"…"
"It's the familiar ceiling…"
Wende stared, his eyes lifeless, at the ceiling of his train car. Had he already been sleeping on the train for a whole day? He still felt so tired…
He hadn't even dreamed, he had slept in a comfortable position, and the temperature in his room was just right… Why was he feeling like this?
Knock, knock, knock… "Wende? Are you awake?"
Welt's voice came from outside the door.
"Uncle Yang, what is it?"
Throwing off the covers, Wende sat up in bed with a weary expression and called out to Welt.
"We're holding a crew meeting in a bit to discuss our next destination. I came to see if you were awake."
Welt's voice from beyond the door was calm. He wasn't surprised by Wende's sleepiness; after all, the others hadn't woken up until now either… That was just the nature of Trailblazing. On a mission, you could go for days without sleep, but once you were back on the train, you'd feel the urge to catch up on all of it.
"Oh, I see. I'll be right there."
Wende acknowledged, then sat up and took off his pajamas to change into his usual… clothes?
Looking at the clothes scattered on the floor and the pajamas he was currently wearing… hadn't he gone to sleep in his regular clothes last night?
Wende's brow furrowed. He realized something was amiss.
"Looks like it's time to put my [Authority] into practice."
Slowly closing his eyes, Wende focused his mental energy. In Jingliu's room on the train, a miniature eye manifested beside the train's outer porthole. Under Wende's control, it peered into her room.
"…"
He looked around but didn't see Jingliu anywhere.
"Could she be in the observation car?"
Seeing the empty bedroom, Wende naturally came to this conclusion.
He maneuvered the eye towards the observation car and, sure enough, he saw Himeko and Jingliu inside. The two seemed to be having a pleasant chat, and Himeko was starting to extend her sinister little hand towards a coffee cup on the side… The liquid inside was white? Was it not coffee but pure milk?
Wende suddenly felt that something was very wrong. The white liquid seemed unusually loose. Focusing his mind, Wende discovered that his eye could actually analyze the composition of matter.
He concentrated his attention on the liquid in Himeko's cup. The analysis result was…
[Raw Coconut Latte - Cursed by an Unknown Force]
So the eye reported.
"…"
Just as Jingliu was about to take the cup from Himeko, seemingly wanting to taste this brand-new "delicacy," Wende instantly changed his clothes and burst out of his bedroom door like a bolt of lightning…
But I locked my door, didn't I?
The question flashed through his mind for an instant, but was just as quickly replaced by the urgent need to prevent something far worse from happening!
"Pah-pah Pah-pah-pah~"
Pom-Pom was humming a little cleaning tune, wiping the train's portholes with a rag. Today was the once-a-week train cleaning time!
Singing a little ditty of their own creation, Pom-Pom turned around with a smile. Just as they were about to rinse the now-dirty rag in a basin of water…
A blurry figure flashed past them in an instant! Immediately after, a fierce wind whipped up out of nowhere inside the train, blowing Pom-Pom's large ears about and even sending their hat flying!
Under the force of the strong wind, the basin of clean water tipped right over, splashing all over the freshly polished, shining floor…
"Uh…"
Pom-Pom stood there, utterly bewildered in the wind. Then…
"IT'S A GHOST, POM!!!"
Just as Jingliu was about to take Himeko's coffee and drink it, a large hand shot out from the side. Before Jingliu could even react, it intercepted the cup for her and placed a hat, which had been snatched from who-knows-where, into her hands.
Flush… WHIRL!!!
Inside the train's restroom, Wende, with a blank expression, dumped this unholy creation that shouldn't exist in this world into the toilet. Seeing the black marks corroding the white porcelain, Wende decisively pressed the heavy-duty flush button! This thing! It had to disappear from the train immediately! Activate the waste disposal function!
"…"
In the silence of space, a train traveled onward, leaving behind five hundred grams of liquid in its wake…
"What's this?"
Surprise flashed in Jingliu's crimson eyes. In her hands… why was she holding Pom-Pom's hat?
"This is bad, Pom! There's a ghost on the train!!"
Pom-Pom, who had been cleaning the cars, immediately threw open the door to the observation car and came scrambling over to Himeko's side. A complete mess of snot and tears, they hugged Himeko's leg, their small body trembling nonstop. The fluff on their two massive ears was standing on end, making Pom-Pom look quite disheveled.
"There, there… Pom-Pom, it's alright. It's very safe here, there are no ghosts…"
Although she didn't know what had happened, Himeko gently stroked Pom-Pom's head, comforting the terrified conductor in a soft voice. She then took the hat from Jingliu and placed it back on Pom-Pom's head.
Watching Himeko console Pom-Pom, a thoughtful look crossed Jingliu's eyes. But when she saw Wende, who had appeared at her side at some unknown point, the doubt in her eyes cleared, replaced by confusion… and a hint of panic…
"…"
Seeing Jingliu's reaction, Wende already knew the answer… why he felt unrested after a full night's sleep, why his regular clothes had been changed into pajamas, and why his door had been unlocked…
The culprit behind all of this pointed to…
"Good morning, everyone~"
Tingyun gracefully entered the observation car, her face radiant and full of energy, and sat down beside Wende.
"…"
Seeing Tingyun in this state, Jingliu actually gave her a slight nod!?
It seems… the matter requires further investigation?
Wende's gaze subconsciously fell upon the beaming Tingyun. He watched as she guiltily shrank her neck, along with a series of other fidgety little movements… The look Wende gave Tingyun was filled with utter disbelief!
"Mmm~ As expected! A full day of sleep on the train really leaves you bursting with energy! It's like being revived at full health! Don't you think so?"
Stelle and March 7th walked into the observation car together, followed by Dan Heng and Welt.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Wende could only swallow his questions for now, shooting a glance at the slightly blushing Tingyun…
Fine, he'd question her later when he had the chance…
"Since everyone is here, we can begin this meeting."
Himeko gently detached the now-pacified Pom-Pom from her leg and addressed the group.
"The topic for today's discussion is the next world we will be trailblazing to…"