"I see a scorched earth."
Caelus said.
"A new bud blooming from the broken earth, it blossoms toward the morning sun and whispers to me—It's three o'clock! Time for tea!"
Caelus shifted twice on the seat that was digging into his buttocks, then pulled a freshly made Star Taro Boba from the trash can beside him.
"Prometheus, prepare for departure!"
"Received, received. The first thing I have to do upon waking up is listen to your orders."
The AI girl's eternally unchanging voice sounded somewhat helpless.
However, Caelus's Prometheus was a bit different from the usual Prometheus.
Promy-Duck
"Since you've created the Cosmic Junk Company... where are we going to recruit employees?"
"Recruit employees? Why would we recruit employees?" Caelus took a large, blissful sip of the Star Taro Boba and replied indistinctly, "We're selling junk, not the kind of standardized services provided by the Interstellar Peace Corporation."
Prometheus: ..."If you don't recruit employees, are you trying to work me to death?"
Meanwhile, outside the planet's atmosphere, a swarm of True Stinging Insects that seemed capable of covering the entire surface surged toward the planet.
"There's still a massive wave of True Stinging Insects."
"If they try to stop me from opening for business..."
Caelus pulled open the hatch, stood firmly on top of the ship without any protection, and then opened his palm toward the swarm.
Perhaps his power had been strong before, but... behind that power, there was nothing that truly belonged to him.
But now, after experiencing two Bad End world-line regressions, he had obtained a power of his own.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
Caelus's golden pupils lit up with a faint glow, and the swarm of True Stinging Insects that blotted out the sky was affected by this power.
At first, nothing happened.
Then, the True Stinging Insects began to shrink, smaller and smaller, returning to their egg state, and finally vanishing.
The power of time.
"Done."
Caelus clapped his hands as if merely dusting them off. That terrifying swarm, capable of devouring a planet, had been washed away by time like a pencil drawing erased by an eraser, leaving no trace behind.
"Let's go, let's go. Time to do business."
"Do business... whose business are you going to do?"
"Literally. We're a junk company, so of course we sell junk—treasures pulled right out of the trash can."
Digging through trash cans—this was Caelus's signature move.
Pulling all sorts of magical gadgets out of trash cans, from food to weapons, to spaceships, even things from Aeons... Caelus looked out the window through the glass, his expression hard to describe.
"..."
"It's probably just a coincidence that we're on the same path."
Prometheus offered some comfort.
"Yeah, it's probably just a coincidence."
Caelus looked at the warm yellow light and... that familiar black train, his gaze seeming somewhat distant.
If I don't come looking for you, you come looking for me?
"No one in the new world remembers us. Stelle will meet the Trailblazers of the Astral Express in your place."
"When you put it that way, I feel so tragic, like a homeless stray dog." Caelus joked, but he felt like he couldn't quite bring himself to laugh at the joke.
Let's say a temporary goodbye to the Astral Express.
The ship slowly accelerated, slowing down as it passed the Parlor Car.
The red-haired woman was trying to give a coffee to a fluffy creature, while the blonde man (Void Archives) was spreading his arms toward the brown-haired man with white highlights, saying something with a smile.
However, what he was saying probably wasn't a topic that would make the man happy.
"Recommended attire: xx Suit."
Prometheus displayed a set of black clothes that looked somewhat melancholic, and it even came with a matching black mask.
Battle Suit
"Note: Time really will stop."
Caelus really couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Cheer up," Prometheus said.
The red-haired woman turned her head, her burgundy hair sliding over her shoulder to reveal her fair neck. Her gaze pierced through the bright glass of the Parlor Car and landed on the junk ship parallel to the Astral Express. Seeing the grey-haired youth outside the window, she felt as if he looked somewhat familiar.
[Picture]
The ship and the Astral Express moved in parallel for a brief moment in the sea of stars.
"Hmm? That ship... it looks quite unique." Himeko whispered to herself, as if searching through her memories, but ultimately found nothing.
The rear of the junk ship spewed out an unstable flow of energy that looked like it might stall at any moment. It clumsily but resolutely veered off at an angle, like a fish diving into the deep sea, quickly disappearing into the dimmer route on the side, which was filled with asteroid fragments. Subsequently, it left that warm yellow light completely behind.
Inside the ship, only the faint hum of the instruments remained.
"I've walked that path twice already. No matter how good the scenery is, you get tired of it after seeing it too much."
You don't look as tired of it as you say.
You clearly want to go back and say hello, don't you?
Prometheus watched as Caelus silently began to dig through the trash can. He looked as if he were throwing a tantrum at someone, or perhaps he was using this method to fill some sudden void, pulling out those bizarre pieces of "junk" one by one until a small mountain piled up beside him.
Things like the Magnifying Flashlight, Devils Passport, Gourmet Tablecloth... [Hello]
In the end, Prometheus still quietly left a message for the Astral Express.
[The Cosmic Junk Company is now open. Feel free to contact us anytime. Contact information...]
Himeko's communicator received Prometheus's message.
"...Cosmic Junk Company?"
"What... Company?"
Pom-Pom, having escaped a disaster, looked toward Himeko.
"Cosmic Junk Company... what kind of company is this? It doesn't seem to be registered on the network..."
The name sounded like a clumsy joke.
"'Cosmic Junk Company'?" Welt looked at Himeko. "It sounds... like it's not a properly registered interstellar enterprise."
"Perhaps." She finally gave a slight smile and put away her communicator. She didn't delete the message, nor did she reply; she simply let the message settle quietly in the sea of data like a trivial speck of dust. "However, to have a chance encounter in a place like this and even receive a targeted advertisement... it can be considered a form of fate."
Her gaze turned toward the starry sky again. The image of the youth wearing a hood flashed through her mind... she always felt he looked a bit familiar.
Caelus casually turned on the news channel.
The darlings of the Interstellar Peace Corporation could always give him a little surprise.
"...This is an Interstellar Peace Broadcast, bringing you the latest news. It is reported that the abnormally large-scale imaginary energy reaction that previously erupted near the orbit of 'Abandoned Planet No. 1145' has been confirmed as a rare natural phenomenon. The Corporation's scientific research team has headed to the sector for neutralization and study to ensure it poses no threat to mainstream routes. Repeat, this event was a natural phenomenon; there is no need for panic..."
"A natural phenomenon... they're certainly much faster at handling 'natural phenomena' than they are at clearing trash."Caelus stretched.
"Prometheus, help me put out some advertisements."
"Understood."
Prometheus immediately pushed the advertisement for the Cosmic Junk Company to the personal data terminal of Herta, who was currently trying to cook.
Herta: ?
Next, the one to receive the message was Silver Wolf, who had just finished a game and was about to log off.
Silver Wolf: ??