『 [ "Regrettably, if you were anticipating a profound revelation, you are destined for disappointment." ]
[ "The imagery it embodies is exceedingly simple…" ]
[ "It is nothing more than the true flavor of this Paradise of Dreams. That is all." ]
Gallagher shook his head as he explained.
[ "This… true flavor… does it have anything to do with that Mikhail?" ]
Himeko posed the question.
[ "Mikhail… that's the name that appeared in the dream…" ]
Stelle suddenly interjected.
[ "Right, I knew I'd heard it somewhere…" ]
[ "When Stelle was knocked out by that Masked Fool girl, I think I heard someone muttering that name, didn't I?" ]
With Stelle's reminder, march 7th also came to a sudden realization.
[ "..." ]
[ "Heh… you know quite a bit. I was right to place my bets on you lot." ]
[ "Now I have no reason not to be honest with you all." ]
[ "Then let us expand upon the case. And of course…" ]
[ "I'll throw in the story of that Mikhail as a bonus." ]
[ "Alright, let's start with what we know based on the clues The Family has. It seems that Hotaru isn't a local or an invited guest. In other words... she's a stowaway. ]
[ "Even I was deceived by that lass. I'm truly getting old." ]
[ "However, on the Planet of Festivities, stowaways aren't exactly a rarity, nor are they hard to investigate." ]
[ "After the incident, the Hounds immediately took action, tracking her from both the Dreamscape and reality." ]
[ "But the result… there was only one piece of bad news, and it's the most headache-inducing kind." ]
[ "The little girl evaporated. She left no trace in the dream, and her body cannot be found in reality. It is as if she never came to Penacony at all." ]
Gallagher recounted the details of the case, explaining everything thoroughly to the trio.
[ "Huh?" ]
[ "Doesn't that mean…" ]
March 7th covered her mouth, her expression one of shock.
[ "Death completely annihilated her…" ]
Stelle conjectured.
[ "Impossible." ]
[ "The problem now isn't that 'she died,' but that 'it's as if she never existed'." ]
[ "I'll give it to you straight. This girl's situation…" ]
[ "Never mind you guys, even the Bloodhound Family is seeing this for the first time." ]
Gallagher rejected Stelle's theory.
[ "First time… So in Penacony, death is a real occurrence, isn't it?" ]
Himeko pressed for an answer.
[ "You've already seen it, what's left to hide?" ]
[ "If a city has a glamorous surface, it must have an unspeakable underbelly. I don't need to spell out how the adult world works." ]
[ "If you think you can question the Family based on just this, you're being too naive." ]
[ "Accidental deaths happen in sweet dreams too, so what?" ]
[ "Such extremely low-probability events…" ]
[ "Only affect a tiny minority of people." ]
[ "If you really want to delve into this case, you must first understand the Family's true predicament." ]
Gallagher pointed the trio in the true direction.
[ "I'm guessing it's time to talk about Mikhail's story now." ]
Himeko seemed to have guessed what Gallagher really wanted to convey.
[ "You're sharp." ]
[ "The Astral Express received that music box too, didn't it?" ]
[ "Do you know what secret is hidden inside?" ]
Gallagher asked in return.
[ "A message: Witness the impossible in the dream, find the legacy of the Watchmaker, Father of Penacony, and thus the answer to the question: Why does life slumber?" ]
Himeko recited the cipher text once again.
[ "That's the exact wording." ]
Gallagher nodded with a smile.
[ "Hey, what are you laughing at… did you write it or something?" ]
[ "Pretty good literary flair." ]
March 7th quipped.
[ "I am the security officer in charge of the investigation, how could I not know…" ]
[ "I suspect you must have also realized that this message did not originate from the Family—and perhaps that the relationship between the two isn't all that friendly?" ]
Gallagher inquired.
[ "It's just speculation for now, but we find it hard to believe that the Father of Penacony and its actual administrators would be so at odds." ]
Himeko replied.
[ "Now I can tell you, you are completely correct." ]
[ "The Family has regarded the Watchmaker as an enemy for a long time, but suffered because the latter is elusive, living only in the business myths he single-handedly created…" ]
[ "The Hounds have been unable to catch him." ]
[ "So, I ask you further: Have you ever considered why the Family would tolerate the Watchmaker sending out such joke-like messages to the outside world, allowing you to come by invitation, and turning this place into a mess?" ]
Gallagher posed a question for the three to answer.
[ "….." ]
[ "You want to use this opportunity to force the Watchmaker to show his hand?" ]
Himeko said after pondering for a moment.
[ "Now you can understand why the Oak Family authorized the Nameless to assist in the investigation, yet kept secrets from you at every turn." ]
[ "…Because the Watchmaker is no legend of the Land of Dreams, but the most unspeakable stain in the history of the Penacony branch…" ]
[ "He is the instigator of all anomalies in the Dreamscape." ]
Gallagher explained.
[ "But what does this have to do with Mikhail?" ]
Stelle felt that what Gallagher was saying didn't seem to connect with the name Mikhail.
[ "You still haven't realized it?" ]
[ "What I mean is…" ]
[ "…Mikhail, the traitor of the Family—he is the infamous Watchmaker." ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Furina de Fontaine: "This Mikhail… is that Watchmaker?!"
Furina de Fontaine: "I knew it! I said this Mikhail certainly wasn't simple!"
Furina de Fontaine: "I really guessed it right, Mikhail is the true mastermind behind the scenes!"
Hu Tao: "Should we say it's completely unsurprising?"
March 7th: "But I just don't get it. As the Father of Penacony, why would he betray the Family?"
March 7th: "And deliberately destroy the Dreamscape?"
March 7th: "Come to think of it, Penacony is his life's work too!"
Amber: "Yeah, that is indeed puzzling."
Stelle: "Is there a possibility…"
Stelle: "That it wasn't the Watchmaker who betrayed the Family…"
Li Sushang: "Uh… what does that mean?"
Aventurine: "It means, perhaps it was the Family who betrayed the Watchmaker?"
Aventurine: "What, did you really believe the Family's one-sided story?"
Aventurine: "After all, the Family are the latecomers!"
Aventurine: "Yet now, it is the Family who controls Penacony!"
Aventurine: "If there wasn't a story behind that, do you think it would be reasonable?"
Furina de Fontaine: "To seize control of Penacony, the Family didn't hesitate to smear the Watchmaker, the Father of Penacony, pushing him out of the Dreamscape, and even wanted to take him out so he could never speak again!"
Furina de Fontaine: "And the Watchmaker, alone and weak, couldn't afford to provoke the powerful Family, so he had to scatter information to the outside world for help!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Tell me, could this be the truth of the matter?"
Zhongli: "In terms of universal rationality, Miss Furina's analysis holds a high probability."
Himeko: "Hmm… very logical, and the reasoning is sound."
Collei: "So… this Mr. Watchmaker Mikhail is actually just a victim?"
Welt Yang: "We shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly."
Welt Yang: "This is, after all, just everyone's speculation."
Welt Yang: "However… the likelihood of this speculation is indeed high."
Welt Yang: "Because Miss Acheron said before that Penacony's dream is shattering, but this is caused by human nature and the Family's deliberate indulgence."
Welt Yang: "In other words, the Dreamscape currently under the Family's management has problems."
Stelle: "Damn, this is getting messier and messier!"
Stelle: "Is it the Family crying 'stop thief' while being the thief, or does the Watchmaker have ulterior motives? Or are they both just unlucky bastards, and there's actually a heavyweight entity that hasn't appeared yet?"
Boothill: "That's right, there is indeed a heavyweight who hasn't appeared yet!"
Guinaifen: "Who? Who else?"
Boothill: "Fudge, it's me of course!"
Boothill: "The 'me' in the video is still frantically rushing over!"
Boothill: "Wait until this heavyweight guest arrives. All that treacherous evil will have nowhere to hide under my gun!"
Stelle: "Brother, stop blowing smoke. By the time you arrive, things will probably be resolved."
Stelle: "Feel like you're at best just a background NPC…"
Boothill: "Fudge!!"
Boothill: "He baby'd a leg!"
Boothill: "If this damned Penacony wasn't so far away, I would have flippin' arrived ages ago!"
March 7th: "Ha, Mr. Boothill, keep working hard!"
March 7th: "Otherwise, you might really miss the Charmony Festival."
....
『 After some time.
[ "Here it is—Clock Studios Theme Park, Penacony's most popular film and television entertainment center." ]
Gallagher brought the trio to the outskirts of Clock Studios Theme Park.
[ "Weren't we going to talk about the Watchmaker?" ]
[ "I thought we'd go to a data room or something, why here…" ]
March 7th looked at the bustling park, scratching her head in confusion.
[ "A city's culture is the most authentic footnote of its history." ]
[ "In your eyes, this is a place for fun, but in mine, it is a prison, used to incarcerate the past of this planet." ]
[ "You surely know that Penacony used to be the IPC's prison planet, right?" ]
[ "Prisoners were escorted here to help the Garden of Recollection salvage the Memoria leaking from the Macrovoid…" ]
[ "The prison was exposed to high concentrations of Memoria for a long time, producing a special phenomenon." ]
[ "The dreams of countless individuals intersected and overlapped, and people began to meet in dreams, living lives as if they were reality." ]
[ "But everything has a price, and sweet dreams are no exception." ]
[ "In the end, the dream could not dissolve the suffering of reality. Under the leadership of a prisoner, the frontier prison smashed the IPC's shackles and began to fight for freedom…" ]
[ "…He was Hanu." ]
[ "The big brother of Dreamville, the founder of peace, and the eternal partner of the weak." ]
Gallagher began to narrate to the three.
[ "So 'Clockie' is a documentary…" ]
Stelle was somewhat surprised.
[ "History is always written by the victors, but setting aside the artistic embellishments, 'Clockie' is an animation created with Penacony's history as a backdrop. That is an indisputable fact." ]
[ "These characters not only live in Dreamville, but also lived in the distant past." ]
[ "Understanding this…" ]
[ "Is understanding why we came here." ]
As Gallagher spoke, he began to lead the three closer to Clock Studios Theme Park.
[ "There are so many people from the Bloodhound Family around here…" ]
March 7th looked around and said in surprise.
[ "Just received a lockdown order. Said to be issued by that Sunday himself, heaven knows what for." ]
[ "Hah… quite the grand display." ]
[ "Didn't see them putting this much effort into chasing suspects." ]
After walking to the entrance, Gallagher looked at the situation at the gate, and quipped with a somewhat sarcastic tone.
[ "It's shocking just looking from the outside." ]
Although they couldn't enter Clock Studios Theme Park, just gazing from the outside, Stelle could feel the grandeur of the place.
[ "It is the Family's handiwork, after all." ]
[ "Aside from that bunch who worship Preservation, they are the ones most skilled at building wonders." ]
[ "Let's find a quiet corner to continue." ]
After a casual explanation, gallagher led the three to a secluded spot.
[ "This spot will do. Nice view." ]
[ "Just right to see him…" ]
[ "…Clockie." ]
Gallagher gazed at the statue of Clockie, his expression unreadable.
[ "If these animated characters all have traces in reality, then Clockie undoubtedly corresponds to the Watchmaker." ]
[ "He is Hanu's partner, one of the original members of Dreamville…" ]
[ "Does this imply that the historical Watchmaker also personally participated in that war, and stood on the side of Asdana?" ]
Himeko seized the opportunity to ask.
[ "It was a monumental war for freedom. Hanunue fought alongside a motley crew of Masked Fools, Nameless, History Fictionologists, Mourning Actors, Omen Vanguards... even visitors from beyond the sky. In the end, they emerged victorious." ]
[ "Naturally, the future Watchmaker was among them." ]
Gallagher nodded, and explained.
[ "But calculating it like that… hasn't the Watchmaker lived for several hundred years?" ]
March 7th asked, puzzled.
[ "I'm not sure, but Mikhail was already the Watchmaker when I met him, so maybe he inherited the title." ]
Gallagher shook his head.
[ "...How old are you now, Mr. Officer?" ]
March 7th couldn't help but ask.
[ "..." ]
[ "...I'm thirteen." ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "With that weathered face of yours, you're telling me you're thirteen?!"
Stelle: "It's fine to trick March, but don't go tricking yourself too!"
Gallagher: "What? Is that so surprising?"
Gallagher: "Still can't compare to your one-year-and-change age, right?"
Stelle: "My situation is special!"
Stelle: "What? Is your situation special too?"
Madam Herta: "You actually got it right. He is indeed special."
Gallagher: "Sigh, big shots are so troublesome. Even the slightest clue reveals the truth to them."
Madam Herta: "Relax, I have no interest in you."
Furina de Fontaine: "So… Mr. Gallagher is really thirteen?!"
Gallagher: "True as it can be."
Hu Tao: "Outrageous. With that appearance, I'd believe forty-three…"
Hu Tao: "Thirteen is a bit…"
Gallagher: "Sorry, I look slightly mature for my age."
March 7th: "That's not something 'slightly' can describe, is it?"
Venti: "Tsk, the universe truly is full of wondrous phenomena!"
Venti: "A person with this appearance is actually only thirteen."
Venti: "That really is a big surprise!"
Zhongli: "Indeed shocking!"
Paimon: "Hey, you two, stop sighing with emotion, will you?"
Paimon: "Compared to him, you guys aren't much better!"
Lumine: "Old folks should stop pretending to be young."
Lumine: "It makes us young people very uncomfortable."
Paimon: "Uh…"
Paimon: "Lumine, saying that seems… not quite appropriate either?"
Lumine: "Ahem, well…"
Nahida: "..... (Covering mouth laughing.jpg)"
....