Later
"...this is honestly not what I expected for my room,"
Zhi Jiang blankly stares at the storeroom, which is full of dust along with a shelf filled with empty can, a box full of unused tools, and so much more. Himeko and March, who volunteered to bring him to his room, could only smile sheepishly.
"To be fair, we didn't expect to gain another member of the Nameless," March admits.
"And thankfully, you reminded us about it. So, we had asked Asta to help us build more carts for our train." Himeko explains.
"You know, I never got to ask you guys, but how does the train even travel through space?" Zhi Jiang asks curiously.
"The Astral Express is one of the gifts granted by our Aeon, the Aeon of Trailblaze known as Akivili. THEY are very well known to travel around the cosmos along with mortals using this exact train. This train is special because it is blessed by Akivili, allowing it to travel from one world to another by creating an invisible trail known as the Star Rail," Himeko explains. "Star Rail isn't just giving us a special path from one planet to another, but it is also connecting civilization we visit to another civilization. They could also use that rail to travel or even exchange trades."
"Wait, for real?" Zhi Jiang was surprised to hear that information. Basically, Astral Express could help other planets connect to the vast world of the cosmos, even the one that has yet to invent space travel.
"Yup!" March says with a bright smile.
"But, Star Rail isn't going to last forever," Himeko says with a frown. "Remember what I said before, we're retracing the steps of our Aeon. The star rail across the cosmos had been severed by the Stellaron, the planet-ending interruptions I mentioned before."
"Stellaron..." Zhi Jiang mutters, wondering about the doomsday device people feared. "Just curious, how many planets that you guys visit had a Stellaron crisis?"
This was met with silence as Himeko rubbed her chin, muttering something while March pulled out her notebook and looked through the pages. Zhi Jiang blinked as he wasn't expecting them to count, especially since this kind of thing should've been remembered.
"If I remember, most of the planets we visited before meeting Herta were 6, and...5 of them have Stellaron crisis." March counts.
"Before March joined in, there were 7 planets we visited, and 3 of them had Stellaron Crisis, so...8 so far," Himeko mutters.
"...why do I have a feeling me joining increases the chance of encountering a Stellaron-made disaster?" Zhi Jiang sweatdrops.
"Don't jinx it!" Both woman exclaims as Zhi Jiang shrinks.
"Anyways..." Himeko calms down before looking around the room. "We need to clean this place before putting any furniture..."
"I think that goes without saying..." March mutters as Zhi Jiang grabs a broom, one of the cleaning tools they brought, and starts sweeping. March and Himeko can't help but blanch at how Zhi Jiang sweeps.
The way he holds it is just so wrong, his left hand holding at the top end while his right hand holding the broom head. It was like he was trying to hold a shovel.
"...Zhi Jiang, what are you doing?" March says blankly, causing Zhi Jiang to blink.
"Um, sweeping the floor?" Zhi Jiang says like it was the most obvious thing.
"...you're holding your broom like you're holding a shovel..." March says in a deadpan manner.
"...to be fair," Zhi Jiang mutters, his face turns crimson. "It's been years since I swept the floor..."
March knows she shouldn't be laughing, but she can't help it as he not only looks silly, but somewhat adorable.
"Here..." March approaches him while biting her lower lip to hold her laughter. "T-this is how you should sweep..."
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After cleaning his new room, Zhi Jiang is once again dragged to the space station store to buy some furniture. Himeko had decided that she and Welt would pay for the basic furniture (Bed, table, chair, shelves, trashcan, etc). Zhi Jiang tried to insist on paying himself since he also got a hefty amount of cash, but Himeko wasn't having it.
She simply responded that it was their fault for not considering a possible new person joining the Nameless, so it's a way to remedy it.
"Come on, you should get yourself a cool-looking bed!" March exclaims as she points at one unique-looking bed. It looks like the usual bunkbed, but the lower bed is replaced with a desk instead, along with a tiny bookshelf.
"March, that cost a lot, and Ms. Himeko simply asks me to get basic furniture." Zhi Jiang sweatdrops. He already got his stuff prepaid by someone who isn't his mother; he would rather not try to take even more advantages on her.
"But, this one is basically 3 pieces of furniture in one! I mean, if you buy a basic bed along with a set of desk and chair, it'll cost even more!" March pouts. Zhi Jiang stares at her for a moment, noticing how her tone doesn't sound as honest as when they have a normal conversation.
To make sure March didn't lie, he went to check himself, and to his surprise, March was being truthful. So, reluctantly, he told Himeko about the furniture, and she agreed, while March, in the background, cheered.
"I'm the one who's buying this, and yet you're the one who's excited?" Zhi Jiang can't help but be confused by March's excitement.
"No offense, Zhi Jiang. But, after you showed to be clueless at sweeping, I had a gut feeling you might had no idea how to decorate your room." March says with a teasing smile. "I'm simply saving your dignity from anyone visiting your room and calling you plain."
"...One, ouch. Two, fair play."
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"....hi..."
Zhi Jiang awkwardly waves at Dan Heng, who glances at him for a moment before he gives him a small nod and goes back to reading his book. Zhi Jiang can't help but feel more awkward as he was expecting a response, but alas, Dan Heng proved to be a quiet person.
After the shopping, Himeko suggests that he should go and visit the Express's Data Archives to get more information. Being a human new to the vast world of the cosmos, he is like a fish out of water, completely inexperienced and lacking any crucial knowledge of possible dangers.
Zhi Jiang glances around the bookshelves on both sides of the room before silently glancing at Dan Heng. He blinks when he notices a bed cover, a bed sheet, and a pillow on the floor.
"You...live here?" Zhi Jiang can't help but ask as Dan Heng raises his head to face the newcomer before nodding. "Oh...cool....do you have a recommendation on which book I should read? Specifically for any information regarding planets, Aeons, and so on?"
"Left shelf, second row, at the very left, the blue book." Dan Heng says simply, as Zhi Jiang nods.
"Thanks...uh, enjoy your reading..." Zhi Jiang says as Dan Heng simply nods and goes back to reading his book. Zhi Jiang glances at the left shelf and finds the blue book Dan Heng mentioned. As he pulls the book from the shelf and looks at the cover, he can't help but blanch.
[A Guide to the Cosmic Intergalactic Alliance For Dummies - Written by the Perless Gem: Madam Herta]
"I know I'm clueless, but this title alone makes me feel so insulted..." Zhi Jiang mutters before he hears a quiet snort, and he looks at Dan Heng, who's still reading his book.
'Great, even the silent guy thinks I'm a clueless idiot...' Zhi Jiang can't help but sigh before he opens the book and slowly walks out of the archive.
Despite his first impression of Herta, mostly based on everyone's opinion of her, Zhi Jiang admits that if Herta decided to become a teacher, she would be a very good one. For a genius, they love their technobabble, which tends to confuse a lot of the audience since not everyone is familiar with some of the more complicated terms used in certain research topics.
But Herta made it easy to understand. She knows that not everyone is a genius like her (Zhi Jiang didn't know if it's due to her arrogance or an actual understanding), so she made every explanation easy to digest for normal people. Zhi Jiang honestly believe if an idiot reads this, they can still understand every explanation she provides.
The book provided a lot of basic information on Aeons and Paths as well. At first, this confused Zhi Jiang as he wondered how it even related to the Intergalactic Alliance, but as he read, he realized how Aeons and Path play a very important role in the cosmic world.
Every planet has its own factions, and each factions follow a certain Path like it was their personal philosophy, and worships a certain Aeon based on their chosen Path. One of the examples is Herta, a member of the Genius Society, a faction chosen by the Aeon called Nous, who follows the path of Erudition.
Or like him and Nameless, the Astral Express follows the path of Trailblaze. He just realized that Astral Express is considered by anyone as one of the renowned Factions, and how a lot of people desire to ally themselves with them.
Zhi Jiang was lucky to get the chance to meet them the moment he woke up from his death, because he had no idea what he do if he was sent in the middle of nowhere.
He ignored his dark thought, suggesting an 'idea' as he continued to read the book.
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"So...you're also from Earth..."
Zhi Jiang can be seen sitting beside Welt in the party car as the old man sips his tea. Welt nods at Zhi Jiang's word while adjusting his glasses.
"Indeed...to think that I would encounter someone from the same planet as me..." Welt says. "I admit, this is too much to be a coincidence."
"Yeah..." Zhi Jiang mutters. "...have you ever found a way to return?"
"...unfortunately, no," Welt says apologetically as Zhi Jiang sighs. "Believe me, I had tried."
"Yeah..." Zhi Jiang says as they fall in silence. "...what country did you come from?"
"I'm from Finland, but I have been travelling around the world with my father since I was a child..." Welt says with a bitter smile.
"...sorry." Zhi Jiang didn't need a genius-level intellect to even realize how his question had unintentionally brought a bad memory for Mr. Welt.
"Don't worry too much," Welt says with a soft smile. "Anyways, what do you think of the Astral Express?"
"Well...it's a very nice place, kinda like an oversized RV..." Zhi Jiang admits. "You guys are nice, especially towards someone who could've been suspected as an intruder...maybe too nice."
"We are confident you are not an intruder. Well, not an intruder with a malicious intention..." Welt corrects himself. "And you seem very lost, and as the Nameless of the Astral Express, we help people when we can."
"...and Ms. Himeko says you guys aren't self-righteous enough," Zhi Jiang jokes weakly, earning a light chuckle from Welt.
"For me, it's more of a kinship with a fellow Earthling stranded in the middle of space." Welt jokes as well, causing Zhi Jiang to chuckle.
"Still, thanks for the help..." Zhi Jiang says with a small smile. Welt merely nods before Himeko approaches him.
"I see you're talking with Mr. Welt," Himeko says before glancing at the older man. "And he didn't prepare any drinks for you?"
"Pfft...I, ah....eh..." Welt can't help but stammer. He had forgotten to offer the young man a drink, and he felt slightly embarrassed.
"I-it's fine, Ms. Himeko. It was just a small talk..." Zhi Jiang waves it off.
"Even so, it's a basic courtesy to offer a drink to a guest, or in your case, a newcomer," Himeko says before looking at Zhi Jiang. "I plan to make a cup of coffee, would you like one?"
"...it's been years since I drank one. S-sure...if you don't mind, miss..." Zhi Jiang nods as Himeko smiles and walks off, not noticing the horrified look on Welt's face.
"Kid...forgive me, I should've warned you earlier..." Welt says apologetically, confusing Zhi Jiang. "W-when Himeko offers a coffee, you should have rejected it."
"...won't it be rude?" Zhi Jiang asks in confusion.
"Not when the drink could've killed you." Welt hissed, and before Zhi Jiang could respond, Himeko had finished preparing and placed a cup of her special-brewed coffee in front of Zhi Jiang. Welt widens his eyes in horror while Zhi Jiang beams a bit.
"Here you go," Himeko says with a smile as Zhi Jiang grabs the cup, not noticing Welt constantly waving his hands in panic, begging Zhi Jiang not to drink it. He takes a huge sip while Welt turns slightly pale.
For a moment, no one says a word as they watch Zhi Jiang sip his coffee. He gently places down the cup and smiles a bit.
"A bit bitter than I remember, but it's nice." Zhi Jiang says honestly as Himeko smiles brightly while Welt's jaw drops.
"I'm glad you like it. It's my special brew." Himeko says before walking away while humming. Welt stares at Zhi Jiang in disbelief.
"I don't get what's bad about this. I've tasted a lot of bad stuff, but this isn't one." Zhi Jiang glances at Welt in confusion.
'Ah, that explains it. The boy has an iron stomach...'
To be Continued