"Awesome! We've got a new companion!"
Hearing that Stelle had decided to join her on the Astral Express, March immediately hooked her arm around Stelle's in a familiar manner and acted as though they had already become best friends.
Right after that, however, March turned to glance at Lucian.
"What about you, Lucian?" March asked, her face full of anticipation. "Why not just join the Astral Express too? Kinda feels like you should, y'know!"
Lucian raised an eyebrow, finding that suggestion surprisingly feasible.
Indeed.
Not only was the Astral Express famous across the cosmos, but since he had already come here and met the Astral Express crew anyway, he might as well join them.
"Sure, leave a spot for me. If I have time, I'll come aboard and do some Trailblazing with you guys, though I'm not sure if Miss Navigator will accept me?"
Lucian calmly looked toward Himeko, the navigator of the Astral Express.
It had to be said that Himeko's figure, like that of his wife Himiko, was truly first-rate, as she was full in the front and curving in the back, with perfectly balanced proportions. Even her dignified and elegant attire could not conceal the seductive charm that could easily captivate men.
"Of course, you're always welcome," Himeko replied with a beautiful and graceful smile, looking simply stunning. "As long as you're not a bad person, everyone on the Astral Express will welcome you."
"Nice!" March exclaimed, raising her left hand and flashing a V sign. "Now we finally got someone strong we can rely on!"
Seeing her like this, Lucian couldn't help but chuckle.
Just like in the original story, this lively girl always made the atmosphere feel cheerful.
And just like that, Lucian secured a place on the Astral Express, becoming an honorary member of the Nameless. He would not reside on the Astral Express permanently and would only participate in Trailblazing when he had the time, granting him a considerable degree of freedom.
"Oh, right, almost forgot!" March said, pressing her fist into her open palm. "We came here because we wanna see that rumored Aeon. Have you ever seen the Aeon of Erudition before? I heard THEY showed up here a few days ago."
"Yeah, I've seen THEM," Lucian replied with a calm nod. "Honestly, THEY were nothing special, not very interesting."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I can't even see an Aeon when I wanna, and you're saying THEY're not interesting?" March said with a bewildered expression. "You're basically asking for a beating!"
Perhaps it was admiration, or perhaps it was her naturally friendly personality, or perhaps it was because Lucian had joined the Astral Express, but March no longer spoke to him with the same distance and felt more like she was talking with an ordinary friend, even joking around.
"Obviously, that's because you've never seen my godfather beat up an Aeon, that's what you call cool!" Stelle chimed in without hesitation, bragging without even a hint of embarrassment. "Just looking at an Aeon is kinda boring, so my godfather just goes and beats THEM up directly."
Upon hearing that, Himeko and Welt could not help but smile.
Clearly, no one took Stelle's bragging seriously.
Even though Lucian was powerful and had wiped out the Antimatter Legion with a flick of his finger, even if he possessed the combat power of an Emanator, defeating an Aeon was still unthinkable, so they simply treated it as a joke.
Catching everyone's reaction, Lucian paused for a moment and suddenly recalled that when he had cleaved Nous's projection, Stelle had not even been born yet, right?
Had her nonsensical bragging accidentally stumbled onto the truth?
"You're exaggerating way too much! You really think I'd believe that?"
March directly denied Stelle's claim while rolling her eyes at her.
Seeing that, Lucian naturally could not remain idle if he wanted to do his goddaughter a favor.
"Stelle wasn't bragging. Herta saw the moment I cut Nous in half—you can ask her. I wasn't planning to bring it up, but I need to prove my goddaughter wasn't lying."
Lucian sounded like a loving father defending his daughter's pride, completely stunning Stelle.
"Wait, Godfather!" Stelle quickly chimed in, raising her hand with a shocked look on her face. "I was just bragging—did you seriously beat up an Aeon?"
Aside from Stelle, Himeko, Welt, and March were also extremely shocked.
It couldn't be helped.
Given that he had even brought up Herta as a guarantee, how could they not believe him?
Himeko, in particular, knew that the ever-proud Herta would never help someone boast, so if she said it was true, then it definitely was.
Regardless, since he dared to bring up Herta so casually, the matter had to be true.
Even so, it was difficult to imagine that the young man before them could actually fight an Aeon—just imagining it was simply outrageous.
However, if that were true, Himeko was more than overjoyed, because the safety of the Astral Express was now guaranteed.
It was truly fortunate that they had recruited such a powerful ally.
Welt, on the other hand, was deeply puzzled.
He already knew that Earthlings were impressive, but why was Lucian this impressive?
Lucian had already interacted with an Aeon? Even defeated one?
They were both from Earth, yet he could only spend his retirement aboard the Astral Express and had never even seen an Aeon.
Meanwhile, March felt an even greater sense of admiration than the others.
Just what kind of divine being was he?
Handsome, powerful, yet low-key—he was simply perfect!
Maybe he could even help her recover her memories?
"Wait a sec, I'll call an Aeon over right now so Stelle can broaden her horizons."
Now that he had gone this far, Lucian considered whether to use Disarm or Sham Diviner to draw an Aeon over as proof.
Maybe he should call Yaoshi?
After all, it had been quite a while since he had last seen THEM, and he actually missed THEM somewhat, which was only natural, for without THEM, there would be no Lucian today, so his gratitude and sense of indebtedness were entirely genuine.
*Ring-Ring-Ring—*
Just then, however, Himeko's phone suddenly rang, and when she took it out and looked at the caller ID, she saw that it was Dan Heng.
As soon as Himeko answered the call and turned on the loudspeaker mode, Dan Heng's urgent voice came through.
[Himeko, you all should come back to the Astral Express quickly. An uninvited guest is claiming to be an Emanator of Trailblaze, and the conductor seems to dislike him quite a lot.]
"Emanator of Trailblaze?"
Himeko pondered carefully and realized she had no recollection of who the Emanator of Trailblaze was.
In the first place, did the Path of Trailblaze even have an Emanator?
"Emanator of Trailblaze? Strange, I've never heard the conductor ever mention it..." Welt muttered thoughtfully, then gave a suggestion, "In any case, we should go back and take a look. Anything involving an Emanator isn't a small matter."
At the same time, when Lucian heard the words 'uninvited guest' and 'Emanator of Trailblaze,' the first person who came to mind was Aha.
As everyone who followed the game's lore knew, Akivili and Aha were known to be best friends.
When the two were separated, they were scattered sand.
When the two were united, they were unbeatable.
In the eyes of the fans, Akivili was no different from an Emanator of Elation, while Aha was no different from an Emanator of Trailblaze.
Conveniently, if this so-called 'Emanator of Trailblaze' was really Aha, he no longer needed to tease other Aeons into coming, since he could simply use Aha as the stepping stone to show off in front of the Astral Express crew.
"Let's go, the Aeon I called has arrived."
Lucian stated confidently, sounding completely calm, but to others, it was somewhat shocking, since the way he spoke made it seem as if he had simply ordered takeout!
Who could treat an Aeon like takeout and call them over at will so casually?
Himeko was curious.
March was curious.
Welt was curious as well.
As a result, the three of them returned to the Astral Express with anticipation, eager to see what was going on.
Lucian also brought Stelle along as they boarded the Astral Express together.
Before long, when Lucian and the others boarded the Astral Express and stepped into the Parlor Car, they were greeted by a wide, open space that was clean and neatly arranged.
It had to be said that the Astral Express had real taste, as every corner of the train was designed with both elegance and comfort in mind, making it an exceptionally pleasant place to live.
Lucian found himself genuinely impressed by the atmosphere, and the longer he looked around, the more tempting the idea became.
For a brief moment, he even considered moving in for a few years, setting aside everything else to experience the wandering life aboard the Astral Express and see the countless planets scattered across the stars.
March was introducing the Astral Express to Stelle—the two of them got along very well and quickly became besties, while Himeko and Welt chatted about their next destination.
Soon enough, when everyone approached the table at the end of the Parlor Car, they saw an unfamiliar man sitting alongside Pom-Pom and Dan Heng.
"Conductor! Emanator of Trailblaze reporting for duty!"
Wearing a big smile on his face, the unknown man stood at attention and saluted Pom-Pom, not appearing threatening at all.
However, Pom-Pom's expression as they looked at the man was extremely unpleasant and full of disgust.
"It's you again, passenger Aha! You're not an Emanator of Trailblaze! You're the worst passenger ever, pom! Astral Express doesn't welcome you, pom!"
Pom-Pom raised their head to look up at the man and exclaimed in anger—their small body and large ears made them look like a plush doll.
Truth be told, their angry reaction was understandable.
To this day, Pom-Pom would never forget the bad things Aha had done in the past when THEY caused trouble together with Akivili, which ultimately led to the Astral Express exploding.
Now that Aha had come again, Pom-Pom was very worried that THEY would cause trouble once more, especially considering that Akivili was now gone—there was no one here who could stop this Aeon of Elation if THEY decided to cause trouble.
Lucian looked at the man and could not see anything unusual about his appearance, as he simply looked like an ordinary man one could find anywhere. If the man had not claimed to be an Emanator of Trailblaze, it would have been impossible to see through Aha's disguise.
"Aha the Elation? An Aeon actually showed up? You're seriously amazing, Lucian!"
Upon hearing Pom-Pom's words, March stared at Lucian in shock, admiring him even more as her big eyes blinked rapidly while she turned to look at him.
At the same time, the moment March's praise rang out, Aha's attention was immediately drawn to her before shifting to the people nearby.
As soon as THEY saw Lucian...
"Oh, look who it is! An Emanator of Elation!"
Aha pointed at Lucian and then turned to Pom-Pom.
"Conductor Pom-Pom, I report him! He's an Emanator of Elation! He must have violated Aha's order to protect the Astral Express and come here to blow it up!"
At the sudden accusation, Lucian narrowed his eyes and looked at Aha expressionlessly.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]