Chapter 367: Penacony Arc 『 Part Sixty-Two 』, Lost Generation part 1
「 The crew of the Astral Express gathered before the statue of Clockie. After a brief moment of silent mourning for the 'deaths' of Robin and Hotaru, they began to deliberate on their next objective—namely… finding the killer.
Himeko and March 7th had previously interacted with representatives of the Family within the Memory Zone. The Family had invited them to assist in uncovering the identity of the deceased… referring, of course, to Hotaru.
Looking back now, Himeko sensed that those representatives had been acting evasively, remaining tight-lipped about another incident that should have occurred even earlier.
The group surmised that Robin's death carried such heavy implications that the Family felt compelled to suppress the news. Moreover, the situation had clearly spiraled beyond their expectations, forcing them to follow the current and seek aid from outsiders.
To put it simply, the natures of the Hotaru and Robin cases were fundamentally different… What the Family feared most, first and foremost, were those ill-intentioned guests—such as Aventurine.
"And yet, Aventurine is wary of Acheron," Stelle added.
"Indeed. He seems particularly focused on that Galaxy Ranger," Welt nodded.
March 7th felt that Aventurine's grounds for accusation were tenuous at best, and she remained uncertain whether he could be trusted. Himeko noted that as things stood, both the Family and Aventurine had extended olive branches of cooperation.
However, considering the current climate of Penacony… the only ones they could truly rely on were their own.
"So, before the investigation begins, how should we respond to the Family and Aventurine?" March 7th asked. 」
「 ..... 」
〜A Certain Magical Index World〜
Morning light filtered through the curtains, spilling into the room as Misaka Mikoto and Kuroko Shirai straightened their school uniforms, preparing to head out.
While adjusting her hair, Mikoto kept her eyes glued to the screen in the sky, keeping pace with the latest developments on Penacony.
"Onee-sama!"
Kuroko Shirai suddenly pounced from behind, wrapping her arms around Mikoto's neck and rubbing her cheek affectionately against her shoulder.
"We're about to leave! Stop watching that, Onee-sama. If you have the time, please spare a little more of your gaze for me"
"WHA—! Kuroko!"
Startled by the sudden ambush, Mikoto scrambled to push her away, a faint blush creeping onto her face.
"Don't just cling to me like that!"
"Is Onee-sama so concerned because the intel on Penacony updated while we were sleeping?"
"Yeah,"
Mikoto replied, smoothing out her ruffled collar. She spoke softly,
"Now that Robin is dead too, the Family and Aventurine have both offered olive branches to the Astral Express, inviting them to collaborate. Neither of those parties… is trustworthy. They should just reject them both outright. If they did things your way, the Astral Express would have been blacklisted by every faction out there ages ago,"
Mikoto sighed helplessly.
"At the very least, they should maintain some contact with Aventurine. His current stance is clear—he's at odds with the Family. Compared to the ambiguous Family, who might turn their backs at any moment, he's actually a much better prospect…"
"Clear doesn't mean reliable."
Kuroko crossed her arms over her chest, making a large 'X' gesture.
"Onee-sama is far too naive! If the Family's trust score is a 20, then Aventurine is a 40… Even if he looks higher than the Family, neither of them reaches a passing grade of 60… If you ask me, they should find Miss Acheron immediately. She's likely the most trustworthy person right now."
"Acheron…"
Mikoto mused.
"But she's hiding a lot too…"
"When you're out roaming the universe, who doesn't have a few secrets?"
Kuroko shrugged.
"Even on the Astral Express, the members' identities are all more or less shrouded in mystery, aren't they? Take Dan Heng, for instance—he looks perfectly ordinary, but he's actually the High Elder of the Luofu. Or Mr. Welt; he looks like a middle-aged uncle, but he can command gravity and manipulate black holes. And then there's the one who acts so flighty but has a Stellaron stuffed in their gut…"
"Dan Heng looks 'perfectly ordinary'?"
Mikoto blinked, then let out a long, weary sigh.
"Kuroko, do you have some kind of fundamental misunderstanding of what 'ordinary' means?"
—
「 Regarding the Family, Himeko's view was that they harbored no ill will toward the Express. After all, this involved a 'scandal' that threatened all of Penacony; if they didn't trust the crew, they wouldn't have commissioned their help.
Furthermore, Penacony was the Family's domain. Cooperating with them should provide significant convenience for their future movements.
The crux of the matter lay with Aventurine. Himeko wanted to hear Welt's thoughts.
After a moment of reflection, Welt spoke: "That man is not simple. Throughout our negotiations, he deliberately lowered his posture, yet his words were constantly boxing us in… Logically and emotionally, he presented a convincing argument. He claims he won't force our hand, but his intentions are already quite clear."
"However, while the situation remains murky, building more connections isn't a bad thing. Aventurine showed his hand with just a few words; as long as our interests align, he can be a reliable ally."
"We must also be cautious about our distance from the Family; we cannot get too close. Working with the IPC serves as a decent counterweight. Should either side harbor ulterior motives, we will have the chance to extricate ourselves."
"So, you suggest accepting Aventurine's cooperation first?" Himeko looked toward him.
"Yes. The risks are certainly there… but we can only make further judgments once everyone's true intentions come to light." Welt nodded. 」
「 ..... 」
〜Zenless Zone Zero World〜
New Eridu—
"Playing both sides? Now that's interesting…"
Within the Mockingbird organization, Hugo Vlad was watching the sky with great interest. He found the decision—one that allowed the Express crew to navigate gracefully between the IPC and the Family—quite intriguing.
"In a chess game where interests are so tightly interwoven, having an extra choice is equivalent to having an extra escape route. Vivian, what do you—"
He cut himself off mid-sentence when he realized she wasn't paying attention at all.
The young girl was sitting on the sofa with her knees tucked up, her chin resting atop the head of the Bangboo, Robin. She was pouting, seemingly in a foul mood, as her fingers absentmindedly tugged at Robin's ears.
"Unhappy? Who upset you this time?"
"Nobody upset me."
Vivian buried her face in Robin's soft back, her voice muffled.
"It's just… lately, I've seen the Proxy going in and out of the cinema with so many different girls…"
"So… you're jealous?"
Hugo narrowed his eyes.
"Vivian is not that kind of tedious woman!"
The girl snapped like a startled cat, her voice rising as a faint pink hue dusted her neck.
"But didn't you go see a movie with Phaethon a while back? I recall you specifically trimmed your nails that morning…"
"That's exactly the problem! I suspect Master Phaethon is—"
"Two-timing?"
Blushing furiously, the girl nodded.
—