Astral Express, Parlor Car
"Huh, didn't Ye Yan come back with you?"
"No, Teacher Ye Yan missed that milk tea shop in Xianzhou Luofu too much, so he went straight back."
March 7th shrugged and said, then looked at Pom-Pom, who was cleaning the Parlor Car, and fell into deep thought.
"Wow... After telling Pom-Pom about this adventure, it didn't react at all... It probably wanted to see Pom-Pom sad."
March 7th scratched his head in confusion. The Conductor wasn't completely heartless...
" The Conductor won't cry, Papa."
Pom-Pom mumbled softly, her voice muffled, her long ears drooping listlessly beside her cheeks.
Dan Heng and Welt exchanged a knowing glance, while Himeko gave a gentle, slightly distressed smile.
"But Conductor... why do I feel like your eyes are a little red?" Xing asked with a mischievous grin.
" Pom-Pom just... just..." Pom-Pom paused for a second. She had indeed cried her eyes out when Mikhail arrived, and now her eyes were a little sore.
"... She's just angry! Yes, angry!"
It suddenly raised its little head, trying to cover the slight tremor in its voice with a louder voice, and stomped its feet hard.
"Every time... every time, no matter where the train stops, you guys always cause chaos! No passengers ever follow Pom-Pom's pre-planned departure times... at this rate, the train will run out of fuel!"
"That's right, Pom-Pom is just angry..." Pom-Pom emphasized as she quickly rubbed the corner of her eye with the back of her hairy hand, trying to wipe away the suspicious moisture, which only made her eyes redder.
"... It's not because of Misha, Tiernan, or Lazarina —waaaaaah!"
Ultimately, the dam of emotions completely collapsed.
Pom-Pom lowered her head, large tears rolling down silently, wetting the ground. Her shoulders trembled, and Xing could even vaguely see dark clouds floating above Pom-Pom's head.
"It's okay, cry it out, Pom-Pom." Himeko gently knelt down, her fair hand softly stroking Pom-Pom's trembling back.
She looked up at the crowd and said, "Everyone, could you please go to the next carriage to rest for a bit? Don't worry, I'll stay here with you."
"But..." March 7th hesitated, then Dan Heng coughed softly.
"Let's go, March 7th."
In the passenger compartment, March 7th sat on the sofa, resting her chin on her hands, sighing softly, her pink eyelashes trembling slightly.
"I didn't expect Pom-Pom's reaction to be so strong..."
"Those three [ Nameless ] must be very important partners of its." Dan Heng leaned against the window, his deep eyes gazing at the flowing stars outside, his tone resolute.
"No one knows when Pom-Pom boarded the train, but it's safe to assume that she experienced many unimaginable meetings and partings along the way."
"It's actually a good thing that it can cry like this."
Welt spoke slowly, his fingers habitually pushing up his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses revealing understanding.
"This proves that Pom-Pom has not been worn down by the long passage of time; it still cherishes every Nameless who boarded the train and every journey shared with them."
"Let Himeko handle the calming-down work; after all, no one on this train is better at [coaxing] others than her."
"Speaking of wear and tear..."
On March 7th, the first thing that came to mind was that almost omnipresent figure who always had milk tea in his hand. She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with pure confusion.
"By the way, would a magnificent being like Aeon experience the kind of 'wear and tear' Uncle Yang mentioned?"
Upon hearing this, Welt pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head, a barely perceptible hint of seriousness flashing behind his glasses.
"We have no way of knowing about this. The existence of the Aeon is completely different from ours." He paused briefly, his brow furrowing slightly, as if carefully choosing his words:
"But judging from Ye Yan's daily behavior..." Welt's expression became somewhat complicated, and his voice lowered. "While it might be inappropriate to privately evaluate a [ Aeon ], time, in the case of [ Eternity ], might not flow in the same way as we understand it."
"The word 'wear and tear'... its application to Ye Yan's existence is itself full of contradictions."
"Although Pom-Pom was mostly venting her emotions at the time... what she said was indeed true," Dan Heng interjected, calmly changing the subject.
"With the addition of a star as a starting point, the train took longer than expected at each subsequent station," Welt sighed and said.
"To ensure everyone was present, Pom-Pom had to repeatedly postpone the jump schedule."
"I see..." Dan Heng nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing across his cool eyes. "... No wonder I often heard Pom-Pom pacing anxiously in the corridor."
"So the Conductor has been quietly working for us all along..."
On March 7th, he clasped his hands together, a look of both gratitude and guilt on his face.
"Because of what we've experienced so far... the [ Trailblaze ] fuel is being consumed more rapidly than expected, and two more jumps might be the limit." Welt's expression turned serious again, and he said in a deep voice.
"Two stops... Ah, that's perfect, we'll stop on Car Wash Planet where the [ Church of Eternity ] is located. Could the Church help us with the [ Trailblaze ]'s fuel shortage problem?"
The blind spot was discovered on March 7th, and the journey of Trailblaze has never stopped; isn't this a kind of Eternity?
" In March 7th, did you see Ye Yan voluntarily refuel the train?"
"Forehead..."
The enthusiasm of March 7th cooled instantly. She blinked, tried hard to recall, and a few seconds later her shoulders slumped slightly, and her voice lowered.
Even the [ Eternity ] Aeon can't easily intervene, so this is getting a bit tricky...
Xing, arms crossed and expressionless, interjected, "Or there's another possibility: Ye Yan is simply being lazy. After all, this is the [ Trailblaze ] Astral Express, not the [ Eternity ] Astral Express."
"If that's the case, twice... wouldn't that be incredibly dangerous?! Ugh, I don't want to turn back into an ice cube drifting in space!"
"Fallen leaves always return to their roots." Xing patted March 7th's shoulder earnestly, comforting and correcting him, "And it should be [Beautiful Girl Ice Cube]."
"Now that you mention it, the scene doesn't seem so bleak anymore, does it? Ugh, I don't want to turn back into that 'beautiful ice cube' drifting in space!"
Dan Heng grasped the core message. He straightened up and looked at Welt: "In other words, this must be taken into account when choosing the next destination."
"That's right. I've already checked the star map. The worlds relatively close to us are [ Ocean Planet] Lushaka and [ Agate World ] Melustanin."
"As for which one to choose as our destination, that will have to be decided by vote..."
Before the words were finished, a soft and slightly mysterious voice gently interrupted:
"... Or, you might also like to hear my suggestion."
Everyone turned around at the sound, and saw the Black Swan calmly walking out from behind the open door of the March 7th room, a smile on her face.
"It's... it's you?!" March 7th covered her mouth, exclaiming in surprise, "How did you get out of my room...?"
"What a lovely room, Miss March 7th —just like you."
The Black Swan moved with light steps, its gaze sweeping over the overall layout of the guest room carriage with great interest.
"I said there was someone missing when we said goodbye..."
Xing's pupils instantly locked onto the [ Soap Sparkling Drink ] dangling in Black Swan's hand, her eyes widening in surprise:
"This... this is..."
" Memokeeper of how you managed to board the train undetected, what you just said about the [suggestion]..."
"I overheard everything about how the train obtains [fuel]."
The Black Swan elegantly sipped her [ Soap Sparkling Drink ] and said to everyone:
"I originally just wanted to chat with you all and see if we could reach a cooperation agreement—but now it seems my proposal might just be your lifeline."
"Just say what you have to say," Dan Heng said coldly, arms crossed. "Depending on the content, we might also ask you to get off the bus."
"A descendant of the [ Permanence ]... You're quite a charming little dragon, especially with that murky Remembrance of yours."
Black Swan chuckled softly, her gaze sweeping over Dan Heng. Seeing the change in his expression, she quickly suppressed her probing.
"But let's not digress. If the Astral Express urgently needs a special Trailblaze journey to replenish its engine's [power]—have you ever considered what would happen if your destination were a world even the renowned Akivili had never reached...?"
She slightly raised her chin, her eyes sparkling with a dreamy light. "If you could lay a brand new galactic track in the universe, then trains would probably never have to worry about new energy sources again."
" To Trailblaze a world that even Akivili had never been to... Is that really possible?"
March 7th clearly did not believe the Black Swan's explanation.
"Go on, Memokeeper. What kind of world is the destination you speak of?" Welt's tone remained calm as he adjusted his glasses, the lenses reflecting a faint light.
The Black Swan nodded in satisfaction, her red lips parting slightly:
"A world whose existence is unknown to the vast majority of people in the universe..."
"A world that is difficult to observe from the outside, and can only be reflected in the Mirror of the Garden of Recollection..."
"A world entangled and bound by multiple Path, its fate uncertain..."
"[ The Land of Eternity, Amphoreus ]."