At this moment, Welt, who was waiting in the Parlor Car, suddenly felt a chill down his spine and looked around alertly.
After looking around, there was nothing except Himeko, who had her arms crossed and a soft smile on her lips, and the Conductor, Pom-Pom.
"An illusion...?" Welt fell into a state of self-doubt.
While Welt was lost in thought, Kiana and the other three had already arrived before them.
"Welt, are you thinking about something?" Kiana looked at Welt and tilted her head in confusion.
As soon as she arrived, she saw Welt with his head slightly lowered, arms crossed, and chin pinched.
Through her observations over the past few days, Kiana knew this was Welt's subconscious movement when he was thinking.
"It's nothing, probably just an illusion."
Welt felt that the sensation was too mysterious, so he didn't mention that he felt someone was trying to scheme against him.
Speculating that someone was secretly trying to mess with him based solely on a feeling might make Kiana and the others think he had persecutory delusions.
Himeko looked around and smiled slightly, saying:
"It looks like everyone rested well."
"Since everyone is here, let's begin this route meeting. The meeting will be held in the form of a vote, and the next route will be chosen by majority opinion."
Seeing that the entire Astral Express Crew was present, Pom-Pom immediately announced the start of the meeting.
Zzz—
Just as Pom-Pom was about to announce the next route's destination, the sound of electronic interference suddenly echoed in the carriage.
"Who dares to trespass on the Astral Express, pom?!"
The Conductor suddenly turned around, looked not far behind, and shouted sternly.
Everyone's gaze was drawn by Pom-Pom, looking in the direction Pom-Pom was staring.
Under everyone's gaze, a projection of a woman appeared there, holding an umbrella, with long pinkish-purple hair and deep purple eyes.
Kiana knew who she was... because they had met back at the Space Station. She was... "Long time no see, everyone on the Astral Express. My name is Kafka."
Well, without waiting for Kiana to speak, Kafka had already begun her self-introduction.
That's right, she was one of the two Stellaron Hunters they had encountered at the Space Station before, Kafka.
"And you, it seems you really have joined the Astral Express. How does it feel?"
Walking up to Kiana, Kafka extended a finger. Her expression was very expressive, but her tone was slightly elegant with a hint of laziness.
"It's not bad, Kafka."
Kiana shrugged her shoulders, looking into those deep eyes that always contained a hint of a smile, and smiled slightly.
She didn't have any hostility toward Kafka; in fact, she quite liked this person.
Although she seemed difficult to approach, the rich expressions and movements she made when speaking gave off a sense of contrast and cuteness?
Seeing Kiana's decent attitude toward her, the corners of Kafka's mouth curled up slightly. She gave Kiana a light laugh and winked her left eye.
Then she walked past the others one by one until she reached Himeko... "There's no need to continue with the charming self-introduction, Kafka of the Stellaron Hunters."
Himeko crossed her arms, her tone and gaze slightly cold as she stared at this illegal intruder with slight dissatisfaction.
This attitude was entirely because Kiana's perception of her seemed okay; otherwise, she might not have been so easy to talk to.
"Eh?! Stellaron Hunters? Aren't they a very dangerous group of people!"
March 7th cried out in surprise upon hearing this, then pulled out her ice bow, staring at Kafka as if ready for a fight.
Stelle lightly touched her chest, looking at Kafka with a slightly complex gaze. She still remembered Kafka; this person was very important to her.
But... now she only remembered the other's name.
With a casual flick of her hand, Kafka dispersed the data-like umbrella. Then, tilting her head and leaning forward slightly, her eyes widened a bit as she cutely pointed her finger diagonally upward at her side.
"Himeko, right?"
"Stop the idle talk. State your purpose for coming to the Astral Express, Stellaron Hunter Kafka."
Welt gently pushed his glasses, his cane lightly tapping the floor, his tone deep.
He naturally knew about the Stellaron Hunters, who had sky-high bounties on the IPC's wanted list.
Feeling that the other party had come to the Astral Express with a purpose, Welt didn't want to continue beating around the bush.
"Oh~ Express passenger Welt, the man who holds a black hole. You seem like a very steady person."
Kafka turned sideways, the corners of her mouth curling into a playful smile as if she knew everything, glancing at the somewhat stunned Welt.
By saying this, Kafka had indirectly told the people on the Express that the Stellaron Hunters knew their information, which was equivalent to taking some initiative in the conversation.
"Kafka, let's get to the point. Your purpose here isn't to air the Astral Express's dirty laundry, is it?"
Kiana spread one hand and said somewhat helplessly.
"Alright, dear."
Kafka responded with a smile. The form of address was slightly intimate, making March 7th's brow furrow slightly.
How is this person so impolite, calling someone 'dear' right off the bat? Does she have no sense of personal distance at all?
March 7th was very dissatisfied, but she didn't know why she reacted so strongly to Kafka's 'dear'.
In reality, it was just that Kiana's kindness toward Kafka made the other party more natural and relaxed enough to make a small joke.
"Wow, little March, she called me dear. She has me in her heart!"
Kiana nudged March 7th with her shoulder and giggled.
"Oh..."
March 7th responded sullenly, as if she had something on her mind, leaving Kiana somewhat confused.
Why did the always lively, cute, and energetic little March suddenly become like this? She was fine just a moment ago.
"Dear really loves to joke around."
Kafka chuckled, then crossed her arms and scanned the others, slowly speaking:
"I've come here to ask you all to change your route to the Xianzhou 'Luofu'."
"And the reason? The Express Crew won't act just because of a word from a Stellaron Hunter."
Himeko's voice softened quite a bit.
Judging by Kiana's attitude, the Stellaron Hunters didn't pose a threat to the Express Crew.
So she wanted to hear Kafka's reason for wanting them to change their route.
"The Xianzhou Luofu is currently not far from here. It only takes two warps to arrive. Of course, that's not the most important part..."
Kafka drew out her tone, her deep eyes flashing with a slightly mysterious light as she said:
"The important thing is that just 45 System Hours ago, a Stellaron... burst on the Luofu."
"With the Xianzhou's scale, it shouldn't fall into turmoil because of a Stellaron."
Dan Heng gazed at Kafka, his tone carrying a sense of certainty.
Because he possessed the memories of the previous High Elder of the Luofu, he was very confident about the Luofu.
"That may be true, but if you don't go, more than half the people on the Luofu will perish, and the rest will be transferred to other Xianzhou ships."
"I feel like something is twelve-tenths wrong. A Stellaron bursts as soon as you show up; wasn't this self-directed and acted out by you Stellaron Hunters?"
March 7th looked up at Kafka, a trace of hostility in her eyes that even she didn't notice.
"Just like you, the Xianzhou also suspects us Stellaron Hunters. And my companion, Blade, was imprisoned by them because of it. That's one of the reasons I came to find you—to clear the Stellaron Hunters' names~"
Kafka showed a slightly helpless expression, sighed softly, and then spread her hands to explain.
Upon seeing the holographic image of Blade projected beside Kafka, Dan Heng's pupils suddenly constricted, and his lips thinned slightly.
March 7th put her hands on her hips and glared at Kafka:
"Then how can you prove it wasn't you..."
"Alright, little March. The one who spread it wasn't the Stellaron Hunters. I believe them."
"Okay then..."
Since Kiana said so... March 7th stopped questioning.
Seeing this, Kafka cast a friendly gaze toward Kiana and gave her a charming smile.
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