Bang!
The door was forcefully pushed open from the inside by Seele, hitting the wall with a low thud.
Seele took a deep breath, trying to regain her usual ladylike composure, and smiled. "Phew… So it's you, Stelle? What's up?"
Stelle scratched her head. "Haha, nothing much, just came to say hi."
Seele: (╬▔皿▔)╯
"Oh, hi, hi. If there's nothing else, I'd like to rest now. I have a meeting with Gepard tomorrow." Seele forced a strained smile, moving to close the door.
Stelle quickly propped the door open. "Wait, have you eaten?"
Seele: "…No, I'm not eating."
"How can you not eat?" Stelle grinned, grabbing Seele's arm. "C'mon, Gepard approved some activity funds for us. Eat whatever you want!"
Seele thought to herself: The thing I want to eat can't be bought out there!
"No, no, I actually ate a bit earlier. I really need to sleep now," Seele said.
Stelle sighed regretfully. "Alright then, take care of yourself and rest early. I'm off."
"Yeah, you rest early too. Bye."
As Stelle walked away, she muttered to herself, "Seele said she's not feeling well? That's weird, she looked all flushed just now… Oh well, maybe she's sick. Better not bother her."
"But if she's sick, did she take any medicine? What if she passes out alone in her room?"
Thinking this, Stelle considered going back to check on her, but when she turned around, she saw an furious Cocolia storming toward her.
"Stelle? Have you seen Seele?" Cocolia's eyes were practically blazing.
Stelle, sweating: "Y-y-yeah, I saw her. Her room's over there. You need her for something? She's not feeling well and resting now."
"Oh, I'm here to take care of her. As her daughter's 'good friend,' it's only right I help out, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah, makes sense, makes sense. Here, I'll show you the way."
Ten minutes later.
Stelle sat dejectedly in the restaurant, feeling like a complete idiot. Why was she so slow to catch on?
That scene with the three of them was chaotic as hell. Good thing she got out fast.
"Stelle, what's wrong?"
March 7th passed by, holding a bag of bread, and asked curiously.
Stelle glumly recounted what had just happened to March 7th, adding, "Sigh, I know young people can be a bit wild, but isn't this moving too fast? It's a bit much, right?"
March 7th nodded in agreement. "Cocolia's being way too overbearing. Why's she meddling in young people's business?"
Stelle: ?
"Ahem… Anyway, Uncle Yang was looking for you earlier. He's in his room."
"Oh, I'll go now."
Stelle stuffed the remaining sandwich from his plate into his mouth and got up to leave.
…
"…So, you're an ancient intelligent robot, right?"
In the room, Welt was examining Svarog's intricately designed body, occasionally touching it to feel it for himself, and asked.
"Correction: The technology used to create me comes from off-world visitors 800 years ago. The term 'ancient' is inaccurate."
Svarog turned its head, staring at Welt's restless hands. "Mr. Welt, with all due respect, your behavior matches human male courtship patterns in my database."
"Cough, this is a common 2D exploration method for novel things. Please understand," Welt said earnestly.
Svarog, puzzled: "Query: The definition of 2D? Hypothesis: Another dimension?"
Welt explained, "It refers to people who love anime, novels, and games. Your aesthetic perfectly fits the mecha style in 2D culture."
He slapped Svarog's chest plate, looking enraptured. "Honestly, your robot style is quite different from the mainstream in my homeland. I never imagined a robot in a coat and leather shoes could look so mature and commanding."
"Can I take a look at that chest cannon?"
Click.
At that moment, Stelle pushed open the door and walked in, immediately witnessing the jarring scene.
"…"
The atmosphere fell silent for a few seconds until Svarog spoke up: "Based on detection, Mr. Welt, your body temperature is rising."
"Uh… Uncle Yang, I swear I didn't mean to barge in. March said you needed me, so I came… Oh, oh, oh, I get it! March 7th must've tricked me. I'll go make her apologize…"
"I won't disturb you. I'm—outta here."
Before Stelle could retreat, Welt flashed in front of her and grabbed her. "No, you're not leaving."
Welt stiffly changed the subject. "Belobog's crisis is resolved. We'll stay here a bit longer before returning to the Express."
"As a new member, and this being your first Trailblaze world, you should bring back some souvenirs. Oh, and most importantly, don't forget to get a gift for Himeko."
"She's been alone on the Express this time. If you don't bring her a gift, she'll be upset."
"And you can't afford those consequences, got it?"
Stelle asked cautiously, "Consequences?"
"…Heh, you don't want to know, trust me," Welt said with a mysterious smile. "I called you here for another reason. Clara was looking for you earlier. Go check on her."
Wow, Uncle Yang, that's such a standard NPC quest-giving line. Stelle thought to himself, "Got it."
"One more thing," Welt raised a finger. "Close the door, and act like you were never here."
"…Uh, got it."
…
"Sigh, forgot to ask Uncle Yang where Clara is. Do I have a quest marker? This is gonna be such a hassle…"
Stelle scoured the hotel, checking everywhere: men's restroom, women's restroom, lounge, reception, kitchen, storage room…
Despite startling the staff with his sudden appearances, Stelle found no trace of Clara.
Left with no choice, she approached a hotel staff member. "Excuse me, have you seen a little white-haired girl?"
Staff: "Miss, please don't lean over the front desk."
Stelle shuffled her legs and hopped down from the counter. "Better now?"
Staff: "A girl matching your description left through the main entrance just now. You can go check."
Stelle was shocked. What? Clara went out alone? She's so tiny—what if she runs into a trafficker?
That trafficker would be in mortal danger!
After a quick thank you, Stelle bolted out the hotel doors, asking around as he searched for Clara.