Chapter 73 Problem...? Solution!

In response, Daniel muttered something unintelligible, his words being barely audible over the crackle of the distant fireworks. Leaning in closer, Dante strained to hear him, her curiosity piqued by his muttering. "No..." he murmured, his tone laced with uncertainty.

"No...? Then are we fine? Can we keep going-" she began, but before she could finish her sentence, Daniel's voice cut through her sentence, "No... not that. First, your problem!" He snapped, with his tone laced with a hint of impatience. "Second, it's been since you came to this place; this transformation, in particular, just makes it more noticeable." With even more anger, he calmly yelled, "And third, get off me, you and all of these random cats... And why do you always bring them in black?"

The girl recoiled slightly with a jump; her expression was a mix of surprise and contrition as she realized her mistake. Using her slim arms, she had placed a bunch of black cats on his chest, their curious eyes staring up at him with a mixture of innocence and mischief. With a sheepish grin, she quickly apologized, her words tumbling out in a rush of contrition. "Sorry! And we don't know... We just grab the threads that conform to the abominations of reality itself and bring a cute kitty cat every time! I can't choose what type of cat! It's just pure luck!"

Daniel listened intently to Dante's explanation, his brow furrowed in concern as he processed the strange explanation; he had already given up on giving coherence to anything, but he had to keep trying; he interjected, "Didn't the system warn you about her chaotic nature?

Dante deftly reached into her pocket, her slender fingers grasping a yoyo with practiced ease; with a swift flick of her wrist, she swung her arm forward, propelling the yoyo into a wide arc that sliced through the air with a soft whir, tracing a perfect circle around her; the name of the trick was 'around the world' she continued explaining, "Well... no! but as we were reading thru the abilities we discovered that we have 2 passive bars! Well, technically, one because we need to pay for the other, but-

Daniel, ignoring the captivating trick of the girl, already knew where this was going if he let her be, with his tone firm but not unkind. He grabbed the yoyo and launched it away, saying, "Get to the point."

Dante hurriedly explained, her words tumbling out in a rush of breathless excitement, "It's at 8.9% thanks to all the stuff we have been doing, and we can spend that bar to get total control over our body! And-" She abruptly stopped with an open mouth, and her eyes dilatated, losing their excitement; she looked at her hands, opening them and closing them fastly, because now they felt alien, before saying normally, "I'm... It's hard to explain, but I wasn't in actual control, and now the bar is decreasing... The system calls it rationality. It works like... Sanity doing stuff with the personality of Pinkie increases it but taking on control slowly decreases it.

Dante's eyes searched Daniel's for reassurance as she asked, "Well, I'm going to increase the bar as much as I can. Could you bear with the new personality the whole day?"

Daniel's response was a silent stare with unspoken thoughts and emotions; his mind began to imagine all the extravagant deeds that could come up in just a day. His gaze turned to the shiny stars in the black-azure sky; after a moment, he took a deep breath and then bluntly said, "No."

Dante completely ignored his answer and began to bid farewell because soon he would be obliterated by the pinkie personality, "Great! Thanks for understanding. Just be with her, talk, interact, play, eat things. I'll be going because I have the hunch I'll need all the rationality possible really soon... GOOD LUCK! And try to have fun!"

A small smile began to creep across Dante's face as she watched Daniel's reaction. With a sudden burst of energy, she propelled herself forward, the sound of a trampoline echoing through the air as she moved with newfound vibrancy. She exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement, "Didn't you hear us? We've got to enjoy and have fun! The night is still young!" 

"..." Daniel just blankly stared at the girl; both of them stayed like this for an entire minute until finally, Dante broke the silence with a casual remark, her tone light despite the gravity of their situation. "If you wonder it, yes, we are the same person! Just different intrusive thoughts! Like we can remember everything, including the serious talk!"

Remembering how it felt like an eternity just being 1 day with her, Daniel calmly walked away from the scene while raising a defiant middle finger in farewell, declaring to the annoying girl and the heavens, "Fuck this shit! I'm not going to take care of you. Go and search for Thalassa or just make new friends; you seem like a great fit for Amelia."

The girl responded with a happy thumbs-up and enthusiastically yelled, "Okay! Then see ya! We'll go and find Thalassa to pass the rest of the night!" Dante went to the system shop and wasted 10 of gold in a ton of normal articles to make references; he grabbed a USA flag from the inventory and covered herself in it, using it to disappear into the shadows, leaving Daniel alone with his thoughts and the bustling celebration.

Daniel sighed in relief, feeling a rare but simple moment of joy washing over him like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. For a brief moment, the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders, being replaced by a sense of peace and contentment. But as quickly as it had come, the tranquility was shattered, his serenity crushed beneath the weight of reality.

In a mere 4.11 seconds, his short but peaceful trance was interrupted by the sudden return of the girl, who emerged from a nearby trash can with Thalassa cradled in her arms. Confusion clouded Daniel's and Thalassa's faces as both watched the scene unfold.

Dante, rushing near Daniel to grab him and continue exploring the event with him, yelled cheerfully, "We found Thalassa!!!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with boundless energy. "Let's go and enjoy the rest of the night... Oh, and by the way, I brought another black cat with us!"

The same black cat with the number 13 mumbled, "*MEOW!!!*"

Thalassa, still reeling in her mind the otherwordly scene this was, murmured, her red-pinkish LED eyes shining brightly as she spoke, "This feels slightly strange..."

Dante turned his gaze below her; the feminine robot couldn't show emotions except for her voice and hand movement, so Dante asked, in case she was uncomfortable, "Do you want us to let you go?

Thalassa paused for a moment, considering Dante's offer before shaking her head. "No," she replied, her tone neutral but tinged with curiosity. "I just said strange... it's still witty... and intriguing..."

Daniel, in the background, seeing how she actually cared about the robot compared to the drastic treatment he had been given, exclaimed, slightly angrily, "Do you have a thing for robots, or why did you treat me like a dog the entire time compared to her?"

Dante, not minding Daniel much, brushed him off with a big smile and almost closed eyes, "The closer your bond is with someone, the more extreme and drastic you can be with them!" She explained, her tone serious and playful, "It's not the same beating the crap out of your friend for the last slice of pizza than beating the crap out of your BEST FRIEND for a slice of pizza... even if the entire pizza is there and he paid for the entire stuff because you forgot your wallet! Oh! and also, you just lost at Mario Party and need a excuse to do it!"

With a quick change of subject, Dante turned her attention back to Thalassa, her enthusiasm bubbling over, "Cool! we got you a pendant!" Dante began to quickly caress her soft head. "We never realized this, but you feel really soft!"

Thalassa, unsure whether to take the comment as a compliment or an insult, simply replied, "Thanks..."

"Which reminded me to..." He yelled, his voice echoing through the night air with a mix of irritation and exasperation. "I TOLD YOU TO GO WITH THALASSA, NOT BRING HER HERE!!!"