"Mr. Sunday has been working day and night for the Charmony Festival. Now that something like this has happened, even though the Stellaron issue is no small matter, I still feel somewhat sorry about it."
Seeing that the weariness on Sunday's face did not seem fake, Mr. Yang used the speaking skills of a mature adult.
"Hehe, it's fine." Sunday smiled. "The Charmony Festival was originally meant to increase happiness and harmony throughout the galaxy, but now that we know the truth, we can simply call it off in time."
Robin also said, "Making everyone happy has always been the wish of my brother and me... Therefore, we will do our best to persuade the Dreammaster. As long as we explain the whole situation clearly, the Dreammaster should be able to understand.
"Even if the final result of the negotiations is unsatisfactory... I will still refuse to take the stage. Without the 'Harmonious Chord,' the 'Chorus of Charmony' will not descend, and the festival will be nothing more than an ordinary performance."
Mr. Yang listened to Robin in silence.
Perhaps because he had spent so much time with Nero, he now felt that Robin's thoughts were simply too gentle. If that child were standing where Robin or Sunday was now, the Dreammaster's headgear would already have been yanked all over the floor.
Even if the Dreammaster had done that child a favor in such a situation, Mr. Yang had no doubt about how things would turn out.
Because after spending enough time together, one could understand that Nero really was the kind of person who meant what she said and did what she said she would do.
She had very clear ideas of her own, along with a little too much self-awareness, which made it difficult for relationships such as brainwashing and indebtedness to bind that child.
In other words, if that child had been brought back and raised by the Dreammaster just like these siblings, the latter would still have to take a beating.
If all of this really had been done by the Dreammaster, then perhaps none of the current events would have happened, because the Dreammaster would have been beaten up much earlier.
On this point, Mr. Yang had absolutely no doubts about Nero's way of doing things. He even had complete confidence that things would develop this way.
If you make a mistake, you get beaten. If you get beaten, you fight back. Return favors and settle grudges. Even a friend's mother would never be spared. Cocolia had already proven this point.
However, as a mature adult, Mr. Yang would not choose this moment to discourage the siblings. He merely said, "Seeing that the two of you have such determination, I feel relieved."
At this moment, Mr. Yang actually hoped that the siblings had a personality like Nero's and would take the approach he had imagined.
But people were ultimately different from one another. Rather, a child like Nero was probably hard to find anywhere in the entire universe.
"Speaking of which, we came to Penacony this time, but we have never had any contact with the Dreammaster." Mr. Yang looked at the siblings. "I have heard a little about the heads of the five major families, but I have rarely heard any news about this Dreammaster."
"The Dreammaster rarely appears in public, and it is difficult for us to meet him as well," Sunday said. "But this matter is of great importance. He has promised to come personally and discuss the matter with us."
"Mr. Welt may become the first guest in recent years to meet with the Dreammaster," Robin said.
"I hope we can reach a conclusion that satisfies everyone," Mr. Yang said.
"Yes, I hope so," Sunday said.
"It's almost time. My brother and I need to go prepare for the reception... The situation is urgent, so please forgive us for not being able to entertain you properly." Robin spoke with a hint of apology.
"It's fine. I'll just wait here for a while," Mr. Yang said.
Sunday and Robin left together. On the way, they encountered a drunken Pepeshi. The siblings chose to step forward and help the unsteady guest.
"Mr. Sunday... hello! Did you see it? That moon in the sky is the same size as the SoulGlad bottle cap in my hand!"
"Does that mean... as long as I reach out my hand, I can grab the moon and hold it in my arms? Hmm? Right?"
"The moon..." Sunday paused. "Hehe, you mean the Grand Theater, right?"
"Oh, oh! Haha, look at me. I must have been away from home for too long and missed that moon too much... hic."
"But... whatever! Our Grand Theater in Penacony is much brighter than the moon... Beautiful! Easy on the eyes!"
"They even tried to persuade me back then not to sell all my possessions and devote myself wholeheartedly to Penacony... Bah, how short-sighted!"
"Sell all your possessions... Why did you have to go that far?" Robin said, unable to bear it.
"Why? What else could it be... Life back home was too hard. I was living without even the semblance of a human life." The Pepeshi said.
"Penacony is still better. There are only sweet dreams here, no suffering, no need to worry about tomorrow. You can do whatever you want. Now that's what living is... hic, so comfortable!"
"Can this... really be considered living..." Robin was somewhat moved.
While Sunday and Robin were talking with this Pepeshi, on Golden Hour, on top of a distant building, a pair of eyes was watching them.
"Wanting to live comfortably isn't really a problem... (chomp chomp), but what will you do after you run out of money for your guest room? (chomp chomp)"
Noe had followed Mr. Yang here at Nero's request. She did not reveal herself and merely observed from a distance. However, her hearing and eyesight were both very good. After all, this was just how amazing Beauty was.
She heard the entire exchange between the three very clearly. However, rather than taking a side in their thoughts, she thought of a more practical problem.
As she muttered, Noe finished off the ice cream cone she had picked up along the way and could not help sighing. "But dreams really do have plenty of benefits."
"No matter how many sweets you eat, you don't have to worry about gaining weight. But a knight cannot become lost in temporary happiness. If I could train until I could eat sweets like crazy in reality without gaining weight, how happy would that be?"
As she muttered, Noe felt as if she could already see that beautiful future filled with the radiance of Beauty, and she became full of motivation to temper herself.
"Hic... Hmm?" The drunken Pepeshi looked at Robin. "Little girl, what did you ask just now? I didn't hear you clearly..."
"Nothing, sir," Sunday said. "Look, traffic is heavy on Glaux Avenue, so it's easy for an accident to happen. Aideen Park is nearby. I'll have a member of the Hound Family take you there to continue enjoying your sweet dream. How about it?"
"Oh... Sure, sounds good. You're right. No wonder you're the leader of sweet dreams, my savior!" the Pepeshi said. "See you later, Mr. Sunday. Thanks for keeping me company... hic."
After the Pepeshi was taken away, Robin's expression became somewhat complicated and sorrowful, and the light in her beautiful eyes also dimmed somewhat.
"What's wrong, sister?" Sunday asked with concern.
"Why would people live like this in a land of dreams?" Robin shook her head. "That gentleman just now wasn't happy at all."
"No matter how sweet a dream is, it is still an illusion that cannot be seen or touched, yet he treated it as his only choice for survival, even giving up his future in reality for it... This can't be considered living."
"Hmm... I see... But in my view, this is actually how ordinary people should live," Sunday said.
"...Why do you say that?" Robin looked at her brother in confusion.
"You just said that the gentleman making a living through sweet dreams cannot be considered living, but that isn't true. Even without Penacony, people would still live in their own illusions. This illusion is called self-worth."
"People always think that they are destined to realize some kind of value. Earning value for themselves means possessing great power. Conversely, people without value are reduced to the weak."
"However, value is not something people create out of thin air, and its total sum also has an upper limit. To realize this so-called value, people must seize it from others. And so, the weak are exploited and oppressed..."
"You mean things shouldn't be this way... right?" Robin looked at her brother.
"Exactly." Sunday nodded. "People don't think there is anything wrong with doing this. Because they have always regarded that intangible self-worth as an absolute standard, even the weak think the same way."
"Survival of the fittest, the strong prey upon the weak... All the tragedies in the world stem from this. And the reason Penacony is a sweet dream is precisely because it provides a place of sleep for anyone who wants to escape from it..."
Sunday raised his head and looked at this bustling, bizarre dreamscape.
"There are no tragedies here, only happiness. Although it is only a prototype, isn't this exactly what the paradise in our hearts should look like?"
"Perhaps that gentleman just now was an exception," Robin sighed softly. "Before reaching a conclusion, I think it would still be better to see the dreamscape for ourselves, just like we did at Dreamflux Reef."
"Mm, seeing is believing. I'll go with you. The Dreammaster hasn't arrived yet, so we still have time to look around," Sunday said.
In the distance, Noe watched the siblings continue walking along Glaux Avenue, then turned her head and looked at Mr. Yang, who was waiting alone by the roadside.
"Ah... I suddenly feel like Mr. Welt looks so lonely... No wonder Lady Idrila even said that we should take better care of Mr. Welt... sob sob..."
After that, the siblings encountered many more guests.
But the words spoken by those guests... Their stories moved Robin, yet they still could not convince her... She always felt that Penacony's sweet dreams were too false, and were not the paradise they wanted to create in their dreams.
Sunday, on the other hand, seemed somewhat more optimistic. He believed that at least Penacony was already heading down the right path.
After walking a little farther, Robin stopped. Ahead of her, she saw another version of herself that was almost exactly the same. However, the other person's voice was different from hers.
The Fool's voice was cheerful and high-pitched, carrying a teasing tone. That identical face was smiling at her, full of mockery.
"Look, look, who is this adorable young lady?"
Robin stared blankly at the "Robin" before her. "That's... me...?"
Sparkle stood before the siblings in Robin's appearance. She looked at Sunday with a grin. "Brother! What a coincidence. We meet again."
"Show your true form. Your tricks are useless against us." Sunday immediately said coldly, his expression completely different from when he had faced Robin just now, almost as if he were a different person.
Robin, however, was quite calm. "I heard that a Masked Fool skilled in deception also received an invitation... So it seems that's you. Are you having fun?"
"More or less." Sparkle changed back to her original appearance and spread her hands.
"The people here are all too easy to fool. Give them a little sweetness and they'll take the bait, and when there's danger, they shrink back faster than anyone. Simply put, they're stupid, rich, and afraid of dying."
"Since you've had enough fun, it would be better for you to leave as soon as possible," Robin said. "The Charmony's melody cannot tolerate discordant notes."
"What, now that the real one is back, I'm useless?" Sparkle put on a pitiful expression. "And here I thought I had helped the family with so many things. How heartbreaking.
"You should thank me properly. If I hadn't been willing to clean up this mess... Penacony would have already fallen into complete chaos."
"That was a personal request from the head of the Iris Family. It has nothing to do with us." Sunday frowned. "Leave. Stop causing trouble for the Charmony Festival."
"The Charmony Festival?" Sparkle raised her eyebrows and said mockingly, "Hehe, who are you trying to scare? Do you think I don't know what you people are planning?
"Putting aside what you think, Chicken-Wing Boy, our adorable Miss Robin should have already made up her mind not to take the stage, right? After all, you've seen how ugly this sweet dream has become under the operation of 'Harmony'..."
"Penacony, the land of dreams... Is this really what the paradise you two siblings want supposed to look like?"
"...Shut up!" Sunday sternly rebuked Sparkle.
However, this only made the Fool's smile even brighter. "Hehehe... Getting angry, Chicken-Wing Boy? Did I hit a sore spot?"
"Our agreement has nothing to do with you, Fool," Robin said. "Leave now, or don't blame the family for being rude."
"You're really going to be this heartless and drive me away? If you're this harsh, Nero will be sad, you know~" Sparkle said with a grin. "Ah~ Sister Robin drove away my Fool friend. I hate you the most."
Robin, "...How did you..."
"Of course I know. Mm... Speaking of that child, I still have something to ask Mr. Sunday." Sparkle looked at Sunday. "Head of the family~ Have you found Nero yet? I heard that the precious darling of our tavern got lost in Penacony~"
Sunday, "..."
Looking at Sparkle, even someone as well-mannered as Sunday clenched his fists, wanting to punch this Fool.
But at the same time, Sunday also felt a trace of relief, because the child called Nero had already returned. That child really was a huge problem.
Everyone knew that the various factions were not very welcoming toward the followers of Nihility, but if it came to who they hated the most, the major factions would definitely put the Elation at the top of the list.
After all, everyone knew what disasters Nihility could bring, but no one knew what kind of surprise or shock a Fool might bring.
There was a saying in the Xianzhou Alliance that put it well, 'You aren't afraid of a thief stealing, only of a thief keeping an eye on you...'
And from the information given by Professor Ratio and the Fool before him, that child's relationship with Elation was quite close.
The thought of large numbers of people from this faction possibly pouring into Penacony made Sunday's scalp tingle.
Sunday found it difficult to imagine what kind of powerful force would be needed to make this group cause a little less trouble.
After all, even the Insect Emperor Tayzzyronth from back then, the Propagation Aeon whose offspring devoured the cosmos, had failed to stop the Fools' advance.
There was even a rumor that during that period, the Fools spent quite a long time discussing how to soak True Sting insects in alcohol.
Fortunately, that child had returned. Something like that probably would not happen in Penacony.
In Sunday's eyes now, Nero was practically like a switch of chaos. As long as there was the slightest abnormality with this switch, it would throw everything into disorder and rearrange it all...
Taking a deep breath, Sunday looked at Sparkle. "Fool... leave! Otherwise..."
Before Sunday could finish, Sparkle interrupted him, "Okay, okay~ I'll go, then. From your reaction, I can tell that child has already returned."
"But, Miss Robin, I still have to advise you to think it over carefully. People living in dreams, can they really stay away from suffering and gain true happiness?"
Robin did not speak. She merely took a deep breath.
"Hehe, I've done everything I needed to do. Now I'll just wait to watch the fireworks. I'll give you two the last two gifts. If the Charmony Festival unfortunately goes ahead anyway... Make sure you use them at the performance. Don't lose them, okay? Bang! it'll be very exciting!"
As Sparkle spoke, she stuffed two strangely shaped buttons into the hands of the two, then skipped away.
Sunday's expression did not look very good, while Robin remained silent.
No one could figure out what exactly was inside a Fool's head. They could only hear Sparkle saying as she walked away, "Mm... There's still some time. It's boring to sit around doing nothing, so I'll go see whether my little colleague has any interesting stages nearby~"
That Fool seemed to have already seen through everything in the dream, yet she did not care in the slightest.
After a long silence, Sunday finally spoke. "There's the sound of a raven in the distance... Looks like the Dreammaster is about to arrive."
[T/N: A new fanfic is up guys— "Naruto: Transmigrating with a Gift Pack System" so add it to your collections and give some Powerstones. Have a great day, hope you enjoy it~ 🎉🎉]