northernbook Chapter 264 Gallagher (2)
Chapter 264 Gallagher (2)
"How was the taste, everyone?" Gallagher asked, as he saw that everyone had finished their drinks.
"This flavor is much more complex than Sorida," March 7th simply stated her impression.
"The flavor is rich and layered, a true masterpiece. Especially the handling of the ingredients, I can taste a unique flavor, spicy, sour, yet with a hint of sweetness," Himeko praised.
After all, mixed drinks and Himeko's coffee are similar; both are creations made with human hands, infused with emotion, and then supplemented with various ingredients. Himeko empathizes with this. However…
"I don't know what this means. Perhaps Mr. Gallagher would be willing to explain his ingenious idea?"
“Unfortunately, if you’re expecting a profound answer, you’re going to be disappointed,” Gallagher said, one hand on his hip. “The imagery it contains is very simple… it’s just the true taste of Dreamland, nothing more.”
"The real taste...is it related to that Mikhail?"
“It’s a name that appeared in my dream…” Xing replied.
“Yes, I was wondering where I’d heard that name before… When Xing was drugged by that masked fool girl, I think I heard someone muttering that name, right?” March 7th turned to Xing and asked.
"..." Gallagher paused for a moment, then said in a seemingly relaxed tone, "Heh...you know quite a lot, I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Now I have no reason not to be honest with you all."
Gallagher's expression then turned serious: "Then let's start talking about the case, and of course... we'll also include the story of Mikhail."
Kiana put down the soda she was holding and began to listen attentively to how Galah was trying to fool the others. Although this bar didn't sell soda, it was sometimes used as an ingredient, so it wasn't completely devoid of it.
Seeing that Kiana wasn't interested in the cocktail, Shu Weng took a bottle of Solarda from backstage and handed it to her. Of course, it was free, as a way of repaying Xing and the others for helping her.
"Let's get to the conclusion first: based on the clues the family has, this Firefly is indeed not a local, nor is she an invited guest. In other words... she's a genuine illegal immigrant. I was also fooled by this girl; I really did go to the Age Building. However, in the Grand Gathering Star, illegal immigration isn't that rare, nor is it difficult to investigate. After the incident, the hounds immediately took action, tracking her down from both the dream and reality ends. But the result... was only bad news, and the most troublesome news."
Gallagher then turned to look at Xing and said, "This little girl has vanished into thin air. She left no trace in my dreams, and her body is nowhere to be found in reality. It's as if she never came to Pinocchio."
After hearing Galah's conclusion, the stars looked at each other in bewilderment, not at all surprised by the result.
After learning that Firefly's true identity was Star Core Hunter Sam, everyone knew this would be the outcome. Moreover, not long after, Xing met Firefly wearing a mecha, but at that time, he was taken to Sand Gold by Black Swan and did not meet up with Firefly.
"Why do you all seem completely unsurprised?" Gallagher asked, observing the expressions on everyone's faces.
“After all, Xing already knew from Liu Ying that she was an illegal immigrant. Since she was an illegal immigrant, her physical body wouldn’t be so easy to find,” March 7 replied.
"I didn't expect that little girl to trust Miss Xing so much, even revealing her identity as an illegal immigrant. And knowing that she was an illegal immigrant, she still went to the front desk to get her fake identity to inquire. It seems that everyone on the Starry Sky Train isn't as innocent as the rumors suggest. But let me be blunt, that girl's situation... not to mention you, even the Hound family has never seen anything like it before."
"This is the first time... So death really does happen in Pinocchio, is that right?" Himeko asked.
“You’ve all seen it, so what’s there to hide? Every city with a glamorous exterior has a dark side. I don’t need to say more about adult matters.”
Gallagher glanced around at everyone and continued, "To question the family based on this alone is naive. Even in dreams, there are unexpected deaths, so what? Such extremely low-probability events... affect only a very small number of people."
As Gallagher said, a city must have both light and darkness. Even if the city is built on a beautiful dream, it is no exception, and Himeko has no reason to refute that.
“If you really want to get to the bottom of this case, you have to figure out the family’s real difficulties first.”
“I guess we should get to the story of Mikhail now,” Himeko said calmly.
“You’re very perceptive. The Star Train also received that music box, didn’t it? Do you know what secret it holds?” Gallagher asked. It was clear that even if Gallagher wasn’t the one who sent the music box, he must have been someone with a very close relationship to it.
"A message," Himeko replied, and this time Hoshiya finally learned the full meaning of that message.
"Take in the impossible things in your dreams. Find the legacy of the watchmaker who was the father of Pinocchio, and then answer the question: Why does life sleep?"
"Ha, not a single word is different."
"Hey, what are you laughing at... Did you write this? Your writing is quite good," March 7th guessed.
“As the sheriff in charge of the investigation, how could I not know… I bet you’ve also realized that this message didn’t come from the family—or that the two families aren’t even that close?”
Gallagher's answer was watertight, completely refuting March 7's speculation, at least on the surface.
“It’s just speculation at the moment. We find it hard to believe that the father of Pinocchio and its actual manager are so at odds,” Himeko replied.
“Now I can tell you, that’s absolutely right,” Gallagher said. “The family has considered the watchmaker an enemy for a long time, but the watchmaker is elusive and lives only in the business myth he created, so the hounds have been unable to catch him.”
Therefore, I would like to ask you all a further question: Have you ever considered why the family would tolerate the watchmaker sending such a ridiculous message to the outside world, allowing you to accept the invitation and make such a mess of this place?
After Galah's reminder, Himeko immediately realized what he meant, but the former immediately voiced her guess in the next second.
"Now you can understand why the Oak family authorized the anonymous guest to assist in the investigation, yet kept things from you at every turn. Because the watchmaker is not a legend of the dreamland at all, but the most unspeakable figure in the history of the Pinocchio branch. He is the instigator of all the dreams."
Is he really worthy of being called a fiction historian? Gallagher can fabricate historical events so easily, without even blinking, and he makes them sound like the truth.
If it weren't for the fact that we're at a critical moment, Kiana would have loved to stand up and applaud Galah, but Hoshi and March 7th still seem completely oblivious to the situation.
“What does this have to do with Mikhail?” Xing asked.
“Still haven’t figured it out?” Gallagher said, looking at Xing. “I mean Mikhail, the family traitor—he’s the infamous watchmaker.”
"what?"
"However, this isn't a suitable place to talk about watchmakers either. Let's move to a more appropriate place."
After some time, Gallagher led everyone to the gate of an amusement park.
This is the famous Kroc Movie World in Pinocchio.
"No, Crocker Film Park, Pinocchio's most popular film and entertainment center."
"Weren't we supposed to talk about the watchmaker? I thought we'd go to the archives or something, why are we here?" March 7th asked.
Standing in the square in front of the entrance, Gallagher began to explain: "The culture of a city is the final footnote to its history. In your eyes, this is the end, but in my eyes, it is a prison, used to imprison the past of this planet."
You all surely know that Pinocchio used to be the company's prison planet, right? Mortals were brought here to help the Memory Palace salvage the leaking memory matter from the large hole. The prison, constantly exposed to a high concentration of memory matter, developed a peculiar phenomenon. Countless individual dreams intertwined and overlapped, and people began to meet in their dreams, living lives that seemed almost real.
But everything comes at a price, and dreams are no exception. Ultimately, even dreams couldn't erase the suffering in people's reality. Led by a prisoner, the border prison smashed its shackles and began the fight for freedom… He was Hanu the Brother. The elder brother of the dream town, the builder of peace, and the eternal partner of the weak.
"So it turns out Watch Boys is a documentary."
"History is usually written by the victors, but setting aside the artistic embellishments, it is an undeniable fact that 'Clockboy' is an animation based on the history of Pinocchio," Gallagher said slowly, arms crossed.
“These characters not only live in Dream Town, but also in the distant past. Understanding this… helps us understand why we came here.”
"So what does Mr. Gallagher mean?" March 7 asked.
"Come with me, I'll explain everything on the way."
Led by Gallagher, the group began to head towards the gates of the Crook Film Park, but along the way, tourists were driven out of the gates, which were guarded by members of the Hound family.
“There are a lot of hound families around here,” March 7th said.
“I just received the lockdown order. They said it was personally issued by that person on Sunday. God knows what they’re up to,” Gallagher explained.
Before long, the group arrived at a spot not far from the Clock Boy statue in front of the gate. They stopped because there were a large number of hound family members guarding the area.
"Wow...that's quite a show of force. I've never seen them put in this much effort when chasing suspects."
"It's breathtaking even from the outside," Xing exclaimed, gazing at the magnificent building at the entrance.
“After all, it’s a family project. Aside from those who uphold faith, they’re the most skilled at building wonders,” Gallagher replied. “Let’s find a quiet corner to continue.”
Gallagher then led the group to a secluded corner where they could also see the Clockwork Boy statue.
"This is fine, the view is good. We can see him right away..."
“If these animated characters have real-life counterparts, then the Clockwork Boy would undoubtedly correspond to the Clockmaker,” Himeko stated her speculation. “He was Hanu’s partner and one of the original members of Dream Town. Could this be interpreted as the Clockmaker having personally participated in that war and siding with Asdna?”
"That was a massive war of independence, with the Masked Fool, the Nameless Guest, the Fictional Historian, the Mourning Merciful One, the Ominous Vanguard... Hanunu quelled the war with the help of his companions and extraterrestrial visitors. Naturally, the future Clockmaker was among them."
“But if you calculate it this way… wouldn’t the clockmaker have lived for hundreds of years?” March 7th asked.
“I don’t know. When I met Mikhail, he was already a watchmaker, or maybe it was a title he inherited.”
"Sir Sheriff, how old are you?"
Gallagher turned to look at March 7th, then slowly replied, "Thirteen years old."
"It can't be possible no matter how you look at it!" March 7 said incredulously.
Indeed, with Gallagher's full beard and unkempt appearance, it's hard to believe he's only thirteen years old.
Kiana also knew that if Galah was created in the past, she was indeed only thirteen years old this year. Just like the Herrscher of Knowledge, she appeared to be in her teens or twenties, but was actually only around ten years old.
However, Gallagher ignored March 7 and continued to introduce the history of Pinocchio to everyone.
"Hanunu liberated the border prison, but he left before he could see peace. Barren resources, a menacing outside, and disunited prison districts... Asdna's future remained precarious. It wasn't until a watchmaker from history extended an olive branch to the family, attempting to transform the prison into a vibrant hub of social gatherings... that Pinocchio finally acquired its current name and stepped onto the stage facing the stars."
"That's why he's called the father of Pinocchio," Himeko said knowingly.
"But you clearly said earlier that the watchmaker was a traitor to the family? You also said that you were his companion, so you also..." March 7 asked, puzzled.
“I am not his companion, but one of his many children,” Galakh said. “But I am indeed a traitor, not to the family, but to… Mikhail.”
"What did you do?" Himeko asked.
“I did nothing…this is the greatest betrayal. Like you, I once had close companions. We poured our hearts and souls into Pinocchio, but the Oak family…has betrayed us.”
Gallach's tone grew heavy: "Mikhail is old and can no longer protect his children. We left the family to find our own way, and thus became traitors to our own kind... even though the real traitors are others. They still praise the watchmaker's reputation to the outside world, but secretly they are nailing him to the pillar of shame."
Even so, we still hoped to clear his name. If we could find the real traitor, the mastermind behind all this, Pinocchio's accomplices could get back on track… but we lost. So much time had passed, the impact on the Land of Dreams was too profound, and under the relentless pursuit, I gave up… like a stray dog.
My family took me back, giving me a job as a sheriff—ostensibly forgiveness, but actually punishment. From that moment on, I severed all ties with my companions… with my past. And Mikhail… I heard he died in the neglected world of the fake little girl, in a place no one could find. I understood; from this moment on, the Pinocchio of the past could never return.
After Galah finished speaking, he showed a dejected expression. At this point, Hoshi and the others completely believed the history told by the fictional historian and showed him sympathy and comfort.