Her golden eyes habitually scanned the tidy room.
Then, her gaze froze.
Lying on the floor beside the bed was a person.
Pink hair, familiar clothes, lying face down and completely still.
"...March?"
Stelle blinked, thinking she hadn't woken up yet.
She quickly flipped out of bed, crouched down beside the person, and carefully poked their shoulder: "March? March 7th? Why are you sleeping here?"
There was no response.
Stelle used a bit more force and rolled the person over.
It was indeed March 7th's face. Her eyes were tightly closed, her brows slightly furrowed. She looked like she was sleeping... or rather, deeply unconscious.
"Hey, wake up! The floor is cold!" Stelle shook "March 7th's" shoulder.
"...Mmm..."
"March 7th" let out a muffled groan. Her long eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.
They were eyes filled with obvious confusion, but quickly the confusion faded, replaced by a sense of alertness.
Himeko subconsciously first quickly scanned the surroundings to confirm safety before focusing her attention on Stelle, who was looking at her with curiosity.
"Where am I..."
Himeko spoke. The voice was March 7th's clear tone, but the delivery was Himeko's steady composure.
She tried to sit up, but the moment she moved, she suddenly gasped, "Hiss—!"
She raised her hand to feel the back of her head. Her fingertips touched a distinct, raised lump. Pressing it made her wince in pain.
"It hurts so much!"
Stelle also leaned in, tilting her head to look at the back of "March 7th's" head. Her golden eyes were full of surprise: "Holy cow! March, how did you get such a huge bump there?"
She even stretched out a finger to measure it. "It looks like the bumps I used to inexplicably wake up with on my head when I slept in the corridor! Except yours is... a bit more off-center."
Himeko endured the pain and slowly pushed herself up from the floor into a sitting position.
She ignored Stelle's recollection about "waking up with bumps after sleeping in the corridor" (there were indeed some strange phenomena on the Astral Express during that period) and fell into contemplation.
Last night... she, Welt, and the robot "shut up" had swapped bodies, and she had entered March 7th's body.
After returning to the room, because it was dark, she fumbled around trying to turn on the light, and then... her memory cut off here.
Was it footsteps?
Then there was a sharp pain in the back of her head, everything went black, and she knew nothing more.
Who attacked "March 7th"?
No, who attacked "her."
On the Astral Express, in their own room?
What was the purpose?
"Stelle," Himeko said, her voice slightly hoarse from pain and confusion, "help me up."
"Oh, okay!"
Stelle quickly reached out, supporting "March 7th's" arm, and helped her sit on the edge of the bed.
Stelle plopped down beside her and continued to curiously examine the large bump, her eyes full of interest.
"How exactly did you get this? Did you run into the door frame? Or did you secretly try on some new clothes last night and fall down?"
Himeko gently rubbed the back of her head and glanced at Stelle upon hearing that.
This child is still so... straightforward.
She didn't answer Stelle's question, but instead countered: "Stelle, how did you sleep last night? Did you hear any unusual movements?"
"Me?"
Stelle pointed to herself. "I slept fine! I even had a really exciting dream! I was fighting someone in the dream, and it felt super satisfying!"
She swung her fist, mimicking the motion of swinging a bat. "Bang, bang, bang! Super stress-relieving!"
Himeko looked at her energetic appearance and paused in silence.
(Dreaming about fighting... feeling super satisfied...)
She rubbed the vaguely throbbing, mysterious bump on the back of her head again. A correlation lacking evidence slowly surfaced, like a shadow beneath the water.
(Could it be...)
But she immediately dismissed this overly absurd speculation.
Although Stelle sometimes acts impulsively and has great strength, she had absolutely no reason to sneak up and club her on the back of the head in the middle of the night.
But if it wasn't Stelle, who on the Astral Express could silently sneak into the room, knock "March 7th" unconscious, take nothing, destroy nothing, and only leave a swollen bump?
Danheng? Impossible.
Welt? Even more impossible.
Pom-Pom? Pom-Pom wouldn't do that.
Could it be... some kind of prank left by "Long Night Moon," who claims to be March 7th's older sister?
Or does this bizarre "Soul Swap" itself conceal unknown risks?
Himeko sank into deeper thought, her brows tightly furrowed, displaying a seriousness rarely seen on March 7th's face.
Stelle watched her from the side, and the more she watched, the stranger it felt.
(March is... so quiet today?)
(Did getting hit knock the vivaciousness right out of her?)
(And that expression... it looks a bit like Aunt Himeko when she's thinking? Is it just my imagination?)
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