"Ah, finally home! Nothing beats the comfort of the train!" The moment she stepped onto the train, March 7th stretched luxuriously and called out to the conductor who was nowhere to be seen. "Pom-Pom, hurry up and welcome us~ After being frozen on Jarilo for over a month, I feel like I've almost turned into an ice cube!"
Hearing March 7th's dramatic words, Dan Heng, standing beside her, glanced at her and pointed out the flaw in her statement without hesitation: "You were sticking next to Twilight the whole time. Besides the moment we first got off the train, when were you ever frozen?"
"Exactly, exactly." Caelus nodded convincingly. "And weren't you frozen in ice before? Logically, you should be more resistant to cold than us, the undisputed Freeze Resistance King of the train."
"Mmph, you two!"
Hit repeatedly by their comments, March 7th puffed up her cheeks angrily, then clung to Twilight again, sticking her tongue out at them: "Hmph, I'm not talking to you guys! Our little Twilight still loves me the most~"
"Passenger March 7th, and everyone? You're finally back!"
After hearing March 7th's voice, the black and white, big-eared conductor finally came running out on its short legs, its eyes lighting up upon seeing everyone: "Goodness, you were gone for so long this time. Don't tell me you got into trouble again and were punished with community service?"
"Of course not! This time, we purely helped a world on the brink of doom regain its life. When we left, the residents there were so sad they almost cried!"
March 7th put her hands on her hips smugly. What she said wasn't entirely wrong. When the Belobog residents learned that the Express crew was leaving Jarilo, most of them indeed had tears in their eyes. It just wasn't reluctance to see the Express crew leave, but excitement about finally sending off these plagues and colonizers.
Perhaps after some time, when they figured out that the credit for saving the environment also belonged to the Express crew, their feelings might change from disgust to gratitude. But now was still too early. In the eyes of the locals, the Express crew were purely universe hooligans who came looking for trouble…
"Really? Sigh, forget it. Compared to achieving some earth-shattering feat, it's enough if you guys just don't make the Express crew's reputation worse…"
Pom-Pom didn't fully believe March 7th's proud boast, but didn't seem to suspect that the group had done anything outrageous on Jarilo either. This made Himeko and Welt, the two seniors who knew the inside story, exchange awkward glances.
Beating up soldiers, interfering with the law, overthrowing the government, suppressing uprisings, imprisoning the leader… The things they did didn't sound very good when said out loud, did they?
But it shouldn't be a big problem, right? After all, they did it purely out of goodwill…
Pom-Pom didn't notice the evasive glances and unnatural movements of Himeko and Welt. Its gaze swept over everyone, asking doubtfully: "Hmm? Why isn't Passenger Twilight back? Was she delayed by something?"
"What are you talking about? Isn't she standing right here?" March 7th turned around confusedly and hugged Twilight tightly. "How can you not see such a big person?"
"Passenger March 7th, what are you talking about? How could this be Passenger Twili—ght?"
Pom-Pom looked at Twilight, who was calmly meeting its gaze, and felt it wasn't impossible.
It had just seen this person enter with the Express crew and thought a new member was joining the train, not immediately connecting her with Twilight. But upon closer inspection, the hair, the face…
"R-Really Passenger Twilight?!" Pom-Pom was so shocked that its two long ears shot straight up with a snap. "The change is too big, she suddenly grew so tall?! Pom-Pom hasn't grown at all in so many years…"
"Is it that exaggerated? I don't see much difference in little Twilight compared to before."
March 7th loosened her grip somewhat confusedly and held Twilight in front of her to examine her.
Look at these eyebrows, these eyes… Isn't she still just as cute—wait, she seems a little more mature?
Wait a minute, was Twilight this tall? She's even a tiny bit taller than me? And when did her legs get so long? Why is her hair almost down to her thighs?
March 7th compared the cute little girl she first met in her memory with the elegant young woman standing before her now, then blinked blankly.
Is, is this right? It doesn't seem right…
How did her adorable little Twilight grow up unknowingly after just one trip to Jarilo?
Was it because they spent every day together during this period, so she didn't notice the gradual changes? March 7th thought carefully and found that she indeed didn't know since when she had switched from holding Twilight in her arms to herself clinging onto Twilight…
Looking at March 7th, who was frozen on the spot with a constantly changing expression, Dan Heng sighed: "Many races in the universe develop rapidly to maturity and then stop growing… March, you pay too little attention to your surroundings."
"—Gunununu, I don't care!"
March 7th gritted her teeth as if having made some decision, jumped into Twilight's arms with a snap, hugged her tightly, and bared her teeth like a dog guarding its food: "Even if Twilight is now a tiny bit taller than me, a tiny bit more mature, I'm still the senior—I'm the senior!"
That's right, March 7th couldn't accept it. It would be fine if she had always been the one with the lowest seniority in the Express crew. But after obtaining such a perfect junior like Twilight and satisfying her vanity, she absolutely couldn't accept falling from the position of a senior to a junior who needed to be taken care of.
No matter what, a senior trial card of only one month or so was unacceptable! At least there should be a one-year trial period!
Only on this point, she absolutely wouldn't budge!
And just as March 7th was racking her brains thinking about how to persuade Twilight later to continue respecting her and not always contradict her like Caelus and Dan Heng, she suddenly felt a cool touch on her back.
"Mm-hmm, good March 7th, March 7th is the senior…"
March 7th looked up blankly, only to find Twilight wearing the same smile Himeko usually wore, stroking her head comfortingly: "Don't fuss, don't fuss…"
"I—"
Feeling the subtle gazes from the surroundings, March 7th, on the verge of tears, knew that she had completely lost.
In terms of demeanor and dignity as a senior, she had lost to Twilight, a baby barely three months old… And in the end, all she could do was silently cover her face.
"I, I'm the senior…"