As Stelle sent a message in the group chat, replies quickly poured in.
[March 7th: Stelle!]
[Himeko: Stelle, it's good that you're safe.]
[March 7th: That woman didn't do anything bad, did she?]
[Himeko: Something seems to have happened at the Dreamscape Hotel. The Family has sealed off the area, and we're negotiating with them right now.]
[Himeko: Let's all meet under Clockie's statue in a little while.]
[March 7th: @Stelle Is Nero with you right now?]
Looking at everyone's replies, Stelle said nothing. She stood where she was, staring blankly at her phone for a while before finally replying: [Stelle: No...]
[Stelle: @Himeko @March7th When Nero and I separated, he went through the doorway Miss Black Swan created to find you. Before I came out, I thought he was with you.]
The group chat fell silent.
For a moment, no one sent another message.
The atmosphere among the members of the Astral Express suddenly became serious.
Stelle slowly lowered her phone and steadied herself. After taking a deep breath, she headed toward Clockie's statue.
As she walked, she thought about Nero's whereabouts while also wondering what role each faction might have played in Nero's "disappearance."
She walked uneasily through the streets of the Golden Hour. But here, she was far from the only one carrying such feelings. The people immersed in their beautiful dreams paid no attention at all.
At the same time, in Firefly's secret base.
"Elio's losing it again."
Silver Wolf's projection leaned against the railing, her eyes fixed on the handheld console in her hands as she spoke absentmindedly.
Beneath the game's background music, an occasional jumble of noises could be heard, making it sound as though something was rolling around all over the floor.
Firefly sat on the edge of a flower bed with a helpless smile.
Ever since Nero appeared, the number of times Elio lost his mind had started increasing exponentially.
Silver Wolf, however, had never cared about it. In her opinion, it helped Elio relax. Spending all day looking at this, looking at that, looking into the future, was terrible for both body and mind.
Firefly couldn't really understand how Silver Wolf had reached that conclusion, but that was just how she had always been.
In the past, Firefly had always believed that destiny might be predetermined, but before the destined moment arrived, everyone still had the right to choose.
Very few people thought about things like this, and her own view, an unwilling compromise mixed with helplessness, was already a relatively optimistic one.
But after Nero appeared, the idea of fixed destiny was shattered.
It was difficult to argue about abstract concepts alone. After all, when discussing things like that, there would always be an angle that overpowered every other argument, like an endless game of "anything goes."
So it was better to consider something more practical. The increasing number of times Elio had lost it already explained the situation well enough.
Thinking of that, Firefly suddenly felt that letting Elio lose it more often wasn't such a bad thing after all. If he didn't vent his emotions, maybe he'd start shedding fur.
Looking at it from another angle, it seemed she no longer had to go through those three deaths...
"The rest is up to you to adapt as things happen," Silver Wolf said casually. "But I don't think it'll be a problem. Just stick with the Astral Express."
"I heard the Knights of Beauty have arrived on Penacony too. No matter what happens, it's obvious what position the Astral Express will end up in."
Suddenly, Silver Wolf's expression became a little excited, and she pumped her fist.
"Cleared it! These ridiculous Aether Spirits are so useful!"
That's right. Silver Wolf was currently playing on Nero's account. As gaming buddies, after they had gotten more familiar with each other, Nero had eventually lent her his account.
Also, because of Nero's appearance and intervention, Elio's script had become useless once again, and the atmosphere among the Stellaron Hunters had instead become much lighter.
Based on past experience whenever Nero showed up, there was no longer any need to follow the script. They only had to observe the Astral Express.
"By the way, is there anything fun around here?"
Silver Wolf suddenly asked, looking at Firefly with a hint of anticipation. She was obviously completely relaxed now and had already thrown any mission to the back of her mind.
"Fun things... there should be quite a lot..." Firefly blinked and replied.
Then she recalled the new things she had encountered during her time in Penacony, and her expression suddenly became a little strange.
But after thinking about it, Silver Wolf was young and played all kinds of games. Things like the Hanu Gang and Trash Can Man... she would probably accept them without any trouble...
"Oh? Tell me. I'll make a note of them and check them out."
As she spoke, Silver Wolf put away her handheld console.
A new game deserved to be treated with that much seriousness.
———
[Golden Hour, Beneath Clockie's Statue]
After hearing Stelle recount Robin's murder, the members of the Astral Express all showed different expressions.
March was the most emotional. She pressed one hand against her chest, and the surprise in her voice was unmistakable.
"I never thought Miss Robin would..."
Mr. Yang fell silent for a moment before sighing.
"The real world seems peaceful, yet undercurrents are surging within the dream... It really turned out just as that Memokeeper said..."
"But now isn't the time to be discouraged. Nero's whereabouts are still unknown... We need to find out the truth."
The four members of the Astral Express fell silent.
For the Astral Express, this was the worst possible news at the moment. Under circumstances like these, Nero had disappeared.
After a long while, Himeko narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "No wonder the Family representative in charge of negotiating with us said this at the time: 'Indeed, we believe the Nameless have nothing to do with this matter, and we sincerely ask everyone to assist the Family in identifying the murderer.'"
"...I'm afraid they were already investigating Miss Robin's death at that time."
"The Family is probably trying to keep news of Miss Robin's death under wraps..." March said. "If this gets out, Penacony really is going to 'run with blood'..."
"I'm afraid it's more than that." Himeko shook her head. "When we asked more detailed questions, the Family representative avoided our gaze... Although the Family publicly claims that death cannot occur in dreams, that's only their side of the story."
"Perhaps... similar incidents have already happened before, and even now the Family still hasn't uncovered the truth."
Mr. Yang added, "This is a good starting point for our investigation. Nero's sudden disappearance also happened within the dream, so it may well be connected."
"On the other hand, if we get the chance, I hope Miss Black Swan will sit down and talk with us. After all, Nero disappeared after passing through the doorway she opened."
"Even if she has nothing to do with it, that Memokeeper understands the dreamscape far better than we do."
"The information revealed by that IPC envoy is also worth paying attention to..." Himeko said.
She exchanged a glance with Mr. Yang, and the two silently chose not to explain further.
Nero constantly making new friends was already something they were used to.
But no matter what, the IPC envoy's approach toward Stelle had been a little too deliberate. Judging from what he had said, it wasn't hard to tell that he had been intentionally guiding them toward something.
That might have convinced Stelle and March that Aventurine stood on the same side as Nero and the Astral Express, but as the older, more experienced members of the group, Himeko and Mr. Yang considered more possibilities. Aventurine's rather deliberate behavior made it difficult to believe he was acting out of pure sincerity.
On top of that, it was no secret that the IPC and the Family were at odds. After all, Penacony had once been the IPC's frontier prison, and its history was complicated. At least for now, the IPC and the Family were clearly not on the same side.
To the major powers of the universe, the Astral Express made for an excellent ally and safeguard. The Family could reveal certain things to win them over, and the IPC could do the same. No matter what arguments either side used, their objective might never have changed.
Furthermore, because of Nero's disappearance, the Astral Express had no choice but to enter the game.
"Aventurine suspected Acheron. She was the second person to pass through Black Swan's doorway after Nero," Stelle added.
Welt nodded.
"That's right. He was especially concerned about that Galaxy Ranger."
March blinked.
"So this is really a case of 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it'... Thinking about it now, Aventurine's reasons for accusing Miss Acheron were pretty subtle. He only shared his own speculation without offering any solid evidence. He was just guiding us into becoming suspicious..."
"At this point, the only ones we can trust are ourselves," Himeko said.
"In any case, let's gather information first and list as many possibilities as we can," Mr. Yang said. "Then eliminate the contradictions one by one. The fewer possibilities remain, the more likely we'll be left with the truth."
"This time we're really going to play detective," March said. "Should we tell the others that Nero has disappeared?"
After another brief silence, Mr. Yang spoke.
"Tell them. Not only them, but Aventurine and the Family as well."
Himeko nodded.
"That way, we'll be making the Astral Express's position clear while also creating a certain degree of shared interest with every side. Becoming 'allies' under these circumstances will help our investigation while also balancing Penacony and the IPC. No matter which side makes a move, we'll be able to withdraw in time."
March sighed.
"There are way too many bad women and bad men in this place. I'm really scared of getting stabbed in the back. Stelle's already been bullied several times, and now Nero's disappeared too..."
———
"Nero really has disappeared, but it doesn't seem to have much to do with either the Family or the IPC."
Watching the Astral Express's discussion, Siberian Duck felt touched, but at the same time her feelings were complicated.
The players had already been shown part of the sea of sand where Nero was, thanks to the Secretary-General's arrangements. So they weren't worried about Nero's disappearance for now because they knew where he was. The Astral Express, however, was in a completely different situation.
Still, with Penacony being as chaotic as it was, it was hard for the Astral Express not to suspect the other factions.
"But whatever. Let them take the blame for now," Siberian Duck said.
[I Used Pantene: Compared to that, I'm actually more concerned about something else. Did anyone notice there's also a March with Nero, and there's another March here? Doesn't that mean there are two Marches? Which one is the real March?]
[Dan-heart Eternal: You're right. Back in the sea of sand, March was clearly with Nero. So why is Nero missing now while March is here discussing things with everyone?]
[Pom-Pom: Is Nero actually in danger? Seriously, what's wrong with Penacony? The werewolf game was already annoying enough, and now there are two March 7ths?]
[Nero's Feet in My Mouth: Compared to that, I'm more worried about Nero. He walked through the sea of sand for so long, he must be exhausted. His feet and legs must be sore and swollen. This is when I should step in. I'll stick close to him and give Nero a full foot massage, using the latest red soft-slime massage attachments, moist and warm, taking care of every little part of Nero's feet to ease his fatigue!]
[Glue Man: Unreal. You're on another level.]
[Glue Man: Seriously unreal.]
[In the Same Cage as Yellow Pee: Brother Yellow Pee is still thinking, but I've already started acting. Tell me, who invented these little feet? Why do they look so delicious?]
[Glue Man: You're even more unreal.]
———
After the Astral Express finished their discussion, Stelle took out her phone, preparing to reply to Aventurine and inform him that Nero had disappeared.
Come to think of it, the IPC had tremendous influence. Maybe they had some way to find Nero.
[Stelle: We've finished discussing it. The Astral Express won't be leaving Penacony. We'll cooperate.]
[Aventurine: Good, good. You replied faster than I expected.]
[Aventurine: Now we're really tied to the same rope. It's no longer just you and me, it's me and the Astral Express.]
[Aventurine: Happy working together. Here's a little gift for good luck.]
[Transfer received: 1,000,000 Credits]
[Aventurine: The Family confiscated all the luggage I had on me. You know how they feel about the IPC.]
[Aventurine: Luckily Nero and I won quite a bit playing the slot machines. Otherwise I really couldn't have given you this much. One hundred thousand would have been my limit.]
Looking at Aventurine's reply, Stelle wore a complicated expression.
Just like before, Aventurine's way of speaking wasn't exactly easy to warm up to. But after getting used to him and knowing him better, it was much easier to accept. And besides...
She could sense the happiness between the lines of his messages. He genuinely seemed happy that he could cooperate with the Astral Express.
But Aventurine probably couldn't imagine what kind of news he was about to receive.
[Stelle: We're going to investigate Penacony.]
[Stelle: Nero has disappeared.]
After Stelle sent those two messages, they seemed to sink into the sea without causing even the slightest ripple.
Aventurine never replied.