In the parlor car, March 7th sat by the window with her chin resting on her hand. Beside her, her camera lay dark and silent as she watched a meteor drift past the train.
On the opposite side of the room, Dan Heng stood quietly with a data slate in both hands, his eyes moving steadily down the screen.
At a table farther back, Welt Yang held a data slate while speaking in a low voice, occasionally glancing down between sentences.
Across from him, Himeko listened with her cup in hand, taking slow sips as he spoke.
Each time the cup reached her lips, Welt's eyes briefly lifted from the slate, a faint twitch appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Himeko's eyes flicked toward him once before she took another quiet sip.
click
The door to the parlor car opened, revealing Ena and Stelle with their hands linked together.
Their presence went unnoticed by the crew.
A faint frown appeared on Ena's face as she looked around.
'It's quieter than usual'
"Mom?"
The gentle tug on her hand pulled her from her thoughts.
Looking up, she found Stelle studying her face upside down.
"I'm okay, Stelle"
With a smile, Ena gave her hand a small squeeze.
Across the room, the familiar voices reached March 7th's ears.
Her head snapped toward the doorway.
As soon as she spotted them, she jumped from her seat and crossed the room in quick, uneven steps.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Stelle turned around.
A frown immediately appeared on her face when she saw March 7th rushing toward them.
Stepping forward, she placed herself between March 7th and Ena.
For a moment, Ena simply stared at Stelle's back.
Then a gentle nudge came from behind.
Stelle looked over her shoulder.
Seeing Ena's calm expression, she looked back at March 7th.
After a brief moment of thought, she reluctantly stepped aside and took her place beside Ena.
March 7th stopped in front of them and immediately began examining Ena from head to toe, her eyes moving rapidly over her.
"Are you okay?! Does anything hurt?!"
Her hands came up but stopped just short of touching her.
"Did the examination find anything... because if Herta did and didn't tell us..."
Her voice trailed off.
At some point, her hand had already tightened into a fist, the knuckles turning pale.
"March"
Ena's soft voice interrupted her.
Reaching out, she gently wrapped her hand around March 7th's clenched fist.
"I'm fine"
March 7th studied her face for a long moment.
"Okay… good..."
Only then did her attention drift downward to the small hand holding her own.
The tension gradually left her fingers.
After exhaling softly, she glanced toward Ena's side.
There, Stelle watched them quietly.
"Oh… you're here"
At March 7th's flat tone, Stelle raised an eyebrow.
"I've been here this whole time"
"I noticed"
Stelle pointed at herself. "You literally ran past me"
"I was checking on Ena" March 7th said, her tone sharpening.
After briefly glancing toward Ena, Stelle looked back at her.
"You were staring directly at me when you. Calmly, walked over"
"I was focused!" March 7th replied quickly.
Stelle's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Focused on ignoring me?"
"You..."
March 7th fingers curled tightly at her sides.
"If you hadn't gone into that energy…"
"I was protecting mom" Stelle said calmly.
"She got hurt!" The last word escaped with a crack in her voice.
Stelle crossed her arms. "And whose fault is that?"
Instinctively, March 7th took a step back.
"Because of... you..."
A flash of memory struck her.
She saw herself frozen in place while Ena stepped in front of her, protecting her from the doomsday attack.
Her gaze trembled.
"T-that's… I wasn't trying to…"
Stelle looked away from her.
She got hurt!
The accusation she had hurled at Stelle came rushing back.
Her head lowered to the ground.
"...sorry…"
Another memory surfaced.
Ena's arm was severed and sent flying by Destruction energy as she moved closer to save Stelle.
And herself, unable to take a single step.
March 7th squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clenching into fists.
"If I'd done... something faster-"
Her voice broke completely.
Stelle briefly glanced at her.
"March"
Hearing Ena call her name, March 7th slowly lifted her head.
Without warning, Ena pulled her into a gentle hug.
She froze, unable to produce a single sound.
Ena spoke softly.
"I'm not hurt, I'm here"
The hug tightened slightly.
"It's okay" the words softened further as she spoke.
The feeling of Ena's arm surrounding her, the warmth of her body.
March 7th's eyes fluttered as water slipped from the edge.
After a long silence, she finally leaned into Ena's shoulder.
With slow, steady motions, Ena patted her back.
Across the carriage Dan Heng had lowered the data slate.
Welt Yang had set his down.
Himeko paused her sip and stared into her cup.
Stelle watched from the edge of her vision.
The only sound left was March 7th's uneven breathing.
No one spoke.
The room remained silent until her breathing gradually began to steady.
Only then did Ena speak.
"It wasn't your fault"
March 7th said nothing, only staring at the damp patch she had left on Ena's shoulder.
Suddenly, her mind pictured Ena's shoulder being torn away, leaving behind blood and gore.
At the image, March 7th closed her eyes tightly.
A moment later, a quiet breath escaped her.
"...but you got hurt"
"I healed"
"You-"
"Healed"
Ena said it quietly this time, her eyes dropping for a moment before lifting again.
The breathing against her shoulder remained uneven, so she continued patting her back with slow, gentle motions.
Eventually, the trembling breaths began to settle.
"You still shouldn't have had to"
"But I'd do it again"
Ena tightened her hold slightly.
"Besides Uncle Welt could have stabilized things without me. Part of it was me being reckless"
Then she turned her gaze toward Stelle.
For a moment, Stelle averted her eyes before forcing herself to meet Ena's gaze again.
"I didn't do anything wrong"
Ena's expression remained unchanged
"She's the one who started it. I just..."
Stelle looked down.
"...she did start it..." her voice grew quieter with each word.
Without looking away, Ena replied firmly.
"No one is wrong here, Stelle"
In her arms, March 7th shifted faintly.
Stelle lifted her head, her gaze settling on March 7th.
The moment March 7th felt it, her eyes darted away.
Stelle watched her for a second before turning back to Ena.
Her arms slowly uncrossed.
Taking a small breath, she stepped forward.
Quietly, March 7th watched Stelle come to a stop before her.
Stelle reached out and placed a hand on March 7th's shoulder, a little stiffly.
Her mouth opened, yet no sound came out.
Silence fell between them as they stared at each other.
As the seconds passed, Stelle's eyes gradually fell to the floor.
March 7th's gaze followed them down.
Stelle's fingers shifted against March 7th's shoulder and tightened slightly before she finally spoke.
"...You were worried about her. That's not bad"
Slowly, both of them lifted their heads.
"I was too"
Stelle spoke softly, her golden eyes meeting March 7th's pink mixed with blue.
Then her grip loosened, and a smile appeared on her face.
"So... we both were worried"
March 7th looked at her for a long moment.
Then she smiled back.
Seeing the smile, Stelle withdrew her hand and stepped back.
Her mouth opened again, only to close without saying anything.
Silence settled over the room once again.
From across the space, Welt Yang's voice cut through it calmly.
"The Stellaron stabilized considerably faster than it would have otherwise"
All three turned toward him.
"The Abundance was the deciding factor"
He adjusted his glasses.
"With her Abundance blessing, the wound closed completely. No trace remained"
March 7th listened quietly.
Then, after a brief hesitation, she looked back at Ena.
"Umm... I want to... let go"
Ena's embrace tightened slightly.
"Are you okay"
March 7th's fingers curled into the hem of her skirt.
"...yeah... I'm okay"
Ena studied her for a moment longer.
Then she gave her a final squeeze before slowly letting her go.
March 7th stepped back, while avoiding everyone's eyes.
Dan Heng set the data slate face-down on the seat beside him.
"Are you alright"
His eyes moved over Ena carefully, top to bottom.
The unsettling feeling from the dream returned, but she quickly pushed it aside.
Raising a hand to her chest, she smiled faintly.
"I'm fine"
Dan Heng kept his eyes on her smile for a moment, then his mouth opened.
"That's good to hear" Himeko said without looking up from her cup.
Dan Heng glanced at her, then closed his mouth.
Over the rim of her cup, Himeko studied him quietly.
Dan Heng picked up his data slate and resumed reading.
Himeko set her cup down.
"Going forward..."
"We should all be more careful about stepping in front of things like that. We weren't attentive enough"
Her gaze moved across the carriage, Dan Heng, March 7th, then finally herself.
"That won't happen again"
Dan Heng nodded once.
Welt Yang's eyes remained fixed on Ena.
March 7th followed shortly after, glancing between Ena and Stelle.
Ena looked around at all of them, her mouth opening.
The group met her with firm expressions.
she closed her mouth.
The carriage had settled when Ena's phone suddenly went off.
She picked it up.
Herta: Ena, remember to test my Simulated Universe. Why haven't you come yet? There aren't many people in this universe who can make me wait like this. Don't make me beg you.
Ena thought back to the result of the examination.
'I'm fine'
Feeling a weight pressed lightly on her shoulder, she turned her head.
Stelle was already leaning in, having read the message over it, unbothered.
"Oh. The Simulated Universe, I forgot about that"
The others caught her words immediately.
"You're not going into some Genius Society experimental setup right now" March 7th said firmly.
Dan Heng lowered his data slate after a final scan.
"The results were clear. But it's still better to wait"
Welt Yang adjusted his glasses.
"A favor from a Genius Society member is not something to take lightly"
Himeko put down her cup.
"You should be re-examined before entering anything like a Simulated Universe. In person. With proper equipment. Herta has the most suitable tools for that"
Ena scanned the group in silence before her gaze settled on Stelle.
Stelle met it directly.
"I feel fine"
Her eyes shifted briefly toward March 7th, then back to Ena.
"And I want to see what it's like"
Ena looked at the phone.
Ena: Then beg me.
Herta: I beg you.
Ena: Can I say no?
Herta: …
Ena read it twice before she smiled.
Ena: Alright, alright. Just kidding. We're coming now.
She put the phone away and looked at Stelle.
"Examination first. We follow Himeko arrangement"
"Good"
Himeko picked up her coffee.
Dan Heng gave a single nod.
Welt Yang adjusted his glasses.
March 7th looked at Ena for a moment before speaking hesitantly.
"Be careful, and read the terms and conditions before Herta runs anything on you... check for hidden debuffs"
Dan Heng glanced at her.
Sensing it, March 7th immediately shot him a side-eye.
"What?"
He looked away without a word.
"Be well" Welt Yang said calmly.
Without a word, Himeko walked to the counter and returned with a cup of coffee for Ena.
Ena finished it in three quick sips.
Himeko watched her with a soft smile.
Once the cup was returned, Stelle's hand slipped quietly into Ena's.
Ena glanced at everyone one last time before walking away with Stelle.
At the threshold, she stopped and looked back at Himeko.
"I need a phone for Stelle"
"Already done"
Ena held her gaze for a moment, then smiled.
Under the quiet gaze of the crew, they stepped out.
TBC
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Hey Hey Reader, Nilvan here.
You might have already noticed the significant addition in interiority throughout this chapter revision.
The reason for that change is simple.
While I believe most readers could tell that March felt guilty, I'm not sure the original version properly conveyed just how deep that guilt went. It relied heavily on subtext, which meant much of her emotional state was left for readers to infer.
For this revision, I chose to make that aspect more visible, and in the process, I expanded several moments throughout this chapter and added a new moment for Stelle and Ena.
As for this chapter being the chapter where I found my voice, I'd like to share some honest thoughts.
It's been around one or two months since Chapter 1 was uploaded. Since then, I've written 34 chapters of this story and 8 chapters of Raccoon Journey.
This chapter holds a special place in my heart.
Originally, it was Chapter 20, though it became Chapter 21 after the release of Chapter 3. More importantly, it's the chapter where I first felt like I found my own voice as a writer.
Chapter 17 - Mother (now Chapter 18), was also an important turning point for me.
Chapters 1 through 16 were written and edited somewhat casually. After Chapter 18 - Mother, I started approaching writing more seriously.
The reason for that shift was the original version of Chapter 18. When I read the scene where Ena tried to save Stelle, I realized it had somehow turned into a comedy sandwich between three blocks of paragraphs. To me, that felt like a betrayal of both the story and the readers.
So I rewrote Chapter 18.
That rewrite ended up changing far more than I expected. In many ways, it's the reason Chapters 19 - The Weight of a Small Hand, through 26 - Be Well, exist in their current form.
When I reread the original chapter now, I don't just see its flaws. I see the writer I was at the time and how far I've come since then.
I still remember the headaches from rushing this chapter out in two days for no reason other than my own stubbornness.
More than that, I remember being afraid.
Afraid that readers would misunderstand what I was trying to say.
Afraid that I wasn't communicating the emotions clearly enough.
When I reread the original chapter, I can clearly see how much I've improved.
If there's one thing that has changed the most, it's that I no longer fear interiority. Back then, I was so afraid of putting too much of a character's thoughts onto the page that I often held back more than I should have.
Now, after reaching Chapter 34, I think I've finally moved beyond that fear.
To everyone who has followed this story, thank you.
Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading.
Sincerely, Nilvan.