Chapter 412

After hearing the Red-haired Bureau Director’s inquiry, Leon followed her gaze and looked toward the Snow Maiden lying in the desert.

According to the rules of this world, nightmares that enter reality gain physical form. Before the Nightmare King entered his “second phase,” he had already knocked out the Snow Maiden, and she hadn’t woken up since.

“Still, we should send her back to the Dream Realm.”

Leon hesitated briefly before speaking: “I used the Black Goat’s soul vision to look, and her soul is actually purer than many humans. She was mainly controlled by the Nightmare King; she herself isn’t bad. This time, she helped me a lot.”

“Moreover, her companion nightmare was contaminated, and the Nightmare Core was destroyed by the Nightmare King, causing her strength to drop severely. Besides being able to travel through nightmares, she basically has no abilities left. Sending her back isn’t a big deal.”

“Alright.”

Nodding in agreement with Leon’s handling plan, the Red-haired Bureau Director thought for a moment before saying, “Forget it, let the remaining few Nightmare Messengers go back too. After you wreaked havoc on the Dream Realm, it’s pretty battered. And before the Nightmare King resurrects, the ratio of nightmares to good dreams will be severely imbalanced.”

“Sending back a few high-tier nightmares might help balance things slightly, preventing any adverse effects on the real world. And after the overlap ends, they won’t have the ability to invade the present world anymore, so there’s no need to worry about any harm if we send them back.”

Before the Nightmare King resurrects…

Hearing the words of the Red-haired Bureau Director, Leon’s expression couldn’t help but darken slightly.

Though he knew these “True Gods” were almost indestructible, and the Nightmare King would one day be reborn from a new Nightmare River after being eliminated this time, recalling the painful scenes the Mirror Diadem showed him—just thinking about it made his heart ache uncontrollably. A deep sense of unwillingness still lingered in Leon’s eyes.

“Director.”

Calling out once, Leon frowned deeply and asked, “Is there really no way to completely eliminate the Nightmare King?”

You’re asking such a question… looks like the Nightmare King really pissed you off badly…

The Red-haired Bureau Director glanced at Leon curiously, pondering what the Nightmare King could have done to make usually composed Leon lose control, then shook her head and replied, “No… good dreams and nightmares are both cornerstones of the Dream Realm. Completely eliminating the Nightmare King would be like eliminating the Deathscape Sovereign—it would cause an imbalance in this subordinate world.”

“Subordinate world?”

“To put it simply, worlds aren’t entirely isolated from each other; they are interconnected based on utility and rules.”

Using her toe to draw a large circle in the sand and adding several smaller circles around it, the Red-haired Bureau Director explained:

“If the world we are in is the big circle in the middle, then the Deathscape, Dream Realm, and these smaller circles can be seen as ‘subordinate worlds’ derived from our world, specifically serving our world.”

“The Deathscape is responsible for containing souls that have perished, returning them to their source and granting rebirth, while the Dream Realm handles human memories and fantasies. Things like art, inspiration, etc., also have some connection to the Dream Realm.”

After explaining the significance of the Dream Realm’s existence, the Red-haired Bureau Director said somewhat helplessly:

“The stable operation of these subordinate worlds is very significant to us. Even when problems arise, we sometimes have to help them out, though generally, this work doesn’t fall to us.”

“If even you don’t get involved… then the Directors?”

“That’s right, the Directors. Most Directors are rarely at the Bureau; they’re mostly doing this kind of work.”

The Red-haired Bureau Director continued:

“If the task of the eighty-seven Bureau Directors of the Clearing Bureau is to guard human settlements and prevent enemies from sneaking in to steal or rob, then the responsibility of the twelve Directors is to ensure that these subordinate worlds operate smoothly without causing any major disruptions that could affect reality.”

“The strength of the Yellow Path Directors may not be weaker than the Directors, but the Palaces they oversee are one tier below the twelve Directors, unable to freely enter and exit these subordinate worlds. Therefore, these cross-world tasks are usually handled by Directors who can use the [Stellar Compass].”

Understanding why the bugs couldn’t completely devour the Dream Realm and why the Directors of the Clearing Bureau were always absent, Leon hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking:

“Then… what if we try to replace the Nightmare King? Didn’t the Deathscape Sovereign change people before?”

“It’s possible, but it’s extremely troublesome and also abnormally dangerous.”

The Red-haired Bureau Director sighed:

“The ancestor of the Royal Family struck down the Nightmare King long ago, resulting in a curse on his bloodline. He attempted something similar to your idea, wanting to remove the curse the Nightmare King left on his bloodline, and received support from the Bureau. However, he failed, and it caused very serious consequences.”

Very serious consequences? Hearing this, Leon couldn’t help but clench his fists and asked curiously:

“What happened in the end?”

“…”

“Leon, I ask you.”

Without answering Leon’s question, the Red-haired Bureau Director sighed and asked:

“What kind of Kingdom do we live in?”

What kind of Kingdom? Leon was momentarily stunned.

“The Kingdom is just the Kingdom, what do you mean by ‘what kind of Kingdom?'”

“I mean, don’t you think there should be a prefix before ‘Kingdom’?”

The Red-haired Bureau Director continued:

“For example, Frostland Country, Crocodile Kingdom, Thousand Sails Sea Kingdom, Thunderstorm Kingdom, and so on. Other countries all have specific names. So, what should the prefix or full name of the Kingdom be?”

The name of the Kingdom? Hearing this, Leon couldn’t help but pause, then opened his badge panel, found the Prince badge that could make people bow, and took a look.

My badge is called [Travel Thrush Prince], so the full name of the Kingdom must be Thrush Kingdom, right? What’s the big deal… wait! Why did I have to check my badge to remember the name of the Kingdom?

Realizing something significant, Leon’s pupils couldn’t help but shrink instantly. The Red-haired Bureau Director, who had been watching his expression, sighed appropriately:

“You realized you couldn’t remember, right?”

“…”

“The ancestor of the Royal Family accidentally disrupted the stability of the Dream Realm while trying to replace the Nightmare King, causing a worldwide memory loss, which led to everyone forgetting the name of the Kingdom.”

“And to solve this problem, the Bureau had no choice but to open the [Fantasy Vat] and modify the brain of the evil god soaked inside, requiring it to constantly erase this question, making everyone unconsciously ignore this issue.”

“So you and everyone else in the entire Kingdom keep shouting ‘Kingdom Kingdom’ every day but don’t feel anything wrong with calling the Kingdom without a name.”

“…”

Looking at Leon’s shocked face, the Red-haired Bureau Director patted his shoulder and said, “Leon, now you understand how troublesome it is to replace these ‘gods’ occupying important rules, right?”

(End of Chapter)