"To find out why the Watchmaker Mikhail broke with the Family, and exactly who made the decision to betray..." Robin turned her head and looked at Mikhail in the crowd.
"Mr. Mikhail, do you still remember our deal? Now it's time for me to give you my answer. I'm willing to give up. I won't go on stage at the Charmony Festival anymore."
———
11 system hours before the opening of the Charmony Festival.
"Brother, look! There's a little bird here."
"Looks like a little Charmony Dove. But nearby... this isn't a Charmony Dove habitat. Why is it all alone here? Was it abandoned by its parents?"
"It looks like it doesn't have any strength at all... Should we find a soft cushion and make it a nest?"
"It's too dangerous here. We should take it back first. Put it on the wooden stand in front of your window."
"Okay! Its singing must sound really nice. But where will it live?"
"I'll ask the head of the family to make a birdcage for it."
"A cage... Then won't it be unable to fly freely?"
In his mind, memories from the past were rising to the surface. Those fragments had always been so clear in Sunday's mind.
"Let me see... what has made the two finest interpreters of the Divine Lord so curious that they've even forgotten to enjoy dessert after their meal?"
Mr. Gopher Wood's voice from the past sounded very gentle. "Oh... poor little thing. Its condition doesn't look very good. Do you want to save it?"
"Yes... but I don't think we can lock it up." That was what his younger sister had said back then.
"Why?" Gopher Wood asked.
"Although it's still small, it hasn't even grown all its feathers and can't sing yet... but it didn't hatch from its shell to live in a cage. Birds belong to the sky from the moment they are born."
"A very romantic idea." That was how Gopher Wood had judged his sister's view. Sunday remembered that afterward, he looked at him. "And you, little doctor, do you agree with your sister's view?"
"I think my sister is right... but if we leave it in the wild, it'll die in a few days."
"Hehe. Looks like our little doctor is still very confused. How about this, children? I'll tell you a story."
After that, Mr. Gopher Wood told them a story about Charmony Doves.
In that story, long ago, the ancestors of the Charmony Doves were a weak species of bird. To avoid being hunted by natural enemies, they began turning their eyes toward the sky.
After a long process of evolution, they gradually became what they were now, birds that could even fly beyond the atmosphere.
"So, actually, birds aren't born knowing how to fly, but they accomplished it through their own will, right?"
"Hehe, that is indeed an idealistic interpretation. So, Sunday, what do you think?"
"I... I think the reason people believe flying is a bird's nature... is because they've never seen a bird fall to its death."
Sunday remembered that afterward, Mr. Gopher Wood once again asked him what he thought about that little bird, and this was what he said, "I would... um, put it in a cage first. At least until it can survive on its own. Because... I... no matter what, I want it to stay alive."
But...
There was another question...
If there really were some fledglings in this world that could never learn to fly in their entire lives... should we still let them return to the sky... only to watch helplessly as they fall to their deaths on the ground?
"Your dream talk was pretty good, little bird. Time to wake up."
A man's somewhat weary voice suddenly entered his mind, and Sunday opened his eyes.
His vision gradually changed from pitch-black to dim. Gallagher was standing right in front of him, while he himself was in a dream that was dim yet complete, dark yet dry.
"What, can't stand steadily? Want me to give you a hand?"
Gallagher said another sentence. Only then did Sunday suddenly snap out of his daze.
"I'm not dead?"
The young head of the Oak Family was somewhat stunned. He lowered his head and looked at his chest. This was where he had once been pierced by the wing blade of "Death," yet now, it had not left even the slightest wound.
Moreover, his consciousness, thoughts, and normal state of mind seemed to have suffered no damage at all from this "attack."
"Hmph, happy?" Gallagher's lips curled up slightly.
"...Tell me where Robin is. Now." After realizing that he had not died, Sunday immediately began questioning Gallagher about Robin's whereabouts.
Gallagher raised an eyebrow. "Heh, I knew your first reaction would definitely be about her.
"She's right here. Don't worry, your sister is safe. Right now... she's probably still walking around the streets and alleys.
"If I were you, I'd be more concerned about myself at a time like this... After all, there's a bastard standing right in front of you who just put a knife through your chest."
"If you really intended to kill me, there would have been no need to give me a chance to exchange pleasantries... Tell me why you're here, Watchmaker's lackey." Sunday narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Gallagher.
"That isn't quite right, Mr. Sunday." A familiar yet irritating voice, accompanied by the vibration of reeds, sounded beside his ear.
Sunday almost immediately looked toward the source of the voice. Sure enough, he saw that mechanical knight.
Just like when they had held talks at the Dewlight Pavilion, the blue light in the machine's eyes flickered slightly, making it feel as though this machine was calculating something.
Moreover, seeing this machine inevitably reminded him of how he had pressured the Family on behalf of the Knights, all for the sake of a missing boy.
And according to Professor Ratio's revelations, that child, who had a good relationship with his sister, was indeed a troublesome figure. There were too many forces involved with him, and they were far too powerful.
"People often say that villains die because they talk too much." Tiriandes looked at Sunday.
"This shows that there are indeed some villains who like to make their enemies understand why they are dying. They hope to show off their achievements, and they like to observe every moment of hesitation, every change in facial muscles, every shift in emotion, and other details before their target dies."
Sunday opened his mouth...
Every knight seemed to have something special about them. Argenti never held back when it came to praising others, the Noe was an easily moved woman, and this Tiriandes seemed to be a mechanical being who was somewhat fond of teaching others and became very talkative at certain moments.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Sunday. Please allow me to express my gratitude first. We have found Nero."
Well, although Tiriandes had been forceful when applying pressure, almost to the point of being overbearing, at this moment, he had genuinely brought good news.
Sunday, who did not know that the Luofu was already on its way, breathed a sigh of relief. If that child had been found, then there should be no need to worry about Penacony being beaten up by multiple factions at once.
Gallagher glanced at Tiriandes. During the time Sunday had been unconscious, he had revealed a considerable amount of information to this mechanical knight. He had not expected that the other party still had not left.
To be honest, Gallagher did not like the feeling he got when facing this mechanical knight, because it gave him the illusion of an ordinary person facing a genius, as if every step he took was within the other party's calculations. Even when he had been revealing information, Tiriandes had not shown surprise even once.
Moreover, the other party had many strange methods. For example, Memen, who had already been turned into a two-dimensional character by the other party, had now developed PTSD toward this mechanical knight.
But since the other party had not left, Gallagher could not forcibly drive him away.
On one hand, his instincts told Gallagher that even if he and Memen fought together, they still would not be a match for the other party. They might have a chance if the head of the Oak Family joined them, but that would only apply in an encounter battle.
On the other hand, he had no particular reason to drive the knight away. If anything, he would rather receive the help of the Knights of Beauty.
Tiriandes stood to the side. While listening to the conversation between Gallagher and Sunday and observing them, he simultaneously sent the information he had gathered in real time to the other members of the Knights.
Gallagher had no intention of wasting time. He directly said to Sunday, "I want to cooperate with you."