After sending Wakaba Hiiro to clean up the dragons' mess and settling the affairs on the planet, Setsuna led everyone aboard the Astral Express.
Although Shiro maintained a blank expression due to her social anxiety, she was already beside herself with excitement inside.
"Heh, hehe—"
From time to time, she foolishly giggled while poking at the various strange devices aboard the train. She even rubbed Pom-Pom's head, lifting its two ears and kneading them back and forth.
It's so advanced! Is this what an interstellar civilization is like? It's even more impressive than the world from my previous life! Amazing!—
What kind of creature is this? It's so cute! Is it a stuffed toy? No, no, it can walk!
Is it a robot? Or some kind of magical creature?
Thump!—
"If you keep touching me while grinning like an idiot, I'll throw you off the train, pom!~"
Pom-Pom angrily headbutted Spider, then ran over to complain to Setsuna.
"Just look at the kind of passengers you brought back! And is she really all right like this, pom?!"
"Isn't this fine?"
Setsuna instructed Himeko to arrange rooms for Ariel, Shiro, and the others.
Although the Astral Express was smaller than an ordinary spacecraft, it had more than enough space to accommodate a small Trailblaze team, with plenty of vacant rooms reserved.
"Since the Commander has accepted you, you'll temporarily be members of the Astral Express crew from now on."
Himeko enthusiastically brewed coffee for everyone.
"We're currently trailblazing through a new universe, and we may have other destinations after this. Once this journey is over, we'll return to the Starsea Empire's homeland."
"Of course, should you wish to return now, I can also arrange for a spacecraft to take you back to the Solar System."
For lower-level worlds, returning after conquering each one would be too troublesome, so Setsuna believed they could trailblaze through several worlds consecutively.
After conquering a world, those who wanted to board the train and continue adventuring could come along, while those who needed to return and recuperate could be sent back to the Starsea Empire's homeland aboard a small spacecraft.
"Oh..."
Shiro considered it for a moment and decided to visit more worlds first.
"Then I'll travel with you."
"Of course. While aboard the Astral Express, you must obey instructions. Once we've finished handling this world's affairs, we'll depart again."
Himeko summoned an Angeloid to register Shiro and Ariel's information, assign their quarters, and introduce them to the Astral Express and the Starsea Empire.
"Hm... I have a feeling we'll be gaining quite a few temporary crew members..."
...
"Ugh..."
When Sariel opened her eyes again, she found herself lying inside a hibernation pod.
Looking around, she saw that she was in the Astral Express' medical carriage. It was neatly arranged, with several life-support pods and pieces of medical equipment positioned along one side.
Not far away sat a Herta puppet dressed in a Lolita-style outfit, rapidly operating the equipment with a series of tap, tap, taps. Ariel stood beside her.
"Where is this?..."
"Oh, another new species. Your physiology differs from that of both Angeloids and every species in the Starsea Empire. You also possess an exceptionally strong affinity for and control over magic."
"Were your body not severely damaged from excessive energy depletion, you would surpass even an Emanator of Destruction in raw combat power."
"The System and the planet extracted far too much energy from you. Your soul and body are both on the verge of collapse, so you'll need to recuperate for some time."
The tiny Herta studied the data thoughtfully.
During the previous civilization, Sariel had single-handedly repelled the entire dragon race to protect humanity. Her combat ability was evident.
However, the fact that an angel specialized in combat had willingly sacrificed herself to protect the world seemed equally unbelievable to Herta.
"Mother!—"
Upon seeing Sariel awaken, Ariel cried out and threw herself into her arms.
"You... finally woke up!"
"Huh?"
Sariel was somewhat dazed. She patted Ariel's back and took some time to understand what was happening.
"Ariel? Why are you here? And where is this?..."
She glanced out the window and saw the planet slowly rotating below them.
"Wait, that world!!—"
Sariel stood up, staggered, and would have fallen had Ariel not caught her.
"How could you... How could you... Without me, it will..."
She was so anxious that she could barely breathe.
She looked as though she wanted to stuff herself straight back into the planet and resume supplying it with energy.
"Stop, stop. Calm down."
Setsuna walked in and patted Sariel on the head.
"I removed you from the planet's System core. Take a good look. That world is doing perfectly well without you."
"Ah, and you are?..."
Only then did Sariel notice that the planet was still bursting with vitality.
Compared with when she had barely managed to sustain it from below, the planet now seemed even more vibrant.
A vast amount of magic formed a stable cycle across its surface, resembling its prime before humanity had begun mining and wasting MA Energy on a massive scale.
However, this magic felt unfamiliar. It differed from the energy she had previously sensed on the planet.
"What is this?..."
"I casually infused the planet with some magic. Using the System to harvest power from souls was never a sustainable solution."
Setsuna casually pinched Ariel's cheek.
"Look at her. Our little Demon Lord was nearly driven into becoming Thanos. She even came up with the idea of exterminating half the planet's life to release the power of their souls."
"Ugh..."
"P-Please don't do that."
Ariel lowered her head, her teased face alternating between red and pale.
Had an ordinary person dared to tease the Demon Lord, she would have minced them into tiny pieces and fed them to her kin. Setsuna, however, was different. This mysterious traveler from another world had resolved two of her deepest concerns.
He had destroyed the Elf Village and killed Potimas, and he had also rescued Sariel.
"Huh?"
Sariel froze, leaning against the porthole as she carefully examined the planet below.
The expression with which she regarded Setsuna grew even more incredulous.
"How... did you accomplish this?"
"Restoring the entire planet requires an enormous amount of energy. The dragons drained all the magic from the world back then... Even I could only barely keep it functioning..."
"It's just a small planet. Hardly a problem."
Setsuna waved dismissively.
"Even in the worst-case scenario, if the planet truly were destroyed, creating another star system wouldn't be difficult for me."
"!"
Sariel sensed an incomparably vast reservoir of magic within him.
It was far stronger than that of the dragons or any angel she had ever encountered. This was a true god.
"Then what will happen to this world in the future?..."
"The Starsea Empire will govern it from now on. Sophon will formulate a suitable development plan based on the planet's circumstances, rapidly advance its civilization into the space age, and begin exploring and extracting extraterrestrial resources."
"Oh..."
After learning the planet's situation, Sariel looked somewhat lost.
Her duty was to protect humanity and the planet, and she had willingly sacrificed herself for that purpose.
Yet Setsuna appeared to be human as well, and the Starsea Empire's rule over the entire world should theoretically be considered an internal matter among humans.
Wars between individual nations clearly fell outside the scope of an angel's intervention. Her only responsibility was to ensure that humanity and the planet did not perish.
Moreover, in a certain sense, this man had saved a world on the verge of destruction.
"Thank you, um..."
"Mother, let's leave this world. I want to visit other places with Shiro, and you need to recuperate properly."
Ariel poked Sariel.
She had never liked this world in the first place. Aside from the elves, she was equally disgusted by the humans who enjoyed peaceful lives while taking Sariel's sacrifice for granted.
She had no desire whatsoever to interact with the natives here.
"Huh?..."
Sariel hesitated briefly, then shook her head and forced herself to stand.
"Commander, please send me back."
"I... must protect this world."
"..."
Setsuna was utterly impressed by her.
Even after humanity had sacrificed her, even after enduring unimaginable suffering, she still remained loyal to her duty of protecting the world.
From an ordinary person's perspective, Sariel was perhaps the most dedicated guardian deity imaginable, fully deserving of the name angel.
"Tsk."
Silver Wolf and Komekko looked at her in exasperation.
"Seriously? This world belongs to the Starsea Empire now, and Wakaba Hiiro has gone to deal with the dragons. What problem could possibly remain?"
"...I don't know, but this is my mission."
Sariel's answer was resolute.
"I must protect this planet and all the life upon it."
"..."
"Are you some kind of bot that becomes completely incapable of adapting once it receives an instruction?! Even Angeloids are more intelligent than you!"
Silver Wolf slapped a hand against her forehead.
Sariel's dedication was truly outrageous.
Herta glanced at the previous scan results.
"According to the examination, Sariel is unquestionably a living organism. Her physiology is merely unusual. She is not a machine intelligence controlled by a central consciousness."
"To describe her behavior accurately, I believe the proper terms would be obstinate or single-minded."
"Perhaps angels simply carry out any mission they accept unconditionally until the very end, even when that mission no longer serves any purpose."
"Ah..."
Ariel tried persuading Sariel for quite some time, but Sariel refused to budge. Left with no alternative, Ariel looked pleadingly at Setsuna and quietly spoke.
"Um, I know this may be presumptuous, but could you help me?"
"If Mother remains in this world..."
There was no need for her to finish. Everyone knew that Sariel would continue sacrificing herself endlessly for humanity and this world, even if there was nothing left to sacrifice under the Starsea Empire's rule.
"Shall I handle it?"
Kafka was about to step forward, but Setsuna stopped her.
"Forget it. Your Spirit Whisper probably won't have much effect on her."
Tap—
He lightly touched Sariel's forehead and infused a surge of power into her.
"You are free."