Star Rail, Starting as Kiana Chapter 6

As expected, aside from Ouyang who was wary and hadn't eaten the scrambled eggs with tomato Kiana made, everyone else's expressions were rather strange.

March 7th and Xing in particular looked like they'd been poisoned, their heads thudding directly onto the table.

Himeko and Dan Heng's expressions weren't great either.

Pom-Pom looked at Kiana, who seemed completely clueless, and couldn't help asking, "Kiana, that bottle you used for the oil?"

"Huh? The one with the red label, right?"

March 7th slammed the table and stood up, "That was chili oil!"

"And the salt?"

"The stuff in that little white jar next to the oil."

"That was custard powder."

Kiana scratched her head awkwardly, at a loss for what to say for a moment.

Fortunately, Kiana had only made one dish, and after Pom-Pom removed the food Kiana had prepared, everyone ate dinner in silence.

But they all tacitly agreed to ban Kiana from the kitchen from now on.

When night came, although Kiana had her own room on the Space Station, she still stayed on the train, planning to bunk with everyone.

But room assignments became a problem.

"I only thought there'd be one passenger, Kiana, joining us. Now two new people have come, and there aren't enough rooms, Pom!"

"Huh? There are that few rooms on the train?"

"That's not it. After all, this is a creation of the Pioneering Aeon—there's a difference between internal and external space. But to save costs, not many rooms are opened up. Adding new rooms inside the train requires special crystals from a planet."

"So, Kiana, decide! Who are you sleeping with!"

Seeing March 7th's excited expression, it was clear she was thrilled.

Xing was about to say she'd just give her room to Kiana, but Kiana had already walked up to March 7th, taken her hand, and knelt on one knee.

Like a noble knight declaring fealty to a queen, she gently kissed March 7th's hand.

"Beautiful March 7th, I wonder if I might have the honor of being your roommate."

March 7th had never seen such a scene before. Her ears instantly turned red, and she stammered for ages before finally nodding.

Himeko watched March 7th's flushed face, then looked at Kiana, who remained completely unruffled, and suddenly felt she needed to revise her impression of Kiana.

Himeko thought to herself, "This kid really knows how to flirt."

Xing, on the other hand, heard Kiana's words and saw March 7th's reaction, and seemed to learn something new.

And as the straightforward type who acted before thinking, Xing mimicked Kiana's move, wrapping an arm around Kiana's slender waist.

She leaned close to Kiana's ear and whispered, "Hey, wife."

Chapter 10: March 7th: My Bed Is Pretty Big

"By the way, Xing, are you coming to our room tonight too? With so many girls here all of a sudden, should we have a pajama party!"

"I mean, I can, but we can't stay up too late today. I still need to go back and tidy up my room, then sleep early. Tomorrow we have to keep moving supplies."

"Eh! Can't the three of us be together? My bed is pretty big!"

It was just a normal conversation.

Then Kiana suddenly chimed in.

"March 7th, how lewd, wanting a threesome. If Xing agrees, I wouldn't be opposed either."

March 7th was stunned for a moment before she realized what Kiana meant, and promptly gave her a chop to the head.

"What kind of weird stuff are you thinking about!"

Himeko, who was tasting her coffee, nearly spat it out at Kiana's words. Even Ouyang, who knew Kiana's personality, wasn't much better, spilling the tea Pom-Pom had prepared for him on the floor.

They thought Pom-Pom would scold them, but found Pom-Pom also had its mouth hanging open, staring at Kiana in disbelief.

Suddenly Pom-Pom regretted whether letting Kiana on the train had been a mistake.

But thinking that the victim wasn't itself anyway, and Kiana's tongue was so sweet, as long as she didn't stir up trouble for the Express crew, Pom-Pom chose to turn a blind eye.

Whether it was the oppressive research atmosphere of the Space Station or seeing so many familiar faces that made her let loose, in less than a week, the Express crew's impression of Kiana had completely changed.

They'd thought she was an aloof knight, but now they found she was a cute cat-eared girl full of cheeky talk.

But this Kiana made them feel easier to get along with.

That night, they held a pajama party. Himeko originally didn't plan to join, but she couldn't resist the tearful, expectant gazes of the three little ones and finally agreed.

As for Pom-Pom, March 7th had planned to invite it too, but by the time she came to her senses, Pom-Pom had already retreated to its exclusive Conductor's room, door locked tight. No matter how much March 7th called, Pom-Pom inside gave no response.

"Hey, Kiana, aren't you going to change clothes?"

Looking at Kiana in her staff uniform, completely out of place with the surroundings, March 7th felt more and more uncomfortable.

"Give me a moment."

March 7th fished out a set of pajamas she'd bought before from her Rainbow Wardrobe, only they'd never been worn because the size she bought didn't match her figure.

But since the design was cute, she hadn't returned them either.

Now they finally had a use.

She also pulled out a set of pajamas for Stelle.

Kiana and Stelle took the pajamas, then exchanged a glance.

In the reflection formed in each other's pupils, they seemed to see exactly what they looked like right then.

After all, one was a white cat onesie, the other a gray little brown bear pajama set—cute enough, but compared to Himeko's red set with its mature charm and March 7th's delicate, adorable pajamas.

The two of theirs looked more like plush costumes.

That evening, Kiana pulled out her phone and bought a ton of supplies, including but not limited to clothes, snacks, and daily necessities.

"Kiana, are you opening a store or something? Why'd you buy so much stuff?"

"No reason, just thinking that if we're traveling on the train later, and we end up on some planet that doesn't use Credit Points, it's always good to stock up in advance."

"But this is way too much."

March 7th snatched Kiana's phone, found the payment record, saw the amount, and immediately latched onto Kiana's thigh.

"Sugar mommy, hungry, feed me!"

A week passed quickly, and it was time for the train to depart.

That day, besides Asta, quite a few researchers came to the Platform to see Kiana off.

"Everyone, bye-bye, I'll come back to visit you."

It wasn't until the train door closed and the train started moving that Asta led everyone back to their posts.

On the train, Kiana received a text from Asta.

Asta: Bet you didn't expect this, you've got that many fans.

Dominating Moon Sea Fish Fish Cat: ?

Asta: You didn't think the researchers were all that free, did you? If these people weren't your fans, why would they come see you?

Asta: Image.jpg

Asta: Forwarded [Chat Log] from the Cat Fan Club.

Asta: Didn't see that coming, huh.

After Kiana finished reading, she realized she actually had a fan club, but why was it called the Cat Fan Club?

Dominating Moon Sea Fish Fish Cat: How did you know? Even I didn't know myself.

Asta: Tell me, who's the group owner of that ICatSniff group?

Dominating Moon Sea Fish Fish Cat: ?

Since Asta still had work to do, the chat didn't last long.

Ending the conversation, Kiana looked at the screenshots Asta had sent and the forwarded chat log, and found it kind of amusing.

She actually had a fan club, and the leader was Asta herself.

"Right, a bit late, but Passenger Kiana, Passenger Stelle, welcome aboard the train, pa!"

"Alright, alright, find a seat and sit down, don't go running around the train like Passenger March 7th."

The moment Pom-Pom finished speaking, March 7th, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up, walked to the center of the train, and planted herself there with one hand on her hip.

Pom-Pom walked right up to March 7th and said, "Please, Passenger March 7th, sit steady, hold tight, and be careful of the vibrations!"

"There's no need to come all the way over just to remind me. I was just getting up to stretch a bit."

But Pom-Pom's look clearly said: Mm, go on, I'm listening, but I don't believe you.

Seeing Pom-Pom with that expression of "if you don't sit back down, I'm not jumping," March 7th chose to surrender, returned to the sofa, and plopped down right between Kiana and Stelle.

"Train Conductor, I'm so bored, can I get some juice?"

"Wait until after the jump, pa!"

Pom-Pom said and left, presumably to prepare for the jump.

"But the train is really amazing, Kiana, Stelle. In a bit, you'll see the train go whoosh and just cross the starry river straight to our destination. Every time we jump, I feel so awed."

"Hey, do you want to try standing in the aisle with me during the jump and see if you can keep your balance? Don't worry about safety, I'll protect you with Formless Ice."

"Um, is it possible that falling and hitting the floor might hurt less than falling on Formless Ice?"

"Kiana, that's a great question. Don't ask again."

Chapter 11: Hardened, fists hardened.

From the broadcast came Pom-Pom's voice.

"Testing, testing, please return to your seats, everyone. The jump is about to begin. Please prepare yourselves."

Along with the broadcast, March 7th stepped into the aisle at the center of the train, clenched both fists in front of her chest, and kept muttering under her breath.

"Not falling, not falling."

"Five..."

As Pom-Pom's countdown began, the train produced a few slight tremors. Kiana felt a sense of weightlessness, the same sensation she experienced when using her own ability to perform a spatial jump.

When the countdown ended, the voice over the broadcast shouted "One," and the train completed its warp. What had been a view of the Space Station not far away, with only the faint glow of the starry river visible, was now replaced by a frozen planet covered in snow and ice.

"Yeah! I did it!"

March 7th, realizing she hadn't fallen after the warp succeeded, immediately leaped up.

Then she spread her arms, pounced over to where Kiana was, wrapped her arms around Kiana, and rubbed against her vigorously.

"Mmm, Kiana, you're the best."

Feeling the soft warmth in her embrace, Kiana didn't take credit or say much—after all, she had simply stabilized the space around March 7th to keep her from falling, helping her fulfill her dream. She patted March 7th on the head, and only after a long while did March 7th finally let Kiana go.

"Still, the train's warp technology is truly astonishing."

"Of course, it's the product of an Aeon."

"But I have a question. The train doesn't have any actual tracks. So if something goes wrong during a warp, could it derail like a normal train and cause an accident?"

What greeted Kiana in the end was only a pink seal plastered over her mouth.

"Mmph mmph!"

Unfortunately, no matter how pitiful Kiana looked, no one chose to speak up for her. After all, they had witnessed the effect of Kiana's mouth. Though the Star Rail was the creation of the Pioneering Aeon, Akiwilli, and everyone believed in the Aeon's power, they also believed that if Kiana opened her mouth, something would definitely go wrong.

Good thing she asked this question after the warp.

Kiana glanced around, saw no one paying her any attention, and used her ability to transfer the seal off her mouth and away.