"Hello, hello? Testing, testing? All passengers! The Express has locked onto the specific coordinates of Punklorde. We will shortly perform a scheduled warp jump along the existing Star Rail, followed by a targeted jump to our destination. All passengers, please remain in your seats. Do not move about freely! Do not move about freely! Especially you, Passenger March 7th!"
Pom-Pom's voice echoed through the Parlor Car. The usually calm space was now bustling with activity.
Topaz was asking Tingyun for advice on how to best care for a small animal's fur; Stelle, March, and Dan Heng were teamed up and playing a game. Upon hearing Pom-Pom's announcement, March shrank back guiltily, glanced around, and then immediately went back to focusing on her game. Welt and Himeko were each busy with their own tasks. For some reason, these two most senior Nameless of the Express had been feeling a sense of unease lately, but after a thorough diagnosis from the [Professional Physician] Wende, he found nothing seriously wrong.
Wende had a guess as to the cause of Welt and Himeko's strange feelings. It was nothing more than the ripples from the people in the Honkai world… but seeing as their reactions weren't too severe, perhaps the timeline in the Honkai world was in a relatively stable period?
It was just a guess on Wende's part. The most important thing was that these two parental figures of the Express were alright.
After all… the Astral Express couldn't function without them.
"So, are we done pretending now, bad woman?"
Wende looked helplessly at Jingliu, who was leaning against his shoulder. They weren't in the bedroom right now; this was out in the open, in front of everyone… this…
"What? I don't mind, and you're the one getting shy? And I wonder who, at night…"
Resting her hands on Wende's thighs, Jingliu's pink eyes were filled with a teasing glint.
"Stop, stop, stop! I surrender!"
Wende decisively threw his hands up in defeat, looking with mock resentment at the smiling Jingliu.
He had no idea who was the one that refused to leave his room, and in the end, even… sigh…
Wende let out a long sigh. Was he really the one losing out here…?
"In that case, don't say another word."
Seeing Wende's surrender, Jingliu nodded in satisfaction and continued to lean against him.
"…"
Stelle silently watched the interaction between Jingliu and Wende, continuing to play her game without a word.
"Hey, hey! Stelle! Don't go in! They're at full health!!"
"Triple Kill!"
"Uh… nice! Looks like we can win this! Wait, what are you doing!"
"You have slain your teammate."
"Waaah! Dan Heng, run! Stelle's seeing red!"
"…You're too late."
Staring at his grayed-out screen, Dan Heng turned to look at the blood-raged Stelle and shook his head helplessly.
---o---
"The hell?! Is she on steroids or something?! How did she suddenly go on a killing spree?!"
Silver Wolf stared in disbelief as their entire team of three was wiped out, blurting out loud as she continued to shovel food into her mouth.
"Perhaps playing a game while eating affects one's performance?"
Kafka said with an air of indifference, gracefully placing a piece of white-cut chicken into her mouth. She even reached over to wipe a grain of rice from the corner of Silver Wolf's lips.
"Mmph… So, I thought you two weren't eating? Especially you! Didn't you say you don't need to eat?!"
Silver Wolf, blushing slightly from Kafka's teasing, immediately turned her head towards Blade. Seeing the fried chicken in his hand, she complained with dissatisfaction.
"Hmph…"
An old face like Blade's turned red. He turned his head away, but the motion of his eating didn't stop for a second.
"I told you, the tsundere trope retired from the meta ages ago! And besides, if anyone's going to act spoiled, shouldn't it be me, the minor?! For a grown man like you to act like this…"
The corner of Silver Wolf's mouth twitched. She suddenly felt that these two adults were incredibly unreliable.
"Oh, but for Ah Ren to act like this, doesn't that just prove his condition is improving?"
Kafka covered her mouth with a light chuckle and silently sent the video she had just secretly recorded to Silver Wolf.
"…Kafka."
Looking at Kafka, Silver Wolf's expression grew complicated. When did she join the Path of Elation? That expression was pure agent of chaos…
Ugh~
Silver Wolf suddenly shivered. Looking at the gentle expression on Kafka's face, she… she couldn't be treating her as a substitute because she couldn't win over that other person, could she!?
"Little Wolf, I get the feeling you're thinking some very unpleasant things."
Kafka rested a finger on her chin, her eyes narrowing as she looked with great interest at the clearly flustered Silver Wolf.
"Uh… h-how could that be… Just eat! If it's not enough, I'll message Stelle again. She made all of this herself! I'm sure you'll love it!"
"Oh… so Stelle made this… That person, he actually passed his cooking skills on to her… In that case, I…"
Kafka stroked the submachine gun at her waist, a thoughtful look on her face.
Fine, she's completely impenetrable. I'll just eat.
Glancing at the nearly-obsessed Kafka, then at the food on the crate they were using as a table—more than half of which was already gone—Silver Wolf decisively started eating. Filling her stomach came first!
---o---
"Hah…"
Veyl gently laid down the sleeping child in her arms. Seeing the drool from the corner of the girl's mouth land on her arm, she only offered a warm smile and tucked the small blanket around her.
"Goodnight… Veyl Mama…" the little girl murmured in her sleep.
"Mm, goodnight."
Veyl whispered with a smile. She leaned down and placed a soft kiss on the little girl's forehead before getting up and quietly leaving the bedroom.
The moment she stepped out of the room, Veyl's entire aura shifted. Her gentle and kind demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a murderous air.
Clank… clank… clank…
"Screech…"
Pushing open the main door of the orphanage, Veyl looked at the group of people waiting for her, a cold smile gracing her lips.
"Yo, little Rebecca asleep? Clingy as ever, huh!"
The bald, muscular man at the front looked at their boss with admiration. Who would have thought that the leader who had single-handedly subdued half of the old district's toughest thugs and formed its largest gang was the director of an orphanage? And a former Galaxy Ranger, no less. If those cops at the station found out, wouldn't they have to gouge out their eyes and replace them with titanium ones?
"Hmph. Stop fooling around. How did things go? What about those cops?"
Veyl walked up to the large man with a cold expression, swung a long leg over the hoverbike that had been prepared for her, and asked.
"Well… it's as we expected. The central city and the new city are pretty much done for. The cops in the old district still have some tough guys left. They used their own lives to seal off the entrances to the old district. If we hadn't helped them clear out those monsters inside, they probably wouldn't have had such an easy time."
The muscular man said with a sigh.
"Mm… In that case, it's time for [Phantom Light] to lend a hand."
Veyl gazed at the tall tower in the distance, her face grim.