"Pfft..." Seeing the two livewires and the stoic gourd of the Astral Express squeezed together on the screen, and hearing their unique greetings, Silver Wolf couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so genuinely.
But the cheerful smile vanished far faster than the girl had imagined. Just like the darkness, loneliness, and sadness that enveloped her when she returned to reality afterward, it felt so long.
Especially when she thought... Sāmu would never be able to experience such moments again. The companions of the past could no longer be by his side. And yet, she could still laugh.
Silver Wolf's heart sank deeper into the abyss. Her smile vanished from her lips in an instant. The girl curled up deeper under the covers, her messy bangs falling over her silver eyes that were once as bright as stars. She was like a timid, frightened little animal, full of vigilance and unease, even towards her former companions.
"Is... is there something you need?"
"I'm not feeling well, I want to sleep..."
This was a lie. Silver Wolf hated sleeping. But she hated being awake even more. So she slept much longer than the average person each day. And the girl was thankful she wasn't on Penacony, otherwise, she wouldn't even have peace in her dreams, which would be even more painful.
March 7th felt a pang of sadness seeing Silver Wolf's depressed and withdrawn state. Although Dan Heng was silent, he was perhaps the one on the Astral Express who could understand Silver Wolf's feelings the most.
Stelle, on the other hand, was not much affected. Perhaps it was because of her innate optimism and her "I reckon" confidence. She was able to believe that Sāmu was fine even without any news of him, happily robbing food delivery bots in the Herta Space Station every day.
— "I reckon Sāmu will definitely come back!"
— "I reckon no one wants this food anyway."
"Hey, Silver Wolf, my friend, don't be sad! Look what this is!"
Silver Wolf wanted to retort, "Who's your friend, you little brat! I'm from Kafka's generation, so by rights, you should be calling me 'auntie'!" But a crystal-clear rectangular crystal that Stelle pulled out from behind her back made her eyes widen instantly.
"...!"
What was important was not the crystal itself, but the... sliver of light sealed within it! The light reflected Sāmu's figure, a record of him at a certain moment.
"A Light Cone? That's... Sāmu!?"
Silver Wolf's reaction was intense. She shot up from under the covers, the blanket and her long silver hair falling away. The girl's small chest heaved violently, her breathing ragged. She held her phone close to her face, her eyes wide as she stared at the... slice of a scene sealed in Stelle's hand.
The so-called Light Cone was a technology from the Garden of Recollection, which could seal memories in slices of light to be carried around. The Garden of Recollection, an organization that believed in Fuli, the Remembrance, held that every special memory had its own unique value and could bring unparalleled power to its holder. And indeed, by carrying a Light Cone imprinted with a certain memory, the user could often gain extraordinary powers.
But shouldn't this technology only be held by the Garden of Recollection and their partner, the Interastral Peace Corporation? Why did March 7th and her friends have one! And it was a slice related to Sāmu?
At this point, March 7th began to explain to Silver Wolf. "It's a long story, so I'll make it short!"
"Uncle Welt told us that entering a black hole doesn't necessarily mean annihilation. Sāmu could have been transported somewhere in the universe."
"We used the supercomputer at the Herta Space Station to calculate the possible coordinates where Sāmu might have been transported by the black hole."
"When we arrived there, we used the latest black technology from the IPC, sponsored by Miss Asta—it can reconstruct a memory of what happened in the past and seal it."
"And what we got in the end was this Light Cone!"
Speaking of which, even March 7th couldn't help but feel a little smug about her perfectly logical, interlocking story. This way, she had conveyed the message that "Sāmu is still alive" to Silver Wolf, lifting her spirits, while also perfectly distancing the Express crew from the situation, so they wouldn't become a target for the Stellaron Hunters.
Silver Wolf's small mouth opened slightly in surprise. Although March 7th's story sounded fine at first, it also felt somewhat deliberately pieced together, as if they had set up a target and then found a way to hit it, with the process being a bit too coincidental.
"Plink!"
From the edge of the so-called "Light Cone," a crystal-clear drop of water suddenly fell, hitting the ground with a crisp sound.
"What was that sound?" Silver Wolf asked subconsciously.
Stelle quickly covered a corner of the "Light Cone." March 7th also waved her hands nervously, trying to cover it up. "W-was there? There was no sound at all!"
"You must have misheard, Miss Silver Wolf!"
"Oh, right, our train is about to warp to the next destination soon."
"We'll try to collect more 'Light Cones' related to Sāmu there!"
"We'll notify you immediately if we find anything, Miss Silver Wolf!"
"In any case, please cheer up, Miss Silver Wolf!"
"I don't think Sāmu would want to see you so sad."
"Miss Silver Wolf has always been the reliable senior that Sāmu admired!"
March 7th's smile was so warm, full of comfort and encouragement for Silver Wolf. And as soon as she finished speaking, the image on Silver Wolf's screen froze instantly. Then, the interstellar communication was disconnected.
This was indeed consistent with the sudden signal loss during an interstellar warp jump. So, March 7th wasn't lying to her?
Silver Wolf was lost in thought for a long time.
...
In the outer space of the azure planet, a dreamlike train crossed the galaxy. With the activation of the train's interstellar warp function, the Astral Express turned into a brilliant streak of light and vanished from the observer's view. But in the very next moment, the streak of light reappeared at another end of the cosmic sea. The classical train roared out of the distorted space, descending upon a planet covered in white snow.
Inside the train carriage, a violent shake had just ended. Welt stood firm with his cane, still looking as dapper as ever. Ah, it's gravity! He added gravity!
Himeko held Sāmu in her arms, the two of them clinging tightly together. Apart from their racing hearts, they were also largely unaffected. But the scene in the passenger car was the exact opposite.
"Ah!" March 7th cried out, flying forward with her phone and landing flat on her face!
Dan Heng, being a trained martial artist, had immediately squatted down to stabilize his center of gravity and used his Cloud-Piercer for support, so he was fine.
Stelle was somewhere in between, falling but not completely. She had just plopped onto the soft carpet. But the "Light Cone" in her hand was not so lucky. It shattered into pieces, revealing a photo sealed inside.
What IPC black technology provided by Asta, what Light Cone from the Garden of Recollection—it was all made up! In reality, it was just a piece of Six-Phased Ice that March 7th had summoned and condensed!
In a flash of inspiration, March 7th had used her ice to preserve a photo she had secretly taken of Sāmu, disguising it as a "Light Cone" to serve as proof that he was still alive in this world, weaving a white lie for Silver Wolf. As for why she had a secret photo of Sāmu... that's a pretty girl's business, don't ask!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." March 7th rubbed her knee, looking like she was about to cry, too preoccupied to brag to Stelle and Dan Heng about her "world-class wisdom."
And the Six-Phased Ice, having lost her control, quickly melted into a puddle of water, soaking the carpet.
Just then, Pom-Pom pushed the door open. It saw March 7th on the floor and sighed with a look of helplessness. "Passenger March 7th, really! Were you trying to challenge yourself again and fell down, Pom-Pom?"
As soon as it finished speaking, Pom-Pom noticed something else was off. "Waaah! Why is there so much water here? And... a photo of passenger Sāmu?"
A bright question mark appeared above Pom-Pom's head. Its big head had big confusion.
"What were you doing to passenger Sāmu's photo!
"Tell me the truth, Pom-Pom!"
"D-don't say such things, Pom-Pom!" March 7th's face turned beet red, who knows what she was thinking. The girl hastily picked up the wet photo from the floor and finally stood up.
"Have we arrived at our destination, Pom-Pom?" she quickly changed the subject.
Pom-Pom's thinking was simple, so it was a bit single-threaded. It nodded. "Mhm! The train has successfully arrived at the destination planet, Jarilo-VI."
"But this place, and what's recorded in the Astral Express's databank from thousands of years ago..."
"You can't say it's exactly the same; you can only say it's completely unrelated, Pom-Pom."
"Is that so? I'll go take a look!" March 7th returned to the main carriage, with Dan Heng and Stelle following closely behind.
By this time, Sāmu had gotten down from Himeko's lap and was standing at the porthole, looking with awe at the huge planet covered in white snow.
"Jarilo..." the boy murmured to himself. For some reason, he had a sense of déjà vu, as if he had once stayed on a planet that was perpetually snowing and white. Could that have been... Jarilo-VI?
Whether it was or not, it didn't affect Sāmu's desire to land on this planet as soon as possible and explore its mysteries. Not just him, but even the fox mask he always wore on his head seemed to tremble with excitement at this moment!
In the Palace of Frivolity, Sparkle, who had been lonely for a long time, let out a wicked laugh. "Yo, isn't this old Sampo's stomping ground? Heeheehee~"
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (100 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it