"Misha?"
Stelle looked at the large bump on Misha's head, feeling a little guilty.
"Sorry, appearing in a place like this all of a sudden made me a little overly cautious."
Misha shot her a resentful little glance. "It's alright, guest. I was worried you wouldn't notice me."
"Is this... huh?" Stelle asked, surprised. "Do people in dreams get bumps on their heads when they get hit?"
Misha fell silent, looking completely stumped, as if he had no idea how to answer such a bizarre question.
"Welcome to the 'Corridor of Passing Thoughts.' You can think of this as an entry passageway to 'The Golden Hour.' I am here to provide guidance to all our guests."
Misha immediately changed the subject, deciding not to answer Stelle's question.
'*What a forced change of subject!*'
Stelle didn't dwell on the minor detail. She surveyed the long corridor floating in the hazy space and asked, "Why is there a place like this? Wasn't I supposed to arrive directly?"
Misha apologized. "This is a temporary transit station, so it looks a bit simple... The Reverie Hotel in the dreamscape is currently undergoing renovations."
"Huh?" Stelle asked, surprised. "You know it's The Reverie Hotel in the dreamscape?"
Misha looked slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting Stelle to ask such a question.
"That's not right. None of the other service staff acted like they knew it was The Reverie Hotel in a dream. But you, also a service staff member, how do you know?"
A flash of inspiration struck Stelle's mind, and she immediately grasped the crux of the problem.
She found the whole thing a bit fishy. Just as Noldrei had said, this service staff member with a different uniform was indeed suspicious.
Misha immediately spoke again. "I'm very sorry for the unpleasant check-in experience... but if you go to 'The Golden Hour,' I believe all your troubles will vanish into thin air!"
"What troubles?" Stelle said, vexed. "You guys are my trouble. I didn't have any troubles to begin with. Most of the troubles I've had since coming here were brought on by Penacony... Where am I supposed to go to make my troubles vanish into thin air?"
She pulled out the note. "Do you know about this?"
Misha looked astonished. "Did you find that in your room? Could it be trash left behind by a previous guest? It was careless of me not to have cleaned it properly..."
"Wait, you mean to say..." Stelle started to get the picture, temporarily suppressing the doubt in her heart.
"You mean to say, you didn't see this note when you were cleaning?"
'*This thing was placed so conspicuously on the table. Either it appeared after Misha left, or... Misha put it there.*'
"My sincerest apologies, my sincerest apologies..."
Misha apologized profusely, making it impossible for Stelle to tell if he was faking it.
"Forget it. It's just a riddle anyway. So, where should I go now?"
Misha pointed to the picture frame at the top of the stairs. "You can get to The Golden Hour by passing through there!"
"Okay, I got it!" Stelle didn't care much anymore. She bounded up the stairs in a few steps and leaped through the picture frame.
At this point, Stelle had zero expectations for the so-called Penacony.
These guys loved to play their convoluted riddle games, but their explanations were even less clear than Noldrei's.
Sometimes, that's just how it is. You're full of anticipation for exploration when facing the unknown, but once the secret behind it is revealed, it becomes utterly tasteless.
[Why did I just appear in the sky?!]
The moment Stelle crossed through the picture frame, Noldrei's voice once again appeared in her mind.
Only then did Stelle recall the chaotic parts of her memory.
She had been thinking about finding the Clockmaker's Legacy here, hadn't she?
Why had she forgotten about it when she went through the gate just now? Was that place isolated from Penacony's dreamscape?
"What took you so long?!"
Stelle shouted in the sky. It took her several tries to right her body and maintain a stable freefall.
[You should be more concerned about whether you're going to be splattered all over the ground.]
Noldrei was in a bit of a bind. He estimated that Stelle's shell was probably collapsed on the sofa in March 7th's suite right now. He hoped March wouldn't be too scared by it. It would be bad if she thought something had happened to them.
"Can you die in a dream?"
[I don't know, I've never had a dream. In any case, even if you die, I won't.]
Noldrei's sensory system was merely linked; he wasn't doing some kind of consciousness-snatching maneuver. Of course he knew you couldn't die in a dream.
[Don't worry, it's highly unlikely you can die in a dream. Even if Penacony is stupid, they wouldn't create a situation where dream and reality are so extremely mixed. If they did, even without an Antimatter Legion invasion, other factions would find an excuse to make a move on Penacony.]
While they were chatting, Stelle was already plummeting toward the ground.
Her arms and legs flailed about randomly, like a turtle flipped on its back.
"Move! Get out of the way!"
Stelle shouted at the people on the ground below.
Even without her shouting, plenty of people saw her falling and, with remarkable coordination, cleared a landing spot for her.
[I'm shielding my senses now. If you really do die in the dream, I'll take your body and run.]
Noldrei was 99% sure Stelle would be fine, but he wasn't the one falling. How could Stelle truly believe that nothing would happen?
There was a soft thud. Not even much dust was kicked up.
Stelle was already lying face-down on the ground.
She was surprised to find that the impact wasn't as painful as she had imagined. In fact, it was a strangely pleasant sensation.
[Are you some kind of masochist?]
"You, shut up!"
Stelle patted herself down and stood up. She found that not only was her body unharmed, but even her clothes were still in perfect condition.
It seemed the rule about not entering naked was indeed very useful.
If she had chosen to be naked, she probably would have just fallen from the sky in front of everyone in her birthday suit.
"Weird... this place, it feels..."
"A little... disorienting."
Stelle had no intention of staying put. She just felt that something was off with her body, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
[Let's find a less crowded place to sit for a while.]
Noldrei knew this was an abnormal effect caused by the "spoon switching cups." This effect was likely a result of close contact with those Memoria powers.
It should clear up after spending some time in this "cup."
And now, they had finally arrived in this place called "The Golden Hour" of Penacony.