[Akivili sighed helplessly: "…I admit it."]
["You sneaked into the Haiyi Aiyibangli Zoo, used half an Amber Era's worth of the train crew's budget to buy two hundred and fifty young Tapirus juveniles, raised them in the bathroom causing them to multiply infinitely, resulting in massive amounts of sewage flooding the other carriages—" Pam grew angrier as she spoke, her big ears almost standing straight up.]
["—Do you plead guilty, Pam?!"]
——
Dragon Clan.
"Is this really an Aeon? What exactly does this have to do with Akivili?"
Caesar frowned, his face full of disbelief: "This looks like a high school student caught in an early romance by their homeroom teacher."
Aren't Aeons supposed to be existences that can turn countless galactic civilizations to ash with a snap of their fingers? Even if they aren't like the [Preservation] who smashed the [Propagation] with three hammers, they should at least show some Aeon-level presence, right? But how come…
He was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Legend says Akivili is the Aeon closest to humans. The rumors were indeed true." Chu Zihang looked as if he had a sudden realization. "Back in the Simulated Universe, Stelle was imitating Akivili, but at the time I thought it was a bit exaggerated. Now it seems… Stelle was actually the more reserved one."
"I feel like Akivili doesn't seem like an Aeon. Compared to an Aeon, he feels more like a human… Or rather, he actually is a human who happened to ascend into an Aeon while following the train's [Trailblaze] journey?" Caesar speculated.
"I agree with your latter guess." Chu Zihang nodded. "Also, Pam's lifespan is much longer than I expected."
At first, Chu Zihang had guessed that Pam might be a relic left by the Trailblaze Aeon Akivili for the Astral Express before his fall, but he never expected it to be even older than an Aeon… It seems that on the train, Pam is the most mysterious one.
——
[Pam then listed forty-six more cases, such as Akivili secretly eating forty-two pieces of fragrant, crispy, crunchy Pam Pam Pie, and in the end he had no choice but to admit to all of them.]
[Akivili looked deeply ashamed: "I'm sorry… I really am the worst Nameless in the world."]
[Pam slowly shook her head: "…No, you're not, Pam."]
[Akivili looked up: "Is there someone even worse than me?"]
["Of course there is."]
["Who?"]
[Pam stomped her feet in agitation: "It's the guy who blew the train into two pieces, Pam!"]
[…]
[The content of the dream bubble ended here. To bring a local Penacony specialty back for Pam on the train, Stelle immediately spent a hundred thousand credits on the spot to buy it.]
[Stelle was planning to continue wandering around nearby when she suddenly heard a commotion not far away.]
[She followed the sound and saw a cute gray-haired girl being cornered by a group of black-clothed men in a street alley. The situation looked quite tense.]
[The moment the girl saw Stelle, a light of hope suddenly flashed in her eyes. She nimbly slipped sideways between two of the black-clothed men and quickly ran to Stelle's side.]
"S-Sorry! Please help me…"
[The girl looked up at her, her eyes like glass cups filled with starlight, wet and gazing at Stelle. Her eyelashes trembled lightly, casting a shadow of unease in her eyes.]
[…Completely impossible to refuse!]
"Protecting a beautiful girl is my duty!" Stelle proudly put her hands on her hips, then pulled the girl behind her.
——
Gintama.
Plop.
The strawberry milk slipped from Gintoki's hand, splashing a pink stain across the floor of the Yorozuya. Gintoki stared blankly at the scene in the Celestial Screen where Stelle met the gray-haired beauty, feeling like the sky was collapsing.
"Hey hey! What the hell is this? The classic 'beautiful girl asking for help' trope? Isn't this something that only happens in Weekly Shonen Jump? No… even Jump doesn't do this kind of protagonist-meets-heroine encounter anymore! Why is this happening in reality? And not to me! I've been the protagonist of this manga for so many years, you know?!"
Shinpachi pushed up his glasses: "Gin-san, I remember last week a cute girl asked you for help too. Then you found out she was selling insurance and pretended to have a sudden diabetic attack and fainted."
"How can that be the same? She didn't want to encounter me at all, she just wanted to encounter my money! The problem is… I've never even encountered money myself!"
Gintoki tremblingly pointed at the gray-haired beauty in the Celestial Screen. "I want this kind! A frail, pitiful, helpless beautiful girl! I'm clearly the man who has the two major shonen protagonist specs: silver natural perm and dead fish eyes!"
"But Stelle is a beautiful girl, not a shonen manga protagonist?" Kagura picked her nose. "Doesn't Gin-chan know? Just like that one manga that started with JO said: 'Stand users attract other Stand users.' In reality, beautiful girls also attract each other, aru."
"So… Gin-chan, don't lose heart!" Kagura suddenly pulled out a girl's outfit from the closet. "If you wear this and stand on the street, surely a real beautiful girl will come…"
"Who needs that kind of help!" Gintoki kicked the outfit flying. "If you suggest that again, I'll replace your vinegar kombu with mayonnaise!"
——
["Guys! She has an accomplice!"]
[The two tried to take down both Stelle and Firefly, but after a fight, they were almost the ones taken down instead. Fortunately, a rugged, stubbled uncle walked over. He was their superior. As soon as he arrived, he scolded the two for doing a poor job and mistaking innocent civilians for stowaways.]
[But one of the Bloodhounds was very persistent and insisted that Firefly was the stowaway.]
[This made Gallagher quite unhappy: "Bullshit. Take another good look? The eyewitness report said it was a silver-colored guy. You're grabbing a silver-haired little girl for me? Can that be the same thing? And you even got into a fight with a guest!?"]
[He then told the two to scram quickly and said he would handle the matter personally.]
[Gallagher gave a simple self-introduction and apologized to Stelle and Firefly on behalf of the Bloodhound Family.]
["The silver-colored guy is…?"]
[Gallagher explained: "The Bloodhound Family are the gatekeepers of the Dreamscape, responsible for a series of security work within the dreams. We previously received notice that criminals had sneaked into Penacony under the guise of the festival. Right now, with the Charmony Festival approaching, there are quite a few people with ulterior motives…"]
["…" Firefly suddenly took a deep, nervous breath.]
["Don't worry, miss. I believe this is a misunderstanding. How could such a cute girl be a stowaway?"]
——