"Is this where the three Nameless left their final message?"
Stepping off the Compass, Himeko and Welt looked at the scene before them and couldn't help but feel surprised.
As far as the eye could see, the place was steeped in an extremely sci-fi atmosphere.
Warm, bright light illuminated the area, throwing the enormous components around them into sharp relief.
But...
"What are these parts for?"
No matter how Himeko thought about it, she couldn't figure out what these components were meant to do.
They didn't seem to be for assembling a spacecraft, nor did they look like they were meant for repairing a train.
After searching through everything she knew, she suddenly realized that these parts seemed to be used to connect something.
Which raised the question: why had the three Nameless who came to Penacony left these things behind as a message for those who came after them?
And the steps required to enter this place were extremely troublesome and specifically targeted.
Only Nameless who possessed the power of the Path of TRAILBLAZE could reach this place.
Otherwise, they would only be able to ride the Compass endlessly around Penacony.
"I don't know. But since those Nameless left these things here, they should be useful somehow."
Welt walked excitedly over to the parts and looked them over from every angle.
He was very fond of mechanical creations like these.
However, although he was extremely curious about them, he had not forgotten why they had come here.
"Himeko, let's search this place first and see whether they left any message for us."
Their main purpose in coming here was to deliver a letter. They couldn't let themselves get so caught up in these parts that they forgot what they were actually supposed to do.
And so, the two split up and began searching the place for useful information.
But after searching for a while, they quickly grew confused.
Because there was not a single useful thing to be found here.
Aside from the components quietly arranged around them, there wasn't even a speck of dust.
Welt and Himeko could certainly praise the cleaning here for being excellent.
But...
They were here to deliver a letter. These components couldn't possibly accept Pom-Pom's letter.
"Could it be that this place doesn't actually hold any information from them?"
Himeko couldn't help making the worst possible guess.
Perhaps after all their effort, they would not obtain the reward they should have.
"If this place isn't used to store clues, is it really only meant to store these parts?"
Welt felt that the matter shouldn't be that simple.
After hearing him, Himeko felt much the same.
They had gone through so much trouble and created such a highly targeted puzzle.
And after all that, the result was supposedly that this place was only for storing parts?
That joke went a little too far.
So the two discussed it and decided to search the place several more times, in case they had missed some hidden information.
Once Welt fully activated his ability, he could tell that the parts here were not actually simple.
Within these components, there was not only the power of Trailblaze, but also another extremely wondrous thing.
However, there was no useful information hidden inside them.
This place seemed to confirm the possibility they least wanted to accept: that it was, in fact, a "warehouse."
A warehouse specially used to store parts.
Just as Welt and Himeko's moods sank lower and lower, another voice suddenly echoed through the place.
[You two definitely won't find it here.]
The moment Himeko and Welt heard that voice, they immediately looked around in alert.
At the same time, the two of them checked the state of the Compass.
The Compass was still stopped there, unchanged. That meant the other party had not come in with them by using the Compass.
"In other words, has he been in this place all along?"
Himeko voiced her guess about the other party's identity.
"It could also be an autonomous AI belonging to this place."
Welt offered another possibility.
But regardless, neither of them lowered their guard.
After all, the Nameless from before had been branded as traitors.
Penacony was, in the end, The Family's territory. And The Family's methods for dealing with traitors were quite famous throughout the universe.
Before confirming the other party's identity, no one could guarantee whether they were friend or foe.
[Everything you two are looking for has already been left in Mikhail's most famous work.]
The voice echoed in every direction through some special power, making it hard for Himeko and Welt to pinpoint the speaker's exact location.
"And what about you? Who are you?"
Welt couldn't help pressing for the other party's identity.
[Me?]
Hearing Welt's question, the voice hesitated for a moment.
[I'm merely someone who came here to bring something about.]
Bring something about?!
That particular phrase was instantly etched into both their minds.
[For the sake of my angel, I had to come here and accelerate certain things.]
[But please rest assured, Astral Express. This matter will not have any impact on your journey...]
At this point, the owner of the voice seemed to think of something that had happened outside.
The two sides had already made contact. Saying this now seemed a little late.
His sudden pause, however, made Welt and Himeko focus their attention.
Could it be that this unknown person intended to obstruct the Astral Express's normal operations?
A faint sense of danger slowly rose in both their hearts, and they became wary of the matter.
As the Astral Express traveled through the universe, it had naturally attracted the covetous eyes of many.
So this was absolutely not the first time they had dealt with something like this.
After this, it would be time to strengthen security on the train.
The two of them made that decision in their hearts. As seniors aboard the train, this was the vigilance they had to possess.
But their most important goal right now was to probe what exactly this person intended to do.
Welt and Himeko exchanged a glance and prepared to continue drawing information out of him.
Unfortunately, the other party seemed to have sensed their decision.
[In any case, I've already reminded you about what you're looking for. As for whether you can find it, that's up to you.]
That mysterious voice began to fade, as though the speaker were moving away from this place.
[As for this place, the time has not yet come for it to open.]
By the end, that sentence was almost inaudible.
Once the echoing voice ended, the place quickly fell silent again.
Welt and Himeko remained on guard for a long while, but everything around them stayed as quiet as before.
Only the warm glow continued to illuminate those shining components.
The two waited there for a while longer. After confirming that the surroundings were truly safe, they boarded the Compass and activated another warp.
The other party's earlier words had seemed to carry an intent aimed at the train. The two of them had to confirm March 7th and Dan Heng's safety.
After the two left, a figure wearing a black robe that completely concealed them slowly appeared in the area.
"This really is... nostalgic."
He touched the components before him, his tone filled with emotion.
...
"What?! You guys went through something that dangerous too?"
After listening to Himeko and Welt's account, March 7th couldn't help covering her mouth in shock.
She had thought what she and Dan Heng encountered was already dangerous enough. She hadn't expected the others to run into a supernatural incident.
A person whose voice could be heard, but whose form could not be seen. Just thinking about it was terrifying!
After hearing March describe what they had experienced, Himeko and Welt couldn't help turning their gazes toward Kohane.
What March had encountered was far more dangerous than what they had dealt with.
And the cause of it all was Kohane's request.
Could this have actually been a trap meant to lure them there?
Such doubts couldn't help appearing in Himeko and Welt's hearts.
But as the elders here, they did not show their emotions. Instead, they expressed concern for the others.
"Dan Heng, how is your body?"
Dan Heng said there was nothing seriously wrong. At most, it felt like he had hit his forehead.
After confirming he was fine, March 7th angrily began discussing how they should get back at the other side later.
She was not the type to suffer a loss and swallow it down.
Dan Heng had no choice but to accompany her in discussing tactics.
Himeko and Welt, meanwhile, began analyzing the information they had just obtained.
"That person said the information we want to find is actually in Mikhail's most famous work."
But when it came to that work, they were stumped.
Because that man only had one work.
That was the long-running animated series with more than ten thousand episodes broadcast in Penacony—Clockie.
If the other party had hidden the information in that animation, then how were they supposed to find it among more than ten thousand episodes?
Most importantly, what if Mikhail had treated the information like an Easter egg and split it into countless pieces scattered across different episodes?
Then the chance of finding what they wanted would become even slimmer.
Who could possibly remember every detail of an animated series with more than ten thousand episodes, then connect them together using some special method?
"This workload is way too huge."
Welt did enjoy hunting for Easter eggs, but he did not want to search like this.
But now, it seemed they could only use such a clumsy method.
He flipped through the collection of Clockie stories on the train, trying to find some clue inside.
But even after looking through several pages, he still found nothing.
Was there really no especially obvious hint?
"Uncle, do you like Clockie too?"
A sudden question drew Welt's attention.
He adjusted his glasses and discovered that the person calling out to him was actually Kohane, her face full of excitement.
"Too? Do you like him a lot as well?"
"Of course! This is my favorite part!"
Kohane rummaged through the train's bookshelf for a while, then finally pulled out a Clockie story collection.
Clockie and His Friends — Special Crossover Collection
Welt focused his attention on it and saw that, in addition to Clockie, there were other animals on the book's cover.
There was a red peach, a blue turtle standing on two legs, a sitting bear...
"Here you go, Uncle!"
Kohane happily handed the book to Welt, as if sharing something she loved with someone else.
Welt did not refuse. When he opened the book, the first thing that entered his eyes was an illustration.
There was a line of text above it, briefly introducing the background of this chapter.
...
In the early days when Clockie was building Dreamville, Boss Stone created an extremely powerful obstacle...
At the beginning, Clockie received special intelligence from Hanu. Supposedly, there was something in that place that could defeat Boss Stone.
But when Clockie went there, he discovered that there was no special weapon in that place. Instead, there were several other special fellows.
There was a peach with a bad temper, who immediately prepared to give Clockie a fierce beating.
Unfortunately, Clockie ultimately succeeded in fooling them all with Clockwork.
In his first battle against these special friends, Clockie won a complete victory.
Afterward...
...
BANG!
With a heavy thud, the first figure fell straight down in front of the Imagin.
"You... you bastard..."
Mikhail looked at the guy in the distance carrying a sword, his expression full of disbelief.
What exactly was wrong with this guy?
Why was his fighting style so reckless?
Reckless. That was right. Reckless!
Mikhail could sense a kind of stupid clarity in the other party's swordsmanship.
It looked like he was swinging wildly, but in the end, it still achieved the desired effect.
That almost nonsensical fighting method had carried the entire battle.
And this guy wasn't only reckless with his swordsmanship. Even his close-quarters combat was utterly absurd!
Could you imagine seeing foot-stomping, sand-throwing, windmill punches...
Moves that only appeared in street fights, showing up in a proper battle?
And yet Mikhail had not only seen them, he had experienced them very intimately.
Even his toes were still hurting terribly now.
Most importantly...
Mikhail found it hard to imagine that the person who had just defeated him was this guy, wildly waving his sword while shouting, "Ore, sanjou! Ore, sanjou! Ore, sanjou!"
"Are you really someone sent by the IPC?"
Mikhail still wanted to struggle to his feet, but the other party had already arrived in front of him.
SHING!
The red blade stabbed directly into the ground, and a red-covered face shoved itself right in front of Mikhail.
"IPC? I'm not some guy sent by the IPC. I'm Momotaros!"
"If you aren't with the IPC, then why did you crash here?"
"Hmph!"
Hearing that, Momotaros snorted coldly.
"What reason do I need? This great me simply wanted to seek out a hot-blooded battle."
Mikhail's breath caught.
Could this guy be a sweeper specially sent in by the IPC to hunt down rebels like them?
If that was the case, then everything made sense.
Such powerful strength, to the point that even he, a person on the Path of TRAILBLAZE, could not withstand it.
No doubt, when the time came, he would be able to slaughter the rebelling prisoners at will.
After that, they would only need to push these acts onto bounty hunters, and the IPC could remain forever clean and innocent.
As expected of the IPC. They were truly skilled at using such methods.
Mikhail stared sharply at the red figure before him. Later, he absolutely had to spread news of the IPC's scheme.
"Liar!"
Unfortunately, that sudden sentence drew Mikhail's attention to the figure beside him.
Ryutaros pointed at Momotaros and said, "It was obviously because Momotaros was so bad at driving that we were forced to land on this planet!"
"Hah?!"
With his weakness exposed, Momo no longer cared about showing off or acting cool. He charged straight toward him.
"You snot-nosed brat, what nonsense are you spouting?"
"If I'd gotten to do it at the end, I definitely could've shot that thing and blown it up early! But Momotaros, you were too busy showing off, and that's why we ended up like this!"
Unfortunately, Ryutaros was unquestionably in an unbeatable position this time.
Back when they were in space, he had been the first to notice that something was off and bring it up.
If he had been allowed to operate the train, he would definitely have detonated that bomb early.
But a certain someone had been too busy imagining his cosmic war and had not paid him any attention.
And then... there was no "then."
Their current situation was the best proof.
"Indeed, indeed. If senpai had listened to Ryu-chan back then, we wouldn't have ended up like this."
The pervy turtle also took the chance to twist the knife.
"I'm hungry!"
Kintaros remained unwavering.
"Retainers, that fellow is running away."
Sieg stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the figure fleeing into the distance.
Momotaros turned around and saw that the guy had already run quite far.
This made him flare up in anger.
"Hey! Damn chicken wings, why didn't you stop him?"
He had still been planning to interrogate some information out of the guy.
Sieg merely tilted his head.
"Hmph. With my noble birth, how could I do something so crude?"
"You, you, you—!"
Momotaros was so angry he couldn't speak for a while.
As for Sora, who was possessed, all he could do was sigh deeply inside.
Can we catch that guy first, please?
If they let that guy get away, then in this unfamiliar place, they would really be stranded and alone.
"Now, now, senpai. Let's focus on the big picture first and bring that man back."
"You do it!"
With that, Momotaros released his possession.
But before Sora could even catch his breath, Urataros slipped directly into his body.
Again?!
In an instant, Sora's hair looked as though it had been styled into an elaborate arrangement, giving him a rational sort of handsomeness.
A strand of blue-highlighted hair fell before the glasses that had suddenly appeared, adding a hint of effortless elegance to him.
"Then I'll be in your care for the time being, kouhai-san."
After saying that, Sora revealed a charming little smile.
"[HENSHIN]!"
'[ROD FORM]!'
"You're a man, but for the sake of fixing the train... mind if I reel you in?"
With that, he assembled the DenGasher parts with astonishing speed, forming them into a long rod.
With a flick of his hand, a silver-white fishing hook immediately traced an arc through the air.
"I have to hurry and tell Hanunue about this. I have to hurry—huh?!"
Mikhail ran and ran, only to suddenly realize something was wrong.
For some reason, his feet had left the ground.
With a reeling motion, Mikhail, who had already sprinted quite a distance away, was dragged right back in front of Sora and the others.
"Don't run. Let's have a nice chat!"
Hearing the voice beside his ear, Mikhail looked at the faces before him and, for some reason, felt panic rising from the bottom of his heart.
But before this, he had long since steeled himself.
He knew exactly who the enemy he had to face was. Even if the IPC possessed vast wealth and power, it could not shake the heart of a Nameless.
The previous Navigator, Falcon Amundsen, had acknowledged his ideals.
The current Navigator, Granholm, had personally seen him off.
The faith in his heart had already become as firm as bedrock alongside the Trailblaze.
So...
"Even if you torture me and abuse me, I will never tell you what I know!"
Mikhail said with a resolute expression.
"And you'd better beware the wrath of the Nameless! The Nameless will absolutely not let you get away with this!"
After saying that, he turned his head away, closed his eyes, and ignored everything else.
Even if he died, he would not reveal a single word.
"Oh~ So this is this guy's conviction?"
"Haah, what a pain. Senpai, what should we do?"
"Hmph. Of course we use our special-grade interrogation method!"
"Huh?! Momotaros, are you really going to use such a terrifying method?"
Special-grade interrogation method?!
Even Mikhail couldn't help feeling a shiver of fear when he heard that title.
If these people called it special-grade, just how deranged was this method?
Were they going to slice his body into three thousand thin pieces, or drown him in NIHILITY?
Mikhail couldn't help but recall the cruelest interrogations he had ever seen.
They were the absolute worst evils humanity could face. He still remembered vomiting all over the floor after seeing them.
And now, was he about to become the protagonist experiencing such an interrogation method?
Thump, thump, thump—!
His heartbeat sped up, and Mikhail felt his breathing grow rushed.
Although he had long since prepared himself mentally, when he truly faced it, he still could not help feeling nervous.
At that moment, he also seemed to hear other voices nearby.
"Ow, what are you retainers doing?"
"Borrowing Mr. Bird's feathers for a bit. Thanks!"
But that was no longer what Mikhail cared about most right now.
Because very soon, he discovered that a hand had grabbed his leg...
Were they going to start slicing him into meat from the leg?
Then, before he could react, these people suddenly threw his shoes away.
They're going to start from my toes?!
Mikhail grew more and more tense. He was already prepared to endure the pain.
But then, at that moment—
Something soft suddenly touched the sole of his foot?!
Mikhail was startled. Immediately afterward, an unbearable tickling sensation began constantly spreading from the bottom of his foot.
"Hahaha—wait, wait! What are you doing?!"
Mikhail laughed while struggling. Only then did he open his eyes and discover that these people had actually used this kind of interrogation method.
They were using a feather to tickle the soles of his feet.
This was cheating. Absolutely cheating!
Beside this "special interrogation," Sora crouched on the ground and watched the farce before him with helplessness written all over his face.
Sure enough, when he was with these guys, the atmosphere could never stay serious.
...
At the end of the illustration, Clockie stood in the center, while the other anthropomorphic things all stood off to the side, covering their mouths and laughing.
Their first meeting ended in laughter, all thanks to Clockie's Clockwork.
...
Welt looked at it and couldn't help nodding. This plot development did indeed fit a children's series very well.
Beside him, Kohane said to Welt, "But Uncle Momo and the others said it wasn't like this at the time!"
"Uncle Momo?"
Her words drew the attention of the others in the carriage.
"Does little Kohane have other relatives too?"
March 7th couldn't help asking.
After all, when the girl first found them, she had only said she was looking for her father. She hadn't mentioned any of this.
"I do, but the uncles rarely come to see me. And every time they come, Daddy disappears for several days."
Kohane continued, "But the stories they tell are really interesting. Big crises, Demon Kings..."
At that point, one or two images suddenly surfaced in her mind.
It seemed she had secretly slipped onto the train this time, then saw the doors open onto an extremely desolate place.
In that place, someone seemed to be hanging there. And after that...
She forgot.
She couldn't remember.
Kohane scratched her little head. She always felt there were still a lot of things.
But for some reason, she seemed to have forgotten them.
Or perhaps some power was obstructing her and covering over those memories.
This was not good.
"I have to hurry and find Daddy before—"
Before she could finish, her body suddenly went limp and she fell backward.
"Eh, eh, eh?!"
March 7th reacted quickly and dove straight to the floor, using herself as a cushion so Kohane fell into her arms.
"What just happened? Why did she suddenly faint?"
The sudden incident shocked everyone in the Astral Express crew.
Kohane had looked perfectly healthy just a moment ago.
She had even been happily chatting with Welt about Clockie despite being so small. How had she suddenly fainted?
Welt and Himeko checked her body, but they still couldn't find anything abnormal.
In fact, from what the two of them could sense, Kohane's physical condition was completely normal.
That made it even stranger. How had such a healthy child suddenly become like this?
"Perhaps we need to hurry and bring this child to her parents."
Himeko's words resonated with everyone present.
Although this child was adorable, looking at her current state, she did not seem to be in any condition to wander around outside.
The most important thing was to quickly bring her to her parents.
Since they had decided to do that, and factoring in the information March 7th and Dan Heng had obtained, their next move now had a target.
"Apparently, Miss Robin has recently been serving as a guest lecturer at Penacony Paperfold University College."
March 7th once again remembered how shocked she had felt when she first heard that news.
A singer famous across the cosmos secretly having a child this old—if word of that got out, who knew how many people's hearts would collapse?
One had to know that Robin was an idol beloved by the public. A scandal like this, enough to make fans lose faith completely, was truly hard to imagine happening to her.
But now that March had calmed down, she found the whole thing full of doubts.
After all, the child's age really didn't line up. But they didn't have time to worry about that now.
The top priority was to hurry and take Kohane there.
The Astral Express crew's movements were also watched by the crows hidden among the high-rises, as well as by Family members concealed in various places.
...
That meant Gopher Wood was constantly monitoring the crew's movements.
By predicting their route, Gopher Wood quickly understood where these people were heading.
"They're actually choosing to go straight to Robin?"
He was a little surprised. Of course he knew that Robin was working as a guest lecturer at Paperfold University.
He simply had not expected the Astral Express juniors, after suffering a setback at the hands of Sora's subordinates, to come straight to this place.
Most importantly...
Where was Sora?
Gopher Wood mobilized all his eyes, trying to find Sora's figure.
According to his expectations, Sora should have fought a great battle with Himeko and Welt.
That man was the greatest unstable factor.
But now Himeko and Welt had both appeared, while Sora, that threat, had vanished.
"Could something have happened to him?"
Gopher Wood could only arrive at that conclusion.
However, he still had doubts about it. He would watch and see what kind of reaction appeared after the Astral Express made a move against Robin.
Gopher Wood continued observing the current Penacony.
...
At that moment, the Astral Express crew had finally arrived inside Paperfold University.
The news that Robin was teaching there had hardly been hidden at all, so with only a little asking around, they were able to learn where she was now.
Following the directions, the crew soon arrived near their destination.
But after reaching the area, they heard the sound of graceful piano playing and a chorus of women's voices.
Eyes that were shining, with a hint of sadness within~♪
Looked straight ahead, to the endless sky~♪
Your heart has been calmed, now go beyond time~♪
Robin sat before the piano, quietly playing the prelude.
Kohane, who had been carried on March 7th's back all this time, couldn't help opening her eyes a crack after hearing that sound.
She looked at the woman before the piano, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Mommy."
A new encounter breaks the solitude~♪
Hand in hand, let's believe in each other~♪
Even in the deepest darkness~♪
Hope shines brightly and never fades~♪
Those who know solitude and pain~♪
Together let's go beyond, to a tomorrow full of happiness~♪
---
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