Mother Robin sat before her daughter, eyes brimming with expectation.
Robin stood there for a moment, letting her emotions brew. Then, as she started the accompaniment, she began to sing.
With the first line, Mother Robin thought perhaps her daughter had sung too much today, leading to slurred words and poor articulation.
By the second line, however, she started to realize something was off. This didn't exactly sound like a simple slip of the tongue.
And by the third and fourth lines, she finally confirmed one thing:
The lyrics were actually supposed to be this ridiculous!
"...???"
Is this... is this right?
Mother Robin instinctively conjured up the image of the adult Robin from the photograph.
With those gentle eyes and that refined, tender demeanor... no matter how you looked at it, she should be singing something beautiful and soft. At the very least, something lively would do.
But...
Could these lyrics and the image of that superstar truly belong in the same frame?
Compared to the innate gifts of Robin and Sunday, their mother simply possessed a lovely singing voice; she didn't have much talent for Harmony or Order.
Thus, she couldn't perceive the aura of Harmony radiating from Robin, guided by these very songs.
She was simply lost in a daze of confusion caused by the jarring mismatch between the melody and the words.
Mother Robin maintained her smile, playing along with the enthusiastic little Robin, but internally, she was struggling to keep it together.
Especially as she listened to Sunday raving about it beside her. The poor boy seemed to genuinely believe his sister's singing was peerless...
It wasn't that she wouldn't admit the melody was good.
But do you really, truly believe these two songs are invincible?
Oh no... has my son's musical taste turned out to be this eccentric?
Though they hadn't spoken of it, both mother and daughter had formed the exact same misunderstanding about Sunday, leaving a strange impression of him in their hearts.
But he was their child and brother, after all—and Sunday clearly adored his sister from the bottom of his heart. This left the gentle mother and sister unable to point out the issue directly.
What if Sunday became withdrawn and stopped giving out praises?
And so, through the kindness of his mother and sister, poor little Sunday unknowingly left a bizarre impression on his family.
Who knew when this misunderstanding would finally be cleared up.
--+--
Meanwhile, in the shadows.
A Family envoy, who had been secretly monitoring Robin and that strange outsider, felt a surge of surprise.
To think that after leaving that woman's side, little Robin could still manifest such a distinct aura of Harmony on her own.
"Truly the Twins of Harmony; they are indeed children born to join the Family. I didn't expect you to find a successor at a time like this, Gopher Wood."
Beside him, Gopher Wood offered a faint smile. "Indeed. Is this not a stroke of luck?"
"It's just that song choice... Hmmm... I shall withhold my comments, but personally, I believe a child's musical upbringing requires more classical pieces."
As a senior member of the Family, the envoy was well-versed in music and art.
To someone skilled in hymns, performance, and Harmonic chime, the nonsensical "Mambo" and "Hachimi" were practically an insult to her ears.
Moreover, seeing that woman use such songs to release the power of Harmony made the envoy even more uncomfortable.
If not for her upbringing and the tolerance brought by the Harmony—and if the one singing hadn't been the exceptionally gifted Robin, who was still just an innocent child—the envoy's words likely wouldn't have been so restrained.
Several system hours ago, she might have burst into the room and lectured 'Robin' right to her face about the true meaning of art and music.
Furthermore, compared to those painful songs, she cared more about another matter.
Why did Gopher Wood know such a strange and suspicious person? Why did he trust her enough to let her have private contact with the twins?
Observing the envoy's reaction, the corner of Gopher Wood's mouth quirked into a smile.
He knew this envoy had come with ill intent, so seeing the woman's visible discomfort naturally brightened his mood.
Though he was a thousand-year-old man who couldn't understand what the heck those lyrics were about either, it didn't stop him from thinking little Robin's hopping around was adorable, or that Madam Bai Ming was reliable.
Gopher Wood was self-aware enough to assume it wasn't a problem with the song, but a problem with him. He was simply behind the times and couldn't grasp the merits of these tracks.
Thus, Gopher Wood pretended not to hear the hidden thorns in the woman's words and laughed.
"Haha~ An old man like me can't keep up with the aesthetics of the youth. Besides, it's just a few tunes. Young girls always enjoy a bit of novelty."
The envoy glanced sideways at Gopher Wood, unsure if the man was playing dumb or was truly senile. Did he think playing word games here would work?
"Gopher Wood, you also hail from the Main Family. I do not wish to doubt you, but that woman's singing is remarkably similar to the content spreading across the network. I need a reasonable explanation."
The songs trending online were bizarre; "respectable" people like them naturally didn't enjoy listening to them.
But since the entire Family was shaken by this, the envoy had to grit her teeth and listen.
Not only did she have to listen, but she had to carefully perceive the concepts of Harmony they sought to propagate.
Had she not known beforehand that something was wrong, and had she not walked far enough down the Path of Harmony herself, she might not have detected the Resonance of Order hidden beneath the Harmonic melody.
It couldn't be helped.
Because Order was being woven into Harmony. In the past, it was manageable; Order was merely regarded as "noise."
But recently, the heavy beats of Order no longer seemed to disrupt the movement; instead, they were becoming increasingly integrated.
This had caused the Family's judgment regarding Order to nearly lose its precision.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
Logically, if Order was no longer "noise," it should prove that Order had been completely assimilated by Harmony. This should have been a cause for celebration.
The problem was... the noise was gone, but the proportion of this "integrated" Order within the movement was increasing! It was even threatening to become the dominant tone.
At this rate, would Harmony swallow Order, or would Order swallow Harmony?
Once the envoy realized this, she found it impossible to accept that Path shifting in such a direction.
Furthermore, there was that wicked culprit behind the scenes.
Knowing full well that the shift in destiny would throw the Family into chaos, they had maliciously blasted those strange songs across the network.
They were all practitioners of Harmony.
Who couldn't see what the mastermind was planning?
They were trying to use the collective will of the cosmos to accelerate the shift of the Path—perhaps even to complete a total flip!
In fact, due to the spread of those songs, many among the public had already begun showing signs of being influenced by those heavy beats of Order.
They were already overwhelmed by the Galaxy Ranger situation. Now, they had to face a shifting destiny and a trap set by a mastermind. Since this involved their very foundation, they had to act.
Some extremist observers believed that Ena's resurrection and the shift in destiny were all because the Galaxy Rangers had summoned that new avatar of Xipe.
They believed they should show their fangs to these Rangers—make them "Audience," or turn them into "Remnants." That would surely solve the problem.
But more rational heads thought it wouldn't be so simple; perhaps there was a puppeteer orchestrating it all. They needed the truth before acting.
Overall, the recent string of events was vital to the Family. Even the Family itself couldn't reach a unified opinion immediately.
Some felt they should follow Xipe's decision, while others believed it was the result of Ena's sneak attack on Xipe and wanted to set things right.
But regardless...
A former Galaxy Ranger, among the first group of Rangers to encounter Harmony hundreds of years ago, and once a Nameless—now the head of one of the local Families.
With all those layers of identity wrapped around Tiernan, it was impossible for the Family not to take notice.
The Family wanted to use Tiernan and the Lampmoth Family to test the Galaxy Rangers. Or, if they wanted to be extreme, they could simply assimilate the Lampmoth Family and Tiernan's lot into their own camp.
The envoy had come here for exactly that reason.
"Since the other party is also a believer of Xipe, the Family should naturally welcome them. As for the matter of identity, the Dreamscape of Penacony welcomes any guest. What is there to explain?"
Gopher Wood obviously knew what the woman was asking, but he chose to play dumb.
Despite knowing the envoy was in Penacony, he had invited 'Robin' over. It wasn't out of any grand scheme; he simply felt that on his own turf, an envoy couldn't do much.
Besides, he had emphasized the envoy's presence during their communication. Since the other party had judged it fine to come, it meant they were confident.
So, Gopher Wood wasn't in a hurry. He would just stall.
The Main Family was so focused on the Galaxy Rangers that as long as Penacony didn't openly defect, they wouldn't send Dominicus knocking on his door.
As for defecting... he wasn't quite there yet.
Gopher Wood had strayed from Harmony and even wanted to overthrow it, not because he hated Harmony, but because he felt the philosophy of Harmony couldn't save the world.
Malice and desire required Order to set rules and punishments.
He didn't deny the goodness of Harmony; he just felt that pure goodness was ineffective.
And now that the resurrection of Order was clearly out of the question, Gopher Wood didn't have those ambitions anyway. Even if someone were to defect, that would be a matter for Robin and Sunday.
"..."
Faced with Gopher Wood's stubborn refusal to cooperate, the Family envoy didn't waste any more breath.
In the current situation, she couldn't exactly declare Gopher Wood guilty and bring Dominicus over. The man was managing Penacony brilliantly; there was no justification for it.
Thus, the envoy turned and left. She stopped watching the twins and instead walked toward the room where 'Robin' was staying.
Though she lacked evidence, her intuition told her that she was connected to the person spreading those peculiar vocal recordings on the network.
Gopher Wood watched him walk away but did nothing. With the envoy's mastery over Harmony, Gopher Wood couldn't send out a message without being noticed.
But he wasn't particularly worried. After all, he wasn't the only one in Penacony.
--+--
On the other side.
In the luxury guest suite.
Kamu arrived at 'Robin's' room and found Bai Ming and Acheron.
"You really just accepted the invitation and came? Did Gopher Wood not tell you, Madam Bai Ming, that an envoy from the Main Family is also here?"
"He did, but there's no need to worry, is there? Still, thank you for coming to warn me."
'Robin' handed over a cup of coffee to help Kamu calm down.
Where was this? Penacony, the gathering place of Memoria. And who was she? A Pure Child of Anasrava, an Emanator of Remembrance. Add to that Robin's own capabilities in Harmony...
She couldn't imagine how she could lose.
Robin might look gentle in the story, but her mastery of Harmony was anything but low. If that envoy really dared to show up, she would be more than happy to rewrite her memories.
"Eh, you..."
Kamu looked at her calm expression, wanting to say something but swallowing it back down. Perhaps an envoy who was troublesome for her was just a minor issue for the person in front of her.
"Haha~ Sister Kamu, haven't you seen my methods as a Memokeeper? Have a little faith in me and Gopher Wood."
"I know you're powerful. I'm mostly worried that if word leaks out and draws the retaliation of the entire Family, even you might find it hard to handle."
Perhaps because they had grown close, Kamu instinctively grouped them all together, forgetting that from the Family's perspective, 'Robin' was a completely independent third party.
But just as she was about to explain further, 'Robin' suddenly blinked and said:
"Sorry, Sister Kamu, that envoy is heading this way. Let's save our tea party for next time. Hmm... or would you like to stay and watch the show?"
Kamu tensed up instantly at those words, entering a combat-ready state. But hearing the second half, she relaxed just as quickly, offering a helpless smile.
"I think I'll pass. I wouldn't want to leave any openings because of me. Besides, you can't even tell what's happening in a Memokeeper's fight anyway. No point staying."
With that, Kamu stood and departed, avoiding a direct encounter with the envoy.
Nearby, Acheron suddenly asked:
"What do you plan to do? If you need to dispose of the evidence, I can use my power."
Hearing this, 'Robin' blinked and looked at Acheron.
"...That's not exactly the 'violent' persona I had for you."
But Acheron gazed into her eyes with total sincerity. "I want to help you."
That earnest look made 'Robin' unable to resist reaching out to pat Acheron's head.
Only after doing it did she realize the gesture felt a bit off—after all, Acheron looked more like the "big sister" type and usually took care of her.
Theoretically, she should be the one receiving the headpats.
"...In any case, thanks for the offer. But I really don't plan on killing anyone. This is Penacony's turf; fighting and killing isn't good. I'll just tweak her memories and clean up the traces. No need to go that far."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL