[The members of the Express crew gathered in front of Clockie's statue. After a simple moment of remembrance for Robin and Firefly's "deaths," everyone began discussing the next objectives, such as… finding the culprit.]
[Himeko and March 7th had previously negotiated with Family representatives in the Memokeep. The other party had invited them to assist the Family in identifying the deceased… of course, the deceased in question referred to Firefly. Recalling it now, Himeko noticed that the representatives' expressions at the time had been somewhat evasive, and they had also remained silent about another matter that should have happened earlier.]
[They also guessed that Robin's death had a significant impact, and the Family definitely wanted to conceal it. Moreover, this matter had clearly exceeded their expectations, forcing them to go with the flow and seek help from outsiders.]
[Simply put, the two cases involving Firefly and Robin were fundamentally different in nature… What the Family needed to guard against first were those ill-intentioned visitors, such as Aventurine.]
["Aventurine, however, is wary of Acheron." Stelle added.]
["Indeed, he pays particular attention to that Galaxy Ranger." Welt nodded.]
[March 7th only felt that Aventurine's accusations had rather subtle reasons, and she didn't know whether to trust him. Himeko, on the other hand, said that at this point, both the Family and Aventurine had extended olive branches of cooperation to them. But considering the current situation in Penacony… the only ones they could probably trust were their own people.]
["Then before the investigation begins, how should we reply to the Family and Aventurine?" March 7th asked.]
——
A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Morning light filtered through the curtains into the room. Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko were tidying their school uniforms and preparing to head out. While fixing her hair, Mikoto didn't forget to stare at the scenes on the Celestial Screen to catch up on the latest developments in Penacony.
"Onee-sama~" Shirai Kuroko suddenly pounced from behind, wrapping her arms around Mikoto's neck and affectionately rubbing her cheek against her shoulder. "We're about to head out, yet Onee-sama is still watching. With this time, please direct your gaze toward me a little more~"
"Uwah! Kuroko!" Kuroko's sudden attack startled her. She hurriedly pushed her away, a faint blush rising on her face. "Don't suddenly stick to me like that!"
"Onee-sama is paying so much attention. Could it be that while we were sleeping, the information on Penacony updated again?"
"Mm." Mikoto straightened her disheveled collar and said calmly, "Now Robin is dead too. Both the Family and Aventurine have thrown olive branches toward the Astral Express, inviting cooperation."
"Neither of these two sides… can be trusted. Might as well reject them both outright."
"If we really did things your way, the Astral Express would have probably been blacklisted by other factions long ago, right?" Misaka Mikoto sighed helplessly. "At the very least, we should maintain some contact with Aventurine. His current stance is very clear—he is at odds with the Family. Compared to the Family, which is ambiguous and could flip at any moment, he is indeed much better…"
"Clear does not equal reliable." Kuroko crossed her arms in front of her chest, making a big "X" gesture. "Onee-sama is too naive! If the Family's trust score is 20, then Aventurine is 40… Although it looks a bit higher than the Family, it's still not even reaching the passing grade of 60."
"…If you ask me, we should immediately find Miss Acheron right now. She is probably the most trustworthy person at the moment."
"Acheron…" Misaka Mikoto pondered. "But she has also concealed a lot…"
"Who doesn't have some secrets when mixing around in the universe?" Kuroko spread her hands. "Even the Astral Express members all have somewhat hidden identities, right?"
"For example, Dan Heng who looks ordinary but is actually the Dragon Lord of the Luofu; Mr. Welt who looks like a middle-aged uncle but can control gravity and manipulate black holes; and the one who usually acts improper but has a Stellaron stuffed in his stomach…"
"Dan Heng looks ordinary?" Misaka Mikoto was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh. "Kuroko, do you have some misunderstanding about the word 'ordinary'?"
——
[Regarding the Family, Himeko's view was that they held no malice toward the Express. After all, it involved a "scandal" concerning all of Penacony. If they couldn't be trusted, they wouldn't have entrusted the Express crew to help.]
[Moreover, Penacony was the Family's territory. Cooperating with them should provide quite a bit of convenience for future actions.]
[The key lay with Aventurine's side. Himeko wanted to hear Welt's opinion.]
[After pondering, Welt said: "This person is not simple. During our negotiations, he deliberately lowered his posture, and his words were constantly probing and blocking… In both emotion and reason, he gave convincing explanations. He says he is not forcing anything, but his intentions are already very obvious."]
["However, while the situation is still unclear, establishing more connections is not a bad thing. With just a few words, Aventurine has already demonstrated his skill. As long as interests align, he can also become a reliable ally."]
["We also need to carefully manage our distance with the Family and must not get too close. Cooperating with the IPC is a good method of checks and balances. Once either side has other intentions, we will have the opportunity to withdraw."]
["So, you suggest accepting Aventurine's cooperation first?" Himeko looked at him.]
["Yes. There are certainly risks… but we can only make further judgments after all parties' intentions become clear." Welt nodded.]
——
New Eridu.
"Playing both sides? Interesting…"
Inside the Anti-Tongue Bird organization, Hugo was watching the Celestial Screen with great interest. He found this kind of decisive judgment that allowed the Express crew to navigate skillfully between the IPC and the Family quite fascinating.
"In this chess game of intertwined interests, one more option means one more escape route. Vivian, what do you—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence because he noticed the other party wasn't paying attention to this at all.
The girl was sitting on the sofa with her knees bent, her chin resting on Burnice Robin's head. She pouted, seemingly sulking, and her fingertips were unconsciously tugging at Robin's two ears.
"Not happy? Who made you angry again?"
"No one made me angry." Vivian buried her face in Robin's soft back, her voice muffled. "It's just that recently I've seen the Proxy going to the movies with many different girls…"
"So… you're jealous?" Hugo narrowed his eyes.
"Vivian is not that kind of boring woman!" The girl, like a cat with its fur puffed up, not only raised her voice but also started to show a faint pink on her neck.
"But weren't you watching a movie with Phaethon some time ago too? I remember you even specially trimmed your nails that morning…"
"That's exactly the problem! I suspect Lord Phaethon—"
"Is stepping on multiple boats?"
The girl blushed and nodded.