[ Mr. Sunday… Hello there! ]
[ Did you see that? ]
[ The moon in the sky is the same size as the SoulGlad bottle cap in my hand! ]
[ Does that mean… as long as I reach out my hand, I can grab the moon~ and hold it in my arms? ]
[ Hmm? Right? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "Look at how much the kid drank, he's starting to talk in his sleep."
Stelle: "He is in a dream, so if it's not sleep-talking, what is it?"
March 7th: "Uh… true."
March 7th: "I always forget that we are in a dream."
Furina de Fontaine: "Speaking of which, how exactly does one get drunk in a dream?"
Furina de Fontaine: "It really is quite magical…"
Hu Tao: "Hmm, leaving aside the dirty business in the shadows, Penacony's dreamscape world is indeed quite interesting."
Paimon: "Actually… I've always wanted to ask a question."
Paimon: "Are these Pepeshi people actually adults or not?"
Paimon: "Why do they all look like little children?"
Lumine: "Yes, I find it strange too."
Lumine: "Whenever I see them, it takes me out of the moment a bit. I just feel like they are all kids."
Lumine: "But they shouldn't be… children, right?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Of course they aren't children."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "There are many races in the universe with unique appearances."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "And the Pepeshi just happen to grow into the appearance of small children."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Moreover, even after they reach adulthood and grow up, they will still maintain this appearance."
Nilou: "Their appearance really is quite cute."
Nilou: "Especially that fluffy ball growing on their heads… can I touch it?"
Stelle: "That ball looks like it would feel nice to touch. I want to touch it too!"
Robin: "Regrettably, that is a part that the Pepeshi value very highly. Generally speaking, they do not let people touch it."
Stelle: "Then generally speaking, they do let people touch it?"
Robin: "Uh… perhaps…"
Pam: "That fluff ball feels like it would be hard to maintain, Pam."
Pam: "Does it shed, Pam?"
March 7th: "Shed?"
March 7th: "It shouldn't… right?"
Stelle: "Speaking of shedding, I suddenly have a brilliant idea!"
Stelle: "Say, if I were to collect the fur from the Pepeshi's fluff balls and make a plush coat, wouldn't the texture be top-tier?"
Silver Wolf: "Good lord!!"
Silver Wolf: "That's simply a genius idea!"
Qingque: "What kind of genius?"
Qingque: "That's clearly the devil, right?"
Qingque: "With just those tiny fluff balls on their heads, how many would you need to make a plush coat?!"
Li Sushang: "For every coat made, hundreds of Pepeshi must be consumed?!"
Guinaifen: "Terrifying!!"
Guinaifen: "I can only say, no buying, no killing!!"
Stelle: "Who said anything about killing them?"
Stelle: "I just want to pet their fluff balls until they go bald."
March 7th: "Hey, that feels no different from killing a Pepeshi, right?"
Aventurine: "Ha, if these Pepeshi knew you had this idea."
Aventurine: "I guarantee you would definitely be on the blacklist of every Pepeshi in the universe."
Stelle: "That serious?"
Stelle: "Then never mind, I was just purely curious."
Kafka: "A plush coat woven from Pepeshi fluff balls?"
Kafka: "Hmm… that is a novel item…"
....
『 [ The moon… Hehe, you mean the Grand Theater, right? ]
There is no moon in the sky of Penacony.
Sunday followed the Pepeshi's gaze, only to see the Grand Theater suspended in the air, emitting a dazzling brilliance.
[ Oh, oh! ]
[ Haha, look at me, I must have been away from home for too long, missing that moon too much… hic. ]
[ But… it doesn't matter! ]
[ Our Penacony's Grand Theater is much brighter than the moon… ]
[ Good looking! Easy on the eyes! ]
[ Back then, they tried to persuade me not to sell all my family property and set my heart solely on Penacony… Pfft, truly short-sighted! ]
The Pepeshi spat a few times drunkenly.
[ Selling all family property… Why go to such lengths? ]
Robin couldn't quite understand this Pepeshi's actions.
[ Why? Why else… ]
[ Life back home was too bitter, living like less than a human. ]
[ Penacony is better, only sweet dreams, no suffering, no need to worry about tomorrow, doing whatever you want, now that is called living… hic, comfortable! ]
The Pepeshi explained a few sentences to Robin.
[ This… can this really be considered living… ]
Robin muttered to herself with a complex expression.
[ Hic …Hmm? ]
[ Little girl, what did you ask just now? I didn't hear clearly… ]
The Pepeshi looked up at Robin, somewhat dazed.
[ Nothing, sir. ]
[ Look, the traffic on Glaux Avenue is heavy, it's prone to danger. ]
[ Aideen Park is just nearby, how about I have a member of the Bloodhound Family take you there to continue enjoying the sweet dream? ]
Sunday shook his head and asked the Pepeshi.
[ Oh… okay, you're right. ]
[ As expected of the leader of the Sweet Dream, my savior! ]
[ See you later then, Mr. Sunday. ]
[ Thank you for chatting with me… hic. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Tsk tsk tsk, living a drunken life and dreaming of death, deceiving oneself and others."
Furina de Fontaine: "This person's longing for his hometown is overflowing in his words."
Furina de Fontaine: "But he just isn't willing to admit it."
Hu Tao: "If he admitted it, wouldn't that be equivalent to completely denying his actions back then?"
Hu Tao: "That would be what makes someone break down."
March 7th: "So he just drowns his sorrows in alcohol here?"
March 7th: "Living like an empty shell?"
Lumine: "The Dreamscape is a place for pleasure. logically speaking, most people who come here shouldn't have worries."
Lumine: "But this person, perhaps he has regrets left in reality, so even though he came to the Dreamscape, he is still often unhappy."
Navia Caspar: "This falls under the category of utter escapism, right?"
Robin: "Dreams are ultimately illusory. His indulging in the dream is equivalent to giving up all possibilities in reality."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "That is also his choice. Respect and bless."
Stelle: "That's right. Since it was his own choice, then suffering the consequences is also deserved."
Stelle: "This doesn't actually have much to do with the dreamscape itself; it mainly depends on the person."
Stelle: "Just like that old lady from before, look at her, didn't she think things through very clearly?"
Robin: "Hmm… you're right."
Robin: "It's just… if there were no Dreamscape, would this group of people stop escaping?"
Aventurine: "You're overthinking it."
Aventurine: "It's human nature. Even without the Dreamscape, they would still find other ways to escape."
Venti: "Well said. If a person isn't willing to face their own heart, then in reality, they can just as easily buy drunkenness, and you couldn't wake them up no matter how you called."
Venti: "In other words, those who are originally sober will remain sober even within a dream!"
Venti: "This is the fundamental difference between people."
Stelle: "To be fair, if there were no Dreamscape, it would more or less make some people feel there is no way out, thereby causing them to find their way back."
Stelle: "But that would be too unfair to those who need the Dreamscape."
Stelle: "So, I personally believe the pros of the Dreamscape outweigh the cons."
Stelle: "Those who choose to drown in the dream, that is their own choice. Whatever end they meet is completely what they deserve."
Stelle: "It has nothing to do with bystanders."
March 7th: "The way I see it, the Dreamscape is mainly to provide a platform for some birds born with defects to spread their wings and fly."
March 7th: "As for those who were originally able-bodied… there's no need to worry about them too much, okay?"
March 7th: "If they love to live a drunken life and dream of death, let them be drunk, as long as they don't affect others."
Welt Yang: "In summary, the Dreamscape has its own meaning for existence."
Welt Yang: "As long as it doesn't force others to enter the dream, then there is no need to interfere too much with other people's choices."
Robin: "Mn, thank you, everyone, I understand."
....
『 [ … ]
After that, Pepeshi left, robin began to fall silent.
[ What's wrong, sister? ]
Seeing Robin not say a word, Sunday asked with concern.
[ Even though this is the Land of Dreams, why do people live this kind of life? ]
[ That gentleman just now… was not happy at all. ]
[ No matter how sweet a dream is, it is an invisible and intangible illusion, yet he treats it as his only choice for survival, even giving up his future in reality for it… ]
[ This cannot be counted as living at all. ]
Robin spoke her view with a melancholy look.
[ Hmm, is that so… ]
[ But in my view, this is actually the way ordinary people should live. ]
Sunday's expression appeared very calm.
[ …Why do you say that? ]
Robin looked at Sunday with some surprise.
[ You just said that a gentleman making a living on sweet dreams cannot be counted as living, but that is not the case. ]
[ Even without Penacony, people would live in their respective hallucinations. This hallucination is named 'Self-Worth'. ]
[ People always think they are destined to realize some kind of value. ]
[ Earning value for oneself implies powerful strength; conversely, those without value are demoted to the weak. ]
[ However, value is not created by people out of thin air, and its sum has a limit. ]
[ To realize so-called value, one must plunder from the hands of others. ]
[ Just like that, the weak are exploited, oppressed… ]
Sunday slowly recounted his insights.
[ You mean to say… things shouldn't be like this, right? ]
Robin understood the meaning of Sunday's words.
[ Precisely. ]
[ However, ironically, people do not think doing so is wrong. ]
[ Because they always hold that ethereal self-worth as the golden rule, and even the weak think so. ]
[ Survival of the fittest, the weak are prey to the strong… all tragedies in the world stem from this. ]
[ And the reason Penacony is a Sweet Dream is precisely that it provides a place of eternal rest for anyone who wants to escape from that… ]
[ Here there is no tragedy, only happiness… ]
[ Although it is only a prototype, isn't this exactly what the paradise in our minds looks like? ]
Sunday asked Robin in return.
[ … ]
[ Perhaps that gentleman just now was merely a special case. ]
[ Before concluding, I think it's better to see it with my own eyes in the dream, just like back in Dreamflux Reef. ]
Robin felt it was better to witness it personally, to prove that what Sunday said was correct.
[ Mn, seeing is believing, I will accompany you. ]
[ The Dreammaster has not yet graced us with his presence; we still have time to look around. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Tighnari: "It can be seen that Mr. Sunday has researched human nature very thoroughly."
Tighnari: "What he says makes a lot of sense."
Stelle: "What he said isn't really a problem."
Stelle: "But that last sentence, forgive me for not agreeing."
Stelle: "This Dreamscape world is obviously not all happiness either."
Stelle: "I feel it doesn't even count as a prototype of a happy paradise."
Furina de Fontaine: "Strict social hierarchy, those with weak status don't even have the qualification to go to other Dreamscape moments at will…"
Furina de Fontaine: "This place is also filled with all sorts of regrets everywhere; it really cannot be counted as a place without tragedy."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Just as he said, the weak are prey to the strong, survival of the fittest. All tragedies in the world stem from this."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "But this is an immutable law of the universe."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "And no one can change this law."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "And not just humans, even Aeons cannot do it!"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "So, the paradise you yearn for in your heart has been an impossible place from the very beginning."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Perhaps you will find it cruel, but this is the indisputable truth."
Hu Tao: "Even Aeons can't create that kind of paradise…"
Hu Tao: "Then there's no solution…"
Madam Herta: "There are differences in strength even between Aeons, how can a truly egalitarian paradise exist?"
Madam Herta: "That is just a fantasy."
March 7th: "Sigh… Mr. Sunday, stop drilling into a dead end. Just doing what is within our power is enough."
March 7th: "There's no need to force these impossible things."
Sunday: "…"
Sunday: "The so-called impossible things are merely things that have not yet happened."
Sunday: "This is what Miss Acheron said, right?"
Sunday: "So… if I don't try, how can I know if it's possible or not?"
Boothill: "Brother, you really won't give up until you hit the wall."
Sunday: "It matters not. If my collision can eliminate a wrong option for everyone, then it is worth it."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Sigh, commendable spirit, just too stubborn."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "To a certain extent, you and this damned gambler Aventurine are of the same nature."
Aventurine: "Stop, stop, I'm not as self-righteous as him."
Aventurine: "Creating a paradise where everyone lives happily…"
Aventurine: "I wouldn't even dare to think about that…"
Aventurine: "I can only say… he is just too idealistic."
Fu Xuan: "Having ideals alone is useless."
Fu Xuan: "In this seat's opinion, living in this world, it is better to consider reality more and be more grounded."
....