Outlying Snow Plains, Topaz tossed a gold coin in the air, looking down at the Administrative District.
"Jarilo-VI, Belobog..."
"Oink... oink!" Numby ran up and caught the gold coin.
"Paying debts is only right... even after seven hundred years."
...
A few minutes later, riding Adrian's [Door of Aleph], Stelle and March 7th landed safely in the Outlying Snow Plains.
"How did people who lived in wind and snow celebrate festivals before..."
Having experienced Blake's grace, the ice and snow of Jarilo-VI had melted, a completely different scene from when the Astral Express crew first visited.
When the God of Spring's palm caressed the frozen planet, the entire world turned over amidst a tremendous noise. Vast glaciers began to groan, and cracks spread for thousands of miles like silver lightning.
The planet's spring tide crept forward in dazzling holy light. Ice layers burst and collapsed in the spring. This awakening picture not only encompassed heaven and earth but also penetrated into the life of every mote of dust.
What the glacial meltwater carried was never just water, but the imprint of an ancient cycle:
Countless winters on a planet will eventually submit to the silent decree of the universe—melting and revival, like an unstoppable tide, sweeping through endless time and space, coming from ancient times and heading towards the future.
"No matter which world's festival celebration, various delicacies are indispensable!" March 7th suddenly looked forward to it. She hadn't properly tasted the specialty food of Belobog yet.
"Please, Belobog... don't disappoint me." March 7th clasped her hands together. If only Adrian were here, she could pray justifiably.
After walking for a while, March 7th suddenly stopped Stelle.
"Stop! Look at the person standing over there. Doesn't look like they're wearing the Silvermane Guard uniform?"
"That black uniform, could it be someone from the [IPC]? On this planet? Am I seeing things?" March 7th rubbed her eyes and took out her weapon in advance.
"Such an ugly uniform."
Speaking of uniforms, the ones that made Stelle's eyes light up were still the Church's Knights. That coexistence of high-tech and shabbiness had a strange aesthetic.
The chest and abdomen were covered by plate armor pieced together from some dull, almost matte dark gray material, with cold and hard lines.
The arm and leg armor were more streamlined, seemingly made of some light and sturdy alloy, shimmering with a cold metallic luster, the edges extremely sharp.
The helmet was a semi-enclosed design, with the back and top being smooth and sealed steel armor, bearing several deep scratches.
And right in the center of the armor, a huge [∞]-shaped symbol, occupying almost the entire chest, firmly grabbed the gaze.
This symbol was not a simple painting or relief but was carefully inlaid into the composite armor. From a distance, it looked like an endless black hole, completely bottomless.
"Really? I think it's kinda cool... Aiya, that's not the point! The key is, why did people from the IPC suddenly come to Jarilo-VI?"
March 7th suggested: "Can't be helped, let's go up and ask? The IPC employees in my impression have pretty good attitudes."
After saying that, March 7th walked up proactively and greeted the IPC employee.
"Hi~ Hello! Are you an employee of the Interastral Peace Corporation? Or are you just playing cosplay?"
The IPC employee remained silent. Seeing no response, March 7th could only awkwardly hide behind Stelle.
"Finished, finished, no response at all... This is either someone bad at communication or someone who can't communicate at all and likes to solve things with force."
Sure enough, the second after March 7th finished speaking, that IPC employee reported the situation right in front of them:
"Boss, found two strangers here. Should I silence them?"
"Eh eh eh? Si-silence?!"
"March, your identity as the [Great Prophet] is confirmed again! Just admit it!"
"...Silence your head, don't move! I'm coming right over." Topaz on the other end of the communication was obviously panicked. Stelle and March 7th only waited for a few seconds before a white and red figure descended from the sky.
"Wow, what a special entrance!"
"Hello you two, nice to meet you! My name is Topaz, an investment expert from the Interastral Peace Corporation. I'm here on Jarilo-VI to discuss special business." Topaz explained to Stelle and March.
"My colleague here... is not very good at communication. Please don't take it to heart."
March 7th breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew~ That really gave me a scare. We came with a relaxed mood to attend the celebration; we don't want to get involved in any strange conflicts again..."
"Oh, right! Self-introduction... I'm March 7th, a passenger of the Astral Express. You must have heard of the Astral Express, right? This is my companion Stelle, also a member of the Express crew."
"So that's it! I could tell at a glance you weren't locals, but didn't expect to run into two [Nameless] by coincidence! What wonderful fate~"
As a representative sent by the Interastral Peace Corporation, Topaz still respected the Astral Express very much.
After all, they were led by [Trailblaze] Akivili. She didn't need to list how much contribution these Nameless had made to the galaxy.
"I heard that the reason Jarilo-VI could get rid of the Stellaron's influence is inseparable from the assistance of the [Trailblaze] faction. Could it be that you two are..."
Stelle put one hand on her hip and said modestly: "Just contributed a small amount of strength; there's also the credit of the Church."
"That's right, that's right! We weren't the only ones helping Belobog!"
"Oh~ Didn't expect to meet two legendary figures here, so lucky! But... the Church you mentioned is..." Topaz's fingers stiffened slightly, and a vigilant look flashed across her face.
A few days ago, the company detected an [Emanator]-level energy reaction bursting from this planet, and the source was actually the Church of Eternity.
Ah, feels like the intensity of this debt collection session is going to ramp up.
"Speaking of which, Miss Topaz looks so young, yet she's already a senior executive of the company. Really enviable..."
...
"If you ask me, this combat experience really needs optimization!"
Party Car, Silver Wolf looked at the game she lost again. That was her promotion match!
"Victory and defeat are common in battle; you'll get used to it."
Adrian thoughtfully brought a cup of milk tea. At the milk tea shop HE opened on the Luofu, which is the so-called business mini-game... Silver Wolf was already bored of playing it.
Considering Silver Wolf's hard work (opening the shop for one hour every day), the only downside for this girl was having to get up early every day. But it didn't matter much; she could just stay up until the shop opening time the next day.
"But I can't lose every time... At least let me win once, just once." Silver Wolf said unwillingly.
"Come on, drink this cup of [Eternity] secret recipe milk tea, and I guarantee you'll win every battle next!"
Silver Wolf had a mournful face. Is there a possibility that it's precisely because of [Eternity] that she loses every game?
"By the way... isn't there a festival celebration on Jarilo-VI? Why didn't you go?"
"After all that trouble on the Luofu, I only feel backaches and leg cramps now. Didn't you see I left the milk tea shop to you to manage?"
"Don't believe it."