As her fair, slender fingers slowly came to a stop, the music lingering in their ears at last faded away.
Yet even though the performance had ended, the entire classroom remained utterly silent, as though swallowed by some kind of stillness.
Only after a short while did the classroom seem to come back to life, the first applause ringing out.
Then the scattered claps quickly swelled into a rolling wave, sweeping over the silence like a tsunami.
"That was incredible. How have I never heard that song before?"
"Right? I've immersed myself in the university's music library for years, and I've never heard a special piece like that."
The students of Penacony Paperfold University College applauded while discussing the piece they had just heard.
There was no helping it. The song Robin had just performed had truly astonished them.
And not only them—even the Astral Express crew were still immersed in the music, unable to pull themselves free.
"As expected of Miss Robin. That song nearly had me in tears."
March 7th wiped the faint sparkle from the corner of her eye and sighed with emotion.
Thank goodness they had come here today. If she had missed a song like this, who knew how long she would have regretted it?
"Miss Robin truly deserves her reputation as a famous cosmic singer. Just now, I actually sensed a touch of age and hardship in her singing."
Himeko couldn't help sighing as well.
She herself had a habit of collecting music records, so she could appreciate some of the things hidden within a piece.
"More than that. This piece doesn't just contain age and hardship. It even carries the weight of long years, yet the overall melody never sinks into stillness. Instead, it carries a flourishing hope."
"This song is a fine piece."
What Himeko hadn't expected was for someone to pick up her words.
The one who spoke was a middle-aged man whose hair was already somewhat graying. When Himeko looked at him, she couldn't help feeling surprised.
"Hubert Reed?!"
Hubert Reed gave Himeko a faint smile.
"Miss Himeko, it's been a long time."
March 7th, however, was curious about his identity. She leaned closer to Himeko and asked, "Who's Hubert Reed? Why does he feel like such a big deal?"
After all, Himeko could be considered a known figure in this universe. Most people would usually be surprised by her identity.
Yet this man hadn't shown any surprise. Instead, he had greeted her quite normally.
So Himeko gave her a brief explanation of the man beside them.
The Family's tuner—Hubert Reed.
Although he bore The Family's name, he did not believe in Xipe, the AEON of HARMONY.
It was merely because Hubert Reed had also graduated from Paperfold University.
To repay the kindness of the school that had taught and guided him, he had taken on The Family's name.
Naturally, The Family did not refuse him. They gladly welcomed this tuner to play music for them.
In terms of fame, perhaps he could not compare to Robin. But when it came to composition and lyrics, he could absolutely be called a master renowned throughout the universe.
Many stars across the cosmos wanted to borrow his name and gild the songs they had written.
Unfortunately, this man would only use words that contained not a single curse to make those people retreat in shame.
"Also, March, don't you think that name sounds familiar?"
Dan Heng's question only earned him a confused look from March 7th.
"Huh? I only like listening to pop songs."
Dan Heng sighed.
"Didn't you notice? Several of the records in Himeko's collection are signed by him."
The moment he said that, March 7th immediately looked at Hubert Reed in shock.
Himeko's standards for music were very high. She only bought records of the songs she loved most.
The fact that this man's records appeared in Himeko's collection was proof enough of his extraordinary skill.
Reed, however, showed no particular reaction to any of this.
He had heard far too much of it already and had long since become immune.
Right now, what drew his attention more was the piece Robin had just played—or rather, her singing.
"If I remember correctly, I listened to a new song she released some time ago..."
And Robin's singing in that new album absolutely could not have reached her current standard.
In that album, her singing could indeed be called that of a top-tier pop singer, but he would never have believed she could sing the piece just now.
Yet within that song, Reed could hear the feeling of someone weathered and honed by thousands of years, yet still believing tomorrow would be better.
Achieving something like that was absolutely not simple.
It was not merely technique. More than that, it required life experience and the tempering of events.
The fact that Robin could do this meant that during this period of time...
"She has gone through quite a lot."
Music reflected a person's state. If Robin could do such a thing, then in some sense, she must have already glimpsed the view from the summit.
Hubert Reed felt it was time to straighten his posture and properly meet Robin, this rising star from his own alma mater.
When Robin saw Hubert, she also couldn't help being surprised.
After all, when she was still on campus, she had heard rumors of this outstanding graduate.
She had never expected him to seek her out on his own.
"Master Hubert, may I ask what brings you here?"
Those who achieved a certain level in music were honored with the title of master.
Robin had once worked hard for that title herself.
But now, she no longer pursued that. She had more important things to do.
"It's nothing troublesome. I only wanted to ask whether you have time after this class ends."
Yet Hubert said something that surprised Robin.
"There are some matters of music theory I'd like to ask your guidance on."
As the saying went, among any three people, one could always find a teacher. The same principle applied to music theory.
He wanted to understand how Robin had managed to reach this point in such a short period of time.
He also wanted to see whether he could draw something he lacked from her experience.
The moment he said that, the previously noisy classroom instantly fell silent.
Everyone stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded. Some even wondered if there was something wrong with their ears.
Otherwise, how could they have heard something so absurd?
Forget them—even Robin pointed at herself in confusion.
"Me?"
"Is there a second person named Robin in this classroom?"
Hubert's gentle laugh made most of the classroom draw in a sharp breath.
"Did I hear wrong just now? Master Hubert is inviting Miss Robin?"
"I think I heard it too..."
"So it wasn't an illusion?"
If it wasn't an illusion, then that was even more terrifying!
The universe-renowned Master Hubert needed Robin's guidance. Wasn't that turning the proper order completely upside down?
"Uh..."
Robin looked at Hubert before her and hesitated for a moment.
"I wouldn't call it guidance, but if you're willing to exchange thoughts, I'd naturally be happy to."
"Then it's settled."
Hubert nodded with a smile. Then, before leaving, he asked another question.
"Would you mind if I asked a little about the source of this piece?"
With Hubert's reminder, everyone finally realized something crucial.
Before today's performance, it seemed not a single person had ever heard this song.
And judging from Hubert's words, even he had never heard it before.
"Could this be a song Miss Robin composed herself?"
"Hiss. If that's true, that's way too terrifying!"
She sang beautifully and was also good at composing. Could such a perfect person truly exist?
"This song..."
When Robin spoke of this matter, a trace of confusion appeared deep in her eyes instead.
Because she did not know where this song had come from. Or rather, the memories she should have had of this song seemed to be gone.
As far as she knew, she had simply found a stack of songs in her most precious storage pouch.
But who had put them there? Robin did not know.
So she truly did not know how to answer this question.
"Daddy wrote it for Mommy, of course!"
But just because she could not answer did not mean no one else here could.
Along with that tender child's voice, everyone's eyes couldn't help focusing on the little girl behind March 7th.
Kohane was waving both hands excitedly at Robin.
"Mommy, I finally found you!"
For a moment, the entire vocal music classroom fell into silence.
No one had processed what had just happened.
Even Robin herself was somewhat dazed by this sudden development.
But when she focused on Kohane, she instantly felt a wave of familiarity.
How could she not?
She looked like her. Far too much like her.
That face was at least seventy percent similar to hers.
Aside from looking a little more heroic, she was practically a replica of Robin as a child.
And it was not only her face. Even her race was almost exactly the same.
The halo above the girl's head showed that the two of them were both Halovians, and that halo was also very similar to Robin's.
One had to know that even her biological brother Sunday's halo was very clearly different from hers.
For Halovians, it was practically an identity card.
Yet the halo above this girl's head was remarkably similar to Robin's.
If not for those wings, whose color was so obviously different from hers, Robin might have thought her younger self had crossed through time and arrived in the present.
Combined with what she had just said, Robin couldn't help falling into a strange state.
"You're my... daughter?!"
"That's right, Mommy. I came to—"
Before Kohane could finish, March 7th quickly covered her mouth.
"My little disaster, please stop talking!"
March 7th swept her gaze around and discovered that almost everyone in the room had focused their eyes on them.
Her heart immediately filled with bitter distress.
Originally, she had only planned to wait until this class was over, after most of the people had left, before finding Robin and explaining the matter.
But no matter what, she had not expected Kohane to secretly follow behind Hubert and say something so explosive under the watchful eyes of everyone.
As for the consequences, they were exactly as she expected.
The entire vocal music classroom instantly exploded.
"D-D-D-Did I hear that wrong just now?"
"Miss Robin has a daughter? That has to be fake, right?!"
"My heart is shattered. My Robin, waaaah—"
"Big news! Big news! The Cosmic Songstress secretly has a daughter! This is definitely huge news that'll shake the entire cosmos!"
All at once, the entire vocal music classroom began surging with motion.
One had to understand that Robin having a child was massive news, enough to shake the whole universe.
How many fans did Robin have?
They spread across the cosmos, across countless planets.
Put it this way.
If you went to an ordinary planet and picked ten people at random, at least seven of them would have heard of her, and three would be her fans.
It sounded exaggerated, but that was simply the truth.
That alone was enough to show just how astonishing Robin's influence was.
And for a celebrity singer with that much attention on her, there was naturally no shortage of news about her.
At the same time, countless companies were willing to buy any kind of scandal or gossip.
Unfortunately, until now, she had never given anyone the slightest opportunity.
Because of that, the price of such gossip had only risen higher and higher.
There were even some companies that had offered millions of credits on the dark web just for a single scandal about her.
One had to understand that this was millions of credits—an enormous sum capable of buying several resource planets, enough for many people to never worry about money for several lifetimes.
Yet that enormous sum was only for the sake of obtaining one scandal involving Robin.
Even so, no one had ever managed it before.
But now, the opportunity had appeared.
In a vocal music classroom, a child claiming to be Robin's daughter had appeared here.
What she represented was not merely shocking news. She was also a gold mine for the rest of many people's lives!
And so, after a brief silence, the crowd here instantly began to stir with frenzy.
One person after another picked up their phone. One person after another wanted to press forward.
"T-T-This..."
Seeing this, March 7th couldn't help taking two frightened steps back.
Had she crossed into some kind of horror movie?
How had the situation suddenly turned into this?
But at that moment, Kohane, protected in her arms, was incomparably calm.
She looked at the people before her, and deep within her eyes, some mysterious power seemed to be surging.
But before she could act, a far stronger power swept across the entire classroom.
Under the influence of that power, the originally restless students slowly calmed down.
"Everyone, class is not over yet."
"Please be quiet for now."
It was Robin. She had used the power of Harmony to bring the entire situation fully back under control.
Seeing that, the power surging deep within Kohane's eyes slowly receded.
As expected of Mommy. She was so reliable in things like this.
After bringing the situation under control, Robin looked again at Kohane in March 7th's arms.
Her expression softened, and she slowly walked up to Kohane.
"Little girl, were you calling me Mommy just now?"
"Of course. Who else would Kohane call that?"
Kohane wriggled free of March 7th and hugged Robin's leg with practiced ease.
And the moment Robin made direct contact with her, some indescribable feeling surged in her heart.
She very naturally reached out and stroked Kohane's fluffy hair.
After stroking it a few times, Robin quickly startled awake from that state.
"But I really don't seem to have any memory of this..."
Forget the little girl before her. She didn't have the slightest memory of where those songs had come from either.
"Mm? That shouldn't be right..."
Kohane pouted and looked up at Robin. Then, suddenly, she seemed to discover something abnormal.
"So that's why this power doesn't want to be close to you, Mommy..."
Seven-colored radiance spread from the little hands she had wrapped around Robin.
The next instant, when that power flowed into Robin's body, something hidden within her was instantly shaken out.
"Eek?!"
March 7th cried out.
She was the closest, so she could clearly see a mass of black smoke bursting out from Robin's body.
Just one glance at it made a person want to sink into it, to obtain the eternal stillness from the very beginning of life.
And after that power was forced out of Robin's body, the chains of the Order long hidden in the wings behind her ears also shattered at that moment.
Immediately afterward, her originally pure white wings were slowly dyed by the seven-colored radiance released from Kohane's hands.
Wings shimmering with seven-colored light appeared in the classroom once more.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire classroom became rather strange.
After all, with that constantly shifting glow, it was very difficult for anyone to remain serious.
As for Robin herself, who was radiating that light, she froze in place. At that moment, countless memories were surging through her mind.
The films she had made, the manuscripts she had chased down, the things she had experienced, the trips home... all of them came back to her now.
And after these sudden memories fused with her current memories, there was no sense of awkwardness at all. It was as though they had been her memories from the very beginning.
"This..."
Robin looked at Kohane again and instantly saw through to her essence.
That power, exactly like her own, and that familiar sensation were both proving one thing to her...
A gentle smile appeared on Robin's face.
"You really are my daughter."
Her fingers brushed over Kohane's cheek with a tenderness no one had ever seen before.
And that sentence made the already quiet classroom even quieter.
Everyone in the room looked at Robin and Kohane, their mouths unconsciously falling open.
"Miss Robin just... admitted it?!"
"I didn't hear wrong, did I? This absurd thing is actually true?!"
"Waaah, my Robin! It's okay! Even if you have a daughter, I'll still support you!"
At this point, the shock reflected in the hearts of everyone in the classroom was no longer something Robin's Harmony power could suppress.
When Kohane first spoke, everyone had only wanted to watch the excitement. Robin's admission had undoubtedly confirmed what had just been said.
This little girl truly was Robin's daughter.
And she had been acknowledged by Robin herself!
One had to understand that everyone who came here to listen to Robin's class had come precisely because of her.
Now that such explosive news had appeared, how could the students in the classroom possibly suppress their thirst for gossip?
They really wanted to know when Robin had had a child.
They wanted to know even more who this child's father was.
They also wanted to know why not a single whisper about this child had ever leaked before.
Miss Robin, answer us!!
Unfortunately, under the suppression of Robin's Harmony, those questions could only be temporarily held back in their mouths.
But seeing their wide eyes, trembling bodies, and words almost bursting out from their lips, it was likely they were not far from breaking free.
"Miss Robin... I feel like the situation right now is kind of bad, isn't it?"
March 7th also keenly sensed that something was wrong.
Why did she feel like these people were about to pounce on her and eat her alive?
Of course, it was because everyone had seen that March 7th had brought Kohane here, and they wanted to get information from her!
So March 7th had already been labeled as someone in the know by everyone here.
Naturally, they had their eyes on her too.
Robin understood everything with one glance. After all, she was very practiced at handling public opinion like this.
So she gently said to March 7th, "Don't worry, miss. It'll be fine."
"It really will be fine?!"
"Relax. I only need to use a tiny magic trick, and we'll be safe."
Hearing this, March 7th couldn't help looking forward to it. What kind of magic trick could be that amazing?
After hearing Robin's words, Kohane seemed to remember something and tugged at her clothes in surprise.
"Mommy, Mommy, is it that one?"
Robin gently stroked her little head.
"That's right."
Seeing the mother and daughter acting so cryptic, March 7th couldn't help feeling expectant.
Could it be a magic trick that erased a whole group's memories?
She did not want to lose this part of her memory!
"Do I need to close my eyes?"
"No. You only need to stand up."
March 7th immediately stood up, full of anticipation as she waited for the show to begin.
Miss Robin's hidden secret technique—let me witness it properly!
"Then listen as I slowly count down from three..."
"Three!"
Robin adjusted the state of her body.
"Two!"
She tightened her hold on Kohane's little hand.
"One!"
The instant the word fell, the Harmony power she had used to maintain order in the room broke apart at once.
Unfortunately, before the excited crowd could even open their mouths, they suddenly felt a burst of intense light bloom before their eyes.
"[SAIKOU HAKKOU]!"
March 7th had been staring wide-eyed, waiting for the magic to happen.
The sudden strong light instantly made it impossible for her to keep her eyes open.
"Aaah! My eyes! My eyes!"
She closed her eyes and was about to rub them to ease the soreness from the light when someone grabbed her hand and dragged her swiftly away in a certain direction.
By the time the light faded, Robin had already run quite a distance, one hand holding Kohane and the other pulling March 7th along.
"This is the special magic trick—making me disappear!"
"How is that a magic trick?!"
Along with March 7th's retort, their figures ran farther and farther away.
After the people in the classroom reacted, they hurriedly set off in pursuit.
In the end, only four people were left in the entire classroom.
Miss Robin should still come to the appointment, right?
Hubert turned and left, returning to his office.
...
In the end, only the three members of the Astral Express crew remained, looking at one another.
"Where's March?"
"It seems Miss Robin grabbed her and took her away..."
Dan Heng took a step, ready to give chase, but Welt stopped him.
"Wait. The current situation isn't simple."
They thought of the entire classroom that had just rushed out, and then of the winding, complex layout of Paperfold University.
If they chased them...
It would be very tiring!
"Let's head back first. Once March gets out of trouble, she'll come back on her own."
Dan Heng said this seriously.
"I think that's fine. March isn't a child anymore, after all."
Welt pushed up his glasses.
"If the two of you act like this, be careful that March comes back and picks a fight with you."
Himeko sounded helpless.
"It's fine. I only need to give her the pudding I left in the fridge."
Dan Heng had already grasped the secret weapon for dealing with March 7th.
"Perfect. I need to lose some weight anyway, so I'll give her mine too."
Welt followed Dan Heng's lead.
Seeing the two of them like this, Himeko couldn't help shaking her head helplessly.
But her gaze quickly became thoughtful.
Because she remembered what had just happened to Robin.
Yet now, Himeko could not see any trace of that black smoke at all.
Something like that should have left traces no matter what.
Why couldn't she find any?
"That black smoke... what exactly was it?"
And what effect would it cause?
Listening to the commotion within the university, Himeko followed Welt and Dan Heng out.
...
After experiencing a tragically inhumane "special" interrogation, Mikhail finally realized that these guys were definitely not sent by the IPC.
People sent by the IPC could not possibly be this kind.
One had to know that the IPC had invested enormous attention into the Frontier Prison. No matter the severity of the crimes committed by the prisoners here, the IPC's stance toward them was total eradication.
They very much wanted to reclaim Penacony, after all. The amount of money involved in the Light Cone business built around memoria was no small figure.
That much could be seen from the way they had sealed off every nearby star sector on such a grand scale, preventing supplies from flowing inside.
The fact that they had mobilized such vast resources and such great influence was enough to prove how precious the business behind it was.
So at this time, anyone sent by the IPC absolutely could not have used such a ridiculous interrogation method.
"Then where exactly did you all come from?"
"I'm Momotaros!"
"Sorry, I'm not in the habit of answering men's questions."
"I'm really hungry. Is there anything to eat?"
"Hello, I'm Ryutaros."
"Remember my name, retainer!"
"My name is Sora. I'm a castaway."
After that round of self-introductions, Mikhail ultimately fixed his gaze on Sora.
It wasn't for any other reason. Among these people, only Sora looked the most like a normal person.
So he went directly to Sora and asked exactly why they had ended up stranded here.
Sora only said what could be said. As for time travel, he certainly wasn't going to casually reveal that.
"You're saying that after your spacecraft wiped out most of the IPC fleet outside, you were ambushed by a bomb?!"
Mikhail ignored Ryutaros and Momotaros arguing over who was to blame and confirmed the situation with Sora, the only one he could communicate with normally.
"We did give the other side a chance at first."
Sora was not some battle maniac. Although those people had ambushed him, he had still wanted to give them an opportunity.
After all, finding the enemy's base and wiping it out in one fell swoop was more his style.
Unfortunately, not only did the other side fail to accept his goodwill, they even dared attack him again.
"So we could only wipe them all out."
After that, some mysterious bomb had been hidden among the fleet wreckage.
And after that... Sora spread his hands helplessly.
They ended up like this.
After listening, Mikhail looked at Sora in surprise.
"What kind of firepower does your spacecraft have?"
He knew how strong the IPC fleet outside was. That was combat power capable of easily flattening a small stretch of interstellar space.
Yet now Sora was telling him that fleet had been completely wiped out by them.
And by a spacecraft with only six people aboard, no less.
That sounded astonishing no matter how he heard it.
"Uh... that's a little hard to explain. You'll understand if you come see it yourself."
He couldn't exactly say he was driving a train capable of traveling through time. It was better to let this guy take a look, then fill in the blanks himself.
Mikhail nodded and followed Sora.
And when he saw the thing before him, his body slowly stopped in place.
"This train... is your... spacecraft?"
"Uh, more or less. Actually, I wanted to ask—do you have anyone here who can repair clocks?"
Sora followed along with the man's wording.
As for why he needed someone who repaired clocks, that was naturally because the DenLiner had once broken down in Kamen Rider Zi-O.
Back then, Momo and the others had found someone who specialized in repairing clocks—yes, really—Junichiro Tokiwa.
So the structures of the two should be similar to some degree.
Mikhail walked forward step by step, touching the carriage that was similar yet completely different.
"Why not let me try? After all..."
He turned around and looked at Sora with a complicated expression.
"I was once a mechanic."
---
T/N: im a little bit of a scientist myself
bonus chaps
200 stones -> 1 chapter
400 stones -> 2 chapters
600 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
discord.gg/wisetl
patreon.com/wisetl