Looks Like I Came at a Bad Time?

"Forget it, forget it."

Jiang Yao shook his head.

I chose this road, so I'll see it through, even on an empty stomach.

If I get really hungry, I can always find something to eat then.

I have to believe that today's hardships will lead to tomorrow's sweetness.

Jiang Yao gaslit himself.

Fortunately, the Astral Express Crew had bought some ingredients before setting out.

Otherwise, Jiang Yao didn't even dare imagine whether he could last three days.

"Boo!"

Just as Jiang Yao pondered the universe-class conundrum of what to eat next...

March 7th suddenly popped up behind him.

She wanted to give Jiang Yao a fright.

Before she could even finish her combo, her laughter rang out like silver bells.

Jiang Yao wasn't angry. He merely looked at March 7th with a touch of pity.

Poor kid.

Such a little dummy.

"Hahaha, you didn't even get scared!"

March 7th seemed to be in a very good mood.

"...Would any normal person get scared by that?"

Jiang Yao's gaze grew even more sympathetic.

Looks like this kid's condition is serious.

Was she frozen so long that her brain got frostbite?

"Okay, okay, do you need any help?"

March 7th explained why she was there.

She had come to help.

"Hmm, there's nothing that needs doing. Everything's already prepared."

Jiang Yao spread his hands.

He wasn't sure whether it was because there had been so few ingredients on the Express to begin with...

Or because Welt and the others were so efficient.

Either way, the dining car was in perfect order.

There was no need for him to do any extra work at all.

"Really?"

March 7th raised a pretty eyebrow.

She hopped over to Jiang Yao's side in a flash and beamed. "Then, do you feel like doing what you love right now?"

Jiang Yao blinked.

You can't just phrase it like that.

But Jiang Yao quickly caught on.

So March 7th came here to get me to make her a little something on the side?

Jiang Yao gave March 7th a careful once-over.

This kid had some pretty deep ties to Fuli, that perverted voyeur.

But no matter how deep those ties ran, surely some basic rules still applied?

She isn't even my Emanator.

How can she eat so much?

Seriously.

With such a tiny body...

How does she fit all that food inside?

Actually, this was where Jiang Yao was wrong.

What was so tiny about our darling March?

He was simply judging her by his own standards.

In case you didn't know, here's a reminder: Jiang Yao's true form was an absolutely enormous galaxy~

"What do you want to eat?"

Of course Jiang Yao was going to indulge March 7th.

For no other reason than that he could have a bite himself.

"Yay! Egg Fried Rice! Xiaolongbao! Either one!"

March 7th cheered and bounced with delight. This was a great victory for Little March.

"Didn't you just eat those? Aren't you sick of them?"

Jiang Yao was a little curious.

The reason he had boarded the Express...

Was that he hoped to visit different galaxies and eat different delicacies.

Eating the same thing all the time would get tiresome, however delicious it was.

Granted, Jiang Yao had never gotten tired of any food since becoming the Aeon of Voracity.

But he had in his previous life!

March 7th smiled. "I'd never get tired of anything you make! If you were willing to cook for me every day, I wouldn't get tired of it even if it was always the same thing!"

"The same food every day? No matter how delicious something is, you'll get sick of it if you keep eating it."

Jiang Yao firmly believed that.

Many people only believed something once they saw it.

He believed it, but hadn't seen it yet.

"I won't!"

March 7th was emphatic, seemingly without giving it any thought at all.

She simply had that inexplicable confidence.

Whether it was Egg Fried Rice or Xiaolongbao...

There was absolutely no way she would get tired of either!

"I'm a very devoted girl, you know!"

March 7th puffed out her cheeks and sang her own praises.

"Oh? Really? Then which do you choose, Egg Fried Rice or Xiaolongbao?"

Jiang Yao gave her an amused smile.

He watched her expression go from "I'm very devoted" → "Huh?" → "What?" → "I have to choose?" → "That's way too hard!"

Her conflicted expression was impossibly adorable.

After a long while, March 7th finally pinched her sleeve and blushed. "I choose you. Anything you make is delicious! I love it all!"

"Well, well, well!"

A loud cry rang out.

Of course, it couldn't have been Jiang Yao.

"March 7th, you little sneak!"

Stelle had appeared in the dining car at some point.

March 7th immediately froze.

She stiffly turned her head and scratched it with an awkward smile. "Wh-what a coincidence~"

Stelle folded her arms and enunciated every word. "Didn't you say you were going back to rest?! How long has it even been? Ten minutes?"

March 7th mumbled, unsure how to answer.

But then she reconsidered.

Wait a second!

"Then why are you here too?"

March 7th planted her hands on her hips.

She had spotted the crucial detail.

"What's wrong with coming to see my master? Besides, I heard you closing your door and knew you were coming to bother him, so I came to help my master out."

Stelle put her hands on her hips too.

Calling him "my master" came so very naturally to her.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"I deliberately left my door open when I came here!"

March 7th sounded utterly self-righteous.

Or rather, utterly flustered.

Stelle's gone bad! She's learned to lie!

"Ahem, um, Stelle, Little March, you're both here."

While the two girls bickered and Jiang Yao happily watched the show...

Another cough came from outside the dining car.

It was Welt, who had come over after finishing the meeting!

"Uncle Yang?!"

"Weren't you in a meeting with Himeko and the Conductor?"

Stelle and March 7th spoke in unison.

They had thought they were the only ones coming here!

They hadn't expected Welt to show up too!

Don't you come over here! (A voice-cracking scream from a kid with an E2 Welt.)

Besides...

Your meeting lasted less than ten minutes?

Don't tell me you snuck out?

"Hmm? Looks like I came at a bad time?"

Suddenly, another familiar, somewhat awkward voice came from behind Welt.

That was right.

Himeko had followed right behind him.

And so...

In less than ten minutes...

The entire Astral Express Crew had gathered in the dining car.

Oh, wait.

There was still Cold Dragon Young, whom the world had briefly forgotten.

He really was resting in the Data Bank...

"No, you came at just the right time."

Jiang Yao couldn't resist being cheeky.

"You all..."

Himeko looked around at everyone gathered in the dining car.

She was dumbfounded.

Every last one of them... Did they really have to rush over here to be fed?

Anyone who didn't know better would think we couldn't even get a decent meal on the Astral Express!

Himeko held her forehead.

Honestly...

She had thought she was already getting here early enough.

Who would have thought?

She was practically the last one here!

Even Welt had arrived before her.

Wasn't that ridiculous?

All she had done was put on a little light makeup.

Had she broken some heavenly law?

Himeko was a little speechless.

Still, thank goodness!

Instead, Himeko breathed a sigh of relief.

It was a good thing they were all here.

After all, she had been just a teensy bit sneaky on her way over.

No one saw that, right?

That was right. She hadn't actually come to ask Jiang Yao to make her something on the side.

She had come to ask Jiang Yao for advice on making coffee!

Yes.

Himeko already knew that Jiang Yao was an all-rounder.

She had learned it from Asta by chance~

And so, Himeko felt an eager stirring in her heart.

She refused to believe it.

With Jiang Yao teaching her.

Would there still be no one willing to drink her coffee?