Xun Yu—no, April Eight—blinked seriously at May Nine.
Yanqing let out an "uh," scratched his head, and said nothing more.
If Xun Yu had already said so, what else could he do?
"Wait a second, let me adjust a parameter…"
Under Yanqing's shocked gaze, the rabbit in front of Xun Yu suddenly shrank a lot…
And only then did Yanqing notice something off about Xun Yu's body.
The most distinctive Adam's apple… was gone.
So Teacher Xun Yu wasn't disguising himself like Yanqing with "Xianzhou shady arts" makeup—
He directly changed his body?!
Was this the ability of an envoy of Aha?
Yanqing didn't dare ask. Based on what he knew of this teacher… if he asked, he might end up getting transformed too.
Better not…
Aha floated beside April Eight, already laughing with a duck-like cackle.
Just like crossdressing—there's only zero times and countless times.
Once Xun Yu crossed that first boundary, there was no going back~
...
Radiant Festival, Belobog's traditional holiday.
In the past, due to the Fragmentum and the blockade, normal celebrations had been suspended for years. The people of Belobog hadn't felt a lively festival atmosphere in a long time.
Now Belobog was rebuilding, and the celebrations were finally returning.
Soon, April Eight brought May Nine down onto the snowfield using an Ultraman-style flying descent, then headed toward Belobog.
Mm… you could say it was like reliving their first visit here.
Not long after they left, another figure appeared on the snowfield.
"Jarilo-VI…"
"Debts must be repaid—even after seven hundred years!"
Meanwhile, March 7th and the others were still on the way… riding horses—(crossed out) traveling over…
And just after they arrived on Jarilo-VI, they encountered something rather amusing…
"Boss, I found two strangers here. Should I silence them?"
Hearing that IPC employee, March 7th froze.
"S-silence them?!"
"…Silence your head. Don't move. I'm coming."
Topaz's exasperated voice sounded.
Not long after, Director Topaz, one of the Ten Stonehearts, arrived.
From her explanation, the Astral Express crew understood what happened.
Seven hundred years ago, the IPC had loaned money to Jarilo-VI, which was still ravaged by war at the time.
Later, the Supreme Guardian used the Stellaron, and Jarilo-VI lost contact with the cosmos.
The debt became bad debt.
Recently, however, Jarilo-VI reestablished contact with space.
So Topaz, as the "debt collector," came to this planet.
Seven hundred years of principal plus interest had already become an astronomical sum.
Topaz understood exactly what this planet was facing—but she couldn't break the rules.
There were many cases like Jarilo-VI in the universe. If rules were broken every time due to special circumstances, wouldn't the rules become a joke?
At least it was her who came. Her methods were gentler.
She hoped everything would go smoothly…
...
"Come on, over here~ Good~ Mm, such good kids~"
In Belobog, a building that hadn't existed before suddenly appeared, drawing the Silvermane Guards' attention.
Especially when they saw several children being lured inside with candy by a pink-haired woman dressed completely out of place…
The Guards quickly sealed off the area.
Leading the squad was Pela.
Looking at the shop with no signboard yet, Pela nodded to the Guards.
Knock knock knock!
"Open up! Silvermane Guards!"
"Coming, coming~"
April Eight opened the door.
When Pela saw her face, she froze for a moment.
She looked a lot like Miss March 7th from the Astral Express…
"Look! It's Sister Pela!"
Seeing the children safe, Pela signaled behind her. The Guards lowered their weapons slightly.
As the door fully opened, Pela saw the interior.
The kids were sitting neatly, listening to a white-haired boy in front telling stories about the stars…
The inside was much bigger than it looked from outside. Pela was shocked.
She had heard of visitors from beyond the sky. These two were likely among them.
So she subtly asked about their purpose.
"I'm an interstellar merchant. Of course I'm here to do business~"
"Anything you can think of, we've got. Want to take a look?"
April Eight answered each of Pela's questions with a smile.
Meanwhile, in her mind, she and Aha were whispering back and forth.
"What do you mean I have bad intentions? Just tell me—am I doing proper business right now or not?"
"Sure, the goods were imported straight from the IPC warehouse, but the logos are wiped. If I took them with my own ability, they're mine."
The IPC had exploited countless planets. Taking some goods to help development here wasn't too much, right?
As a saying from her previous life went:
"All capitalists deserve to hang from streetlamps."
[TL note: just a reminder the he/she will change for xun you whenever he changes gender]
The IPC maintained order on the surface—but what they did behind the scenes… who knew?
And internally, their members were a mixed bag.
One name's weight kept increasing:
Former Nameless, Oswaldo Schneider.
Head of the Market Development Department.
"And at least I'm human right now. And you? You're not even human!"
Faced with Xun Yu's increasingly savage remarks, Aha felt happy… yet fell silent.
[TL note: another reminder that xun you is aha's humanity]
Wait… wasn't that true?
It felt like Xun Yu was insulting them—but everything he said was technically correct!
Aha: I'm not human? Am I human or not?
Well… they really weren't…
While Xun Yu and Aha debated whether Aha counted as human, Pela finished her procedural questions.
After learning that this "sibling pair" (April Eight & May Nine) came to Belobog to do business, Pela warmly helped them register proper documents.
And so, a shop called "Wonderful Curio Shop" appeared in Belobog.
Sensing the Silvermane Guards secretly stationed nearby, April Eight smiled slightly.
Looks like her worries were unnecessary. She'd feared they trusted outsiders too easily…
"Oh right, Shopkeeper April—what's your relationship with Miss March 7th of the Astral Express?"
To personally ensure the kids' safety—and out of curiosity about outer space—Pela stayed in the shop.
Another reason: Bronya already knew about the situation and told her to interact more with these two merchants.
Now she sat with the children, listening to May Nine (Yanqing) enthusiastically explaining things.
The kids adored him and fought to sit beside him.
"March 7th? Who's that? The name does sound similar to ours…"
April Eight pretended to be puzzled.
As if by fate, two customers arrived outside.
"Hey, Stelle, look—there's a new shop here!"
March 7th stared at the Wonderful Curio Shop in surprise.
[TL note: why did that remind me of Bai luan😭]