"Do you remember the invitation the Express received?" Himeko asked.
"'The Family sincerely invites our honored guests to Penacony to join the grand celebration together with visitors from every corner.'" Welt calmly repeated part of the invitation. "It was because of that invitation that we came here."
"That's right, but there's more to the invitation." Himeko slowly said, "...Witness the impossible sights within dreams. Seek the legacy of the Watchmaker, the father of Penacony, and then answer this question: Why does life slumber?"
Welt frowned. "I don't remember that being in the invitation... Are you saying there was a hidden message?"
"That's the interesting part." Himeko said, "The invitation the Family sent was a music box. Winding it up would play a melody."
"But the one we received was a little strange... Mixed into the background of the music was a faint, discordant noise."
"I recorded that noise. It matched the frequency of the Express's gravitational waves during warp exactly. Then, using the spatial curvature of the Express's engine as the key, I decoded that message."
Welt's expression turned serious.
"...That's a distress signal commonly used by Nameless."
"We can't be sure yet. It could also be something the Masked Fools did." Himeko shook her head. "Judging by the method alone, the Riddlers or the Mourning Actors could have done it too."
"When did you discover it?" Welt asked.
"When all of you were dealing with the Luofu's Stellaron. I told Pom-Pom as soon as I found out."
Welt fell silent for a moment. He recalled Himeko's conversation with the blond IPC envoy before Nero and Penacony's two representatives had arrived.
"No wonder you insisted on stepping in just now. That IPC envoy also mentioned the Watchmaker. He probably received a similar hidden message in his invitation, and decoded it as well."
"There's something else that caught my attention... During our conversation, Mr. Sunday said, 'As Penacony's actual administrator, the Family should naturally help resolve everyone's troubles.' Thinking about it now, there seemed to be something implied behind those words."
"And one more thing... While I don't know much about singing, even I could hear that there was something unusual about Miss Robin's voice. How could a singer who's about to perform have something strange in her voice?"
Himeko immediately understood what Welt meant.
"You suspect the Family wasn't the one that sent the invitations, and that... they're hiding something from us."
Welt nodded.
"The Family inviting other factions here was already unusual. Your discovery also suggests a third party may be involved... This festival isn't as simple as it looks. Speaking of which, why didn't you tell the children?"
"If this is only Penacony's or the Family's internal matter, we shouldn't interfere without reason," Himeko said. "As for Miss Robin... since she's Nero's friend, the big Nameless family can at least show some concern for her."
"Then let's do that," Welt said.
Seeing his reaction, Himeko smiled.
"So, going back to your earlier question... I actually told the children all of this before we set off."
Hearing that, Welt froze.
Then he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw the others, who had already finished putting away their things, smiling at them.
After a while, he sighed and smiled helplessly.
"So I was the only one left in the dark."
Himeko also turned to the others.
"However, which faction really sent the invitations, why all these different factions were gathered in Penacony, and why the Family knows about it but says nothing..."
"There are too many unanswered questions on this trip. Until we learn more, don't act rashly."
"For now, let's focus on the Conductor's request. Gather information while enjoying this wonderful vacation."
"After all, Penacony is one of the civilized universe's top vacation destinations. Many people may never get the chance to come here in their lifetime."
Himeko glanced toward the top of the lobby stairs and saw Nero coming downstairs surrounded by a group of friends, so she ended the conversation.
Nero had changed back into the outfit he wore to Belobog's celebration. He felt it suited Penacony's atmosphere better.
Himeko gave the order to "dismiss." It was now free time. Later they would enter the dreamscape, but before that, Nero, Bailu, and Hook planned to check out the hotel's restaurant to see what good food it had, while everyone else wanted to take a closer look at the Daydream Hotel.
So the large group that had arrived together quickly split up.
After that, Stelle went to Himeko and Welt to ask more about Penacony, the Family, and the Watchmaker. Although she had already crammed plenty of information before coming here, she still learned quite a bit from the conversation.
Whenever Dan Heng wasn't around, she would unconsciously take on the responsibilities that usually fell to him. That was the Stellaron baby's sense of responsibility.
After gathering all the information she wanted, Stelle finally headed back to her room to enter the dreamscape.
As she passed March's room, she could hear an excited voice from inside.
"Wow! What a huge bathtub..."
But when she was almost at her own room, she slowed down and frowned slightly.
Without question, she hadn't called room service, yet the door to her room was standing open.
For some reason, her heart skipped a beat. Strange thoughts surfaced in her mind, and she remembered the hotel demon she had run into in Belobog.
She carefully approached her room, ready to pull out her bat at any moment.
But when Stelle reached the doorway and stepped inside, the hotel demon she had expected didn't appear. Instead, she saw a brightly dressed figure from behind.
It was the IPC envoy from earlier, Aventurine.
Hearing her enter, Aventurine turned around with a smile.
"What a coincidence. We meet again."
Stelle frowned.
No matter how she looked at it, this wasn't a coincidence. It was obvious he had been waiting for her here on purpose.
Still, Nero had already explained that this guy just had a very strange way of talking, so Stelle didn't react too strongly.
She blinked, "This is my room. What are you doing here? And we're not that close. Did you come looking for Nero and get the wrong room?"
"Oh, no. This is exactly where I meant to come. I'm here to share in your good luck. In fact, about half a system hour ago, this room was mine."
Aventurine raised an eyebrow.
"A lucky building, a lucky floor, a lucky room number. I went through quite a bit of trouble to book such a treasured place... Now I'm giving it to you. Make sure you treasure it, my friend."
At that point, Aventurine frowned slightly before continuing, "That kid is even more popular than I expected... I used a few little tricks and asked a friend to look up where all of you were staying. His room wasn't next to yours, so I spent a little more money and switched rooms.
"We were both invited here, so I think you know that Penacony's current situation isn't as simple as it looks... Don't worry. I won't disturb him. I'll just keep an eye on things so no one else drags him into the whirlpool."
"You're really a good person."
Stelle expressed her approval of Aventurine's thinking and officially gave him a Good Person Card.