When Kiana returned, she found that March 7th and the others had all curled up under the blankets, with only their heads sticking out. The moment they saw her come back, they gazed at her expectantly.
"All right, go to bed early. Good night."
"Good night."
The lights went out, and the two of them gradually fell asleep.
Accompanied by faint breathing, the train had fallen completely silent. Aside from the dim lights in the corridors, there were no other sources of light or sound.
The next day, just as expected, March 7th was genuinely bedridden.
"Ugh, I feel awful. My whole body aches. Kiana, am I going to die?"
Kiana curled her lips, helped March 7th sit up, and fed her two pills. Only after March 7th fell asleep again did she leave the room and head for the main hall.
Pom-Pom had already been waiting there for quite some time.
"Passenger Kiana, you're late, pom! Are you too tired? Why are you and Passenger March 7th both late today, pom?"
Kiana explained how March 7th had passed out while soaking in the bath the previous night and then caught a cold that morning. When Pom-Pom heard that March 7th had taken her medicine and gone to sleep, the conductor finally relaxed.
"Oh, is that so, pom? You may have suddenly relaxed too much. And that's simply what Passenger March 7th's personality is like. Passenger Kiana, you don't need to worry. With such a minor ailment, she'll probably be back full of energy by noon, pom."
"I'll take your word for it, Conductor Pom-Pom."
Pom-Pom had just been about to set aside a meal for March 7th to eat after she woke up when it suddenly stopped. It had remembered the note it had seen on the refrigerator that morning.
"Passenger Kiana, did you make that sour plum juice, pom?"
"Yes. What's wrong, Conductor Pom-Pom?"
Pom-Pom suddenly looked furious. Its little doll-like hands clenched in front of its chest, while its tiny round feet kept stomping on the floor.
However, because of its size, they made no sound.
"Didn't I say so before?! Passenger Kiana is forbidden from entering the kitchen! Forbidden from entering the kitchen! No, this is bad! I thought someone else had made the sour plum juice because they were craving it, so I served it to everyone at breakfast. This is bad!"
Seeing Pom-Pom run toward the dining car while shouting, "Passengers, don't drink the sour plum juice, pom!" Kiana, despite her carefree personality, couldn't help but feel several black lines appear above her head.
But Pom-Pom was clearly too late. No one had touched their meals, since they had been waiting for Kiana and March 7th to eat together. However, everyone had already drunk quite a lot of the sour plum juice, enough to last them several days. Uncle Yang had even downed several cups. When he heard Pom-Pom's voice, the movement of his hand froze.
"Pom-Pom, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with this sour plum juice?"
"There's a problem. A huge problem! Passenger Kiana made this sour plum juice."
Smack!
Uncle Yang's body went rigid, and the empty cup in his hand fell to the floor. Whether it was merely psychological, he suddenly felt a little discomfort in his stomach.
The others also wore somewhat strange expressions, but none reacted as dramatically as Uncle Yang.
"Hey, you're all being way too excessive. Last time, I only put some seasonings in the wrong places because I didn't know where they were. Do you really have to overreact like this?"
"Passenger Kiana, allow me to correct you. Last time, it wasn't 'some' of the seasonings. It was all of them! And now I suspect that March 7th fell ill because of the sour plum juice you made!"
The corner of Kiana's mouth twitched. Especially when she saw Uncle Yang turn completely gray, looking as though he didn't have long to live, she felt utterly unable to defend herself.
Fortunately, nothing had actually happened this time. Uncle Yang's reaction had merely been psychological.
After everyone heard Kiana recount what had happened yesterday and that morning, Himeko noticed a blind spot and spoke up.
"Kiana, is it possible that March 7th didn't jinx herself? Maybe it was the sentence you said afterward that caused her to fall ill today."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Himeko didn't say anything more. She simply ate a few more bites, then went to March 7th's room to check on her.
By the time Himeko and Kiana returned, March 7th had already woken from her nap. She had sweated quite a bit, and just as the two returned, she had gotten out of bed and was in the middle of taking off her pajamas.
The bathroom door was open, and it seemed that March 7th intended to take a bath.
"March 7th!"
"Here!"
"You have a cold, so don't move around. Get back into bed and rest. You can bathe later."
"But..."
"No buts!"
"Yes!"
Seeing how Kiana had March 7th completely under control, Kiana suddenly felt as though her own daughter had grown up and could finally discipline her younger sister.
"Wait, that's not right. March 7th came before Kiana, so which one of them is older?"
Silver Wolf: I'm Going to Have Kafka Warm Your Bed
After breakfast, the train was about to embark on a new journey.
Just as the train started moving, the parlor car was unusually quiet. Everyone was busy with their own affairs. It wasn't until Pom-Pom's voice came over the intercom that the parlor car was no longer silent.
"It's so quiet."
Himeko set down her coffee and glanced at everyone on the sofas.
Only now did she realize that without March 7th and Kiana, the lively carriage had become so cold and empty. Clearly, aside from those two, no one had left.
Yet it made her feel as though she were the only person left on the train.
"Ah, March 7th and Kiana aren't here. Without those two most energetic little rascals around, it suddenly feels so strange."
Even Dan Heng, who preferred quiet, and Uncle Yang, who was absorbed in his newspaper, couldn't help nodding in agreement.
Only Stelle, one of the three little ones, felt as though she were attending a family gathering where all the other people her age were absent, leaving only elders and successful older brothers behind.
"Um, don't make it sound as though we died. I only went to look after March 7th. Why are you talking as if we've gotten off the train?"
Kiana opened the door and immediately heard Himeko discussing her. What did she mean, saying that Kiana and March 7th weren't here? March 7th had fallen ill, and Kiana had merely gone to look after her. Was there really any need to make such a big deal out of it?
"Oh, Kiana, what brings you here? Is March 7th better?"
"How could she recover so quickly? The company sells medicine, not elixirs. At the earliest, she won't be better until noon. I just came to get some water."
Seeing Kiana like this, Himeko couldn't help bursting into laughter after Kiana left.
Even Cold-faced Little Azure Dragon and Uncle Yang had smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths.
Although the train had begun moving, it hadn't activated its jump drive. For one thing, it hadn't finished accelerating. For another, they still hadn't decided where to go.
Himeko: "Should we return to Herta Space Station? Asta has been asking me about Kiana every day lately. It's only been a few days since she left, yet Asta acts as though they haven't seen each other in years."
Uncle Yang: "Yes, going to the Space Station would be good. We didn't receive any supplies after our last stop, and we can have the company send over a batch of crystals to expand the available space. Kiana still doesn't have her own room. We should arrange one for her."
Himeko: "The crystals can wait. If Little March finds out that she has to sleep separately from Kiana, she'll probably come over and throw a fit right now."
Only Stelle timidly raised her hand.
"Um, we shouldn't have used that many supplies, right? Why don't we go to a new planet?"
Himeko said nothing. She merely took a sip of coffee, keeping a smile on her face while her gaze swept toward the frozen Uncle Yang and Dan Heng beside her.
Pom-Pom had already returned from the conductor's room. Since all the data was normal, the conductor had also returned to participate in the route discussion.
After hearing Stelle's question, Pom-Pom tilted its head and looked at Himeko in confusion.
"Passenger Stelle, Passenger Himeko didn't tell you? Our next destination is..."
"Ahem."
Dan Heng and Uncle Yang coughed at the same time, interrupting Pom-Pom.
Seeing the two of them, Himeko couldn't help laughing again. Even though Kiana was currently taking care of March 7th, she had still managed to affect everyone else on the train.
Why were the two of them avoiding the subject of the new destination?
It was because of something Kiana had once said. She had told them that both of them would meet an acquaintance, but this acquaintance was not meant in a good way. Neither of them wanted to face that person now.
Under such circumstances, even if the destination had already been decided, Pom-Pom would consider changing it whenever a passenger showed extreme resistance to the next stop.
That was one of the reasons this route discussion had been called.
Uncle Yang: If that guy comes too, I'd rather stay on the train playing with mecha every day than get off. Who in their right mind would want to see him?
Dan Heng: My nightmares have changed recently. If you discover someone appearing in your dreams every day, constantly saying, "There are five people, but only three prices," attacking you at the slightest provocation, and recently even wearing a pink princess dress, wouldn't you be afraid too?
However, before anyone could offer a decisive opinion, a virtual projection appeared in front of the parlor car.
"Long time no see, everyone aboard the Star Rail. I'm Kafka."
Ling's Dream
At that moment, the train's doors were locked. Kiana, who was in her room, heard a faint sound.
When she tried to leave, she discovered that the door had been locked. No matter what she did, she couldn't open it.
Just as Kiana was about to use the Herrscher of the Void's power to warp through the door, a graffiti image appeared in front of it.
It was a chibi Silver Wolf doodle.
At the same time, her phone gave a notification sound.
Silver Wolf: Stay in the room. We won't do anything bad. If you agree, I'll have Kafka warm your bed after everything is over.
Kiana: ?
She tried to reply, but a notification said that the contact didn't exist. If Kiana hadn't known how the story would unfold, she really would have broken through the door and left.
Precisely because she knew the plot, Kiana had already expected the route to be changed and the train to head for Xianzhou. Therefore, she had no intention of interfering.
Of course, what did Kafka warming her bed mean? Kiana wasn't tempted in the slightest!
Really!
"Kiana, what's wrong? Why are you smiling so lecherously?"
You were about to say "lecherously," weren't you?
Kiana didn't bother explaining anything to March 7th. She simply sat beside her and began checking her condition.
Meanwhile, in the parlor car, Kafka felt that something was off.
According to the plan, she had appeared as a member of the Stellaron Hunters. Shouldn't everyone have been on guard? Why was their Stelle acting like a child saying, "Mom, I'm doing great"?
Moreover, aside from the basic wariness in the navigator's gaze, there was another indescribable feeling in the way she looked at Kafka.
"Wait..."
Kafka's heart skipped a beat.
Could Kiana have sent those photos and videos from back then to someone else? I should have had Silver Wolf hack Kiana's phone.
On the surface, however, Kafka remained completely unruffled. Following the script, she "warned" the crew to change course. Otherwise, if something happened to Xianzhou or the Stellaron caused some kind of crisis, the Stellaron Hunters could not guarantee the consequences.
When he heard that they were changing course for Xianzhou, Uncle Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Since the destination had changed, surely he wouldn't still run into that person.
Dan Heng, however, wore a strange expression. An ominous premonition rose in his heart.
Chapter 52 Kiana: I Don't Want the Final Lesson!
March 7th had already been feeling down because she was sick and wouldn't be able to play around for a while. But now, she realized that she had been wrong.
This was the first time she understood why some children, as well as one person in a passionate relationship, would pretend to be sick so the other could take care of them.
March 7th sat against her pillow in bed. Although she couldn't move around freely, Kiana was taking meticulous care of her. She peeled the grapes, removed the seeds, and fed them to March 7th with her fair hand.
This was the sort of supreme enjoyment reserved for ancient emperors. And the person serving her was Kiana, who was as beautiful and charming as a woman, yet as handsome and dashing as a knight. If anyone else saw this scene, they would be green with envy.
However, after another half hour had passed, Kiana checked March 7th again. Her illness had more or less recovered, her temperature had returned to normal, and her spirits had been restored.
March 7th lost her chance to continue enjoying herself.
Although March 7th was somewhat reluctant, she didn't throw a childish tantrum or try to act spoiled. Instead, she got out of bed, changed her clothes, and prepared to head to the parlor car to join everyone in their new Trailblazing journey.
"Kiana, let's go together."
"Mm, let's go."
The chibi Silver Wolf graffiti at the door had disappeared. Kiana gently turned the handle, and the door opened easily.
When the two arrived at the parlor car, they found that everyone's expressions were somewhat strange.
"What's wrong, what's wrong? I only got sick. You don't all have to look so disappointed. I'm back now, aren't I?"
Before you continue