"Hello, Miss Himeko. I've heard so much about you."
Inside Veyl's orphanage, Veyl smiled at Himeko, who had just stepped through the door, and extended her hand in a friendly gesture.
"Miss Veyl, hello."
Himeko shook Veyl's hand, returning the smile. The woman's bionic arm was cold to the touch, yet it gave off an illusion of not being purely mechanical.
"You've all come for the underground reservoir, I presume. Please, have a seat."
Veyl gestured towards a table that had already been prepared, seemingly aware of their purpose for coming.
"Whoa... calm down! Even though she's a big sister type, she shouldn't be your XP, right!?"
Outside the door, the moment March saw Veyl, she latched onto Stelle's arm. This was someone's orphanage! If Stelle's brain short-circuited and she started getting handsy with the headmistress in front of all the children... wouldn't the Astral Express's reputation be ruined?!
"Um... you're right. Miss Veyl isn't my XP."
Stelle nodded in solemn agreement, then fixed her gaze on Veyl, sizing her up carefully.
Hmm... short, deep-red hair, exuding an aura that was simultaneously outgoing yet restrained. Heroic features, but with a gentle softness in her brow. A well-tailored suit that traced her figure from top to bottom. It didn't reveal anything, but at the same time, it seemed to... And those bionic arms! C'mon! Those were bionic arms!
"Hey! Didn't you just say she wasn't your XP?! Your eyes are practically glued to her!"
March frantically tightened her grip on Stelle's arm. Stelle felt a soft, supple sensation on her arm, followed by March's warm breath by her ear.
"Mmm... that's... that's true, but my XP doesn't listen to me."
Stelle put on a pitiful, aggrieved expression.
"Hiss! You're coming with me right now!"
March quickly dragged Stelle out of the orphanage. Danger! It was simply too dangerous! It was better not to let Stelle inside. With Sister Himeko there, things should be fine, right?
"Ehehe."
Stelle looked at the completely oblivious March, a silly grin spreading across her face.
No matter what happened, she, Stelle, was the winner!
"..."
Smack.
Wende slapped a hand against his own forehead, then quickly turned away, unable to watch the scene any longer.
It's over... this account is a lost cause! Can I just start a new one?!
"Benefactor? Is your head hurting again?"
Seeing Wende looking like he was about to lose it, Tingyun quickly leaned in with concern.
"Uh... it wasn't hurting before, but it is now."
"Huh?"
Looking at Tingyun's confused expression, Wende took a deep breath. He could feel Jingliu's smiling gaze on him from the side. On second thought, maybe starting a new account... wasn't necessary. After all, he was the one who had to suffer either way.
Dammit, when exactly did it all start! Are these really the kind of troubles I'm supposed to have?
Right, it's all Phantylia's fault! Phantylia! May you die a horrible death!
"I have a feeling you're thinking about something inappropriate..."
Jingliu walked over and said softly.
"Ahahaha... how could that be?"
Wende scratched his head and gave a dry laugh. Then, pretending as if he had just remembered something, he spotted Jack, who had just entered the orphanage, and hurried over to him.
"Oh! Brother Jack, I was wondering if you had any ginger beer or something? Some ingredients would be great too. I'll show everyone my skills tonight..."
He then slung an arm over the bewildered Jack's shoulder and headed towards Meryl's mansion.
"Sister Jingliu, Benefactor is..."
Tingyun watched Wende's figure practically fleeing in disarray, looking at Jingliu with continued confusion.
"Tsk... Just think of it as a little hobby of his. Perhaps I was a bit too strict with his upbringing when he was young... Oh well. Since he likes to be passive, just let him be. Tingyun, you mustn't always just go along with his whims."
Jingliu watched Wende's retreating figure, the corners of her mouth curled into a mischievous smirk, like... a venomous snake that had spotted its prey.
"!!!"
Dan Heng, who had just finished surveying the surroundings and entered the orphanage, looked at Jingliu's expression with absolute horror. He had no memories of her, but that look... it felt disturbingly familiar. He should probably call Jing Yuan later... oh, right, interstellar communications on Punklorde were still down.
Wait a minute! If interstellar communications on Punklorde are down, then how has Blade—the guy who plays games with him every day and gets flamed by him every day—been teaming up with him online?
Dan Heng had discovered a blind spot.
"It seems I need to tell everyone about this... Although the relationship between the Express and the Stellaron Hunters is delicate right now, we can't afford not to be cautious."
Making a mental note, Dan Heng walked into Veyl's orphanage, earning a disdainful look from Jingliu as he passed.
---o---
"This is ridiculous. I've only been gone a few years, how dare every Tom, Dick, and Harry crawl out of the sewers and act like they're somebody?"
Silver Wolf kicked a hacker to the ground with a look of disgust. The hacker, however, wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he looked like a complete moron, sticking his tongue out and rolling around on the ground.
"Hmm... so there's a survivor base over here in the Scrapyard. It seems this not-so-bright hacker must have come from there."
Kafka pressed a finger to her chin, her expression thoughtful.
In the past two days, they had gotten a general lay of the land in the Scrapyard. The factions here were even messier than Silver Wolf's bedroom after she hadn't left it for three days...
A survivor base, the Cinder Gang which Silver Wolf had previously wiped out, a Scavenger camp... hmm. Aside from that interesting kid in the Cinder Gang camp, the rest were all a bit dull. And there was also a Masked Fool here, disguised as a merchant, trying to bait someone... wasn't it obvious who they were after?
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I feel like your gaze is very offensive, and tinged with a hint of perversion."
Looking at the pensive Kafka, Silver Wolf put her hands on her hips and silently roasted her.
Bang!
Kafka casually disposed of the hacker whose brain chip Silver Wolf had fried, then turned to her with a smile.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Ugh... fine, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
"Hmph..."
"What are you 'hmphing' about? That Dan Heng has been carrying you these past two days, your rank is even higher than both of ours now. You still have the nerve to 'hmph'?"
"That's because he got his kicks cursing me out, you know."
Blade ground his back teeth in frustration. Dan Heng... DAN HENG!!! You really deserve to die!