"You're coming here? Why?"
Acheron glanced behind her with a touch of bewilderment. Not long ago, this place had been utter chaos. It was only recently, after the Ever-Flame Mansion took the reins, that a semblance of order had been restored.
But it was a marginal improvement at best. After all, no one could realistically expect a bunch of thugs from the Annihilation Gang to have any real talent for governance.
To put it bluntly... it wasn't exactly a fun place to visit.
Yet Sylvia actually wanted to steer an entire train over here. Arriving with that kind of firepower was practically begging for a fight.
"Just out of curiosity. Besides, a newly launched train needs fuel, and fuel comes from Trailblazing. I can just follow the route you've already walked and top off the tank along the way."
As an Emanator, Acheron didn't care about navigation routes in the slightest; she could rip through those dense pockets of Imaginary energy all by herself.
Many of the places she traveled were barren, unconnected sectors of space. If Sylvia wanted to Trailblaze a galaxy or two and claim a few resource-rich planets as her own territory, it would be killing two birds with one stone.
Though, recruiting an Emanator to help with Trailblazing was a flex likely unique to Sylvia alone.
"Do you really intend to become a Nameless, driving your own train to Trailblaze the stars?" Acheron pondered the thought for a moment before posing the question with genuine seriousness.
Sylvia had anticipated the question, so her answer was equally earnest. "We'll have to see how the repairs on the train go. But in the future, if nothing pressing comes up, I think I'd quite like to just wander around the cosmos."
"I see." Acheron nodded.
The identity of a Self-Annihilator was rather eye-catching. Traveling under the banner of the Nameless alongside Sylvia wasn't a bad alternative. Furthermore, Sylvia didn't have to worry about the dangers of being corrupted by IX.
The only potential headache was if other passengers wanted to climb aboard in the future.
Hmm... It would be nice if it were always just the two of them on the train, traveling together forever.
Considering her own circumstances, Acheron couldn't help but harbor that slightly heavy thought. Of course, it wasn't the sort of thing she could easily voice aloud to Sylvia.
"Oh, right, right! We're about to start remodeling the train's interior. Is there any particular style you'd like to add? Your hometown's aesthetic, perhaps?"
The train's interior could be rearranged at will. Himeko hadn't altered much, preferring to restore the original layout as closely as possible.
But Sylvia didn't care about that; changing it to a completely different style was perfectly fine by her.
"...No need. Just a few touches in my own room will suffice." Acheron thought about it; if the entire train were modeled after the style she remembered, it would feel a bit bizarre. Besides, this wasn't her train—it was Sylvia's.
"Works for me."
Sylvia noted down Acheron's request, planning to send it over to the staff member in charge of procurement so he could add it to the order. She intended to make Acheron her very first passenger the moment the train successfully launched.
As for Sparkle... no rush. They could worry about her after reaching Penacony.
"So—when exactly do you plan to make your move?"
"In a few days. I want to assess the situation first," Acheron replied cautiously.
She possessed undeniable strength, yes, but she never underestimated her opponents or let arrogance cloud her judgment. That was her golden rule for navigating the galaxy.
Seeing Sylvia nod, Acheron suddenly knit her brows. "Sylvia, you haven't been doing anything dangerous back at the space station, have you?"
Honestly, Acheron hadn't initially thought along those lines. But this girl had far too much of a track record. To be safe, Acheron couldn't help but pry.
"Uh—"
Sylvia froze, her voice instinctively trailing off. She didn't want to lie to Acheron, but she genuinely hadn't intended to drag her into Ruan Mei's experiment from the start. Her reaction was the textbook definition of burying one's head in the sand.
Catching her expression, Acheron knew instantly. She had hit the nail right on the head!
"...Sylvia."
"I'm sorry, I was wrong! I'll bring you over right now!" Before Acheron could even lose her temper, Sylvia folded instantly.
"Sigh..." Looking at Sylvia on the screen, Acheron couldn't help but let out a soft sigh. "You really never learn, do you?"
"Listen to my excuse! I was totally planning on telling you, but you beat me to the punch by asking first!"
"..."
Acheron stared at Sylvia, her expression far from pleased.
Right, fine, nice excuse. If I don't ask, you don't tell, and when I do ask, you claim you wanted to say it but ran out of time.
You've got an answer for everything, don't you? Do I look like some gullible, easily fooled woman to you?
At that thought, a dangerous glint flashed in Acheron's eyes.
It was intimidating enough that Sylvia, who had wanted to scramble for a few more excuses, wisely chose to shut her mouth. Instead, she plastered on a bright smile, attempting to soothe Acheron's mood.
Staring at Sylvia's silly, beaming grin, Acheron sighed yet again.
Though Sylvia was being ridiculous, Acheron, unfortunately, was a total sucker for it.
The moment she saw that smiling face, her anger genuinely began to melt away. This was the first time Acheron realized just how easily she compromised whenever she was faced with that specific look.
But if she compromised every single time, Sylvia—who was already a handful—would only push her luck further. That wasn't an outcome Acheron wanted either.
Perhaps it was time to harden her heart and make a firm decision. She couldn't just let this girl run wild all over the place anymore. She needed to keep Sylvia right by her side where she could watch her.
By the time Sylvia finally learned her lesson and stopped provoking people, she would probably be completely used to having Acheron around anyway.
Yes. Starting right now.
Acheron made up her mind. The Ever-Flame Mansion wasn't going anywhere; it was better to apprehend this restless little troublemaker first.
With that in mind, Acheron's expression softened. "Bring me over to the Herta Space Station."
"Uh... sure. Just wait until I get back to my room." Seeing Acheron calm down, Sylvia didn't refuse her request.
Oh well. In the original timeline, Dr. Ratio had gone down there anyway and hadn't complained.
Presumably, Ruan Mei wouldn't care too much about how many people were present when it came time to swat some bugs. As long as she didn't drag Acheron directly in front of Ruan Mei, everything should be fine.
With their business concluded, Sylvia and Acheron temporarily cut the call.
However, Sylvia didn't leave immediately. She walked up, down, left, and right, doing a meticulous lap around the train. She was practically bursting with anticipation to see what might pop out from inside this vehicle.
Would it be another Conductor, or maybe another Pom-Pom? Or did other trains lack a Conductor like Pom-Pom altogether, operating with only a Navigator?
Sylvia wasn't the only curious one; Herta was equally intrigued. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to help Sylvia repair a train right inside her space station.
"But then again... Himeko is the Astral Express's Navigator, so I guess I can't really be a Navigator, right?"
Sylvia pondered the true meaning of the title. Even in a fleet, there could only be one Navigator, right? In that case, what would her official title be on her own train?
For a long moment, Sylvia fell into deep thought.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL