『 "In that case, may I ask if it has brought any guests back in the past day or two? Actually, we are currently investigating a disappearance case in the sweet dream," Welt inquired.
"I see… Then you should talk to Gallagher, but he is currently hosting visitors from the Oak Family and specifically instructed everyone not to disturb them." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: What a 'visitor' indeed.
〘March 7th〙: Who on earth gets brought over as a visitor by being stabbed during a conversation?
....
『 "Um, Mr. Welt, the person you are looking for…" Misha asked tentatively, "Could it be Miss Robin?"
"…As expected. With Miss Hotaru as a precedent, this is within expectations." Welt nodded, showing no surprise upon hearing this.
"If you two are here to find Miss Robin, I can lead the way. She instructed that she can receive outside guests."
"Then we shall trouble you. In addition, we are also looking for our separated companions—a red-haired woman and a pink-haired girl beside her. Do you happen to have any impression of them?"
Misha lowered his head, thought for a moment, and shook his head.
"Um, I don't recall seeing them… But please rest assured, Dreamflux Reef isn't large, nor is it as bustling as the sweet dream, but its safety and security are top-notch." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Such familiar words.
〘Hanabi〙: Cough cough… The Family promises that the safety of every guest will be guaranteed.
〘March 7th〙: I have a feeling that Dreamflux Reef won't be peaceful for long either…
〘Qingque〙: But looking at it now, the Family was telling the truth. There is no true death in dreams. Normally you would just wake up, and at worst, you end up here in Dreamflux Reef.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: What if you die again here in Dreamflux Reef?
〘Raiden Mei〙: Hmm… You'd probably return to Golden Hour or something similar. After all, strictly speaking, this is still a dreamscape, just a deeper layer.
....
『 "How about this! Since your guests are visiting Dreamflux Reef for the first time, I'll act as your guide. I'll help you find your companions first, and then we can go visit Miss Robin together," Misha suggested.
"Miss Robin went to visit the children at Mrs. Grisea's place. She won't be leaving anytime soon, so we should have enough time."
Hearing that name, which was only one character off from someone familiar, Welt froze for a moment. Fortunately, he reacted in time and quickly corrected his mistaken thought. After a brief pause, he slowly nodded in agreement.
"Very well, we would be glad to accept your offer." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: Uncle Yang, why did you daze off for a second there?
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Perhaps I misheard Grisea as Theresa.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: Mm-hmm, I almost misheard it just now too.
....
『 Afterward, while Misha was talking to Clockie, Welt quietly pulled Stelle aside and lowered his voice.
"This way, the two murders troubling Penacony have been answered. However, the mastermind's motives… have become even more baffling."
Stelle said thoughtfully, "Gallagher must be the mastermind."
Welt nodded in agreement. "Yes, I think so too. Though we can't be certain, we must find him regardless."
"By the way, you mentioned earlier that you saw a Clockie that only you could see, correct?"
"Uncle Yang can see him too." Stelle's gaze turned playful.
"Hmm… There is always a strange feeling. Could my childlike innocence also be…" Welt looked slightly flustered, but quickly regained his composure. He cleared his throat and continued, "Forget it, that's not important. Let's follow Misha first." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Power! Home! Dreams!
〘March 7th〙: Actually, I feel like if Clockie really can only be seen by those with childlike innocence, Uncle Yang might actually be able to see him.
〘Stelle〙: After all, Uncle Yang's highest form of hospitality is bringing you to his room to watch anime.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Cough cough…
〘Pam〙: Pam likes it very much, especially the one called Arahato, Pam.
〘Siegfried〙: You have good taste; I like that one too.
....
『 After their conversation, Clockie ticked and tacked away, and Misha began to lead the way for the two.
Misha walked excitedly to a platform and pointed toward a massive blue void in the distance.
"Everyone, look! From here, you can see the most spectacular view of Dreamflux Reef—"
Welt looked up and analyzed, "A black hole? No, is it an accretion disk formed by the condensation of Memoria? To think Dreamflux Reef was built on such unstable Memoria."
"Oh? It turns out Mr. Welt also understands Memoria dynamics. I was just worrying about how to introduce this great void to you. In that case, you will definitely have a lot in common with Miss Kaimee!"
Seeing Welt's interest in the great void, Misha quickly led the two toward the platform in front of it and pointed ahead.
"Look, she's right there."
Looking in the direction Misha pointed, they could see a tall woman in the distance. She seemed to be holding something, quietly staring at the great void in front of her, talking to herself.
As the group walked closer, they could hear what she was saying.
"I've finally calculated it. In another ten system hours, the sweet dream above will swallow the sweet dream below! My hypothesis was correct. This place will cease to exist, and the sweet dream will consume everything…" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: When Boothill hijacked the Express earlier, the broadcast mentioned that there were twelve system hours left before the opening ceremony.
〘March 7th〙: Adding the time it took for you to get here, the timing seems almost identical. Is it a coincidence?
....
『 Then, she seemed to notice the people behind her, turned around, and asked, "Hmm? Who are you? This place is about to disappear. Why haven't you left yet?"
"Why aren't you leaving?" Stelle asked, puzzled.
"I am Kaimee, a dreamscape cartographer. My specialty is Memoria dynamics, and I am studying my life's work."
Kaimee turned back to face the great void and continued, "See this great void? Many years ago, it was just a crack. Now, it has grown into a massive hole. The Memoria nearby has been slowly flowing to the other side of the void at a constant speed."
"But the terrifying thing is… according to my calculations, the speed of the Memoria flow has recently changed, and it's faster than ever before—it's… it's almost as if something is sucking it from the other side of that giant mouth!"
"By continuously improving Lady Razalina's Memoria measurement method, I have finally obtained accurate results—"
"In ten system hours, Dreamflux Reef will cease to exist! Like a melting iceberg, everything will fall apart and merge with the fragments of the sweet dream on the other side of the void!" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: 'Dreamflux Reef's safety and security are top-notch.'
〘Hanabi〙: Hilarious.
〘Pam〙: Razalina…
〘March 7th〙: Oh right, isn't that name one of those three Nameless? I thought it sounded familiar.
....
『 Misha gave Stelle and Welt a helpless smile and quickly explained, "Uh, please don't worry. This kind of thing has happened many times… Miss Kaimee isn't a bad person; she's just a bit… immersed in her own world. She should soon realize she calculated wrong."
"More than that, there is another matter that concerns me. May I ask who the 'Lady Razalina' you mentioned is?" 』
『 ....』
( I went with Grisea(matching the original CN text) instead of the official NA name Grace. In this context, 'Grisea' creates a specific phonetic connection to Theresa, which gets completely lost with 'Grace'.. )