They arrived at the navigation center.
Lynne first went to the local office to collect a storage ring from someone.
This storage ring was for the construction robots provided by Focalor, allowing them to build the ranch within a day.
It just needed to be returned after use.
Taking a cruise ship, Tsaritsa and his group arrived at a deserted island.
The island wasn't very large—only about 5 square kilometers—just right for building a ranch.
They walked around the island and found that it was mostly covered in grassland. To their surprise, there was even a port on the other side of the island.
This port had been built during Fontaine's previous large-scale development. The island had once been a transfer station, storing many supplies.
Now, Lynne and the others benefited from it. Having a port made things much more convenient.
From now on, they wouldn't need to take a cruise every time. By buying a cargo ship, they could depart directly from the Fontaine Court.
The Tsaritsa spent money and ordered the materials needed to build the farm from a company treasure app.
After walking around the island, they returned to the original spot and saw a Melusine waiting for them.
"You're finally back. Lynne, right? These are the materials you ordered. Please sign for them."
The Melusine handed Lynne a delivery list.
Lynne took it, checked the materials, and after confirming everything was correct, signed his name.
Once the delivery was complete, the Melusine boarded a personal aircraft and left.
Childe looked at the departing Melusine and sighed in awe.
"Fontaine is really rich. Even their staff get vehicles like that."
Lynette added, "I know about this. Lady Furina bought them. One day while shopping, she saw them and thought they were interesting, so she bought 2,000 units for the staff to use."
The Tsaritsa thought for a moment and said, "We should look into this sort of thing when we get back. It could really improve our efficiency."
After that, Tsaritsa and the others started operating the construction robots to build the farm.
With robots, construction was very fast. It would be completed within the day.
Meanwhile…
On Belobog, at the orphanage—
Stelle, Amber, Hu Tao, and the others delivered the supplies—eight full shipping containers.
To make things easier, Stelle spent 100,000 credits on transportation, getting the IPC to deliver everything right to the orphanage entrance.
Bronya had Gepard bring a team of Silvermane Guards to help unload the cargo. The orphanage entrance was lively, with children happily watching on both sides.
Ye Yun also brought along Klee, Hook, and a few other little ones.
In the orphanage kitchen—
Xiangling, Jashin-chan, Guoba, and Mei were cooking.
Stelle, Hu Tao, Firefly, and Kiana were helping with prep, like picking and washing vegetables.
Stelle was using Judgment of Shamash like a kitchen knife, cutting into a giant potato. With a few sword swings, the potato was sliced into chunks.
Hu Tao, Amber, and Eula then took the pieces and processed them further into strips or slices for stir-frying.
At the kitchen door, a bunch of kids were peeking in curiously.
Especially Jashin-chan and Guoba, who caught the most attention.
"Wow~ a moving teddy bear!"
"And that lady… she didn't molt, but she has a tail! So weird!"
After about half an hour, all the supplies were unloaded, and the transport spaceship from the company had departed.
The orphanage's storage was packed to the brim. A large pile of supplies was still sitting in the front yard.
Gepard had to lead the Silvermane Guards to move it to another warehouse nearby.
Bronya thought for a moment and called Pela.
"Pela, find someone tomorrow to build another warehouse for the orphanage."
Pela nodded in agreement.
Before long, the food was ready.
Stelle, Firefly, Amber, and others carried large pots into the dining hall.
They didn't need to serve the food themselves. Each of them got a big bowl of food and sat down with the kids to eat, chat, and play.
After eating—
They stayed and played for a bit, then returned to the train.
Back on the train, Stelle, Firefly, and the others went straight into Koko Farm to harvest forage and refill the feeding machines at the ranch.
Inside the farm, Stelle had reached level 8 and could now grow watermelons.
Each plot could produce 10 watermelons, and each watermelon could be sold in the farm shop for 300 star coins.
Stelle planted five plots of watermelon and used the remaining three plots for forage.
When the watermelons were harvested, 15,000 star coins were earned.
After replanting watermelon seeds, Stelle went into the ranch.
In the ranch, a few goats were happily running around.
Stelle refilled the forage, walked in, and tapped the harvest button on one goat's head. A few Senzu Beans dropped into her hand.
Goats were level 5 ranch animals, producing 3 Senzu Beans each per day.
These Senzu Beans were just like the ones from a certain Saiyan world—one bean could instantly heal injuries.
After collecting the beans, the ranch's experience reached its limit and upgraded to level 6.
Stelle checked the shop for new animals unlocked at level 6.
[Ranch Baby Animal: Yellow Cow]
Produces: Trash Can Brand Scratch Card x1/day
Price: 10,000 star coins/head
The moment Stelle saw this, her eyes lit up.
Perfect! This is perfect! The yellow cow is amazing!
To Stelle, Senzu Beans were nowhere near as useful as Trash Can Brand Scratch Cards.
Looking at the five goats running wild in the ranch, they suddenly seemed like eyesores.
Stelle waved her hand and sold them all, replacing them with six yellow cow calves.
She even personally fed them hay.
"Eat! Eat big mouthfuls! Eat more! Hurry up and poop me some scratch cards!"
After playing around in the ranch for a while, Stelle went to play in the Genshin dungeon.
She had reached the Inazuma Outskirts in the main storyline.
She had just left the island and was on her way to deliver a love letter to a certain lady.
Throughout the journey, Inazuma gave Stelle a very oppressive feeling.
Thunderclouds rolled across the sky, and the whole environment was dim and gloomy.
Stelle couldn't imagine how hard life must have been for the people living in such conditions.
After delivering the letter, she went to the Kamisato estate and met Kamisato Ayaka.
Then she accepted Ayaka's request to visit those who had lost their Visions.
Along the way, Stelle was deeply affected—those who had lost their Visions were like walking corpses, soulless, with no light in their eyes.
Stelle couldn't help but sigh.
"Jeez~ Ei really doesn't know how to run a country."
After completing version 2.1's quest, Stelle saw that it was still early, so she kept playing.
Next—
She accompanied Ayaka to find her mother's diary, attended the festival, and returned to Chinju Forest.
Under the beautiful nighttime forest sky, she watched Ayaka's dance.
After this, her mood improved a lot. The earlier gloom had been swept away.
Until the story reached the scene where Thoma was arrested and about to be stripped of his Vision.
Then Stelle witnessed a truly "magnificent" moment.
"Milk-Scented Slash!" — Stelle instantly spat blood.
The dungeon system detected her abnormal physical state and forcibly logged her out.
At the same time, Lumine was also logged out.
Both stumbled out of the dungeon portal, covered in blood.
They looked at each other and instantly understood—they had gone through the same thing.
Looking around and confirming no one else was nearby, they breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran into the Serenitea Pot to change clothes.
Afterward, neither of them touched the Genshin dungeon again.
After downing a bitter cup of chrysanthemum tea, the two of them instantly felt much better.
The heat in their bodies subsided, but that scene just now had truly shocked them.
Was there really a way to draw a blade like that?
Stelle couldn't help but be curious.
"How did she even draw it out? Such a long sword."
Lumine looked at herself and shook her head, showing she had no idea either.
Then Lumine suddenly thought of something.
"By the way, we haven't visited the New Inazuma yet.What do you think? Want to go check it out?"
Stelle rubbed her chin and thought for a moment.
"Sure. I've heard it looks great. According to Yae Miko, the main island is now full of cherry blossoms—they're preparing for a cherry blossom festival to attract tourists."
Lumine replied, "Then it's settled—we'll go tomorrow~ Have some fun, and maybe visit New Sumeru too. We can check out Nahida's ranch and farm, buy some vegetables while we're there."
The two of them chatted in the tea lounge area.
Not long after, the teleportation gate to Amphoreus flickered, and Aglaea walked out.
Seeing her, Stelle greeted her.
"Aglaea! What brings you here?"
Aglaea looked at Stelle.
"I came to pick up some orders for the shop."
Aglaea's online store only took custom orders. Customers had to send in full-body photos of themselves.
This allowed her tailors to make clothes tailored exactly to each buyer's body shape.
Though the store had only been open for less than a week, it had already broken a thousand orders.
And the price per outfit wasn't cheap. The lowest tier cost 188,888 credits.
Mid-tier: 399,999
High-tier: 999,999
Top-tier: 10 million
Thanks to this clothing store, Amphoreus had earned nearly 200 million credits.
However, the entire 200 million was spent to purchase a coastal defense cannon from the Herta Space Station.
This cannon had a maximum range of 3,000 km, used laser shells, and could fire 30 rounds per second.
Aglaea placed the cannon at the only entrance to Okhema. Access permissions were restricted to: Tribbie, Trianne, Trinnon, Phainon, Aglaea herself, Mydei, and Castorice.
No one else was allowed to operate it.
Naturally, this move drew dissatisfaction from the Senate.
The most displeased among them was an elder named Caenis.
She had always opposed the Journey of Embers and harbored resentment toward the Golden Lineage.
Caenis had been looking for Aglaea all day, but Aglaea had no intention of meeting her. Caenis didn't stand a chance of finding her.
—Back on the train—
Stelle asked, "By the way, Aglaea, how's your clothing store doing?"
Aglaea replied, "Great. Business is booming. If you two have time, come visit Amphoreus. I'll make you a few outfits."
Stelle and Lumine looked at each other.
"How about right now? I'm totally free."
Aglaea smiled, "Alright, I'll grab the order forms first. Wait a moment."
Aglaea went into the clothing shop, picked up her order forms, and then took Stelle and Lumine to Amphoreus.
Looking around, Stelle and Lumine realized it had been a while since they last visited.
Aglaea looked at the two of them.
"You two go enjoy the Hero's Hot Spring for a while—take a nice bath. I'll go make your outfits."
Stelle was a bit puzzled.
"Eh? How do you know our clothing sizes?"
Aglaea smiled faintly."I know at a glance."
Tribbie, who was watching from the side, added, "Aglaea may not be able to see with her eyes, but her golden threads are her eyes."
Stelle and Lumine understood, and ran to the dressing room to change into bathrobes before jumping into the hot spring.
Stelle leaned back, arms resting on the edge, totally relaxed.
Just then, Tribbie brought them some juice.
Stelle took a sip and sighed contentedly.
"Ah~ this is the life. So relaxing~"
Lumine felt the same—she was completely immersed in the pool and thoroughly enjoying it.
"This hot spring is amazing. We should come here often.
But… isn't Amphoreus still in danger?"
Tribbie, who had just finished changing and was about to join them, overheard Lumine's question.
"Yes, while the conflict has been resolved, the Black Tide still remains.
But with Trianne and Aglaea here now, there shouldn't be any big problems."
Stelle thought for a moment.
"Maybe we should go ask Ye Yun and the others—they probably know more about the danger here."
Lumine agreed, "I'll make a call."
Stelle waved her hand, "No need for that. Watch this."
Both Lumine and Tribbie looked at Stelle.
Stelle cleared her throat and shouted:
"Arceus-senpaiiiiiii!!!"
Her voice echoed throughout the Hero's Hot Spring and carried far into the distance.
Before long, Arceus appeared before the three of them.
He looked at Stelle.
"Stelle, did something happen? Trouble you can't handle?"
Stelle grinned, "No no~ Arceus-senpai, we just wanted to ask—this Amphoreus place is supposedly dangerous. Could you check if there's any lurking threat?"
Arceus paused for a second before replying.
"There is a little shrimp sealed away. Why? Did he bother you?"
Hearing the word "sealed," Stelle realized there really was a hidden danger.
"A little shrimp? Arceus-senpai, we're not like you, not that powerful. What level is this 'shrimp' exactly?"
Arceus answered, "Oh, that white-haired junior who fought me before. What was his name again? Right—he's around the Emanator level.
You guys should be able to deal with him. Just a small fry."
Stelle and Lumine relaxed after hearing the details.
An Emanator? Oh, no problem at all. Just a mere destroyer-class Emanator. Easy peasy.
There were already so many Emanator in the group chat—a single one wasn't even worth mentioning.
"All good, all good. Thanks for the trip, Arceus-senpai!"
Arceus shook his head.
"No worries. I was just wandering around anyway. That guy Nanook got seriously injured by me yesterday—there's no one left to spar with me for now.
I don't get it. Last time we were evenly matched. How come this time he was so weak? I finally found someone who matched my style."
Nanook: Heh… you think everyone has your kind of freakish growth rate? Huh? If I had your growth rate, you think Aha would've been able to mess me up back then?
***
Arceus kept mumbling to himself, unable to understand—how did Nanook suddenly pull off a reversal? How did he suddenly lose to him?
Something's not right! Very not right!
At that moment, the portal flickered, and Hu Tao, Kiana, and the others ran over.
Kiana stood with her hands on her hips.
"Hey! Stelle, Lumine! You two went to the hot springs without inviting me? So mean!"
Stelle happily sipped some juice and said leisurely:
"Well, you guys weren't around~ Weren't you playing Genshin at the time?
We just happened to run into Aglaea, so we came along with her~"
Just then, Aglaea returned carrying the clothes she had made for Stelle and Lumine.
"Stelle, Lumine, your clothes are ready—come try them on."
Aglaea glanced around and noticed Arceus's presence.
"Lord Arceus, you're here too."
Arceus looked at Aglaea and nodded.
"Mm."
Then he looked toward Stelle.
"Stelle, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. How did I lose? Strange, truly strange."
Stelle waved goodbye to Punny.
Aglaea quickly added:
"Lord Arceus, do drop by Amphoreus again when you have time. Thank you for setting up the barrier for us."
Arceus looked at Aglaea.
"No problem, just a small matter. Well then, I'm off. Now, where can I find someone to fight? That's the question."
With a flash of his figure, Arceus vanished from Amphoreus.
At this point, Arceus had basically become the galaxy's top street brawler—you could run into him anywhere except the Astral Express.
In Ye Yun's words: "If he's not fighting, he's on his way to one."
After Arceus left, everyone's attention returned to the clothes in Aglaea's hands.
Stelle and Lumine stood up and walked toward her.
"That was fast!"
Aglaea nodded slightly.
"Mm. Try them on and see if they fit."
Stelle and Lumine took the clothes and went into the changing room.
Aglaea looked at Hu Tao and the others.
"Hu Tao, Firefly, Kiana—how about you guys stay and have some fun too? Enjoy the hot springs?"
Hu Tao grinned and snapped her fingers.
"Just waiting for you to say that! Let's go! Time to change!"
Hu Tao and Firefly immediately rushed into the changing room to change into their bathrobes.
Before long, Stelle and Lumine came out first.
Their outfits were full of Amphoreus-style flair.
At first glance, they gave off a bit of a scholarly vibe.
But that impression quickly vanished.
The two struck poses—one on the left, one on the right—thinking they looked cool, but actually oozing with over-the-top chuunibyou energy.
Seriously, what kind of scholar acts that edgy?
For the rest of the time, Stelle and the others just hung out and had fun in Amphoreus.
Meanwhile, back on the Astral Express...
Noelle was cleaning when a strange portal appeared. A blonde maid with dragon horns and a tail, holding a spatula, stepped through.
"Moshi moshi? Anyone here?"
This visitor was named Tohru, one of the protagonists from a certain slice-of-life world.
Hearing someone's voice, Noelle looked over while cleaning. Seeing a stranger, she quickly greeted her.
"Yes, welcome to the Multiverse Mini-Shop!
I'm Noelle, a staff member here. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Tohru looked at Noelle—they were dressed somewhat similarly, though Noelle's maid outfit leaned more toward a knightly style.
"Hello, hello! Where is this place?"
Tohru had only recently moved in with Kobayashi. They'd run out of groceries, so she opened a portal intending to go back to her own world to grab some food.
Unexpectedly, the portal brought her here instead.
After hearing Tohru's question, Noelle understood—this was clearly a new visitor from another world.
"This is the Multiverse Mini-Shop, located in the Honkai: Star Rail universe. Here, you can buy anything you want."
Tohru heard this.
"Buy anything I want? Then do you have beef here?"
That's right—Tohru had originally planned to get some beef from her original world. Just yesterday, Kanna had moved into Kobayashi's home.
Since Kanna looked so small, Kobayashi gave Tohru a bit of money to buy some beef for them to eat.
But when she went to the market and saw the prices, she was shocked—beef was outrageously expensive. Just one jin (about 500g) of beef cost as much as three days' living expenses for all three of them.
So, she thought of going back to her original world to fetch some.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened a portal and stepped in, she ended up here.
Noelle nodded.
"Yes, we have over a thousand types of beef here. Which one are you looking for?
Oh, and by the way, shopping here requires a currency called Star Coins."
Tohru looked a little confused.
"Star Coins? I don't have any."
Hearing this, Noelle thought for a moment.
"Do you have any crystals imbued with special energy? You could try exchanging those for Star Coins."
Tohru shook her head.
"No, I don't. But I do have gold. Can I use that?"
Noelle replied,
"If it's gold coins, then yes, you could use them to buy beef. But you'll need to check with Director Topaz or Xiangling and the others."
Tohru responded by pulling out a large chunk of gold.
"Here, how much can this get me?"
Noelle gestured with her hand.
"Let's go over there. Miss Topaz is that way—let her take a look. I'm not too sure myself."
Tohru followed Noelle to the reception room door.
Noelle knocked.
"Miss Topaz, do you have a moment?"
A few seconds later, the door opened from inside, and Topaz peeked her head out.
"Noelle, I'm free. What is it?"
Noelle stepped aside to reveal Tohru standing behind her.
"Here's the situation: this is a new customer in the store. She wants to buy some beef but doesn't have any Star Coins—she only has gold. So I brought her to you."
Topaz glanced casually at the gold in Tohru's hand.
Gold was dirt common in the universe. Only civilizations that hadn't reached the interstellar age still treated it as something precious.
Topaz turned to Tohru.
"Hello, I'm Topaz. You want to buy beef, right?"
Tohru nodded.
"Yes, yes! Could you see how much beef this gold can buy?"
Topaz thought for a moment.
"Put the gold away. I'll give you the beef for free—consider it a friendly gesture."
Tohru was surprised.
"Eh? No, no! I can't just take your stuff for nothing!"
Topaz smiled.
"It's really fine.
It's just a bit of beef—nothing valuable. Just come visit more often when you have time."
Hearing that, Noelle remembered something.
"Right, Tohru—are you busy right now? If not, could you wait a little? I'll go call Ye Yun to come back and open a portal for you.
When you open your own portal, it's uncertain whether you'll end up here again. But with the portal he gives you, you can come back anytime."
Upon hearing this, Topaz also suggested,
"Tohru, if you're not in a hurry, you can wait a bit. I'll have someone teleport some beef from the store.
Once you have a portal, you'll be able to come here often.
There are many guests here from other worlds like yours."
***
Yo, I'm back! Sorry for the long absence, guys. This past month has been insanely hectic at work. Not only did we land a big project that had us basically living in the office for about three weeks, but we also had to move everything to a new office because my boss didn't renew the lease on the old one. Things have finally settled down now. As long as nothing like that happens again, my translation schedule should return to normal.