As much as Himeko wished otherwise, planets don't exactly align with personal desires.
So, about thirty minutes into their conversation, the holographic star chart on the table pinged with a notification: a planet had been detected ahead—and it hosted signs of life.
"Planet detected ahead! Attention all passengers, please be ready for a potential stop!" Pom-Pom's voice echoed cheerfully through the intercom.
Yuki glanced out the window and shrugged with a small smile.
"Looks like we're about to reach our first stop."
"Yeah... I didn't expect it so soon." Himeko let out a helpless chuckle.
A brief flicker of disappointment crossed her elegant features. Clearly, she wouldn't have minded a bit more time drifting through the cosmos before reaching their first destination.
But reality rarely bends to anyone's will. She downed the rest of her coffee in one graceful gulp and got to work on the holographic display, carrying out her duties as Navigator. Her task now was to establish contact with any relevant authorities on that planet and prepare the Express for orbital docking.
"I'll go wake March."
Seeing Himeko completely absorbed in her work, Yuki left her to it.
He headed through the Parlor Car and down the corridor toward the passenger sleeping quarters. Standing outside March's door, he knocked a few times and called her name.
No response.
So he did what anyone with his transcendent abilities would do: he simply teleported inside.
Entering March's room, he found it exactly as it appeared in the game. A very pastel, girlish space.
Especially notable was the wall covered entirely in photos—snapshots of March with Yuki, Himeko, Pom-Pom, and the various sights they'd seen over this past period.
And right in the center, occupying the most prominent spot? A close-up of Yuki with his eyes closed, with March leaning in beside him pulling a playful, mischievous grin.
That photo? March had sneaked into his room while he was resting and taken it without his permission. She'd thought he never knew.
But she was wrong—he had noticed the exact moment she slipped in. He just didn't call her out, curious to see what she was up to. When he realized all she wanted was a stealthy picture, he'd found it both amusing and baffling.
A quick scan of the wall showed that a large majority of the photos featured him. There were group shots with him, and solo shots of just Yuki. And she had deliberately placed her own solo shots right next to his. The romantic implication? Hard to miss.
Yuki's lips curled slightly as he scanned the photo wall. Then his gaze shifted to the pink, plush bed.
The girl was still fast asleep.
He walked over, sat on the edge of the mattress, and gently pinched her cute, fair cheek.
"Wake up. We've reached the first stop." His voice was soft.
In her sleep, March seemed to feel the touch and hear the call. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her eyelids fluttered, then slowly opened.
The very first thing she saw? That familiar, handsome face leaning over her.
March blinked, completely disoriented.
"Huh? Am I dreaming?"
Yuki shook his head. "Dreaming? Dream on."
She blinked a few more times. As consciousness fully returned, she realized—Yuki was actually sitting right in front of her.
She shot up like a bolt of lightning, thoroughly startled.
"How—how did you get into my room?!"
"I locked the door, didn't I?!"
She immediately glanced down at herself in a panic. Seeing her blankets still in place and her clothes completely undisturbed, she let out a highly audible sigh of relief.
"Hey! That suspicious look and that sigh of relief—are you serious?"
"You really think I'd do something while you were sleeping?" Yuki couldn't help but retort.
"Hard to say!"
"A beautiful girl like me? You suddenly getting certain pervy ideas? Wouldn't be surprising in the least!" March pouted, refusing to back down, shooting back with quick, defensive wit.
Hearing that, Yuki just smiled helplessly and shook his head, saying nothing.
"See?!"
"Your silence means you agree!" Seeing him quiet, March arched an eyebrow, flashing a smug 'I knew it' expression.
"Think whatever you want."
"Time to get up. We've reached the first stop." Yuki couldn't be bothered to keep bantering with this silly girl. He stood up and headed for the door.
March practically hopped out of bed and followed him.
"Oh! Finally!"
"Yes! Our first stop as Nameless—I can't wait!" Her face lit up with boundless energy, practically vibrating with anticipation.
But then her gaze drifted to her photo wall, and reality hit her like a ton of bricks: Yuki had been standing in her room.
Which meant... he had definitely seen her photos.
"You... you saw them?!"
A furious blush crept across her cheeks. She looked down, her voice dropping to a shy whisper as she asked.
"Hm?"
"You mean the photos?" Yuki turned back, casually glancing at the wall.
March darted over, spreading her arms wide to block his view.
"D-Don't look~~~" She pouted, glaring at him with acute embarrassment.
"Blocking them now won't help. I've already seen them all."
"Besides, I knew about that sneaky photo you took the moment you took it." Yuki shrugged, stating the merciless facts.
"Ah!"
So her "successful" stealth mission hadn't been successful at all. He had known the whole time.
"Alright, let's go."
"Wait!"
"You're not curious about how I arranged them?" March asked cautiously, testing the waters.
The arrangement was entirely deliberate. She'd read it in some romance novel back on Himeko's planet: girls in love put photos of their crush right next to their own. And she'd done exactly that with hers and Yuki's pictures. The meaning was painfully obvious.
Asking him was a way to gauge if he had actually noticed the hidden confession.
Yuki's answer was comfortably ambiguous.
"I think it's nice."
"Really?!"
"Really." Yuki nodded as March pressed him.
Hearing that, she grinned brilliantly and murmured, "I think so too!"
Then she happily followed him out.
Meanwhile, up in the train's cockpit.
Pom-Pom steered the Express along Himeko's plotted course.
Every now and then, the conductor chatted with Aha, who was securely trapped on the front grill.
Under Yuki's absolute cosmic restrictions, Aha couldn't communicate with or observe any other part of the train. Only the cockpit was accessible—a small, calculated mercy from Yuki to keep the Aeon of Elation from going completely insane out there in the vacuum of space.
It also gave Pom-Pom a driving companion.
"Heehee haha—Conductor, once we reach the destination, can you let me off?" Aha's voice floated through the comms, begging for release.
Pom-Pom shot it down immediately.
"Pom-Pom refuses!"
"Ah! No! Conductor! Don't be so heartless!"
"Please! Let me down! I'm dying of boredom out here!"
"Asking Pom-Pom is useless!"
"Pom-Pom can't free you either!"
"Ah... right." Aha realized with dread: only Yuki possessed the authority to undo this supreme seal.
Silence fell over the cockpit. Then—
"Heehee! Conductor, want to hear a joke?"
"It's about a mask! Once upon a time, there was a little girl—an abandoned orphan..."
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