Chapter 14: Although I Only Know How to Fix Watches, the Astral Express Looks Like a Watch to Me
Of course, what Himeko currently held in her graceful grasp wasn't a live, ticking Galaxy-Destroying Bomb. It was merely the blueprints for one.
"I'm just an ordinary person with a severe lack of security. Everyone, please believe me."
Rekka lunged forward, making a desperate grab to snatch his precious schematics back from the navigator. His fingers closed around empty air.
With a fluid, practiced motion, Himeko tucked the rolled-up parchment behind her back. Her other hand remained perfectly steady, balancing a steaming porcelain cup of black coffee without spilling a single drop.
"A lack of security?" she repeated, her tone dangerously mild.
"Right, right, exactly that—a total lack of security." Rekka nodded vigorously, widening his eyes in an attempt to project absolute innocence. "Sister Himeko, think about it. I'm so weak and fragile. Any random thug with a blaster could pin me to the ground. Naturally, I have to prepare a little something for self-defense..."
"A Galaxy-Destroying Bomb."
"Uh..."
"For self-defense."
"Self... self-defense, you know? Nipping things in the bud! Saving for a rainy day! Being prepared for the worst!" Rekka's words spilled out faster and faster, his gaze darting nervously toward the ceiling, the floor, the coffee cup—anywhere but Himeko's eyes.
"Does self-defense truly require a weapon of this particular yield?" The smile gracing Himeko's lips remained flawlessly gentle, a terrifying contrast to the absolute authority in her voice. "It is confiscated. I believe it is far more appropriate to keep this locked inside the Astral Express's deepest safe., you are strictly forbidden from manufacturing such apocalyptic devices on board."
"Sister Himeko, can we... maybe negotiate this a bit?" Rekka attempted one final, desperate struggle. He rubbed his hands together, flashing a highly exaggerated, flattering grin. "For example, what if I promise not to build the actual bomb, but I just keep the blueprints as a neat little souvenir? Or I could reduce the yield! We can downgrade it to a planetary-level threat! Even satellite-level is fine! A moon-buster, tops!"
The smile on Himeko's face grew even more radiant. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.
"No."
Rekka's shoulders instantly slumped, his face collapsing into a mask of pure tragedy.
"At the very least, you can channel that energy into creating some less dangerous inventions," Himeko offered, taking a slow sip of her coffee. "I actually think those strength-transfer gloves you made are quite fun."
Across the room, March 7th was currently demonstrating exactly that. The pink-haired archer giggled as she ran over to shake hands with the Little Blue Light—a tiny, glowing energy construct Rekka had cobbled together earlier. The moment their hands connected, March casually reached down and hoisted an entire velvet sofa over her head with one arm.
"Whoa! It really has this much strength?" March marveled, her eyes sparkling as she realized her greatest enhancement was entirely focused on her grip strength.
Down on the floor, however, the Little Blue Light wobbled on its tiny legs, looking completely drained and listless as its energy was siphoned away.
Himeko set her cup down on its saucer with a soft clink. "Let us establish some ground rules. First, you are not allowed to manufacture any weapon on the Astral Express with an energy output exceeding what is required to blow up your own bedroom. Second, you are not allowed to research any device that involves the conceptual tag of 'large-scale.' Third, anything you even suspect might be dangerous must be reported directly to me or Welt before you begin assembly. Understood?"
"Sigh... alright, Sister Himeko. I promise to only make civilian lifestyle inventions from now on." Rekka kicked at the floorboards, looking utterly aggrieved.
As Himeko walked away to seal Rekka's forbidden schematics inside the Express's heavy-duty safe, a strange, highly specific premonition washed over her.
The Astral Express might genuinely need to purchase a series of new, higher-security safes in the near future. A 'Box of Sealing,' so to speak.
If they ever picked up a new Trailblazer, the very first thing that newcomer would probably do is sneak in and steal Rekka's forbidden blueprints. Just like the start of that ancient ninja comic Rekka was always referencing.
"It's still just a child!" Rekka wailed dramatically from the lounge, mourning his confiscated weapon. "It hasn't even had a chance to look at this beautiful world yet!"
"If it did, this world might not be so beautiful anymore," Himeko called back, returning to the room. "Alright, stop looking so miserable. I am doing this for your own good, and for the continued existence of everyone else in the galaxy. If you really can't sit still, why don't you help me repair the Astral Express?"
"Okey-dokey."
The tragic mask vanished instantly. Rekka perked up, his eyes snapping into sharp focus.
Repairing the Astral Express? Now that sounded incredibly entertaining.
"Where are we repairing? How are we doing it? What exactly do I need to do? Are there structural blueprints? Do you have the recent fault logs? Do you need me to run a full, deep-dive diagnostic on the engine core?"
Himeko paused, her hand freezing halfway to her mouth. She stared at Rekka's eager, palm-rubbing expression, a sudden wave of apprehension washing over her.
'Why do I feel like... I've just made a terrible mistake?'
"You're... this enthusiastic about maintenance work?" she asked carefully.
"Of course!" Rekka puffed out his chest, looking entirely too righteous. "Repairing the Astral Express! This is serious, highly important business!"
'And,'he thought to himself,'I can now legitimately give the train some ridiculously cool secret transformations.'
Sighing softly, Himeko led him down the corridor, eventually stopping in front of a heavy metal door situated in the middle section of the train.
"This is the Astral Express's primary maintenance passage," she explained, pushing the heavy door open.
The space beyond was a narrow, dimly lit corridor. The walls were completely covered in a dense, complex network of humming pipes, glowing conduits, and thick wiring.
"Normally, Pom-Pom handles the daily cleaning and simple, surface-level maintenance," Himeko continued, stepping inside. "But some of the deeper mechanical issues require a much more professional touch."
Rekka poked his head through the doorway, his eyes growing brighter as they darted across the machinery.
"These heavy pipes... imaginary energy transmission lines? The wiring layout is a bit old-school, but the overall architecture is incredibly rational. What's that interface over there? A backup power relay? Or some kind of emergency ejection device?"
Himeko blinked in genuine surprise. "You can tell all that just by looking?"
"I can."
"Have you studied Astral Express maintenance before?"
"Actually, I only ever studied watch repair." Rekka stood up straight and casually brushed the dust off his hands. "My knowledge base is just a tiny bit larger than average, that's all. But as for whether these components can be replaced and how to improve them, I'll need to conduct an actual, hands-on inspection. By the way, is there a toolbox around here?"
Wordlessly, Himeko led him further down the narrow passage, stopping in front of a small hatch at the very end. She popped it open, revealing a compact storage space lined with an impressive array of tools, ranging from heavy-duty wrenches to highly delicate precision instruments.
Rekka picked up a few, testing their weight and balance in his grip. They felt exceptionally handy.
He spun a hydro-spanner around his fingers, a confident smirk playing on his lips. "To me, our Astral Express just looks like a really, really big watch."
"Like a watch?" Himeko echoed, entirely unsure if she should be comforted or terrified by that analogy.
...
A few hours later.
"Pom-Pom, why is the Passenger Cabin so incredibly noisy?" March 7th asked, covering her ears as a series of loud, metallic clangs echoed down the hallway.
The furry conductor crossed their arms, their long ears twitching in annoyance. "Passenger Rekka is currently inspecting and renovating every single carriage of the Astral Express. He specifically told Pom-Pom not to disturb him for five minutes!"
March 7th dropped her hands and shrugged helplessly.
Before long, the heavy sliding door to the Passenger Cabin hissed open.
"Attention everyone! Please head to the Passenger Cabin for a moment!" Rekka's voice rang out. "I'm about to give the Parlor Car a major renovation!"
He stepped out into the hallway, his entire face and clothes completely coated in a thick layer of black grease and mechanical dust. He was panting slightly, leaning against the doorframe. He had deliberately averaged his physical strength with Himeko's using his daily Path shift earlier; otherwise, the sheer physical exertion of tearing apart and rebuilding train compartments at lightspeed would have caused him to collapse from exhaustion by now.
Even so, he was currently much weaker than Himeko's baseline.
The crew exchanged wary glances.
"Major renovation?" March 7th eyed him with deep suspicion, stepping closer to inspect the soot on his nose. "Are you absolutely sure it's a renovation and not a demolition?"
"Of course it's a renovation!" Rekka declared righteously, wiping a streak of grease across his forehead. "I just ran a thorough check. The overall foundational structure of the Astral Express is very stable, but some of the finer details can definitely be improved. For example, the energy consumption of the ambient lighting system can be reduced by exactly thirty percent. The seating layout in the lounge can be made far more rational for combat-readiness, and this viewing window right here—"
He marched over to the huge, floor-to-ceiling window lining the corridor and tapped his knuckles against the thick glass.
"The light transmittance of this specific coating isn't nearly good enough. If we replace it with a newly synthesized crystalline matrix, the view of the cosmos will be significantly clearer."
"You even know about window coatings?" March 7th's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I know a little bit of everything," Rekka said modestly, waving a dismissive hand. "Mainly, I just happened to run a diagnostic."
"Just happened to?"
"Yes, just happened to." He pointed to the thick layer of grime covering his face. "The physical cost was just a bit high, that's all."
Ignoring their protests, Rekka practically shoved everyone through the doors and into the newly modified Passenger Cabin.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the entire crew froze.
"Himeko, this... what is this place?" March 7th stammered, her jaw dropping as she spun around in circles. "Where did you bring me? Is this actually still the Astral Express?"
She stared in absolute shock at the Passenger Cabin following Rekka's super-modification.
It wasn't some tacky, nouveau-riche renovation plastered in gold and neon. Instead, it was a breathtakingly elegant design that integrated highly advanced functional areas directly into the train's classic, retro-European aesthetic. The lighting was softer yet more illuminating, the spatial geometry felt impossibly larger, and the ambient hum of the engines had been tuned to a deeply relaxing frequency.
"Sister Himeko, this... how much of our budget did he use for all this?" March whispered, terrified of the answer.
"...Not a single Credit was spent."
Himeko paused for a long moment, her amber eyes scanning the impossible architecture before she finally spoke again.
"None?" March gasped. "Did he take all of these premium materials from the storage room?"
"No. If I had to describe it..." Himeko struggled to find the right words, her gaze drifting toward the soot-covered boy who was currently admiring his own handiwork. "His method is more like..."
She took a slow breath.
"He isn't using Imaginary Energy to manipulate existing materials. He is purely using his own thoughts to create complex matter entirely out of nothing."
Standing near the back of the group, Welt Yang slowly reached up and scratched the back of his head.
'Why does this specific ability sound so incredibly familiar?' the senior Trailblazer thought to himself, his brow furrowing.
A second later, his eyes widened slightly behind his glasses.
'Oh, right. I have that exact same ability.'
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