Chapter 32: So That's How This Straw Is Used!
"It is getting more and more interesting." A rare, genuine gleam of excitement flickered in Ruan Mei's usually placid eyes. She rested her chin against her hand, her gaze distant yet sharp. "It seems this Mr. Leon is indeed hiding quite a few secrets."
"I have his contact information. I can share it with you," Herta replied, her puppet's voice as flat and unbothered as ever. "He is surprisingly easy to talk to, and entirely willing to cooperate with my research. So far, I have already collected ample samples of his blood, urine, hair, and a few other biological byproducts."
"Excellent." Ruan Mei leaned forward, her usual elegant composure slipping just a fraction to reveal a scientist's ravenous curiosity. "Where are the samples currently stored? I will go examine them right away."
For a genius obsessed with the very essence of life, waiting was simply not an option.
...
Meanwhile, Leon was thoroughly enjoying a rare pocket of leisure time with the universe's two newest Stellaron receptacles.
Since Stelle had generously treated him to lunch earlier, he returned the favor by buying both her and Caelus a round of iced milk tea.
"Brother, how exactly do you use this kind of straw?" Caelus asked. He held up a peculiar Y-shaped plastic tube, squinting at it against the light. He turned it over and over in his hands, treating the cheap piece of plastic like a deep ancient artifact.
"Dummy. Don't you even know how to use something this simple?" Stelle scoffed. She stared at the straw for a few seconds, her gears visibly turning. Then, with absolute, unshakeable confidence, she flipped the Y-shaped straw completely upside down. She jammed one of the split ends into her own cup, shoved the other end into Caelus's drink, and took a massive, vacuum-like gulp from the single bottom stem.
"I see!" Caelus slammed a fist into his open palm, his golden eyes lighting up with deep enlightenment. "This way, you can drink two different flavors at the exact same time! Brilliant!"
Leon watched the two galactic amnesiacs foolishly fiddling with their drinks, a warm, amused smile spreading across his face. He took a slow sip of his own tea.
'That's right,'he thought.'This is exactly the right feeling. Pure, unadulterated chaos.'
"Hi! We meet again! What are you guys up to?"
A cheerful, melodic voice broke through the air. March 7th happened to be strolling by. Catching sight of Stelle and Caelus's bizarre, synchronized drinking mechanics, the pink-haired girl leaned in, her blue-and-pink eyes wide with curiosity.
"Just enjoying some milk tea. Want a cup?" Leon offered with a lazy, welcoming smile.
"This milk tea is top tier," Stelle mumbled around the plastic tube, giving a stiff thumbs-up while still aggressively siphoning liquid from both cups via her upside-down contraption.
"Wait a minute. Is that... is that how you think a Y-shaped straw is used?" March 7th pointed a trembling finger at the setup, her expression caught somewhere between utter bewilderment and the urge to burst out laughing.
"Isn't it?" Caelus blinked, his expression the very picture of innocent confusion.
"Of course not!" March 7th slapped a hand over her forehead, groaning helplessly. She reached over, grabbed a spare cup of fruit tea, and expertly pierced the seal. She inserted a fresh Y-shaped straw the correct way—single stem down, split ends up—and gently bit down on one of the top prongs.
"It is supposed to be used like this. You drink from one side, and another person bites the other—"
Before she could even finish her sentence, Leon leaned in close, a mischievous, wicked grin playing on his lips. He aimed straight for the empty prong.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" March 7th squeaked, instinctively dodging backward and clutching her drink to her chest like a shield.
"It is just so hard to explain all by yourself," Leon blinked, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated innocence. "If we give them a practical demonstration, won't they understand it much faster?"
"Is that so?" March 7th narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing him with heavy suspicion. "Because it really looked like you just wanted to take the opportunity to mess with me."
"How could you possibly see me that way?" Leon immediately clutched his chest, his face twisting into a mask of deep heartbreak. "Can't a guy just want to get a little closer to you? Even a prankster has the right to pursue love, you know!"
After spending a fair amount of time together, March 7th had slowly built up a decent immunity to Leon's wildly exaggerated theatrical performances. And yet, hearing him openly declare that he wanted to 'get closer to her' still sent a sudden, warm flush across her cheeks.
Beneath the flustered embarrassment, a tiny, obvious spark of joy fluttered in her chest.
'Hmph. Looks like my charm is still pretty effective after all,' she thought, secretly pleased.
"Oh, so that's how it is," Caelus muttered, nodding thoughtfully as he absorbed this new knowledge.
"So what you're saying is, some people are just too poor to afford their own milk tea. So two people are forced to share a single cup to survive, right?" Stelle concluded, slamming her fist against the table, absolutely convinced of her own logic. She shook her head, a look of deep pity crossing her face. 'Sigh. How tragic. Having to share a single cup of milk tea between two people... the galaxy is truly a cruel, pathetic place.'
"Then... if I buy two cups of milk tea and drink them like this with the straw upside down, would people think I'm just showing off my wealth?" Caelus asked, genuinely conflicted. He looked down at his drink. This specific straw setup really did feel amazing for chugging two different flavors at the exact same time. It was a tactical advantage he wasn't ready to give up.
March 7th stared at the two of them, completely and utterly speechless. The sheer mental gymnastics required to reach such a ridiculous conclusion baffled her. How did their brains even function? Yet, looking at their deadpan, serious expressions, she realized she was actually starting to get used to their unique brand of stupidity.
"No! Absolutely not! This is a straw meant for couples!" she explained, trying her hardest to maintain her patience. "Don't you think it's incredibly romantic? Two people who deeply care for each other, huddling close together over a single sweet drink. Their breaths mingling in the air, leaning in just a little closer until their lips almost touch..."
As March 7th painted the picture, a soft, dreamy look of longing unconsciously drifted into her eyes. Her voice trailed off, clearly lost in some sugary, romantic shoujo manga scenario playing out in her head.
"I see..." Stelle murmured, a spark of true comprehension finally hitting her.
Mimicking the exact method March 7th had just demonstrated, she carefully inserted a fresh Y-shaped straw into her own cup, making sure the split ends faced upward.
"March, do you want to try it with me?" Stelle blinked her bright, golden eyes, leaning forward. Her flat tone was suddenly colored with a heavy dose of eager expectation.
"Well, you certainly learn fast!" March 7th giggled, thoroughly amused by the tall girl's sudden enthusiasm. "I suppose if it's between really good friends, sharing a drink like this is its own kind of sweet."
Saying that, she happily leaned over the table, biting down on the other end of Stelle's straw.
Watching the two girls share a drink, Caelus felt a sudden surge of inspiration. Not wanting to be left out of the bonding experience, he hurriedly followed suit. He jammed a Y-shaped straw into his own cup, spun around, and looked at Leon with wide, expectant eyes.
"Brother! Then we should—"
"Get lost. We are grown men. I have never, in my entire life, seen two guys drink like this," Leon deadpanned, raising a hand to physically block Caelus's approach. He stared at the gray-haired boy, utterly speechless.
He had absolutely zero interest in sharing a romantic, breath-mingling milk tea session with another dude. That just wasn't how the bro-code worked. When guys shared a drink, if there was only one bottle, one guy chugged half of it, and the other guy aggressively downed the rest directly from the rim. Who in their right mind used a delicate little Y-shaped straw to sip together? You pour it straight down your throat! The only time men should be that close together was if they were throwing punches in a wrestling ring.
"Pfft—Hahahaha!"
March 7th took one look at Leon's deeply disturbed, helpless expression as he strictly lectured the pouting Caelus, and completely lost her composure. She threw her head back and burst into a fit of ringing laughter.
Just picturing the mental image of two tall, grown men huddled intimately over a tiny plastic cup, locking eyes while sipping from a Y-shaped straw, was too much for her to handle. It was cute and heartwarming when girls or couples did it, but two guys? The sheer awkwardness of the visual was comedy gold.
Her clear, melodic laughter echoed across the seating area, drawing a few curious and amused glances from the passing space station researchers.
"Alright, alright, laugh it up. Let's get moving," Leon sighed, shaking his head as he finished the last of his drink. "Let's go find Himeko so we can call dibs on the best rooms on the Astral Express."
"Eh? Wait, have you all officially decided to join the Astral Express Crew?" March 7th's laughter faded, replaced by a sudden, brilliant sparkle in her eyes.
The idea of these three chaotic individuals joining the crew was simply too perfect. Sure, they didn't seem entirely reliable—in fact, they seemed like a walking disaster hazard—but if they came along for the Trailblaze, the journey would never, ever be boring.
"Of course," Leon smiled, his gaze shifting to lock onto March 7th. "With a vibrant, beautiful girl like our little March already on board, how could I possibly refuse?"
"Oh my... well, I mean, I'm not that great..." March 7th stammered, shyly lowering her head to hide her burning cheeks. Despite her modest words, the corners of her mouth twitched, curving upward into an irrepressible, delighted smile.
"I made my decision to join the Express a long time ago. I was just waiting for these two to make up their minds," Leon added, gesturing casually to the two standing beside him.
"I've decided too!" Stelle nodded vigorously, her golden eyes practically vibrating with anticipation.
"Me too," Caelus chimed in, crossing his arms and nodding with utmost seriousness.
The lively group soon made their way down to the main boarding platform. The magnificent Astral Express sat quietly on the cosmic tracks. Its sleek, simplified silver-grey and gold chassis glowed with a soft, majestic luster under the station's ambient lighting, looking every bit like a vessel meant to conquer the stars.
"Himeko!"
Catching sight of a familiar, elegant figure dressed in radiant crimson standing near the boarding ramp, March 7th immediately threw her hand in the air, waving frantically as she called out with pure, uncontained joy.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]