The red carpet stretched forward, crossing an entire house. It was laid across a corridor that divided the room in two. On both sides seemed to be areas where guests could wait, with sofas where they could sit comfortably.
"We're here. The Morning Dew Residence, the fortress of the Oak Family, and the place where the heads of the various families gather to discuss Penacony's grand plans." Professor Ratio spoke to Aventurine beside him.
"A fortress? Not a bad comparison. Not long ago, I dealt with the warlords of the Yilimanika system. Even their synchronous-orbit estates weren't this heavily guarded."
"It suits its owner. Officially, this house belongs to Sunday." Ratio continued speaking in that same tone as if he were making a critique. Perhaps this was the pride of an intellectual?
"Without his invitation, ordinary guests wouldn't have a chance to set foot here in their entire lives. Take a good look while you still have a moment of freedom."
"Hey, Professor. What's that supposed to mean? Which side are you on?" Aventurine looked at Ratio.
"Who can guarantee that I won't sell you out?"
"Then just wait and see. Once I meet that Oak Family head overflowing with a desire for control, I'll have my own way of prying the answer out of him."
"Come with me. I'll take you to his reception room. Don't say anything unnecessary. Leave the Family to me."
Ratio led Aventurine forward, and they soon encountered a guard named Hendrick. He was a Pepeshi.
As soon as he saw the two approaching, he immediately shouted, "Hey, you two! The area ahead is an important council site. No entry without an invitation."
Ratio lowered his head and looked at the fellow, letting out a sigh. From his slightly furrowed brows, it was clear that he was already running short on patience with this little thing in front of him.
"I was instructed by Mr. Sunday to bring the suspect here. Ratio. He should have told you this name."
After hearing this, Hendrick raised his head and looked at Ratio, speaking in the tone of an adult addressing a junior, "Oh, I remember you... Veritas Ratio. Your Punchy Virtual Particle Clock was quite impressive."
"...What are you talking about?" Professor Ratio had already begun missing his plaster head.
"That thing on your head! Although it can't compare to mine, the Full-Domain Annihilation Powered Armor of the Mobile Knight." Hendrick's tone remained smug.
"I already reminded you last time that your fantasy armor doesn't exist at all."
"You just can't see it! I told you, only family members can see the radiance of the Mobile Knight. All right, go on through. Don't keep Mr. Sunday waiting."
"Haah..." Professor Ratio sighed again. He felt a headache coming on. "The idiot index here isn't much better than outside."
Hendrick moved aside, although even if he hadn't, there was no way he could stop the two people in front of him. Even Aventurine, who was relatively shorter, had ridiculously long legs from his perspective. He then opened the door.
Ratio brought Aventurine inside. He noticed that Aventurine, who had been silently walking behind him, was trying very hard not to laugh.
Perhaps to this expert in bad-asset liquidation from the Company, what had just happened was truly amusing. Yes, of course it was. This was what happened when a professor from the Intelligentsia Guild encountered an idiot who simply refused to listen.
This made Ratio sigh softly. "You know, I kind of miss that group of fanatics I encountered at Herta Space Station."
"They have an astonishing amount of affection for your younger brother, even surpassing their blind worship of the genius Herta."
"Compared to them, at least the thing they worship is an actual individual, and they know when to stop. They haven't gone as far as treating fantasy as reality."
Listening to Ratio's complaints, Aventurine observed the Hidden Nightbird statues that had appeared in the corridor and spoke, "Professor, you're already past that age. But everyone goes through a period like that. What do they call it again? Oh, right, chuunibyou."
"A moderate amount of fantasy is beneficial for nourishing inspiration, but treating fantasy as reality is his fault. Even the shriveled brain of some nouveau riche who spends every day soaking in the Dreamscape's Dream Pools wouldn't come up with such an idea and believe it without question."
Ratio's mouth was as sharp as ever. Aventurine smiled and said nothing more.
Entering the Family's council chamber was obviously not that simple. However, solving puzzles was not a problem for either of the two people at present.
Not to mention that the professor could quickly gather clues and solve the puzzle, even if they simply used brute-force enumeration, Aventurine would probably succeed on his first attempt at opening the door.
Afterward, the two opened the door and entered the Dreammaster Hall. In the center of this lavishly decorated hall stood a huge sand-table model.
After walking around the sand table, they saw that the door that should have been open was locked. Ratio rolled his eyes.
He didn't have much to say about Sunday's actions or motives, but after making his way here, he had already begun to find the measures taken by this Oak Family head boring.
However, this was a test for Aventurine. Since it had to be done, they would continue.
Just like before, the two bickered while quickly finding the puzzles and clues...
Afterward, Aventurine shrank down and walked around the sand table. The two soon opened the door.
Before entering to meet Sunday, Ratio asked, "Tell me your plan."
Aventurine raised an eyebrow. "No plan. I'll adapt as things happen. There are only two kinds of bargaining chips when negotiating with people: profit or fear."
"Looks like you still understand sincerity." The professor narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Aventurine.
"Am I not sincere enough? No need to emphasize it. We have to make good use of death. That man's sister died. He definitely won't be able to sit still. That's fear."
"And I'll help him find the murderer. Because of his identity and position, he can't handle this himself, but I can. That's profit."
"Then you can profit from it as well. You'll expose the matter of the death, borrow the Family's power to help you find someone, and then hide that child afterward."
"And the Family has no choice but to help with this, because that child is connected to too many forces... You already chose your target."
Ratio looked at Aventurine. Many words rose to his lips, but when he finally spoke, he only asked, "Why do you think he can't do it himself and has to entrust it to someone from a Company whose position opposes his?"
"Simple. Because the murderer is very likely a traitor hiding within the Family."
"...You were accusing that Galaxy Ranger earlier."
"That was just an excuse, Professor. There's something wrong with that woman. I need someone to restrain her. The fewer variables outside our field of vision when we act, the better."
"I also need to know who she is. If my good luck is the real deal, she'll definitely become an important piece. And when it comes to this matter, the more friends who can help me, the better."
"But to be honest, the murder probably has nothing to do with her. I still hold the same view: there must be a problem within the Family. Otherwise, why would our Mr. Sunday arrange a private meeting? This isn't an interrogation. It's a secret negotiation."
"Just watch. With Robin's death as my bargaining chip, I'll win back my freedom and power. In the end, I'll overturn this beautiful dream and create the grandest death."
"If stepping through this door gives me a chance at victory, even if the probability is infinitely close to zero, I have no reason to feel depressed, do I?"
"Hmph. What makes you think you can win, you damn gambler?" Ratio said.
"Three chips are enough. All or nothing."
The two did not continue speaking. Instead, they pushed open the final door at the end of the corridor and went to face Sunday directly.
At the same time, a Hidden Nightbird hiding in a corner swayed its body as it emerged from behind a statue. It then spread its wings and flew away.
However, there was one thing Aventurine and Ratio had not expected. After they entered the room, besides Sunday, there was someone else inside.
It was a mechanical intelligence that could almost be called beautiful. Its design had been polished like an exhibit painstakingly carved by artists from ancient times.
The armor covering its body reflected the light, every component seeming to be in the most suitable position, while every lever and gear inside its body was set at exactly the right angle.
A faint blue glow flickered in Tilianders' eyes. He looked at the Oak Family head standing straight with one hand behind his back.
A slightly distorted, steady male voice, accompanied by the faint vibration and static of a device, came from the mechanical intelligence's mouth, "Mr. Sunday, we hope the Family can understand the seriousness of this matter. The missing boy is of great significance to the Knights of Beauty.
"We hope the Family can immediately take action regarding this matter, while granting the Knights of Beauty the greatest possible freedom of action and authority to interfere with the Dreamscape, so that we can search for that child on Penacony."
Seeing this scene, Aventurine raised an eyebrow. He first looked at the mechanical intelligence. From his words, it was not difficult to determine two things. This mechanical intelligence was a Knight of Beauty, and in matters related to Nero, he was his ally.
Of course, the former point could be seen even without listening to what the other party said. The Knights of Beauty always had that "superior" appearance, and they also carried a certain special air about them.
Aventurine did not doubt this mechanical intelligence's words. Under these circumstances, they had still chosen to communicate with the Family first. That alone was enough to show the Knights' upright character and good moral conduct.
The first thing he saw upon entering was the Oak Family head being put in a difficult position. Perhaps it didn't count as being put in a difficult position, but it would definitely ruin Sunday's mood.
Of course, his mood probably wasn't very good right now either. After all, the bad news about Robin was still fresh, and the arrival of the Knights of Beauty would only make him more anxious.
In a sense, Sunday should even be grateful that the people who had come to negotiate were the Knights of Beauty rather than some other organization. Otherwise, there probably wouldn't be such a peaceful scene.
Take the Xianzhou, for example... While coming to negotiate with Sunday, they would probably have already, or even long since, launched their own investigation.
Simply coming over to notify the Family would already count as giving them face. Not putting pressure on the Family and asking, "Why did my family member disappear on your territory?" would already count as handling things peacefully.
But regardless, Aventurine was quite pleased with the situation before him. He even opened his mouth to tease them, "Oh? The conference room that supposedly few people can ever reach is quite lively."
The moment Sunday heard Aventurine's voice, he glanced over here. However, he still had to deal with the Knights of Beauty, so he could only say, "Looks like the puzzles I arranged were still too simple for you, envoy of the Company."
After trading a retort, Sunday once again turned his attention to the Knights of Beauty.
Tilianders' request was difficult for the Family to accept. Allowing a powerful armed group to move freely across Penacony, which was under the Family's control, was obviously not a good decision. Even though they were the Knights of Beauty, this demand was still difficult for Sunday to accept.
Of course, it wasn't only Sunday who found the request difficult to accept. The Dreammaster also found it difficult to accept.
Long ago, the Dreammaster had already warned Sunday about this, but for various reasons, Sunday had not paid much attention to it. He had not expected that an accident would actually happen now.
Under normal circumstances, the Knights of Beauty were certainly trustworthy. But when they made a request, and that request might disrupt the order under the Family's rule, even with their reputation, they were still difficult to trust.
At least from Sunday's current perspective, the pressure brought by the Knights of Beauty was far greater than that of the Company.
After all, although the Company was famous, it had only sent two people. Moreover, the Company's reputation would actually become a constraint when facing Penacony and the Family, which were equally renowned.
But the Knights of Beauty were different. These inexplicably powerful and extremely determined people were formidable.
At certain times, they might seek your opinion because of their principles and doctrines, but no matter what decision or answer you gave, it might not affect the decision the Knights had ultimately made, or rather, had already decided on from the beginning.
Earlier, Sunday's view of the Knights had actually been no different from that of most people. He had simply regarded them as scattered bands of warriors roaming throughout the universe.
It was not until the Mirror-Holders went to Penacony to seek the Family's help that he realized for the first time that the term "scattered bands of warriors" was completely inadequate to describe the Knights' terrifying power. These people whose source of strength was a mystery were far more than elite warriors.
Before joining forces with the Knights to encircle and suppress the Mirror-Holders, Sunday had personally witnessed a Knight remain completely unharmed after smashing several of the Mirror-Holder's starships into pieces, as easily as if he had merely walked out of a cloud of dust.
The individual combat power of the Knights of Beauty seemed to be somewhat too high. At that time, Sunday had already begun to wonder how the idea that they were "just scattered bands of warriors" had spread.
Perhaps some people with a certain amount of strength had once sparred with the Knights and won, or narrowly lost, and then as some rumors spread farther and farther, most people came to believe that the Knights were nothing more than ordinary wandering elite warriors.
Thinking about it carefully, perhaps this group of Knights who upheld doctrines and virtues had held back during those contests.
Going all out might be their doctrine for showing respect, but sparring and dueling were ultimately different from fighting to the death. Besides, when they sparred with others, had they not also carried the intention of testing their opponents?
While accepting the Pure Beauty trials themselves, they were also testing others in their own way.
And now, there was an even worse piece of news before Sunday.
That was, these ridiculously and inexplicably powerful Knights had actually reunited and reestablished the Knights of Beauty. At the same time, an accident that the Knights cared about greatly had occurred on the Family's territory.
Even someone as steady as Sunday was under immense pressure at this moment.