"Anyway, it's good that you all returned safely…" Pom-Pom's ears twitched. "Go get some rest quickly. After resting, decide on the next destination soon. We'd better leave this prison quickly, lest the spatial instability recurs and we get trapped here again."
"Deciding the destination for the next trip so soon?" March 7th was a little surprised, but then yawned. "Whatever, let's talk about things after I wake up. We stayed on Jarilo-VI for so long, I haven't had a single good night's sleep…"
"Mhm, go ahead, all of you. I also need to check if those spatial toxins have returned to a normal range for navigation…"
Strangely, although Pom-Pom verbally told everyone to leave and that it needed to check the train's condition, its feet remained planted on the spot, unmoving. Only its large ears kept twitching, as if anticipating something…
"Ah—" Himeko realized something and awkwardly covered her mouth.
Because there were too many things to do on Jarilo-VI this time, she had been so busy that she had forgotten some things, like bringing back some souvenirs for the conductor who had been guarding the empty train…
"Little March, Caelus, did you bring back any souvenirs or anything?"
Himeko could only turn her gaze to the trio who had nothing to do on Jarilo-VI and spent their days wandering the streets, only to meet two pairs of eyes that looked as bright and empty as their minds.
Seeing this, Pom-Pom also realized the cruel reality, and even its ears drooped slightly in disappointment. But it quickly shook its head to pull itself together: "...Forget it, anyway, there probably aren't any interesting specialties worth mentioning on Jarilo-VI. Plus, this is Passenger Caelus and Passenger Twilight's first trailblazing, so I'll forgive you…"
Watching Pom-Pom, who looked as disappointed as an empty-nest child seeing their family finally return home but without any gifts, Dan Heng's eyes flickered. He subconsciously reached for his chest, but then put his hand down again.
The flower Twilight gave him was indeed a specialty of Jarilo-VI, but it was something Twilight had bought after painstakingly picking up trash in Belobog all night. If he gave it to Pom-Pom, it would be too disrespectful of her kindness… He'd just have to bring back some interesting things for Pom-Pom on the next trailblazing trip to make up for it.
However, just then, an unexpected hand suddenly appeared in front of Pom-Pom.
"Here."
"Passenger Twilight?!" Seeing the glass bottle suddenly presented before it, Pom-Pom looked up in surprise at the person offering the gift – it was the expressionless Twilight.
"Is… Is this for me?"
Seeing Twilight nod firmly, Pom-Pom accepted the bottle, flattered. It never expected that the one who remembered it, the conductor, wasn't Himeko, whom it had known for so long, but Twilight, who had previously scared it so much its legs wouldn't stand straight… As expected, children become sensible when they grow up!
Pom-Pom felt like it could understand why everyone liked her. Who wouldn't love such a considerate and good child? However…
Pom-Pom looked at the glass bottle in its hand, which had a bread logo and was filled with liquid, and blinked in confusion: "What is this, pa?"
"A specialty of Belobog, Jim Roger Bread Soda…" Twilight explained. "It's said to contain Jim Roger."
"Jim Roger? What's that? Why does it sound like a person's name…" Pom-Pom looked at the pale yellow liquid in the bottle and suddenly felt immense pressure—this wasn't something from a horror movie set, was it?!
"I don't know either." Twilight shook her head, her eyes looking at Pom-Pom with slight expectation: "Try it?"
Gulp—Looking over with such a cute expression, this conductor still doesn't dare to drink it!
Worried about drinking some kind of pickled person wine, Pom-Pom could only give an awkward laugh and put the bottle away: "This is the first gift Passenger Twilight has given this conductor, it's very precious, pa… I, I'll save it for later."
"Oh…"
Twilight looked very disappointed.
This disappointment wasn't an act, but came from the heart—Her system seems to be a bit racist?
This Pom-Pom could clearly walk, talk, and even drive the train. Apart from its appearance, it was definitely an intelligent creature, no different from a human, yet the system didn't recognize it as a target for collecting energy at all.
Twilight had noticed when leaving Jarilo-VI that the others had forgotten to bring back some souvenirs from this planet for Pom-Pom, so she specifically found a vending machine and bought a bottle of soda.
The result was just as she expected: spending a little money made this conductor incredibly moved.
Unfortunately, Pom-Pom wasn't recognized by the system as an energy collection target. Even though its favorability had been raised like this, the system still didn't react…
Obviously, Pom-Pom, like Pochita in the Chainsaw Man world, was simply excluded from the targets.
Poor Pom-Pom. At least it wears clothes and talks, yet it ended up being classified at the same level as Pochita… Looks like I don't need to specifically farm your favorability anymore. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not being able to turn into a human~
"Okay, then everyone's happy" March 7th smiled and clasped her hands together, then turned around, put her arm around Twilight's shoulder, and guided her towards the lounge car. "Rest, time for a rest"
…
On the train, time always flew by. Soon, everyone had gathered in the main hall for the navigation route meeting.
"Ahem, first of all, thank you to all the Nameless for resolving the issues at this station, allowing the train to continue running on the Star Rail. I won't waste time with boring talk. Next, let this conductor announce our next destination, which is—"
"Long time no see, everyone on the Astral Express."
The moment Pom-Pom was about to announce the next destination, a gentle female voice suddenly interrupted its words. Immediately after, a holographic image of a woman holding an umbrella appeared on the train, looking up and smiling faintly at everyone: "I'm Kafka."
The moment they saw the newcomer, the atmosphere on the train instantly became tense. Himeko and Welt, in particular, showed undisguised vigilance.
Stellaron Hunters, a universally notorious terrorist organization, and they seemed to have some connection with Caelus… Simply put, getting involved with this group never led to anything good.
Yet Kafka, as if oblivious to the surrounding hostility, continued to smile and walk forward casually: "Heh, good timing, everyone's here—"
BOOM!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted, startling everyone. They thought the Stellaron Hunters had directly attacked the train. But they quickly realized the sound hadn't come from the train—but from the other side of the hologram!
And when everyone looked at Kafka, as expected, her originally calm and composed expression was now knitted into a frown.
"Tsk, it's her again…"
Leaving only this half-finished remark, Kafka's figure flickered like a burnt-out lightbulb and disappeared, leaving only the bewildered crowd.
"Uh, although I don't know what those Stellaron Hunters wanted to do, but anyway… it seems like it has nothing to do with us for now?" Pom-Pom blinked, then decided to continue the previous topic. "Ahem, then let me continue announcing our next destination—the Planet of Festivities, Penacony!!!"
"Yay!!"