"Ahhhhh!"
"Sister Lumina, I have this really bad feeling..."
"I think this trip to the Luofu is going to be even scarier than Penacony!"
After Yanqing left, March 7th finally voiced her worries.
Having just survived a Lord Ravager's attack on the Luofu, then getting caught in Ena's Dream during Sunday's visit to Penacony, and now arriving back on the Luofu only to immediately face another monster attack, March 7th couldn't help but overthink things.
"It's all your fault for running your big mouth, Little March!" Lumina, seeing March 7th's anxiety, felt a mischievous urge to tease her until she cried. With a dismissive wave, she shifted all the blame onto March 7th.
"See? If you hadn't said that earlier, we wouldn't have been attacked by Borisin, right?"
"No way!" March 7th's eyelids drooped, a rare look of exasperation crossing her face as she turned to Lumina. "Sister Lumina, do you really think I'm that dumb?"
"That whole thing just now definitely wasn't my fault, okay?"
"I had just finished saying that when the crowd started screaming. So, even before I finished speaking, those monsters had already appeared."
Though we didn't know where the Borisin had come from, March 7th's words made perfect sense. Based on the timing, they had clearly appeared the moment she spoke.
Crap, March 7th is breaking character!
Hearing March 7th's analysis, Lumina felt a sudden sense of dread. For someone to act so out of character, they must have experienced something deeply stirring.
Then, recalling March 7th's earlier act of insubordination—touching Lumina's cheek—the alarm bells in Lumina's mind rang loudly.
Breaking character was a minor issue, but what if the next step was for March 7th to start acting on those defiant impulses without even bothering to maintain her facade?
This Lumina absolutely could not allow!
"Hmm... something doesn't quite feel right."
Fortunately, Lumina had been overthinking things. The very next moment, March 7th denied her own words.
Wrong? No, no, no, that's exactly right! This is the March 7th I know!
Seeing March 7th still acting her usual goofy self, Lumina finally relaxed.
She chuckled softly. "Alright, I was just joking. How could a single sentence predict the future? It's probably just luck."
"Mhm, Sister Lumina, you're right! If I were that powerful, I'd have resurrected our boss long ago!... March 7th caught herself mid-sentence, her cheeks flushing crimson. She clapped her hands over her mouth, glanced around nervously, and, under Dan Heng's speechless gaze, continued: "If I were that powerful, I could just casually say, 'Resurrect the Trailblaze!'"
"Hehehe, little March has quite the ambition!" Lumina couldn't help but laugh at March 7th's words. Instead of mocking her, she reached out and patted her head, chuckling teasingly, "Then you should work hard, little March, and strive to revive Akivili!"
Although the term "boss" was quite amusing, considering Akivili's playful nature and his tendency to hang out with Aha, he likely wouldn't mind it—he might even genuinely allow the Astral Express Crew to call him that.
"Boss... Akivili, resurrected?" Little Swarm murmured, repeating March 7th's words. As if suddenly struck by inspiration, she clapped her hands and exclaimed joyfully, "Boss, resurrected!"
"..."
Hearing this, everyone except March 7th turned their gaze toward Little Swarm.
"Um... Little Swarm, you can't just say things like that," Lumina said, her lips twitching uncontrollably.
Little Swarm, you're not like March 7th. Even though you're now a member of the Astral Express, it's not really wrong for you to call Akivili "Boss."
But the problem is, you might have more than one "Boss." In essence, your true "Boss" is [Propagation]...
"Little Swarm, don't mind what Sister March 7th said."
"Calling him 'Boss' makes the Astral Express sound like some kind of criminal organization."
Lumina released her hand from March 7th's head, took a few steps toward Little Swarm, and pulled her into a warm embrace.
"So, Little Swarm, promise me you won't say that again, okay?" Lumina whispered, her breath warm against Little Swarm's ear, her voice tender.
"..."
But Little Swarm gave no response. Lumina only felt the already soft body in her arms grow even softer.
Oh, and her temperature is gradually rising too, Lumina thought, finding the phenomenon somewhat fascinating.
"Promise me, okay?" Lumina whispered again.
"..."
Still, Little Swarm remained silent.
"Hmm?" Having received no response twice, Lumina felt puzzled.
That's strange. Given my status in Little Swarm's heart, she shouldn't be treating me like this, right?
"Um... Sister Lumina, Little Swarm... she seems to have fainted..."
As Lumina struggled to understand, the three figures behind her exchanged glances. Finally, March 7th spoke up, offering Lumina an explanation.
"Eh?" Upon hearing this, Lumina loosened her hold on Little Swarm, gently lifting her by the shoulders and pulling her away.
"..."
Looking at Little Swarm's cheeks flushed as red as an apple and her eyes swirling in dizzying circles like incense coils, Lumina found herself speechless, unsure what to say.
Recalling how Little Swarm had nearly "erupted like a volcano" from a mere touch to her cheek earlier, Lumina realized that this full embrace, feeling each other's warmth at close range, was indeed far beyond the girl's comfort zone...
Well, Little Swarm wasn't this shy before, was she?
Lumina remembered holding Little Swarm at the space station. Back then, she hadn't shown this kind of expression at all.
How strange. Could it be that Little Swarm's feelings about me have undergone such a drastic change?
Lumina muttered to herself, realizing that this was the only plausible explanation.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought. A burst of green light emanated from her palm, clearing Little Swarm's mind of her shyness.
"Ugh..." After a moment, the blush faded from Little Swarm's face, and her mosquito-coil-shaped eyes gradually returned to normal.
"I... I understand. I won't say things like that again," Little Swarm mumbled, her consciousness returning after Lumina cleared her mind. But as she gazed at Lumina, who was so close, her cheeks began flushing crimson again with alarming speed.
Finally, as she finished speaking, her body went limp, and she fainted once more.
"Sister Lumina, Little Swarm fainted again!"
Lumina: ...