Sāmu noticed the twitching of the fox mask on his head. He whispered "System Sister..." in his heart. Speaking of which, it seemed System Sister had been quiet for a long time. Could it be because she had gotten such a host and had shut herself away? After all, Sāmu was not as easy to manipulate as she had imagined. And he had no interest in the strange quests she issued.
Worse, this little boy had his own principles. As long as it went against his principles, no matter how much the system rewarded him, he wouldn't accept it. Over time, the fun Sparkle had wanted to have with Sāmu was nowhere to be found, and instead, she herself had become the joke!
[Hmph! — makes a cool sound.]
[So you still remember me!] Sparkle communicated with Sāmu through the mask, her tone coquettish. The girl decided to switch from offense to defense... ah, no, to being on the receiving end! Since Sāmu wasn't interested in her arrangements, Sparkle couldn't just keep trying to force it. So she composed her words.
[Boy, I'm glad you can think for yourself and have your own consciousness.]
[But I'm not happy that you refuse to trust me and entrust yourself to me.]
[I'm your guardian deity, would I ever harm you?]
[Fine, I'll let you, this good-looking little fish, suffer a bit!]
[I'd like to see how far you can get without my help!]
[Of course, if you run into any trouble you really can't handle...]
[It's not like I can't help you out, but you'll have to pay a small price~]
"Trouble and a price?" Sāmu murmured to himself, and the System Sister's voice fell silent.
Just then, March 7th came to his side, with her usual gentle smile. "What are you looking at, Sāmu?"
She followed the boy's gaze and looked out the window. It was a magnificent sight. The huge ice and snow planet occupied most of their field of view, and the Astral Express was traveling directly above it.
"Wow, what a white planet! It's as if the whole world is covered in ice and snow... I wonder if this place has anything to do with my past?"
"Sister's past?" Sāmu asked subconsciously.
March 7th blinked. She remembered she had told Sāmu before... Oh, right, Sāmu hadn't regained his memories as a Stellaron Hunter yet. In that case, March 7th didn't mind introducing herself again.
After hearing it, Sāmu found it quite amazing. "There are really people who are frozen in ice and drift through the entire universe... so cool."
"Hehe, that's nothing. Speaking of which, our Express crew is full of hidden talents!" March 7th lowered her voice and whispered in Sāmu's ear.
"Miss Himeko's briefcase has a satellite sealed inside!"
"Uncle Welt seems to be from another world."
"Once, I accidentally saw Dan Heng talking to himself in the mirror. It was just a glance, but the Dan Heng in the mirror... had dragon horns!"
"And Pom-Pom..."
— "Passenger March 7th, what are you talking about, Pom-Pom?"
Pom-Pom, who had appeared silently behind March 7th, lowered its head. The shadow of its conductor's hat fell over its face, making its eyes look sinister for a moment, as if it were hiding some terrible secret.
March 7th instantly felt a chill run down her spine, and a cold sweat broke out on her face. "N-nothing, Pom-Pom!" The girl was so nervous that she even started using Pom-Pom's speech tic.
Pom-Pom put its hands on its hips, dissatisfied. It looked up, and the bright lights of the carriage dispelled the gloomy atmosphere, turning it back into the cute mascot of the train. "Don't imitate me, passenger March 7th. It's not funny, Pom-Pom!"
"By the way, I have some bad news for everyone." Pom-Pom's tone turned serious for once.
Hearing this, the others gathered around. Stelle "seized the opportunity" to come to Sāmu's other side and link her arm with his. Himeko took a sip of coffee to refresh herself and asked calmly, "What happened, Pom-Pom?"
"The spatial readings are abnormal! The Star Rail's stability has dropped to 12%!"
"The docking plan has changed. I'm afraid the docking time at this station will have to be changed from the originally scheduled seven days to an indefinite period, until the anomaly is eliminated, Pom-Pom!"
"Indefinite?"
"Anomaly?"
Sāmu and Stelle voiced their confusion separately. The others, in contrast, seemed used to it. Pom-Pom glanced at Himeko, who understood and immediately took on the responsibility of explaining to the newly joined passengers.
"To use a normal train as an analogy, it's like the tracks ahead have suddenly broken. If we go any further, we'll just fall into a bottomless abyss."
"The Astral Express doesn't travel aimlessly between the stars."
"In fact, it always follows the path forged by Akivili, the Trailblaze, passing through the same stations as in history."
"Something is interfering with the Star Rail ahead. If we don't eliminate this trouble, the train can't move forward. So we have to make an emergency stop."
March 7th also chimed in, sighing helplessly. "I knew our journey would never be smooth sailing."
"I guess this time it's also because of—" the girl deliberately dragged out her words, waiting for someone to finish, otherwise it would be awkward.
"A Stellaron," Dan Heng, for a rare change, cooperated with the girl, which made March 7th's eyes light up. It seemed this stoic gourd had become much more cheerful with Sāmu's return.
Stelle was immersed in snuggling with Sāmu, like a clingy big dog, paying no attention to the discussion. Even though she was actually the one with the most right to speak, since she had a so-called "Cancer of All Worlds" inside her. Sāmu's attention was on the discussion, so he didn't really mind Stelle's clinginess.
"So what should we do now?" As a member of the crew, the boy cared a lot about the future of this trailblazing journey.
Himeko smiled at him gently, comforting him. "Sāmu, you don't have to worry too much. This isn't the first time we've had our route blocked by a Stellaron."
"Even Herta wouldn't dare say she has thoroughly researched the fundamental principles of the Stellaron, but there are ways to eliminate its influence."
As she spoke, Himeko's eyes deepened. She was making a decision, one that she was a little hesitant about. This sudden crisis, in terms of intensity and difficulty, was far less than what they had experienced at the Herta Space Station.
And since Sāmu had joined the Astral Express, it meant that in the future, he would be involved in more, and more terrible, incidents related to Stellarons, and various factions, even Emanators and Aeons. She couldn't always protect him. And Sāmu's potential wouldn't allow her to bury it.
So, could this Jarilo-VI Stellaron incident be an opportunity to train Sāmu? Himeko understood the saying "spare the rod and spoil the child."
So... the woman's eyes became determined. She looked up and stared deeply at Sāmu. "Sāmu, this trailblazing journey, I want to entrust it to you, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Stelle."
"The purpose of the journey is also very clear: find the 'Stellaron' that has brought disaster to this world and caused the spatial distortion, and bring it back to the train—we'll handle the rest."
Hearing this, Sāmu, far from being repulsed by this sudden and dangerous mission, was filled with a strong sense of motivation because it was Mother Himeko's expectation. He wanted to do this mission well and get his mother's praise...
And... it was becoming more and more familiar. Like the vague impressions in his memory. Sāmu vaguely remembered that the organization he used to be in seemed to have the mission of "capturing Stellarons." So, it really was the Astral Express, no mistake.
"I won't—let Mother Himeko down." Sāmu's tone was resolute.
Himeko felt an inexplicable sense of pride. What could be happier than raising such a good child? But she couldn't help but remind him, worried that he would be too stubborn. "Silly boy, you have to know your limits."
"Compared to the successful completion of the mission, Mom cares more about your safety." Himeko reached out and gently stroked the boy's cheek, her eyes filled with his existence.
Sāmu, full of shyness and gratitude, responded softly.
The rest of the crew at this moment: Maybe we should be under the car, not in it... March 7th felt like she was getting goosebumps!
"Alright, alright, Sister Himeko, we'll protect little brother Sāmu!"
"With little March's promise, I can rest assured."
"Your Uncle Yang and I will stay on the Astral Express with Pom-Pom and be on guard against any possible crises."
For example—the Antimatter Legion.
"Then let's set off! Paratrooper No. 1, requesting permission to land!"
"Wait a moment!"
"Huh? What else is there?"
Himeko said nothing, but took out her briefcase and rummaged through it. Finally, in a very illogical way, from the space within the briefcase, she pulled out a massive crimson greatsword! But thinking that Miss Himeko's briefcase even contained an escaped satellite, everything became logical.
The woman held the sword with one hand, but it was clear she was not proficient with it. And for some reason, Uncle Welt's glasses looked like they were about to fall off in shock! But besides calling out "Hime... ko?" he couldn't make any other sound.
Himeko explained slowly. "This was a gift... from a pretentious blond man."
"Sorry, Welt. I don't know why, but he asked me not to tell you about this."
"And I'm not as good at using it as he said."
"But Sāmu, you might have... the potential to use it to its fullest!"
"So, I choose to give it to you."
"Its name is—the Sword of Ruin - Surtr!"
-------
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