"...Are your companions worried about you?" Acheron asked as she looked at Mr. Yang, who had suddenly checked his messages.
"Just normal contact. It seems they've made some discoveries on their end." Mr. Yang turned to look at Acheron, this person who was both familiar and unfamiliar to him.
Of course, he had experienced this kind of situation long ago, but every time he saw those similar people, he would still be touched a little.
"As for the answers to the two questions you asked earlier, compared to my own thoughts, I feel that perhaps another answer would address them better."
Acheron: "...?"
"That answer is, why don't you ask the bird itself?"
Mr. Yang smiled. "Why can birds fly? What use is it asking people? Even if you interpret it through science, there will still be people who are dissatisfied. Since that's the case, why not ask the bird?"
"If sinking into dreams is people's own choice, then should we interfere? Since you've raised such a question, what use is it asking me? Why don't you ask yourself?"
"Not everyone is very proactive, and not everyone is willing to think about philosophy, but the fact that solving a problem requires starting from the problem itself has never changed. Different people have different answers, and there are often some that are quite original."
"There's a little guy on the train. If you asked him your question, he would definitely give you this answer: Why don't you ask the bird?"
Acheron blinked at Mr. Yang. Several fragments flashed through her mind, including the people and events she had witnessed in Penacony, including the members of the Astral Express. Among them, one figure was especially clear.
"Is it that... child called Nero?"
"Mm, that's right." Mr. Yang nodded. "He's a child who doesn't think much about the bigger picture, but fate is always on his side, so he handles every problem very well."
"For you right now, his philosophy might be far more suitable than my answer, "'On the scale of the universe, in this vast and boundless world, no matter what position a person attains, an individual's world is always very small. My world is small, so small that it can only contain myself. So all I need to do is ask myself honestly.'"
"That's it. Just like you right now, even though you hesitated, in the end you still chose to take action. Sometimes you don't need to consider so many external factors. You only need to make sure whether this is something you want to do."
"What an open-minded child," Acheron said.
"Of course. In this world, there probably isn't another child who takes the Aeons as lightly as he does." Mr. Yang wore a slightly helpless expression.
Nero was of course a good child, but in his attitude toward life, he also carried an arrogance far beyond that of ordinary people.
'Sky is vast and earth is vast, but I am the greatest. My fate is decided by me, not anyone else. Few people could turn the recklessness of their youth into a lifelong inscription.'
Afterward, Mr. Yang raised his head and looked ahead.
The two of them were no longer in the Golden Hour.
"In any case, let's go quickly and come back quickly. Going any farther will take us deep into the Dewlight Pavilion."
Acheron nodded. "Everything along the way has gone smoothly... too smoothly. It's hard to imagine that this is a heavily guarded family residence."
"Let's look around first and see if there's anyone we can report to," Mr. Yang said.
The two followed the route Ratio and Aventurine had taken earlier. Along the way, in this important area of the family, they did not see many guards. Instead, they discovered quite a few Memetic Entities arranged throughout the place.
However, these things obviously could not stop the two of them. Acheron casually dealt with the Memetic Entities while eating snacks.
It was just as easy as when they had charged straight into the Ever-Flame Mansion.
Afterward, the two obtained a note from one of the defeated Memetic Entities. It seemed to have been left for the other servants.
Based on this, Mr. Yang inferred that the people of the Dewlight Pavilion had been assigned other work, which should have been some kind of task requiring a large amount of manpower, and that this assignment had already begun before Robin was attacked.
But this still did not make sense. After all, the Dewlight Pavilion was extremely important to the family. No matter how busy they were, there should have been people stationed here.
Perhaps the servants who had originally been here had been deliberately sent away.
However, the two still did not know what purpose lay behind this.
They went all the way to the deepest part, yet still did not find anyone. So they very consciously got to work.
Obviously, neither of them was particularly rigid. When it came time to actually act, they were also quite adept at doing this kind of "sneaking around."
During the process, they found a letter from Robin and made further deductions about the incident.
If Robin's loss of voice was because Harmony had been affected, and if the reason behind this incident was the appearance of a traitor within the family, then that traitor must either hold a high position, possess considerable strength, or both.
Of course, there was more information: the list of victims, the list of suspects, Sunday seemed to be facing impeachment, and so on...
This information also revealed more things, such as the fact that the family itself was actually not very harmonious.
After skillfully "finishing the dirty work," the two made a brief analysis and were preparing to leave when Sunday appeared behind them at some unknown point.
"Entering a forbidden area without permission, I'm afraid that isn't the way one should behave when visiting someone, is it? Mr. Welt, and... Galaxy Ranger, Miss Acheron?"
Mr. Yang had always treated people with courtesy, so he said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Sunday. We couldn't find anyone to report to, so we entered your residence without permission. I hope you can forgive us."
"But even if no one was there to receive you, shouldn't the two of you have waited patiently for the host to arrive?"
"As for this Galaxy Ranger, let's put her aside for now... As far as I know, the Astral Express has already formally accepted the family's commission. I'm afraid there was no need for you to make another special visit."
After saying this, Sunday suddenly fell silent. Although his expression did not change much, he felt slightly flustered inside.
Some unpleasant memories surged into his mind. If Professor Ratio had not said so much back then, perhaps he would not be feeling this uneasy right now.
But...
Had the tone he used just now been a little too forceful?
Generally speaking, as the "host," there was nothing wrong with Sunday speaking this way. After all, the actions of Welt and Acheron were indeed somewhat inappropriate.
But the key problem was that the Astral Express had lost someone on the family's territory, and that person was not an ordinary person either. She was someone involved in many matters, someone with connections to many people...
The moment he thought about how one careless mistake could result in the entirety of Penacony being attacked by several famous forces from across the universe, far more than a handful of Emanators, and even Aeons, even Sunday began to sweat.
Using someone's backing as a show of strength during negotiations could be considered a strategy, but Mr. Yang had probably never imagined that someone would directly wear that tiger skin himself.
Fortunately, Sunday had hidden himself well. Mr. Yang did not notice anything unusual and merely continued to politely explain that he had come this time hoping to exchange information with the family and learn more about the case.
Acheron, who was standing a little farther back, instead gave Sunday a strange look.
She could vaguely sense that this head of the Oak Family seemed somewhat flustered, or rather, nervous, but she could not figure out what exactly was causing his nervousness.
When Sunday heard what Mr. Yang said, he naturally would not kick away the ladder that had been offered to him.
"...Very well. Since the two of you have come with good intentions, I have no reason to ask you to leave again."
After that, Sunday began talking with the two of them. He seemed very confident that he could catch the traitor.
Mr. Yang deliberately reminded him that judging from the current situation, the family should be more wary of the IPC.
Sunday, however, returned the suggestion exactly as it was, believing that the Express was the one that should be more wary of the IPC.
In the end, Sunday also gave the two of them some hints. For example, Aventurine seemed to have some little plan of his own, scattering money everywhere and even going to the Clock Studios Theme Park. No one knew what he was plotting.
Even now, this head of the Oak Family still seemed unaware that he had been within Aventurine's calculations from beginning to end.
Even his current words and actions, which were provoking the Astral Express to become suspicious of Aventurine, were helping the other side.
Of course, it was also possible that he simply was not worried about Aventurine's plan. He had absolute confidence in himself.
———
"According to the Pier Point hotline, the shocking 'Sigonian Aventurine Case' has achieved a major breakthrough. The suspect has now been apprehended."
"This fraud case involved multiple departments of the Interastral Peace Corporation and the Intelligentsia Guild, resulting in a massive waste of manpower, material resources, and other resources, causing the company to suffer enormous losses."
"The suspect is from Sigonia-IV and is one of the survivors of the 'Second Katic-Evikin Extinction.' He also does not possess an Interastral Refugee Travel Permit."
"Under the direction of the Strategic Investment Department head, 'Diamond,' the company has properly settled the suspect in accordance with the spirit of the Charter and will continue its investigation to further determine the suspect's criminal motives..."
A report appeared in his mind, followed immediately by several more images.
Lady Jade sat behind a high table. Aventurine felt as though countless people were crawling into his head, digging through his memories. The sensation was nauseating.
The power of Harmony was not beautiful, especially when it was acting upon oneself. It was like the divine messengers in certain myths, whose forms were bizarre, yet whose first words upon seeing a human being were still, "Don't be afraid."
Some people explained such things by saying that the hearts of these divine messengers had already reached a purer state, so they no longer needed flesh to decorate their beauty.
Then what about how appearances reflect the heart?
And what about the Knights of Beauty?
Of course, there was no benefit in letting his thoughts run wild over something like this.
'Damn it, what was I even thinking about?'
"What beautiful eyes. Tell me, do they glow at night?" Lady Jade, sitting behind the high table, asked.
"If I could, I'd definitely sell them." Kakavasha answered.
"You don't know how many people are hoping you'll keep your eyes closed forever. As a slave, you shouldn't resist your master... Yet you killed that man." Lady Jade smiled without quite smiling. "No lawyer dares defend you. Perhaps you should try to argue for your own acquittal?"
"That wouldn't be difficult, but it would be meaningless."
"Quite confident in your eloquence. Was that what you thought when you deceived the Intelligentsia Guild?"
"You got what you wanted. You wanted perfect building materials, and I merely provided one possibility, a little gamble. If luck was on your side, the company might have dug something out of the sands of Sigonia, perhaps even the remains of the Sand King, Tayzzyronth. Unfortunately, your luck wasn't good."
"I won't deny that. But what I'm curious about is why, after such an elaborate fraud, not a single person ended up profiting from it, including the criminal himself?"
"Madam, I've already obtained what I wanted..." Kakavasha smiled. "I was brought before you, opening the next great gamble."
"Then let's talk about this great gamble." Lady Jade gave a light laugh. She seemed interested. "Tell me, what are you planning to bet this time?"
"My life. I bet that you won't send me to the execution ground."
"Hmm... Then what do you want?"
"I want your Lala, your chieftain, to come see me. I have something to say."
"And then?"
"I want money."
"It can't be that simple, can it?"
"It's just that simple. Thirty Taamba, the price of half my life, no more and no less. As long as I have that money, I can climb to a position higher than yours and hold more wealth than you... I bet you don't dare give it to me, so call him over."
"Interesting." Lady Jade said. "Unfortunately, Diamond won't see you. No one gets to see him. So at this moment, I am Diamond's representative and will make the decision for him."
"You're wrong. I'll give you thirty Taamba, and far more than that. Wealth, status, power... The company will give you everything you want and everything you don't want."
"'Kakavasha'... is a good name. Unfortunately, it is destined to be buried in the ground. But you deserve to live, to create more wealth for us."
"Go. Pick out some clothes you like, then choose an identity you're satisfied with... and make good use of them, child."
'May your schemes be forever concealed.'
'Life is like a long investment. Choose the right people, do the right things, reach the right result, and show the world your value.'
'But it was impossible to make the right decision for an entire lifetime. Still, luck was always on my side. I had never lost.'
'Was it because the Mother Goddess was blessing me? If so, then she must be watching me at this very moment as well. I would surely succeed.'
'...But then what?'
'If I successfully got through this difficult situation, what came next? After a grand gamble, was another even greater gamble waiting for me?'
'Would I return laden with countless chips after one success after another, or would one failure... mean never returning?'
Aventurine asked himself this, but soon heard a reckless voice ring out in his mind.
"Don't you have any idea... you lowly gambler?" It was his own voice.
Aventurine opened his eyes and slowly looked to the side, where he saw a figure exactly identical to himself.
'Has the curse of Harmony already driven me to split personality?'
"What a... bastard with wings growing out of his head. He's about to turn me into one of his kind."
"Are you not the same kind? Hahaha, you've already forgotten me? When you were tied to an electric chair by the warlord of Iymanika, who gave you the idea?"
Aventurine raised an eyebrow. "Enough... I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid. Get out of my head, newborn of Harmony."
"Heh, Harmony? Don't be stupid. This isn't the first time we've met. There's no need to be so distant, is there? I'm you. I even understand myself better than you do, and I know what you really want better than you do. You're dying. Even with death right in front of you, you still want to drag a few unlucky fools along with you... That's why you came here, isn't it?"
Looking at the "self" before him, Aventurine gradually curled the corners of his mouth into a smile.
"In that case, answer me one question."
"Hmm?"
"Have I ever lost?"
"Aventurine": "...?"
———
...There were several days when Topaz brought back a child.
"What's wrong? You got tired of playing in such a big place so quickly?"
"Brother Aventurine!?" The boy looked at me and shook his head. "No. It's very big here, and there are lots of interesting things. Everyone treats me well too... I just suddenly miss home a little."
"You miss home? Hmm... That's normal. Sometimes I miss home too. How about I take you home? You're from the Xianzhou, right? Which Xianzhou? I remember that the Foxian who came with you seemed to be Miss Tingyun from the Luofu."
The boy fell silent, which was rare for him. He lowered his head without saying a word.
Since I had met this child, it was the first time I had seen him like this. At that moment, it seemed as though many words were being squeezed into that usually cheerful, tiny body.
The silence lasted a long time, almost long enough to make one lose patience, until sadness flowed through those gray eyes. He shook his head again.
"It's okay. It's nice here too. I... can't go back." The boy spoke softly, as though only now was he finally able to struggle through stating some fact that had been imposed upon him. "Everyone is gone. It's the same wherever I am..."
I fell silent.
"Brother Aventurine, can you crouch down?" he suddenly asked.
So I crouched down. The boy came over with red-rimmed eyes and suddenly hugged me. His body trembled lightly. I heard his murmured words, as though he were using chalk to leave a diary deep in his heart.
"Bro... I can live well even by myself now. I've met lots of people, lots of friends. I'm still working hard to become better, so don't worry about me... Are Mom and Dad doing okay? You need to pay more attention to them. Without me, you'll have to take care of making sure they argue less. And Grandpa, you know he's a little old-fashioned, so don't make him angry too often. Without me stopping you, your butt is really going to get it..."
I heard the boy ramble on about many things. He remembered almost everything about his family.
His grandfather was a strict, old-fashioned old man. His father was not good at talking but cared a lot about his dignity. His mother was a strong woman, very good at arguing, but always kind to others.
His older brother was unreliable, somewhat mischievous and frivolous, and all three girlfriends he had dated had ended up breaking up with him...
I remained crouched there without moving, letting him hold me without saying a word, witnessing for the first time the colors hidden deep inside this sunny boy's heart...
And so I knew that he was also alone, having gone to a very distant place...
He talked for a long time. A really long time...
I kept listening.
"Sorry, Brother Aventurine... I just miss home a little." Afterward, the boy immediately apologized to me. "You're really similar to my brother... He used to dye his hair this golden color too, and Grandpa even scolded him for it... Mm... Thank you."
I raised an eyebrow. "Just the hair color? Then I'm pretty lucky."
"Not just the hair color..." The boy shook his head. "You're all very good to me too. That counts, too. Mm, it counts. Everyone is very good to me."
I knew everyone was very good to him.
I also knew that he had actually kept these emotions locked away in his heart for a very long time... because three system hours had already passed.
But at this moment, this was the only way he could remember those family members. He must have been the youngest and most spoiled child in the family.
He could only use that unconditional kindness toward the outside world to carry out these vague memories.
There was no more specific way.
So I stretched out both hands and said to him, "Come on, Nero, slap palms with me. I'll teach you your brother's hometown blessing."