"You're a Memokeeper, too?" Leon asked.
"Yes."
Black Swan felt his gaze was a bit strange.
It felt as though he wanted to punch her, just to test whether her "Meme Body's" physical immunity was the real deal.
"Let me be clear, I am a Memokeeper from the orthodox Garden of Recollection and have absolutely no affiliation with that extremist faction, the 'Cremators'."
Black Swan quickly chose to distance herself.
"In fact, I'm a victim here, just like the people of Holstein."
"How so?" Leon waited for her to continue.
"I happened upon a mysterious 'memory' some time ago."
Black Swan saw no need to hide anything.
"But before I had a chance to examine it, I was caught off guard by members of the 'Cremators,' and they snatched it away."
"The reason I came here was to retrieve what is rightfully mine."
Black Swan explained truthfully.
"Is that so? In that case, could you also contain all the 'Memory Bubbles' here?"
Leon asked after a moment of thought, "I want to blow this place up, but with other people's memories here, I can't just go ahead."
Although the recent experiment showed that Phantylia could also store them, given the traces of "Destruction" on her, plus the fact that Heliobi feed on emotions...
Entrusting them to her might lead to some unexpected damage.
It's best to hand them over to someone from the pure 'Remembrance' faction.
Cooperating with Black Swan and letting her hold them for now would allow him to act without restraint.
"I can." Black Swan was startled.
She hadn't expected his goal to be so audacious.
Blowing up a Garden of Recollection is easy to say, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.
A Garden of Recollection is a world constructed from the pure essence of 'Remembrance'.
Frankly, its durability is in no way inferior to a structure fortified by 'Preservation'.
To brute-force it... just how much power would that take?
As Black Swan pondered, her gaze drifted unconsciously to the longbow slung over his shoulder.
Such a dense 'memory'...
It was the first time she had seen a 'memory' so utterly inscrutable, as if the object itself possessed an immensely long history.
Black Swan's curiosity was piqued.
She closed her eyes and, as if possessed, extended her consciousness, following the 'memory' to trace back the past of The Hunt.
Zzzt, zzzt!!
In an instant, her form flickered and blurred, as if overwritten with corrupted code. Her semi-corporeal body looked as if it would completely dissipate in the next second.
"Then let's cooperate. But I'll lay out my terms first."
Leon didn't know what had suddenly gotten into her, cosplaying a chameleon like that.
"When this is over, you can only keep the one 'Memory Bubble' that belongs to you."
But he felt it was necessary to warn her.
"All the other 'Memory Bubbles' must be returned to me, to their original owners. You are absolutely forbidden from taking any for yourself."
"Otherwise, my arrows will be aimed at you."
Leon said with utter seriousness.
"...Yes."
The recent experience, combined with his current words, created a perfect deterrent. Black Swan felt a wave of lingering fear and didn't dare to refuse.
He wasn't joking...
Whether it was blowing up the Garden or killing her, he could do it all, and with absolute ease!
An inextinguishable terror filled Black Swan's eyes.
What was that! What was that! What was that!
What in the world is that longbow he's carrying?!
Black Swan had no way of knowing the answer. She only knew that if she had remained for even 0.1 seconds longer...
...she would have died on the spot!
Black Swan gasped for breath, her heart pounding wildly.
Is he an Emanator?
No, he's definitely an Emanator!
This level of pressure is impossible for anyone but an Emanator!
Just who is this Galaxy Ranger?
Still shaken, Black Swan panted, taking a long moment to stabilize her "Meme Body".
After this painful experience, she learned a profound lesson.
Everyone has a past, but some people's pasts are a silent, deep sea, filled with the corpses of the drowned.
Do not probe it casually, unless you are prepared to become one of them.
"I swear on the Aeon."
Black Swan took a deep breath.
"Aside from my own, I will not touch a single other Memory Bubble in this Garden."
Getting on his good side was more important than anything right now.
If she didn't swear an oath and some misunderstanding led to him killing her with a single arrow, wouldn't that just be her rotten luck?
"You stinky mid-tier, still trying to act like you're top-tier?"
Seeing her sorry state, the nearby Phantylia began to mock her coldly.
As a Heliobus, she was extremely sensitive to emotions.
So she had been waiting for a good show all along.
From the moment she appeared, Black Swan had exuded an air of superiority, as if "everything was under control".
And now?
Hahaha, you were holding your head so high before. Let's see you try to act like you have the upper hand now!
As someone who had already suffered a major defeat at Leon's hands.
Seeing someone else suffer the same setback made Phantylia happy. It was finding joy in misery.
Since I've been rained on, I might as well tear up someone else's umbrella. Isn't that perfectly normal?
"Aren't you mid-tier too?"
Leon glanced at Phantylia, and she immediately quieted down.
"Speaking of which, why did you show up here?"
He got to the most crucial point and asked, "Do you know what's in here?"
"I knew there was something, but not the specifics."
Black Swan replied respectfully, "If I'm not mistaken, this should be the room of the famous memory thief, 'Qianlou Zhong'."
"'Qianlou Zhong' has been missing for a long time. No one knows what happened to her or where she went."
"When I was passing by, I sensed a faint, flickering power of 'Remembrance' from within."
As she spoke, Black Swan materialized a tarot card between her fingers.
"I had a suspicion, so I performed a divination for myself and confirmed it."
Black Swan flipped the card over, showing the corresponding image to him. "What's inside is related to 'Qianlou Zhong's' final whereabouts."
Leon nodded, indicating he understood.
So you're saying 'Qianlou Zhong' witnessed the transaction and was killed by Polka Kakamond?
Well, serves her right, I guess.
He didn't like Polka Kakamond, but that didn't stop him from cheering that justice had been served on a member of the 'Cremators'.
"What's actually in that Memory Bubble?"
Black Swan asked after much hesitation.
She had witnessed Leon retrieve the Memory Bubble from the shadows.
'Qianlou Zhong's' concealment work was very strong; she had tried everything but couldn't find a way to break it.
Ah, the power of stats...
"You want to know?"
Leon glanced at her. "Knowing might get you killed. If you're prepared for that, I can tell you."
"...Then I'd rather not."
Having just returned from the brink of death, Black Swan had no desire to go back a second time so soon.
"Let's put the dead aside and get down to business."
Leon couldn't be bothered with the fate of some 'Cremators' member.
He could only say that if she were still alive, she'd better hope she never ran into him.
He wouldn't be able to resist finishing the job.
"It's time for you to prove your value in this cooperation."
"Come on, Memokeeper. Tell me, where is the 'Holstein' Memory Bubble?"
_____
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