Looking at Misha, Kallen pointed at herself, clearly taken aback.
"…Kid, were you talking to me just now?"
Misha nodded, her reflection shining in his clear eyes. "Of course. Didn't you say you were a Nameless?"
"I am a Nameless," Kallen replied with complete confidence, then added, "But I've never boarded the Astral Express."
After all, no matter how stubbornly she insisted otherwise, it was true that the person Mikhail had been waiting for was a Nameless of the Astral Express.
Otherwise, with so many people in Penacony, couldn't you just grab any random person who believed in Trailblaze and called themselves Nameless, then have them inherit Mikhail's legacy?
And now, not only could this boy see her, he was even calling her a junior of Trailblaze?
No way.
It wasn't like she was using the Durandal account here. She was using Kallen.
Surely it couldn't really be that Clockie-style nonsense—that she was secretly a pure-hearted person overflowing with childlike innocence...
That would be ridiculous. She was a mature adult!
Misha started explaining himself in a serious tone.
"You don't have to have boarded the train to be a Nameless. Trailblaze is a spirit, not a ticket. Isn't that what you said just now?"
Kallen froze, then slowly turned to look at Gallagher.
Who was it that had just said being a 'spiritual Nameless' didn't count? Speak up, hater.
Even if Mikhail's real reason obviously wasn't that simple, that didn't stop her from taking the chance to criticize Gallagher.
She wanted to see what excuse this old man had now.
But Gallagher's reaction was unexpected.
He stared at Misha in confusion and said, "…Who exactly are you, brat? Why have I never seen you before?"
Right.
Gallagher wasn't a Nameless. Until now, he hadn't even been able to see Misha.
"Misha." The boy turned toward Gallagher, his gaze settling on him, his tone strangely calm for someone his age. "Misha… That name, that face—wait, are you the old man's kid from some woman he left outside—?!"
Gallagher was just about to say something explosive, but Misha cut him off at once.
"My name is Misha. Or, to be precise, my full name is Lagwork Char Mikhail."
Gallagher's eyes widened. "You're the old man?!"
At last he understood why the child looked so familiar.
"No, wait—old man, you're not dead? You even lied to me?!"
Misha shook his head. "No. I really am dead."
"The Misha standing here now is nothing more than one fragment of Mikhail's life."
Gallagher opened his mouth, but for a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.
Kallen chose that moment to speak up.
"So, Mr. Mikhail, you're saying I'm a junior of Trailblaze just because I call myself Nameless? That's way too casual, isn't it?"
Misha turned to look at her, and in that instant, his eyes seemed to deepen.
"No. It's because you carry the aura of Trailblaze."
Kallen arched a brow. "I'm an Emanator of Preservation."
"I know." Misha nodded. "But being an Emanator and choosing a path aren't contradictory things. Didn't you say so yourself? A person can have many identities."
"Perhaps one day, you'll join the Astral Express and become one of Trailblaze."
"After all, paths are something mysterious. Aren't they?"
Kallen nodded, not denying it.
That much was true. Paths really were mysterious things.
People often said that Hunt and Finality were the paths most deeply tied to causality and the future.
But for certain people, Trailblaze was the same.
In Mikhail's eyes, he probably believed she would one day board the Astral Express.
Unfortunately for him, he had guessed wrong on that point.
Even if she ever did choose to board the Astral Express, it absolutely would not be with the Kallen identity.
As for why she could see Misha, that was probably because of Durandal.
After all, Durandal was now thoroughly entangled with the causality of Trailblaze, and in essence, Durandal and Kallen were the same person.
Paths really were mysterious things. Weren't they?
"Interesting," Kallen muttered, letting the matter drop.
"Fine. Let's say I do carry the aura of Trailblaze. Then what exactly do you want me to do?"
Misha didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the memoria bubble and held it out to her.
The bubble glowed faintly.
"This contains something I left behind. Something that can only be inherited by a Trailblazer."
"What is it?" Kallen asked.
"An answer. And a question."
Kallen frowned. "What answer?"
She felt these old men all seemed to love speaking in riddles. Still, out of respect for the dead, she could be a little more tolerant.
"The answer to why Penacony became what it is today."
"And what question?"
"Whether or not you want to change it."
The garden fell silent.
Kallen stood there, looking at the memoria bubble as it pulsed faintly in Misha's hand, almost like it was breathing.
For a moment, she felt a little dazed.
To be honest, she had come to Penacony partly to see whether the place would be good for historical fabrication, and partly because she wanted to catch one of Jade's Preservation hammer strikes.
But now this old man—dead for decades already—was trying to turn that spectacle into responsibility.
"Can I refuse?" Kallen asked.
Misha smiled. "Of course. A Trailblazer's choice has always been free."
"Then why did you say you'd finally been waiting for me?"
"That's my business." Misha lifted his hand away from the bubble and turned to face her. "Waiting for you was my choice. Taking it or not is your choice. Trailblaze has never been a road laid out in advance."
Damn. That line might not have been a moral kidnapping, but it hit even harder.
"You using retreat to advance is crueler than if you'd just begged me."
Misha tilted his head, innocent-faced. "I'm only stating the facts."
"Stating facts?" Kallen laughed, crossing her arms. "Mr. Mikhail, do you really think I'd believe that?"
Misha didn't answer. The corners of his mouth merely curved a little higher.
Gallagher, standing at the side, was utterly lost.
"What are you two even talking about?" he finally cut in.
"Grown-up matters," Kallen shot back without turning around.
Gallagher: "…"
Fine.
Kallen looked back at Misha.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Why do you think I can change Penacony? Just because I carry a little bit of Trailblaze on me?"
Misha seriously considered it. "Because you're an Emanator?"
Fair enough. That was a pretty good reason.
Given Penacony's current strength on paper, an Emanator of Preservation really was enough to bulldoze the whole place.
Kallen stared at his youthful face for a long moment, then finally burst out laughing.
"All right. Full marks for that answer."
She reached out, her fingertip touching the surface of the bubble.
Honestly, she had come to Penacony fully intending to keep Sunday and Gopher Wood's plan from succeeding.
Still, that also meant she'd be stealing someone else's spotlight again.
As expected, she really didn't agree much with the whole "with great power comes great responsibility" thing.
A warm sensation spread from her fingertip, as though something was softly responding to her touch.
The light inside the bubble rippled once, as if confirming something, and then—
Then nothing happened.
Kallen raised a brow. "That's it?"
Seriously? It just fizzled out? How unreliable can you be?
Misha also looked surprised. He blinked, leaned in to inspect the bubble, then looked back at Kallen.
"That's strange… It clearly recognized the Trailblaze on you. Why didn't it open?"
"Could it be because the aura of Preservation on me is too strong and scared it?" Kallen said offhandedly.
But Misha actually considered the possibility seriously. "That's possible. I made this bubble near the end of my life, when I barely had any strength left. Maybe it really is… a little timid."
"…"
Gallagher, listening from the side, felt the corners of his mouth twitch.
Since when could a memoria bubble be timid?
Couldn't these two say anything a normal person could understand?
Kallen, however, didn't mind in the slightest. She casually pocketed the bubble. "Fine. I'll just keep it for now. It's not like it's going anywhere."
Honestly, that was good news for her.
According to the original plotline, the purpose of the thing was probably to help the Trailblazer awaken their Harmony form.
But adding one more form that wasn't even Emanator-tier wouldn't do much for Kallen.
Maybe it was better as a souvenir.
If anything, using it as a fabrication prop made more sense.
Who knew—maybe she could even use the bubble to lay some groundwork for Durandal.
Thinking that, Kallen finally stowed it away properly and looked back at Misha.
"So what's your decision?" he asked.
"You mean whether I want to change Penacony?"
Kallen didn't answer right away.
But since she had already taken his thing, there was no way she was actually going to refuse.
She lowered her eyes to the quiet bubble in her hand, then lifted her gaze to Misha's face, openly full of expectation.
"You already shoved the thing into my hand. Do I really still have room to refuse?"
Misha shook his head. "Of course. You could throw it away right now, hand it to Gallagher, and walk off. No one would stop you."
"And do you think I'd throw it away?"
"No." Misha's tone was calm, as if he were stating the obvious.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Because you're Nameless." Misha smiled. "Even if you haven't realized it yet."
"Fine. I'm taking the job."
"I'll represent Preservation—and blow Gopher Wood's Order dream to pieces."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 150)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter190)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter225)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 195
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 225
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 210
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 115
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 130
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 85
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 90
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 100
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 75
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 60
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 71
Checking In in Demon Slayer 75
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 80
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 66
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 58
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 65
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 63
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 59
Why did they assign me to Uma 55
MYGO Beauties 56
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 45
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 49
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 36
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 35
The Uma Musume Who Became 15
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