"This is simple. I can help you verify it." Hugo said casually.
"Verify? How?"
While Vivian was still looking confused, Hugo had already spread his palm toward her with a mischievous smile. In his hand was a phone making a "beep beep—" sound. The number on the screen… was undoubtedly Phaethon.
"Wait!" Vivian lunged to snatch it, but Hugo deftly dodged.
"Hugo, don't—!!"
...
"Phaethon?"
Wise looked strangely at the vibrating phone on the sofa.
He pressed the answer button, but no one spoke inside. There were only noisy background sounds of clattering, seeming to include words like "multiple boats" and "don't hit," until he cleared his throat and said "hello" a few times. Only then did the noise gradually disappear and quiet down.
Next came the soft rustling of fabric, as if someone had covered the phone against their chest. Amid the static, the girl's breathing reached his ear before her words—that deliberately lightened breath, yet trembling slightly due to nervousness.
"Um… Lord Phaethon…"
Vivian's voice was very soft yet very solemn. Each word felt like it had been rewritten after multiple revisions.
"Tomorrow morning… can I watch a movie with Lord Phaethon?"
The final question was almost as faint as a mosquito. Wise could almost hear the girl's heartbeat through the phone. He could even imagine her other hand twisting the lace edge of her skirt. Last time at the cinema, that edge had lightly brushed his forearm, making it slightly itchy.
The silence lasted about two seconds.
"Sure." Wise answered decisively. "Then let's meet at the cinema entrance tomorrow morning."
It was happily decided just like that. Perhaps due to excessive excitement, the girl on the other end let out a sharp scream like a boiling kettle before quickly hanging up.
Wise silently put the phone back in his pocket and looked up at his sister, who was holding the remote on the sofa: "Belle, tomorrow you go watch the movie with Section Chief Miyabi, Asha, Coco, Caesar, and the Venus, okay?"
"By myself? So many?! Bro, exactly how many people did you ask out to the movies in Phaethon's name?"
"I don't remember clearly… Probably around a dozen or so?" Wise scratched his head embarrassedly.
"Then what are you doing tomorrow, bro?"
"I have a movie date with Vivian tomorrow morning."
"Tch…" Belle gave a look of disgust. "…Bro, you're really terrible."
——
[March 7th held her forehead: "I understand all the reasoning, but there are too many bad women and bad men here. I'm really worried about being stabbed in the back. Stelle has already been bullied several times. I really can't stand it anymore…"]
[Stelle proudly puffed out her chest: "It's fine. Go ahead and bully me!"]
["You…" March 7th was instantly speechless. "…No way! This lady cannot accept this kind of reason! …Forget it. This lady will just keep a close eye on him! If it really doesn't work, we can just use him in return?"]
[Once they reached an agreement, Stelle sent the Express crew's willingness to cooperate to Aventurine.]
[The other party was very pleased and immediately transferred another 200,000 credits to Stelle as a small bonus.]
[Stelle told Welt about Aventurine's attitude. He nodded, saying there was still one point about Aventurine earlier that he found very suspicious.]
["Without any evidence, he directly accused that Galaxy Ranger of being the suspect who killed Robin. But regarding her connection with the [Memokeep Meme] and why she was lurking by your side, he didn't mention a single word."]
["Aventurine has other plans?"]
[Welt nodded: "Perhaps Aventurine's goal from the beginning was not to win trust, but to make you develop wariness toward Acheron. That would make the situation even more chaotic, which is the outcome he is happy to see."]
["After contacting her so many times, what is your impression of Miss Acheron?"]
["Impression?"]
[Stelle rubbed her head, trying hard to recall this person she should have been familiar with. But strangely, her mind only held a blurry silhouette, like an oil painting soaked in water. All the details had blurred together, and even the memories that should have been vivid had faded along with them.]
["Strange… I don't seem to remember clearly."]
——
DC Universe.
Clark Kent gently placed the freshly printed column manuscript on Editor-in-Chief Perry's desk. The smell of ink was still fresh on the paper. Editor Perry, chewing on a cigar, narrowed his eyes and scanned it twice before suddenly frowning.
"Acheron?" He narrowed his eyes. "The Penacony character column is very important. Not just any small character can make it. Is Acheron worthy of a separate article?"
"Small character?" Clark thought he had misheard. He repeated, "What you just said… she is a small character?"
"Isn't she?" The editor slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.
"She is an Emanator—the only Emanator in Penacony right now. How could she be a small character?" Clark emphasized repeatedly. "Based on current information, she is the strongest among all factions in Penacony. She personally beheaded Duke Inferno and destroyed the Duke Inferno's residence… Don't you remember?"
"I do have some impression of the Duke Inferno's residence…" Perry rubbed his temples. He also sensed something was off but couldn't quite put his finger on it. "The name Acheron does ring a bell."
"Please think about it again carefully."
Clark returned to his workstation and read through the previously compiled information about Acheron again and again. As Superman, he also realized that something seemed amiss. It felt like something on the Celestial Screen was invisibly affecting Earth, but he couldn't say exactly what.
"Lois." He lowered his voice and stopped his girlfriend who was walking by with files. "Do you still remember Acheron?"
Lois tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, the file bag slipping slightly in her arm. "I remember. Isn't she the one Stelle and Aventurine always mention?"
Clark breathed a slight sigh of relief: "What about other information regarding her? Like her identity, appearance, strength, etc…"
"Mm, I remember…" As she recalled, Lois's eyebrows visibly furrowed. "I remember she was a woman with long hair, but the specifics…" She gently patted her head. "Damn it, I clearly looked at her information this morning when buying coffee."
"As expected…"
Lois's reaction made Clark even more certain that something had happened on the Celestial Screen. But for safety's sake, he asked two more colleagues, and the results were the same—they all remembered Acheron's name to some extent, but couldn't recall more details.
It was as if someone was using an eraser to gradually wipe away the world's memories of Acheron. Only he, as a Kryptonian, had a somewhat deeper impression.
"How could this be? Isn't she an Emanator? Shouldn't Emanators leave an even stronger impression?"