"They said they had something to do, so they went back first."
In the sea of sand, Nero said this while looking at March's bewildered expression.
As for Fuli coming and leaving in such a hurry, he didn't have many thoughts about it. Even though the other party had said some things that interested him greatly, he couldn't exactly grab an Aeon and stop them from leaving, could he?
Anyway, judging from the information Fuli had revealed, there would still be plenty of chances to run into Aeons in the future. He could just ask whenever he encountered one.
If that didn't work, there was still Aha. However, because their Paths were different, Nero felt that what Aha said was less reliable than what Fuli said.
"So... Nero, you really could understand what that fellow was saying just now!" March looked at Nero.
Nero looked at March in confusion and nodded. Then his expression turned astonished as he realized something. "Huh? You couldn't understand her? Then why did you act like... um... you understood everything just now, and kept agreeing with her?"
March frowned, then spitefully reached out and slapped her hand onto Nero's face, pinching him hard as she said, "If I acted like I didn't understand anything, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
Nero looked at March with a slightly puzzled expression. "..."
Why did she always care so much about her image in such inexplicable situations?
After rubbing the young man's face for a while, March finally released him with satisfaction, then looked at Nero and asked, "So, what did that fellow tell you just now?"
Nero thought for a moment. "She told me about our current situation, or rather, the environment of this sea of sand.
"Simply put, the two of us have fallen into a gap."
As he explained it to March, Nero drew shapes in the sand with his hand so that March could better understand the information he had heard from Fuli.
"This is actually an area where memetic substance is unstable."
"If we take dreams... um... let's use Penacony's sweet dreams as an example. The controlled memetic substance here forms this whole, and the entire dream can be regarded as one part."
"And outside of here, there should also be other complete dreams."
"Between the two dreams, this large blank area here is where the memetic substance is unstable. That's the essence of this sea of sand we're in now."
March sat beside him and honestly listened to Nero's explanation. A look of understanding mixed with confusion appeared on the beautiful girl's face as she nodded.
"So... Nero, do you know how to get out now?"
Nero nodded.
"We can think of this place as a bag. We just cut an opening in the direction we want to go, then climb through it. The flow of the memetic substance will repair the opening by itself."
"I see." March nodded. She obviously couldn't do something like this herself, but judging from Nero's relaxed tone, this child definitely had a way.
"Speaking of which, who exactly was that fellow who suddenly appeared? I listened to her say so many inexplicable things, but I still don't know what kind of person she is or what her name is. But... if she knows so much, she must be very impressive. Maybe she's a kind-hearted Memokeeper."
Hearing March mutter this, Nero raised an eyebrow, then mumbled, "She... if the boss of the Memokeepers counts as a Memokeeper, then I guess there's nothing wrong with that. Just think of her as a Memokeeper."
After saying this, Nero lightly clenched his hand as if he were holding a sword and casually slashed upward.
In the next instant, it was as if sword energy had instantly cut through the connected, viscous memetic substance, tearing a violent opening in the sky above the sea of sand.
Infinite darkness showed behind the opening. Just looking at it made one feel horrified, as if they would be sucked inside and fall downward without end.
"Ah..." Only then did Nero seem to realize something.
"I cut in the wrong direction. But it's not a big problem. I kept thinking about the direction of the dream she mentioned, but it was the opposite, so I accidentally went deeper. We just need to go back the way we came here. We jumped up, so we should jump down."
March's gaze gradually became horrified as she listened to the young man's quiet muttering.
Although he had already said that it wouldn't have much of an effect, a mistake at this level still felt far too dangerous.
But... maybe it only looked terrifying. Nero hadn't used much strength...
Thinking this, the sky of distant Belobog suddenly flashed through March's mind. The severed sky caused the wavering balance in the beautiful girl's heart to gradually tilt.
Hopefully Nero didn't use too much strength... No... hopefully there weren't any unlucky people in the dream above who had met their heroic end because of this...
Kind-hearted Miss March silently prayed in her heart for the possibly existing unlucky victims. At the same time, Nero swung his second sword.
The world of layered white sand immediately trembled, and on the ground of this sea of sand, a terrifying crack appeared, just as ghastly as the huge opening in the sky.
"Let's go. We should head back. After being gone for so long, everyone may have already noticed that we've disappeared and be getting worried."
Nero said this to March, then jumped down first without hesitation. March didn't hesitate either and jumped down after him.
———
[Dream's Edge Hotel, Lobby]
Ellie turned around and looked somewhat apologetically at the several guests from the Astral Express before her.
"I'm sorry. The treatment records from the Dreamweaver Therapists and the Dreammakers' monitoring data haven't revealed any suspicious dream disturbances or clues related to Guest Nero."
Hearing this answer, Himeko frowned slightly.
However, there was no reason to be too harsh toward the attendant before them. Rather, the fact that they were willing to help investigate clues at such a critical moment, with the Charmony Festival approaching, already showed that they were giving them plenty of consideration.
After all, the people currently in the lobby, judging by their appearance, might not even know about Miss Robin's death and Nero's disappearance.
"...That was within our expectations. I'd like to ask one more thing. Do people normally leave behind any traces when they enter a dream?"
"Are you referring to the records from the Dreamscape's Dream Pool? The equipment monitors physiological indicators such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and body temperature in real time and enters them into the statistics."
"The Family then screens the data for abnormalities, and once any illegal activity is discovered, measures must be taken immediately."
Stelle narrowed her eyes. "It feels like every move is being monitored..."
Ellie immediately answered in a highly professional manner. "Please rest assured. Monitoring everyone's vital signs is to forcibly wake them in an emergency. Everything is done with the guests' safety in mind."
"Could you trouble yourself to retrieve these records?" March asked Ellie.
While March was speaking, her voice seemed to develop a slight tremor and overlap, like the needle of a record player repeatedly striking the record because of an intermittent disturbance.
However, neither Ellie before them nor Himeko and Stelle, who were standing nearby and were very familiar with March, seemed to notice this small anomaly.
"I'm sorry..." Ellie shook her head. "The hotel doesn't have the authority to access them. This information is managed entirely by the Hound Family. Only when a specific situation occurs will it be transferred here."
March blinked and quietly said to her companions, "Looks like we can't find anything here."
"At least we know who to look for next. We can also ask the Hound Family about the case. As the people responsible for security, the Family may have passed some information on to the Hounds internally."
Stelle nodded, then looked at Himeko. "By the way, would Nero's disappearance really leave some obvious traces in the Dreamscape or the Family's equipment?"
"We should at least investigate it," Himeko said. "Besides, that child suddenly disappearing couldn't possibly have happened completely without a sound, leaving no clues at all, right?"
After saying that, Himeko looked at Ellie again. To confirm her guess about the Family's measures, she said, "Thank you for your help, Miss Ellie. By the way... is Miss Robin doing well? We're all looking forward to her performance."
Hearing Himeko's question, Ellie blinked and showed a bewildered expression. She scratched her head and asked in confusion, "'Doing well'... what do you mean? What happened to Miss Robin?"
"No, no. The child we're looking for, Nero, is very close to Miss Robin. You should know him, right? The white-haired child from when we first arrived in Penacony," March said.
Ellie's eyes immediately lit up. She seemed to have a deep impression of Nero.
"Ah, you mean that cute child who was brought here by Miss Robin and Mr. Sunday together?"
"So he ran around in the Dreamscape and got separated from you? But don't worry. The Dreamscape is very safe, so nothing should happen to him."
"Also, because Mr. Sunday specifically emphasized that we should pay extra attention to this child, his data has been transmitted in real time all along. Wait a moment..."
As she spoke, Ellie turned around and said something to her colleague. Soon, she turned back around.
"Mm... there haven't been any problems with that child's data. He should simply be having too much fun in the Dreamscape to remember the time, so don't worry."
"And then... the preparations for the Charmony Festival have been proceeding in an orderly manner. It should be going quite well, right? I'm sure she can give everyone a wonderful performance."
"When you find that child, tell him that."
March and Stelle stared in stunned silence at Ellie, who seemed to have suddenly become lively.
The moment Nero was mentioned, she immediately became this enthusiastic. She didn't even bother pretending...
That said, they weren't surprised at all. Nero was still Nero. No matter where he went, he was this popular.
After all, that child really was cute. Even without considering his personality, his appearance alone was already very appealing.
And besides... the fact that Nero had such a good personality while also having such a good-looking appearance was what was most surprising. Normally, children who were similarly talented were mostly spoiled and arrogant, weren't they?
Even if he had nothing to do with the fragments of Beauty, he would probably still be just as popular with the Knights of Beauty.
While Stelle and March's thoughts raced, Himeko narrowed her eyes slightly.
Although they still hadn't obtained any clues about where Nero was now, the fact that all the monitored data was stable was good news.
At the very least, it meant that the child hadn't encountered any danger, though there weren't many people or things capable of threatening him in the first place.
On the other hand, the Family indeed hadn't made the matter public yet...
"Mm, I'm sure she will." Himeko nodded and responded to Ellie.
Afterward, the three members of the train crew left the front desk and came to an unoccupied corner.
"As expected, no one knows about Robin's situation. That's not surprising," Himeko said. "But there are still no clues about Nero's disappearance."
"You, you are... who are you?" At this moment, a panicked shout suddenly came from nearby.
Himeko, Stelle, and March looked in the direction of the voice and saw a group of people wearing corporate uniforms.
One of them, a squad leader wearing armor, said in an arrogant and overbearing tone, "Bravo Work Group has arrived at the designated location. Prepare to carry out the armed evacuation operation. Boys, get moving!"
His voice carried an electronic distortion when he spoke, which might have been caused by the armor. More importantly, the rise and fall of his voice sounded as if he had been drinking too much.
Sure enough, after hearing his order, one of the corporate employees beside him immediately spoke in astonishment, "A-Armed evacuation? Boss, are you drunk..."
Then the corporate employee who had spoken was immediately scolded by the squad leader.
"What the hell do you know? This is more efficient. Just don't let the director find out! Act first and report later. Understand?"
The employee who had been scolded shrank his neck and didn't dare say anything else.
Another employee beside him quietly muttered, "H-Help... all my year-end bonus was already left on that snowball... I don't want my name appearing on the department's major disciplinary violation notice again! Boss, did you forget how we accidentally offended Boss Nero last time?"
"Boss Nero... Where's Boss Nero here? You lot are so timid. How are you ever going to accomplish anything? Don't you want Director Topaz's favor?"
"I think acting so recklessly is exactly how you fail to get Director Topaz's favor."
"What did you say?"
"I think so too. I still remember how angry Director Topaz was last time."
"Getting instantly killed by Boss Nero's Trotter, then making Director Topaz angry after getting killed, and then getting punished too. Oh God, that's terrifying!"
"That's why Director Topaz specifically had me come along this time to keep an eye on you."
"Martin...? Right, quick, quick, talk him out of it!"
"Talk him out of it? Look at him. He can't even speak clearly. Pin him to the ground first!"
And so the corporate employees sprang into action one after another, beginning to carry out an operation of armed suppression. The ones being suppressed were not the onlookers around them, but their own squad leader.
"Hey? What are you doing? What are you... Hey? Stop... Don't... Martin... Brother Martin... Big Brother Martin... Say something. Come on, say something..."
The expressions of the people watching this scene gradually became subtle. Even the Hounds who had hurried over after hearing about it showed complicated expressions.
Sometimes, they really felt that these corporate people were inexplicable, almost like a bunch of lunatics.
And these phenomena clearly proved the rumors that employees of the Interastral Peace Corporation had huge workloads.
After seeing this scene, March also said to her companions in surprise, "Hey, look. These corporate people... I thought they were going to bully someone again. How come they're suddenly fighting among themselves?"