"No, brother, ten thousand Shield must be a large sum of money for you too, right?"
Sampo clearly hadn't expected Takatsuki to actually be able to produce ten thousand Shield. Just as he was about to say something to persuade him, he saw Takatsuki pull out a palm-sized small bag from his pocket.
"No, brother, you're not going to say that this bag of yours has ten thousand Shield, are you? Uncle Sampo doesn't accept credit, you know."
Sampo almost burst out laughing when he saw the small bag.
"Of course I know."
Takatsuki opened the small bag and turned its opening downwards...
Clatter...
Shield fell from the small bag, one by one, onto the ground.
One, two, three, four, five...
A small mountain, taller than two people's ankles, had piled up on the ground, and the Shield falling from the small bag still hadn't stopped.
"Th-th-this... what's going on with this bag?"
Sampo's eyes widened as he watched the bag in Takatsuki's hand. The Shield falling from the bag was already dozens of times larger than the bag itself, but it still hadn't stopped.
How much is ten thousand Shield?
Many people might not have had a concept before, but today they did.
The Shield continued to fall, faster and faster, in increasing numbers. Soon, a small mountain that reached everyone's calves piled up on the ground.
"Ten thousand Shield, all in order. You can count them."
Suddenly, no more Shield fell from the bag. Takatsuki closed the small bag and, under everyone's gaze, put the small bag, which had poured out dozens of times its capacity, into his pocket.
Although only ten thousand Shield fell from this bag, everyone knew that this ten thousand was only because Takatsuki paid ten thousand. Who knew how much was actually inside?
"Brother, my good brother, this is..."
Sampo looked at the Shield at his feet, his eyes fixed on the small bag Takatsuki put into his pocket.
"What this is has nothing to do with you. Here, the ten thousand Shield you wanted. I've paid. Where's your information?"
Sampo gave two awkward laughs, but since Takatsuki had already paid, he couldn't go back on his word and spoke.
"Ahaha, I didn't expect brother to be so rich."
Sampo rubbed his hands: "Don't worry!"
"I, Sampo, will never go back on my word. I'll tell you all the information I know right now, brother."
Although Sampo was very cunning and opportunistic, in the end, he didn't pull any more tricks and said.
"Brother, since you know the concepts of planets and the universe, you should know that there are countless star systems in our world."
"Mhm."
Takatsuki naturally knew this concept. For example, Earth is in the Milky Way galaxy.
"The Astral Express is a train created by the Trailblaze Aeon. It travels on the tracks of the starry sky, reaching different star systems along its path, fulfilling the mission of Trailblaze. If you, brother, want to board the Astral Express, you'll have to wait for the Astral Express to arrive at this planet and obtain the consent of the Nameless on the train. Of course..."
Sampo smiled: "You can also fight your way on, but I don't recommend it, as people who can travel between star systems are likely not weak."
After hearing Sampo's words, big Seele asked with some doubt: "Hey, you wouldn't be making this up, would you? What Aeons, star systems, do such things really exist?"
"Oh, oh, Miss Seele, I, old Sampo, never deceive my clients, especially big clients like Takatsuki. I can't even pamper such clients enough."
Upon hearing big Seele's words, Sampo immediately feigned innocence.
However, Takatsuki didn't care about their conversation and asked, "Then do you know when the Astral Express will arrive here?"
"Brother, you're making things difficult for old Sampo. Old Sampo just does business in Belobog, reselling ancient relics. How could I know about things outside this planet?"
"But, didn't Uncle Sampo know about the Astral Express that crosses star systems?"
Little Seele also asked from the side.
"Little Miss Seele, Uncle Sampo only knew about this matter from ancient texts."
"Texts?"
"That's right."
Sampo nodded with a smile: "It's normal for me, Sampo, to unearth so many ancient relics and find some ancient texts. Hundreds of years ago, this planet was frequently visited by extraterrestrial beings, and that certainly included the Astral Express."
"But now, the cold wave has sealed off Belobog, and we've completely lost the means to contact the outside world."
"Is that so? Then there's no other way. We can only wait for the Astral Express to come here."
Takatsuki hadn't considered going into the universe to search for it himself, but on one hand, he didn't have that ability, and Belobog probably didn't either, especially since they no longer had any means of contacting the outside.
And the system placing him here, just like previous missions, meant that the way to complete the mission must be nearby.
"Are you two done chatting?"
Just then, Natasha walked over, looking at the large pile of Shields stacked on the ground.
"These Shields, you should put them away as soon as possible. This is a clinic, not an exchange."
"Alright, alright, Dr. Natasha, I'll clean them up right away."
Sampo immediately squatted down and put the Shields from the ground into the box he had just found, handful by handful.
"Takatsuki, what was that thing just now? How could it hold so many things?"
Watching Sampo count his money, big Seele couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked.
"That? Oh, it's just a space that can store things, allowing me to carry all my belongings with me."
Takatsuki chose to tell a half-truth. The storage space was real, but it wasn't that small bag.
Takatsuki had merely projected a small bag, then opened the Gate of Babylon's exit inside the bag.
"There's actually something like that? Takatsuki, are you also from another planet?"
After understanding a bit about the world's universe, Takatsuki dared to say a little more.
"Sort of. It's just that my method of travel has some issues; I randomly appear anywhere on another planet."
"I see."
Having seen so many strange things, big Seele no longer doubted him.
"Speaking of which."
Takatsuki asked, "I wanted to ask earlier, but I figured Sampo would try to raise the price, so I didn't. What was that Trailblaze Aeon you just mentioned?"
"I'm not sure, it should be the Aeon responsible for trailblazing."
"What's an Aeon?"
"Huh? You don't know what an Aeon is?"
Takatsuki shook his head.
"Even I know. We in Belobog worship the Preservation Aeon, Qlipoth. It's Qlipoth's power that has allowed Belobog to endure in this cold wave until now. However... even the power of the Amber Lord couldn't save this world."