Chapter 111: A Crestfallen March, and a New Visitor?
It was morning on the Astral Express.
March 7th sat curled on the parlor car sofa, a steaming cup of soy milk cradled in her hands. Her gaze kept darting towards Stelle, who had just sauntered in, a flicker of guilt and apprehension clouding her bright eyes. Her fingers traced the warm rim of the cup, a nervous, unconscious habit.
Last night, she had used the Sheep Talisman to slip into Stelle's dream, intending to pull a simple prank. Instead, she'd been caught red-handed and strong-armed into signing a series of humiliating terms—the most dreadful of which was a pact to go "adventuring" into Dan Heng's dream alongside Stelle.
The thought of it was a tiny, sharp thorn pricking at her conscience, making her restless. Whenever she pictured Dan Heng's clear, calm eyes, and imagined the sheer mortification of being caught by him… March 7th couldn't help but shiver.
"Morning, March!" Stelle's voice was a burst of sunshine. She plopped down onto the sofa next to her friend, casually snatching a pastry from the table and popping it into her mouth with a satisfied hum.
"G-good morning, Stelle," March 7th replied, her voice a little thin, her gaze distant.
Finally, as Stelle poured herself a glass of juice, clearly gearing up for another day of cheerful chaos, March 7th couldn't bear the suspense any longer. She cleared her throat, deciding to seize the initiative. "Um… Stelle," she began, probing cautiously, "how did you… sleep last night? Did you… have any special dreams?"
Her voice was laced with a tension she couldn't quite conceal.
Stelle chewed her pastry, tilting her head in thought. A moment later, her eyes lit up, a brilliant, almost blinding smile spreading across her face. "A dream? I did! I had a super—awesome dream!"
"Huh? Wh-what dream?" March 7th's heart leaped into her throat. She was terrified Stelle was about to say, 'I dreamed a pink-haired idiot broke in and started causing trouble.'
"Of course, it was…" Stelle began, gesticulating with both hands, her expression one of pure, unadulterated bliss. "The Annual Best Bin Award Ceremony!"
March 7th's heart, which had been suspended somewhere near her tonsils, came crashing back down into her chest. This was followed by an indescribable… anticlimax. After all that, the girl's dream was filled with trash cans?
She had been on edge all night, wrestling with a guilty conscience, only to find out the other party had completely forgotten her "crime." The feeling was… complicated. She was relieved, but also vaguely, inexplicably aggrieved.
"Oh… oh! The Best Bin Award! That's… that's a really great dream!" March 7th forced a smile, her tone hollow.
Stelle, however, keenly caught the subtle note of disappointment in her friend's voice. A low chuckle escaped her, and she suddenly leaned closer, her voice dropping to a mischievous, cunning whisper.
"But you know… even though my dream was perfect, I haven't forgotten our little agreement to 'go adventuring in Dan Heng's dream'! We'll find the right opportunity, hehehe…" She punctuated the promise with a playful wink.
March 7th's face instantly flushed a deep, furious crimson. Of course! The raccoon remembered everything! There was no escaping last night's dark history. The flicker of guilt that had just dissipated was immediately consumed by the burning shame of, 'I knew it.'
It seemed the plan to torment Dan Heng was set in stone.
"You… you!" March 7th pointed an accusing finger at Stelle, so mortified she was momentarily speechless.
But faced with Stelle's smug, "plan-succeeded" expression, she found it impossible to stay angry. With a sigh of resignation, she slumped back against the sofa cushions. "Alright, alright, I know!" she muttered. "Honestly… you completely played me…"
Still, since she had discovered a new use for her talisman, how could she not share—or rather, show off—in the chat group? A spark of inspiration hit her. March 7th pulled out her phone and tapped out a message.
[Astral Express · March 7th]: "@All Members Major discovery! Major discovery! I've developed a new use for the Sheep Talisman! I can enter other people's dreams now!"
[Astral Express · Stelle]: "That's right! And it can even change the dream. Custom-made, exclusive dreams! Highly recommended!"
[Eternal Freeze Zero · Ling]: "Wow! How amazing! Talismans can be used like that?"
[Genshin Impact · Lumine]: "Entering dreams? Interesting. Here in Inazuma, we have a youkai called the Baku that can also enter dreams. It even opened a dream therapy shop, which has a pretty good reputation."
[Paimon]: "Oh?! Paimon remembers! That's Komakata's shop! You really do feel better after the therapy."
[Astral Express · Dan Heng]: "Regarding dream entry, the Xianzhou Zhuming also has Baku with similar abilities. There are also certain draconic lineages on the Luofu that can invade a person's dreamscape, but records of individuals entering another's dream are indeed rare."
Dan Heng's reply was as erudite as ever. Yet, as he typed the words "dream entry," a strange premonition sent an involuntary chill down his spine. He instinctively tightened the collar of his coat.
'Is the air conditioning turned up too high?' he wondered, glancing at the vent in confusion.
Back in the parlor car, March 7th was basking in the joy of sharing her discovery and the amazed replies from her friends, her metaphorical tail practically wagging.
The next moment, however, a new message appeared in the group, dousing her excitement like a bucket of ice water.
[Genshin Impact · Zhongli]: "A dream-sending method? This art also has a legacy in Teyvat. I have manually transcribed a basic method, which has been stored in the group files. If you are interested, you may retrieve and study it at your leisure. Should you have any questions, you may also ask me at any time."
Zhongli's message was concise, yet it detonated like a thunderclap in March 7th's mind.
She stared blankly at the screen. She looked down at her Sheep Talisman, which she treasured like a priceless artifact and for which she had just signed a soul-crushing contract. Then she thought about the dream-entering method, readily available in the group files, complete with personal tutoring from the Geo Archon himself…
An overwhelming sense of grievance washed over her.
"Ahhhhh—!!!" March 7th clutched her head, letting out a silent, agonized wail as her face crumpled in despair.
'Mr. Zhongli! Why didn't you say you had something this good earlier?! What about all those unequal treaties I signed last night?!'
Stelle watched her friend's complete transformation—from smug to petrified to utterly broken—and fought to suppress her laughter, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
Just as March 7th was drowning in the misery of being left in the dust by progress, Welt's calm voice echoed through the car. "Everyone, please gather in the observation car. There's something I need to announce."
Their emotional rollercoaster interrupted, March 7th, Stelle—who was still hiding her snickers—Dan Heng, who emerged from the data bank, and Himeko, who was elegantly sipping her coffee, all gathered in the center of the room.
However, when their gazes fell upon the young man standing quietly beside Welt, their expressions instantly shifted. Only Himeko and Dan Heng remained composed.
Stelle's eyes widened. As if by reflex, she leaned forward slightly, dropping into a battle-ready stance. She abruptly yanked a still-dazed March 7th behind her and whispered urgently, "March! Don't just stand there! Group up! The Boss spawned!"
"Huh? Group up? Boss?" March 7th stumbled, pulled along by Stelle, and looked up with a blank expression.
Her eyes followed Stelle's wary gaze. When she saw that gentle, yet somehow distant, handsome face, she gasped.
"Stelle… Sunday?! What is he doing here?!"
Almost instinctively, her ice-blue longbow materialized in her hand. An arrow of pure frost was nocked and aimed squarely at the uninvited guest.
The atmosphere in the car instantly froze over.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]