After hearing the Express crew's words, Seele's preconceived notions about the Silvermane Guards shifted considerably.
So most of them were just following orders, unaware of the truth.
She'd misjudged Bronya.
"…Does Bronya know the reason for sealing off the underground? I haven't asked her yet," Seele said.
Leon: "Cocolia told her that holding the surface's defenses was the only way to protect the underground."
Seele's brows shot up. "And she doesn't question that?"
March 7th sighed.
"With Bronya and Cocolia's relationship, without solid proof right in front of her, how could she doubt her so easily?"
"What relationship?" Seele asked, confused.
Leon: "They're mother and daughter."
"What?" Seele's eyes widened, nearly dropping her scythe.
Coming to her senses, she realized why Bronya trembled with anger when she insulted Cocolia during their earlier confrontation.
Stelle: "Actually, I think there's something off… Never mind, it's not polite to say."
March 7th: "Promise me you won't leave us hanging with half a sentence."
Stelle: "Bronya and Cocolia don't look alike. At least, I can't find any resemblance in their features."
March 7th fell into thought.
"Now that you mention it, it is a bit strange. Leon, you're a doctor—any way to confirm if they're…"
"No conditions for that."
Leon gave a wry smile, cutting off March 7th's train of thought.
"Besides, even if we could confirm they're not biological mother and daughter, it wouldn't matter."
"Cocolia's upbringing of Bronya can't be faked."
Unless the Garden of Recollection's people meddled.
But he couldn't think of any reason why the Memokeepers would interfere in this.
Jarilo-VI's civilization had regressed significantly—that was certain.
The Express's archives recorded that Jarilo was once prosperous, connected to the cosmos.
But that didn't mean the Memokeepers would tamper with Bronya's memories.
"March, I know what you're thinking."
"Even if it's an adoptive relationship, it wouldn't change Bronya's feelings for Cocolia."
"For Bronya to rebel against a mother on the wrong path, the core issue isn't blood ties."
"It's about her witnessing with her own eyes that Cocolia has failed as Supreme Guardian."
"At the end of the day, she was raised to be the Supreme Guardian's heir…"
Hearing Leon lay it out so clearly, March 7th scratched her head. "Yeah, makes sense."
Seele, still processing the information, turned to Leon after a long pause.
Her eyes held a mix of complex emotions, the strongest being admiration.
"No wonder you brought Bronya to the underground by force. But there's still one thing I don't get."
"How did you know the underground was suffering? Did you scout it out beforehand?"
Leon shook his head.
"No. Surveying the surface was enough."
"When the nest collapses, no egg stays intact. The surface is barely holding on—how could the underground be unaffected?"
"We've been to many worlds, seen many cases, and know the dangers of Stellarons and Fragmentum."
"If Cocolia had a clear conscience, she wouldn't hide the real reason for sealing off the underground."
Seele nodded silently. "I hope Bronya can break free from the deception and wake up."
"Whether your motives were for yourselves or not, you helped us, and that's real. Thank you."
"I'll keep the Stellaron matter in mind and watch for any related info."
The Express crew, of course, didn't bother with polite refusals or empty pleasantries.
Finding the Stellaron was one thing; having the intent to help was another.
Seele led the Trailblaze team back to Boulder Town, escorting them to the Goethe Hotel.
After a brief farewell, she hurried off to handle other matters.
…
Goethe Hotel.
As was their custom, the Trailblaze team held a daily debrief before resting.
Over half an hour later, March 7th yawned and returned to her room.
In the player's perspective, Leon did the same.
Stelle's room, compared to the Goethe Hotel's rooms on the surface, was far less luxurious.
But with the underground's limited resources, that was understandable.
Maintaining a clean and tidy lodging environment was already no small feat.
Stelle lit the incense burner Leon had given her and placed it on the bedside table.
Supposedly, the scent it emitted could improve sleep quality.
① "Time to sleep. Hope I get good dreams this time."
The screen faded to black.
[The bed isn't exactly soft. Maybe that's why you couldn't fall asleep after half an hour.]
[But you know that's not the real reason. This underground trip left many questions unanswered.]
[As a Trailblaze newbie, your subconscious doesn't want to slack off.]
[But thinking too hard is exhausting, and your brain keeps hinting to avoid that itchy scalp feeling.]
[Another hour of lying there, and you still can't sleep.]
[So, you decide?]
① "Goodnight, World. Keep trying to sleep."
② "Leon said he's good at treating insomnia. Ask him for help."
Ah Xian ignored option one outright.
Leaving the room, she reached the corridor and stopped at the task marker.
Stelle knocked on the door.
[…]
She knocked again.
"(He's asleep? Guess I shouldn't bother him.)"
Goethe: "Oh? The gray-haired girl Wildfire told us to treat well?"
Stelle turned to the newcomer. "Boss Goethe, you're still up?"
Goethe: "Just finished some work. Looking for that long-haired guy? He left over an hour ago."
Stelle's face froze slightly.
"(Leon's gone out… Did something urgent come up?)"
Suppressing her doubts, she asked, "Boss, do you know where he went?"
Goethe: "Dr. Natasha sent someone to fetch him. Why don't you check her clinic?"
Stelle: "Got it. Thanks."
Goethe: "Aw, you're too polite, miss."
Seeing this, Ah Xian's thoughts took a strange turn.
In less than two seconds, she mentally punched her brain.
Drawing doujins had fried her mind. Seeing a late-night, lone guy-girl scenario, she actually thought of some unmentionable plot.
No way that could happen.
Star Rail isn't that kind of game.
[Ah Xian, Ah Xian, if you'd picked 'keep sleeping,' you'd have missed plot points.]
"Huh?"
[For real. You're progressing slowly, but I saw it on another streamer's run.]
[If you pick 'keep sleeping,' you still can't sleep and end up going out, running into Bronya, triggering another plotline.]
[If you pick 'find Leon,' you actually meet him, leading to a different plot direction.]
Ah Xian's curiosity was piqued.
She had vague memories of the closed beta plot involving Bronya and Seele, but the rest of the Trailblaze team wouldn't tag along in that one.
After asking her stream chat for more details, Ah Xian got the info she wanted.
The overall direction wasn't much different from Dan Heng's storyline.
"Good thing I didn't pick it."
[As if you'd ever pick otherwise.]
[Exactly. When you saw the option to find Leon, you were like a fish starved for days seeing bait.]
"Thanks for the compliment~ It proves I, as Leon's diehard fan, love him to the bone~"
Ah Xian raised her lips proudly, opened the map, and teleported to Natasha's clinic.
A quick jog, an F to enter—smooth as ever.
Natasha: "What brings you here? Feeling unwell?"
Stelle glanced around.
"Technically, no. I'm looking for Leon. Boss Goethe said you sent for him over an hour ago."