Although Takagi already had his own Astral Express, he still wanted to take a good look at the Astral Express belonging to Himeko, which he often logged into in the game, in the real world. Moreover, if he didn't board Himeko's Astral Express, how could he see the cute conductor Pom-Pom, with whom he often interacted in the game? Takagi also wanted to see if the Pom-Pom on Himeko's train was the same as the Pom-Pom on his own created Train No. 2.
Asta looked at Takagi's back walking towards Himeko and the others, then looked at Cloud Retainer beside her.
"Lord Takagi, he was probably joking earlier, right?"
Cloud Retainer pushed up her glasses and said: "I dare not speculate on Lord Takagi's thoughts. However, he does seem to quite like stockings."
Nahida rested her chin on one hand, saying with a thoughtful look: "To be precise, beautiful girls wearing stockings."
Lisa smiled and nodded, saying: "So, Lord Takagi might not have been joking with you, you know."
After speaking, Cloud Retainer, Lisa, and Nahida also stepped towards Himeko and the others. Dottore was also like this. Naturally, all of them were quite curious about Himeko, who also possessed an Astral Express.
"Stockings... La Signora, do you think I'm suitable for wearing stockings?" Asta asked La Signora, who hadn't had time to catch up with Dottore and the others.
"Miss Asta is young and beautiful, so naturally, she is suitable for stockings." La Signora had a certain fondness for Asta, with whom she had fought alongside and seen the Destruction Aeon, Nanook. Therefore, her attitude towards Asta was naturally much friendlier.
"Is that so... Do I really need to buy some stockings?" Asta murmured to herself, lowering her head shyly. She glanced at La Signora's fair legs and couldn't help but feel her eyes light up.
"La Signora, how about you also buy some outfits with stockings? Just in time for you to change clothes. Your clothes were damaged from the previous battle," Asta said.
"I should indeed change clothes. But stockings or something... I'm not used to them," La Signora showed hesitation.
"It's decided then, I will prepare new clothes for you. Consider it a gift for helping in the battle earlier. I still have matters to attend to, see you later." Asta patted La Signora's arm and ran off with a smile.
La Signora looked at Asta's appearance, then looked at Takagi on Himeko's side. She shook her head helplessly and walked over with her long legs.
...
"...You don't want to join us, Stelle?" March 7th saw Stelle showing hesitation instead of agreeing to Himeko's invitation, and couldn't help but ask in confusion.
"Uh, I just..." Stelle scratched the back of her head and looked at Takagi, who was walking over.
"I see, you want to ride on Lord Takagi's Astral Express?" Himeko smiled.
"You want to ride on my Astral Express, Stelle?" Takagi stopped in front of Stelle and asked with a smile.
"Mm, I want to stay by your side," Stelle nodded her head. After all, Takagi was the first person she saw after waking up, and Takagi had helped her multiple times. Therefore, Stelle naturally wanted to stay by Takagi's side more.
"I'm very happy to hear you say that. However, my Astral Express currently only handles tourism business on the Teyvat Continent. If you stay with me, you probably won't be able to grow properly. The person who awakened you probably wouldn't want that either. She should hope that you accept Miss Himeko's invitation more," Takagi said.
"But if that's the case, won't it be difficult for us to meet?" Stelle asked with some worry. Kafka had already left, and she didn't want to also find it difficult to see Takagi, who had taken good care of her since she opened her eyes.
"You don't have to worry about that. I just remembered the coordinates of Miss Himeko's Astral Express here. If I want to, I can directly jump to the Astral Express here," Takagi smiled.
...
Just as Takagi could freely jump on the Astral Express he created, after approaching Himeko's Astral Express, Takagi knew that he could also freely jump on Himeko's Astral Express. It seemed that for him now, the Astral Express was like an anchor point for free teleportation.
"Lord Takagi, do you actually have such an ability?" Himeko asked in surprise.
Takagi smiled and nodded: "I wonder if Miss Himeko would mind if I teleported to your Astral Express in the future?"
Himeko quickly shook her head upon hearing this: "Of course I wouldn't mind, in fact, I would be very welcome." It was rare to encounter an existence like Takagi, who was at least a Pathstrider of Trailblaze, so Himeko naturally wouldn't refuse Takagi. Moreover, Himeko always felt that if she became friends with Takagi, she would be able to see a broader world.
"Since that's the case, then I'll join Miss Himeko's Astral Express," Stelle nodded and said. Since Kafka hoped she would ride Himeko's Astral Express, and she would also have the opportunity to meet Takagi at any time later, then Stelle naturally had no reason to refuse Himeko.
Himeko: "Welcome, Stelle."
"That's great, we have one more member." March 7th clapped her hands happily and looked at Takagi, saying: "But, Takagi, isn't your teleportation ability a bit too powerful? If you can teleport even across several galaxies... this should be the power of a Trailblaze Aeon, right?"
Takagi smiled and waved his hand: "At most, I'm just a Pathstrider of Trailblaze, I can't bear the title of Trailblaze Aeon."
Although he said this, March 7th still looked at Takagi suspiciously.
"Lord Takagi, do you have time now? Would you like to take a look at our Astral Express? If your tourists are willing, they can come along too. Of course, if possible, please also let us take a look at your Astral Express." Himeko saw La Signora stepping up and standing beside Takagi, and smiled as she extended an invitation to Takagi.
"Naturally, I am also quite curious about your Astral Express," Takagi said.
Himeko smiled and nodded, taking the initiative to open the Astral Express door and extending her hand to invite Takagi in. As for the passengers following Takagi, Himeko did not refuse them entry into the Astral Express either.
Just as Takagi stepped through the Astral Express door, the entire Astral Express suddenly erupted with a gentle white light.
"This is!" Dan Heng's eyes widened, looking at everything around him in disbelief.
"The Astral Express's power seems to have been strengthened again, it's truly miraculous." Welt pushed up his glasses, looking at Takagi beside him. The change in the Astral Express happened the instant Takagi stepped inside. It was hard for him not to associate the current situation with Takagi.
"This feeling, it's as if the Astral Express is welcoming Lord Takagi," Himeko said to Takagi, her eyes shining.
"Takagi, are you really not the Trailblaze Aeon? If you're not, why would the Astral Express react like this?" March 7th looked at Takagi in surprise.
Lisa's lips curved up, and she said with a light laugh: "This is indeed curious. We originally thought it was because our perspective was limited, causing us to mistakenly regard you, Takagi, as an Aeon. But now it seems, even from the perspective of Miss March 7th, Ms. Himeko, and others who are fellow Nameless on the Astral Express, you should also be an Emanator of Trailblaze. Takagi, you couldn't have deliberately lowered your status to interact with us as a mortal, could you?"
After a pause, Lisa continued: "Of course, even an Emanator of Trailblaze is already a god-like existence to us."
Cloud Retainer and Nahida nodded in agreement. Especially La Signora, who had just experienced coming back to life, agreed even more with Lisa's statement.
"Who knows, perhaps the Astral Express also welcomes the arrival of an Emanator of Trailblaze, and Miss Himeko and the others have never had such an experience. Isn't that right, Pom-Pom." Takagi looked with a smile at Pom-Pom inside the Astral Express, who was also looking over in surprise due to the sudden light that had appeared earlier.
"You, you know Pom-Pom's name?" Hearing Takagi speak, Pom-Pom finally snapped back to attention and quickly came before Takagi with his short legs. For some reason, although Pom-Pom was meeting Takagi for the first time, he felt a strong sense of closeness from Takagi.
"Of course I do," Takagi smiled and nodded.
"Lord Takagi, could this be Pom-Pom Number One?" Lisa asked curiously.
"Pom-Pom is Pom-Pom, Pom-Pom is not called Pom-Pom Number One. This guest, please pay attention to this," Pom-Pom turned his head, looking at Lisa with a serious expression.
"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to call you by the wrong name," Lisa said apologetically.
"Don't be angry, Pom-Pom, this is not Miss Lisa's fault. There's actually a reason why she might misunderstand," Takagi said with a laugh.
"Could it be that Lord Takagi has other Pom-Poms there?" Welt pushed up his glasses, keenly sensing something.
"Other Pom-Poms?" March 7th looked at Takagi in surprise. Himeko, Dan Heng, and Pom-Pom himself also looked at Takagi in surprise.
"I do have another Pom-Pom on the second Astral Express I own. I named him Pom-Pom Two. However, that Astral Express is currently on Yarilo-VI. If you go to Yarilo-VI later, perhaps you can see him," Takagi said with a laugh.
"Pom-Pom Two, huh. I can understand now why Miss Lisa called Pom-Pom 'Pom-Pom Number One' earlier," Himeko said with a laugh.
"After all, Pom-Pom and Pom-Pom Two on Takagi's other Astral Express look almost exactly alike," Lisa spread her hands, saying helplessly.
"Exactly alike! I... I really want to see him," March 7th said excitedly.
"An existence exactly like Pom-Pom, huh." Pom-Pom pondered for a moment, then turned to look at Himeko. "Everyone, let's go see that Yarilo-VI later, okay?"
"It seems Pom-Pom is very interested in his own kind." Himeko's lips curved up, "Alright, after the matters here at the Space Station are dealt with, we'll go see Yarilo-VI."
Himeko was quite curious about Yarilo-VI, which Asta said had received Takagi's protection. Therefore, even though she had now met Takagi at the Space Station, she did not change her idea of going to Yarilo-VI later.
Welt, Dan Heng, March 7th, and Stelle naturally had no objections, and everyone quickly reached an agreement.
"You all chat for a bit, I'll go prepare some coffee for everyone," suddenly, Himeko said warmly.
"Drinks prepared by Miss Himeko?" Welt, Pom-Pom, March 7th, Dan Heng, and others' faces darkened almost simultaneously, looking at Himeko with somewhat frightened expressions.
"Mi... Miss Himeko, let Pom-Pom prepare it instead. Isn't that right, Pom-Pom," March 7th said.
Pom-Pom was about to nod, but Takagi spoke first.
"Coffee personally brewed by Miss Himeko, this must be a specialty of this Astral Express, right?" Takagi said, looking at March 7th, Welt, and the others.
"From a universally rational perspective, this is indeed a specialty of this Astral Express." Welt pushed up his glasses, saying with a solemn expression. "However..."
"Since it's a specialty of this Astral Express, let's give it a try. Miss Himeko, thank you for preparing it. Oh, Dottore do you like coffee?" Takagi didn't wait for Welt to finish, directly taking over the conversation.
Dottore: "As for coffee, I do drink it sometimes."
Takagi: "Alright then, Miss Himeko, give Dottore a cup as well."
La Signora: "Takagi, I actually quite like coffee too."
Nahida: "Since it's a specialty, I also want to try it."
Cloud Retainer: "Trying drinks from different places seems nice too."
Takagi: "So, you all want a cup too?"
La Signora, Nahida, Cloud Retainer: "Yes."
Takagi: "Okay, Miss Himeko, give these ladies a cup as well."
Himeko: "No problem."
Welt, March 7th, Dan Heng, and Pom-Pom all looked at Takagi, La Signora, Dottore, Cloud Retainer, and Nahida with extreme fear. Only Himeko, with a bright smile on her face, was ready to go.
"Th-that... are you really going to drink Himeko's coffee? Perhaps you don't understand, Himeko's coffee is truly... a bit too strong," March 7th leaned her head close to Takagi's ear and whispered.
"It's fine, no harm in trying. Besides, Dottore and La Signora also want to taste it. How can we not let them taste the local specialty here?" Takagi waved his hand and smiled. Of course, he knew Himeko's coffee was terrifying. Among all the Star Rail characters, probably few could stomach Himeko's coffee. That being said, Takagi was curious to see how terrifying this coffee was, which even powerful figures like Welt were unwilling to face. Of course, if he were the only one to try it, it would be too lonely. So, he could only let Dottore try it too. As for La Signora and the others... Since she was willing to go deliver it herself, Takagi didn't bother to stop her.
"Is there something wrong with this coffee?" Lisa asked curiously.
"...In general, it's a very special taste," March 7th looked at Himeko not far away and said with a somewhat complicated expression.
Seeing March 7th's expression, and then the expressions of Welt, Pom-Pom, and others, Lisa silently gave up the idea of getting a cup of coffee as well.
......
On the other side.
Herta Space Station.
"Ms. Herta, I finally got in touch with you," Asta said excitedly, listening to Herta's voice coming from the phone.
"What happened? So anxious? Did that guy Takagi test the Simulated Universe first? Did that guy explode the Simulated Universe again?" On the other end of the phone, Herta's slightly puzzled voice came through. Because Asta had previously relayed the news of Takagi's arrival at the Space Station, Herta knew about Takagi's coming.
"No, Lord Takagi didn't explode the Simulated Universe. But too many things happened today," Asta said, taking the opportunity to finally get in touch with Herta to tell her about a series of events: a Stellaron being placed inside Stelle's body, the Antimatter Legion invading the Space Station, and the Doomsday Beast being eliminated.
"The Stellaron I stored was placed inside someone's body. And she hasn't shown any problems? That's interesting, it's worth researching. However, I'm more interested in whether Takagi can attract more Aeons in the Simulated Universe," Herta said.
"Ms. Herta, I saw the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook!" Asta said excitedly.