『 Boothill patted Dan Heng hard on the shoulder. "Though I don't know what you've been through, a man's gotta take responsibility for his own actions. I agree with that. No one else can do it for you."
"And that's exactly why a Galaxy Ranger must personally find that impostor… and figure out what exactly she's trying to do."
"Just in case that Memokeeper never shows up, I've got a backup plan… and it's the last one."
Dan Heng shook his head speechlessly. "You certainly have a lot of backup plans."
Boothill shrugged somewhat helplessly. "I'm actually not very good at all this beating around the bush. If I could go back to my old line of work, a lot of things would become much simpler."
Boothill looked at Dan Heng, a mischievous grin appearing on his face as he asked, "By the way, when you were walking around the hotel, did you happen to see any... important-looking guests?" 』
『 ....』
〘March 7th〙: There's something really wrong with this question…
〘Lumine〙: He's planning a kidnapping, isn't he? It has to be.
....
『 Dan Heng looked at him suspiciously, asking cautiously in return, "What are you trying to do?"
"It's simple." Boothill put one hand on his hip and confidently stated his method. "We just grab some hostages and use them as bargaining chips with The Family. Or maybe we can even take their identities—" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: He just blurted it out like that…
〘Asta〙: Ahaha, it seems the Rangers don't have a bad reputation for nothing.
〘Sampo〙: You can tell he's done this plenty of times.
....
『 "No need. We are returning to the Express right now," Dan Heng interrupted Boothill's enthusiastic spiel without hesitation.
Boothill's voice gradually grew louder. "What! Don't tell me you're scared, brother? Pull out your gun, let's go do something big!" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: You already called him brother, so what else is there to say? Brother, let's do it!
〘Hotaru〙: But, don't you have to enter Penacony without taking hostages?
〘Stelle〙: Oh right, then I'm backing out, brother.
〘Boothill〙: You've got the potential of those bad friends of mine, hahaha.
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: Dan Heng still has a good head on his shoulders. He wouldn't do something like this.
〘Sampo〙: Oh, what a pity. I actually really wanted to see the Nameless on a wanted poster. That kind of contrast would definitely be a lot of fun.
〘March 7th〙: You have the nerve to say that! Back in Belobog, who was the one who got us onto the wanted list? And even if we were wanted, why did the drawings have to be so ugly?
〘Stelle〙: A masterpiece by the modern art master—(Gepard. Scribbly March 7th cheering wildly.jpg)
〘Lumine〙: My eyes!
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: My eyes!
〘Griseo〙: Mr. Demon, take me away quickly…
〘Gepard〙: Is it really that bad? Aren't the features very distinct?
....
『 What the two of them didn't notice was that while they were speaking, the bartender who had left earlier had returned, carefully holding a bottle of wine in his hand.
"Are you two leaving? Should I cancel the Asdana White Oak you ordered just now?"
Boothill turned his head in confusion. "…Huh? Asdana White Oak? But didn't you say just now…"
The bartender simply smiled. "Haha, it seems you two are a bit tipsy. Just half a minute ago, you ordered a bottle of Asdana White Oak from me." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: 'The Mysterious Lady Who Steps In' is finally here. If she didn't show up now, these two would have gone back.
〘Stelle〙: Isn't this ability of yours a bit too buggy? Quietly altering memories just like that?
〘Aha〙: Is it an illusion? When?
....
『 "It seems… your Memokeeper friend has come looking for you," Dan Heng reminded Boothill.
Boothill quickly nodded. "…Oh right, right, right. Look at my brain. This is what happens when you get too many cybernetic modifications. Forgetful!"
Boothill took the wine bottle from the bartender and examined it. "Let me check... Well fork me... It's Asdana's White Oak alright, and there's a note..."
"'…I'll be waiting for you on the Astral Express.'" 』
『 ....』
〘Stelle〙: And we're right back to where we started after going all the way around.
〘·HSR· Himeko Murata〙: It's very similar to us, isn't it?
〘Silver Wolf〙: Probably a little Easter egg left by the writer.
....
『 Dan Heng leaned forward, looking at the line of words on the bottle, and nodded in confirmation. "It's her message to you, no doubt about it. She knows we are acting together, and she also knows the hotel isn't safe, so she wanted to find a place away from prying eyes."
"In the end, after a huge detour, we're back to the Astral Express. What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
The scene shifted, arriving back on the Express. Seeing Boothill and Dan Heng return, Pam walked over to them.
"You're back? Two guests just boarded, saying they were looking for Boothill, so I told them to wait in the Parlor Car first, Pam."
"Oh! Just in time." Boothill remarked that their timing was perfect.
But Dan Heng was somewhat puzzled. "…Two guests?" 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: No-prize quiz: Who is the other person besides Black Swan?
〘Hanabi〙: A. Acheron, B. The Dreammaster, C. The super, super, super, incredibly, insanely cute Miss Hanabi, D. Red Herring.
〘Stelle〙: What even is a red herring?
〘Lumine〙: In mystery works, a completely irrelevant clue is called a red herring. Basically, a distraction.
〘Aha〙: Attorney's badge, Phoenix's pen.
〘March 7th〙: What is Aha talking about?
〘Stelle〙: No idea. I always feel like he has some shady deal going on with the light screen.
....
{What nonsense! Aha and I are completely innocent.}
『 In the next moment, a blue figure materialized from illusion into reality within the carriage.
"That's her." Pam pointed a finger at the appearing Black Swan, complaining with dissatisfaction in their tone, "Even though the Astral Express welcomes every passenger, sneaking in one by one… aren't you all treating yourselves a bit too much like family, Pam!"
"My apologies, Conductor. It was my lack of courtesy, mistakenly assuming the Express was already very familiar with the Garden of Recollection…"
Accompanying Black Swan's words, the camera slowly panned to the potted plant in the carriage, where a cracked blue mirror stood.
"Right now, the situation in Penacony is intricate and complex. Only you, Nameless, are left to be trusted." 』
『 ....』
〘·HSR· Welt Yang〙: A mirror? Since when did we have that on the Express?
〘Stelle〙: Oh, that. I told you guys about it before. A Memokeeper came aboard the Express, but your memories seemed to have been wiped by the Garden of Recollection, so I didn't bring it up again.
〘·HSR· Himeko Murata〙: To think such a thing happened… We didn't notice at all.
〘March 7th〙: Hey, this is way too much!
〘Black Swan〙: I apologize for this action, but please rest assured, this is a win-win transaction between the Garden of Recollection and the Express. And according to my colleague, Miss Stelle really likes the things inside.
〘Stelle〙: Ahahaha…
〘March 7th〙: Did you seriously summon Aha just to beg for mercy? You sneaky Stelle, take this elbow!
....
(No, I won't be changing Aha's name or how THEY act based on the 4.5 lore reveal. Remember, this fic was written one year ago, so this version of Aha is just the author's original headcanon/speculation. Let's just leave it as is.)