『 "This is also within expectations. I'd like to ask another question: do people usually leave any traces when they enter the dream?" Himeko nodded after hearing this, then looked at Alley to inquire.
"Are you referring to the records of the Dream Pool? The equipment monitors physiological indicators like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and body temperature in real-time, compiles them into statistics, and hands them over to the Family for the screening of abnormal data. Once illegal behavior is detected, immediate measures must be taken," Alley replied after thinking for a moment.
"Can we access these records?" Stelle asked.
Alley shook her head, "Sorry… the hotel doesn't have that authorization. This information is managed uniformly by the Bloodhound Family system; it's only transferred here when specific issues arise."
"It seems we won't be able to find anything here," March 7th said after hearing this, looking at the two of them.
"At least we know who to look for next, and we can take the opportunity to ask the Bloodhound Family about the case."
Having said that, Himeko smiled at Alley to express her gratitude, "Thank you for your assistance, Miss Alley."
"By the way… is Miss Robin alright? We're all looking forward to her performance."
"Alright… what do you mean by that?" Alley's tone was full of confusion and bewilderment. What was wrong with Miss Robin? The preparations for the Charmony Festival had been proceeding in an orderly fashion; everything should be fine, right? I believe she will bring everyone the most wonderful performance." 』
『 ....』
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: As expected, the hotel staff knows nothing about this.
〘Fu Xuan〙: If more people knew, it would definitely cause panic. The Family wouldn't want to see that scene.
....
『 Himeko nodded and replied, "Yes, definitely."
After speaking, Himeko brought Stelle and March 7th to a secluded corner.
"It's no surprise that nobody knows about Robin's situation."
Speaking of this, Himeko crossed her arms, "But that Miss Hotaru is truly mysterious. There's no information about her in the hotel system at all. Even if she were a stowaway… she should have a fake identity after entering, right?"
"Add to that the fact that she's also a participant in the Legacy… how could she sneak into the dream without anyone noticing?"
After hearing this, March 7th put forward her own idea: could there be other ways to enter the dream besides the hotel's Dream Pool?
Stelle pondered and gave two answers: one was a Memokeeper, and the other was a Stellaron Hunter.
Himeko nodded. Black Swan had already proven the first point to everyone; Memokeepers are like fish in water in Penacony, and something like entering a dream is probably as simple as drinking water.
And Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters had used extraordinary means to break the lockdown of the dream hotel; their influence was surely behind the Hotaru case. 』
『 ....』
〘Silver Wolf〙: Keep praising me, I love hearing it.
....
『 March 7th nodded after hearing this, agreeing that both were possible, and then proposed another faction: the IPC.
Speak of the devil, and the devil appears. A man's panicked voice came from a distance.
"Who, who are you, people?"
The three looked toward the sound and saw three IPC employees in the distance, one of whom was wearing a bulky, fat-suit-like mech suit and said:
"The Bravo team has arrived at their designated position. Ready to execute armed evacuation operation — boys, get moving!"
His voice was airy and ethereal, as if he had drunk quite a bit of wheat juice. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Does this count as… drunk driving?
〘Topaz〙: Whose subordinate is this?
〘Aventurine〙: Probably not mine…
....
『 The employee beside him hesitated upon hearing his boss's words: "Ar, armed evacuation? Boss, are you drunk…"
"What do you know? This is the only way to be efficient. Don't let the Director find out! Act first, report later, understand?" The team leader knocked the employee on the head and scolded.
The employee standing to the side, who hadn't spoken, couldn't hold it in anymore. He covered his face and whispered: "Help, help me…"
"My year-end bonus was all bet on that snowball… I don't want my name on the department's major disciplinary notice!" 』
『 ....』
〘Aventurine〙: Snowball… Director…
〘Topaz〙: Brax! That's my subordinate!
〘Aventurine〙: Hahahahahaha.
〘Jade〙: Little Jelena, do you need me to teach you some methods for disciplining subordinates?
....
『 March patted Stelle on the shoulder and pointed at the three employees: "Hey, look! This voice… is that the group of IPC employees from Belobog?"
"Notice to all guests: The Interastral Peace Corporation will be conducting special operations in the hotel. Please follow the employees responsible for the evacuation to the designated safe area; otherwise, mandatory measures will be taken!"
"—I'll request a beating for you lot! You've been told not to drink during work hours!" Topaz scolded angrily.
"You lot, drag him away immediately and send him back to his guest room—" Topaz instructed her subordinates behind her.
"...I'll organize a meeting later to properly go over how this incident report should be written!" 』
『 ....』
〘Bronya Rand〙: Belobog?
〘Topaz〙: You Belobog folks have some bad debt with the IPC, but looking at the situation above, it seems you achieved a good ending with the help of the Astral Express.
....
『 Subsequently, the three saw several employees struggling to drag away the mech-suited man. The three walked up to Topaz, and March 7th greeted her with a smile.
"Miss Topaz! I didn't expect to run into you in Penacony."
Topaz nodded and smiled: "Long time no see, everyone from the Astral Express. I've heard about your affairs from Aventurine… Hmm?"
Topaz waved her hand, signaling that she was taking a call, and placed her hand by her ear.
"It's fine, just do as they requested, try to avoid conflict with the Family… Report to me before taking any action. Hmm. Hmm, okay."
After hanging up the communication, Topaz sighed heavily, shrugged, and said to the three: "Sigh… as you can see, the IPC isn't very popular in Penacony. The Family's hospitality is only superficial; the former frontier prison now has to turn around and put shackles on IPC staff."
"Only Aventurine, who holds an Invitation, is allowed to attend the festival. We, the accompanying personnel… don't even have the qualifications to enter the dream and can only stay in the reality hotel."
Himeko understood after hearing this: "No wonder Aventurine is looking for partners everywhere. It turns out he can't get support from the IPC in the dream."
Topaz nodded, "Yeah, I heard his situation isn't very optimistic." 』
『 ....』
〘Aventurine〙: Not just 'not very optimistic,' I'm about to become a member of the Family.
〘Topaz〙: It's actually quite nice having one less noisy gambler around.
〘Dr. Ratio〙: Seconded.
....
『 "You're helping to investigate some… things that are unfavorable to the Family, right? If you need anything outside the dream, just let me know. The IPC never treats its partners unfairly."
"Thank you, Miss Topaz. We were just about to ask the Bloodhounds about the case. Perhaps you've already dealt with them?" Himeko asked, looking at Topaz.
Topaz smiled, tilted her head toward the back, revealing a man and a woman standing not far behind her, and smiled: "There, they've been following us; just look for them—"
Then she lowered her voice to a volume only Stelle and the others could hear and continued, "Just in time, help me divert their attention. Being stared at all the time is really uncomfortable."
After saying this, she winked at Stelle. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Ah, Director Topaz stepped on me! I'm your Trotter!
〘March 7th〙: Don't do that here.
〘Silver Wolf〙: Kafka, I feel like she's completely gone off the rails.
〘Kafka〙: Hmm… but isn't it still cute?
〘·HSR· Himeko〙: Seconded.
....