Chapter 171: Our Mission is to Wander Around and Apply Peer Pressure
A bug in the dream of Order: If you walk into an internet cafe and find the receptionist is an NPC from your favorite game, you should probably realize you're dreaming.
[Path Switch: Erudition → Remembrance]
[Number of Stowaways +2]
This time, however, their entry into the dream didn't deposit them at their previous location. The scenery was different, but judging by the grimy, neon-soaked pipes and forgotten alleyways, they were still somewhere within the confines of Dreamflux Reef.
"Hello there!"
The voice was young and polite. Rekka turned, his eyes landing on a boy with delicate features and striking blue hair. Without a moment's hesitation, he subconsciously flicked the small cube he'd been fiddling with in his hand. A cage of shimmering energy instantly materialized, trapping the startled boy.
"...What are you doing?!" Stelle grabbed Rekka by the shoulders, shaking him vigorously. "I know we're stowaways, but that's no reason to just start snatching people off the street!"
"Don't shake me, don't shake me!" Rekka felt his brain rattling in his skull. "He's the other half of the legacy!"
Stelle's arm strength, which started at a casual one hundred tons, was more than enough to nearly shake Rekka into a frothing mess.
'Besides,'Rekka thought, trying to regain his equilibrium,'when an SSR-rank super rare character like Misha just dangles in front of you, how can you possibly resist the urge to toss out a Poké Ball, capture him, name him, build up his affection, and complete the one-stop service of turning him into a mount?'
Just then, a tuft of pink hair sprouted from the top of Rekka's head.
The clock had struck midnight.
The debilitating weakness that came with his Erudition form faded away, and Rekka straightened up, feeling his power return. He casually picked up the force-field cube, which now held the restrained boy like a high-tech snow globe.
"Hehehe!" A distinctly villainous chuckle escaped Rekka's lips.
"You really refined him," Stelle said, peering at the cube. "So, is he a Memory Spirit now?"
"That's right!"
Misha had now been converted into one of Rekka's personal Memory Spirits, a form that made him observable to anyone. Previously, as a Memetic entity, Misha could only be perceived by Trailblazers after emerging from a dream bubble. He couldn't manifest outside the dream—unless, of course, he used the ambient Memetic substance in certain areas as a medium.
Now, as Rekka's Memory Spirit, Misha was solid, real, and visible to all.
"But he doesn't seem to remember anything..." Stelle noted, watching the boy's confused expression.
"Amnesia isn't a big deal," Rekka said, patting her on the shoulder. "All you need to know is that he's... a fragment of a memory, left behind by our old senior. That's enough."
He gave her a conspiratorial grin. "Anyway, our mission now is to just wander around and apply some peer pressure. Everyone else is racking their brains, trying to figure out what the legacy is and where to find it. Meanwhile, we get to stand on the sidelines, trying not to laugh while making them sweat."
Misha, now a fully-fledged Memory Spirit, blinked. His gaze shifted from Rekka to Stelle, his expression morphing from confusion into a slightly puzzled but impeccably polite smile.
"Three guests, do you need me to help you with your luggage?"
"It's fine," Rekka said, taking Misha's hand. "From now on, you are our luggage!"
"Eh? Eh, eh, eh? I... I am the guest's luggage?" Misha was utterly floored.
"That's right!"
"But... but that's not right, is it? I'm just a bellboy at The Reverie Hotel."
"It's okay. You can be our guide, too." With that, Rekka gestured for Stelle to take out her wallet. A hefty sum of Credit Points was promptly pressed into Misha's hands.
"Th-This is so much for a tip!" Misha stared at the credits, hesitating for only a moment. "Um, I... I understand! Two guests! So, do you need me to take you on a tour of Penacony's dreamscape?"
"You got it!"
"Uh... well, in that case, can I go find my friend? Just... please wait a moment! Thank you!"
Misha scurried away, returning a short while later with another Memetic entity in tow.
"Clockie, Clockie—"
A small, animated character with a clock for a head bounced along beside him.
Rekka and Stelle exchanged a knowing look.
"Tick-tock, tick-tock! What are you going to do to me, tick-tock!" the little clock man chirped nervously.
"What else?" Rekka grinned, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Turn you into a Memory Spirit, of course! Hehehe!"
A few moments later, Stelle and Rekka, now each in possession of their own personal Memory Spirit, shared a triumphant high-five. The Watchmaker's Legacy was now split neatly between them. Compared to Misha, Stelle found the abstract, cartoonish Clockie to be far more interesting.
"Captain, Captain!" Rozaliya planted her hands on her hips, the decorative clip on her tail already beginning to pinch Rekka's waist in annoyance. "So, do we actually have a mission or not?"
"Of course," Rekka said smoothly, ignoring the pinch. "Our next goal is to rendezvous with March and the others. Misha, could you please lead the way?"
"Ah! Of course, that's no problem," Misha replied earnestly. "I just hope everyone won't be scared... There's a little guy who can take us to the Golden Hour."
Misha led them to a secluded corner of Dreamflux Reef.
"Miyou, Miyou! Come out quickly!" he called out.
In response, a colossal Memetic Entity materialized before them. It was a horrifying mass of flesh and countless eyes.
Memetic Entity: "Something Unto Death."
The answer to "Something Unto Death" is "Slumber." Its fan nickname, therefore, was Miyou.
The hideous monster didn't even give Rozaliya and Stelle time to assume a defensive posture before it lunged forward, skewering the entire group in one swift motion.
With a wet pop, they all vanished, leaving behind nothing but a puddle of shimmering, liquid Memetic substance on the ground.
"...What's going on, Miyou?"
The Memetic Entity let out a low hiss and affectionately rubbed its grotesque form against a man with a scruffy beard who had just appeared.
"Oh, you just sent Misha and a few others away, huh," the man mused, taking a sip from a freshly opened bottle of wine. He paused. "...Wait a minute."
After a dizzying, nauseating spin, the group felt as if they'd been violently ejected from a washing machine's spin cycle.
"Where is this place...?" Rozaliya groaned, clutching her head.
"Where's Misha...? And Clockie...?" Stelle asked, looking around frantically.
"I put them away," Rekka said calmly. "In my head."
"It's the stowaways! The stowaways have appeared!"
A girl in a school uniform rushed toward them. It was Firefly.
'Ah, the yandere version of Stelle,'Rekka thought wryly.'You'd even go this far to get her back.' The cognitive shielding cube was truly a magnificent invention.
"Thank you for your help, Miss," a member of the Bloodhound Family said, tipping his hat before giving chase. "Let's go!"
After pointing the Bloodhounds in the wrong direction, Firefly turned her attention back to Rekka.
"...Could you please sell me some of those small cubes?"
"What do you want them for?" Rekka asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"For... for a mission," Firefly said, her gaze darting away.
"Oh, so it's for a mission," Rekka said, his expression one of sudden, dawning comprehension. "I see. I thought you wanted to use it on yourself, then take the opportunity to act on some... unspeakable ideas you have about an unsuspecting Stelle. You know, things you could do anytime, anywhere, without being noticed and without having to take any responsibility."
A classic case of "what she doesn't know won't hurt her," he mused.
"You! What are you talking about!" Firefly's face flushed a brilliant red. "How could I possibly do... that kind of thing to Stelle!"
"You're flustered," Rekka stated with the confidence of a seasoned detective. "Stelle, she definitely wants to get one of these cubes so she can secretly put cat ears on your head or give you a little tail."
Rozaliya's eyes widened. It was as if the door to an entirely new world had just been flung open before her. 'So you can play like that?'
"Let's not talk about that," Firefly stammered, changing the subject. "Forget it... You've already obtained the legacy, haven't you?"
"You know about that, too?" Stelle asked, a little surprised.
"It's already written in the script..." Firefly scratched her cheek sheepishly. "My mission is to protect you... to ensure your safety."
"Thank you, Firefly! I knew you cared about me!" Stelle beamed, pulling her into a happy side-hug.
Firefly was overjoyed to be so close to Stelle.
Of course, there was one small, unhappy detail clouding her bliss. The yandere version of Stelle had now graduated from mentioning Rekka every three sentences to mentioning him every two.
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