Chapter 65

The video continues.

【Is Huang Quan an Emanator of some Aeon?】

【Is Aventurine's word really trustworthy...】

【But he also gave me a choice... Perhaps I should talk to Black Swan again.】

Stelle felt hesitant in her heart.

After weighing the options again and again,

she decided to seek out Black Swan for more information.

【Oh... your expression is like a wounded little animal.】

【Are you still willing to talk to me?】

【I am still willing... to be your therapist.】

Seeing Stelle approach,

Black Swan still wore a gentle smile on her face.

【Did you deceive me before?】

Stelle continued with her previous questioning.

【I admit I made a deal with that gentleman to bring you to his side.】

【But... this is also a safe place.】

【He needs you; this is a necessary step to reclaim Penacony, and I believed he had potential and could help me harvest unique memories, so I agreed to the cooperation.】

【In Penacony, everyone might lie, and of course... that includes me. I cannot refute this, nor will I beg for forgiveness.】

【But, do you remember?】

【I also said... I believe in your potential. That statement was not false in the slightest.】

【The Garden of Recollection wishes to witness the Astral Express pioneering the future of the galaxy, and I will cherish these memories one by one.】

【So I have no reason to harm you all; on the contrary, I will continue to help you—provided you are still willing.】

Black Swan looked at Stelle,

and gave a sincere, lengthy explanation.

【Then... is Aventurine trustworthy?】

Stelle asked this question with hesitation.

【My opinion might surprise you.】

【In my view, he is a person worth trusting, not for any other reason, but simply because he is an excellent businessman.】

【In this vast universe, no one values integrity and contracts more than a businessman.】

【But you must also be careful, especially when entering into contracts with them; pay close attention.】

【Outside of the contract, they will not consider your rights...】

【To maximize their own interests, they can stop at nothing.】

Black Swan believed Aventurine could be trusted,

but at the same time, one needs to be careful.

【Who do you think is the mastermind behind all of this?】

Stelle asked a question that had troubled her for a long time.

【I still believe the matter of Miss Firefly... is, as we speculated, more closely linked to the Stellaron Hunters.】

【But you also heard that Aventurine accused that Ranger.】

【Although I don't know why he made such a judgment, he has the IPC's intelligence network, so his opinion is worth discussing in depth.】

【And, I also believe Miss Huang Quan is hiding something...】

【...No, I should say, she is hiding everything!】

【This is a discovery I accidentally made during a previous encounter.】

【Regarding the Annihilation Gang... I can also prove that what Aventurine said is true.】

【And because of this, in this golden banquet... she is the dancer I am most concerned about.】

Black Swan explained with a somewhat solemn expression.

【Can you help me get out of this Memory Zone?】

Stelle asked tentatively.

【I would be very willing, but now is not the time.】

【I know you are confused, and also... sad.】

【No matter who that girl was, a living person, a memory that should not have ended... was just erased like that, as if dissolved into bubbles in water, vanishing into smoke...】

【Regardless, I hope you trust Aventurine—or more so—trust me, and go see the facts he speaks of.】

【This can lead us to deeper secrets behind Penacony.】

【I will protect you.】

【It won't be too late to escort you back to your companions after obtaining more information from him.】

【And for the sake of the truth, and to stop more senseless sacrifices... this is the most correct choice.】

Black Swan did not immediately agree to Stelle's request,

but instead wanted her to cooperate with Aventurine.

【How do I know you aren't trying to frame me?】

Stelle was somewhat hesitant.

【He might have that intention, but I do not.】

【The gaze of the Garden of Recollection is everywhere.】

【If he wants to make a move against you, he must be prepared to become an enemy of the Memokeeper—I have already warned him of this.】

【Next, I will accompany you in the form of a meme, just in case.】

【Let's go, Stelle.】

After Black Swan said these things,

she disappeared directly.

Perhaps she had already changed into another form,

following silently by Stelle's side.

Seeing this, Stelle had no choice but to go find Aventurine,

to see what kind of tricks he was up to.

【Very good, I knew you would definitely come.】

【By the way, that Memokeeper... never mind, I won't ask too much.】

【After all, I said you could discuss it with your companions, or you could use me in return; I welcome it!】

【Because this is also showing me your value.】

【I never do business at a loss; I hope you friends... won't let me down.】

【Come on—this way, please!】

Jean: "Miss Black Swan seems to have been inducing Miss Stelle to cooperate with Mr. Aventurine?"

Amber: "Isn't that to be expected?"

Amber: "After all, Mr. Aventurine and Miss Black Swan seem to have reached an agreement a long time ago."

Amber: "They are actually on the same side now, right?"

Nilou: "By the way, does anyone remember?"

Nilou: "Mr. Aventurine's true companion should be Mr. Ratio, right?"

Paimon: "Ahem, Dr. Ratio seems to have abandoned Aventurine a long time ago..."

Lynette: "Indeed, the two of them are not together now."

Lumine: "That seems to be because their philosophies don't align, so they can't play together at all..."

Aventurine: "That's right. So I can only think of ways all by myself."

Dr. Ratio: "The 'way' you thought of is to go around forming cliques, you foolish gambler?"

Aventurine: "Oh my, one more friend means one more bargaining chip!"

Aventurine: "In this Penacony full of mysteries, going it alone is not enough to plot anything."

Dr. Ratio: "I hope you are right, otherwise I won't be cleaning up your mess."

Furina: "Aventurine's goal is to reclaim Penacony for the IPC."

Furina: "For this, he can even stop at nothing."

Furina: "And Miss Black Swan keeps coaxing Miss Stelle to follow Aventurine..."

Furina: "Thinking of this, I suddenly feel so worried for Miss Stelle!"

Aventurine: "Worried about what? Worried that I will eat her?"

Aventurine: "Come on, I'm not some man-eating demon; I don't have that much ability."

Aventurine: "Besides, if not necessary, I won't offend the Astral Express to death."

Aventurine: "After all, this group of theirs still has quite a bit of prestige in the galaxy."

Aventurine: "If I really angered them, I wouldn't have it much easier."

Aventurine: "You all know, I am a businessman, and weighing pros and cons is the most basic method for a businessman."

Welt: "I am glad Mr. Aventurine can still recognize this point."

Welt: "Then I hope you don't have too many designs on Stelle."

Welt: "As a smart person, you should also understand that the Trailblaze is not that easy to utilize."

Stelle: "Still want to utilize me?"

Stelle: "Believe it or not, if you anger me, I'll just blow everything up with you!!!"

Stelle: "Nobody gets to live!!"

Hu Tao: "Eek~ Miss Stelle is angry!!"

Hu Tao: "The consequences are very serious!"

Venti: "Almost forgot, Miss Stelle still has a Stellaron in her body!"

Venti: "If she really flips the table, this whole Penacony is finished, and everyone won't need to fight over any inheritance or explore any conspiracies..."

Shenhe: "So... is Miss Stelle the person with the most confidence in this event?"

Shenhe: "Feels like she's very powerful..."

Zhong Li: "Generally speaking, Miss Stelle seems to truly possess the ability to overturn all of this."

March 7th: "Uh... although what you said is nice."

March 7th: "But she doesn't seem to have that ability, right?"

Stelle: "Ahem... well, I was just joking."

Stelle: "Don't take it seriously!"

Stelle: "Praising me like this makes me embarrassed!"

Welt: "The Stellaron in her body is under seal and is very stable."

Welt: "Therefore, she does not have the ability to directly control the Stellaron."

Dehya: "Sigh, so it's a case of 'look but don't touch'..."

Dehya: "That's a bit of a pity."

Alhaitham: "There's nothing to pity about that."

Alhaitham: "The Stellaron is a creation of an Aeon; if it were truly triggered, that would be a huge disaster!"

Alhaitham: "Back to the main topic, I actually think there is nothing wrong with cooperating with Aventurine."

Alhaitham: "At least as far as the current situation is concerned, the pros outweigh the cons."

Arlecchino: "True, I think so too."

Miss Ningguang: "Mr. Aventurine seems ill-intentioned..."

Miss Ningguang: "But as of now, only his goal is the most explicit!"

Miss Ningguang: "The others, more or less, don't know what they are actually plotting."

Aventurine: "Oh my, I'm glad someone can understand the current situation."

Aventurine: "True, what I seek is nothing more than reclaiming Penacony."

Aventurine: "And others like the Ranger, the Hunter, the Fool, and even the Garden of Recollection and the Family... who can guarantee they aren't harboring ulterior motives?"

Aventurine: "So, to some extent, the Express crew is safest only by cooperating with me!"

Aventurine: "Because the Express crew wants to discover the truth of Penacony's dream..."

Aventurine: "And I happen to need this truth to overthrow the Family!"

Aventurine: "Look, aren't our interests aligned now?"

Himeko: "Hehe, that may be so, but Mr. Aventurine, your behavior has never been very friendly..."

Himeko: "If you were truly sincere about cooperating with the Express crew, you shouldn't have schemed against this child Stelle again and again."

Himeko: "You could have directly discussed it with us, everyone laying their cards on the table!"

Himeko: "But you didn't do that."

March 7th: "That's right! Others aren't trustworthy, and you are even less so!"

Dr. Ratio: "I warned him long ago not to make things too complicated!"

Dr. Ratio: "Unfortunately, a certain damn gambler just wouldn't listen, insisting on muddying the waters."

Aventurine: "If I don't muddy the waters, how can I fish in troubled waters under the Family's nose?"

Aventurine: "Anyway, judging from the situation in the video, my plan seems to be going quite smoothly."

Aventurine: "I just don't know what the truth I'm about to show her is?"

Aventurine: "This actually makes me a bit interested."

Topaz: "Then hurry up and shut your mouth, and watch the video properly!"

Aventurine: "Then let's keep watching."

The video continues.

Stelle began to follow Aventurine forward.

【Oh right, it seems I said something after that... what was it?】

【Ah... a familiar corridor, a familiar room.】

【Do you remember?】

【The last time we met was in this place.】

【We've arrived, it's behind this door.】

【Hold your breath, and wait and see—】

Aventurine brought Stelle to the front of a room door.

Then an inexplicable smile began to appear on his face.

【I want to see what kind of tricks you are playing.】

Stelle stepped forward,

grabbed the doorknob,

and was about to push the door open.

And at this moment, Aventurine's words sounded again.

【Oh, I finally remembered... friend!】

【After that, we played a pleasant game.】

【Look, this moment is just like that moment... isn't it?】

【I remember it all now, at that time, this is what I said to you—】

【Look, friend.】

【The game has already begun...】

【Make a deal with me, you cannot refuse.】

Aventurine brought Stelle into the room,

and walked to the front of the Dream Pool.

【Ah?! What?!】

Stelle looked at the scene in the Dream Pool,

her pupils suddenly contracted,

and her heart began to beat rapidly!