"My secondary mission had only one objective: to gather information about this world."
As Star Worm spoke, his gaze slowly swept across the group, trying to catch some telling detail worth savoring from their expressions.
Yet aside from Gleipnir raising an eyebrow, the other two remained perfectly calm, as though none of this surprised them.
After thinking for a moment, Star Worm added, "Gathering information isn't malicious. It's merely routine procedure. Whenever the sub-train I served on previously arrived in a world, we collected intelligence on that world as well, partly to expand our pool of customers."
It was like wizards pioneering wastelands. Upon arriving in any new world, they would surely first learn about that world, then analyze the intelligence and adjust their pioneering strategy accordingly.
Angel could understand what Star Worm meant, but when it came to the Dream Crystal Plain, he still felt faintly uneasy.
Setting aside his other thoughts for the moment, Angel recalled Star Worm's earlier words.
"A world?" Angel asked. "So, in your eyes, this place is a world?"
Star Worm froze, then asked in puzzlement, "What else would it be?"
Angel did not respond, but he understood inwardly. It seemed that the people aboard the Star Sea Train did not understand the Dream Crystal Plain either.
The Dream Crystal Plain might look like a "world," but it was absolutely not one.
If he had to describe it, it was simply an oversized cage.
For it to evolve into a world, at least half the authority within the Nightmare Domain's main body would need to be consumed. Yet only one or two fragments of that authority had currently escaped. There was no way the Dream Crystal Plain could be called a "world."
Thinking of it this way, both Star Worm and the Owl conductor