Pei Guang was having fun, while at the Golden Hour, after parting ways, Stelle, March 7th, and Himeko began to act as soon as they arrived here.
March 7th: "Hmm~ Ah Guang said to win people's favor… Let me think, how does Ah Guang usually do it?"
Stelle: "No need to think that hard. See those people who seem to be missing something in their hearts? Offer them a drink!"
March 7th: "What if they don't drink it?"
Stelle: "Then we'll just strongly persuade them to drink it."
Hearing Stelle's words, Himeko raised an eyebrow.
She had an intuition that sooner or later, the Bloodhounds would come after Stelle.
But… she wouldn't stop her: after all, Stelle was forging her path through her own actions.
Although such behavior might upset the Bloodhounds, according to Himeko's analysis, the Emotion Recovery Functional Drink synthesized by Pei Guang was indeed useful to many people.
If it could help more people, Trailblazers didn't necessarily need to care about discontent.
Besides, she was here as well.
As the "big sister" watching over the Trailblazers, as long as her little ones walked the path of helping others and bringing joy, even if they offended some people, it was fine.
As long as she remained their Navigator, she could protect her precious ones for another day.
Still, Himeko couldn't understand why, in this dream world, so many people had lost their emotions.
Wasn't this Penacony, the domain of Harmony? If the people of Harmony's own domain were losing emotion, didn't that mean something was wrong with Harmony itself?
Harmony did have the ability to forcibly control people, but losing emotions and being forcibly controlled were two different things.
And then, there was that strange "Clockie scheme"… In Himeko's view, it was quite similar to Harmony's power.
It was possible that the Clockie Boy Pei Guang and Stelle saw also belonged to Harmony's faction.
Should she tell Pei Guang about it?
Judging from Pei Guang's behavior along the way, Himeko believed he had already noticed. Otherwise, why would he let Stelle and March 7th help people here recover their emotions?
In her eyes, Pei Guang already had the idea of "expanding Harmony by exploring Harmony," so he should have noticed these issues.
"Hopefully, Ah Guang's side goes smoothly!"
Just as Himeko muttered about Pei Guang, March 7th, who had been working, suddenly ran over.
"Hey, Himeko! Look! Ah Guang's famous now!"
Himeko: "?"
As Himeko looked puzzled, March 7th pulled out her phone to show her.
It was a livestream.
In the video, a figure clad in crimson armor held a blade shaped like the front of the Astral Express, speaking in a mechanical voice.
"You know nothing of the weight behind this power."
"Witness the stars shatter before you!"
In the stream, armored Pei Guang slashed through the sun created by the Family in the dream, sending the person controlling it back to reality.
Even Himeko felt a bit awkward witnessing that scene, but she was more curious what expression Welt would make if he saw it.
While watching Pei Guang's rampage in the video, Himeko analyzed the battlefield through the footage.
At first, she frowned at his clash with the Family, but then her expression softened, as if something had suddenly clicked.
March 7th, unaware of anything, became nervous as she saw Pei Guang surrounded by so many members of the Family.
"Hey, Himeko! Should we go help Ah Guang? There are so many enemies—can he and Firefly really handle it?"
Himeko: "Don't worry. His battle here isn't just about letting loose. Everything he and the Family are doing is part of his plan."
March 7th: "Huh? Why do you say that?"
Himeko: "Think about everything Ah Guang has done along the way. He sometimes says shocking things, but when has he ever acted purely out of destruction?"
March 7th thought back seriously to their journey with Pei Guang. He always spoke boldly, but when it came down to it, he was more serious than anyone else.
Though he often acted childish or wild, there was a kind of logic behind the madness.
Such a reliable companion wouldn't pick a fight with the Family without a reason. Even if he fought, it must be for a purpose.
Yet from what the livestream showed, Pei Guang looked like he was just causing destruction—and even under the title of "Stellaron Hunter"?
From the livestream, she also noticed something strange.
Seeing March 7th scratching her head in confusion, Himeko smiled and explained:
"It's actually simple. The appearance of Xipe Cake, combined with some of Ah Guang's investigations, confirmed that something was wrong with the Family's Harmony. Xipe Cake will help restore that Harmony to balance. Having Xipe Cake act directly would be more efficient—but it would also alert whoever's behind all this.
But if Ah Guang causes a huge scene here, it's different. The entity disrupting the Family's Harmony will only think it's the Stellaron Hunters wreaking havoc. Whether from the Family's side or their own, they won't stay idle.
At the same time, since everyone's attention will be drawn to Ah Guang, Xipe Cake can quietly restore the Family's Harmony. By the time the mastermind realizes what's happening, it'll already be too late to escape."
March 7th's eyes widened. "As expected of Ah Guang: always thinking ahead! I told you, our unbeatable Ah Guang wouldn't fight for no reason. Still, there are so many enemies… I can't let him handle them alone; I'm going too!"
Though March 7th said that, in truth, she was more interested in Pei Guang's armor than the fight.
Himeko: "Hmm~ you can ask him whether you're needed right now. As for this side…"
She glanced at Stelle's process—basically, offering drinks, helping people recover their emotions, then having those who regained emotion assist in return.
Each person who'd lost emotion had their own unique, painful story: mountains they couldn't climb alone.
But Stelle's arrival brought hope to their lives.
As a Trailblazer, and with Pei Guang's several planets backing them, Stelle could bring fundamental change.
Those with dreams were given the means to chase them; those burdened by pain were handed a baseball bat and told, "Rules are made to be broken. Come on—I'll help you shatter all your pain."
Having learned from Pei Guang, Stelle found winning others' favor incredibly easy.
Because she helped people retrieve the emotions missing from their hearts, a "Stelle-shaped" place gradually formed within them.
Just like how everyone in Belobog and on the Xianzhou Luofu had become "Pei Guang-shaped," the people of Penacony were slowly becoming "Stelle-shaped."
Before, Stelle had always followed behind Pei Guang, raising affection points along the way: but the target of that affection had never been herself.
Now that she was the one directly earning people's goodwill, she felt a joy unlike any she'd experienced before.
What? Others' thanks? Rewards? Those were all secondary.
Simply watching someone's affection toward her rise gave her a strange and exhilarating satisfaction.
Bit by bit, Stelle began to understand Pei Guang.
Through that understanding and the act of following his example, she gradually found she no longer needed help from others.