—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Furina de Fontaine: "This choice is truly shockingly similar."
Furina de Fontaine: "But it also makes sense."
Furina de Fontaine: "After all, anyone with even a shred of compassion would choose a more proper way to save it, right?"
Hu Tao: "Mhm, mhm. If you leave the little bird where it is, it's the same as not saving it at all."
Hu Tao: "Saving it only to have it die… that's a waste of time, effort, and emotion. Might as well not have saved it!"
Stelle: "Just because those three chose that, it doesn't mean I will!"
Stelle: "As a different kind of firework, I insist on making a choice different from theirs!"
Silver Wolf: "Going for that 'rebellious' vibe, huh?"
Silver Wolf: "Fine, let's see what kind of result your choice leads to then."
....
『 [ Since you three all chose to build a birdcage, I'm going to choose to build a bird's nest right where it is and see what happens! ]
Just as Silver Wolf said, Stelle is all about being rebellious, so without hesitation, she chose the opposite approach to everyone else.
[ Interesting. ]
[ Since your mind is made up, allow me to reveal what fate this choice will bring to that hatchling. ]
[ Based on what I have observed, there are at least three types of beasts that prey on small birds lurking in that courtyard: The Vossickle Scorpion, Asdana Wolverine, and the Huntington Winged-Snake... ]
[ Although they cannot harm humans, these creatures are still apex predators within that small courtyard. ]
[ In a place like this, the only fate awaiting that little Charmony Dove is one thing—a painful death. ]
[ For the choice you have made… I express my deepest regrets. ]
[ Next, let us enter the second dilemma. ]
[ This time… it is the story of a Dreamchaser. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Silver Wolf: "Stelle, you really are yourself."
Silver Wolf: "You basically just sent that bird on its way, didn't you?"
Stelle: "What?"
Stelle: "I even built it a nest!"
Stelle: "It died with dignity!"
Hanabi: "Oh my~, it was going to die sooner or later anyway, so why get so hung up on it~."
Sunday: "But if we hadn't opened its cage, it wouldn't have died."
Sunday: "Its fate was controlled by us the moment we encountered it…"
Sunday: "But unfortunately, we did not make the right choice."
Sunday: "Letting it lose its life."
March 7th: "What is the 'right choice'?"
March 7th: "You can't answer that on behalf of the little bird either, can you?"
Robin: "For my brother, letting it live safely would be the right choice."
Robin: "For me, I just hope it can have the life it wants."
Seele: "Tsk, I get it now."
Seele: "Sunday is just overflowing with too much sympathy; he's becoming a saint."
Seele: "He can't stand to see others suffer, which is why he turned out like this. I mean… does this count as having poor resilience?"
Stelle: "I think so."
Stelle: "Otherwise, why would I suggest he see a psychiatrist more often?"
Bailu: "Although I'm not a psychiatrist."
Bailu: "But in my opinion, this is because he didn't have proper guidance during his childhood."
Bailu: "Add that to a not-so-great work environment after becoming an adult, and it's what made him more and more repressed."
Furina de Fontaine: "Work environment?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Are you talking about that confessional from before?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Indeed… that place is not suitable for kind people."
Furina de Fontaine: "Because kind people, for the most part, cannot bear to look at such suffering."
Stelle: "That place is perfect for me."
Stelle: "With my mindset, I'd just treat it all as entertainment and wouldn't take it seriously at all."
Hanabi: "Oh my, oh my, your statement is really sounding more and more like us Masked Fools~."
....
『 [ This story happened when I was appointed as Bronze Melodia ]
[ Bronze Melodia is a unique position within the Oak Family, responsible for listening to the confusion and bewilderment of the dream's residents and providing them with appropriate guidance. ]
[ It was also during that time that I was able to hear voices from all corners of the dream: joy, sorrow, arrogance, regret… ]
[ Complex human nature weaves the world together, and I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it. ]
[ That was a Dreamchaser, and also a stowaway. ]
[ Like everyone else, he came to Penacony with a yearning for a better life, but the price he paid for a mortal… ]
[ It could be called giving everything he had. ]
[ He told me this: he sold everything he could from his home—the house, the land, and even his two children… ]
[ He said he couldn't afford to raise them, and at least as slaves, they would have food to eat. ]
[ He had also made a plan, intending to redeem his children once he struck it rich and share the sweet dream of Penacony with them. ]
[ It's just a pity that his smuggling plan was a bit clumsy, and the stubborn Hounds sniffed out his scent. ]
[ After hearing the story of this Dreamchaser, I immediately requested the Bloodhound Family to stop the pursuit so that he could live in peace. ]
[ Unfortunately, my vision was too shallow; I never thought that this self-righteous act of kindness would bear bitter fruit later… ]
[ The answer will be announced later. ]
[ Now, I hope you all will make a choice— ]
[ Will you make the same decision as I did, and convince the Bloodhound Family to stop the search so that the Dreamchaser can survive and realize his wish? ]
[ Or will you remain silent, letting him struggle on in the pursuit of the Hounds until the destined judgment arrives? ]
[ I look forward to everyone's choice; perhaps it might be able to reverse that tragedy. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "This child-selling thing again. Does this even need a choice?"
Stelle: "I'd just tear into him!"
March 7th: "Uh…"
March 7th: "There's no need to be so aggressive."
March 7th: "Although what he did really wasn't human."
March 7th: "But if you really let the Bloodhound Family catch him."
March 7th: "Wouldn't his two children lose all hope of ever being redeemed?"
Xiangling: "The children are innocent…"
Xiangling: "Although we don't pity him, we pity his two children…"
Hu Tao: "Becoming a slave at such a young age, that's not exactly a fond memory."
Hu Tao: "Based on this, I still hope to let him off the hook so he has a chance to redeem his children."
Li Sushang: "But… is he telling the truth?"
Li Sushang: "Once he gets rich, will he really go to redeem his children?"
Li Sushang: "I'm afraid he'll just forget about them, right?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Hard to say."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Human hearts are fickle; one knows a person's face but not their heart…"
Lumine: "Sigh, there's no other way. If we don't give him this chance."
Lumine: "The fate of those two children is sealed…"
Stelle: "Pfft!"
Stelle: "If I were Sunday, I would choose to kick this guy out of Penacony, make him go be a slave."
Stelle: "And then bring the two kids over to live the good life."
Silver Wolf: "That fits your style perfectly."
Hotaru: "I think… Stelle's plan is feasible!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Ah, this…"
Furina de Fontaine: "It sounds very satisfying."
Furina de Fontaine: "But for these two children, wouldn't it be too cruel?"
Furina de Fontaine: "He is their father after all."
Seele: "If he really considered himself a father to two children, he wouldn't have considered selling them."
Seele: "A person like that doesn't deserve to be a father!"
Furina de Fontaine: "That's true… such a father is useless anyway."
Furina de Fontaine: "Better to be self-reliant."
Stelle: "So… why isn't there an option I like?"
Stelle: "I strongly protest!"
Sunday: "…"
Sunday: "I apologize, I truly had not thought of that…"
Sunday: "My perspective was narrow-minded…"
....
『 After Sunday finished speaking, Stelle, as usual, went to find her companions one by one to ask for their opinions.
[ It seems like stowaways are really common in Penacony… ]
[ But this guy in the story, I don't think he's worthy of sympathy at all. ]
[ To chase his dream, he actually sold his own children… ]
[ Even if he plans to redeem them, that's just too irresponsible. ]
[ Thinking about it this way, there's only one choice: let the Bloodhound Family send him back! ]
[ This person must be punished! ]
As soon as Stelle walked up to March 7th, she saw her puff out her cheeks and speak up angrily.
[ Exactly, such scum should be severely punished! ]
[ I agree with you! ]
Stelle nodded, feeling that March 7th's thoughts aligned with her own.
[ I'll go ask Himeko's opinion. ]
Stelle walked toward Himeko.
[ A Dreamchasers story, huh… ]
[ Acting out of kindness, I would probably request the Bloodhound Family to stop the pursuit and give him a hand. ]
[ However, what kind of bitter fruit will this choice bear? ]
[ I think Sunday must have realized the limitations of 'using the strong to help the weak' through this incident. ]
Himeko gave her answer and was curious about what the bitter fruit of this choice was.
[ Yeah, actually I'm curious too. ]
[ Maybe we'll know the answer in a moment. ]
[ I'll go ask Hotaru what she thinks. ]
Stelle ran over to Hotaru.
[ This question… has some internal connection with the story of the hatchling, and this connection is the breakthrough point that Sunday wants to use to convince us… ]
[ … I would probably choose to request the Bloodhound Family to stop the pursuit. ]
Hotaru thought for a moment and also gave the same answer as Himeko.
[ I see… is it because the Bloodhound Family has also pursued you, so you can empathize? ]
[ I've got it in my mind, it's my turn to choose. ]
Stelle nodded and then went straight to the big screen, choosing the option to remain silent!
[ It seems you, like me, are also thinking about whether another choice could lead to a better ending. ]
[ But unfortunately, his outcome will likely be even more miserable. ]
[ Assuming he was never caught from start to finish, he would surely die from a mental breakdown. ]
[ The methods stowaways use to enter dreams are mostly unusual, not as perfect as the hotels. ]
[ Trying to live in a dream is simply a fantasy. ]
[ If he was caught, would the Hounds show mercy? ]
[ The answer is impossible. ]
[ They cannot bear the corresponding consequences, and naturally, they will not risk providing aid. ]
[ For this choice, I once again express my deepest regrets. ]
[ Next is the third, and final choice— ]
[ And this story… belongs to me. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Xiangling: "Hmm… so this person's ending… was destined from the very beginning?"
Furina de Fontaine: "It really is just as Miss Hotaru said, it's linked to the story of the hatchling."
Sunday: "This person's fate was once briefly in my hands, but in the end, I still couldn't choose a path that was favorable to him."
Sunday: "This scene, how much it resembles the ending of that hatchling…"
Welt Yang: "Your intentions were good, it's just a pity that things went against your wishes."
Welt Yang: "There is no need to blame yourself too much; this is not your problem."
Nahida: "The methods for smuggling into a dream actually have such serious consequences."
Nahida: "Then how exactly did Miss Hotaru… enter the dream?!"
Silver Wolf: "How did she get in?"
Silver Wolf: "Heh, I can only say, the process was quite terrifying."
Silver Wolf: "Simply put, it was…"
Silver Wolf: "Risking her life!"
Stelle: "Risking her life?!"
Stelle: "Hotaru, surely it didn't come to that!"
Stelle: "Silver Wolf, your skills are so god-tier, couldn't you have made it so she could enter the dream as easily as using a hotel device?"
Silver Wolf: "According to the script, she had to experience three deaths in Penacony."
Silver Wolf: "Whether she actually dies or not is one thing, but at the very least, the pain of death is something she absolutely has to experience."
Welt Yang: "As I thought… Miss Hotaru's method of entering the dream is extraordinary."
Welt Yang: "I fear only with a willpower unimaginable to ordinary people could she reach the Penacony dream that we can enter so easily."
Hotaru: "It's nothing… just some physical pain, that's all…"
Silver Wolf: "You say it so lightly."
Silver Wolf: "I dare say that feeling of being worse off dead would definitely make most people wish they were just dead and done with it."
March 7th: "Ho… Hotaru, did you enter the dream after experiencing this kind of pain?!"
March 7th: "Oh my… I suddenly feel so heartbroken for Miss Hotaru."
Hu Tao: "But… why does Miss Hotaru have to experience this pain to enter the dream?"
Hu Tao: "The previous stowaways didn't seem to suffer this much, did they?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Heh, have you forgotten?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "She said previously that she has no function to dream!"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "So, forcing someone who is forever awake to enter a dream—do you know what kind of feeling that would be?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "I can only say, she is worthy of being the last remaining Glamoth Iron Cavalry; her willpower is so strong that it has long since exceeded the limits of humanity."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "Even… the fact that she is alive today can be called a miracle…"
Acheron: "Her will to survive is as brilliant as the sun."
Acheron: "This makes even me unable to help but marvel."
Black Swan: "Such a longing for life…"
Black Swan: "It has even turned into a materialized belief."
Black Swan: "Miss Hotaru… what kind of unforgettable memories have you experienced?"
Hotaru: "…"
Hotaru: "Those memories are really not pleasant; if possible, I hope you will never know them for the rest of your lives…"
....