Chapter 99

【It's a pity, if you are expecting a profound answer, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.】

【The imagery it contains is very simple...】

【This is just the true taste of the Land of the Dreams, nothing more.】

Gallagher shook his head and explained.

【Does this true taste... have anything to do with that Mikhail?】

Himeko asked.

【Mikhail... this is a name that appeared in the dream...】

Stelle said out of the blue.

【Yes, I said where I heard it...】

【When Stelle was drugged by that Masked Fool girl, it seems she heard someone muttering this name, right?】

After Stelle's reminder,

March 7th also suddenly reacted.

【...】

【Heh... you know a lot; I didn't misjudge you.】

【Now I have no reason not to be honest with you all.】

【Let's talk about the case, of course...】

【It will also come with the story of that Mikhail.】

【First, let's conclude: according to the clues in the Family's hands, this Firefly is indeed not a local, nor is she a guest invited to come.】

【In other words... she is a real stowaway.】

【I was also deceived by this girl; I'm truly getting old.】

【However, in the Planet of Festivities, stowaways are not a rare thing, nor are they difficult to investigate.】

【After the incident, the Bloodhounds immediately took action, starting to track from both the dream and reality.】

【But the result... is only one piece of bad news, and it's also the most troublesome news.】

【This little girl evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace in the dream, and her body cannot be found in reality at all, as if she had never been to Penacony.】

Gallagher told the details of the case

to the three.

【Ah?】

【Doesn't this mean...】

March 7th covered her mouth,

her expression somewhat shocked.

【Death completely eliminated her...】

Stelle guessed.

【Impossible.】

【The problem now is not "she died", but "she seems to have never appeared".】

【I'll just say it straight, this girl's situation...】

【Not to mention you, even the Bloodhound Family is seeing it for the first time.】

Gallagher denied Stelle's statement.

【First time... so in Penacony, death is a real thing, right?】

Himeko asked.

【You've seen it, what else is there to hide.】

【A city has a glamorous surface, so it must have a hidden side; I don't need to say much about adult matters.】

【If you want to question the Family just because of this, it's too naive.】

【There are accidental deaths in sweet dreams, so what?】

【This kind of extremely low-probability event...】

【Will only affect a very small number of people.】

【If you really want to delve into this case, you must first understand the Family's real difficulties.】

Gallagher pointed out the real direction for the three.

【I guess it's time to talk about the story of that Mikhail.】

Himeko seemed to have guessed what Gallagher really wanted to express.

【You are very sharp.】

【The Astral Express also received that music box, right?】

【Do you know what secret is hidden inside?】

Gallagher asked back.

【A message: See through the impossible things in the dream, find the legacy of the "Watchmaker", the father of Penacony, and then answer: Why does life sleep?】

Himeko recited the secret message again.

【Word for word.】

Gallagher nodded with a smile.

【Ay, what are you laughing at... could it be that you wrote it?】

【The literary talent is quite good.】

March 7th made a snide remark.

【I am the sheriff in charge of investigating the case, how could I not know...】

【I guess you must have also noticed that this message was not written by the Family—and that the relationship between the two is not that good?】

Gallagher asked.

【It's just a speculation for now; it's hard for us to believe that the father of Penacony and its actual manager are so at odds.】

Himeko replied.

【Now I can tell you, absolutely correct.】

【The Family regarded the Watchmaker as an enemy a long time ago, but they were troubled by the fact that the latter was elusive and only lived in the commercial myth he created...】

【The Bloodhounds were slow to catch him.】

【So, I further ask you all, have you ever thought about why the Family could tolerate the Watchmaker sending out such ridiculous information to the outside world, letting you come as invited, and making a mess of this place?】

Gallagher raised a question for the three to answer.

【...】

【You want to use this opportunity to let the Watchmaker show his flaws?】

Himeko said after pondering for a while.

【Now you can understand why the Oak Family authorized the Nameless to assist in the investigation, but kept things from you at every turn.】

【...Because the Watchmaker is not a legend of the Land of Dreams at all, but the most unspeakable stain in the history of Penacony's branches...】

【He is the culprit behind all the dream anomalies.】

Gallagher explained.

【But what does this have to do with Mikhail?】

Stelle felt that what Gallagher said didn't seem to have anything to do with the name Mikhail.

【Haven't you reacted yet?】

【I mean...】

【...Mikhail, the traitor of the Family—he is the famous Watchmaker.】

Furina: "This Mikhail is the Watchmaker?!"

Furina: "Sure enough, I said it, this Mikhail is definitely not simple!"

Furina: "It really let me guess it; Mikhail is the real mastermind!"

Hu Tao: "Should I say it's not surprising at all?"

March 7th: "But I just can't understand, as the father of Penacony, why did he betray the Family?"

March 7th: "And deliberately destroy the dream?"

March 7th: "Speaking of which, Penacony is also his hard work!"

Amber: "Yes, this is indeed puzzling."

Stelle: "Is there a possibility..."

Stelle: "It's not that the Watchmaker betrayed the Family..."

Miss Sushang: "Uh... what does this mean?"

Aventurine: "It means, perhaps it was the Family that betrayed the Watchmaker?"

Aventurine: "Why, do you really believe the Family's one-sided story?"

Aventurine: "In the end, the Family is the latecomer!"

Aventurine: "And now, the one controlling Penacony is the Family!"

Aventurine: "If there's no story in this, do you think it's reasonable?"

Furina: "The Family, in order to gain control of Penacony, did not hesitate to smear the Watchmaker, the father of Penacony, squeeze him out of the dream, and even wanted to finish him off, making him unable to speak forever!"

Furina: "And the Watchmaker was alone and weak, couldn't afford to offend the powerful Family, and had to spread information to the outside world for help!"

Furina: "You say, could this be the truth of the matter?"

Zhongli: "Generally speaking, Miss Furina's analysis is very likely!"

Himeko: "Hmm... very logical, and the reasoning makes sense."

Collei: "So... this Watchmaker Mikhail is actually just a victim?"

Welt: "It's not possible to draw a conclusion so quickly."

Welt: "This is just everyone's speculation after all."

Welt: "However... the possibility of this speculation is indeed very high."

Welt: "Because Miss Acheron said before that Penacony's dream is shattering, but this is caused by human nature, and the Family's deliberate indulgence."

Welt: "In other words, the dream under the Family's management now has problems."

Stelle: "Damn, this is getting more and more chaotic!"

Stelle: "Is the Family a thief calling for a thief, or does the Watchmaker have an unspeakable purpose, or are both of them unlucky, and there are actually heavyweight existences that haven't appeared yet?"

Boothill: "That's right, there are indeed heavyweight ones that haven't appeared yet!"

Yoimiya: "Who? Who else?"

Boothill: "Me, of course!"

Boothill: "The me in the video is still rushing on the road!"

Boothill: "Wait until I, this heavyweight guest, arrive, all the treacherous and evil things will have nowhere to hide under my muzzle!"

Stelle: "Brother, stop bragging; by the time you arrive, I'm afraid the matter will have been solved."

Stelle: "I feel like you're at best just a passerby background board..."

Boothill: "Meow!!"