Chapter 42: Moms Everywhere on the Path of Trailblaze
"I vote for Stelle." Himeko raised her hand with a graceful tilt of her head, making her choice after a brief moment of contemplation. The rich aroma of her freshly brewed coffee lingered in the air of the parlor car.
"I also vote for Stelle." Welt pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the lenses briefly catching the soft overhead lighting as he calmly cast his vote.
"Alright, let us tally up the board." Leon swiped a finger through the air, projecting a holographic scoreboard with a wicked grin. "Caelus gets one vote. Pom-Pom gets one. March 7th takes two. And Stelle sweeps the board with three." He clapped his hands together. "Stelle is out. The undercover has officially failed!"
"Stelle is the undercover?!" March 7th gasped, her eyes widening.
"I'm the undercover?!" Stelle echoed, pointing a finger at her own face.
The two girls stared at each other in sheer disbelief before speaking in perfect unison. "I thought you were complimenting me!"
A beat of silence passed before the two of them burst into a fit of loud, synchronized laughter, clutching their stomachs.
"Fits the character setting perfectly. Absolutely flawless." Leon chuckled softly, tapping the screen of his phone to save the recording. He immediately forwarded the video file to the Astral Express Crew's group chat.
"Hey, hey, hey! What exactly do you mean by 'fits the character setting'?!" March 7th planted her hands on her hips, glaring daggers at him while gesturing wildly.
Leon merely offered a polite, dignified smile—the exact kind of smile that absolutely screamed he was up to no good.
"You really cannot figure that out?" Stelle cast a sidelong glance of deep pity at the pink-haired archer. "Brother means we are both idiots." She then puffed out her chest, looking incredibly proud of this deduction.
"Nobody asked you to translate!" March 7th sputtered, her face turning the exact shade of her hair. "And why do you look so proud about it?! You were included in that insult too, you know!"
March 7th threw her hands up in the air, looking like she was on the verge of pulling her own hair out.
"It is entirely fine." Stelle crossed her arms, adopting a posture of absolute righteousness. "After all, I am merely a baby who is less than a month old..."
Watching the crew bicker and play around the plush couches of the Express, a genuine warmth spread through Leon's chest. The train was so full of life, buzzing with an infectious energy that made every day feel like a new adventure.
"I just saved the recording of our little 'Who is the Undercover' match," Leon said, waving his phone. "Do you guys mind if I post it online?"
Such an entertaining masterpiece could not be hoarded. A joy this pure needed to be inflicted upon the entire universe.
"Hey, wait a minute! You actually just want to post a video of me making a total fool of myself, right?" March 7th protested, her cheeks puffing out in dissatisfaction.
Thinking back to the scene where she had been shamelessly bragging about her own intelligence, she felt a sudden rush of heat to her face. It was one thing to act silly inside the safety of the Astral Express, but broadcasting it to the entire galactic net felt entirely too embarrassing.
"I have already sent the draft to the group chat. Everyone can take a look." Leon leaned back against the wall. "If there are no objections, I will hit upload." He then turned his gaze to the flustered archer, lowering his pitch into a deliberately greasy, teasing croon. "Little March, do not worry. After it goes live, the netizens will only think you are adorable. Little March is just so cute~"
Hearing that syrupy tone, March 7th visibly shuddered, rubbing her arms as goosebumps erupted across her skin.
She opened her phone and tapped the video.
The clip was short, barely two minutes long, but it perfectly encapsulated the absolute chaos of their game. Leon had clearly put his editing skills to work. He had used a top-down, god's-eye view, superimposing floating digital identity cards directly above everyone's heads. The audience would know exactly who had which word from the very first second.
The comedic timing created by this edit was surprisingly brilliant. Even March 7th found her lips twitching upward as she watched it. Seeing the exact moment she confidently bragged to Stelle, completely oblivious to the fact that they were talking about entirely different words, was undeniably funny.
If the person acting like a clown in the video was not her, she would have been laughing loud enough to wake the Aeons.
"Little March, Stelle, you two really are adorable." Himeko finished watching the clip on her own device, a beautiful, elegant arc forming at the corners of her lips. She had been relegated to a mere background character compared to the chaotic twins in the footage, but she did not mind in the slightest.
Pom-Pom's furious stomping and arguing with the girls was also captured in high definition. The Conductor, however, did not appreciate being called cute. It puffed out its furry chest, trying desperately to maintain an aura of strict authority.
Caelus was naturally conspicuous in the footage as well. Standing next to Stelle, wearing an outfit that mirrored hers almost stitch for stitch, sharing the same ash-gray hair and identical deadpan facial expressions, it was impossible not to view them as a pair of synchronized gremlins.
"I do not have any objections. It is entirely up to them," Himeko said, setting her cup down. She saw no harm in Leon's idea. Sharing these warm, slice-of-life moments with the universe was a pleasant thought.
Leon shifted his gaze toward the seasoned animator of the crew.
"I also have no objections..." Welt adjusted his glasses once more. As long as Leon did not somehow dig up and broadcast his dark history from his past life, he was perfectly fine with a harmless daily vlog.
"I have no objections either," Dan Heng stated concisely, his arms crossed over his chest.
"I have no objections!" Stelle and Caelus looked at each other, nodding in perfect unison.
"Pom-Pom has no objections either..." The Conductor muttered, stealing another glance at the screen. Although it felt the video slightly compromised its dignified image, the sheer joy of the crew outweighed its pride.
Finally, every pair of eyes in the parlor car locked onto March 7th.
"Sigh... I am the only one left who has not voted, right?" March 7th let out a long, dramatic sigh, letting her shoulders slump. "Alright, alright, I agree."
But a second later, she sprang back up, pointing an accusatory finger directly at Leon. "But I demand a rematch! I need to wash away my previous shame! And this time, you have to play too! The entire Astral Express Crew is gathered here. It would be a crime for you to just hide behind the camera!"
"Alright, let us deal another round." Leon chuckled, stepping into the circle.
"I will act as the judge for this match," Himeko offered voluntarily, stepping back to manage the digital word cards.
The new round commenced in a flash. Himeko tapped her screen, sending a hidden word to each player's device.
Caelus looked down at his screen. The word 'friend' glowed brightly. He smirked. Oh, this was incredibly simple.
Caelus puffed out his chest and spoke with absolute confidence. "March 7th is my this!"
March 7th froze.
Dan Heng blinked, his calm facade cracking.
Welt nearly dropped his glasses.
"Oh..." Stelle stared blankly at the word card in her own hand, which clearly read 'mom'. She slowly nodded her head, a look of deep realization washing over her features.
'So you, Caelus, have always been thinking of March 7th as your mom?'Stelle thought, her eyes narrowing slightly.'You absolute madman, Caelus... I am different. I only think of Kafka and Himeko as my moms. March 7th simply does not have the qualifications!'
"Me? Since when?!" March 7th looked utterly horrified, waving her hands frantically to shut him up.
She glanced down at her own screen. Her word was also 'mom'.
'Since when did I become Caelus's mom?!'Her mind raced, gears grinding against each other.'And Stelle, why are you nodding in agreement?! Wait... could it be that I am the undercover this time?!'
March 7th fell into a chaotic brainstorm, her eyes darting around the room.
Standing next to them, Leon was currently fighting the hardest battle of his life. His jaw was locked tight, and he was violently biting the inside of his cheek. He was a professionally trained fun-seeker. No matter how absurd a situation became, he would never break character and laugh... unless it was physically impossible to hold it in.
"It has been exactly like this since we first met at the Space Station!" Caelus blinked innocently, completely failing to sense the heavy, bizarre atmosphere suffocating the room.
March 7th stared at him, her mouth hanging open.
Dan Heng slowly turned his head away, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
Welt coughed awkwardly into his fist.
'You absolute madman, Caelus,'Stelle thought, her competitive spirit suddenly igniting.'The speed at which you acknowledge new moms is actually faster than mine! You have gotten ahead of me once again!'
"When encountering suffering, this will provide help." March 7th finally spoke up, her voice slightly strained.
She had deduced that Caelus's word was probably not 'mom', but likely something along the lines of 'friend'. She was trying her absolute hardest to bridge the conceptual gap between a mother and a friend so she would not be voted out immediately.
"Generally speaking, a person only has one true this." It was Dan Heng's turn. He looked at his screen, deciding to play it safe and obvious.
In his mind, he was strictly referring to the biological mother of an ordinary human. As a Vidyadhara, his people reincarnated through the shedding of their scales. They did not possess the concept of a mother to begin with.
"That is completely different for me!" Caelus suddenly interjected, scratching the back of his head with a bright, sunny smile. "On the path of Trailblaze, I am absolutely sure I will have this everywhere in the future!"
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