81. Bird Lovers / 82. Another Bad Woman

"Do you think the Family knows this place exists?"

After understanding the situation here, Caelus asked in confusion. According to the Family, everyone here should have been illegal stowaways. After all, dreams were under the Family's management, and though this place was crude, it was still a dream.

"I can't be sure about that. But this place is different from all other dreams. It's very special. I only arrived recently myself, so I don't know much yet."

Robin shook her head.

"Then I need to let my girlfriends know I'm safe. What about you?"

Caelus still remembered that Firefly had seen him die. He had no idea what that girl would become after seeing it, so he wanted to go back before he was really dead.

"I can't leave yet. There are still many things I don't understand, so I need to stay a while longer."

"I see. But if you disappear inside the dream, won't that be serious? The Grand Gala is about to begin."

"Yes. That's why I want to ask you, Caelus, to continue investigating Penacony for me outside."

Robin looked at Caelus seriously. She had her reasons for being unable to return, but she was also deeply concerned about what was happening in the sweet dream. At this point, Caelus was the only one who could help her. If he had not come here, Robin could only have watched and waited.

"So I'm the only one you can rely on now?"

Caelus raised a hand to stroke his chin. The look in his eyes as he watched Robin gradually became bolder, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

"Y-Yes, that's right."

Robin suddenly sensed danger. The two wings behind her ears folded inward from nervousness. She knew Caelus would not hurt her, but he would take advantage of her in other ways. He had always been like that.

"Little bird, you know what a monopoly is, right? This is exactly that kind of situation. So how should you ask me for help?"

Caelus's grin nearly reached his ears. He truly had to thank that Memory Zone Meme for sending him here. The next time he saw it, he definitely would not settle the score with it.

"C-Couldn't you have a little gentlemanly grace? Finish the job before making demands."

Robin could tell from Caelus's expression that he was about to extort her. She did not know whether to laugh or cry. Ever since she was young, she had been the Family's precious darling. What man would dare make demands of her? Yet that tactic was completely useless against Caelus.

"Don't be silly. Being a gentleman is just lying to yourself. Getting what you want is what makes someone a gentleman. If you can't get it, all you can do is rage helplessly."

Caelus spread his hands. He admitted that he would use every possible method to grow closer to Robin. Otherwise, at most, they would only become friends. How was he supposed to find a wife that way?

"What kind of twisted logic is that? Then what do you want?"

"Of course, I want to hold little bird's hand."

"But we already held hands before. Doesn't that count as payment?"

Robin's eyebrows shot up as she spoke. She looked fierce, but Caelus found her adorable. He clutched his chest, feeling as though that fierce little bird was about to kill him with cuteness.

"That doesn't count. You were wearing gloves. That was obviously counterfeit payment. Be good and take off your glove so we can hold hands."

"How did I end up knowing someone like you..."

Robin sighed and resigned herself to it. Although Caelus had used threatening methods, Robin was strangely not angry. When he had asked her out before, he had used similar threats, so she was already used to it.

After thinking for a moment, Robin took off the glove on her right hand. She also removed the pearl bracelet around her wrist and handed it to Caelus.

"This is one of my accessories. If you run into trouble, show it to my brother. And I also want to ask you to protect my brother in this turmoil."

Robin voiced her second request. She knew something major was about to happen in Penacony, and naturally, she worried about her brother. She had no way to protect Sunday herself, so she could only place her hopes on Caelus.

"Don't worry. That's our Uncle. Even if I get hurt, I couldn't bear to see him get hurt."

After accepting the accessory and storing it in the Dream Manual, Caelus took Robin's right hand with a delighted expression. The corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than the recoil of a Star Destroyer's cannons.

"You really are a bad one."

Hearing Caelus use such an unabashed term, Robin's pretty face flushed slightly. As she held hands with Caelus, they truly looked like lovers. After reaching adulthood, she did not even hold hands with her brother much anymore. And Caelus kept calling Sunday Uncle, making Robin so embarrassed that she hid her wings away.

"Little bird, you're so beautiful. You're the prettiest girl in the entire galaxy."

Holding Robin's little hand, Caelus felt as if he had grasped a wonderful future. Her palm was smooth and soft, almost boneless in his grip. It carried Robin's unique warmth, a temperature unlike that of any other girl, and Caelus could not bear to let go.

"I don't believe you. You probably say that to every girl."

Robin spoke unhappily. Even if she somehow fell for Caelus, he already had so many girlfriends. Of course she felt a little sour about it.

"You should have more confidence in yourself. What if you really are the prettiest one in my heart?"

Caelus coaxed Robin, gently swinging her hand up and down.

"What do you mean, 'what if'? You bad man, I-I'm going to slap you."

Robin was so angered by those words that her wings stiffened. She raised one, ready to slap Caelus, but he naturally pulled away to a safe distance. At the same time, he dragged Robin along as they ran laughing down the street. Though little bird complained, she felt helpless against him and could only let him have his way.

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Bird Lover

After Caelus pulled Robin along for some distance, the scene before them changed. In the open sky, unobstructed by buildings, a gigantic black hole appeared.

"What is that?" Caelus asked curiously.

"I heard from the locals that it appeared long ago. At first, it was only a crack, but now it has grown so enormous. It seems to be sucking in this dream."

Robin did not know much either. Many secrets of this dream were beyond the reach of an outsider like her. She would need to investigate more deeply to learn the truth.

"Looks like this place isn't peaceful either."

Caelus felt that it was not a good sign, but there was only so much he could handle. He could only let things take their course.

"I think this is a dream worth protecting. Those who cannot enter the sweet dream can experience the lives of ordinary people here."

Robin spoke softly. Since childhood, she had gone in and out of the sweet dream, where she saw honored guests entering dreams for pleasure. They lived prosperous lives, indulging in the Moment of Gold, gradually taking away ordinary people's chances to enter dreams.

"I've seen many people here. In reality, they might be blind, or their limbs might be disabled, but inside this dream, they can move like normal people. Perhaps this was the Clock Keeper's original intention in creating dreams."

"The reason dreams exist... might be exactly this."

Caelus had not expected the dream world to possess such miraculous functions. Only then did he remember Firefly seeming to have said something similar. Imagine it: a blind person entering a dream, seeing brilliant colors, seeing their own appearance. What an invaluable experience that would be.

Especially for Xianzhou people born with disabilities that could never be repaired, they probably would not want to leave after entering this dream. But that would not do either. A dream was still a dream. Eventually, one had to wake and face reality.

"The Clock Keeper created dreams not so people could remain immersed in them forever. I've seen many who refuse to wake up, but wouldn't Penacony become a prison if that happened?"

Caelus sighed. Firefly had already proven through her actions that she was one of those unwilling to wake. But since Caelus had already boarded the Trailblaze's pirate ship, how could he stop in one place instead of moving forward? He could not control what others did. At the very least, he needed to take responsibility for Firefly.

"Y-You, someone so improper, actually have such awareness? Incredible."

Robin looked at Caelus in surprise. Their thoughts coincided perfectly. Robin had always firmly believed that dreams should not be a place to escape reality. Living beings had to wake eventually.

"Hey, why do you see me that way? Is there some misunderstanding between us?"

Caelus scratched his head in confusion. He was such a righteous and intelligent man, so Robin's words were truly hurtful.

"I don't think there is."

Robin glanced at the hands she and Caelus were holding. She wanted to pull away, but Caelus made it clear there was no chance of that, gripping her hand even more tightly.

"After you leave here, if you have no leads, you can look for people from the Company."

Robin gave up resisting and let Caelus hold her hand as she spoke.

"People from the Company?"

"Yes. I noticed Penacony's abnormal changes because I received a secret letter from the Company."

Robin explained. Seeing the confusion on Caelus's face, she also explained the hostile relationship between the Company and the Family.

"As for why they came, that is related to Penacony's history. The frontier prison was originally where the Company held prisoners. Later, the people here won their war of liberation, but the Company never gave up its jurisdiction. Over the following Amber Eras, Penacony changed hands several times before eventually falling into the Family's control. So this time, the Company came because it wants to reclaim Penacony."

"Good grief, they saw this place making too much money and couldn't sit still, huh? Back when it was poor, they did not care if they lost it. That fits my stereotype of the Company perfectly."

Caelus laughed cheerfully. This was much like Topaz collecting debts—both were about recovering assets. But judging from the Family's attitude, it seemed they did not take the Company seriously.

"Still, I'm also a dog of Preservation. You should be careful in case I join forces with the Company. You'd better work hard to keep an eye on me."

As he spoke, Caelus pressed the back of Robin's hand against his face. He looked at her with a smile, feeling the warmth in her hand.

"You... aren't you a Trailblazer? Why do you believe in Preservation too?"

Robin had originally wanted to complain that Caelus was taking advantage of her again, but his words piqued her curiosity. She truly could not tell what part of Caelus resembled Preservation.

"Think of it as a direct hire."

Caelus took out his lance and stood it before Robin. Robin curiously touched it and could indeed feel the power of Preservation within it. Caelus then proudly told her all about how Qlipoth had taken a liking to him.

Robin looked at Caelus with incomprehensible eyes. Someone like him had actually received a glance from an Aeon. That was something countless living beings in the universe envied. An Aeon would not act without purpose. Since Qlipoth had noticed Caelus, there had to be a deeper meaning.

"Little bird, I'm leaving now. I hope we can hold hands again in the world outside the dream."

Caelus held both of Robin's hands, wrapping them in his palms as he spoke. Robin nodded instinctively, but quickly shook her head again. Everything in dreams felt real, and she had already held hands with Caelus here. But whether they could hold hands in reality still needed more thought.

The next moment, Caelus woke in the dream pool of his hotel room. After staring blankly for a moment, he looked beside him. Acheron was still asleep against him. He did not know what had become of the dream, so Caelus immediately chose to enter it again.

At the same time, in a guest room within the Dream Hotel, Aventurine sat silently on a sofa, the backs of his hands crossed beneath his chin in a thoughtful pose.

"You said he died?"

Aventurine raised his head to look at Black Swan before him. He felt that his luck had suddenly worsened to an extreme. Not one thing he wanted to do had succeeded. He had not even met Caelus.

"The entire dream world can't find his whereabouts. Whether he's dead or not, you can't achieve your goal."

Black Swan spread her hands. She was Aventurine's collaborator. They had agreed that she would bring Caelus before him, but such an accident had happened. Black Swan was helpless as well.

"That's truly impressive. He keeps breaking my setups. Is he lucky, or did he see through them?"

Aventurine took out a round gold coin chip and played with it. He had wanted to use Caelus to do certain things, yet Caelus had ignored him entirely—or rather, avoided him.

Another Bad Woman

Earlier, Aventurine had lain in wait in Caelus's room, only for him to go to Acheron's room. Aventurine had then paid a price at the Dream Hotel for Black Swan to bring Caelus over for a private talk, but Caelus had directly died in front of her. Aventurine felt that this Stellaron was somehow his natural counter. It had dealt a serious blow to his confidence.

"Wait, Caelus is back. I sensed him entering this dream."

Black Swan suddenly clapped her hands, then immediately vanished from before Aventurine. Aventurine's face revealed an expectant expression. He wondered what Caelus had experienced during that death. It must have been something interesting.

Caelus was currently in the Dream Hotel lobby. The moment he arrived, he saw a vast area scorched by flames. Looking ahead, he discovered two figures fighting, while powerful music rang out.

↓↓↓→↓↑→↓ ↓↓

Acheron stood atop a statue in the hotel lobby, holding her unsheathed katana toward the silver mech below. Their sizes were clearly unequal, yet Acheron gave off the sense that she had completely suppressed him.

"Hunter, do you still dream? Do you dream of those who died because of you?"

Acheron was not looking at the silver mech, but elsewhere, as if something were there. Yet Sam had no intention of communicating with her now.

"I will set the seas ablaze!"

The reactor on Sam's back surged to its limit. After shooting into the sky, he brought down a rain of fire toward Acheron. Acheron drew her katana and slashed several times in succession, sending blade lights flying. One struck Sam, instantly erupting into a massive shockwave and black smoke.

"Stop! Stop fighting!"

Caelus entered the center of the battlefield and shouted. Hearing his voice, both Acheron and Sam stopped what they were doing.

"Caelus, you're back."

Acheron took a single step and arrived before Caelus. She reached out and embraced him. This was one of her rare moments of initiative. Earlier, she had believed Caelus would not abandon her and die. Now that it had proven true, her heart brimmed with emotion.

Held in Acheron's embrace, Caelus smiled happily. He wrapped his arms around her warm body as well. At that moment, they could see no one but each other.

Only then did Firefly inside the Sam mech react. She wanted to go up and embrace Caelus, to tell him how worried she had been. But when she thought of how she looked now, Firefly fell silent again. She did not know how to explain her identity to Caelus.

"Is he Sam? Why are you fighting him? Where's Firefly?"

Caelus recognized the silver mech immediately. Sam had sent him a challenge letter before. Not seeing Firefly or Black Swan here made him worried.

"Firefly, she..."

Acheron glanced at Sam and did not know how to answer for a moment. Acheron was actually a kind woman. She would not casually expose secrets others wanted to protect, and judging by Firefly's behavior, she did not seem like a bad person.

"Did Sam hurt Firefly? That can't be. My mom and aunt are both Stellaron Hunters. There's no reason Sam would slaughter innocents."

Caelus looked at Sam in confusion. If Sam were truly a terrorist, Kafka and Silver Wolf would never have allowed him to come meet him. It made no sense.

Seeing the concern in Caelus's eyes, Firefly was ready to throw everything aside. She wanted to tell Caelus her true identity immediately. However, just as she prepared to remove her armor, Black Swan suddenly appeared beside Caelus.

"Dear, come with me."

Black Swan drew a tarot card. Before Caelus could react, the card pressed itself against him. Space twisted, and when he came to his senses, he had arrived in a hotel guest room.

"What are you trying to do?"

Caelus asked Black Swan in confusion. He knew Black Swan's abilities in the dream world were extraordinary. This was a Memokeeper's home ground, so nothing she did would be surprising. He had never thought Black Swan would harm him.

"You've worked hard, Memokeeper."

Aventurine's voice came from behind Caelus. Turning around, he looked at the well-dressed man in surprise. Caelus had just planned to seek Aventurine after hearing Robin's words, yet this man had delivered himself right to his door.

"As agreed, I brought this child before you. The deal is complete."