『 "Hearing you now, Miss Robin's voice seems to have recovered somewhat?" Himeko asked.
"Though cruel, it is an indisputable fact. The Harmony here is actually more widespread than what is preached in the Golden Hour…"
"I am deeply sorry. It was a betrayer within the Family. He… or they, abandoned their original belief, using the name of Harmony to exploit the weaknesses of human nature, turning Penacony into a Planet of Festivities of indulgence and illusory dreams…"
"This is not 'the strong defending the weak,' but rather 'the strong exploiting the weak.' The Harmony won't ever favor a world without equality, and naturally, those voices blessed by THEM... have lost the ability to sing."
Having said that, Robin lowered her head in disappointment.
Welt spoke up slowly at this moment, asking Robin if there was another possibility. "Miss Robin, is there another possibility—that the shift in the Family's philosophy involved the intervention of another power?"
"After all, judging from Miss Acheron's case, unless an Emanator-level power or higher intervened… it is hard to imagine another will capable of influencing everyone existing within the territory of the Harmony."
Robin shook her head gently. "I'd heard about what happened to the Xianzhou Alliance. But as far as I'm aware, The Family hasn't faced any such external interventions. Who knows, perhaps I've just been away too long and missed something."
"Regardless, I cannot accept my home is moving towards the very opposite of what the Harmony represents, while still claiming to uphold it."
"I must uncover the reason why Mikhail cut ties with The Family, and who exactly it was who betrayed us all…" At this point, Robin looked at Micah and continued, "Do you remember our arrangement, Mr. Micah? Well, here's my answer..."
Robin took a deep breath. "—I've decided to forego my role, and never step foot on the Charmony Festival's stage again." 』
『 ....』
〘Robin Fan A〙: I support this! Miss Robin, you are the true orthodox Harmony. The Family knows nothing about Harmony!
〘Robin Fan B〙: I declare that the orthodox Harmony lies with Robin. Who agrees, and who objects?
{After watching the sister, let's look at the brother not far away.}
〘Sunday〙: What must come has finally come.
〘Robin〙: Brother, what do you mean by that?
〘Sunday〙: It's nothing, sister. Just keep watching.
{After being forcibly brought to Dreamflux Reef by Gallagher, Sunday triggered the same scene as Hotaru and Stelle during this process, falling into memories.}
....
『 11 system hours until Charmony Festival - The other side of Dreamflux Reef—
As the screen lit up, accompanied by a few bird chirps, a beautiful little bird was standing in a pair of small hands.
A soft voice came.
"Brother, look! There's a little bird here."
"It looks like a little Charmony Dove." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Robin's voice when she was a child sounds so lovely too.
〘Robin〙: Thank you for the compliment.
....
『 Little Sunday looked at the Charmony Dove in his sister's hands in confusion. "But this isn't the habitat of Charmony Doves. Why is it here all alone? Was it abandoned by its parents?"
"It looks like it has no strength at all… Should we find a soft cushion and make a nest for it?" Little Robin suggested.
"It's too dangerous here. We should take it back first and put it on the wooden stand in front of your window." Little Sunday shook his head, rejecting his sister's suggestion.
Hearing this, Little Robin nodded. "Alright! Its singing voice must be very beautiful. But where will it live?"
"I'll ask the Family Head to build a cage for it."
"A cage… then won't it be unable to fly freely?" Little Robin murmured.
Then, the voice of the Dreammaster came. "Let's see... what is it that has captured the attention of the two best interpreters of the Great One, to the point that they've forgotten how to enjoy their dessert?"
Once the Dreammaster saw the little bird in Robin's hands clearly, he understood. "Oh... poor little thing. Doesn't look like it's doing well. Do you want to rescue it?" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Is the Dreammaster your butler?
〘March 7th〙: Uh… (⊙o⊙) What kind of logic is that?
〘Hanabi〙: Pfft.
....
『 Little Robin nodded quickly. "Yes, I do… but I don't think we should lock it up."
"Why?"
"Even though it's still small, hasn't grown all its feathers, and can't sing yet… it didn't hatch from its shell just to live in a cage," Little Robin said with a smile.
"Birds... belong to the sky."
The Dreammaster smiled upon hearing this, then patted Little Sunday's head beside her. "That's quite the romantic idea. And what about you, our young scholar? Do you agree with your sister?"
"I think she's right... but if we leave it out in the wild, it won't survive for more than a few days at best." Little Sunday replied.
"Ah, I see. It seems our little scholar is still a bit unsure. Well, let me tell you youngsters, a story."
"You should know that the Charmony Dove is a species of bird capable of flying across the atmosphere. When flying at high altitudes, their feathers glow magnificently due to the high temperatures caused by friction, looking like shooting stars."
"We are all too familiar with this beautiful sight, thinking it is an innate ability of theirs… Unfortunately, that meteor-like splendor is the result of hundreds of Amber Eras of struggle against nature."
"The ancestors of the Charmony Doves were too weak to win the struggle for survival on the ground. To escape the fate of being hunted, they began to look up at the sky, flapping their wings and leaping…"
"Just like that, after thousands, tens of thousands of generations of attempts, a bird in the flock finally learned how to flap its wings correctly. It successfully took flight, bidding farewell to the earth forever."
"So, birds are actually not born knowing how to fly, but they achieved it through their own will, right?" Little Robin said after hearing the story.
"Haha, that is indeed an idealistic interpretation. Well then, Sunday, what do you think?"
"I…"
"I think the reason people believe flying is a bird's nature… is because they have never seen a bird fall to its death."
"Oh? This line of thinking is also very interesting. So, you should now understand how to treat this little bird, right?" the Dreammaster asked with a smile.
"I will… well, put it in a cage first, at least until it can survive on its own. Because…"
"I… want it to live, no matter what."
The Dreammaster nodded. "Very good, children. It seems you both have your own answers in your hearts. Your visions are wonderfully beautiful, and I sincerely hope they can be realized in their own ways."
"We will take good care of it. Right, Brother?"
"Yes. However, Mr. Gopher Wood, there is still one thing I don't understand…"
"Speak, child."
"If this little Charmony Dove never learns to fly in the end, what should we do?"
"I mean, if there are indeed some fledglings in this world that can never fly in their entire lives…"
"Should we still let them return to the sky… only to watch them fall to their deaths on the ground?"
The screen went black again after this sentence. In the darkness, Gallagher's voice rang out.
"Talking in your sleep, birdie? Time to wake up." 』
『 ....』
〘Aha〙: Welt, why do birds fly?
〘Kevin Kaslana〙: Because they must fly into the sky. When the meteor of Finality descended during the Cretaceous period, only free birds could leap out of destined destruction.
〘Belle〙: That's a bit too realistic. If you ask me, the first bird learned to fly because it had a burning heart that wanted to touch the sky.
〘Anaxa〙: I beg to differ. They learned to fly to make better friends with the earth beasts, Hahahahaha.
〘Aglaea〙: Take your earth beasts out of Okhema and go back to the Arbor Court!
....