Sora looked at Robin, who was enjoying her massage and softly humming to herself, and felt increasingly confused.
The reason he had come here was simple enough: someone had told him Robin hadn't been in a very good mood earlier.
Like she'd been bullied.
And once he heard that, how was Sora supposed to let it go?
Robin had traveled with him to so many places and gone through so much with him. Sora could never be grateful enough for everything they had shared.
And now, on his friend's turf, Robin had supposedly been bullied. How could that possibly be acceptable?
It absolutely wasn't, okay?
So of course Sora had wanted to help her get even.
At the very least, he could show whoever it was what a proper Rider-style suit battle looked like.
But after finding Robin, he realized her emotional state was nothing like what they had described.
Sure, she still treated Sora like her usual overworked songwriting tool.
But aside from making him write songs, her mood seemed perfectly normal, and she reacted to Sora's jokes just like always did.
There was no sign at all that she was feeling down.
Sometimes she even leaned in close and talked through the meaning behind the songs with him.
Had the information been wrong?
That didn't make sense. Why would they lie to me for no reason?
So after a furious round of mental detective work, Sora arrived at a conclusion.
Robin had deliberately buried the truth in her heart.
In other words, whoever had upset her was someone she didn't feel comfortable talking about.
Otherwise, with the kind of relationship the two of them had, why would she hide it from him?
That meant she could only throw herself into music instead—using something she loved to distract herself.
So who was it?
Was it someone close to her?
Sora was still mulling that over when the door suddenly opened, drawing both their attention.
It was Titania.
The moment they saw it was her, Robin and Sora both lost interest and went back to what they were doing.
If it was Titania, there was no need to pay special attention.
They both knew exactly what kind of person she was.
But then Titania's next sentence snapped both their gazes right back to her.
"Hey, hey, hey—you two know this guy?"
At the moment, Sunday was sealed to a cross-shaped crystal. His limbs were pinned in place, and a handkerchief had even been stuffed into his mouth.
His whole expression looked faintly dazed.
He had actually lost.
Lost to those guards.
Even if this wasn't Penacony and his output was limited here, he still shouldn't have fallen so low as to lose to ordinary Pathstriders.
And yet reality had slapped him hard across the face.
He had lost—and lost badly.
For all that Sunday, as one of the Family's leaders, rarely fought people directly, he was still extremely skilled in the use of Path power.
Otherwise, how could he possibly have been secretly spreading ORDER under the nose of HARMONY on Penacony?
That alone was enough to show how deeply he understood the power of the Path.
And yet even so, he had still lost.
To Sunday, this was nothing less than a severe blow.
It had struck not only at his pride as one of the Family's leaders, but at his confidence as the Child of ORDER as well.
The moment Robin and Sora saw him, they both wore the exact same stunned expression.
"B-Brother?!"
Robin looked utterly shocked. Why had her brother suddenly come here?
But almost immediately, her expression tightened, and she turned to look at Sora beside her.
She was already wondering how she was supposed to explain her relationship with Sora to her brother in a minute.
"Sunday?!"
Sora was just as dumbfounded. Why had this spiritual leader of his suddenly come all the way here?
Come on—if there was someone in this world who would let Sora rest seven days a week, it was hard not to feel warmly toward him.
But shouldn't this guy have been holding down the fort in Penacony right now? Why had he suddenly come here?
Then Sora thought it over again and came up with the only possible reason.
Robin.
After all, she was Sunday's actual younger sister. It was perfectly normal for him to come see her.
But when Sora noticed the conflicted look on Robin's face, he hesitated.
Because it reminded him of all the strange things he had noticed about her before.
Could it be that the person who had been making her miserable... was Sunday?!
The instant that idea appeared, all his earlier questions connected at once.
"I see now. I see..."
No wonder Robin had been in such a bad mood. So this was a family issue.
And because it involved family, of course she wouldn't talk to him about it.
After all, Sunday was still her brother. How could Robin go around badmouthing her own brother to outsiders?
So all she could do was bury herself in her hobbies and immerse herself in squeezing songs out of Sora, using that to numb herself against the strain of her family problems.
That was it. It all fit.
In a single instant, Sora's mind threaded the whole thing together.
The cause, the result, the process—it all locked into place seamlessly.
Who would have guessed that this was why Robin had been feeling low?
But under the brilliant deductions of Detective Sora, the truth had now been fully dragged into the light.
That said, there really wasn't much he could do about it.
As the saying went, even an honest official couldn't settle family disputes.
At this point, it seemed that even a galactic superstar like Robin still found family matters painfully troublesome.
Sora let out a sigh and patted Robin on the shoulder.
"Don't overthink anything. I'll always be behind you."
Other people might not know, but Sora did.
Sunday was a hidden infiltrator inside the Family. He was someone aiming for the seat of ORDER itself.
And later on, all of that would drag Robin in too.
If anything, what Robin would face then would be far worse than what she was dealing with now.
Sora would always be there to back her up.
"If something's wrong, tell me. When the time comes, don't hold back, all right?"
"Huh?"
Robin looked baffled. What on earth had Sora suddenly imagined this time?
Still, she was long since used to this sort of thing from him.
His train of thought had probably gone flying off in some strange direction again.
But thanks to Sora's interruption, Robin was also pulled out of her own spiral of indecision.
The thing she needed to worry about right now wasn't how to explain Sora to her brother.
It was getting her brother down first.
And so, after Robin worked at it for a while, Sunday—whose arms and legs had been sealed inside the crystal—was finally released.
Only after the handkerchief was removed from his mouth did he truly come back to himself.
Robin looked at him worriedly. "Brother, are you all right?"
Hearing that familiar voice, Sunday's consciousness finally began to settle.
"I'm fine..."
But then he immediately remembered where he was.
This was the demonic lair where his sister had been imprisoned and exploited for profit, and because he hadn't been strong enough, he himself had been forcibly subdued too.
Even so, Sunday still displayed the sense of responsibility befitting an older brother.
He moved at once, pulling Robin behind him and standing there with a resolute expression as he faced the Iron Cavalry girls surrounding them.
"Even if the Xianzhou Alliance is backing you criminals, I will not let my sister come to any harm!"
"Uh..."
Sora looked from Sunday to the Iron Cavalry girls outside, who were now standing in a neat row as though none of this had anything to do with them.
The moment they heard Robin call him "Brother," they had already realized something was very, very wrong.
Now they were standing guard outside purely to prove they had nothing to do with any of this.
Unfortunately for them, the residual energy fluctuations outside the door made the truth perfectly clear to Sora.
So he asked, curious, "What exactly did you all do to Robin's brother?"
"We didn't do anything..."
The Iron Cavalry girls immediately looked away.
What had they done? Nothing at all.
Sunday let out an impressively cool snort. "Hmph! There's no use denying it. I clearly saw you all eavesdropping outside the door while my sister let out cries of humiliation!"
Robin looked confused.
When exactly had she ever made a humiliating sound?
"Brother..."
Robin wanted to explain, but Sunday cut her off almost immediately.
"It's all right, Robin. I'll protect you!"
I'm your brother. I can't just stand by while my little sister is being humiliated.
As Sunday stood there, he looked exactly the way Robin remembered from when she was small.
He had always stood in front of her like this. Even when others accused them, he would answer back fiercely.
Was he about to do the same thing now, just like when they were children?
But everyone here was on their side.
Sunday was attacking friendly forces.
"Brother, don't—"
Don't keep cutting in. Could you just let me finish talking for once?
"There's no need to say more. My mind is made up!"
Sunday looked around at the people surrounding them, his gaze lingering especially long on Titania's face.
Titania radiated an overwhelming sense of danger, and he could feel something strangely familiar from her too.
Even so, that didn't change what they were.
They were villains trying to imprison Robin, and that meant he, as her brother, had to step forward now.
Even if he couldn't beat them, even if they could subdue him effortlessly, Sunday still had a way to get Robin out of this place.
He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath it.
Then he opened his eyes and said with absolute righteousness, "Then take me as your hostage!"
The moment he said that, the entire room fell silent.
Even Robin stared at her brother in shock.
Couldn't you just let me finish first?
But Sunday knew nothing of that. Right now, all he wanted was to get Robin out of this hellhole.
"So stop making things difficult for Robin. Take me hostage instead and demand ransom from the Family!"
At the very least, he was certain the Dreammaster would come pay that ransom and get him back.
"I am one of the Family's leaders. I'm the public administrator of Penacony..."
After all, the two of them were on the same path. If he got captured, the Dreammaster would definitely panic more than anyone.
And so, after thinking it through, Sunday finally made his decision.
Go, Robin.
Let your brother bear all the trials of this demonic den in your place.
As he thought that, a glimmer of tears gathered at the corner of Sunday's eye.
Farewell, my beloved little sis—
SMACK!
But before that tear could fall, something suddenly struck the back of Sunday's head.
And it didn't feel like a club.
It felt more like... a wad of paper?
The one who had hit him was Robin.
She stood there holding the lyrics and score Sora had written for her, her face full of fury.
Even the wings behind her had turned a vivid red in response to her emotions.
"Could you just let me finish what I'm saying for once?!"
Why was everyone here just talking over everything on their own?
The people around them covered their mouths, unable to quite suppress the twitch at the corners of their lips. No one had fully understood what Sunday thought he was doing.
And when Robin saw that, her mood only worsened.
So she directly drove everyone else out. She was going to have a proper talk with her dear brother.
...
Outside, Sora finally got the full story from the others.
And inside, Sunday gradually came to understand Robin's current situation through Robin's explanation.
By the time Robin opened the door again, Sunday was standing by the window with his back to everyone, giving off an air of bleak desolation.
He had thrown away the Family's dignity.
Who could possibly have imagined things would turn out like this?
This might well have been the darkest day of his life.
"Brother, remember what we agreed on."
Robin's voice pulled Sunday back to himself.
He looked at the people in front of him, cleared his throat, and a faint flush of shame rose to his face.
"My apologies, everyone. Because of me, I caused unnecessary trouble for all of you."
"No, no, it was just a misunderstanding. Now that it's cleared up, that's enough."
After a round of mutual apologies, the misunderstanding was finally resolved.
Once the Iron Cavalry girls realized Sunday had shown up, they understood that whatever they had most wanted to happen on Sora's side was probably no longer going to happen.
That left them feeling rather disappointed.
At last, Sora, Titania, Robin, and Sunday were able to sit down together and talk calmly.
"I feel something familiar from you..."
Titania stared straight at Sunday. Her unnervingly sharp instincts kept feeding her the sense that there was something about him she recognized.
But as for where she had felt it before, she couldn't quite remember anymore.
"To be honest, I feel as though I've met this lady somewhere before as well."
Now that the misunderstanding had been resolved, Sunday once more displayed the bearing of a Family leader. Every movement was elegant.
It could be said that his manners were impeccable.
And the two of them both sensed something strangely familiar from the other.
As for where that familiarity came from, neither of them had the faintest idea.
Sora, meanwhile, felt it might simply be because their identities were similar.
One was a larva of the PROPAGATION, one meant to recreate the universe, while the other was a philosophical embryo of ORDER—a Child of ORDER.
If the two of them continued walking their respective paths all the way to the end, then their destination would in fact be the same.
That destination was to become AEONS—beings who would inspire fear, love, and reverence in countless lives across the universe.
And for two future gods to meet like this was probably a once-in-the-universe event.
But Sora had no intention of saying any of that out loud.
Anything involving AEONS touched too many things. One careless slip could stir up the entire universe.
And Sunday had plans spanning thousands of years. If not for the Astral Express's appearance, no one would have believed it even if it were spoken aloud.
After all, Sunday's outward image until now had always been that of the perfect Family leader.
Even Robin had never imagined that her brother was secretly a believer in ORDER.
There was no need at all to expose a secret of that level.
Compared to that, Sora was more interested in why Sunday had come here in the first place.
After all, there was a good chance Sunday was the reason Robin had been in such a bad mood earlier.
"So, cough, Mr. Sunday. What exactly brought you here?"
Sora was the first to speak, drawing Sunday's attention away from Titania.
"I was worried for my sister's safety, so I came here in person."
Sunday recounted what had happened earlier, especially how the Family had once sent people to escort Robin back to Penacony.
Sora hadn't expected that the ones who had caused such a scene on the Xianzhou Cangyan really had been from the Family after all.
But the attitude they had shown back then still puzzled him.
Robin, too, frowned as she remembered the way those people had acted.
The Family was supposed to value peace and love, living by the idea that everyone was one big family.
But the tone and behavior of those people hadn't resembled anything a family ought to show one of its own.
Sora asked, "Mr. Sunday, is something important about to happen in Penacony?"
Robin shook her head. "As far as I know, the festivals over there should already have ended for this season."
The Charmony Festival wasn't held on a fixed schedule, and there shouldn't have been any occasion on Penacony right now that actually needed her.
Sora and Robin both turned to look at Sunday at nearly the same time.
"So what exactly happened that requires me to go back?"
Under their gaze, Sunday said, "The Dreammaster..."
As he spoke, his tone grew heavy.
"His physical body is approaching its end in reality."
The Dreammaster?!
Sora immediately thought of the crow from the original story—the unknown being who could govern the bodies of all Family members.
If he remembered correctly, this was also the person who had taken in Robin and Sunday.
"Is that true?!"
Just as expected, Robin looked shocked when she heard the news.
"Yes. His body has reached its final stage. His consciousness will continue to exist within the dream forever, but..."
Once the body in the outside world was gone, that person would be almost completely cut off from the world.
After that, the Dreammaster would only be able to go on living inside Penacony's dreamscape.
"What happened? Wasn't his body doing just fine before?"
Since he was the one who had raised her, Robin naturally showed concern for his condition.
"I don't know. It deteriorated suddenly."
Sunday had spent a great deal of effort trying to determine what had happened to the Dreammaster's body.
But no matter what methods he used, every examination showed the same thing: the body was steadily declining.
And now that the news was out, it was easy enough to understand why Penacony wanted Robin back.
Robin and Sunday had both been taken in by him and brought into the Family. In that sense, the two of them were effectively his adopted children.
Since something like this had happened, naturally they both needed to go back and see him.
"I understand, Brother. I'll go pack right away."
Robin also knew what mattered more and what mattered less. She shot Sora an apologetic look, then got up to pack her things.
For a moment, that left only three people behind.
And since the three of them had nothing in particular to say to each other, the atmosphere turned a little awkward.
Sunday sipped some tea.
And just then, Titania poked Sora twice.
He turned to her, puzzled. "What?"
Titania leaned in mysteriously. "What do you think about getting that guy called the Dreammaster to believe in me, and then I'll turn him into a Memoria construct?"
The Memoria constructs Titania produced were different from the ones in the Garden of Recollection.
Perhaps because of the PROPAGATION, once the Memoria she transformed condensed, it came with a real physical body.
That body had a normal physical state. It could grow and develop normally, with no difference from flesh and blood at all.
Fenille was like that.
So now that Titania had heard someone was dying, of course she wanted to lend a hand.
"I think that'd be difficult."
Sora knew what Sunday was hiding, and the Dreammaster belonged to the HARMONY faction. There was no way he would change his faith that easily.
"All right, then..."
After hearing that, Titania naturally dropped the idea without saying anything more.
Once Sora had dealt with Titania, he turned to Sunday and asked, "Mr. Sunday, would it be possible for me to accompany Miss Robin to Penacony?"
That immediately drew Sunday's gaze to him.
Sunday had been keeping an eye on this man sitting beside Robin the entire time.
After all, his sister was the most perfect existence in the universe. No matter who sat beside Robin, they ought to feel ashamed by comparison.
And yet not only was Sora completely unaffected, Robin herself even seemed fully used to having him at her side.
How could that not make Sunday wary?!
And now the first thing this man said was that he wanted to go back with Robin...
"Why?"
Sunday set down his teacup and fixed Sora with a sharp stare.
"Because she's my friend..."
Because I don't trust your Penacony.
Now that he connected it with the way Robin had been acting before, Sora felt even less at ease.
"We met in the middle of a crisis. She helped me a lot. And now that she's run into trouble, how could I possibly stand by and do nothing?"
A faint crack spread across the surface of the teacup in Sunday's hand.
Was this guy showing off?
Showing off everything he and Robin had been through lately, showing off the bond between them...
That was absolutely intolerable.
Sunday opened his mouth, ready to refuse outright. He would not allow anyone else to keep getting close to his sister.
Especially not you—the man who stole her screentime.
But just as Sunday was about to reject him, Robin's voice drifted out from inside.
"That's fine. It'll be a good chance for you to go there and enjoy the dream world properly."
Robin hadn't forgotten what Sora had been up to lately.
Going undercover, plotting around Hoolay, managing the Nine Fold Trials...
He had been ridiculously busy.
And to keep him from causing even bigger trouble while she wasn't around to rein him in, Robin thought it would be better to bring him along to Penacony and make him rest for a while.
As for the Dreammaster's situation, it wasn't exactly unbearably grim.
Only his body in the outside world was failing. His consciousness would still remain inside Penacony, managing the dreamscape.
So it was more like he had fallen ill, and she was going back to visit him.
And at the same time, it would be a good opportunity to show Sora the place where she had grown up.
Sunday froze on the spot for a moment.
Robin had already agreed on his behalf. Was he really supposed to refuse now?
And if he did, wouldn't that make the Family look petty and small-minded?
Damn it all.
...
The news that Sora was going to Penacony spread through the group almost immediately.
The Iron Cavalry girls didn't care where Sora went. They only needed to follow behind him.
As for the Xianzhou Cangyan, given the sensitivity of their status, there was naturally no way a whole crowd of them could head for Penacony together.
Otherwise, that could very easily create friction between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Family of HARMONY.
What Sora hadn't expected was that Titania chose not to go.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph. I'm not like you, you know. I'm the most dutiful leader there is!"
The real reason, of course, was that Titania wanted to use this chance to properly raise her approval rating.
If Sora wasn't here and she became more active while he was gone, then wouldn't that let her overtake him?
Keh heh heh. Those strategy books sold on the Xianzhou really were useful.
Sora didn't particularly care either way. He only told Fenille that if Titania showed any signs of going out of control, she had to contact him immediately.
"Relax. Looking at her now, who'd seriously think she'd lose control?"
Fenille's answer left Sora momentarily speechless.
He honestly had no idea when Titania's image had turned into this.
Then again, looking at Titania standing over there with a face full of excitement, as if she had just thought of something wonderful, maybe it really was normal.
Ahri spoke earnestly. "Sora-gege, if anything happens, remember to contact us. No matter where you are, we'll come."
Even if he were at the ends of the universe, she would still go to his side and heal him.
Jin Xing had tears in her eyes. "Exactly! Sora, you absolutely can't forget us!"
Jin Xing, the Fangyuan High Elder, had a dream.
That dream was to get one truly handsome photo with Sora—one that could be spread everywhere forever.
Xi puffed out her chest. "If you get into trouble, then come hide here with me. I'll protect you!"
Feng Liqi looked at her. "Jie, he's stronger than both of us..."
"I know..."
After saying goodbye to them one by one, Sora finally prepared to set off for Penacony.
The Silver Radiance had been quiet for a long time, and now at last it could dash into the universe once more.
But Sunday's ship still hadn't departed.
"Family Head, why haven't we left yet?"
Watching the Silver Radiance disappear into space, one of the accompanying Family members couldn't help asking.
"Because I am waiting for Robin."
Sunday looked at the seat before him, already prepared, his expression calm.
It was time for a proper conversation between brother and sister.
He wanted to use this opportunity to find out exactly what Robin had been doing all this time.
"But—"
"There is no 'but.' She is my sister. She is worth waiting here for."
Sunday lifted his teacup. He wondered whether Robin still liked this kind of sweet tea.
He couldn't help recalling all the little moments from when the two of them were young and learning etiquette together.
Back then, Robin had thought tea was too bitter and harsh on her throat, so as her brother, he had secretly replaced all the tea leaves with this sweet tea instead.
He could still picture the way Robin had thanked him back then.
That was proof of the bond between them.
But even after waiting for a very long time, Sunday still didn't see her appear.
"This is strange. Does it really take Robin this long to say goodbye?"
Sunday checked the time and realized quite a while had already passed.
Even if Robin wasn't punctual, there was no way she should be this late.
Only then did the attendant beside him cautiously speak up.
"Family Head... Miss Robin has already left."
"What?! That's impossible!"
Sunday was certain he had never seen his sister pass by, and immediately shot back, "When did Robin leave?"
"When I reminded you earlier."
The attendant explained, "Miss Robin said some of the scores for her songs had been damaged, so she boarded the Silver Radiance and left."
After hearing that, Sunday staggered back two steps in disbelief.
"You mean Robin boarded..."
Someone else's ship?!
The attendant nodded, confirming that the news was true.
Sunday swayed for a moment, then quickly snapped back to himself.
"Full speed ahead. Catch up to them!"
You damned bastard, you dare lure away my pure and innocent sister?!
Just don't let me catch you!
Meanwhile, aboard the Silver Radiance, Sora suddenly sneezed and wondered who was badmouthing him behind his back.
Whatever. Forget it. Better deal with what's in front of me first.
Poor, overworked Sora was painstakingly recreating bits and pieces of melodies from memory.
Meanwhile, Robin stood beside him like some heartless boss, urging him on.
"More. A little more!"
At this rate, Sora really was going to get squeezed dry.
...
Within the Asdana system, in Penacony.
"So Sunday has already reported that he's on his way back..."
A middle-aged man dressed in black narrowed his eyes as he read the message.
And within that message, there was also specific mention of Robin's return.
The Child of ORDER and the Child of HARMONY.
People always said HARMONY had swallowed ORDER.
But why couldn't ORDER swallow HARMONY instead?
---
T/N: LMAOOOO ohhh sunday you freaking idiot