“I came for the The Clockmaker's Legacy… and that’s all. I believe I’ve been honest enough.”

Welt’s gaze deepened: “You still won’t reveal your true identity?”

Huo Huo gently shook her head: “It’s not that I’m unwilling, but that I cannot… The path I’ve walked is too long, and the myriad things imposed upon me cannot be explained in a few words. Everyone has an unspeakable past, secrets they don’t wish to easily show others… I won’t ask too much either, about why the Astral Express carries a ‘Stellaron’ wandering the galaxy.”

“……” Welt fell silent.

Saying this, Huo Huo turned her head and asked with concern: “Is she alright, that Memokeeper… She didn’t do anything, did she?”

Welt nodded: “She is not in danger. Let’s return to our previous topic. Whether you can gain my trust depends on how much you are willing to reveal.”

“In order to find that legacy, after checking into Penacony, I visited various dreamscapes and conducted many investigations, during which I also came into contact with many visitors. In this process, I gradually realized… Penacony’s secret… may be closely related to the former The Trailblaze.”

“Therefore, I came to seek your help. I don’t have enough evidence, but I want to propose a possibility: the source of all tragedy lurks within the Family. If you are willing to trust me… we can find corroborating facts together.”

Huo Huo looked up at the man before her: “Mr. Welt, I believe you’ve already reached the same conclusion.”

Welt temporarily believed Huo Huo had no ill intentions, and Huo Huo was also willing to share her findings, but before that, they needed to order a few drinks and find a quiet place.

— —

Mob Psycho 100.

The newly opened ramen shop was filled with steam. Reigen and Mob were focused, slurping their noodles with their heads down. Dimple floated in the steam of the miso soup, like a piece of green jelly about to melt.

“Closely related to The Trailblaze? Doesn’t that mean it’s related to the three old predecessors of their former Astral Express Crew?” Reigen put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, “Hey, hey… It wouldn’t be that the true power holders of the Family are the predecessors of the Astral Express Crew, would it?”

“It’s not impossible, you humans don’t you just love this kind of drama? Like the Astral Express Crew overcoming countless difficulties to discover the truth, only for the final enemy to be their master, or their predecessors, and so on…”

“Who did you learn that from?” Reigen glanced at him askance, saying irritably, “I was just making a wild guess, don’t take it seriously. After all, to be able to walk the path of The Trailblaze, the will of those three predecessors is unquestionable. Rather than being corrupted by the Family, I’d rather believe they’re already dead.”

“Ho ho… That’s hard to say.”

Dimple pouted, somewhat smugly swaying in front of Reigen’s forehead, “Humans are the most fickle race. Even the most determined person… He can uphold the path of trail blaze for ten years, a hundred years… But a thousand years? Can you guarantee it? People change… I see this more clearly than you, Reigen.”

“Just like that kid named Gold Dust—although he follows the Company on The Trailblaze, his methods are trickery and conspiracy… completely at odds with the upright Preservation. The Company also has Preservation Emanators, and to use someone so unrelated to Preservation shows that the Company’s perspective is also changing.”

Dimple’s smile deepened.

“If a large company is like this, what about three ordinary Trailblazers?”

— —

At the same time, The Reverie Hotel.

Black Swan’s voice came from the darkness.

“I’ve been watching her for a long time. The first invitation was in the hotel’s ballroom.”

“She sat in a corner of the crowd, silent, just drinking ‘Awakening from a Dream,’ one cup, two cups… I said this drink was spicy, bitter, not the taste of a beautiful dream, only suitable for those tired of SoulGlad. But she said…”

Huo Huo: “Is that so? But to my taste… they are no different.”

Black Swan came to a hotel room, looking around. There was no one else present.

“The guest room in reality is unexpectedly simple…” Black Swan said faintly, “…just like your outward appearance, Miss Huo Huo.”

Her gaze locked onto an exquisite craftwork. This invitation from the Family was openly placed on the table by Huo Huo.

“It came without effort. It’s this music box—the invitation received by the Annihilation Gang… Memories related to you don’t just belong to you—I know a great deal, and I foresee even further—with a little manipulation, even the dead can speak.”

Black Swan held her breath, concentrating. The moment her fingertips touched the gilded surface of the music box, the entire room seemed to be immersed in a swaying lake. The pendulum began to stretch and deform, and the oil painting decorating the wall also became distorted. It seemed as if some subtle sound was emanating from the music box.

The voices of the Annihilation Grand Duke and his descendants came from the Remembrance. Black Swan was not surprised; this was the Remembrance from when the invitation was first delivered… hazy and brief. The focus was on the subsequent part, concerning Huo Huo.

Black Swan continued to close her eyes, but a moment later, her brows furrowed tightly as she quickly sensed a hint of abnormality.

…In the Remembrance, there was actually no sound at all.

“▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ▅ ”

“The subsequent Remembrance… is a blank? How is that possible… It’s a fact that this music box fell into Huo Huo’s hands and she brought it to Penacony, it should be like that… But the process in between…”

— —

OVERLORD.

(How could this be? Does Huo Huo’s own Remembrance have a function similar to a protective spell, capable of preventing the Memokeeper’s prying?)

(But that’s not right either. Black Swan clearly wasn’t prying into Huo Huo, but rather starting from her item. No matter how strictly she protects herself, she can’t possibly apply protection to an item, can she?)

(This woman, after all…)

Ainz sat on the throne, gently rubbing his forehead with his hand. He had just been trying to recall what Huo Huo had said to Star in the dream, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t remember.

Not only that… even her face was somewhat blurred in his Remembrance.

(Strange, when did my Remembrance become so bad?)

Although he felt something was off, Ainz didn’t think much of it in other ways. However, his small gesture of rubbing his forehead caught the concern of the other Guardians—especially Albedo, who immediately came closer and actively took Ainz’s arm.

“Lord Ainz! Are you feeling unwell? Shall I arrange for you to rest in your room?”

“No matter, Albedo. However, I have a question I wish to ask you.”

“A question?”

Albedo paused for a second, but then immediately returned to her usual elegant demeanor: “Lord Ainz, please ask.”

“Hmm… What do you think Huo Huo used to block Black Swan’s prying?”