Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Robin looked like she was about to snap. Gripping the drill in her hands, she slammed it ruthlessly into the nearby insect carcass.
The roar of the machinery flared up again, successfully shattering the lingering tension between the two.
However, one look at the way Robin's wings were still shielding her flushed little face told the whole story—she was still dying of embarrassment.
Sparkle was absolutely loving it.
Finding a bit of "wholesome" entertainment to kill the time wasn't a bad way to spend the day at all.
"Hehe! This is getting interesting~"
Sparkle sidled up to Sylvia and shoved her own drill into the other girl's hands.
"...Did you say something weird to her just now?"
Sylvia hefted the heavy drill, her eyes narrowing as she shot Sparkle a look of pure suspicion. She had a feeling this mischievous brat was up to no good with that perpetual smirk of hers.
"Oh my, oh my~ What a cruel accusation! Does little Snowy really trust me that little?"
Sparkle put on a show, feigning a sob for a moment. When she realized Sylvia wasn't biting, she didn't mind at all. She tucked her hands away and went right back to her giggling self.
By the looks of it, Robin wasn't planning on speaking again anytime soon. And Sylvia wasn't exactly the type to rush over and break the silence either.
With the "show" over, Sparkle's mood dipped slightly.
"Honestly, this is taking forever... Why don't I just blow it up? The Astral Express shouldn't be that easy to break, right?"
Sparkle puffed out her cheeks, eyeing the organic matter that clung stubbornly to the train's exterior like some grotesque parasite. Ever the hater of tedious work, she was already reaching for her explosives.
"Hmm... hard to say," Sylvia replied, unsure.
Based on the lore she knew, the train's chassis was incredibly sturdy; a bomb or two probably wouldn't leave a scratch. But this was a derelict train they were dealing with.
It had no fuel, and none of its internal systems or protective devices were active. There was no guarantee that a "dead" train possessed the same durability as one running at full power.
"Hmph—"
Sparkle wasn't thrilled with that answer, but she had no choice. She went back to clanging and banging away at the train, eventually even crawling inside the carriages to clear out the internal filth.
--+--
Two days passed in this fashion.
The eccentric duo of Stelle and March 7th arrived on the desolate planet where Sylvia was stationed, leading a group of Xianzhou locals.
The moment they stepped off the spacecraft, March 7th—wearing a very complicated expression—sprinted toward Sylvia.
She grabbed Sylvia's arm and hauled her away, leaving Stelle in the dust.
"Oh wow~ We're finally here! So this is the Astral Express you found, Sylvia?"
Feeling her arm being yanked, Sylvia looked at March with confusion, scanning her up and down. March visibly faltered under the gaze, her expression turning into something quite comical.
Sylvia then glanced back at Stelle, who was trailing behind. Stelle was the same as ever; seeing Sylvia look her way, she just scratched her head and gave a goofy grin by way of greeting.
Sylvia returned the smile, then promptly pulled March 7th off to the side.
"What did you do?" Sylvia whispered curiously. "Did you piss Stelle off?"
"What? No! I'm the picture of grace and harmony, I'll have you know! I never fight with anyone!"
March 7th butchered the idiom and rolled her eyes at Sylvia. Now wasn't the time to nitpick her vocabulary, though. Sylvia stared her down.
"You sure? Then why did you charge over and cling to my arm the second you got off the ship?"
"Well... you know, I just realized we haven't seen each other in days, and I missed you! Ahaha..."
"Do I look like I believe that?"
"..."
March's laughter grew increasingly awkward until she finally hung her head in shame, her face turning a deep shade of crimson. The sight was so out of character that Sylvia found it genuinely eerie.
"Just spit it out. If you keep acting this shy, people are going to think you're about to propose to me."
"As if! Who just jumps straight to a proposal?!"
Perhaps the sarcasm worked, because once March started talking, the words came out in a rush.
"Actually, it's about that time I stayed over... You know, that morning... some things happened..."
Seeing March stumble over her words, Sylvia wondered if she had misheard. Was that it?
"No way... March, are you seriously still embarrassed about that??"
"No, that's not it! Who's embarrassed about that?!"
March 7th glared at Sylvia, her face flushed with indignation. It was all Sylvia's fault for being so charming that Stelle couldn't stop talking about her.
Originally, it was just an accident—March had thought Sylvia smelled really nice while they were sleeping, so she had accidentally gotten a bit... handsy.
Usually, that wouldn't be a big deal. But back on the Express, Stelle was constantly going on about her "dear wife" this and "dear wife" that.
On top of that, March had originally planned to play wingman for Stelle. But before she could even land an assist, she had ended up dragging Sylvia into her own bed and doing... weird things.
More importantly, she had slept so well that night. Sylvia was just too comfortable to cuddle with.
As a result, over the last two days, every time Stelle mentioned Sylvia's name, March couldn't help but recall the soft, warm sensation of that morning. She was losing her mind.
She felt like she had secretly made a move on her best friend's crush.
But she didn't even have those kinds of feelings! She really just thought hugging Sylvia felt nice... there was nothing weird about it. Truly.
Now, every time she looked at Stelle's innocent face, she felt a wave of "homewrecker" guilt.
That was why, when Himeko asked who wanted to go on a long trip to find Sylvia, March was the first to raise her hand. She figured Stelle would be too busy with the Aurum Alley project to come along.
Who knew Stelle would say the project was back on track and that she was taking a few days off? It made March feel like she was being followed by an investigator looking for an affair.
For the past two days on the ship, she'd had to pretend everything was fine while listening to Stelle ramble about Sylvia. It was a miracle her nerves hadn't snapped entirely.
Normally, March would never tell Sylvia something like this. But she couldn't take it anymore. She had no other young girls around to talk about this kind of stuff with. It wasn't like she could go to Himeko.
So, with a bright red face, March poured out all her strange, convoluted thoughts in a jumbled, rambling mess.
After listening to this bizarre psychological drama, Sylvia bypassed the fluff and went straight for the jugular.
"...Setting everything else aside, March... are you saying you actually do have designs on me?"
"NO!! Why is that the only thing you took away from this?!"
March's face was so red it looked like it might actually start bleeding. It was embarrassing enough to confide in Sylvia, but Sylvia just had to go and land a critical hit. Was this girl even human?!
"Of course I'm going to focus on that. Besides, you were mumbling in your sleep that night about how good I smelled and giggling like a creep."
"Ugh... stop talking. Just let me die."
March covered her face, resigned to her fate.
Right then, a pair of arms reached out from behind and pulled Sylvia into a tight hug.
Under March's wide-eyed, shell-shocked stare, Stelle buried her face in the crook of Sylvia's neck and took a deep, satisfied breath.
"She's right. Sylvia, you really do smell amazing~"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.