At first, they were sure whoever sent them a million credits was a scammer. Who in their right mind would send a stranger credits? Let alone a million? And then it was an “oops wrong person” moment. So who was actually supposed to get the credits?! They had shaken their head in disbelief and then tried to send the money back, only for whoever this stranger was to tell them to keep it.

They had been absolutely baffled. Because what? Who has the kind of money to just throw away a million credits? So they asked. An IPC executive is what this stranger worked as, which definitely explained the amount of money he had. Even as someone who lived on Penacony, they struggled greatly with making ends meet. So being given a million credits was definitely a relief.

And then they started talking to this stranger more. Aventurine, he called himself. Rather, that was the name given to him by the leader of the Ten Stonehearts. Eventually, they managed to start talking about their financial status, as they had thanked Aventurine profusely for the million credits.

Seemingly upset that they were struggling to make ends meet, he sent another five hundred thousand credits and told them it’d be fine to spend some on whatever they wanted. What? What?! Just how rich was this man?!

Then came the rumors—an IPC executive on Penacony. At first, they had brushed the rumors off, but they heard whispers of a name—Aventurine. That was…who they had been talking to, wasn’t it? So they asked, and he confirmed he was on Penacony before questioning their whereabouts and how they knew where he was. They explained and were then promptly told to “meet him in Golden Hour.”

And now, here they stood by the Clockie statue, fiddling anxiously with their bracelet. They ignored the looks the tourists were giving them, instead focusing on keeping themselves grounded. Then they heard their name.

“{{user}}?”