"Blade, are you all right?"
On a planet somewhere beyond the Luofu, Kafka looked at Blade and spoke softly.
After leaving the Luofu, she had not hurried to bring him straight back to base.
After all, Blade was in need of a little psychological counseling right now.
But Blade did not answer.
Instead, Silver Wolf, crouched on a nearby rock with a handheld console in her hands, kept playing whatever game she was working on while sneaking glances at him from time to time.
"Hey, Blade. You really okay? The way you look right now is… well, how do I put it? Not great."
At last, Blade slowly raised his head.
"Why did you come save me?"
His voice sounded worn out.
That was only natural. For Blade, dying back there in the Shackling Prison—however miserable and undignified it might have looked—would still have counted as a kind of release.
After all, the whole reason he had joined the Stellaron Hunters was to rid himself of the curse of Abundance on his body, so that one day he could finally die.
And now, his goal had been achieved. He was finally able to die.
Yet his companions had risked themselves to drag him back out.
Blade did not really know what to say to that.
People were not made of stone. He had been with the Stellaron Hunters for a long time now, and at this point he did have some attachment to the group.
But Kafka did not respond to his question.
Her expression was grave as she stared toward the Luofu.
"Hm? Kafka, what's wrong?" Silver Wolf immediately noticed something was off. "Don't tell me you're still worried about the Astral Express. Relax, relax. We've already done everything we needed to do. The Luofu script shouldn't go off track now."
Clearly, Silver Wolf thought Kafka was worried about the script.
But Kafka's solemn reply made her pause.
"Silver Wolf, take Blade back first."
"Someone's coming? That Luofu general?"
Kafka shook her head again. "No. A lady with a bit of a connection to us Stellaron Hunters."
"Sam's matter still requires her help, so let me stay here and have a proper talk with her."
Then Kafka looked at Blade once more.
"Blade, is that all right?"
But Silver Wolf could not care less about that. Before he could answer, she grabbed Blade in one swift motion, and the two of them vanished from that stretch of space.
Kafka turned around and faced the direction of the Luofu, waiting in silence.
A few breaths later, a white figure appeared soundlessly before her.
Cecilia studied Kafka with interest. "Been waiting long?"
After all, she was not using her Kiana identity right now, and she did not have the Authority of Space on hand. The fact that she had gotten here this quickly was already pure brute-force stats at work.
Kafka wore a faint smile. "Not long. Just enough time for me to think about how to begin."
"Oh?" Cecilia raised a brow. "Is this about Firefly?"
According to Kiana's agreement, Cecilia still had to cure Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome.
Hearing that, Kafka visibly relaxed.
"It seems your daughter, Miss Kiana, already told you."
Cecilia nodded again.
"That child did mention it. She said she reached an agreement with the Stellaron Hunters, and that I needed to help treat a rather unusual illness."
Kafka continued, "That's why, when I learned you were on the Luofu, I thought perhaps I could speak with you in person."
Cecilia looked over this core member of the Stellaron Hunters.
Even by her standards, Kafka was a very responsible woman. Cecilia could tell that Kafka's concern for Blade and Firefly was genuine.
"All right." Cecilia waved a hand. "I know about Firefly. Once she arrives on the Luofu, I'll go see her."
Then her tone shifted, and she looked at Kafka with a half-smile.
"However…"
"The little performance your Stellaron Hunters put on today at the Luofu—shouldn't you be giving me an explanation for that?"
Kafka froze slightly, then let out a bitter laugh.
"To be honest, what happened today was completely outside our expectations," she said frankly.
"According to the original plan, Blade was supposed to remain in the Shackling Prison on standby and wait for the right moment."
"But we never expected that you would actually cure his problem."
By the end, Kafka's tone carried a trace of mixed emotion.
According to the deal between the Stellaron Hunters and Elio, they would obtain what they desired somewhere within the script.
But Kafka had never imagined that the wishes of two different Stellaron Hunter members would both end up depending on this Cecilia before her.
She had no idea where this supposed Stellaron Hunter had come from. For someone like Cecilia to exist, and yet leave behind not even the slightest trace of intelligence over all these years, was almost unbelievable.
"In that case," Cecilia said leisurely, "doesn't that mean your Stellaron Hunters owe me another favor?"
Kafka blinked. "Owe you a favor?"
"Lady Cecilia, Blade's matter was raised by the Luofu's general, wasn't it? We Stellaron Hunters never asked you for that."
But Cecilia could not be bothered with such distinctions.
"So," she said, "you're trying to welsh on the debt?"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter116)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 118
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 111
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 80
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 112
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 80
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 74
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 48
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 50
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 47
Uma Musume: From Beginner 42
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin