"Is this... an original puppet from Madam Herta?"
Asta could tell at a glance that the puppets in Stelle and Caelus's hands weren't high-quality replicas, but the genuine article.
"Mhmm~"
With a crisp snap of his fingers and a wide grin, Caelus grabbed the Herta puppet's small face and stretched its cheeks outwards.
"You two need to snap out of it! Stealing puppets on the space station will get you hauled in for questioning!"
March 7th took a deep breath, leaped off the sofa, grabbed Stelle and Caelus by the shoulders, and shook them forcefully, as if trying to wake patients lost in a hallucination.
"March, what are you talking about? Stealing? Am I that kind of person?"
Stelle corrected March 7th indignantly, hands on her hips, speaking with righteous, shameless conviction:
"This is the reward Herta gave us, okay!"
"...I suspect you asked for it yourselves, didn't you?"
A perfectly aimed jab. Despite only knowing them for a few days, March 7th was already familiar with their personalities... provided they weren't having an episode.
Still, would Madam Herta really give them these?
Rumor had it these puppets were modeled after Madam Herta as a child. Wasn't she afraid they'd be used for... strange things?
Of course, the pure-hearted March wouldn't think along those lines. She was thinking about Stelle and Caelus using the puppets to rummage through trash cans.
If the two of them dove into trash cans themselves, the Security Department might be able to intervene. But if Madam Herta's puppet did it? No one on the space station could stop them.
"That's amazing!"
Upon hearing the puppets were obtained legitimately, the astonishment on Asta's face completely transformed into undisguised envy.
She quickly walked over to Caelus, leaning forward slightly, her almond eyes gradually filling with fervent light.
"Can I... touch it?" she asked cautiously, her face blushing.
"Of course, you can."
Caelus immediately made a welcoming gesture, presenting the side of his hand towards the puppet's little cheek.
Watching Asta's expression turn to ecstatic joy, like the ultimate cat devotee finally getting to pet an aloof Persian, Caelus narrowed his eyes slightly.
He spotted a business opportunity!
"Asta, do you want one too?"
"Of course, I do! I've wanted to collect one for ages, but unfortunately, Madam Herta's puppets aren't for sale. Otherwise, I'd buy one no matter the cost!"
Still overcome with joy, Asta answered instinctively without much thought.
Only when she caught Himeko's gaze, which held a hint of amusement, did she realize what she'd said, letting out a couple of soft coughs as her face flushed crimson.
"Alright then, next time Herta asks me to help her test something, I'll ask for another puppet and give it to you."
As for selling?
Think bigger!
That's small-minded~!
Caelus's voice was unusually warm, his tone so gentle it almost made Asta forget the surveillance footage she'd seen earlier. The next instant, her eyes lit up dramatically.
"Really?"
Realizing she was getting overly excited, she reined in the intense longing in her eyes, shifted awkwardly, and turned her blushing face slightly to the side.
"Buying and selling Madam Herta's puppets... isn't that... inappropriate?"
"How could it be inappropriate? I help her test things, she pays me. It's perfectly fair."
Caelus sounded as self-righteous as a gigolo demanding his fee from a client, arguing plausibly:
"Ownership of the Herta puppet is mine. How I handle it is my freedom... Besides, how can you call it buying and selling? We can't insult the great Madam Herta with money!"
"This is a gift exchange between friends! It's the magic of friendship!"
"Then, then..."
Asta felt a strange sense of guilt, like receiving a top-of-the-line graphics card bought by a girlfriend who worked part-time at a KTV. She hesitated initially, but as she heard the latter half of his explanation, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
That's right, that's right, it's a symbol of friendship!
"Then it's settled! However, I can't just accept your gift for free. Friends should practice courteous reciprocity."
The previous star dreadnoughts were a reward on behalf of the space station and the rescued staff – even though it came from her allowance, it was still official business.
This time, it was pure, sincere friendship, untainted by other factors!
"Oh, no, no~ We're good friends! Just think of it as a return gift for the phone you gave me."
"How could that possibly work? Can a phone compare to one of Madam Herta's puppets?"
A single small component from the latter could probably buy a whole crate of phones!
Asta tapped a finger against her chin, lost in thought. She definitely needed to give a more valuable gift...
Rebuilding the station, purchasing equipment, five limited-edition star dreadnoughts... her allowance for the month was already depleted. Maybe she could ask her family for an advance on her allowance and buy Caelus a planet as a return gift?
Seeing Caelus work his 'friendship magic' and about to latch onto the wealthy lady's support, Stelle looked utterly shocked—'WTF'.
"Caelus, you sneak! No cutting in line!"
With a sliding tackle followed by a sliding kneel, she latched onto Asta's other leg—a leg representing chivalry, justice, and tender feelings.
"Miss Asta, I'm hungry! Feed me!"
"Look at me, Asta! I can get a Herta puppet too!"
"Hey, hey~ We're good friends too, right?"
"Of course, we are!"
Asta couldn't help but chuckle wryly as Stelle hugged her leg and rubbed against it, but she still replied earnestly, "If you give me a Madam Herta puppet, Stelle, I'll prepare a gift for you too."
Herta puppets? She'd take as many as she could get~!
Watching the two grey-haired individuals strike a deal with Asta, the rest of the Astral Express Crew stood frozen, staring at each other, unsure of what to say.
"Himeko, what do we do now?"
March 7th slipped behind Himeko's armchair, poking her head around to ask.
The Express Crew had remained at Herta Space Station specifically to treat Stelle and Caelus's mental issues, but the result...
Not only was there zero improvement, but the station's best psychologist had nearly been driven mad herself.
Madam Herta, the representative of authority, had examined them and confirmed they weren't infected with any consciousness-affecting viruses, meaning the abnormality wasn't due to any objective pathology.
"..."
Himeko fell silent at the question, clearly stumped by the situation as well.
She picked up her lukewarm coffee, took a small sip, and made a decision:
"Let's wait a couple of days and see what the station's medical department suggests. If we really can't figure out the problem, then we'll just depart."
Although they were a bit unhinged when having an episode, thankfully, they didn't seem to get dirty when rummaging through trash, so it didn't really affect the others on the Express.
Overall: it was an issue, but not a major one~!
"Oh, okay~!"
March 7th nodded cutely, but then her eyes caught the information on the tablet Himeko was holding. She read the document title aloud: "Herta Asset Damage Assessment List?"
What made her eyes widen was the content of the file.
Item No. #3475: Astral Express.
Item Description: Spacefaring vessel docked at the space station platform. The space station bears minor secondary liability for its damages.
Damage Description: Scuffs on the hull, artificially aged paintwork, mileage wear and fuel consumption, lingering monster odors, travel delays, opportunity costs, unforeseen calamity, emotional distress.
Interastral Peace Corporation Estimated Insurance Payout: 9,900,000 Credits.
"Asta insisted on adding that; anyway, it's covered by the Corporation's insurance," Himeko explained with a smile. "I'll keep a portion of the payout, and the rest can be everyone's pocket money."
"Yay!"
March 7th cheered. After a moment of excitement, she turned with an energetic smile towards the quiet, navy-blue-haired girl beside her playing on her phone.
"Seele, we're departing soon to embark on a new Trailblazing journey! Are you excited? Let me tell you, Trailblazing is super interesting!"
March 7th chattered on, recounting various sights, sounds, and strange anecdotes from their previous travels.
"Yes, Seele is very much looking forward to it!"
Placing her right hand gently over her chest, Seele responded to March 7th with a bright smile. But the next second, March suddenly froze as if she'd short-circuited.
Seele tilted her head. "Is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing..." March 7th scratched her head awkwardly.
Because she was leaning over the back of the armchair, her line of sight happened to be level with Seele's chest. Combined with Seele's hand-on-chest posture, it unintentionally accentuated a certain prominence.
What on earth does this kid eat to grow up like that?
She looks several years younger than the others, but her proportions are comparable to—no, maybe even greater than—hers.
"What happened next? Seele wants to hear the rest of the story."
The 'White Seele' in the background of her consciousness was genuinely captivated by the thrilling adventure tales. Sensing this emotion, Seele voiced the request for her.
As for Seele herself, while also interested in the Express Crew's past adventures, her primary focus right now was Silver Wolf.
Her multi-core, hyper-threading processor-like mind allowed her to listen intently to March's story while simultaneously baiting the conversational hook for Silver Wolf.
Silver Wolf, you've been a huge help!
Every night during her bath, the curiosity and scientific spirit of inquiry regarding the unsolved mysteries of the human body—specifically, the other gender's—became almost unbearable. But with White Seele still inside her, she didn't dare sneak into Caelus's room.
It might be embarrassing to admit, but wouldn't anyone who found themselves in a body of the opposite sex develop a desire to experience what it felt like?
When the restlessness became too much, chatting with Silver Wolf was the only way to divert her attention.
This method worked every single time.
Seeing a message from Silver Wolf, Seele could almost picture her on the other side, carefully considering her words. At times like these, a simple 'Oh' or 'Uh-huh' from Seele was enough to instantly make Silver Wolf feel awkward.
Her essentially male psychology understood this dynamic perfectly.
Whenever Silver Wolf seemed unable to continue the topic, Seele would immediately offer a new conversational thread, giving her dear 'Silver Wolf nee-san' room to perform.
Seele: [Silver Wolf nee-san was amazing last night, wiping out the entire enemy team all by yourself.]
After several days of awkward chats, Silver Wolf, thanks to Seele intentionally letting her, had finally steered the conversation towards a familiar domain.
After all, Miss Seele wasn't some devil, but a cute little angel!
Silver Wolf: [Of course. At this rank, I can win with one hand... cough, but it was also thanks to Seele's support.]
Seele narrowed her eyes slightly. Looks like someone has an advisor over there, giving her lines.
But that didn't really matter.
What concerned her more was Silver Wolf's actual gaming skill. She suspected this wolf hadn't turned off her cheats at all while playing with her.
Silver Wolf, happily tapping away at her keyboard, had no idea what her little admirer was grumbling about internally.
What? Cheating?
If you forget to turn it off, can that really be called cheating?
When carrying your little sister up the ranks, naturally, you want to look as impressive as possible, right?!
Lost in Seele's sweet calls of "Silver Wolf nee-san~!", "So cool~!", and "So amazing~!", Silver Wolf completely forgot herself.
And thus, she forgot to disable the little custom trainer program she had written. She genuinely forgot to turn it off!
________________________________________
I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin