『 Stelle once again easily defeated the Youthful Guy. Looking at the failure and the resulting anger, Stelle sighed; it was time for the exhaustion method again.
Stelle chose the emotion of 'Comfort,' and saw the Youthful Guy check his watch.
"Let me see, what time is it now…"
"…What? It's already time?"
The Youthful Guy put his hands on his hips and laughed loudly: "TIME TO CLOCK OUT! AND NO ONE'S GONNA STOP MEEEE!!"
This extremely principled member of the Hounds family laughed as he left the scene. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: "Uh…"
〘Himeko〙: "Uh…"
〘March 7th〙: Uh(⊙o⊙)…
〘Qingque〙: That's right, that's what a wage slave should be like.
....
『 "Your clock tricks are getting a bit… dangerous, aren't they?" March 7th whispered.
Himeko smiled, "At least he won't block us anymore. Let's go, let's find that Gallagher and have a proper talk about the case."
After saying this, the three of them walked toward the stairs ahead. Gallagher was standing by the railing not far away. Sensing someone approaching, he turned his head, saw it was the three of them, and smiled: "I was wondering why it was so noisy… It's you guys, welcome. You've come all this way, what's the matter?"
"Hello, Mr. Gallagher, sir. Judging by your tone, you knew we would come here?" Himeko asked.
"Hahaha... Miss Himeko, you're too polite. There's no need to call me 'Sir.'" Gallagher waved his hand with a smile.
"…Mr. Gallagher even knows my name?"
"I do, how could I not? You are the famous Astral Express, the honored guests of the 'Watchmaker'."
After speaking, Gallagher looked at Stelle and continued: "I had a brief encounter with this young lady at the Golden Hour, and I remember that the silver-haired young lady was there too…"
"…I deeply regret what happened to that child."
"We are also very sorry…" Stelle lowered her head, feeling dejected.
"That is also the reason why we came to visit Mr. Gallagher. The Express cannot sit idly by regarding that child's death; we have decided to assist the Family in finding out the truth, hoping to seek justice for her." Himeko took over the conversation.
"The Nameless are actually getting involved with the Family… Fate plays tricks on people." Gallagher shook his head and sighed.
"The Family… what's wrong with them?" March 7th asked suspiciously.
"Nothing, don't mind it. In Penacony, everyone likes the Family." Gallagher shook his head, "No matter how much people resist the 'Sweet Dream,' when the time comes, they will become reluctant to leave. Who would be willing to leave a warm nest? Only fools, children… and drunks with muddled heads."
"Oh? Mr. Gallagher seems to be hinting at something." Himeko smiled after hearing this. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Hate riddle-makers.
〘March 7th〙: Riddle-makers are the worst.
....
『 Gallagher smiled and replied, "Hehe, you misunderstood, I didn't."
"You want to talk about the case? Fine, follow me. This place isn't suitable for talking, let's move to a new spot." 』
『 ....』
〘Herta〙: Heh, isn't this leaving the warm nest?
〘Gallagher〙: I never said that.
....
『 Meanwhile, on the other side…
Welt and Acheron were talking about something in the Golden Hour.
"Even after such a shocking tragedy, this sweet dream is still operating in an orderly manner." Welt looked at the normally functioning shopping street in front of him and sighed, "Except for the Family of Harmony, it's hard to imagine any other force in the universe that could maintain such a massive structure."
"The Family itself is also a huge, perfect building, just like… a living idol."
Acheron expressed her view on the Family, "Every member of the Family regards themselves as a piece of a puzzle of the divine body, revolving around a single core, a common ideal, and under THEIR command, they faithfully perform their duties, dedicating themselves, while simultaneously being nourished by Him."
"A very interesting metaphor, perhaps this is the foundation for the longevity of Penacony's 'Sweet Dream'." Welt nodded.
"But the human body eventually has its time, and so does a divine body."
"That doesn't sound like a comment a 'Galaxy Ranger' would make."
"Just pointing out the facts, Mr. Welt must be able to understand the taste of it better than I can."
"Why does Ms. Acheron say that?" Welt asked, looking at Acheron beside him.
"The sweet dream is collapsing, but not because of some Aeon, some faction, or some specific visitor. Its collapse stems from a certain inevitability of human nature. The Family refuses to admit this, but invisibly, they have become a catalyst…"
"When people indulge their spirits in dreams that require no cost, have no pain, and only offer ease and pleasure, the distance between them and 'necrosis' gets closer and closer. No matter what kind of bliss they think they are living in, death is an unchangeable outcome."
"Moreover, this necrosis will spread and diffuse; the mutation of one puzzle piece will eventually cause the entire building to shake, shatter… and collapse."
"...In the end, the dreams that people built in the name of freedom became the cage that imprisoned them." Welt summarized. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Oh my god, can't understand it.
〘March 7th〙: Teacher Dan Heng, save me!
〘Dan Heng〙: Simply put, even without the memoria collapse that Ms. Black Swan mentioned, Penacony would still collapse because of people's spirits.
....
『 "Presumably, Ms. Acheron has gained a lot from this trip. Would you be willing to share it with me?"
"Of course… provided I still remember." Acheron nodded.
As she said this, her hand also gently rested on the sword guard, then quickly let go, fleetingly.
Welt watched Acheron's movement and made a confused "hmm" sound.
"Don't mind it, it's just a habit. Because of some past events, I have become very easy to… forget. Only when this blade is unsheathed do those hazy scenes gradually become clear."
Welt nodded, "Please, go ahead." 』
『 ....』
〘Luocha〙: I want to report this, Welt, you're using double standards! If I did that, you'd definitely hit me with a black hole!
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: You still want to do that?
....
『 "That's enough, I remember what happened in Penacony very clearly. Please ask."
After Welt asked about the four moments he hadn't been to yet, he indicated that he had nothing else he wanted to ask.
Acheron nodded, took Welt down a flight of stairs, and the two came to the center of the square.
Acheron stopped in front of the blue circle in the center, "Someone once said this to me: Penacony was not like this a long time ago, and Penacony should not be like this."
"I have walked through the reality and dreams of the Planet of Festivities, watching the night rise and fall, time standing still for people, and the richness and poverty of the spirit… also remaining forever at their respective scales."
Acheron turned to look at Welt, "So I think the collapse of the 'Sweet Dream' is inevitable."
"There might be a way to change everything."
"Perhaps. But if this is the world people desire—if this is precisely why life chooses to slumber—should we still force it to change?" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Acheron's answer to that question is so heavy, heavier than Hotaru's.
〘March 7th〙: Both of their answers are so depressing.
〘·HSR· Himeko〙: It probably has to do with their own experiences.
....
『 After hearing this, Welt lowered his head and pondered for a while, then raised his head and said, "...Miss Acheron, now it's my turn to share a story with you."
"There was a man in my hometown who made a decision when the world was facing wounds that were difficult to heal."
"He wove together the dreams of everyone in the world, linking people's dreamscapes, and shouldered this burden himself. From this, he created a giant, a 'Spiritual Adam.'"
"Since that moment, the giant stood between heaven and earth, becoming the pillar of the world's existence. As a price, those who found it hard to move forward, who could not advance... forever lost their 'future.'"
"They slumbered in a dream devoid of disaster and pain, living out their days peacefully in the man's created utopia. And it is because of the wishes of those people, who wished not to awaken, that this Spiritual Adam became unbreakable."
"And yet, you stand here right now, which also means... that man failed." 』
『 ....』
〘Mobius〙: Stigmata Project…
〘Elysia〙: In the end, it still reached that step… Kevin.
〘Lieserl Albert Einstein〙: Is this the World Serpent's plan? To let all of humanity sleep in dreams.
〘Otto Apocalypse〙: That really is a crazy plan.
〘Void Archives〙: Oh my~ we're barely scratching the surface. This plan is nowhere near as crazy as yours.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: We will never be addicted to dreams forever! We will definitely defeat the Honkai!
〘Himeko Murata〙: Well said, but even the strongest Valkyrie has to attend remedial classes!
〘Kevin Kaslana〙: If you can do it, then step forward and prove your determination to me.
〘Aha〙: Welt, why do birds fly?
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: ...