Chapter 182: Herta-jie, Don't!
The Express trailed a magnificent light path through the dark expanse of space.
The car's surface was covered with intricate energy patterns, glowing faintly blue as it sped, as if draped in a flowing, star-woven veil.
Occasionally, tiny meteoroids would encounter it, only to be pulverized by the energy veil and dispersed into the vacuum.
The Express did not rely solely on warp jumps to travel through the cosmos; most of the time, it traveled along star rails.
Only when encountering the Imaginary Isolation Zone – the Imaginary void between "leaves" that ordinary forces struggle to traverse – would it perform a warp jump.
Currently, it was traveling from the center of this galaxy, or rather, this "leaf," towards its edge.
Inside the carriage, it was bustling with activity.
"Oh my, this is truly…"
Although March 7th had explained the Shadow Legion to her, Himeko gazed at the scene before her, which looked strange no matter how she viewed it.
Himeko was still somewhat surprised, her expression a mix of bewilderment and admiration, unsure of what to say.
Shadowy figures clad in black ninja attire darted "swoosh-swoosh-swoosh" through the carriage, moving as swiftly as a flock of crows yet in perfect order.
Some Shadow Ninjas carried buckets of water; with not enough brooms on the Express, they simply took off their ninja uniforms and soaked them in water, or directly handed mop-like Shadow figures to others, mopping back and forth.
Others wiped windows; several Shadows had clear divisions of labor: one wiped with a wet cloth, one sprayed cleaner, and the last one used a dry cloth.
Even corners usually ignored during daily chores had tiny, pinky-finger-joint-sized Shadows, called 'Eater-Shadows,' crawling in for meticulous cleaning.
The entire process flowed smoothly, like moving clouds and flowing water. Lights shone on the meticulously polished portholes, reflecting dazzling brilliance.
The floor was so clean it made one's feet feel light, almost unwilling to step on it.
"From a major tidying-up to a major spring cleaning, but… this is simply amazing, Pom-Pom!"
Pom-Pom's eyes gleamed.
It loved a clean Express!
"I can raise Passenger Caelus's Express fund three times, no, five times!"
Himeko carefully stepped through the professional housekeeping team, entering the guest car.
Stepping into the room that little March 7th used to treat as a storage room—a former 'old god's dwelling' so messy it would insult a pigsty—the chaotic, mountain-high piles of items had vanished.
Shadow Ninjas were using clean cloths to wipe ceramics and souvenirs, removing a thin layer of dust from their surfaces, polishing them until they sparkled, and placing them in the adjacent storage room.
"This…"
Himeko peeked in, her expression bewildered: "Is this really the Express?"
If not for the solid feel of the Express floor beneath her feet, Himeko would have thought she had walked into a museum showcasing a joint exhibition of multiple civilizations.
Display shelves, bought at who-knows-when, were neatly arranged, with items sparkling and even covered in a dreamy, hazy glow.
Entering the room, which now emitted a warm glow, all miscellaneous items had been removed, and the room immediately brightened up.
The large bed was laid with clean sheets, and Stelle, Caelus, and March 7th lay sprawled on it contentedly, like three salted fish left to sunbathe for three and a half days without anyone to flip them over.
Two Herta puppets, dressed in maid outfits, sat on Caelus's and Stelle's backs respectively.
The adorable, ice-lotus-like jade feet stepped on Caelus's back, while Fengta muttered things like, "Stupid master, watch me stomp you to death."
Lingta, meanwhile, quietly massaged Stelle, occasionally feeding snacks to both of them.
However, during the massage, Lingta's gaze was mostly on Fengta, absorbed in herself—Herta's face.
Even with Himeko's temperament, seeing a horde of demon-like figures in the corridor and storage room, working relentlessly harder than corporate employees, while a few people leisurely enjoyed themselves in the room, she couldn't help but feel an urge for her eye to twitch, finding it hard to look directly.
This, this… it's hard to even comment.
Furthermore, the orange-red mask with a white beard on Caelus's face really didn't fit the surroundings. Even ignoring the mask, the scene was just too weird!
Himeko, like a mother concerned for her young ones, worried: by using his abilities this way, would Caelus turn himself, Stelle, and little March 7th into useless sloths?
Himeko now felt like a mother seeing her college-dropout child return home for winter break, cooped up in bed all day, playing on their phone and eating snacks.
Two grey, one pink – three heads huddled together. Bronya and Seele sat on plush single chairs that felt like soft toys.
Each of the five held a phone, communicating with one another.
"I don't think the master bedroom is important; getting an e-sports room first is the way to go."
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
Stelle and Bronya nodded simultaneously.
"Seele, do you want one? We can then connect our e-sports rooms, making it more convenient to play games together!"
"An e-sports room?" The teal-haired girl gently tapped her chin, as if pondering: "Seele is fine with it."
This self-reference indicated that the consciousness controlling the body was Seele, who wasn't very interested in games.
But since Sister Stelle said so, an e-sports room wouldn't be bad. Her 'parallel self' seemed quite fond of games.
"OK~! That makes four." Caelus opened his mouth, ready to eat the jelly Lingta was feeding him.
"Don't leave me behind!"
March 7th quickly spoke up, turning her head to look at Stelle, only to see Caelus perform a 'salted fish leap,' snatching food from Stelle's mouth.
It wasn't a kiss, but the touch of lips still made March 7th glance at Bronya, only to find that Bronya showed no reaction to their intimate gesture.
Although she knew the two were essentially one person, from the perspective of Caelus's lover, wouldn't she find their relationship strange?
Little March 7th tried to put herself in that position, and realized she seemed to be gradually getting used to it too.
"I want to join too!"
How could they not include the cutest little March 7th in their fun?
"Then let me ask you…"
"Don't ask, don't ask, if you ask any more, little March 7th will go silly~!"
Triggered by this opening move, before Caelus could utter a fifth word, March 7th reached out with her fair, tender hand and covered his mouth.
"Are you discussing renovation plans?"
Forcing herself to ignore the Shadows busily working around her, Himeko stepped further into the room.
"Yeah, we're going to redecorate this room in Bronya's style, and I'm going to renovate my room too, and Stelle's."
Caelus snapped his fingers, and two seconds later, a ninja emerged from the shadows, holding a steaming cup of coffee, which it respectfully handed to Himeko.
"…"
The sudden appearance of the Shadow made Himeko pause. After a moment's hesitation, she took the coffee brewed by the Shadow Ninja and took a small sip.
Himeko was silent.
Even she, occasionally, wished for such an experience: comfortably nestled on the sofa, with anything she desired instantly whisked to her hand!
Himeko's thoughts underwent a slight change.
Shadow Ninjas, truly amazing!
"Then you'd better hurry up and choose furniture and design styles. It's best to finish before the warp jump."
"Yes, Himeko-jie!" Stelle saluted playfully.
"Hmm, we should have plenty of time," Caelus nodded.
Using these few days of leisure time, completing the room renovation and remodeling work would be more than enough.
Let alone merely renovating and remodeling rooms; the Interastral Peace Corporation's renovation teams, as long as the money is right, can complete planet-level renovations and wonder construction in an extremely short time!
However, Caelus's Credits hadn't inflated to that extent yet.
The patent fees from Belobog were indeed a substantial sum, but that money held no practical significance.
With the Express fund given by Pom-Pom, plus the pocket money from Himeko-jie, and most importantly, the continuous profits from the patent for cryogenic crop seeds given by Asta-jie, Caelus was not short on money.
Just as Caelus, Stelle, Seele, and renovation consultant Miss March 7th were discussing important matters, Fengta, who was behind Caelus, suddenly punched his shoulder and called out.
"Hey, Master, there's an external access request."
"External access?"
Caelus stopped his finger, which had been scrolling through the computer parts store interface.
"Beep. If not rejected in five seconds, access will be considered granted."
As if a program had been triggered, Fengta's tsundere tone became mechanical at that moment.
"What's going on?"
Stelle, as if recovering from a fatal illness, sat up in surprise.
Caelus's puppet broke?
"You two actually used my puppets as maids?"
The Herta puppet on Caelus's back suddenly stopped moving; its unique, slightly electronic voice vanished, replaced by a tsundere voice.
At this moment, Fengta leaned forward, sprawling on Caelus's back, her short lace maid dress blooming like a flower, creating an 'absolute territory' with her white stockings, her delicate body seated on Caelus's waist.
The white stockings, covering her exquisite jade feet, concealed the puppet texture of her feet, while her hands were encased in similarly lace-textured gloves, making her hands and feet appear indistinguishable from a real person wearing clothing.
The simulated sensors could genuinely feel the grey-haired youth's body temperature. Herta slightly furrowed her brow.
"Quite the enjoyer, aren't you?"
"Herta? It's you, after all."
Recognizing the familiar imperious tone, and knowing that no one else but she could remotely access the Herta puppets, Caelus remained unhurried.
"Since they were given to us, they're ours. How we choose to use them is naturally our preference, no?"
"Hmph!" Herta folded her arms across her chest, not refuting.
Indeed, as Caelus said, even if they were truly equipped with those systems and functions and used by Caelus as casting tools, Herta, having optimized away her sense of shame, wouldn't care.
She's so beautiful; isn't it only human to make mistakes regarding her?
As long as it wasn't right in front of her eyes.
"Hmph, kid, why are you wearing a mask? It's so ugly!"
Standing up from Caelus's lower back, Herta leaned back in disgust, looking down at the ugly orange-red mask with a white beard on Caelus's face, feeling an impulse to step on it with her white-stockinged little feet.
It was an eyesore to her!
"Can't be helped. It is a bit ugly, but the power of this thing is really useful."
Caelus snapped his fingers, and immediately, various types of Shadow Ninjas emerged from the shadows in the room.
"Oh~ is this… a Curio!?"
Seeing the ninjas and monsters clad in dark attire, with dark bluish skin, the disgust in Herta's eyes vanished instantly.
"Tracing its origins, it's probably some kind of dark magic."
Her amethyst-like eyes gleamed, and the standard puppet scanning system operated within them. Herta detected the unique existence form of the Shadow monsters.
She immediately became interested.
"Interesting!"
"Is this the power of this Curio? Let me see!"
Staring at the mask on Caelus's face with great interest, Herta extended her small hand, encased in white stockings, wanting to remove the mask.
"Herta-jie, no~!"
Caelus cried out like a little girl being molested by a ruffian, attracting Himeko, who was in the adjacent room tidying her own belongings.
Then she saw Herta, seated on Caelus's waist, her two small hands vigorously pulling at the mask on his face. That arrogance, somewhat similar to Fengta's but with a distinctly different aura, made Himeko realize something.
"He-Herta?"
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