Asta departed quickly. As the station master, she had far more to handle—tasks that couldn't be accomplished just by issuing orders over comms.
Regardless, as the representative of an entire second Astral Express, Yevenko's words carried weight. Asta clearly believed him—at least seventy or eighty percent.
For now, she hadn't mobilized the entire Express crew. They were on standby. Asta knew the ins and outs of Herta Space Station better than anyone, but the same couldn't be said for the Astral Express. She only knew one thing about them for certain:
They packed a serious punch.
Which was exactly why she preferred to keep them as a wildcard—ready to be dispatched wherever needed most.
Yevenko and Himeko watched Asta go, then looked at each other.
Himeko's red lips parted into a soft smile as she spoke first.
"Mr. Yevenko, I have quite a few questions of my own. Would you mind coming aboard our Express to talk?"
Yevenko nodded.
He already had a good impression of the Astral Express crew—after all, in his past life, he'd played the game so much they felt like old friends. Now they were flesh and blood, not just paper sprites. That alone stirred something in his chest.
Not to mention, everyone on the Express was secretly a powerhouse. He was just a tiny shrimp by comparison—building rapport could only help.
Of course… there was also the minor benefit of being able to gather exploration value and earn [Star Rail Passes].
Seeing him agree, Himeko nodded with satisfaction.
"March 7th, let's head back to the train. With battle on the horizon, we should prepare."
March 7th stood up reluctantly, having just been crouched down petting Tom's head. She replied with bright energy, "Okay!"
Then she turned to Yevenko.
"Yevenko, your cat's so funny. His head even turns into other animals! What planet can I buy one on? I want one too!"
At that, Yevenko turned slightly—
—and saw that Tom's feline head had turned into a donkey's.
Clearly, March 7th had been playing with him a little too much.
But wanting to raise another "Tom"? That might be impossible. Walking behind Himeko, Yevenko replied,
"I can't say for sure that there's no other Tom in the universe, but as far as I know, the answer is no."
"I met him completely by chance."
March 7th looked a little disappointed.
After a bit more idle chatter, the three of them arrived at Himeko's Astral Express and stepped aboard. They sat down near one of the passenger couches.
Yevenko glanced around—it was nearly identical to his own train.
The only difference was that, since he'd lived in his version for a while and Tom had decorated it with items drawn from gacha pulls, the layout and vibe were a little different.
After a short wait, Himeko reappeared with a tray holding four freshly brewed cups of coffee, which she set down on the table.
Tom crept up onto one of the chairs, his head barely visible over the tabletop.
Yevenko watched as one of the steaming cups was placed in front of him. The surface shimmered, rippling outward like a calm pond.
His expression stiffened.
As everyone knew… Himeko's coffee wasn't just bad—it was legendarily bad. Bad enough to qualify as a manifestation of conceptual horror.
There were even rumors that someone had once died from drinking it and gone straight into Hades' embrace.
He glanced across the table and noticed March 7th squirming, clearly uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her seat, full hips shifting as her thighs bounced slightly, sending faint ripples through her soft curves.
She hadn't touched her cup at all.
Realizing Yevenko's eyes were on her, March 7th raised her head and met his gaze, scratching the back of her head with an awkward smile.
She wanted to warn him and Tom, but Aunty Himeko had brought the coffee with such enthusiasm—she couldn't bring herself to say anything.
So she buried her head like an ostrich and pretended nothing was wrong.
Yevenko, seeing her reaction, confirmed his worst fear: the coffee was a disaster.
He was about to warn Tom to avoid drinking it—maybe they could fake it later and dump the cup somehow.
He turned to Tom and said, "Tom—uh…"
And froze.
Right in front of him, Tom had taken a bold swig in full drunkard mode, tilting his head back and downing the entire cup in one massive gulp.
Gulp.
The sound echoed as the coffee disappeared down his throat.
Then—
Nothing.
Tom's eyes bulged wide as he froze in place. In his mind, the Big Bang detonated anew—galaxies, stars, and black holes flooded into his brain like a data tsunami.
A hauntingly mystical, off-key melody echoed in the distance.
His entire body twisted like a warped wave.
Then—
He toppled forward like a scallion and collapsed.
Thud.
He hit the floor with a soft smack. His shiny blue-gray fur faded to dull gray and white. His hands folded over his belly, his face a picture of serene death.
"Tom!"
Yevenko panicked. He immediately set down his own coffee—then, whoops, accidentally flung the entire cup's contents across the room in the process.
Acting fast, he dropped the cup and rushed to Tom's side, eyes filled with 70% sorrow, 50% regret, and 10%... barely noticeable relief.
But as soon as he reached him—
Tom snapped back to life as if nothing had happened.
Yevenko's face, which had turned into a multi-pronged pie chart of emotions, flattened into a deadpan calm.
"Oh. You're fine. Right. All good then."
He turned to Himeko.
"Sorry, Himeko. I got so worried about Tom that I accidentally spilled the coffee. I really wanted to try yours too—what a shame."
Himeko smiled sweetly. Her red lips parted.
"It's no problem. I'll brew you another cup."
Yevenko's face twitched.
He quickly deflected. "Ah—no, no, we should focus on the important stuff. You wanted to ask about the second Astral Express, right? I'm happy to tell you what I can."
Thanks to this little interlude—and their shared identity as Astral Express Trailblazers—their relationship had grown more relaxed.
Himeko nodded lightly.
"I'm not actually surprised there's a second Astral Express. Back when Akivili was still around, the Express wasn't just one train—it was an entire fleet."
"But they were all destroyed. This one survived only because Pom-Pom was still onboard, and its damage was relatively minor. I was just barely able to repair it."
As she mentioned Pom-Pom, a round creature resembling a long-eared black rabbit appeared. About a meter tall, dressed in red with a matching high hat, it swayed as it walked over.
"Pom~"
Pom-Pom examined Tom and Yevenko, clearly puzzled.
Behind him, Dan Heng and Uncle Welt strolled in.
Himeko gestured.
"I haven't introduced you yet—this is Pom-Pom, conductor of the Astral Express. And these two are Welt and Dan Heng."
Yevenko nodded to each of them.
Tom, lively as ever, ran straight up to Pom-Pom with delight on his face. He threw his arms open, then beamed a wide, goofy grin at the camera, raising his white-gloved hand and pointing a big thumbs-up at Pom-Pom.
"Ha~!"