[The Galactic Baseballer Hero has defeated Cocolia (Mother of Deception), successfully saved Jarilo-VI, and obtained 2000 Cat Biscuits.]
"Whew… that title still feels weird.
At this point, changing it to 'Galactic Baseballer Trash Can' would not feel out of place at all."
Kiyono Inori muttered dryly.
Using the computing power of Savior Bucket #360 to unlock the Emperor's Scepter, plus Cocolia's very friendly parting gift this time, her Cat System balance had climbed to 4800 Cat Biscuits. That was the equivalent of thirty pulls, or three curios from the Cat System shop.
But aside from the Cat System settlement rewards, there were other unexpected gains.
Kiyono Inori looked toward the ruins that Stelle had summoned, ruins suffused with the Path of Preservation.
Some obscure, hard-to-describe substance was disrupting the flow of imaginary energy.
To put it simply, it was like running into a sheer cliff while mountain climbing, or encountering a tsunami whirlpool during a long voyage. To someone like Kiyono Inori, whose Inspiration stat was absurdly high, it stood out immediately.
It was the Stellaron of Jarilo-VI.
Just as she was wondering what use this Stellaron might have, the Emperor's Scepter popped up with a notification:
[Abnormal data detected for external visitor Cocolia. In accordance with the Visitor Safety Protocol, would you like to perform a local archive of the visitor's data?]
"?"
So even though Cocolia was dead, the Emperor's Scepter could temporarily preserve her soul data. If there were a suitable vessel, a resurrection run might even be possible.
Thinking back on everything Cocolia had done:
Advance twenty meters, retreat twenty meters, build a new world with the Stellaron, seal off the upper and lower districts of Belobog…
Kiyono Inori's feelings turned complicated.
The Stellaron deserved half the blame, sure, but she seriously doubted that just any deceived Supreme Guardian could have pulled off such delicate micromanagement and driven Jarilo-VI this far into collapse.
Seen this way, Cocolia was kind of a prodigy.
[Command: Archive.]
She saved Cocolia's data.
Now that the Stellaron's influence was gone, this woman should be a lot more reasonable. Later, she could just find some mechanical body and let Cocolia figure things out herself.
Atonement. Being a good mother to Bronya. Sitting in a prison somewhere. Or silently guarding Jarilo-VI.
Kiyono Inori did not particularly care. It was just a small favor, after all.
…
"Whoa!"
Stelle, who had just finished a beam clash with Cocolia, crawled out of the ruins. The first thing she saw was her beautiful owner's new form.
Pale flaxen long hair, icy blue eyes, delicate and gentle features, white thigh-high socks faintly tinted with pink, and a taller, more striking figure than before.
It was Big Beautiful Owner!
More importantly, there was something about her that was inexplicably magnetic to Stelle.
"It's the white-haired beautiful girl I like! Instant cuddle!"
Stelle threw herself into Kiyono Inori's arms.
"Hey, hey, you are not a cat right now! Stop diving into my chest and have some restraint, you idiot!"
"Inori-nee, what does restraint mean, meow?"
Stelle looked up with a pure, blank, hopelessly dumb expression.
"Tch, do not play dumb! The moment you got here, I already knew everything, you know?"
The Emperor's Scepter could read visitor data. After Herta Space Station and the Stellaron incident on Jarilo-VI, this Stellaron baby already had a rudimentary humanoid form.
She was absolutely pretending.
Kiyono Inori complained internally as she gently pinched Stelle's cheek. It was soft and springy, almost like touching a newborn baby. The Stellaron baby let out a cute little sound.
But she still refused to let go.
"Let go already! This is just a data body. Seriously, do you like this appearance that much?"
Kiyono Inori sounded helpless.
The cat form came with an Affection skill, so simple cuddling was actually pretty comfortable for her.
But as a mentally adult person, she felt she could not corrupt a Stellaron baby. Absolutely not.
"No! I will not let go!"
Stelle's tone was firm. "Inori-nee, turn me into a cat! I have decided not to be a Nameless anymore. I am going full-time cat!"
"Stop saying weird things!"
The girl rolled her eyes.
By now, she had noticed something off.
Stelle liked her current form a little too much. Back when she summoned Stelle as a cat, even with the Affection skill, Stelle had not been this clingy.
Could it be? Was Stelle from the Great Thunderclap Temple school of taste, preferring mature big-sister types?
No. It could not be that simple.
Kiyono Inori's mind raced, and within one second she found the answer.
Savior Bucket #360.
That was it. From a biological classification perspective, she was no longer a purely human beautiful girl. She was a sentient trash can turned into a data-based beautiful girl, combining traits from herself, Elysia, and Stelle.
Key point: trash can plus beautiful girl.
Stelle liked beautiful girls. The story even had her say dumb things like "Protecting beautiful girls is my duty." But if there was something that hit Stelle's preferences even harder, it was without question trash cans.
With Savior Bucket #360 loaded, she was a double critical hit to the Stellaron baby's preferences. It was like childhood friend plus sudden heroine arrival in a slice-of-life anime. A guaranteed answer to "Who is the heroine?"
What even is this!
So you still just like trash cans, do you not?!
As data symbols reassembled, Kiyono Inori reverted to her original Inori Cat form. Stelle immediately looked like she was disappointed beyond words.
"Beautiful owner, why did you turn yourself into a cat! You were way cuter just now! I super liked it!"
Stelle pointed at cat-form Inori. "Change back! Change back for me!"
"Nope, meow."
Inori Cat rejected her decisively.
Thinking carefully, Stelle's reaction earlier had been genuinely terrifying. Just a beautiful girl with a trash can attribute, and Stelle reacted like a cat on catnip, completely unable to let go.
She did not dislike cuddling.
But "beautiful girl trash can love" was way too ahead of its time. She had to correct this while Stelle was still young.
"Stelle, you are already a one-month-old adult. Big sis is not saying you cannot be friends with trash cans, but that you cannot just run up and rummage through every trash can you see, meow."
Inori Cat sighed and spoke earnestly.
"This is for your own good. When you dig through trash cans, the shocked looks from your companions… you have noticed them, right?"
After Aha tampered with Jin Lajitzde's Memoirs, it gained the Fool Mask plus Dice Draw Trash Can Hero skill set.
In other words, even if Stelle did not touch trash cans anymore, it would not significantly affect her combat power.
In the end, trash cans as a species were simply too advanced.
Even for a world like Honkai: Star Rail, where madness was everywhere, they were still pushing it. Their combat power was absurd, and so far they had barely ever suffered setbacks.
If the Tavern caught wind of this, the Masked Fools might swarm in just to watch the chaos, which would cause trouble for the Astral Express seniors.
Kiyono Inori reasoned with Stelle thoroughly, listing all the downsides of rummaging through trash cans.
But Stelle maintained a blank, wide-eyed expression the entire time. It was hard to tell if she understood any of it.
After some thought, Kiyono Inori asked, "Stelle, do you really like the form I had just now?"
Stelle's face instantly lit up.
Well, that was a Stellaron baby for you. Emotions written plainly on her face.
"Alright then. Let us make a deal. From now on, whenever you rest, you can go to another world. As long as you do not rummage through trash cans during that time, I will switch to that form and play with you there. How does that sound?"
Kiyono Inori smiled.
She did not mention changing forms in this world for a reason. Stelle here was huge. Even in that form, she was still completely outmatched in height.
But in another world, it was different.
There, Stelle would just be a little kitten. Easy to handle. Zero risk.
And so, on the first day of Amber Era 2158, the beautiful owner and the Galactic Baseball Hero signed the Trash Can Treaty.
According to the treaty, Stelle must restrain her urge to touch trash cans in daily life, and when transformed into a cat, she must not bring trash back to Kiyono Inori's home.
In exchange, when they went to another world, Kiyono Inori would accompany Stelle Cat in the beautiful girl trash-can-turned-human form of Savior Bucket #360.
…
After the boss fight involving the Stellaron and Cocolia, due to the massive time dilation between the inside and outside of the Emperor's Scepter, by the time Inori Cat and Stelle returned to Everwinter Hill, March 7th, Dan Heng, and the combined Trash Can and Wildfire forces were still on their way.
Kiyono Inori personally witnessed what this world had become due to a single decision of hers.
What did it mean that Rivet Town had turned into a garbage settlement? What was with the alliance of automatons, Wildfire, and trash cans?
In Boulder Town, there were even toys for children called Trash Can Heroes, said to have helped reclaim towns corrupted by the Fragmentum. Recently, these absurd yet entertaining trash can heroes had become incredibly popular.
She got a rough understanding of the situation.
Kiyono Inori then completed a deal with Jarilo-VI's Supreme Guardian, Bronya.
She transferred Cocolia's archived soul data from the Emperor's Scepter into an automaton body, allowing the former Supreme Guardian to assist Bronya in repairing Jarilo-VI.
After all, the whole advance twenty meters, retreat twenty meters routine, and rallying the Silvermane Guards for urban warfare had left behind a massive political mess.
The one who tied the knot had to untie it.
As compensation, ownership of Jarilo-VI's Stellaron was transferred to Kiyono Inori. It was now contained within the Emperor's Scepter's simulated world.
Both the Emperor's Scepter and the Stellaron were weapons designed for civilization-level destruction, and their compatibility was surprisingly good. Kiyono Inori planned to DIY this Stellaron into an Energy Supply Unit for the Emperor's Scepter, though she currently lacked the necessary Stellaron knowledge.
Thus…
[Goethe Hotel, March 7th's Room]
The pink-haired girl stared curiously at Inori Cat, who was holding a phone and reading Stellaron trivia.
"Meow meow, meow meow! Little kitty, Stelle said she dug you out of a trash can. Is that true? If it is, meow once! I want to pick up a kitty too, dang it!"
Inori Cat fell silent.
To be honest, she had never hidden her weirdness. Stuff like stuffing Cocolia into an automaton was already way beyond normal.
Dan Heng, Bronya, even the trash cans of the lower city, no one saw her as an ordinary cat anymore.
And yet, for some reason, March 7th still firmly believed she was just a cat. Maybe a cat with hidden power, but still a cat.
At this moment, Kiyono Inori did not yet know what March 7th had experienced in the lower city.
As Stelle's temporary guardian, March had witnessed the rise, peak, and decline of the Trash Empire.
March was not exactly the sharpest to begin with, and the recent barrage of shocking realities had completely shattered her worldview.
"Hehehe, I thought Stelle would only pick up all kinds of trash cans, but I did not expect her to pick up such a cute kitty…"
March squatted by the bed, marveling at the cat holding a phone. But thinking about how even a cat could have hidden power, her mood inevitably sank.
"Meow meow."
Inori Cat responded perfunctorily.
She was staying in March's room because Stelle was participating in a trash can team-building event in the lower city.
Apparently, the trash cans were about to disappear, and they planned to help the lower city reclaim several towns corrupted by the Fragmentum. Stelle was needed as the commander.
"Sigh…"
March flopped down beside Inori Cat, radiating pure couch-potato energy.
March knew Inori Cat was smart. Beyond being cute, she also had this reliable, tight-lipped big-sister aura.
In short, March needed someone to vent to. A smart little cat that would never tell anyone. Perfect.
"Waaah… I thought the whole hidden power thing was just a joke, but Stelle actually has hidden power! She really meant it!"
"The Trailblaze journey on Jarilo-VI was supposed to be about guiding Stelle, but all I did was stop her from touching trash cans. Looking back, I was totally useless!"
March muttered.
"Meow meow."
This really is not your fault, March. If anything, I am more responsible.
"Dang it! Stelle even asked me when I would use my hidden power and become a magical girl! I want to too, but not everyone has hidden power! Most people in this world are just ordinary beautiful girls like me!"
While Inori Cat browsed Stellaron data in the database, the troubled girl poked her cheek.
"Ugh… just trash cans… but I feel like I cannot even beat a trash can anymore. Weak, pitiful, and helpless. Ahhhh! Thank goodness for Dan Heng. Wait, Dan Heng would not also have hidden power, right? He would not, right? It cannot be that everyone on the train has hidden power except me, right?"
"Meow?"
Well… actually, next stop you will get to see Dan Heng's hidden power. As for yours, March, you still have a long way to go. Probably another dozen versions or so.
Inori Cat yawned lazily.
Because of the time difference between inside and outside the Emperor's Scepter, only about twenty minutes had passed outside, but she had spent almost a full day trading blows with Cocolia inside.
And that was with the Scepter set to minimum speed.
At maximum, it could do one hour outside to a thousand years inside.
The mismatch in time flow left Inori Cat mentally exhausted. She also found herself missing the pink cat back home.
Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl beside her was still spiraling.
"Waaah, so anxious! I bragged to Stelle that I was secretly a magical girl, and now Stelle really has hidden power! What if she suddenly asks me to transform? What do I do then!"
March started rolling around on the bed, making it sway. The motion only made the sleepy Inori Cat even drowsier.
"Meowww…"
Do not worry, March. When you turn into a cat, I will ask Elysia to teach you how to become a magical girl, meow.
Inori Cat was already talking nonsense from exhaustion.
"Sigh… life is hard."
March let out a heavy sigh.
"Thanks for listening to me complain, little kitty. Stelle is off commanding the trash can army, Dan Heng went back to the train to record trash can intel, and I am the useless cookie who cannot do anything. Ahhh… at this point, all I can do is get a good night's sleep."
"Meow."
Good night, meow.
…
[PS]
At the very beginning, this all came from seeing a cat rummaging through a trash can. After rereading the Jarilo-VI map text, this trash can arc came out. Looking back, it might be a bit too abstract.
Anyway!
Finally! Finished! Meow!
…
1 chapter per day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.
Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.