Looking at the fountain shimmering with water, Misha suddenly murmured,
"The pool is like a gemstone, set into the dreams of everyone who sets sail.
"Every day I spend wandering, when I gaze at the glimmers beneath the waves, it feels as though I've returned here again, returned to your side..."
"Misha, did you remember something again?" Himeko asked.
"These are words Mikhail wrote in his logbook," Misha said. "Grandpa said that although there were many dangers to face when going out to sea, whenever he stood on the deck in the afternoon and looked at the sparkling light on the surface of the sea, he would always think of this fountain outside our home."
"He often said that at that moment, it felt as though he had returned to his family's side. No matter how hard life at sea was, it didn't feel so difficult to endure anymore."
Listening to Misha, the sentimental March suddenly sighed and said rather gloomily, "Sigh, I can't say I don't understand that kind of feeling..."
"Don't act like some old veteran, March 7th," Stelle said, narrowing her eyes at March.
"And don't sigh all the time either. It's easy to grow gray hairs," Nero added.
March's expression changed immediately upon hearing that, and she promptly complained to Himeko, "Himeko, there are two people here who think they can say whatever nonsense they want just because they're good-looking. You've got to do something about them!"
Himeko raised an eyebrow, a gentle smile on her face.
To be fair, for the elders on the train, the children bickering with each other was a little stage show they would feel itchy all over if they went a day without watching.
"Perhaps every adventurer who has left their homeland has a fountain like this in their heart," Himeko said with a smile.
"The other side of the sea is always filled with the unknown, while the fountain outside his home is his grandfather's compass, always guiding him back to the family he misses."
The faint sound of water from the fountain lingered in their ears, and Misha nodded.
"That's right. When Mikhail was home, we would stand beside the fountain and put Compass Number One into the pool, the toy ship I made myself!"
"Back then, I would ask him when I could set out on an adventure like he did. Mikhail would always smile and say that children were still too young."
"Looking at it this way, this Mikhail really was a sailor. He doesn't have much to do with the Clockmaker we know," March said.
Himeko nodded. "From Misha's description, the scenes in the Dream Bubble are also memories from his childhood."
"But that only creates even more mysteries," March said. "According to little Misha, he was obviously a child born on an ocean planet, living an ordinary life, with absolutely nothing to do with Penacony... Could this be some kind of metaphor? Does the sea mean the Memory Zone?"
As March voiced her guess, even Stelle showed a thoughtful expression.
Nero, on the other hand, was enthusiastically observing the buildings and furnishings around them, showing no sign of thinking about any of this at all...
Clearly, compared to the other members of the Astral Express, Nero had little interest in solving the riddles left behind by the Clockmaker. Even if this matter was romantic, that was simply how the kid was. He was more practical.
The main reason was that, in his view, whether they could resolve the predicament Penacony was currently facing would not hinge on whether the gift left behind by the Clockmaker could be of any key importance.
Rather, if Sunday had not been Robin's older brother, he would have already opened with a zero-frame jumping slash. He would not even have given the other side a chance to arrange a duel.
If it had been the Dreammaster who negotiated with the Astral Express after Welt and Robin were captured, he definitely would have gone straight up and knocked the guy unconscious with a jumping slash and called it a day.
Then, one by one, everyone would have to take a jumping slash. Not a single one of them would get away.
"I'm sorry, I don't know either," Misha said to everyone on the Astral Express. He seemed somewhat dejected that he had not been able to help much.
"But memories are like the water in the fountain. They keep surging up without any control...
"Maybe... maybe if we keep going forward, I'll be able to remember more..."
After that, Misha once again led everyone forward. They went down the platform, rounded a corner, and found a hidden door. Behind the door was a corridor...
Misha said that this path would lead to Mikhail's study. The last time he saw his grandfather had been in that room.
The atmosphere in the study was very quiet, with a hint of peace within that silence.
It was like every quiet summer night, the cool breeze that gently blew through the window while you quietly read at the desk beside it, or the warm-colored light quietly shining down from above.
It was a silent friend, keeping you company through every second of your reading.
The study gave off a faint sense of comfort, along with a little loneliness and elegance.
The change in atmosphere made March sigh with emotion. Just then, they heard the voice of Clockie, "Misha, you're finally here!"
This hugely popular animated character seemed to have been waiting in the study for quite some time.
Clockie drew everyone's attention. Seeing this good friend again, Misha was also delighted.
"Clockie, so you were here!"
Only then did he belatedly realize, "That's right. The first time we met seems to have been in this room too..."
Himeko looked up and glanced around. The bookshelves here were unusually tall and packed completely full, rising around them like city walls.
She asked curiously, "Are all these books lining the walls the logs left behind by that sailor, Mikhail?"
"Every time Mikhail returned from the sea, he would put a logbook on the bookshelf in his room. These are records of every corner of the world he explored."
Misha said, "He said that our world was like that fountain. At some point, without anyone knowing when it began, seawater started flooding the places where people lived little by little."
"To give everyone land where they could live in safety, Mikhail had to keep going out to sea to explore, searching for the source of the seawater."
"That day, he called me into the study and said he was going out to sea as usual. But I could tell that Grandpa's expression was very serious. I had seen the same expression on my father's face before his final voyage."
"I begged him to take me with him, but he said that my adventure was not here. He told me to stay home and patiently wait for the sound outside the door."
"What sound?" March asked curiously.
"Mikhail said that there was an even vaster ocean in the sky, an ocean of stars. There was a train carrying children who wanted to travel to distant places, endlessly crossing the sea of stars."
"He knew the people on that train. He would ask them to take me with them when they left. The journey I had dreamed of... would begin here."
"A train? Could it be...?" March caught the key word.
"The Astral Express." Misha gave the answer directly. "I remember now. Mikhail's friends were a group of Nameless. They came to our world to resolve the disaster caused by a star."
"Then Mikhail gave me his pocket watch. It was his treasure, appearing in every story about setting sail on a distant voyage."
"He said that the days ahead would not be easy, but the hands of the pocket watch would point me in the right direction."
"As long as I kept taking that step forward, I would definitely reach the place I wanted to go. And then, I think I heard... the whistle of the train. It sounded from the other end of the room..."
"That's right, Misha!" Clockie said. "Then we followed the sound, didn't we?"
"Yes. I should still be able to find the path we took back then." Misha nodded.
With that, Misha began to move.
Himeko and Nero's gazes followed him as he moved, eventually settling on a faint glimmer of gold on the white scarf around Misha's chest.
Every Nameless was familiar with that thing. It was a corner of an Astral Express ticket, gradually appearing along with Misha's memories.
Misha found a Dreamweaver puzzle in the room. The fragments had already been prepared... Once Misha completed it, light and darkness shifted, and a door resembling a picture frame appeared before everyone.
The group stepped through the door and arrived in yet another room.
Misha said, "This is it. This... is my clock workshop."
[T/N: Your support keeps the novels and fanfics going. Consider joining P@treon or giving reviews to make me motivated to keep going. Thank you~ Enjoy~
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