"Alright, alright, esteemed Nameless of the Astral Express, please don't make things difficult for our poor receptionist any longer."
The one who stepped forward was a man with wings sprouting from somewhere around his neck or head—from behind, they seemed to emerge from just behind his ears.
A decorative halo floated behind his head, suspended by some unknown force.
"Ellie, please compose yourself. The Family cannot allow our guests to enter the dream with such burdens. I will handle the matter of the rooms..."
Accompanying the man was a woman of similar appearance.
March 7th recognized her.
"Ah, it's the universally famous singer, Miss Robin!"
March 7th stared at Robin with delight, like a fan who had just run into their favorite idol.
[She acted the exact same way in reality...]
Stelle could almost hear the exasperation in Noldrei's voice. She shifted her gaze to the man beside Robin.
'*Sunday. We met him in reality. I just didn't expect to re-experience it all over again in the dream.*'
[It's not the same. We have entered a dreamscape. The first thing we must clarify is that we don't know if the people we meet are also dreamers like us, or if they are memory fragments reproduced by other means.]
[Take this Sunday, for example. We'll need to check on him back in reality. Who's to say we're not in a dream while he's pulling the strings from behind the scenes?]
'*Could something that coincidental really happen...?*'
Stelle wasn't so sure anymore.
[Stelle, you need to understand one thing: the moment anything is created, it means that created tool can be controlled by someone. You cannot assume someone doesn't exist just because you can't see them. The same applies to the Memoriascape.]
[If someone can create it, then someone can control it. That is an undeniable, logical reality!]
It was the same principle as the Stigma Space—just because you couldn't see Kevin controlling everything from within the Stigma, you couldn't assume no one was in control.
If it can be made by man, it can be controlled by man.
Noldrei was someone who had great faith in the power of humanity.
Stelle's heart grew heavy. Just imagining that the people in the dream might not be real was enough to create a jarring sense of dislocation between reality and the dreamscape.
Yet, she could only recognize the people she already knew, which meant she could never identify the ones she couldn't.
'*This is so convoluted!*'
Stelle was now more grateful than ever to have invited Noldrei aboard the Express. It felt like she had a cheat engine running.
Mr. Yang's negotiations at the front desk were proceeding quite smoothly. At least, no one dared to arrange for the Astral Express crew's departure at a time like this.
Even in a dream, they didn't make a move to oust the Nameless.
Because the bargaining chip the Astral Express had laid down was heavy enough.
"Mr. Sunday, we've truly troubled you. I didn't expect to encounter such a situation," Mr. Yang said with a helpless air.
Sunday smiled back. "You needn't thank me for this. It is thanks to the generosity of this gentleman, Mr. Aventurine, that we have the chance to secure rooms. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for us to resolve the accommodations for our distinguished guests from the Express on such short notice."
Aventurine was a man with peculiar eyes. They looked like dartboards, with concentric circles of color—a purple outer ring with blue and black pupils within.
"Aventurine, at your service. Of the Corporation's Strategic Investment Department, a non-performing asset liquidation specialist under my superior, Diamond. I've come on the Clockmaker's invitation..."
"I was waiting behind you all for quite some time. A problem like this isn't something a front-desk attendant with little authority can solve for you."
Aventurine explained why he had stepped in. He had only chosen to do so after confirming the Astral Express crew's confident attitude.
Neither Sunday nor Aventurine dared to let the Nameless leave in their current state.
Mr. Yang seemed to have anticipated this. He even clearly remembered Noldrei's assessment of Penacony.
Everything here was playing out almost exactly according to Noldrei's script. As long as they held a bargaining chip of sufficient weight, someone of sufficient weight would appear to solve their problems. It didn't matter if the problems were real or fake; someone would step in, even if it was just to curry favor with the Astral Express.
As long as the Astral Express crew held the initiative to stay or leave, their journey in Penacony would naturally be smooth sailing.
"Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Aventurine," Mr. Yang said again gratefully. "We were actually about to leave. We've really made you go to great expense. To be honest, coming here or not was never important. We already know the secret of the Clockmaker's Legacy; we just came here for a vacation."
Sunday and Aventurine exchanged a subtle glance. For a moment, neither could tell if the Astral Express crew was bluffing or telling the truth.
This whole situation was baffling. The Astral Express was openly proclaiming that they knew about the Clockmaker's Legacy.
Just thinking about how many people across the universe were chasing that legacy, they could already foresee the mountain of trouble awaiting the Express crew.
Even Sunday wasn't sure if members within The Family itself would take an interest in the Astral Express's claims.
Sunday sighed. "Perhaps we should refrain from discussing the Clockmaker's Legacy here. Many of the invited guests are here for the Charmony Festival. If news like this were to get out, the trouble would be far greater than simply being denied entry."
Aventurine couldn't suppress his curiosity. He asked, as if joking, "Is this something you can talk about? I mean, the answer to 'Why does life slumber.' You stated it so openly in the lobby just now, I admit I'm a little curious what the answer is."
Mr. Yang smiled faintly. "The answer is actually very simple. Slumber is merely a necessary process for the body to recover. Dreams are just a byproduct of memory during that slumber. Life slumbers simply because it needs rest. It is neither noble nor powerful, nor is it worth pursuing. It holds no extra meaning. All of that is just the expectations that people project onto it."
Aventurine was stunned. He hadn't expected the man to actually tell him.
Before the Astral Express had arrived, everyone had already prepared answers for a set of questions. The Nameless's job was simply to make people believe that their answer was the real one.
As for whether this was all a dream?
Wasn't this an interesting development?
[In a dream, people are more receptive to the birth of an unexpected idea.]
[They are responsible for building the dream. We are responsible for stealing it.]