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Meanwhile.
Stelle, March 7th, Himeko, and Welt Yang also arrived at The Reverie.
As for Dan Heng, he was left behind on the Astral Express together with Pom-Pom to watch over the train.
"This is outrageous—Sol left without even saying goodbye to me!"
Stelle hugged a gold ingot and said angrily, "I'm the most useful quest runner!"
Without her as the quest runner, where was Sol supposed to spend all that gold?
Just thinking about it made her feel sad for Sol, to the point that sorrowful tears flowed from the corner of her mouth.
"You were sleeping so soundly back then. Even a gold ingot that big falling on you didn't wake you up~"
March 7th held her forehead, feeling a little speechless. "You scared us half to death. We thought you'd been affected by Memoria…"
Stelle recalled the beautiful purple-haired big sister from her dream, blinked her golden eyes, and said innocently, "Really? I was just having a dream."
The sister in the dream was so pretty… I wanted to snuggle up to her!
"This child really is lively."
Himeko could not help but smile slightly.
Welt nodded and said, "They worked hard on the journey before this. This time, they really should be allowed to relax properly."
"I hope so."
Himeko sighed softly.
The invitation the Astral Express received contained a cipher that required the train engine's frequency parameters to decrypt, and it was suspected to be the handiwork of three former Trailblazers, including Mikhail and Tiernan.
Mysterious figures had been flooding into Penacony—such as Sol, whom they had briefly traveled with before.
The upcoming universe-scale grand event, the Charmony Festival—the previous one had assimilated the lifeforms of an entire star system into the Harmony-aligned Families.
She had a premonition that this vacation in Penacony would not be peaceful.
"Eh! Is that Sol?!"
March 7th exclaimed, pointing at the two people heading up the stairs. "And the one next to him is—Silver Wolf, the Stellaron Hunter?!"
"Don't tell me, don't tell me—Sol is with the Stellaron Hunters!"
The Stellaron Hunters were known for acting alone and rarely traveling with outsiders.
But in her memory, Sol's name did not seem to be on the IPC's wanted list.
Or had she forgotten again? Well, it was not the first or second time she had forgotten something.
"It really is them!"
Stelle was extremely excited. Her major client had not disappeared after all.
And Silver Wolf was with Sol—were they together?
If Silver Wolf was here, would Kafka be here too?
Himeko and Welt exchanged a glance and said helplessly, "With the Stellaron Hunters getting involved, it really won't be easy this time."
"Still, that Miss Silver Wolf seems a bit… off."
Welt frowned slightly and said thoughtfully.
"Let's leave it for now and visit them later. We should check in first."
Himeko shook her head and noted the information mentally.
Soon enough, the Astral Express crew encountered their first problem.
Recently, Penacony's tourism industry had been booming. Aside from rooms that had been reserved in advance, The Reverie no longer had any vacant rooms for sale.
Unfortunately, this trip had been planned a year in advance, and their rooms had been reserved back then.
And a year ago, Stelle had not yet been born on Herta Space Station…
Naturally, there was no room reserved under Stelle's name.
Just as Himeko and Welt were about to negotiate with the front desk and transfer Dan Heng's reserved room to Stelle—
"Wait!"
Stelle slammed the massive gold ingot onto the counter, her brows sharply raised. "Are you looking down on me? Your big sister here has plenty of money—open me a premium room!"
"Sorry, this isn't a matter of money."
Miss Kayla at the front desk nearly broke into laughter but still answered seriously. "At the moment, The Reverie only accepts guests with reservations. There truly are no vacant rooms."
"Then what about that person just now? I'm his good friend, and he didn't make a reservation either!"
Stelle pointed toward the stairs.
Based on her understanding, Sol did not even have a phone at first—there was no way he could have made a reservation!
"You mean Mr. Mercer?"
Kayla explained gently. "He was very lucky and won the grand prize in our lottery. He has already become a permanent Platinum guest of The Reverie."
"What?! Your lottery odds are that high?!"
Stelle looked utterly shocked, immediately scooped up the gold ingot, and marched outside. "To be honest, my nickname is the Galactic Lucky Star! Just wait—I'll win a grand prize and come right back!"
She was extremely confident. If Sol could win, then she definitely could too.
As a Trailblazer, she was a master of winning draws—she never lost 50/50s, and triple golds in a ten-pull were a regular occurrence.
The front desk staff were stunned and could not help laughing. "Miss, the grand prize Mr. Mercer won—only one ticket like that exists so far."
One of them added, practically spelling it out, "As for other prizes like third or second place, you shouldn't hold too much hope either. This year's quota is almost full."
"Come back, Stelle."
Himeko pressed a hand on Stelle's shoulder and said helplessly, "Lotteries are deep waters. Don't pin your hopes on something as intangible as luck."
She understood the front desk's implication. The annual prize quota was almost full, which meant the remaining tickets were either non-winning ones or internal prizes.
Under such circumstances, winning was impossible unless you printed the ticket yourself.
Still, being able to win the only grand prize—Sol's luck was truly astonishing.
"Oh."
Stelle returned obediently, looking disappointed.
Himeko then began discussing with the front desk about transferring Dan Heng's reserved room to Stelle.
The front desk could not make that decision and had to report it to upper management.
While they waited for the matter to be processed—
A frivolous yet handsome man with platinum-blond hair, pale violet eyes, and an open heart-shaped cutout at his chest stepped forward, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
From the Interastral Peace Corporation's Strategic Investment Department—the designated troublemaking envoy to Penacony.
Aventurine, one of the Ten Stonehearts, who held one-tenth of the Emanator of Preservation's authority, had spotted an opportunity.
He wanted to leave an impression—any kind of impression would do.
"Everyone, please don't make things difficult for this poor young lady. She doesn't have the authority to decide on your request."
Aventurine crossed his arms, his tone gentle yet edged with calculation. "At the same time, please consider the guests behind you. Haven't you delayed others for quite some time?"
"My apologies…"
Himeko stepped forward and began a polite exchange.
March 7th could not stand the refined back-and-forth and held her forehead, saying weakly, "It's over… we haven't even started the vacation and I already feel tired…"
What should she do? She felt that riding the train with Stelle and storytelling for Sol had been more fun than this.
At least back then, Stelle had been tipped with a huge gold ingot.
…
"Do you see it, my sister?"
An elegant man in a lavish suit spoke calmly, his eyes unruffled. "The Astral Express, the Stellaron Hunters, the Interastral Peace Corporation—and that mysterious guest who subdued a Stellaron Hunter."
"This Charmony Festival truly has gathered the best and brightest."
As the head of the Oak Family and the current ruler of Penacony, he possessed keen perception.
The abnormal fluctuation of Memoria at The Reverie not long ago had not escaped his notice. The guest who captured a Stellaron Hunter was extraordinarily capable.
"Yes."
Robin's voice was slightly hoarse, a trace of worry flashing in her eyes.
Penacony was now a mix of all kinds—so many factions that even the Families struggled to handle them.
And internally, there seemed to be a massive hidden danger as well. Could her brother hold on?