Trixie and Uni started loading up their bags with their snacks, carefully arranging them in the trunk. The clerk watched with a wide smile on his face.

"You ladies make sure to take breaks and not eat all those treats in one go. The road can be unpredictable, especially with people tearing up the robots from the ground, making traffic all haywire."

Trixie perked up. "Woah, did you say robots?! You guys have robots in traffic here, I never noticed! Unless I was driving in the wrong places?"

"Oh, no," the clerk chuckled. "The traffic lights."

"Woah wait, y'all call traffic lights robots?!”

Uni and the clerk laughed heartily at the unexpected revelation.

Uni chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "Traffic robots, eh? That's a new one. We have traffic lights back home, but we just call them...traffic lights. Maybe you just got lost in the wrong part of town?"

The clerk smiled. "I can see how that could confuse you. But yeah, we call them robots here. It's just a local term, I guess.”

"Well, you learn something new every day," Trixie mused, her mind still processing the idea of "traffic robots."

Uni chimed in, still chuckling. "Yeah, linguistic differences always keep things interesting."

The clerk watched the exchange, clearly amused by their surprise. "You girls are a hoot, I tell ya. It's fun to see how even the simplest things can be so different from one place to the next.”

"No kidding," Uni agreed, her eyes still wide with surprise. "Even little things like calling traffic signals 'robots' can be such a culture shock. But hey, diversity is what makes traveling so fascinating, right, Trix?"

Trixie nodded, coming out of her momentary shock at the revelation. "Oh, definitely. And speaking of fascinating, I can't wait to see what other interesting things we discover along the way. This road trip is shaping up to be full of surprises.”

"You got that right," Uni replied, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Who knows what else we'll encounter? Maybe we'll stumble upon more surprising local lingo, or maybe we'll even run into some real robots, not just the traffic kind!"

The clerk chuckled, clearly delighted by their animated conversation.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Speaking of real robots," Uni continued, her mind still on the topic. "Are there any cool local attractions featuring robots? Y'know, like...robot zoos or something?"

The clerk chuckled at the idea. "Robot zoos, huh? Nah, nothing like that here. But we do have some pretty impressive tech companies that mess around with robotics, if that counts for something.”

"That does count!" Uni exclaimed, her eyes lighting up even more. "Tech companies playing with robotics sounds right up my alley. I'm a bit of a techie myself.

Trixie chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "Yeah, Uni's a bit of a nerd."

Uni playfully nudged her sister. "Says the one who can't go a day without her phone and knows every meme ever created.”

"Touché," Trixie laughed, admitting the truth in Uni's words. "But hey, it's good to have a wide range of skills. We don't all have to be techie or meme-savvy."

The clerk chimed in, intrigued. "You two seem to be quite the dynamic duo. So, if you don't mind me asking, where are you two going?"

"To the Forever Kingdom Hotel in Evergrace," Trixie answered.

"Oh, so you two live in Evergrace, awesome! I have some family up there. I hope you girls have a splendid trip back.”

"Thanks!" Uni and Trixie said in unison, their excitement building even more.

Trixie looked at Uni, a mischievous smile on her face, then turned to the clerk. "Wait, before we leave... Speaking of robots, you know why I think we call traffic signals traffic lights, and you call them robots?"

The clerk chuckled, clearly anticipating the answer. "Oh really? Why do you think that?”

"I think," Uni chimed in, her eyes sparkling, "it's because traffic lights are pretty robotic. They follow a fixed pattern, right? They have timed cycles, they change color, they give instructions without any feelings. They're like little robots controlling traffic, and you know what they say..."

Trixie grinned "If it looks like a robot, acts like a robot, and functions like a robot, it's a robot. Boom! Case closed!”

The clerk burst out laughing at their reasoning. "Well, that's certainly one way to look at it! And you know what, I think you might be onto something. Maybe there's a bit of robot in those traffic lights after all."

Uni and Trixie high-fived, proud of their logic. "See? Our minds are just too big, sometimes," Uni joked.

"Yeah, we're practically geniuses," Trixie added with a grin.

The clerk chuckled, clearly entertained by their banter. "You two are something else, I tell ya. The world isn't ready for your big brains and clever comebacks.”

"Well, they better get ready then," Uni said with a mock-threatening tone, still grinning.

Trixie chuckled, her hand on the door's handle. "Yeah, because when we combine our brain power, we're unstoppable. Like a duo of intellectual chaos.”

"A duo of intellectual chaos?" The clerk chuckled, shaking his head. "Just make sure you don't cause too much havoc on your road trip, okay?"

"No promises," Uni joked with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll try to contain ourselves," Trixie added, not looking very convincing.

The clerk laughed, clearly enjoying their banter. "I have a feeling 'try' is the key word in that sentence. But in all seriousness, drive safe, okay? You two were the most fun I've had on the job in years, and I don't want to see you two on the news for any crazy antics.”

"We'll do our best," Uni assured, but the mischief in her eyes never faded.

Trixie nodded, the same spark in her eyes. "Yeah, we promise we'll try to be good...or at least not too wild."

The clerk chuckled. "Somehow, I don't fully believe you, but I believe in the power of hope. So, have a safe and fun trip back to Evergrace, girls.”

"Thanks," Uni and Trixie said in unison.

They waved goodbye to the clerk and stepped out of the shop, their arms piled high with candy and other snacks. They loaded the treats into the trunk, their excitement now at an all-time high.

Uni turned to Trixie, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. "Ready to hit the road again?”

"You bet I am!" Trixie exhaled, her excitement bubbling over. "I can't wait to get there and dive headfirst into our massive snack fest. This road trip just got taken to a whole new level of awesome.”

Uni laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Totally! This road trip is already epic, but now with the added bonus of our massive snack stash, it's like we upgraded to the Deluxe Version of Awesome."

She started the car and put it into drive. "Now, let's get this party started!”

Piper, Esther, Stephanie…here we come, Trixie thought while putting on her seat belt.