Felicity ultimately managed to get a Herta doll.
Herta randomly selected one from her stock of 32 spare puppets and gave it to Felicity as compensation for not keeping her promise.
After lazing around in bed for a while, Felicity began to ponder Herta's suggestion.
The space station nominally belonged to Herta, and its protective measures were quite comprehensive. Sudden attacks by the Antimatter Legion were rare occurrences. If Felicity stayed here, she'd be limited to either continuing her attempts to get herself killed or waiting for Herta to whimsically bring her a new solution someday.
Meanwhile, the Astral Express traveled through the vast expanse of space. The universe was immeasurably vast, and they would encounter far more unknowns—both risks and pleasures.
Felicity didn't need much thought to reach a conclusion.
Teasing Herta and Asta was certainly fun, but she ultimately preferred adding a bit of surprise to life.
And the group from the Astral Express seems quite interesting too—the journey probably won't be too boring.
I'll go discuss it with Himeko later.
Felicity rolled over and got out of bed, stretching lazily. Suddenly, she remembered the girl who had stood in front of her.
Stelle—a girl who belonged neither to the space station nor to the Astral Express. Her origins remained a mystery. The only certainty was that the Stellaron inside her was temporarily stable, but what the future held was still unknown.
Although Stelle had disrupted her plans, Felicity wasn't the least bit discouraged. The laser hadn't posed much of a threat to her—it was there, but not significant.
Besides, Stelle had genuinely tried to save her—her intentions were good. One shouldn't dismiss everything about a kid just because of a momentary displeasure.
Might as well check on her while I'm at it.
...
Space Station, Master Control Zone.
Asta leaned back in her chair, scanning through rows of reports, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
The incident with the Antimatter Legion's attack had temporarily come to an end, and Asta finally had a moment to catch her breath.
She had learned the general sequence of events from the Astral Express crew: Felicity had stepped in to handle most of the attacks on the space station and even helped seal the Stellaron inside Stelle's body.
I'll have to find a chance to properly thank Felicity.
That's what Asta thought.
But what does Felicity like?
Asta thought back to the past, to a certain conversation she'd had with Felicity, where they had discussed their respective dreams.
"My dream?"
Felicity traced the still-bloodstained wound on her wrist as she gazed up at the ceiling, answering with a faint smile:
"My dream is simple—if one day I could die happily and peacefully, that would be enough."
Asta didn't understand why an Emanator of Abundance would seek death, much less why a carefree, optimistic, and gentle girl like Felicity would pursue it. She wouldn't deliberately bring it up or ask about it.
If Felicity wanted to talk, she would confide in her naturally.
What troubled the girl more was the thank-you gift—not knowing the other's preferences made it hard to decide what to give. She couldn't just run up to Felicity and say, "Thank you, you're already dead!" could she?
Just imagining that scenario made Asta cringe.
As Asta was fretting, she suddenly felt a warm arm gently wrap around her. She instinctively turned her head and met Felicity's emerald-green eyes.
"What's on your mind?" Felicity whispered by her ear, her warm breath instantly turning Asta's cheeks bright red.
"Nothing."
Asta straightened up, escaping Felicity's embrace, then put on an exaggeratedly helpless expression, rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, placed one hand on her hip, and wagged her index finger lightly:
"Don't always startle me like that."
After a pause, she flashed a playful smile.
"Thanks for your help with the space station. I really appreciate it."
"It's nothing. I just came to ask you about that girl named Stelle," Felicity replied.
"Stelle... Ah, that kid. Miss March 7th took her to rest. Madam Herta and Miss Himeko seem to be discussing her future arrangements. If you go to the platform now, you should be able to find her."
"I see."
Felicity nodded thoughtfully. After a moment's consideration, she still felt it would be better to say goodbye here.
"I'm leaving, Asta."
"Hmm? Where to?"
Asta didn't quite grasp Felicity's meaning, blinking her eyes in confusion.
"Herta suggested I travel with the Astral Express to find what I'm seeking."
Felicity said softly.
"With... the Astral Express? Well, that sounds good too."
Asta only paused briefly before understanding, nodding cheerfully and genuinely feeling happy for her friend.
Finding something that interests you is wonderful, and having the courage to pursue it is too. Asta understood this deeply.
After all, not everyone could just go back to inherit family wealth without having achieved anything notable like her.
"I thought you'd be a bit sadder."
Felicity put on a dejected expression, clutching her chest dramatically.
This isn't anime-like at all.
"I'm happy for you, but if you want me to act sad, I can try."
Asta said with a cheerful smile.
She knew Felicity too well, aware that this Abundance Emanator's acting skills were as good as her ability to play dead.
"Never mind then, I can't stand seeing girls shed tears."
Felicity calmly ended her performance, returning to her usual smile. She reached out and gently pinched Asta's cheek before saying seriously:
"Well, I'm off then."
"Have a pleasant journey, and take this."
Asta pressed a small hammer into Felicity's hand. "I was hesitating about what to give you, but now I don't need to think about it anymore."
"This is a Sleep Hammer, a bestselling sleep aid across the universe recently. When you can't sleep out there, just one tap will immediately put someone into deep sleep~"
Felicity stared in astonishment at the small hammer in her hand, unable to resist flicking both ends of it with her finger.
*Thump~*
The hammer emitted a clear ringing sound. The thing was clearly made of metal, and quite sturdy at that.
Felicity looked at Asta. The acting station manager's face still wore that mischievously cute smile, but Felicity sensed full malice hidden behind that smile.
"...This thing could kill someone, couldn't it?"
"That depends on one's fortune~"
"..."
Pink-haired girls really are all black-hearted when you cut them open