Sylvia had barely sent the message and hadn't even explained what had happened when Mei replied with congratulations.
[Sylvia: You can sense that?]
[Mei: I can. Your mood changed so much that it was obvious.]
[Sylvia: That's not fair! Why can't I ever sense what's happening on your end?]
[Mei: …]
[Mei: Maybe it's because I don't have many emotions, while yours are far too active.]
[Mei: [Acheron Eating a Peach]]
[Sylvia: …]
Sylvia was left speechless. Mei's explanation made far too much sense, and she couldn't think of any way to argue against it.
[Sylvia: Forget it. Let's go have a drink to celebrate.]
Sylvia went to find Mei. Constance was still under Mei's watch and couldn't go anywhere, but the moment Sylvia appeared, Constance's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
Sylvia hadn't been gone for long. What in the world had happened?
The aura Sylvia gave off had changed at once. She now felt like a bottomless ocean trench, deep and impossible to fathom.
"Could you help me investigate the Family?" Sylvia asked. "I'm curious about the Dreamscape version of The Reverie and what's been happening there."
She'd hesitated for a moment while deciding what to have Constance do, but soon settled on a direction. Mei had mentioned running into insects there before, so the matter was worth looking into.
"I'll do it."
Constance's tone grew even more respectful and fervent.
--+--
Elsewhere, inside the Dreamscape version of The Reverie, which was currently closed to the public, Topaz explored the hotel with Numby.
The atmosphere here was the exact opposite of a sweet dream. Something was clearly wrong.
Topaz had entered a gap between dreams by accident while falling asleep. Rather than turn back, she'd chosen to explore the place out of sheer interest.
Her mission on Penacony was to find an excuse for the IPC to intervene. There were plenty of possibilities. The Family might, for example, be secretly using the Stellaron as part of some hidden scheme.
That was one of Topaz's main lines of investigation, and Sylvia had been the source of the tip. After their first meeting, however, Sylvia had refused to tell her anything more.
Topaz wasn't about to give up, and today's accident had turned into an unexpected gift.
"An imperfect dream inside The Reverie," Topaz murmured. "Why's the hotel ended up looking like this?"
By the time she wandered into the lobby, she'd realized where she was. This was the Dreamscape version of The Reverie, the section that had been temporarily closed to the public.
The Reverie was the first stop between dreams and reality. In the Penacony of the past, every Dreamchaser who awoke inside the dream would appear here before moving on to the Twelve Hours.
That custom had changed not long ago. The reason the Dreamscape hotel had suffered such a strange transformation was also one of Topaz's objectives.
Topaz wasn't an extreme gambler like Aventurine. Even after their discussion had led her to suspect that Watchmaker's Legacy might be connected to death in the Dreamscape, she had no intention of arranging to get herself killed in public.
Aventurine had strongly recommended the idea.
The plan required no deductions and no direct confrontation with the Family. All they needed to do was choose a suitable outsider as an opponent, and the game would be complete. The IPC's objective would be achieved.
Afterward, wherever the person involved went, whatever they saw, and whatever they chose to do would've had nothing to do with the IPC's original purpose.
Even so, Topaz wasn't an extreme gambler like Aventurine. An important case wasn't enough to make her stake her own life.
Besides, they still had other leads. They could always fall back on Aventurine's plan if every other option failed.
Topaz looked around at the empty, chaotic dreamscape without any impatience. If the Family were that easy to catch red-handed, the IPC wouldn't have spent so many Amber Eras struggling with them.
"Numby, let's go that way… Hm? Did you find something?"
They'd reached a fork in the path when Topaz noticed Numby sniffing the air before trotting toward another corridor.
Numby's senses were keen and often helped Topaz find valuable things, so she followed at once. This time, however, Numby didn't seem to have found an object.
"Huh? A Warp Trotter? There are Warp Trotters even in a place like this?"
A gentle voice came from around the corner.
Topaz froze for a moment, assuming she'd encountered someone from the Family. When she stepped around the bend, however, she found Numby standing near a girl with long silver hair.
The girl clearly had nothing to do with the Family.
Was she a tourist who'd wandered in by accident?
There wasn't a trace of panic or fear on her face, though. She probably wasn't an ordinary person.
As Topaz studied her, Firefly noticed Topaz's arrival.
The badge on Topaz's outfit was enough for Firefly to identify her as an IPC envoy. She'd heard that the IPC's representatives had already reached Penacony, so this was probably one of them.
Firefly quietly raised her guard, though she kept a warm smile on her face and offered a gentle greeting.
She was here because she, too, was investigating Penacony's secrets. Her script also pointed toward Watchmaker's Legacy, though its vague instructions only said that death was a necessary step on the road to the legacy.
After meeting Sylvia, Firefly hadn't chosen to rely on her. She'd started her own investigation instead.
The time for them to travel together hadn't yet come, and Firefly didn't want to become someone who could do nothing but depend on Sylvia.
Still, she hadn't expected to meet an IPC envoy here.
"…My name's Firefly," she said. "Do you know where this is?"
"Hello, Miss Firefly. I'm Topaz."
Topaz walked over to Numby and caught the little creature as it leaped into her arms.
"This is Numby, my partner. We're inside the Dreamscape version of The Reverie, which the Family sealed off. Judging from the fact that we're both here, they didn't seal it very well."
"Oh… I see. No wonder so many parts of this place look just like the hotel."
Firefly nodded and thanked Topaz.
"This place isn't safe, Miss Firefly," Topaz said. "Why don't you come with me?"
She gave the weapon in her hand a casual twirl, though she didn't believe for a moment that Firefly was some helpless girl.
Her invitation was meant to test who this "Firefly" truly was. If the girl had useful skills, Topaz wouldn't mind working with her to uncover the Family's secrets.
Firefly paused at the invitation, then thought for a moment and nodded.
Her script hadn't mentioned anything related to the IPC. That meant accepting or refusing probably wouldn't matter, so she chose to accept.
She'd heard the name Topaz from Sylvia before.
The living planet that had recently been placed under Sylvia's ownership had come from the IPC, and the person who'd handled the arrangement was an IPC executive named Topaz. This had to be the same woman.
Judging from her clothes, Topaz held a high position within the corporation. She used a gemstone as her title and belonged to an organization aligned with the Preservation, so it was unlikely that two people shared the same name.
"Thank you, Miss Topaz," Firefly said. "I wasn't sure which way to go."
"Hehe, follow me. We'll head this way."
Topaz led from the front while Numby walked beside Firefly. It looked like Numby was protecting her, but in truth, Topaz had placed the little creature there to watch for any suspicious movements.
Firefly followed behind them and studied Topaz in return.
She didn't know what the IPC executive was planning, but there was no doubt Topaz had an ulterior motive. Staying with her might still allow Firefly to gather useful information.
Things, however, wouldn't go so smoothly.
The IPC and the Xianzhou Alliance had been among the first major powers confirmed to be attending Penacony's auction. Thanks to the auction itself and the Family's deliberate promotion, countless people had begun watching them.
None of those people intended to provoke two such colossal forces. They were still willing to keep watch, gather information, and follow their representatives, though.
Topaz had suddenly vanished.
There weren't many places on Penacony where she could've gone, so several groups turned their attention toward the closed section of the Dreamscape version of The Reverie.
There was, however, a very important reason the Family had sealed the place off.
It was dangerous.
The out-of-control Dreamjolt Troupe and the Memory Zone Memes that could appear without warning were both capable of killing people.
After Topaz and Firefly had explored for some time, they heard screams in the distance.
They assumed they might've found a new clue, but when they reached the source, they discovered several people from an unknown faction collapsed inside a room. Their mental state was terrible.
They muttered fragments about "screaming," "an eerie red light," and "disgusting writhing," but their broken words couldn't be pieced into a complete account.
It was clear they hadn't encountered anything pleasant.
"…These people must've followed me," Topaz said. "Their luck wasn't very good. They ran into trouble before they found me."
She recognized their affiliations. They came from several minor armed factions that wanted to seize the power of an Emanator but couldn't bring themselves to go all in by coming to Penacony personally.
Instead, they'd sent these people to gather information.
In Topaz's view, anyone who couldn't even dare to make a real gamble had no right to expect the favor of the Elation.
"Hmm…"
Firefly frowned.
The people's broken muttering stirred several unpleasant memories. Their condition resembled victims of the Swarm.
The Swarm's ceaseless noise had been just as chaotic and revolting. Its nests were horrific, wet, and sticky, and merely approaching one was enough to sense the malice within.
Penacony, however, belonged to the Harmony.
The Family's harmonious song covered the entire Asdana star system. Remnants of the Propagation shouldn't have been able to exist inside it.
How could such discord survive for long within the Harmony's territory?
Penacony grew stranger by the moment in Firefly's eyes.
Had the Family failed to notice the Swarm?
Or had they found it but been unable to deal with it?
Something was very wrong. She needed to investigate further.
It would've been ideal if she could go deeper into the dream. The answers might be waiting there.
"Did you notice something, Miss Firefly?" Topaz asked when she saw Firefly lost in thought.
Firefly shook her head.
"No. I just think this place is more dangerous than I expected. I'm wondering what happened here."
"You're right. The Dreamscape version of The Reverie should be part of the Family's core territory. It doesn't make sense for it to have ended up like this."
Topaz nodded.
Everything happening on Penacony seemed far more complicated than she'd expected.
"As for these people…"
"We'll have to leave them here for now."
Firefly checked her phone. As expected, there was no signal.
Once someone left the areas of the Synesthesia Dreamscape covered by the Family's influence, they couldn't contact the outside world.
"Guess we'll have to make a note of this and tell the Family after we get out," Topaz said with a shrug.
There didn't seem to be any other choice.
"You're awfully calm, Miss Firefly. I was thinking I'd have to find a way to escort you out first."
After leaving the room, Topaz smiled as she watched Firefly.
The seemingly frail girl had far stronger nerves than Topaz had expected. To be honest, even Topaz had been startled when she first saw those people muttering inside the room.
Firefly, by contrast, hadn't seemed shaken at all.
What faction did she belong to?
"I'm all right," Firefly replied with a smile. "I've seen similar scenes before. Besides, with you here, Miss Topaz, there's no reason to worry."
She wasn't too concerned by Topaz's suspicions.
After all, the IPC had placed a bounty on Sam. What did that have to do with Firefly?
If things truly went wrong, she could always borrow Sylvia's reputation as cover. That should be enough to bluff her way through.
"Stay close to me, Miss Firefly. This place may be even more dangerous than we thought."
"Thank you."
--+--
At the same time, in the real-world version of The Reverie, the Astral Express had finally arrived at Penacony, the Planet of Festivities, after the crew's brief vacation.
The main reason for the delay was that Dan Heng, who'd been abducted by Ruan Mei, had finally regained his freedom and returned to the Express. Otherwise, they might've reached Penacony several days earlier.
Himeko led the group toward the front desk. She hadn't warned Sylvia ahead of time or troubled her to come pick them up. Instead, they simply joined the end of the line like everyone else.
"Whoa… There are this many people?" March 7th tilted her head and looked around. "It didn't seem this crowded in the pictures Sylvia sent us."
The lobby wasn't only packed. Many of the people there looked openly dangerous.
Fortunately, the Family's Bloodhounds were maintaining order, so nothing had gone wrong.
"It's because of the auction Sylvia arranged," Himeko said with a smile. "It's starting within the next couple of days, isn't it?"
Penacony's auction had been scheduled to take place before the Charmony Festival as a warm-up event. Many factions and individuals who'd originally cared only about the festival had become interested in the auction as well.
The Family had apparently collected several additional Curios to build excitement and added them to what had originally been an auction with only one item.
"Speaking of Sylvia, I wonder what she's been busy with," March 7th said with a grin. "She's got so many children waiting for her to take care of them back home."
Thanks to Ruan Mei, the dragonborn on Sylvia's planet had already spread across nearly half a continent. They were also beginning to expand into the ocean.
March 7th couldn't even imagine what the planet would look like if they returned after another year.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL