[Voice of the Stellaron: Cocolia… Cocolia…]
[Young Cocolia: Who are you? No—what are you?]
[Voice of the Stellaron: Your ally… an ally of the Guardians across generations.]
[Young Cocolia: Ally? What do you want?]
[Voice of the Stellaron: To rebuild this dying world… to help you… fulfill your wishes…]
"This is the same as the closed beta. What comes next?"
Ah Xian explained the closed beta plot to the audience.
"In the closed beta, Bronya comes to arrest the Express crew. Will it be the same in the Leon route?"
Leon: "Wake up, our escort's here."
The dark screen gradually brightened, like blinking, revealing an unfamiliar ceiling.
The camera panned, showing Leon and March 7th standing nearby.
March 7th: "I'm so jealous—you were sleeping like a happy little kitten. Get up already!"
Stelle: "I slept all the way to noon?"
March 7th: "No, it's early morning."
?
Someone's coming this early? That's not a good sign.
"If they're here to arrest us, should we put up a token resistance?"
Stelle hefted her baseball bat onto her shoulder.
Leon chuckled lightly: "No need. The one leading them is someone we know."
"Gepard?" Stelle asked.
"It's Bronya, and she's bringing people up now."
"No way, that fast?"
March 7th didn't doubt Leon's words.
Less than ten seconds later, a knock came at the door.
Pretty polite for catching 'suspects.'
Leon signaled Stelle to put her weapon away and turned to open the door.
"Good morning, Commander Bronya."
Hearing this, Bronya—who had been mulling over how to start and what expressions the three might show—froze for a moment.
He was calm, not a trace of surprise on his face.
"You… knew I was coming?"
Bronya asked instinctively.
Leon kept smiling: "Let's just say I knew the Silvermane Guards might come to arrest us."
His blunt, straightforward words left Bronya a bit flustered.
If you knew, why are you standing here so casually?
"Need us to cooperate by putting on handcuffs?"
Seeing Bronya's reaction, Leon even asked considerately.
Bronya's face stiffened, her thoughts racing.
"No need. Since you're not resisting pointlessly, just come with me.
I can assure you, until the tribunal's verdict is out, you won't be in physical danger."
[Bronya brings you back to yesterday's interrogation room…]
In the scene, the three Express members sat in a row, with Bronya across from them.
No one spoke, and the atmosphere was oddly tense.
Bronya opened her mouth to ask something several times but held back each time.
Ah Xian laughed.
"Anyone unaware would think Bronya's the one being interrogated. Do we even look like suspects?"
[Look, Stelle's even smiling.]
[Coming back here feels like coming home.]
[Everything's under Leon's control. Walking into custody willingly—does that even count as being a suspect?]
[Cocolia's framing us with baseless charges. Definitely a villain.]
[Bet she's been enthralled by the Stellaron.]
"Bronya's probably having an internal struggle."
"Gotta say, the expression modeling's pretty vivid—you can tell she's a bit lost."
Leon spoke up first.
"Commander Bronya, if there's something you don't understand, just ask."
"Then start by confessing your schemes in Belobog. Tell me everything, completely."
Bronya took a deep breath.
① "What did Cocolia tell you?"
② "Before we confess, shouldn't you first explain where these accusations against us come from?"
③ "We're harmless Nameless—what bad intentions could we have?"
Countered by a question, Bronya frowned:
"The Supreme Guardian said you're trying to infiltrate Belobog and incite rebellion."
March 7th's gaze was hard to read: "And?"
"That's it." Bronya shook her head.
Stelle: "She didn't show you any proof of our so-called schemes?"
"No…"
Bronya's expression grew increasingly uncertain.
On the way back, she'd sent a message to Cocolia asking when the interrogation would happen.
The response was: Lock them in the deepest cell; the interrogation will be scheduled later.
Something felt very wrong.
As Stelle said, arrests needed evidence.
But now? No witnesses, no physical proof.
Not even evidence of forged identities, let alone infiltration.
"I'll step out for a moment."
Bronya didn't bother with the trio's reactions and hurriedly left the interrogation room.
"Get them a pot of hot tea, and if they request food, accommodate them as best you can.
No one is allowed to see them until I return."
She instructed the guards.
"Yes, Lady Bronya."
Treating suspects like this? The guards were puzzled but nodded and complied.
"Bronya in the Leon route's pretty considerate to the Express crew, though it feels a bit abrupt."
"We only met her once in passing at Qlipoth Fort—normally, she wouldn't be this thoughtful."
As she spoke, Ah Xian suddenly froze.
She saw a paid comment.
"I missed a plot?"
"A hidden one?"
After digging through videos to catch up, she realized there was a segment where Bronya used a pretext to haul them into custody.
"No wonder Leon said it's someone we know—turns out it's our second time in the slammer…"
But the trigger was so absurd—you had to rummage through every trash can on the map.
Who in their right mind would do that while pushing the main story?
[Switching to Bronya's perspective…]
[Regarding the arrest of the Express crew, Bronya seems to feel there's insufficient evidence and decides to question Cocolia.]
Entering Qlipoth Fort.
"I've come to see Mother."
Cocolia turned, frowning: "Why are you back at this hour?"
Bronya: "I want to know where the evidence of the outsiders infiltrating Belobog comes from."
"Didn't I tell you? They faked their interstellar merchant identities to get close to Belobog, aiming to undermine the Architects' control over the city."
"And the decisive evidence? Where does it come from? You haven't answered my question."
Bronya pressed, undeterred.
Cocolia's face hardened: "You don't need to worry about that. I have my sources."
"But the tribunal needs—"
"Enough, Bronya! You've been getting bolder lately! As a soldier, you have one job!"
Cocolia cut her off sharply, her tone heavy.
"Obey the Supreme Guardian's orders and eliminate any potential threat to Belobog in its cradle.
On the day we try the outsiders, I'll give you the evidence. Now, leave."
Bronya's face showed struggle, her fists clenching involuntarily.
But in the end, all her thoughts dissolved into helplessness.
"Yes, Supreme Guardian…"
Using her official title even in private showed how dissatisfied she was with Cocolia's response.
Many players bristled with indignation.
[Cocolia's got no shame!]
[Bet she plans to off us on trial day. She's definitely a Stellaron slave.]