The standoff between the pink-haired girl and the gray-haired one was finally stopped by the adult in the room, Himeko.
Unlike in the game, the Astral Express was not short on rooms. Plus, given Su Mo's special status and close relationship with the crew, a room had always been reserved for him.
Both in terms of courtesy and treatment, they couldn't let the esteemed Arbiter of Myriad Transformations squeeze in with someone else.
Of course, once the room was arranged, if Stelle and March 7th wanted to sneak over for a night raid, that was out of her jurisdiction. That was the freedom of the Trailblazers.
Hearing this, the two little ones finally quieted down.
"Penacony is a gathering place for the galaxy's elite. Without a special status or an invitation, it's very difficult to book a room," Himeko continued, then glanced at Su Mo.
"Of course, you don't need to worry about that, Lord Su Mo. You yourself are a special case. If they knew of your arrival, Penacony would certainly make a room available."
"Naturally, if you wish to conceal your identity, you can use one of our spots on the Astral Express. For this Trailblaze mission, Dan Heng will be guarding the Express, so we have a spare spot."
With Su Mo's current status, there were few factions in the galaxy who would dare to bar his way. After all, no one wanted to be on the bad side of the Aeon of Life, whose star hung high in the sky.
"Thank you, but there's no need to hide my identity this time," Su Mo said, shaking his head. "It'll be exposed sooner or later anyway. Might as well see how the people of Penacony react from the start."
"Hm?" Himeko looked at him, slightly puzzled, not quite understanding his meaning.
It'll be exposed sooner or later... what does that mean? Could it be that the flags Little March and the others were talking about were real? Is something really going to happen this time? It can't be that much of a coincidence, can it?
While she was pondering, Stelle, seeing that Su Mo and the others were done with their business, immediately pulled him towards the potted plants.
"Come over here, Dad! I've got something amazing to show you!"
"What is it?" March 7th was immediately intrigued and followed along.
"Idiots can't see it!" the little gray-haired girl said, raising her head smugly, and pointed to a mirror in the corner. "I asked before. Himeko and Mr. Yang can't see it, but it should be no problem for you, Dad, right?"
Hearing this, March 7th widened her eyes and stared at the empty corner, but saw nothing after looking for a long time. "Are you sure there's something there? You're not just messing with Lord Su Mo, are you?" she asked, reasonably suspicious.
"I'm not! I told you, idiots can't see it!" Stelle pouted, a little aggrieved, then looked at Su Mo with anticipation. "I've told them several times, but they can't see it and don't even remember it. What about you, Dad?"
Under March 7th's skeptical gaze, Su Mo nodded slightly and tapped the illusory figure before him, causing it to manifest.
"A Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection. They travel the world through memes, visible only to specific people... Of course, as long as one can control Memoria, one can interfere with their semi-memetic bodies."
Seeing the figure that had appeared before them, March 7th's eyes widened. "There really is someone there? No wonder I always felt a little creeped out when I passed by here..."
"Finally caught you!" Stelle chuckled, glad that she wasn't the only one who saw this secret anymore.
Before them, the Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection was also in shock, not expecting to be pulled out of their memetic state so easily.
"Y-Y-You... you're the Arbiter of Myriad Transformations? Um, Your Eminence Su Mo, I am a messenger from the Garden of Recollection. I only came to the Astral Express to collect memories, I truly have no ill intentions, I swear!"
She had arrived on the Astral Express after Su Mo had left and had no direct sense of his power, only knowing that he was a being suspected of creating an Aeon.
But creating an Aeon didn't necessarily mean his own combat power was beyond reason.
Just as Zandar was an ordinary person, as long as one didn't try to kill such a special individual, it wouldn't anger the Aeon, and there generally wouldn't be a major problem.
But she hadn't expected Su Mo to be not only powerful but also more familiar with the Garden of Recollection's techniques than she, a Memokeeper, was.
She didn't even know how it happened, but he had just pulled her out.
The greatest sense of security for a messenger of the Garden of Recollection was that they had abandoned their physical bodies and existed as memes, unable to be captured, perceived, or attacked.
Even renowned powerhouses like Himeko and Welt, or someone of Dan Heng's strength, couldn't pose a specific threat to her as long as they didn't understand Memoria and memes.
But who would have thought that this absolute sense of security would one day be shattered so easily? Su Mo had directly fixed her life state.
Now, in front of him, she was like an ordinary person, completely unable to escape. And with the feeble offensive capabilities of a Memokeeper, she couldn't even win against the Stellaron host with the baseball bat.
"Oh? No ill intentions, really?" Stelle asked with a mischievous grin, holding a baseball bat.
"Of course not! And Trailblazer, haven't you been challenging powerful enemies here all this time? You've even taken all the Stellar Jades I've collected. You can't take the money and not do the job!" the Memokeeper said, getting anxious.
How can this gray-haired girl turn on me like this?
Although it was wrong for her to board the Astral Express without permission, she was only here to collect memories and had even compensated Stelle with enough Stellar Jades.
It should be considered a polite exchange. This gray-haired girl was happy to take the money, but now that she had a powerful backer, she was pretending not to know an old friend?
"It's indeed not good to take money and not do the job," Stelle said with a nod. Then, just as the other let out a sigh of relief, thinking, "So you do know," she shouldered the baseball bat with one hand and held out a clean, white palm with the other. "But that's only if you've paid enough."
"?"
The Memokeeper and March 7th both looked at her in shock.
"Are you... extorting her?" March 7th asked, looking at her companion in disbelief.
"No, this is collecting protection fees! Ahem, I mean rent!" Stelle said with a serious face. "I haven't cleared this month's Memory of Chaos yet, so you must still have the remaining Stellar Jades! To maintain peace on the Express and balance the budget, you have to pay up, whether you want to or not!"
"N-no, you're basically a robber!" March 7th continued to retort.
"I am not!" Stelle looked at March 7th with a misunderstood expression, her face grave. "Do you know how dangerous it is for us to have a strange Memokeeper on board? Do you know how much energy an extra Memokeeper consumes? Do you know how much Pom-Pom worries about this unknown visitor every day?"
"Little March, you know nothing, because I've been carrying this burden all along!" The little gray-haired girl's expression was sorrowful, like a misunderstood savior, leaving March 7th completely stunned.
"Huh?" She's not even a year old! I'm a terrible person!
Just as March 7th was starting to blame herself, the Memokeeper from the Garden of Recollection couldn't take it anymore.
"Pah! What do you mean I'm dangerous? I clearly told you before that I could help you stand guard! And memes have zero weight, so I don't consume any of your Express's energy at all!"
"Besides, is your conductor Pom-Pom worried because of me? Isn't it because you sneak into the kitchen every night to steal food, and Pom-Pom's favorite cake was... mmmph!"
Halfway through her sentence, her mouth was covered by Stelle. If the conductor found out about this, she'd be sweeping the floors for a month.
"What, so that was you?" March 7th looked at Stelle in shock, realizing she had almost been fooled. What 'carrying the burden'? This girl is clearly just taking advantage of the situation.
"Ahaha, don't listen to her nonsense... Can you trust someone from the Garden of Recollection? Compared to an outsider, I, as a companion, am much more reliable!" Stelle laughed dryly, her eyes darting around.
"Still sounds suspicious..." Even March 7th wasn't fooled by that.
"Ahem! Say no more, or what's covering your mouth won't be a hand, but this bat!" Stelle brandished her baseball bat threateningly before finally letting go of the Memokeeper, who shot her a resentful look.
"Alright, let's compromise! I won't kick you out, but you have to pay your rent on time. How about it?" Stelle said magnanimously.
"..."
Looking at the fair, tender hand extended towards her, the Memokeeper sighed in her heart. Aren't you still just asking for money?
Fortunately, Stellar Jades meant little to her. To avoid being pestered by this persistent little gray-haired girl, she had no choice but to agree to her proposal.
"Yay!" Stelle cheered in satisfaction at her successful extortion.
After emptying her pockets, the Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection timidly looked at Su Mo. "Um, Your Eminence Su Mo, what do you think?"
Hearing her, Su Mo glanced at the beaming Stelle and the exasperated March 7th, who was at a loss for words. "Since the Astral Express crew doesn't mind, I naturally have no other opinions."
Hearing this, the Memokeeper's face lit up with joy.
Just then, Su Mo added, "However, there's something I need to ask you about."
"Please ask! I will answer anything I can!" The Memokeeper stood at attention, being extremely cooperative.
"Don't worry, it's not a question involving your secrets," Su Mo said in a relaxed tone. "I just wanted to ask, do you have any special signs within the Garden of Recollection for communication?"
"There may be other Memokeepers who have received invitations to the Penacony festival this time, so we'll inevitably have to interact."
Hearing the first part, the Memokeeper was hesitant. Although it wasn't a secret, it was still an internal communication method, and it didn't seem right to just give it away.
But when she heard the latter part, she shuddered. If she were to meet this individual, it would be better to be able to communicate properly.
Otherwise, if one of her colleagues were to offend this powerful being—or the ill-natured gray-haired girl by his side—out of arrogance, the outcome would probably not be pleasant.
"Yes! We do! I'll tell you right away! Please, I beg you, be lenient with my colleagues!" the Memokeeper said in a fluster.
From her tone, one would think Su Mo was some kind of villain.