[Aventurine sighed deeply: "…How did you find out?"]
["I never expected that something I accidentally learned would become the key that connected everything."]
[Aventurine: "It's the identity of [that person], right?"]
["It seems you also know."]
["I can't be certain, but I'm willing to bet on that possibility." Aventurine nodded. "…The murder case is a good excuse, but far from enough. Even if there really were one or two murder cases in Penacony, they would only affect a very small number of people and wouldn't stir up any waves."]
["This sweet dream is not a vast ocean, but an isolated island. The Family used [Harmony] to build embankments and high walls, isolating the outside world and protecting people from drowning in the sea…"]
["At the same time, they rely on this barrier that [isolates] death to bury unknown secrets in the deep sea. In a sweet dream without pain or death, those secrets will never see the light of day. Unless…"]
[Acheron took over his words: "Unless someone goes to the other side of the barrier… and can return alive."]
[Aventurine nodded: "Someone has already done it."]
——
Mob Psycho 100.
"Ah?? Who did it? Has someone already died and come back to life?"
Reigen's mouth dropped open wide enough to fit three eggs. Although besides Robin and Firefly there had been others taken away by [Death], that had already been a long time ago, and those ordinary people couldn't possibly have had any connection with Aventurine.
Could it be Robin? Or Firefly?
But when he heard that "Death" was not a person's endpoint, Reigen finally let out a long breath of relief.
Didn't these words mean that Firefly hadn't actually died at all, but had simply gone to that true "Penacony" Aventurine spoke of? And if someone could return alive, then it meant Firefly also had a day when she could reunite with Stelle again.
Just thinking of this, Reigen felt his mood improve.
After experiencing Aventurine's heavy and despairing past, he could finally taste some of the beautiful things in the human world.
"The Watchmaker's legacy is not in Penacony, and only death can reach that Promised Land." Dimple keenly spotted the blind spot. "If the Watchmaker is doing this, is he planning to launch a rebellion?"
"Rebellion? What do you mean?"
"Think about it… Ordinary people cannot go to the Promised Land. Those who can reach the Promised Land must be people who do not believe the Family's promises and who dare to accept [Death]. The Watchmaker gathers these people together, just like a thousand years ago when they targeted the Company and rebelled against the Company. Now they intend to rebel against the Family and overthrow everything to start over."
——
["I received a hint long ago: If the mute does not point to [those who cannot make sound], then it can only be [those who cannot speak]… That person who has already survived from the deep sea yet can no longer step onto the stage and speak—I'm glad to know she is still in Penacony and safe and sound."]
[Acheron: "A hint… isn't that evidence?"]
["Unfortunately, I have no evidence." Aventurine shrugged. "The only thing that can corroborate these conjectures is the Family's frankness when facing [Death]. They are far too generous toward outsiders, which instead makes it seem like they have something to hide."]
["But suspecting something does not require evidence; uncovering the truth does— for me, the former is already enough. I also don't need to find that memoria meme. As long as someone can [kill] me the same way it can, that will do."]
["In my view, you actually don't have complete certainty. Deliberately making a city-wide broadcast and trying to pull more people into the game… is also because you are betting on the possibility that 'someone can break the barrier'."]
["You are indeed very lucky. Fate made our paths cross, and I happen to carry a sharp blade—sharp enough to cut through the curtain of the sweet dream, and at the same time sever the brand of [Harmony] on you in a single stroke…"]
["You are also very cunning. You deliberately arranged for us to stand on opposing sides, constantly repeating the rhetoric of an [Emanator] in front of others, leaving me with no retreat and forcing me to draw my blade against you."]
[Speaking to this point, Acheron could not help but praise him: "So that is how you can win. Luck and strategy—neither can be missing. And in your layout, the Company is always the winner. Even if in the end you lose the bet… for the Family, the life of an envoy is expensive enough."]
[Aventurine finally smiled: "A grand gamble, isn't it? But allow me to point out one mistake: the Company is not guaranteed victory. On one crucial matter, I indeed have no backup plan."]
["Detonating a Stellaron… I cannot do it. The [Aventurine Cornerstone] is already too shattered, even unable to protect me so I can withdraw from the stage in one piece. If in the end you still never drew that blade… then I would have lost everything."]
——
A Certain Scientific Railgun.
"Hmm? The [Harmony] brand on Aventurine has disappeared?? Doesn't this deserve a thank-you to Miss Acheron?"
Misaka Mikoto could not help rolling her eyes at Kuroko. "Thank her for chopping him to death with one slash, right?"
"But looking at the result, Aventurine should thank Acheron for chopping him to death. If she hadn't killed him, his gamble would have been lost." Saying this, Shirai Kuroko could not help sighing as well. "Before he clashed with Stelle and the others, he said he was betting on his own victory because he had never lost… Calculating things to this extent, one can only say this victory is what he deserves. He deserves a thorough, exhilarating triumph."
"It's just a pity that wing boy is going to be disappointed…" Kuroko let out a "hehehe" laugh and suddenly edged a little closer to Misaka Mikoto. "Onee-sama, just think about it. When Sunday wakes up and discovers that the [Harmony] barrier over the entire Penacony has been chopped into pieces, and on top of that a Company envoy has died, hahaha… what kind of expression would he make?"
"He's probably already at his wits' end, right? He probably still won't understand to the very end how Aventurine managed to hide it from him and conceal the Aventurine Cornerstone." Misaka Mikoto took a bite of her ice cream. "What I'm curious about now is how the Family will 'handle' Acheron."
"Handle? What qualifications do they have to handle an Emanator-level powerhouse?"
"But this is still the territory of [Harmony]. The Family has operated here for a thousand years—they must have their own trump cards… I rather think they won't fear Acheron. Besides, whether emotionally or rationally, a dangerous element like Acheron who destroys public facilities shouldn't remain in Penacony any longer."
——
["Discussing [ifs] is meaningless. You won. You won yourself a ticket to that deep sea." Acheron paused. "And after that, whether you can return from the abyss… is another grand gamble of yours. Have you never hesitated?"]
[Aventurine smiled lightly: "Hesitate… of course. But I can only believe in my good luck. Because besides that, I have nothing."]
——