"Oof... so tiring... Helping people all day feels more exhausting than running around doing errands."
Inside their Changle hotel room, March 7th rubbed her calves, looking completely drained.
"Haaaah..."
Stelle kicked off her shoes, revealing little feet that had been cooped up all day. She placed her hands on her stomach and collapsed powerlessly onto the sofa behind her.
"Sigh... so tired..."
Seeing Stelle's state, March decided to kick off her shoes as well, mimicking Stelle's pose as she lay down.
Wende, who had just co out with water, froze for a mont seeing the two little figures in their identical poses. He then divided the hot water between two foot basins, adding so special Xianzhou spices into them.
"Soak your feet for a while. It'll help you relax."
He placed each of their small feet into a basin. Watching the expressions on March's and Stelle's faces gradually soften, Wende suddenly felt a wave of fatigue himself.
He had also been busy all afternoon, saving more than twenty Cloud Knights and civilians who had been injured when the knights fell to the Mara.
So, Wende prepared a basin for himself, took off his shoes, lay down next to Stelle, and crossed his hands over his stomach.
"Ahhh~" x3
Welt, who had just entered the room: "..."
What's going on? He was sure he hadn't been that tired a mont ago. Where did this sudden sense of exhaustion co from?
......
"Ahhh~" x4
"Uncle Yang, how are you back so soon? I thought you'd be chatting with that person from the Geobalance Commission for a while," March said, lifting her head to look at Welt, who was now lying next to Wende.
"Mm... Mr. Dahao spoke with at length. Changle is currently under lockdown, and there are many matters for their Geobalance Commission to handle."
Welt removed the steam eye mask from his eyes, put on his glasses, and sat up on the sofa to address March.
"He shared information with related to the Mara-Struck. He speculates that this large-scale outbreak among the Cloud Knights and civilians is very likely the deliberate work of soone operating in the shadows."
"He has entrusted us to seek him out if we discover any relevant intelligence."
Recalling Mr. Dahao's deanor, Welt was quite impressed. Although the man called himself a minor official, his sharp instincts seed wasted in such a position.
"Oh... well, since we can't leave for a while anyway, and we haven't heard a peep from the Divination Commission, we might as well help them look."
"Besides, this is about that Mara-Struck thing and a secret mastermind... Just thinking about it is so exciting..."
March remained lying peacefully on the sofa. At so point, she had placed a steam eye mask over her eyes.
"Mmm... indeed..." Stelle, beside her, nodded in agreent, her voice soft and sleepy.
"..."
Seeing this, Welt took off his glasses and put his eye mask back on.
Not long after, the even breathing of the four people on the sofa filled the room.
"Ahehehe... trash can..." Stelle mumbled with a foolish grin, her eye mask still on. Who knows what wonderful things she was encountering in her dreams—though let's hope it wasn't actually a trash can.
"Huuu... huuu..."
March 7th's breathing was steady, the corners of her mouth turned up in a slight smile.
Welt was as composed as ever, but a slight downturn of his lips and a faint frown suggested he might be dreaming of sothing troubling.
As for Wende... he was simply too tired, so he slept the most soundly of all.
......
"Passenger Hiko! Co help Pom-Pom, quick!"
On the Astral Express, Hiko, who was conducting a routine inspection of the train, suddenly heard Pom-Pom's cry for help from one of the carriages. Her brows furrowed slightly as she picked up her versatile toolbox and headed towards Pom-Pom's location.
"What happened?"
Hiko pushed open the carriage door, her face filled with confusion as she looked at the empty room.
"Passenger Hiko! Over here!"
Pom-Pom popped out from sowhere, waving and shouting at Hiko.
Seeing Pom-Pom safe and sound, Hiko breathed a sigh of relief and set her toolbox aside.
Right, she thought, this is the Astral Express. Who could possibly harm Pom-Pom here?
Hiko smiled and shook her head, then strode over to Pom-Pom on her long legs.
"What happened, Conductor?"
"Um... it's like this. Passenger Wende mailed a box to the Astral Express, and on the note, Passenger Wende wrote not to open it under any circumstances... Pom-Pom doesn't know what it is, so Pom-Pom didn't dare touch it."
Pom-Pom fidgeted, tapping two small white paws together nervously and shaking its head.
"Sothing Wende sent over?"
Hiko tilted her head, puzzled.
Taking out her phone, Hiko looked at the ssage on the screen. There was indeed one from Wende.
Wende
"Sister Hiko, I mailed sothing to the train! It's a special Xianzhou drink that Stelle bought. DO NOT OPEN IT! We'll return it when we get back to the train!"
"A drink... that Stelle bought?"
Hiko looked quizzically at the box at her feet. Wende's note was still on it: "Do not open," written in bold.
Wende had originally wanted to return the item directly, but due to the Stellaron outbreak, communications between the various Grotto-Heavens of the Xianzhou were obstructed by its fluctuations. Contacting the chanical Bird courier was impossible. As a last resort, Wende sent a ssage to Hiko, hoping for the best.
"I hope Sister Hiko receives it," Wende had thought anxiously at the ti.
"This... Are all of Xianzhou's local specialties this dangerous?"
Looking at the unremarkable cardboard box, Hiko, though skeptical, chose to trust Wende.
"Let's find a place to store it for now. How about the kitchen pantry?"
"Mmm! Let's do that, Pom!"
Pom-Pom nodded its little head, then picked up the cardboard box and tiptoed carefully toward the kitchen carriage.
"Mmm... I wonder how they're doing on the Xianzhou now? The situation there is much more troubleso than on Jarilo-VI. They must be exhausted."
Gazing out the window, Hiko sighed and shook her head.
"Alas, that's just how the Trailblaze is. Only after experiencing hardship can one taste the fruit known as 'Discovery'."
anwhile... the four who had just woken up.
"Aahm! Mmm!!! So delicious! Wende's cooking is as good as ever!"
March swallowed a soup dumpling—its skin bouncy and chewy, its inside filled with a sweet and rich broth—and her face flushed red (from the heat), an expression of pure bliss on her face.
"Om, nom, nom."
Stelle had already beco an unfeeling eating machine, furiously stuffing dumplings into her mouth.
"Eat slowly, there's no rush. There's plenty more."
"I must say, these soup dumplings are a rare delicacy." Welt offered his serious critique. "The skin is thin yet resilient, the broth is rich, and the at filling is llow and fragrant. A truly supre-quality product."
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