『 "If you want to question the Family based on just this, you're being far too naive. Accidental deaths happen even in sweet dreams, so what? Such an extremely low-probability event… only affects a tiny minority of people." 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: That's a bit dark…
〘Hanabi〙: Boring office politics, utterly boring~
〘Hanabi〙: So, join Elation! Come with me and turn Penacony completely upside down~
〘Sunday〙: Enough, Fool.
〘Hanabi〙: Oh my~ can't hold it in already? You still need more training~
....
『 "If you really want to delve deeper into this case, you need to understand the true 'problem' with The Family."
"I guess it's time to talk about the story of that 'Mikhail', right?" Himeko took over Gallagher's words.
Gallagher nodded, "You're very sharp. The Astral Express received that music box, too, right? Do you know what secret is hidden inside?"
"A message: 'To gaze upon the impossible in dreams, to find the legacy of the Father of Penacony, the Watchmaker, and then answer: Why does life slumber?'"
"Not a single word off." Gallagher showed a gratified smile.
"Hey, what are you smiling at… Could it be that you wrote it? Your writing style is quite good," March 7th asked, looking at the smiling Gallagher. 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: I was a bit unsure before, but now it's basically set in stone.
〘Dan Heng〙: It's clearly a very unstable character setting, but little March manages to nail it every time.
〘Stelle〙: Quick, quick, quick, give me a prediction. When will I get rich, and when will there be countless trash cans waiting for me to rummage through?
〘March 7th〙: No way, I don't want the Express to be invaded by trash cans.
....
『 "I'm the security officer in charge of investigating the case. How could I not know?" Gallagher replied with a smile, looking at March 7th, who was teasing him.
"And I guess you must have also realized that this message didn't come from the Family's hands—or even that the relationship between the two isn't all that great?"
Himeko nodded and said, "Currently, it's just a speculation. It's hard for us to believe that the Father of Penacony and its actual managers get along so poorly."
"Now I can tell you that is absolutely correct."
"The Family deemed the 'Watchmaker' an enemy a long time ago. But because the latter is elusive, living only in the commercial myth he created with his own hands, the Bloodhounds have consistently failed to catch him."
"So, I have a further question for you all. Have you ever wondered why the Family tolerates the 'Watchmaker' sending out this joke of a message to the outside world, letting you come here upon invitation, and making a total mess of the place?" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: To kill with a borrowed knife, or to lure the snake out of its hole. I'm very familiar with this.
〘Fu Xuan〙: Your use of Xianzhou idioms is quite good.
〘Boothill〙: Son of a nice lady, the Family actually gets along so poorly with the Watchmaker? And they call it Harmony? Don't make me laugh.
〘Hanabi〙: To be in Harmony, first you have to be a member of the Family~
....
『 "You want to use this opportunity to make the 'Watchmaker' show his tracks?"
"Now you can understand why the Oak Family authorized the Nameless to assist in the investigation, yet kept things hidden from you at every turn." Gallagher let out a cold laugh and continued, "Because the 'Watchmaker' is not some legend of the Land of the Dreams at all, but the most unspeakable stain from the time Penacony split up. He is the instigator of all the dream abnormalities."
Stelle scratched her head and asked, "What does this have to do with Mikhail?"
"Haven't you realized yet? What I mean is… Mikhail, the traitor of the Family—he is the famous 'Watchmaker'." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Oh ho, now let's combine this with the hypothesis that the Watchmaker is a Nameless.
〘March 7th〙: Oh my god, then how long must he have lived?
〘Dan Heng〙: Perhaps the name is just a codename. Anyone can be the Watchmaker; it's just that the first one was Mikhail.
....
『 After some time, Gallagher led the three to a magnificent theme park—Clock Studios Theme Park.
"There—'Clock Studios Theme Park', Penacony's most popular film and entertainment center," Gallagher said, pointing to the park ahead.
"Aren't we going to talk about the 'Watchmaker'? I thought we'd go to an archives room or somewhere like that. Why here…" March 7th looked at the large signboard of Hanu and Hamster Ball Knight in confusion.
Facing March 7th's question, Gallagher turned around and explained patiently, "A city's culture is the most genuine footnote of its history. In your eyes, this is a place for play, but in my eyes, it is a prison, used to imprison this planet's past."
"You must know that Penacony was once the IPC's frontier prison star, right? All the prisoners were brought here, helping the Garden of Recollection salvage the leaking memoria from the Macro Void..."
"The prison was exposed to high concentrations of Memoria for a long time, which produced a special phenomenon. The dreams of countless individuals overlapped, and people began to meet in dreams, living lives that seemed just like reality."
"But everything comes with a price, and sweet dreams are no exception. In the end, the dreamscape could not dissolve people's suffering in reality. Led by a prisoner, the frontier prison shattered the IPC's shackles and began to fight for freedom…"
"He is Hanu, the great leader of Dreamville, the great peacemaker, and the faithful companion of the underdogs."
"So that Clockie cartoon is actually a documentary..." Stelle clapped her hands. 』
『 ....』
〘Robin〙: If it's really a documentary, then Boss Stone is the IPC, and Clockie's partners are the first-generation heads of the various Families and his Nameless companions.
〘Dan Heng〙: The people of Penacony would forget that history before long, which is why Mikhail created the Clockie cartoon.
....
『 "History is always written by the victors. But putting aside the parts with artistic processing, 'Clockie' is a cartoon created with Penacony's history as its background. This is an indisputable fact."
"These characters not only live in Dreamville, but also lived in the distant past. Understanding this… is understanding why we came here."
As they spoke, everyone walked forward. Passing through the magnificent park gates, they saw many Bloodhounds and tourists standing not far ahead.
Looking at the Bloodhounds nearby, Gallagher lamented, "Whoa… quite a grand lineup. I didn't see them work this hard when chasing suspects."
"Can you get them to let us through?"
"No need, there are too many people inside. We can just stand outside and talk. Let's find a quiet corner to continue."
Gallagher led the three to a set of stairs and stopped. Not far away, they could see the Clockie statue illuminated by lights.
"Let's do it here, the view is good. Just right to look at him… 'Clockie'."
"If these cartoon characters all have traces to follow in reality, then the one corresponding to Clockie is undoubtedly the 'Watchmaker'." Himeko also looked at the Clockie statue nearby.
"In the animation, he's Hanu's partner and one of the founders of Dreamville. Does that mean the Watchmaker was personally involved in that war and sided with Asdana?"
"It was a monumental war for freedom. Hanunue fought alongside a motley crew of Masked Fools, Nameless, History Fictionologists, Mourning Actors, Omen Vanguards... even visitors from beyond the sky. In the end, they emerged victorious." 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: Masked Fools and Mourning Actors in the same frame, that scene must have been very fun.
〘Hanabi〙: There are stories about them in the Tavern. They became very good friends. Unfortunately, the Fool was betrayed; the bomb meant to blow up the IPC blew himself up instead. The Actor also exhausted her power and died to extinguish the rain of fire brought by the bomb. Truly a pair of tragic lovers~
〘Gallagher〙: The Watchmaker gained Joy from the Fool, Sorrow from the Actor, Anger from his friend's betrayal, and finally, after killing the betraying friend, he gained Peace. With that, the prototype of Clockwork was born.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: So that's how it was.
....