Seeing Misha's somewhat frightened appearance, Himeko spoke up to comfort him, "This might be a phenomenon called 'amnesia.' Don't worry, little Misha."
"Everyone forgets some things from the past. But they haven't disappeared. They're only sleeping deep within your mind. Likewise, we can also bring them back."
"Since you have an impression of this place, let's go to a few more rooms and see if you can remember more, okay?"
"Okay." Misha nodded. "Then, let's go take a look at those two rooms I mentioned just now."
Everyone first went to the room with the fireplace. After entering the room, some voices began to faintly linger around everyone's ears, and among them, the name Mikhail was mentioned.
As for the Astral Express crew now, everyone already knew that Mikhail was the name of the Clockmaker.
When they asked Misha if he remembered anything, Misha shook his head.
He said he did not know anything about the Clockmaker, but Mikhail... was Grandpa's name.
Then, Himeko hoped that Misha could introduce that Grandpa Mikhail to everyone.
According to Misha, Grandpa Mikhail was a sailor. No matter how mysterious the waters or how dangerous the storms were, nothing could stop him. The old captain was always out traveling, going on adventures with many friends.
The old captain also disliked people calling him Grandpa because it made him sound old, and Mikhail was the name his parents had given him, Mikhali and Iris. Those two were also great travelers of the sea.
Misha said that every time Mikhail returned, he would show him his sailing logs and tell him thrilling stories about his adventures. His own dream was to become an adventurer like that old captain.
From Misha's account, that old captain seemed to have nothing to do with the Clockmaker at all. They simply happened to share the same name.
When March asked again what had happened to the old captain now, Misha said that he had already set out on a new journey, and the two of them had not seen each other for a long time.
Feeling slightly downcast, Misha noticed another problem.
After coming into this dream bubble, the good friend who had always accompanied him, Clockie, seemed to have not appeared for a long time.
Where had Clockie gone?
...Had he gone to protect Dreamjoy Town?
Afterward, everyone went to the room where the toys were kept.
In this room, those hazy voices still lingered around their ears. The term Origami Bird was mentioned here, and Misha said that it was the name of a good friend.
Misha said that Origami Bird, Clockie, and Miss Mirror were all crew members of the Compass. There was more than one Origami Bird. They were a big family, with many brothers and sisters who all looked exactly alike.
The birds followed Miss Mirror's arrangements and were the best sailors on the ship.
As Misha continued speaking, everyone gradually saw a fairy-tale world filled with a dreamlike atmosphere through his descriptions.
Himeko was very interested in the Compass and asked Misha for more details.
The Compass that Misha spoke of was a ship heading toward a new continent. It carried Clockie and his companions through layers of mist and toward the depths of the sea.
Whenever they encountered danger, Clockie would operate the compass and lead everyone in the right direction.
Listening to Misha's account, Nero fell into thought. Then a look of realization flashed through his eyes, and he spoke, "Come to think of it, Clockie's big round face only has four markings."
"I've always felt that making him into a clock like that was too unreasonable. It would be difficult for anyone to tell the exact time."
"I originally thought it was a retro art piece, with its symbolic meaning outweighing its practical purpose. But now that I hear what Misha said, if it's actually not a clock but a compass, then this strange point can be easily explained."
Hearing Nero's words, Stelle nodded as she thought it over. "The clock trick I learned can only change four major emotions too, rather than dividing them carefully into twelve."
March blinked and looked blankly at the two companions beside her.
She was still immersed in the dreamy story Misha had told. At this moment, she seemed unable to understand what her companions were discussing.
"It's quite a good story," Himeko said. "But in Penacony's animations, Clockie and his companions have always lived in Dreamjoy Town. It seems they've never left?"
"Huh?" Misha froze. "I think that's true."
"Strange, but I clearly remember... Clockie eventually reached the new continent..."
"Maybe Clockie has a past that we don't know about," Himeko said.
Nero, meanwhile, spoke with some anticipation. "If Clockie has a past we don't know about, then Mikhail must have an unknown past too."
As he spoke, his eyes began to light up. "It would be pretty cool if he really were an old captain. Sailing a big ship through the sea of stars, like an interstellar pirate! Hmm... But from Misha's description, that Grandpa Mikhail was an adventurer, not an interstellar pirate."
And so, some of the enthusiasm in Nero's eyes faded.
The others looked at Nero, their expressions somewhat strange.
Anyone could tell that this kid seemed far more interested in interstellar pirates than adventurers of the sea of stars.
But pirate wasn't exactly a good title... How could a perfectly good kid be interested in that sort of thing?
Then again, in a certain sense, this kid really could sail a ship through the sea of stars. After all, the Xianzhou Luofu... how could it not count as a ship?
Still, for now, it would probably be better not to let this kid get his hands on a ship.
Otherwise, the possibility of him becoming a pirate just for the fun of it was definitely much higher than him becoming an adventurer.
This was also something the other members of the Astral Express were rather concerned about. Although everyone believed that Nero was actually very kind, they also knew very well that Nero could definitely distinguish between an adventurer and a pirate.
He had long since passed the stage where he would confuse the concepts of the two.
If this kid wanted to become a pirate, he might really go and become one. He would definitely dare to rob the IPC on the first day, start attacking the Antimatter Legion on the second day, and on the third day, stop pretending altogether and directly bombard Nanook...
As Nero's interest in interstellar pirates caused strange images to start appearing in everyone's minds, Misha suddenly spoke, "I think I can hear the sound of water..."
"It might be because there's a particularly spectacular fountain ahead... I remember Stelle seemed to have mentioned it when she told us about her experience here..." March said uncertainly.
Everyone continued forward, ran up the stairs, pushed open the doors, and arrived on a platform. Sure enough, they saw an enormous, extremely spectacular and eye-catching fountain.