Chapter 27: Oddities on the Beach
Night Star left the theater, intending to find inspiration for writing a script.
But being her first time with this, she was bound to take many wrong turns and would have to discuss it with the troupe afterward. If things got really desperate, Night Lan could always ask other Night Watchers at the base for help. There’d surely be some wise old souls out there interested in such matters.
And don’t forget, the Night Watchers have an official website where they can ask for help from a multitude of people!
First, though, she needed to figure out what kind of story to perform.
“Hmm~ What type of story should I try to make interesting?”
Night Star walked down the street, racking her brain and finding nothing suitable for the troupe. With no better idea, she decided to clear her mind and seek inspiration elsewhere.
She randomly called for a taxi online, wanting to go somewhere she had long desired to visit.
After a while, the taxi pulled up beside Night Star.
“Driver, I want to go to the beach.”
“Sure thing.”
Night Star buckled herself in and the taxi set off.
The city had a beach and even “the sea,” but they were artificial, not naturally occurring landscapes.
At the edge of Yun Chang City lay a huge sandy beach and a large artificial lake. Though not as extensive as a real ocean, modern technology made it feel very real, like stepping into an underwater world.
Night Star had once seen pictures of the artificial beach in Yun Chang City and thought it looked impressive—only she had been too busy with work to actually visit then. After turning into a loli, she forgot all about that.
Now, trying to collect inspiration for a new script, she remembered the place, which finally seemed like a good opportunity to satisfy her past regret.
Time to wait it out…
“Hey there, little missy, you going to the beach alone?”
“Yeah.”
“Not safe, honey! It’s better to go with a group, especially given your tiny frame. You could easily become a target for bad guys.”
“Well, I’m just going to look around and come back immediately. I won’t stay long.”
“I see. Would you like me to wait for you? It’ll cost a bit extra, but it’s quite reasonable.”
“Uh? No thank you.” Night Star wasn’t expecting such a kind offer from the driver.
But she felt a tad awkward accepting a stranger’s kindness and didn’t want to impose on anyone.
“Alright then.”
The driver didn’t press her and gently changed the topic.
Drivers often loved chatting with passengers; very friendly and sociable bunch.
Though still having some social anxiety, Night Star politely kept the conversation going out of courtesy.
“Even though beach traffic has decreased recently, it’s still safer to travel in groups. They say the place had a lot of strange rumors way back, sounded like ghost stories. Why, little missy, are you planning to write a horror script?”
“No, just searching for inspiration.”
“Inspiration? Are you a young writer?”
“Not exactly.” Night Star felt ashamed admitting she was just starting out, so she decisively redirected the conversation.
“Say, driver, can you tell me those rumors you mentioned? They sound intriguing.”
“Sure thing.” The driver cheerfully agreed.
“They say it was haunted.”
“What?!”
Night Star almost shut down her brain right there.
This was the 21st century, and ghost rumors? Really?
If you rephrased it as reports of electronic ghosts, maybe it’d be believable. But spirits? Preposterous.
She’d rather think it was pranks played by a ditz like Eypar.
The driver continued, “I know it sounds far-fetched, but it’s true. People who’ve toured the beach say they heard voices when sunbathing, but upon closer inspection, no one was there. At night, staff patrolling noticed mumblings, despite thorough searches and life-detection devices showing no one.”
Night Star muttered under her breath, “Hmm, that’s really strange.”
“Yeah, it caused quite a stir, but inspections revealed nothing unusual, and the rumors persisted.”
“Wouldn’t that mean the beach would lose its popularity?”
“Nah, because there were no actual injuries, probably just pranks by someone causing the buzz.”
“Oh, I see.”
Night Star nodded thoughtfully. It brought to mind the useless ghost she kept at home.
The nuisance loved causing trouble, constantly stirring up scary incidents. Otherwise, Night Star might have already sent the ghost girl to her eternal rest.
Still, the beach’s oddity must’ve been something else beyond the ghostly mischief. Probably recent activities outside of Yun Chang City.
Since modern tech couldn’t explain it, she suspected it was something like a Star Eclipse incident, though a harmless one at that, perhaps too weak even for Know Star to detect.
In no time, she pieced together the mystery, nearly ready to verify it herself.
Soon, the taxi stopped.
“Here you are. Have a great and safe trip.”
“Thanks, driver.”
Night Star disembarked, waving charmingly. The hover car drove off.
Turning around to observe her surroundings, she took a deep breath.
“Wow, how amazing!”
As soon as she got out, Night Lan saw the expansive beach, which was quite a sight.
Then there was the realistically simulated sea, stretching endlessly and seemingly powered by some top-notch technology!
Even though Yun Chang City wasn’t coastal, the view was remarkable.
Night Star removed her shoes and white stockings, letting her delicate feet sink into the soft sand with grains nestling between her toes—an oddly delightful sensation.
“How awesome!”
Her blush-tinted eyes sparkled like stars, fascinated by the fresh experience.
What else could she expect from a stay-at-home loli who hadn’t even seen the sea before?
“Decided! I’m going to explore here thoroughly, making today a rare day off.”
After engaging with the sand, Night Star completely forgot about her original quest for inspiration.
Right now, she only wanted to play in the sand, build castles, and sculpt it! Recreating every seaside scene from anime!
After all, who could resist the allure of a beautiful beach and sea?
