When they returned to the train, the first thing Dan Heng did was tell the others about the data he had collected and everything that had happened along the way.
After temporarily putting away the local specialties they had each brought back, Kiana and the other two immediately went to the bathrooms in their respective rooms.
"Ah~! I'm alive again! Although the Trailblaze's blessing means we don't feel cold or become filthy after going several days without bathing, it really is wonderful to soak in a bath."
"That's right. In Belobog, especially the Lower District, most heat sources are used to maintain survival. Wasting water and heat on bathing would probably seem far too extravagant to them."
March 7th rested her hands on the edge of the bathtub and placed her chin on her arms, quietly watching Kiana shower.
Since their Trailblazing journey had just begun and they had not yet had the chance to replenish the supplies needed to expand the train's interior space, the two of them still lived in the same room.
Before, March 7th had only felt that she finally had a peer to chat with. But after their journey through Belobog and their return to their former life, she felt that her state of mind had changed.
As she watched Kiana's long white hair drape over her shoulders while water droplets slid across her body, March 7th suddenly felt that the water was a little too hot, leaving her somewhat parched.
"Kiana, do you have anything to drink? The water seems a little hot. My throat's getting dry."
"Yes. Do you want it at room temperature or chilled?"
"Room temperature, I guess."
Kiana took a canned drink directly from her space and tossed it toward March 7th.
"Ah~! It's freezing!"
The sudden chill in her hands made even March 7th, who had just come out of the Formless Ice and was unafraid of the cold, cry out.
As she let go, the drink fell, brushing against her still-developing breasts before landing between her legs and making her cry out again.
"Ah~~!"
A rush of anger followed. The suggestive and intimate atmosphere of the two relaxing together in the bathroom vanished instantly.
"Ki! A! Na!"
March 7th ground her teeth as she called out the White-haired ball of fluff's name. She rose directly from the bathtub, her bare, delicate feet stepping onto the tiles, her fair skin flushed like an apple waiting to be picked.
But Kiana had no interest in admiring the beautiful sight before her. She could only retreat nervously, afraid that March 7th would freeze her into an ice sculpture in her fury and leave her in the bathroom.
March 7th advanced step by step, while Kiana kept backing away. Perhaps Kiana had just finished bathing, and the shower gel on the floor had not yet been rinsed away.
Kiana's retreating foot suddenly slipped.
With a bang, she fell in the bathroom, her head striking the floor hard.
Just as Kiana was about to get up, a warm sensation spread through her, accompanied by pain from various parts of her body.
Kiana looked at March 7th, who was pressing her down and repeatedly sucking in cold breaths.
Her panic and fear vanished at once. Now, seeing that pretty face drawing close, Kiana suddenly felt like teasing her properly.
"March 7th, you were so eager to knock me down. But if possible, I'd prefer our first time to be on a bed. The bathtub would work too, but the floor is a little too exciting. I'm still innocent—I can't accept that yet."
March 7th had forgotten what she had intended to do. The pain in her knees and palms no longer mattered. Looking at Kiana pretending to be weak and helpless, another burst of anger rose within her.
Looking at the girl who was always verbally teasing her, March 7th felt that she should teach her what it meant to bring trouble upon herself.
The emotions she had accumulated over time erupted. March 7th decided to go all the way, closing her eyes as her head slowly lowered.
This time, Kiana was the one who panicked.
"Wait, wait! March 7th is actually serious? I do like March 7th too, but shouldn't I be the one taking the initiative?"
It was as if a galgame had appeared in Kiana's mind, presenting three options.
Option A: Flee in disgrace and obtain the title "Weak Kiana Cat Who Only Talks Big."
Option B: Let nature take its course and gain someone to cuddle with, but probably also obtain the title "Kiana Zero."
Option C: Counterattack and teach the other side a proper lesson! Kiana's glory must not waver!
However, just as Kiana was preparing to counterattack—
The door slowly opened with a faint creak. At the same time, Stelle poked her head inside. Seeing no one in the room, she guessed that the two of them might be bathing in the bathroom. She did not barge in, instead standing at the entrance and calling inside:
"Kiana, March 7th, hurry up and finish bathing. Pom-Pom said dinner is ready and is urging everyone to come eat."
After relaying Pom-Pom's message, Stelle closed the door, leaving the two of them frozen in the same position as before.
What?
"March 7th, you didn't lock the door?"
"I did. But to make it convenient for Stelle to come over and play, her fingerprint was also registered on the door..."
After Stelle's sudden intrusion, March 7th calmed down. She no longer had any desire to remain there.
Although they had not finished bathing and had not soaked to their hearts' content—
Since Pom-Pom had sent Stelle to hurry them along, they could only dry themselves off and go eat first, then return afterward to finish bathing and enjoy a proper soak.
But after the two of them dried the water from their bodies and changed clothes, March 7th remembered what had happened in the bathroom.
Recalling the drink Kiana had thrown her, its bottle covered in frost and its contents frozen solid, March 7th's mood soured again. She kept her cheeks puffed out the entire time and ignored Kiana beside her.
She was still angry even after they sat down to eat.
"Little March, what's wrong?"
Seeing March 7th completely ignore the White-haired ball of fluff, who had recently become her closest companion and even shared a room with her, Himeko had no idea what Kiana had done to make March 7th so angry.
After March 7th heard Himeko's question, all the resentment she had been holding in reached its peak. She poured out everything that had happened in the bathroom.
"You asked Kiana for a drink at room temperature, but she gave you one frozen solid, making you jump from the shock?"
"Mm-hmm! Himeko, you have to discipline Kiana. She was awful!"
Himeko watched March 7th throw herself into her arms and act spoiled. Rather than immediately scolding Kiana, she merely gave Kiana a look, signaling for her to explain why she had done it.
Kiana was somewhat embarrassed, but she still told them the truth.
"March 7th asked for a drink at room temperature, right?"
"That's right."
"I thought March 7th had probably drunk all the Interastral Peace Corporation's beverages before, so I took out one we bought in Belobog."
"And what does that have to do with teasing Little March?"
"Well, there is a reason. We didn't put it into our space right after buying it. We carried everything back along the same route and only brought it onto the train afterward. So the room temperature here was the snowfield's room temperature."
Himeko: ...
Everyone else: ...
"This..."
After hearing Kiana's explanation, Himeko fell silent for a moment. According to Kiana, she had merely been careless rather than intentionally playing a prank on March 7th.
"Himeko, see? I wasn't wrong either. Isn't room temperature just the temperature under normal conditions? Jarilo-VI is covered in snow year-round, with most of its land buried under ice and snow. So when March 7th asked for room temperature, I wasn't wrong to give her something cold, right?"
Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Kiana immediately began shifting the blame.
However, Ouyang dismantled her argument at that moment.
"Ahem. Although you didn't do it intentionally, Kiana, as a former teacher, I still have to give you a lesson.
"Room temperature is also called normal temperature or ambient temperature. It is generally defined as twenty-five degrees. In chemical engineering, AMB is commonly used to represent it, meaning...
"Although the room temperature used in industrial applications varies slightly between regions, it is generally between fifteen and twenty-five degrees.
"Of course, the room temperature used in chemical systems does include temperatures below zero."
That obscure piece of "common knowledge" left Kiana speechless. Fortunately, after Kiana explained herself and Ouyang added a brief lesson, March 7th stopped being angry after Kiana apologized.
The two of them reconciled.
"By the way, you said in the group chat that you brought back some local specialties. What did you all bring?"
After dinner, Himeko and Ouyang listened to everyone recount their Trailblazing journey. Himeko suddenly asked the question.
Kiana and the other two immediately raised their heads in unison, all looking extremely proud, like children returning from a school outing with souvenirs from the scenic area.
Ouyang and Dan Heng were not particularly interested, however. They returned to their rooms—one to organize the Data Bank, and the other to assemble his beloved Gundam model.
After a while, everyone brought out the local specialties they had taken home from the journey.
First was March 7th. The specialty she had brought back consisted of the various scenic photos stored in her camera.
"Himeko, look! Although Jarilo-VI's environment is harsh, whether it's this endless snowfield or the aurora over the Creation Platform, nowhere in all our journeys has had scenery this moving."
Of course, it was moving—and freezing—as well.
March 7th's photos had already reached the snowbank they had photographed when they first arrived at the snowfield. In other words, they had reached the photos from when they discovered Sampo.
"Ah, I'd forgotten. Sampo was a man when we first met. I nearly forgot."
At that, March 7th gave Kiana a strange look. After all, Sampo's current appearance was the result of Kiana's careless remark.
"So, my dear Kiana, please, please, say something about me too, okay? I want to grow up too!"
Faced with March 7th's pleading, what else could Kiana do? She could only satisfy her.
Kiana did find it strange, though. What was going on with Sampo? This was the first time she had seen one of her remarks affect someone for so long.
Suddenly, a masked phantom appeared in Kiana's mind.
"Damn, could Aha be behind this? We're both people who enjoy having fun, so why are we hurting each other?"
Under March 7th's expectant gaze, Kiana met her eyes and spoke with utmost seriousness:
"I hope a pair of luscious breasts will appear on March 7th's chest. About as big as steamed buns would be perfect."
Just then, Pom-Pom entered the parlor car carrying several drinks.
"Steamed buns? Is that the specialty Kiana brought back? Should Pom-Pom heat them up for you?"
"No need. I wasn't talking about those steamed buns."
As Kiana finished speaking, March 7th's chest suddenly swelled. Even through her clothes, it was already enough to rival Himeko's.
March 7th could not help asking:
"Eh? Didn't they say having a larger chest would make your shoulders sore and be exhausting? Why don't I feel anything?"
March 7th tried moving around. But when she jumped, two fragrant steamed buns slipped out from beneath her clothes.
March 7th: ...
Kiana: ...
Himeko: ...
Stelle: ...
"Passenger March 7th, don't treat food like a toy!"
As Pom-Pom placed the drinks on the table and carried away the fallen buns, Himeko added another piece of knowledge for everyone.
"Human instincts cannot accept words like 'no' and other forms of negation, so..."
After hearing Himeko's words, March 7th understood what had happened. According to that theory, when Kiana replied to Pom-Pom that she had not meant those steamed buns, the negation had no effect. As a result, two steamed buns had appeared beneath March 7th's clothes.
"Pom-Pom!!!"
March 7th's beautiful dream was shattered. Even though Kiana later tried Himeko's method again, it did not work even once.
Next came Kiana's turn to display the specialty she had brought back. When everyone saw that it was a book, they were all stunned.
The book's cover was especially shocking. Wasn't it far too revealing?
March 7th looked at the publication, whose cover read Kiss Without Flowers. The intimate pose between the girls on the cover made her pretty face flush, and she mistakenly thought Kiana was hinting at something.
Himeko looked at Kiana strangely. Although Ouyang had not said it outright, Kiana's sexual orientation seemed quite obvious now.
But what did this specialty mean? Was Kiana planning to proselytize to them?
"Ah, sorry, sorry. I grabbed the wrong one."
Afterward, several small items bought in Belobog, along with a few wanted posters, appeared on the table.
"Could these be the wanted posters you had back then?"
Before you continue