This couldn't help but make Black Herta feel a rare sense of relief.
Since transmigrating, she had been treading carefully as if on thin ice, while also having to deal with Aha's whimsical "fun." Now, she finally saw a Path that might achieve her core goal even faster.
"Maintain monitoring of Fuyuki City; do not intervene unless necessary."
Black Herta took one last look at Long Night Moon and Stelle starting their move on the light screen. "The focus remains on the Paradise."
"Command confirmed," the system responded.
Qingque snapped her eyes open, first feeling the cold, hard sensation beneath her—it wasn't the soft bed in her room.
The air filling her nose was fresh to the point of being chilly, not the familiar scent of incense and blankets at home.
She sat up, blinking in confusion.
What met her eyes was that already somewhat familiar, lush green bamboo forest.
The upright bamboo stalks, dense foliage, winding stone steps, and the faint sound of birds in the distance... everything seemed frozen in the state it was when she last "left."
"...No way? Again?"
Qingque muttered. The lingering unease from the "immortal's dream" was instantly replaced by a stronger sense of frustration.
She just wanted to peacefully slack off, play cards, collect her salary, and plan her retirement in advance!
This kind of "adventure" full of unknowns didn't fit her life plan at all!
She brushed off non-existent dust from her clothes and stood up with a sigh.
Just as she stretched her stiff neck, she saw that memorable grey-haired figure not far away, walking unhurriedly toward her along the stone steps.
Still in that plain practice uniform, still with that expression that wouldn't change even if the sky fell.
It was the "Grand Master" who called herself "Hua."
A smile reflexively appeared on Qingque's face—the harmless "obedient smile" she had perfected when dealing with superiors or difficult colleagues at the Divination Commission.
Inside, however, it felt like a hundred birds were wailing: Let me go! I really just want to be a quiet slacker!
Hua stopped a few paces in front of her, her grey eyes calmly watching her. After a moment, she actually spoke first, her tone carrying a hint of teasing.
"We really do have a fate together."
The smile at the corner of Qingque's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
Fate? What fate?
Is it the fate of "forced overtime," or the fate of "having to receive re-education even in dreams"?
But did she dare say it? She did not.
The person in front of her was a big shot suspected to be the Marshal herself!
If she offended her in a dream, what if it affected her career in reality, or worse, her luck at the tiles?
So, Qingque tried to make her smile look more sincere and more "flattered," nodding repeatedly in a resigned tone:
"Yes, yes, yes, Senior, you are absolutely right! It truly is... a massive stroke of fate! Haha, hahaha..."
She laughed dryly, her inner self already in tears: What kind of daydream is this! Why does it have sequels?! Can I apply to change the channel?!
Paradise training space.
Stelle shook her slightly groggy head and focused her vision.
Not far away, a figure made her instantly alert.
Long white hair, azure eyes, and a slightly confused expression—it was the girl who had suddenly appeared last time and exploded with incredible combat power.
This time, that dangerous man didn't seem to be there.
This girl looked... er, she seemed to have become much more normal.
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, both seemingly confirming if the other's state was the same as the "her" who had nearly demolished the training room last time.
Stelle hesitated for a moment before deciding to break the awkward silence.
She raised her hand, waved, and gave a tentative greeting: "...Hi? Meeting again? Are you... conscious right now?"
The white-haired girl blinked and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Her tense shoulders relaxed, and she gave an energetic yet slightly embarrassed smile: "Mhm! I'm conscious! Last time... uh, sorry about that! I caused you trouble! I'm Kiana, Kiana Kaslana!"
(Dual personality? Or some kind of power going berserk?)
Stelle quickly made a mental note, but seeing the other's friendly attitude, she also relaxed a bit and stepped forward: "It's fine, it's a training room; it's meant for sparring. I'm Stelle, from the Astral Express, a Trailblazer."
"Astral Express? Trailblazer?"
Kiana repeated the two unfamiliar terms, her blue eyes full of curiosity.
She hadn't heard of them, but since the other had introduced herself so seriously, she responded politely: "I'm a student at St. Freya Academy! I'm working hard to become an excellent Valkyrie!"
"St. Freya Academy? Valkyrie?"
This time it was Stelle's turn to be confused.
That sounded like some special school or profession?
The atmosphere fell into a subtle silence.
Both were quickly searching their knowledge bases, only to find they couldn't find the terms mentioned by the other at all.
Stelle felt the other might come from some planet not yet officially connected by the "Star Rail" and thus lacked information, so she tried to ask in a more "universal" way: "Um... Kiana, which planet are you from? Which star system?"
"Huh?"
Kiana was baffled by the question and answered subconsciously, "P-Planet? Star system? I... I'm from Earth! The Solar System, Earth!"
(Earth? Solar System?)
Stelle frowned, feeling like these words were somewhat familiar, as if she had heard them somewhere.
Had she glimpsed them in some database?
She couldn't remember for the moment.
"Earth... okay, I've noted it down."
Stelle nodded, thinking it might be a remote planet with a low level of civilization.
Kiana also asked back, not wanting to be outdone: "Then what about you? Stelle, where are you from? What is that 'Astral Express' you mentioned? Is it a very powerful train?"
"The Astral Express is just the Astral Express!"
Stelle felt the question was simple. "We ride the train, following the Star Rails opened by the Aeon of Trailblaze, Akivili, to go to unknown worlds. That is 'Trailblaze'."
"...Aeon? 'Trailblaze'? Akivili? Star Rail?"
Kiana's expression went from curiosity to blankness, then to a subtle suspicion of "are you reciting some fantasy novel setting?"
She looked Stelle over carefully—grey hair, golden eyes, serious expression. Her clothes were a bit strange but sharp, and her eyes were clear, not looking like a liar. It was just that the content of her speech was too far-fetched.
(Universe? Aeons? Paths? What is all this?!)
Kiana's mind was a mess.
(Either she's someone lost in her own world with... uh, a very rich imagination? Or... what she's saying might be true? But she doesn't look mentally ill. Could she really be... an alien?!)
Seeing Kiana's "information overload" look, Stelle also realized the other might have never encountered these concepts.
She scratched her head and tried to explain in simpler terms: "You can understand it as there being very, very great existences called 'Aeons.' They walk on different 'Paths,' representing certain fundamental laws of the universe. Our Astral Express Crew follows in the footsteps of the Aeon of Trailblaze to explore new worlds, make new friends, solve troubles... well, that's roughly it."
Kiana opened her mouth, feeling like she was listening to a foreign language.
Aeons? Paths? Universal laws?
This setting was even more exaggerated than those sci-fi mangas she secretly read!
"Things are... a bit different on our side."
Kiana decided to talk about her own world too, so she wouldn't seem ignorant. "On our Earth, there's a periodic disaster called 'Honkai.' It gives birth to monsters called 'Honkai Beasts,' and 'Herrschers' who gain special powers, causing massive destruction to human civilization. The Schicksal organization I'm in, and its St. Freya Academy, is for training 'Valkyries' like me to fight the Honkai and protect everyone."
"?"
Now it was Stelle's turn to look confused.
That sounded like some kind of... planet-level ecological disaster?
It sounded a bit like the Xianzhou fighting the Abominations of Abundance, but also seemed different.
"You guys... stay on one planet to fight this thing called 'Honkai'?"
"Yeah! What else?"
Kiana thought Stelle's confusion was the strange part. "Earth is our home! Isn't protecting it the most important thing? Don't you guys in the Astral Express Crew protect your own home while running around everywhere?"
"Our 'home'... is the train."
Stelle thought for a moment. "Every world the train stops at can be a temporary home. As for protection... if we encounter a world in need, we'll lend a hand."
She thought of her jour... eh?
Stelle suddenly froze.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"