The appearance of Stelle had been arranged by the Stellaron Hunters.
Just that fact alone made it hard not to think deeper. Like, if they on the Express took Stelle in, would they end up getting dragged into the Stellaron Hunters' plans?
Still, they didn't hesitate for too long. After all, most folks willing to board the Astral Express to blaze trails weren't exactly the type to shy away from trouble.
Once everyone's eyes met and a silent consensus was reached, Himeko gave the final call:
"Let's wait until Stelle wakes up and ask for her opinion. She's a good kid. The Express never turns away guests who yearn to explore."
Just the way Stelle had thrown herself into rescuing March 7th was enough to make the crew welcome her aboard.
--+--
The discussion about Stelle came to a temporary close.
After making sure Stelle was physically okay, March 7th's mind grew lively again. She turned to Sylvia and piped up:
"Oh, right, Sylvia! Back with the last one you just called 'Mount No.1'—I wanted to say something then. This time, with the Doomsday Beast... you can't seriously call it 'Mount No.2,' can you?"
Right behind them lay the Doomsday Beast, currently prone. Even sprawled out, you could still sense its imposing aura and raw power.
March had been dying to complain about this earlier. This one really, truly couldn't be called 'Mount No.2.'
"You finally get to ride a dragon! You gotta give it a cool name!"
"...Hmm, you make a good point."
Sylvia fell silent for a moment. She definitely wasn't going to admit she'd actually planned to just call it 'Mount No.2.'
But since March put it that way, Sylvia gave it some proper thought, trying to come up with a name that wasn't too chuuni but still fit.
After a moment of thinking with her head bowed, inspiration struck. Sylvia clapped her hands together with a smile.
"Mmm... let's call it Benares! We'll call it Bella for short!"
"Ahem, ahem, cough, cough..."
Before March could even give her opinion, Welt beside them couldn't hold it in anymore, covering his mouth as a fit of coughing racked him.
That name popping up really did dredge up some rather... unpleasant memories for him.
"Uncle Yang, what's wrong? Do you need to see a doctor?"
March turned back, worriedly looking at Welt, who had suddenly started coughing. She'd never seen Uncle Yang sick before.
Himeko also shot a concerned look Welt's way.
But Welt just waved a hand.
"It's fine, just choked on something suddenly. Not sick."
Then, he cast an incredibly complicated look at Sylvia.
"I'll go see the Station Head first. The Express made an emergency docking; we should still go thank her."
With that, Welt didn't waste another second, turning on his heel to look for Asta.
The reason was perfectly valid.
It's just that Sylvia got the feeling he was specifically making an exit to go cool his head.
"..."
Watching Uncle Yang's retreating back, Sylvia felt a mix of glee at having unwittingly messed with him and a pang of guilt for doing so. She silently apologized to him in her heart.
They didn't chat about the Doomsday Beast for too long. After March accepted the name, Dan Heng and Himeko also went off to find a place to rest.
Sylvia couldn't be bothered to move, so she just stayed by Stelle's side, plopping down somewhere to pass the time.
March, however, remained full of beans, crowding close to Sylvia to keep asking about the Xianzhou.
"Hey, what's fun and tasty on the Xianzhou? I've never been..."
"Quite a lot. But I wasn't there very long either. Some things I've only heard of, I haven't tried them myself..."
Since Stelle was still unconscious, March kept her voice hushed, leaning her whole body against Sylvia.
Sylvia had already dismissed her armored state by now, her clothes reverting to her usual wear.
So when March leaned against Sylvia's arm, Sylvia suddenly realized—March wasn't just cute to look at. Her figure was actually quite mature, too.
Had to admit, being around a lively, cheerful girl like March was really quite comfortable.
So Sylvia snapped out of her thoughts about March's 'development' pretty quickly. She just mused inwardly about how vastly different reality was from the game.
"Come to think of it, I have some Xianzhou specialties I bought but haven't eaten yet. Want to try?"
"Really?! Yes, yes! All that running and fighting, I'm exhausted!"
March's eyes lit up, and she practically threw herself into Sylvia's lap. Her pretty eyes fixed on Sylvia, adorable like a puppy begging for treats.
With a flip of her hand, Sylvia pulled out a small, neatly packed box of Berrypheasant Skewers from her personal space.
This kind of sweet snack was relatively easier to preserve and store—well, relatively speaking, anyway.
But since Sylvia came and went easily, it wasn't a big deal.
"Here, these are the Luofu's Berrypheasant Skewers. Though they're actually candy skewers made from the fruit on the Berrypheasant's tail. Give it a try."
This thing was pretty similar to the candied hawthorn sticks Sylvia remembered. The only real difference was probably the type of fruit used.
The fruit in symbiosis with the Berrypheasant had a rather unique flavor, just a tad less sweet. But its texture made up for that shortcoming.
Once coated in a sugar shell to bump up the sweetness, the Berrypheasant Skewer became a pretty darn good sweet treat.
Handing the box to March, Sylvia propped her head on her hand, tilting it as she watched March.
March plopped the box on her knees, opened it, and couldn't wait—she popped a whole skewer into her mouth at once.
It stuffed her normally lovely little mouth until her cheeks bulged, like a hamster.
Maybe the flavor suited her, because March, cheeks puffed, nodded vigorously at Sylvia.
Seemed she liked it quite a bit.
Watching her animated, gesturing reaction, Sylvia couldn't help but chuckle, still propping her head up.
March's emotional expressions were bold and unrestrained, yet never awkward.
If she had to describe it, it was more like... radiant vitality.
"Mmf—"
After nearly choking and managing to swallow the fruit down, March was clearly much more careful picking up the second skewer.
This time, she cautiously bit off only half a fruit. Staring at the exposed flesh, she suddenly said:
"I've seen Berrypheasants in the Express's data bank. So this is what the fruit on them tastes like... It's really good!"
"Hey, Sylvia, tell me... would the fruit on a Berrypheasant count as meat or vegetarian? I'd love to try picking one fresh myself. Wonder if the fresh fruit tastes good."
March always had a knack for her brain kicking into high gear at the weirdest times.
She'd only taken two bites, yet she'd instantly stumbled upon the age-old debate surrounding Berrypheasant Skewers that had been raging for who-knows-how-many years.
On the Luofu's forums, this debate was as enduring as the sweet vs. savory tofu pudding war Sylvia remembered.
"Dunno. Anyway, eating this doesn't feel like eating meat, so I refuse to acknowledge it as meat."
Sylvia declared righteously, consigning the Berrypheasant Skewer to the vegetarian category.
After all, if it looks like a plant, tastes like a plant, smells like a plant—then it's a plant!
Otherwise, this thing would be downright tragic.
Tasting nothing like meat but still getting lumped in the same category—what would that make the people eating it think?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.