been doing this the entire day. And since Lillian was aware the entire time, she knew that this was the 30th photo, at least.
Marionette slowly lowered her phone and then asked out loud with a confused look:
"Why did it flash?"