After Felicity said goodbye to Bailu and returned to the Express, it wasn't long before Dan Heng and Welt came back as well.
Dan Heng had returned to his usual form, no longer maintaining his body as the High Elder. It seemed he didn't want to bring up that part of his past, which he considered a terrible memory.
After some more time spent getting things in order, March 7th and Stelle rushed back to the Express. March 7th seemed to have just gotten something off her chest, and the smile on her face was particularly radiant.
"I'm back!"
The energetic girl cheered happily. She plopped down on the sofa next to Felicity and asked cheerfully,
"Where are we heading next?"
"Although the original destination was supposed to be Penacony, Felicity mentioned wanting to go back to the Herta Space Station for a bit. Calculating the time, there's still a while before Penacony's festival begins, so we've decided to head back to the Herta Space Station to resupply first," Himeko answered unhurriedly.
"And wash the Express, Pom-Pom! It's time for the big Express cleanup!" Pom-Pom reminded them loudly from the side.
"The big Express cleanup?"
Welt glanced at the calendar on his phone and nodded calmly.
"Speaking of which, it is indeed that time of year."
"The Express's annual deep clean? I love tidying up! I have to take this chance to scrub every nook and cranny spotless!"
March 7th's eyes sparkled, seemingly quite excited about the prospect of cleaning.
She paused, her gaze falling upon a glass of juice placed by Felicity's hand.
It was a juice she had never seen before.
March 7th was instantly on alert.
As a connoisseur of fine juices, what kind of juice on the Express had she not tried? But this cup in Felicity's hand... she really didn't think she'd ever had it before.
Its color was unlike any juice she was familiar with, and she could smell a sweet fragrance even from a short distance away. March 7th swallowed. After a moment's hesitation, she couldn't help but ask, "Um, Sis Felicity, if you're not going to drink that juice, can I have a taste?"
"...If you don't mind, I suppose you can."
Felicity's expression turned a little strange. She was about to explain the juice's origin, but March 7th was faster. The moment she got her answer, she immediately picked up the juice and downed it in one go.
"Ahh—so good!"
March 7th's eyes lit up again, practically twinkling like little stars. She asked Felicity with excitement, "What kind of juice is this?"
"Uh... if I had to give it a name, it would probably be called Felicity Juice?"
The corner of Felicity's mouth twitched.
This glass of juice was squeezed from the fruit that grew on her head. She hadn't even had a chance to enjoy it herself before March 7th drank it all.
"Felicity Juice? What a strange name. Is it from some kind of fruit? Do we have it on the Express?"
March 7th grew even more curious, firing off a barrage of questions.
"It is indeed juice squeezed from a fruit, but I haven't come up with a good name for the fruit yet. You can just call it Felicity Fruit for now."
Felicity said, her expression unchanging, "As for on the Express... I can grow them."
"Yay!" March 7th nodded happily.
Although she didn't know what a "Felicity Fruit" was, considering Felicity's identity and the fruit's name, March 7th guessed it was likely a fruit related to the Abundance.
Otherwise, why would Big Sis Felicity be so hesitant and unable to explain the fruit's origin?
The considerate March 7th didn't plan to press further about the fruit's origin, only looking forward to Felicity making her a few more glasses of Felicity Juice.
One could only wonder what expression March 7th would have after learning the truth.
On the other side, Stelle sidled up mysteriously.
"Big Sis Felicity, Big Sis Felicity, look at me."
As if performing a magic trick, she pulled out a large pile of strange little trinkets from her clothes.
"I found all of these in the trash cans!"
Stelle said smugly. Collecting these things had taken her quite a bit of effort.
"...In a way, you're even more impressive than I am."
Felicity pressed a hand to her forehead in resignation, wondering why she had ever taken her to find treasure chests in the first place.
"Hmph, hmph!"
Having received Felicity's praise, Stelle became even more pleased, raising her head proudly.
"...Huh?"
Felicity suddenly glanced to the side. She sensed that the Express had already entered the cosmos, and she detected a flash of immense life energy.
No... that life energy hadn't disappeared. It was gradually approaching the Express!
Felicity subconsciously furrowed her brows.
"Pom-Pom, have you noticed any problems?" she asked, looking up at Pom-Pom, who was standing to the side adjusting the Express's signal.
"Problems? There shouldn't be any, Pom... The Conductor's control over the voyage has always been precise. Even a small deviation would be very strange, Pom... Huh? It really is off by a tiny bit?"
A puzzled expression appeared on Pom-Pom's face. It immediately raised its guard, but before it could continue, a violent tremor made it lose its balance.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on!?"
The lights in the carriage abruptly went out for a moment, only flickering back on after the Express stabilized.
Felicity immediately summoned vines to steady everyone who had nearly fallen, while simultaneously looking out the window. The sky outside had turned completely blood-red.
In her perception, that vast aura of life had completely overlapped with the Express. A bad premonition surfaced in Felicity's heart.
She turned her head, her gaze falling on a handsome, red-haired man who had appeared at the end of the carriage at some unknown point.
And that wasn't all...
A vine whipped to the side, yanking a giant insect down from the carriage ceiling. She stared coldly at the struggling insect bound on the floor and pointed a finger from a distance.
The giant insect's body rapidly shriveled, then vanished completely.
"Oh?"
The handsome, red-haired man let out a curious sound. He looked at the spot where the giant insect had disappeared, his brow furrowing slightly before quickly smoothing out. He performed a very gentlemanly bow toward Felicity.
"My beautiful lady, please allow me to offer you my sincerest praise. You are like a dewdrop shimmering on a flower petal... Ah, I have yet to introduce myself—my name is Argenti, of the Knights of Beauty. Might I be so bold as to ask for your esteemed name?"
"Felicity. You'd better explain your purpose here, and quickly."
Felicity still had her hand raised. Several vines loosened their grip on the Astral Express crew.
She could accept being in danger herself, but she would never stand to see her companions come to harm. She had already pieced together the situation—the entire Astral Express had likely been swallowed by a giant creature.
Felicity had to ensure the others on the Express could escape safely, so she naturally maintained a high level of vigilance toward this unidentified person.
The vines writhed restlessly by Felicity's side, as if ready to strike the moment Argenti showed any sign of hostility.