At that, Himeko furrowed her brow. "But that makes no sense. There's no logic to it. The people of Penacony have no reason to do something so thankless, pointlessly making an enemy of an influential Emanator. No sensible person would pull off such a bizarre stunt."
"Exactly. Unless the person who sent this invitation isn't Penacony's current leader, but has enough power to force them to accept it... Anyway, let's see what the invitation actually says." Xiao Xi lowered her eyes and promptly opened it, her hands never stopping.
"To whoever reads this:
Hello, stranger I've never met. Although this is an invitation for you to attend the Charmony Festival, I'm sure you noticed something was off the moment you first saw it.
First, I should make it clear that I do have a goal I want to achieve. But I mean no provocation. To further my aims, I traded with a Memokeeper for a memory. It cost me dearly, but fortunately, I received a fair price for what I paid.
It is the memory of a high-ranking member of the Moon Sky Planet resistance. On the verge of death, he sought out a Memokeeper and asked her to preserve his memories. All he wanted was to keep everything that happened on Moon Sky Planet from being forgotten, and a Memokeeper was clearly the best person to entrust with them.
By now, I imagine you've figured out what leverage I'm offering. I don't ask anything more of you. Just agree to attend this Charmony Festival, and I will place this memory in your hands.
I have no grand ambitions. The ones who truly harbor ambitions are the Family, who now manage Penacony. My only goal is to fulfill the final wish of someone who has passed away.
Please also allow me to offer my most sincere apologies once again for offending you. I eagerly await the chance to meet you, Miss Xiao Xi."
After reading the letter, Xiao Xi and Himeko exchanged glances. "This... There's a lot to unpack. Penacony's administrators, the Family, are clearly on a different side from whoever wrote this invitation."
"So the reason the so-called grandest Charmony Festival in the entire galaxy is inviting so many influential figures from different, tangled factions is that it wasn't the Family who invited them at all. It was this mysterious person who wrote the letter?"
Himeko's expression was grave, too. "Worse, the other party has gone this far, yet the Family has actually swallowed their pride and accepted it. That means what the letter says probably isn't entirely fabricated. The Family really must be hiding something. We just don't know if, as the writer claims, they have untimely ambitions for Penacony."
"And if the person who sent the invitation isn't part of the Family, then there are even more questions surrounding the invitation the Astral Express received earlier."
"The Astral Express's invitation had a problem, too?" Himeko's words took Xiao Xi by surprise. She hurriedly pressed for an explanation.
"Yes." Himeko nodded and, from somewhere, produced a music box and played it. "We deciphered a secret message from it. It was a code that only circulated among the Nameless. Once decoded, it turned out to be a distress signal."
"...Worse still, after everything that's happened, we can't even tell whether that message is genuine."