『 [ You want to chat with me? You may, but sensitive topics are off-limits. ]
This time, Aventurine approached a Pepeshi girl, who appeared to be a news anchor.
[ Miss, these gems are for you. ]
As always, Aventurine began by scattering his wealth.
[ The richer the person, the more eccentric their games in the Dreamscape become… but this is the first time I've seen someone actively giving money away. ]
[ Do you, too, seek to become the prince stripping away his golden raiment, destined to melt his leaden heart within the flames? ]
The Pepeshi girl was visibly astonished by Aventurine's behavior.
[ Hah, you flatter me… ]
[ How could I ever be a prince? ]
[ I only hope these gems might loosen your lips. Perhaps in your career as an investigative journalist, you've had a brush with death? ]
Aventurine explained his objective with a smile.
[ Oh, another curious soul. ]
[ I have to say, that was the subject I wanted to cover most when I entered the industry, but the Station Director suppressed it. ]
The Pepeshi girl recounted her past experiences.
[ How did your Director convince you to drop it? ]
Aventurine inquired.
[ The reason wasn't anything grand or dignified… ]
[ She simply said that reporting on such baseless urban legends would only make us look like a third-rate tabloid. ]
[ I thought about it, and she was right… ]
[ Stories like 'blowing out candles on your birthday will summon a nightmare phantom'… ]
[ Coming from our mouths, it really would sound unprofessional. ]
The Pepeshi girl replied.
[ Heh, that is indeed absurd… ]
[ Thank you for sharing, regardless. ]
Aventurine thanked her politely before walking away. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Hu Tao: "It feels like Aventurine's investigation isn't going very smoothly, is it?"
Hu Tao: "These clues are basically just hearsay and rumors."
Hu Tao: "Leaving aside whether they're true or false, they aren't nearly detailed enough, are they?"
Furina de Fontaine: "True, there's absolutely no angle of entry…"
Furina de Fontaine: "Is Aventurine not just wasting his time?"
March 7th: "It feels like he's already given up on himself and is just waiting to die…"
Arlecchino: "Mr. Aventurine does not strike me as a man who gives up lightly."
Arlecchino: "There must be a specific intent behind these actions."
Himeko: "Precisely. To become an elite of the IPC, Mr. Aventurine surely has more up his sleeve than this."
Stelle: "By the way, exactly how many gems did Aventurine pack in that bag?"
Stelle: "He's been handing them out for ages, and he still hasn't run out?"
Stelle: "Rich people really are something else. Just brute-forcing his way through with money."
Aventurine: "Friend, remember this: no matter the time or place, money makes things happen."
Aventurine: "And if a problem can be solved with money, it's not a problem!"
Paimon: "Must be nice…"
Paimon: "Paimon wants to be a rich person too…"
....
『 Aventurine grew increasingly unwell, yet he forced himself to maintain his composure. He approached a security guard stationed near a shop.
[ Uh… were you looking for me? ]
[ Apologies, I thought you were staring at something behind me. ]
The security officer, noticing Aventurine's gaze, asked with some surprise.
[ Sir, a few gems for you. ]
Aventurine produced the gems.
[ This is… a gift for me? ]
[ Are you sure there's no mistake? ]
The security officer couldn't believe it.
[ A small token, a mere trifle… ]
[ Please, take them. ]
Aventurine forced a smile.
[ Is this real? ]
[ I can actually receive a gift from someone? ]
[ Not for my parents, but for me… ]
[ Thank you, thank you so much! ]
The security officer became somewhat emotional.
[ Friend, calm down. ]
[ I just wanted to ask you about something. ]
Aventurine explained.
[ …Sigh. I knew it. ]
[ What do you want to know? About my father, or my mother? ]
Hearing this, the security officer asked, his assumptions taking over.
[ Uh… neither. ]
[ I just wanted to ask if you've heard anything about 'Death' within the Dreamscape? ]
Aventurine corrected him, feeling a bit helpless.
[ Oh, you sound exactly like my father… ]
[ He told me danger is everywhere, that I shouldn't let my guard down even in a dream. ]
[ He is an Intellitron. His method of entering the dream is different from organic lifeforms. ]
[ If danger really appeared, he couldn't protect me in the Dreamscape, protect… ]
[ In matters like this, I am far inferior to him… ]
[ Haha, it's too ironic, simply too ironic… ]
It was unclear what trauma this man had suffered, but he was evidently plagued by deep inferiority.
[ …Friend. ]
[ Stay optimistic. ]
[ Gold will always shine eventually. ]
The man was too emotionally negative to provide any further information. Aventurine offered a casual word of comfort and had no choice but to leave. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Wait… I have a question."
Stelle: "This is clearly a human, yet he says his father is an Intellitron??"
Stelle: "Is there no reproductive isolation between organic and inorganic life?"
March 7th: "Is it possible he was adopted?"
March 7th: "So his mom is human, and his dad is an Intellitron?"
Asta: "If he's adopted, it's possible both his parents are Intellitrons."
Stelle: "Oh, that is a very high probability."
Stelle: "Anyway, I just couldn't wrap my head around how an Intellitron and a human could make a baby…"
....
『 [ The SoulGlad devil, dangers in the dream, the phantom of nightmares… ]
[ Sure enough, in the sweet dream promised by The Family, death is the topic everyone loves to gossip about. ]
[ Although rumors abound, clues that are actually useful to me… ]
[ Sigh, before I knew it, the bag is hitting the bottom… ]
[ Let's see if the final lucky winner can give me a surprise. ]
Aventurine looked at the few remaining gems in his bag and began searching for his final target.
He walked for a while, finally locking onto a Pepeshi girl looking at a billboard.
But as he walked up to her, a wave of dizziness from his brain forced him to drop to one knee.
[ Remember what I said? ]
[ You Sigonians are best suited to staying under manhole covers… ]
[ Heh, Look at you, snooping around and sticking your nose everywhere— ]
[ —Is the bloody scent of death really that alluring, Little Peacock? ]
The Pepeshi girl transformed in an instant, suddenly revealing herself to be Hanabi.
[ Hmph… it's you. ]
[ I should have guessed. After Robin died, the stand-in appearing on TV was you, wasn't it, Masked Fool? ]
Aventurine struggled to stand, his tone weak.
[ I heard you were cursed by The Family? ]
[ Sigh, I gave you such a direct hint… 'find a mute friend.' Listen, just that simple sentence… ]
[ And the result? ]
[ Not only did you mess it up, but you also got yourself into this mess. ]
[ I told you to make friends with a mute, not to take the lead and become a mute yourself. You've really let down my good intentions. ]
Hanabi spoke with a deliberately aggrieved tone.
[ …What do you mean? ]
Aventurine couldn't quite parse Hanabi's riddle.
[ You know better than I do. Who was it that watched helplessly as the little bird who couldn't sing died a violent death right in front of them? ]
[ It was you, of course, Little Peacock~ ]
Hanabi said with a giggle.
[ I am asking you… what do you mean by 'becoming a mute'? ]
Aventurine asked, his face ashen.
[ Hehehe, asking what you already know? Because you're about to end up just like her—unable to speak forever. ]
Hanabi laughed, taking pleasure in his misfortune.
[ ... ]
Aventurine fell silent.
[ However, in my view, this might actually be a good thing, because… ]
Hanabi shifted her tone, hesitating dramatically.
[ Because I'm about to touch upon the truth, correct? ]
Aventurine already had an idea in his heart.
[ …Oh? ]
Hanabi was slightly surprised.
[ Fool, why do you think I'm carrying around this ragged bag, distributing cheap jewelry all over the streets? ]
[ This was all a performance for you. ]
[ The more pathetic and wretched I appeared, the more likely I was to fish you out… ]
[ I've been waiting for you for a long time. Considering how hard I've worked, won't you reward me with an answer? ]
Aventurine revealed the purpose behind his actions; it was all to draw Hanabi out.
[ What reason do I have to help you? ]
Hanabi remained noncommittal.
[ Don't you wish for chaos to reign in Penacony? ]
[ I can make that happen. I only need to verify one thing: back then, the 'mute' you told me to find… ]
[ …Did you really mean Robin? ]
Aventurine frowned as he inquired.
[ … ]
[ …What if I say no? ]
Hanabi said eerily.
[ Then I'll thank you. The word 'no' has never sounded so pleasing.]
Aventurine had obtained the answer he sought.
[ Not bad. I underestimated you. ]
[ But what use is that? ]
[ Let me tell you—'mute.' Originally, there were two people who fit that definition. ]
[ But Robin is already dead. As for the other… she is still in Penacony, but I'm afraid you'll never find her. ]
Hanabi provided even more detailed intelligence.
[ Fool, now I can be absolutely certain that I have been walking in the right direction from the very beginning, never deviating. ]
[ I only lack two things now: first, the meaning behind the truth; second, the method to expose it. ]
Aventurine now seemed to hold the winning hand.
[ Hahaha, wonderful~ ]
[ How impressive! That's quite a fancy way of saying 'I haven't learned anything so far.' ]
Hanabi laughed, leaning back and forth.
[ No, no. I have already proven through various signs that it does indeed exist. That is enough… ]
[ As for the answers to these two questions, seventeen… no, sixteen system hours will be enough for me to settle everything. ]
Aventurine appeared very confident.
[ Sixteen system hours, huh? Is that really enough? ]
[ Then let me add a little fuel to your fire. ]
[ Here, for you. ]
[ This is my treasured Mutually Assured Destruction button. I have an identical one myself~. ]
[ As long as one of us presses it, the other will instantly be blown sky-high along with the entirety of Penacony. ]
[ If you truly want the IPC to enter Penacony, want it so badly you can't stand it… ]
[ Then flipping the table isn't a bad option~. ]
[ Worst case scenario, you just start over! ]
[ That's what the IPC is good at, right~? ]
[ Hehehe~, when you have nowhere left to run, just press it. ]
[ Of course, you can also contact me. Consider it my hospice care~! ]
Hanabi gave Aventurine a sophisticated button, claiming that pressing it would blow Penacony to smithereens.
[ So dangerous… ]
[ I'm guessing The Family didn't take your words seriously at all, did they? ]
[ Otherwise, how did you smuggle it in? ]
Aventurine looked at the button and couldn't help but make a quip.
[ Hehe~, you just need to know I have the skills. ]
Hanabi chuckled.
[ I'm afraid I'll have to decline your proposal. Who knows if this little toy of yours actually works? ]
[ Incidentally, I don't intend to look for the other 'mute friend' you mentioned, but I am delighted to hear that this person is still in Penacony. ]
[ I will handle the rest myself: I will prepare a grand opening performance for the downfall of The Family. ]
[ When the climax arrives, the high walls will crumble, people will awaken, and those who cannot speak will open their mouths once more— ]
[ —When that time comes, please press the button and set off a big firework to liven up the mood for me. ]
[ See you around, Fool. ]
Aventurine bid farewell to Hanabi and walked away.
[ Haha, grandstanding even at this stage… however, it's a promise. ]
[ You absolutely must not let me down, okay? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Furina de Fontaine: "Wait, this segment… it feels like there was a massive amount of information!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Aventurine distributing money all over the streets was actually just to bait Miss Hanabi out?"
Hu Tao: "It looks that way. But Miss Hanabi, why are you always disguising yourself as others?"
Hu Tao: "Is using your own appearance not good enough?"
Hanabi: "That's what you don't understand~"
Hanabi: "If I don't do this, how can I muddy the waters?"
Paimon: "Ugh, but they've started speaking in riddles again."
Paimon: "Paimon really doesn't understand!"
Paimon: "Can some kind-hearted person please explain it to me?"
Lumine: "Although it's riddles again this time…"
Lumine: "Combining it with previous events, it's somewhat understandable."
Lumine: "For example…"
Lumine: "The 'mute' Miss Hanabi previously reminded Aventurine to find wasn't Miss Robin, but Miss Hotaru."
Lumine: "And another example… perhaps Miss Hotaru… didn't die?"
March 7th: "Huh? Miss Hotaru isn't dead?"
March 7th: "Then where exactly did she go?"
Stelle: "Hanabi said she's still in Penacony."
Stelle: "But it seems she's hard to find."
Stelle: "Could it be she's trapped in some lost Dreamscape?"
Stelle: "But it doesn't matter. I will definitely find Hotaru and save her!"
Hotaru: "Stelle, thank you. (Heart.jpg)"
Amber: "I have a question. Why does Miss Hanabi know so many secrets?"
Amber: "It feels like there isn't a single thing in all of Penacony she doesn't know."
Eula: "Indeed. It's as if Penacony is her own backyard."
Silver Wolf: "She is a Masked Fool, after all. With the skills of a Fool, digging up information is painfully simple."
Nahida: "I wonder if you've noticed, but Miss Hanabi seems to have been guiding everyone closer to the truth all along."
Navia Caspar: "That's right. Although Miss Hanabi speaks in riddles, she's also the most honest person here."
Navia Caspar: "Basically everything she says contains implicit guidance."
Stelle: "Could it be that Hanabi is actually a Masked Fool with a moral baseline?"
Stelle: "Just with a somewhat nasty personality?"
Hanabi: "Hahahaha, I'm laughing so hard my stomach hurts~"
Hanabi: "That's the first time I've heard someone say I'm a Fool with a baseline~"
Hanabi: "That is truly too much fun~"
Collei: "Miss Hanabi… is that Mutually Assured Destruction button of yours… actually real?"
March 7th: "It should be fake, right?"
March 7th: "Would The Family let something that dangerous in?"
Stelle: " 'I managed to get in.' Haven't you figured out The Family's security standards by now?"
March 7th: "Ah, this…"
....