Beige flooring, long red sofas, and a huge chandelier overhead.
Through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows on either side, the stars outside were visible.
The shape and layout of the long "room" made it clear that this was a train carriage.
Morien sat on a long red sofa beside the window. Beside him was Dan Heng, a black-haired young man silently looking down at his phone. Across from them, two lively girls were fooling around.
They were the gray-haired Stelle and the pink-haired March 7th.
Just then, Stelle glanced at Morien out of the corner of her eye and suddenly noticed that the mask hanging beside his face had changed, turning from a red Mocking Mask into a white Smiling Mask.
The outspoken girl always blurted out whatever she noticed.
She immediately pointed at Morien's face.
"Huh? Mo, your mask's lost its color."
That instantly drew everyone else's attention to Morien.
Himeko, the navigator sitting a little farther away, also looked over at the sound.
Originally from Duplex Paradise, Himeko knew a little about masks.
When she was young, she had heard a Fool mention in casual conversation that a mask of Pleasure was both an identity and its bearer's deepest yearning-the person they wished to become.
For the Masked Fools, then, a sudden, drastic change in their mask was no small matter.
And if the mask had actually changed, rather than been stolen by someone, that was an even bigger deal.
Although Morien was merely hitching a ride, now that he was aboard, the Astral Express Crew naturally showed him plenty of concern.
Seeing their slightly worried looks, Morien chuckled and was about to speak.
But just then, time seemed to stop.
Stelle's outstretched hand froze in place. March 7th had her mouth open, about to say something. Dan Heng