Acheron's reply came so swiftly it felt rehearsed, slipping out the moment Sylvia's words trailed off.
The quickness of it caught both of them off guard. They stared at one another, momentarily stunned.
Then, Sylvia couldn't hold back a laugh.
"You just left, and now you're coming back? Isn't that a bit much trouble?"
"It isn't."
Acheron shook her head, but Sylvia still felt uneasy about making her travel back and forth. She offered instead, "How about I come to you? I can actually get to where you are now… Speaking of which, which planet are you on right now?"
Acheron sent a set of interstellar coordinates to Sylvia's phone. The device automatically recognized them and displayed a simplified star chart.
It wasn't far, but the route made Sylvia pause.
"You're doubling back? This sector… it's where you found me, isn't it?"
"That was the original planned route. Coming to the Xianzhou was unexpected; I've just looped back around. Why do you ask?"
"No, it's nothing. How about we meet on that planet, then? I've… sort of picked up a new ability recently."
"A new ability? Did you perform a ritual with someone else?"
Acheron blinked, curious. It hadn't even been that long—how had Sylvia gained another power so soon?
Could she have gotten involved in some strange ritual with someone?
"No! Of course not, how could that be?"
Sylvia reflexively denied it three times in a row, but then she remembered—Acheron never knew the true meaning of that ritual anyway, and it wasn't as if she had those kinds of feelings for her. Getting so flustered only made her seem strange.
"Ahem…"
She cleared her throat awkwardly, then blinked and explained,
"It's a teleportation ability. But I can only return to places I've been before. So since I've been near where you are, I can get there pretty quickly."
"Oh? That's a useful skill."
Acheron's eyes lifted. Even limited to previously visited locations, it was an incredibly convenient power.
If she had an ability like that, most corners of the galaxy would be within instant reach.
"In that case, let's meet on that planet. It should take me about twelve system hours to arrive. You can rest for the night."
Behind Sylvia, the sky aboard the Xianzhou was deep in night. She'd likely been busy all day; she ought to get some sleep.
Acheron didn't need much rest herself, but Sylvia certainly did.
"Alright, I'll go get some rest then. You stay safe too."
The words left her out of habit, but Sylvia immediately realized—for Acheron, 'staying safe' was more a concern for anyone who might cross her.
Yet Acheron didn't object. Instead, she nodded obediently.
"Mm, I will."
The call ended.
Acheron toyed with the faint, trembling flame cupped in her hand.
It had been a long time since a simple warning like that had stirred anything in her. She couldn't even recall the last time such words had made her feel anything at all.
"'Stay safe,' huh… Very well. I suppose I should exercise some caution."
Muttering to herself, she clenched her fist, sealing the sentient flame, the Heliobus, into her arm. Then she rose and strode toward the starport exit.
--+--
Back in her own quarters, Sylvia, after hanging up, felt a flicker of anticipation about what that particular Heliobus in Acheron's possession could actually do.
Acheron's judgment was… highly personal, offering little frame of reference. It was hard for Sylvia to quantify its capabilities.
Plus, while it seemed weak and subdued in Acheron's grip, that was no measure of its true power.
And of course, the most critical question remained: could she even use it herself?
If not, it would just be a novelty.
Still, she couldn't help hoping it would be usable.
Though Heliobus looked like simple flames, they emitted no heat. Their true power lay in freely converting energy types—an incredibly versatile ability.
Coupled with their potential to influence minds, it was exactly the kind of thing Sylvia currently lacked.
After all, Acheron could shatter an opponent's psyche with the power of Nihility.
Sylvia? She just relied on raw output. Burn it. If it didn't die, the fire wasn't hot enough—just draw more power from the Stellaron and crank up the heat.
She was supposed to have this grand 'Quad-Core Greatsword' setup, but where were all the Void powers, the powers of Reason? Nowhere to be seen.
Truth was, she'd only managed to copy the visual effects and style of the Herrscher of Flamescion.
'I hope this leads to something good.'
Just as she was settling in, feeling pleased, a very formal email arrived on her phone.
The sender was listed as 'Robin Studio,' followed by the name of some media company.
It looked like a legitimate business correspondence.
"…?"
It actually happened?
Could it be a scam?
That was Sylvia's first thought.
She'd only released the songs a couple of days ago. Sure, she'd dumped a hefty amount of Credits into promotion, but building an audience took time.
For it to attract Robin's attention this quickly, even prompting direct contact…
It felt too good to be true.
But, deciding to check thoroughly, Sylvia looked up information on Robin, paying special attention to details about her studio.
After cross-referencing a few sources, it appeared the email did genuinely come from her studio's official work address.
"Wow, it's actually real?"
And as Sylvia confirmed this, her system chimed in with its own verification:
--+--
[Target: Robin]
[Favorability: 58 (Intrigued and Curious)]
[Relationship: None]
['So you caught the songstress's eye. Question is, dare you meet her in person?']
--+--
Ignoring the system's cheeky comment, Sylvia shrugged. It was just some music theory, wasn't it? Her body had been upgraded; picking up new skills would be a breeze.
With the musical knowledge from her past life as a foundation, she might not be a master, but she could certainly hold her own in a conversation.
The timing was just a bit sooner than she'd expected.
She hadn't even started brushing up on music theory yet.
But thankfully, this was just an email. Any potential deeper, private connection was still a long way off.
There was still time to learn.
Mulling over how to raise Robin's favorability, Sylvia began reading the email contents.
It was very formal, full of polite flattery—praising her as a rising star in the music scene, a promising new talent on the charts, and so on.
It then mentioned that Robin herself was quite fond of several of Sylvia's songs.
It also extended an invitation for Sylvia to visit the planet where the studio was located, suggesting a private meeting for a thorough exchange of ideas.
Lots of formalities.
The real purpose of the email only appeared near the end.
Namely, that Robin really liked several of Sylvia's songs and wanted to cover them.
But they hadn't been able to reach her through the music platform's backend system, hence this direct email.
Attached at the end was a private social media account, presumably managed by someone from the studio.
Covers?
Didn't she lose her voice?
The incident at Herta Space Station is about to happen, and the Charmony Festival isn't far off. Logically, she should have lost her voice by now.
Sylvia frowned, lost in thought.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.