But Himeko did not apply a new seal. As long as it taught Kiana a lesson, there was no need to actually seal her mouth shut and stop her from talking.
Seeing that the planet was completely different from the records still made March 7th suspicious. Could the jump really have gone wrong?
"That snow-white planet, is it our target this time?"
March 7th looked at the photograph in her hand, then at the snow-covered planet. She genuinely felt as though she had been scammed.
Buyer's pictures vs. seller's pictures.
"Yep. Looks like this Trailblaze expedition won't be easy."
Pom-Pom also announced the data they had calculated. Himeko suddenly hesitated. Had she been too lenient with Kiana? Perhaps she should just completely seal Kiana's mouth shut after all.
When Kiana saw Himeko looking at her, she shrank her neck. She had not even had time to say the dirty joke she had prepared before moving behind March 7th and Stelle, blocking Himeko's gaze.
"Abnormal spatial readings! Star Rail stability has dropped to 12%! The docking plan has changed. This station's docking time has been extended from seven days to an indefinite period, until the anomaly is eliminated."
After hearing Pom-Pom's words, only March 7th and Stelle were unclear about what they meant. The other three instead looked at Kiana with expressions that seemed to say, This can happen too?
Kiana was now completely unable to defend herself. It clearly had nothing to do with her, but because she had run her mouth, it seemed that she could no longer shake the title of jinx.
"Forget it. I'm done trying. My mouth, my rules!"
In the end, their curious little baby, Stelle, still did not understand what had happened. Since everyone around her was looking strangely at the space behind her, she asked aloud.
"Um, what does that mean?"
"Well, let's skip the technical terms. Do you remember what Kiana said just now?"
"I remember. What about it?"
"Wait. Could it be?"
"That's exactly what it could be."
After March 7th and Stelle understood what had happened and looked toward her as well, Kiana could only pretend not to notice. She hummed a tune, took out a drink she had bought, and began drinking it.
"The preliminary inspection results are out. The source of the anomaly is still the Stellaron."
In the end, Uncle Yang stepped in, preventing everyone's gazes from continuing to focus on Kiana.
After discovering the true culprit, Kiana immediately became bold again. She glared back at everyone, hands on her hips, wearing an expression that said, I was wrongfully accused. Aren't you going to apologize?
"Then this Trailblaze expedition will be left to you four: Kiana, Stelle, March 7th—and Dan Heng, you should go with them as well. Take care of the girls."
Seeing the disappointment in Uncle Yang's eyes, Himeko—despite being younger than him—had to take on the task of comforting him.
However, it seemed that she would not need to say anything this time.
Kiana instantly appeared behind Uncle Yang and patted him on the shoulder.
"Qihei, Biejia Wangsan, you don't have anything fun to look forward to now, but once we reach the next stop, you might get to see that old friend you've been longing for. You'll have plenty of chances to make an appearance then."
"An old friend?"
Kiana's words caught Uncle Yang's attention. His slight disappointment vanished, replaced by curiosity about who the old friend Kiana was talking about.
As for why Kiana had said that, Uncle Yang did not intend to get to the bottom of it. Perhaps Kiana knew something, or perhaps she had just said it casually.
What did it have to do with him?
Ling Renmeng and the others were curious as well. Who was the "old friend" in Kiana's mouth? Even the usually cold Dan Heng and Pom-Pom, who was maintaining the dignity of the Train Conductor, could not help looking over.
Kiana did not reveal the name directly. Instead, she left them hanging, cleared her throat twice, and only spoke after putting some distance between herself and Uncle Yang.
"How should I put this? He no longer has a father, but he still has me. I can completely become the guide of his life, can't I? Just like how I raised all of you."
His fists were clenched. Very clenched.
Uncle Yang felt his blood pressure shooting straight up. Although he did not know how Kiana knew that line, he immediately understood who she meant by "old friend."
Who else could it be besides Otto?
The others were also seeing Uncle Yang act this way for the first time. They wondered who could make this good-natured man think of someone with just a single sentence—and become this furious.
However, seeing that neither Kiana nor Uncle Yang intended to say anything, no one pursued the matter. Only Pom-Pom handed Uncle Yang a cup of tea to help him calm down.
Chapter 12: If I Became Herta, Would Bronya Be Excited?
While everyone was calming Uncle Yang down, March 7th moved to Kiana's side and whispered into her ear.
"Kiana, why don't we leave first? Uncle Yang looks like he's about to have a fit. Let's get ready, change our clothes, and leave."
"Mm."
Kiana nodded. Taking advantage of the moment, March 7th also tugged at Stelle, and the three of them left together to prepare.
However, March 7th and Stelle had been ready for a long time, yet Kiana still had not arrived. They both found it strange.
"Could Kiana have fallen asleep?"
Stelle glanced at the time and saw that quite a while had indeed passed. March 7th was also growing impatient. After hearing Stelle's words, she decided to enter the room and see how Kiana was doing.
As soon as she entered, she did not see Kiana. Instead, she saw someone with the same gray hair as Stelle, the ends faintly blue, wearing slightly oversized clothes and standing blankly in front of the mirror.
"Huh!"
March 7th could not help crying out when she saw the figure before her. After all, that face looked exactly like Silver Wolf, the hacker among the Stellaron Hunters whose bounty had reached 5.1 billion.
Following March 7th's cry, the members of the Express crew were drawn over. Stelle, who was closest, thought March 7th had encountered some danger and came running with her baseball bat.
The moment she saw the figure in the room, she froze as well.
"Silver Wolf, is that you?"
Kiana had been immersed in her transformation into Bronie, Maze Rabbit.
But March 7th and Stelle's voices woke her. She turned around and looked at them. However, although Kiana's figure was not like Himeko's, nor as exaggerated as Herta's post-Honkai body, it was still beyond anything Bronie could compare with.
Thus, when she turned around, the clothes she had put on slipped down with the motion. If Kiana had not reacted quickly, she would have exposed herself and put on another show like the first time she met Asta.
According to her memories, the Princess of Winter outfit had been custom-made in a hurry. On this somewhat childish body, it instead looked like a long dress.
Dan Heng had originally been the closest. He had been waiting for the three girls to get off the train and intended to act as their guard, but Himeko stopped him before he could approach.
"I'll handle this."
Even Himeko wore a puzzled expression as she looked at the figure before her.
However, Himeko was clearly more mature and composed. She poked her head out, told Uncle Yang and Dan Heng that there was no need to worry, then had Pom-Pom ask everyone to wait in the observation car before closing and locking the door.
"It's Kiana, right?"
"Huh!!!"
Before Kiana herself could speak, the still-shocked March 7th and Stelle cried out together. After all, the existence before them looked so much like Silver Wolf, yet was completely unrelated to the Kiana in their memories.
But when they saw Kiana nod, they remembered how sharp Kiana's tongue was and roughly figured out what had happened.
She must have said something again, which had caused her to turn into this appearance.
"Tell us. What did you say this time?"
Kiana awkwardly tugged at her ill-fitting clothes. Fortunately, she had prepared plenty of outfits. She had originally prepared these clothes for a future change when she met Silver Wolf, intending to get a little revenge on her, but they had ended up being used on herself.
As for using spatial abilities to change clothes, she wondered whether the pufferfish would get angry if she found out.
Spring Spirit: "What? Angry? What does a pufferfish getting angry have to do with me, the Spring Spirit? I even use spatial abilities to store snacks and parasols."
Kiana thought back. She had originally wanted to adapt to her surroundings and had hesitated over whether to wear the Princess of Winter outfit, the Empress of Winter outfit belonging to the Herrscher of the Void, or the Snow Moon Spirit Rabbit outfit belonging to the Saintess.
In the end, she felt that the Princess of Winter outfit was the most suitable. It was at that moment, after changing clothes, that she casually said:
"Ah, we're going to Jarilo-VI. If I turned into Herta, would Bronya be excited?"
And then the situation that followed happened.
Himeko sat at the head of the bed while March 7th and Stelle sat in chairs nearby. The three of them simply stared at Kiana.
They had heard that when Asta first encountered Kiana, she had thought Kiana was an ordinary cat before Kiana turned into a human.
They had assumed it was a coincidence. Now, however, Kiana's ability seemed genuinely strange. She could change her body and even acquire a different kind of power. That clearly did not fit their understanding.
Still, none of them investigated too deeply. They simply watched Kiana. After about ten minutes, Kiana returned to her original appearance.
"How does it feel? Herta told me that the first time you transformed into that being you called a pufferfish, you could still use part of its abilities afterward. How do you feel now?"
At Himeko's question, Kiana remembered that she had just wasted the opportunity to experience Maze Rabbit's abilities. But when she calmed down and sensed the power within her, she discovered that another force had indeed appeared inside her.
When that power was triggered, Kiana transformed into Bronie's appearance once more. This time, however, she had not merely changed her appearance. Her clothes changed along with her body.
"Mm, I roughly understand now. Unlike before, using the ability turns me into this form, but maintaining it requires energy within my body. Using the ability consumes even more energy. Once the transformation is dispelled, I return to normal."
Unlike Guns Girl Z, the energy system of the Star Rail universe was not based on the idea that Honkai Energy could do everything. Therefore, from now on, it would all be called energy. Otherwise, there would be Honkai Energy one moment, Imaginary Energy the next, and something else after that. Even with drafts and reference materials open, she would get confused.
However, seeing that Kiana had not returned to her original appearance, Himeko decided to go to the observation car first and explain things to the others so they could mentally prepare themselves.
"You three wait in the room for a moment. I'll go explain the situation to the others."
After Himeko finished speaking, she opened the door and went to the observation car, where she explained the general situation to everyone else.
When the others arrived, Dan Heng and Pom-Pom found Kiana's ability strange, but after traveling for so long, they had seen plenty of strange things. A cube could even turn into a person and cause trouble, so what was a person compared to that?
Especially since there was an Aeon in this universe who enjoyed having fun. Bugs could become Emanators. What else could they not accept?
Only Uncle Yang wore the expression of an old man on the subway reading a newspaper.
Chapter 13: The Knight's Perverted Gentlemanly Conduct
Uncle Yang: "This is unbelievable. A week ago, seeing Kiana gave me quite a fright, but with Himeko's example, I could still accept it."
"But today, the train 'derailed' first. Then Kiana said that person would meet me next time. And now I've seen such a familiar figure again."
Uncle Yang began to wonder whether entering the Stargate and coming here had all been a dream.
Otherwise, why could he meet so many familiar faces here?
Unfortunately, Kiana could not read minds. Otherwise, she would definitely have teased Uncle Yang.
"This is nothing yet. Once this trip ends, after you see the Star Rail version of Bronya and Cocolia, then Luocha and Sushang on the Xianzhou, and later Yomi and Mei, and Xianzhou Marshal Hua, you can say that again."
However, Kiana had already returned to her original appearance by the time she got off the train. She had discovered that when she turned into Bronie, she could not use the authority of the Herrscher of the Void. In other words, the spatial ability she used as a portable bag had been disabled.
Therefore, unless she needed it or intended to cause trouble, she would continue appearing in her original form.
Finally, after a series of minor disturbances, the group set out on their new Trailblaze expedition before nightfall.
Although the Blessing of the Pioneering Aeon and their own powers meant that none of them feared the cold, they still reflexively rubbed their hands when they stepped onto the snow and saw the endless white surrounding them.
"It really is a frozen wasteland."
"It really is a frozen wasteland."
Seeing Kiana and Stelle start repeating themselves, even the usually serious Dan Heng could not help joining in.
"It really is a frozen wasteland."
"You're a broken record!"
However, seeing March 7th rubbing her hands, Kiana continued repeating herself while searching through her spatial storage. She found a Warm Baby and a blue scarf.
She went behind March 7th, wrapped the scarf around her, and March 7th stopped complaining. Instead, she simply stood there and let Kiana arrange it.
Finally, when March 7th felt warmth spreading through her hands, she discovered that Kiana had taken her hands and placed a Warm Baby in them.
Although March 7th would not actually feel cold, she still felt warm in both body and heart.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
While March 7th was thanking her, Kiana had already tied a scarf around Stelle as well and taken out a Warm Baby. Stelle seemed unable to understand why she needed a scarf and a Warm Baby when she was not cold either.
Still, she thanked Kiana just like March 7th had.
Dan Heng did not receive the same treatment. He merely accepted the cyan scarf and Warm Baby from Kiana before thanking her.
As for why Kiana treated them differently, perhaps the bloodline of the Kaslana family made her instinctively take care of the girls around her.
Perhaps this was the gentlemanly conduct of a perverted knight.
"Right, why did we land here? It's clearly still quite a distance from the town. Wouldn't it have been better to land directly near the town?"
March 7th heard Stelle's question. Her eyes flickered uneasily as she tried to avoid Stelle's gaze, which was filled with curiosity.
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