Herta first locked her gaze onto Caelus, who was being pulled along by March 7th, with the excitement of someone discovering a rare specimen.
"This Grey-haired one... there's actually a Stellaron reaction inside his body, and the energy readings are abnormally stable."
"It's almost fused with his vital signs... this doesn't match any known records of a Stellaron Host."
"Interesting, how very interesting! I want to keep him for comprehensive long-term observation and research."
These words made Caelus subconsciously shrink his neck, and March 7th also frowned, her grip on Caelus's hand tightening.
The Herta Puppet's gaze then turned toward Astro.
"As for you..."
A rare look of curiosity appeared on his small face.
"You... this might not be your original body, right?"
Astro was instantly dumbfounded, his face blank with confusion.
"W-what do you mean? Mr. Herta, I don't quite understand..."
"The surveillance records are crystal clear."
The Herta Puppet interrupted him.
"Although most of the Space Station's wide-area surveillance was jammed,"
"fragmented data can still piece together some... interesting images."
"In Corridor B7, an abnormal burst of Arlan's energy signature was recorded."
"And at the same coordinates, fluctuations of the Path of Erudition belonging to a Herta Puppet were detected."
His eyes seemed capable of piercing through everything as he stared intently at Astro.
"And the precise coordinates where these two abnormal energy fluctuations appeared overlap perfectly with your position at the time."
"Not to mention, you were the only unevacuated target in Corridor B7."
Hearing this, Astro couldn't help but feel a bit guilty; he hadn't expected the Space Station's surveillance to be so perverse.
It could even capture and analyze subtle differences in energy signatures, but it seemed he hadn't actually been filmed!
Watching his reaction, the Herta Puppet seemed even more convinced of his judgment.
Folding his arms, he spoke words in that crisp shota voice that startled Astro even more.
"This ability of yours... reminds me of the usual tricks of a very annoying fellow."
He tilted his head as if recalling some unpleasant experience.
"A tavern clown who likes to hide in the shadows and stir up trouble everywhere."
Hearing this, Astro couldn't help but think of Sparkle.
That Masked Fool who was obsessed with role-playing, mocking others, and treating reality as a stage.
In this ghost of a world where everyone's gender was swapped,
that Miss Sparkle... oh no, given the nature of this world, she'd probably be called Mr. Sparkle, right?
After all, in terms of ability, that person and his crappy cheat ability's transformation trait
did share some similarities when it came to impersonating others... The Herta Puppet keenly captured the momentary change in Astro.
His eyes narrowed, and his small body leaned forward, almost pressing right up to Astro's face.
"Oh? It seems you know who I'm talking about?"
He tilted his head, his exquisite yet expressionless face magnifying before Astro's eyes.
"An interesting reaction."
"Let me guess... you've really heard that annoying name somewhere before,"
"and immediately associated it with his unpleasant mimicry and chaotic abilities,"
"thereby resonating with my words..."
"Or... are you actually Sparkle himself?"
The Herta Puppet's direct interrogation caused the already tense atmosphere to practically freeze.
The word 'tavern' clearly struck a sensitive nerve in Himeko and Welt.
Uncle Himeko's brow furrowed deeply as his gaze swept back and forth between the Herta Puppet and Astro.
He obviously knew what 'tavern' and 'Masked Fool' implied.
They were a group of crazy existences who treated the universe as a playground and acted without any logic or order.
Obsessed with creating chaos and Elation, being targeted by them usually meant endless trouble.
Ms. Welt Yang's expression also became exceptionally solemn.
Even Dan Heng (Girl Version), who had been silently standing guard, looked toward Astro.
She had clearly learned of the tavern's ill repute from the Astral Express Crew's records.
The only one in the room who didn't seem frightened by the word 'tavern'—or rather, who cared more about the state of her companion—was March 7th.
On her beautiful face, which looked exactly like her girlhood self, her brow was tightly knit.
Hearing such a direct accusation as 'Sparkle himself,' March 7th almost without thinking gave a sudden tug.
She pulled Astro, who was still in a state of confusion and guilt, over to her side!
"Hey! Mr. Herta!"
March 7th's voice remained crisp.
She stood in front of Astro; though she lacked presence due to her overly delicate and cute appearance,
her intention to protect her companion was exceptionally clear.
"Stop scaring him!"
"What tavern clown, what Sparkle... how could Astro be that kind of mysterious guy!"
She turned her head and whispered to the still-dazed Astro:
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Aunt Yang and Uncle Himeko are both here!"
"Mr. Herta is just being... uh, direct!"
Then she turned back to the Herta Puppet, trying to make her tone sound reasoned:
"And even if Astro... even if he really has some strange abilities, that doesn't necessarily make him a bad person!"
"Maybe, maybe he's just special! Just like me, I don't remember anything either!"
Pulled to March 7th's side and hearing her unreserved trust and defense, Astro felt a complex mix of emotions.
This March 7th... she's actually quite loyal at critical moments.
The Herta Puppet didn't seem surprised by March 7th's intervention.
His gaze remained locked on Astro.
"Special? Hmph."
"Ignorant kindness is often the most dangerous catalyst."
"My judgment is based on data and analysis, not naive guesswork."
His gaze swept past March 7th, looking again at Himeko and Welt.
"So, what are your opinions?"
"Will you insist on taking away these two clearly high-risk unstable factors,"
"or accept my proposal to let them stay for security checks and preliminary research?"
"I must warn you, if their abnormalities are truly related to the tavern,"
"allowing them to move freely could bring unpredictable trouble to the Express and even more people."
The pressure returned once more to the Astral Express Crew.