["I came for the Watchmaker's legacy… That's all. I think I have already been honest enough."]
[Welt's gaze sank: "You still refuse to reveal your true identity?"]
[Acheron gently shook her head: "It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I cannot… The road I have walked is too long. The various things imposed upon me cannot be explained in a few words. Everyone has pasts that are hard to speak of and secrets they are unwilling to easily show… I also won't ask more about why the Astral Express is wandering the galaxy while carrying a 'Stellaron.'"]
["..." Welt fell silent.]
[As she spoke, Acheron turned back and asked with concern: "Is she alright? That Memokeeper… She didn't do anything, right?"]
[Welt nodded: "She is not in danger. Let's return to our previous topic. Whether I can trust you depends on how much you are willing to reveal."]
["To search for that legacy, after checking into Penacony I visited various dreamscapes and conducted many investigations. During this process, I also came into contact with quite a few visitors. In doing so, I gradually realized… Penacony's secrets… may be closely related to the [Trailblaze] of the past."]
["Therefore, I came to seek help from all of you. I don't have enough evidence, but I want to propose a possibility: The source of all the tragedies is lurking within the Family. If you are willing to trust me… we can find the facts to support this together."]
[Acheron raised her head to look at the man before her: "Mr. Welt, I believe you reached the same conclusion long ago."]
[Welt tentatively believed that Acheron held no hostility, and Acheron was willing to share her discoveries. However, before that, they needed to order a few drinks and find a quiet place.]
——
Mob Psycho 100.
Steam filled the newly opened ramen shop. Reigen and Mob were focused on slurping noodles with their heads down. Dimple floated in the hot air of the miso soup like a green jelly about to melt.
"Closely related to [Trailblaze]? Doesn't that mean it's connected to the three senior predecessors of their Express crew?" Reigen put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth. "Hey hey… Don't tell me the Family's true person in power is actually a predecessor from the Express crew?"
"It's not impossible. Aren't you humans the ones who love this kind of plot the most? Like the Express crew going through countless hardships to discover the truth, only for the final enemy to be their own master or predecessor…"
"Where did you learn that from about humans?" Reigen gave it a sideways glance and said irritably, "I was just making a wild guess. Don't take it seriously. After all, to walk the [Trailblaze] Path, those three predecessors' wills are beyond doubt. Rather than believing they were corrupted by the Family, I would rather believe they are already dead."
"Roar roar… That's hard to say."
Dimple pouted and swayed smugly in front of Reigen's forehead. "Humans are the most fickle race. No matter how firm a person's will is… they can uphold the Trailblaze Path for ten years, a hundred years… but what about a thousand years? Can you guarantee it? People change… I see this more clearly than you, Reigen."
"Just like that kid called Aventurine—he may be walking the [Preservation] Path with the IPC, but his methods are schemes and conspiracies… completely incompatible with upright [Preservation]. The IPC also has Preservation Emanators. The fact that they can use someone so unrelated to [Preservation] shows that even the IPC's perspective is changing."
Dimple's smile deepened.
——
[At the same time, in the Dreamjolt Hostelry.]
[Black Swan's voice came from the darkness.]
["I have watched her for a long time. The first [invitation] was in the hotel's banquet hall."]
["She sat in the corner of the crowd, silent, just drinking 'As If Awakening from a Dream.' One cup, two cups… I said this drink is spicy and bitter, not the taste of sweet dreams. It's only suitable for those tired of Suda. But she said…"]
[Acheron: "Is that so? But to my taste… they are no different."]
[Black Swan arrived at a hotel room and looked around. There was no one in sight.]
["The guest room in reality is unexpectedly simple…" Black Swan said calmly, "…Just like your exterior, Miss Acheron."]
[Her gaze locked onto an exquisite handicraft. The invitation letter from the Family had been openly placed on the table by Acheron.]
["Obtained without any effort. It's this music box—the invitation letter received by the Annihilation Gang… Memories about you do not belong only to you—I know much, and I can foresee even further—With some means, even the dead can speak."]
[Black Swan held her breath and focused. The moment her fingertip lightly touched the gilded surface of the music box, the entire room seemed to be submerged into a rippling lake surface. The pendulum began to stretch and deform, and the oil paintings decorating the walls also became distorted. It seemed some faint sound was transmitted from the music box.]
[The voices of Duke Inferno and his offspring came from the memories. Black Swan was not surprised—this was the memory from when the invitation was first delivered… hazy and brief. The key was the next part, about Acheron.]
[Black Swan continued to close her eyes, but moments later her brows furrowed tightly as she quickly sensed something unusual.]
[…In the memories, there was actually no sound at all.]
["▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ ▅▅▅▅▅ "]
["The memories after that… are a blank? How is that possible… This music box did fall into Acheron's hands and was brought by her to Penacony—that is a fact. It should be like this… but the process in between..."]
——
Overlord.
(How could this be? Could Acheron's own memories have some kind of function similar to protective magic that prevents Memokeepers from peeking?)
(But that's not right either. Black Swan clearly wasn't peeking at Acheron herself but started from her belongings. No matter how strictly she protects herself, it shouldn't be possible to apply protection to objects, right?)
(Just what is this woman…)
Ainz sat on the throne and gently held his forehead. He had just been trying to recall the words Acheron said to Stelle in the dreamscape, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't remember.
Not only that… even her face had become somewhat blurry in his memory.
(Strange, when did my memory become this bad?)
Although he felt some anomaly, Ainz didn't think much more about it. However, his small action of holding his forehead drew concern from the other Guardians—especially Albedo, who immediately came over and proactively held Ainz's arm.
"Lord Ainz! Are you feeling unwell? Shall I arrange for you to rest in your room?"
"It's fine, Albedo. Actually, I have a question I want to ask you."
"A question?"
Albedo was stunned for a second but quickly returned to her usual elegant demeanor: "Please ask, Lord Ainz."
"Mm… What means do you think Acheron used to block Black Swan's peeking?"