Leon said with a beaming smile, "Lying down to sleep means I don't have to worry about my wings going numb from being pressed."
March 7th couldn't hold back and let out a silvery laugh.
The lighthearted, casual chatter made some people subconsciously forget their earlier emotions, their focus relaxing as they overlooked the looming pain.
But for others, it only made them feel worse.
Ah Xian was one of them.
"No need to even think about it—Leon's spilling so many of his own secrets just to deliberately shift attention."
"He doesn't want Trailblazer and March to focus on his injuries."
"In-game, Trailblazer doesn't know about this, but we players outside the game have a god's-eye view."
"Knowing he's quietly sacrificing and caring for his companions, yet we can't, through the protagonist we embody, call it out and say thank you…"
[I can't even imagine how Trailblazer will react in the future when they learn what Leon has done…]
[Sigh, the knife hangs over our heads, searing our hearts.]
Stelle: "We heard from Serval about your feats guarding the restricted zone. She wants to hold a banquet to thank us—should we accept?"
Leon: "No problem. Even though the Stellaron crisis is resolved, we're not jumping away immediately."
March 7th: "Holding back thousands of Fragmentum creatures single-handedly—you really have some hidden strength!"
At that, Leon leaned in mysteriously toward the two, lowering his voice.
"Let me tell you a secret: I was once the Emanator of a dead Aeon, a remnant of a fallen Path…"
"What?"
March 7th was startled at first.
But seeing the familiar smirk on Leon's face, she realized she'd probably been teased again.
"Leon…"
"Hm? What's up?"
"You're way cooler when you're serious. Promise us you won't turn into a Masked Fool who just messes with people for fun, okay?"
Leon solemnly vowed.
"I, Leon, would rather die, perish out there, or jump off the train than become a Masked Fool."
"???"
Aha couldn't hold back and popped out, the eerie mask visibly steaming.
"Aha's losing it! With the mask on, it's not up to you, darling!"
And then—
A mask appeared in Leon's ticket space.
He glanced at it and saw a red-and-white fox mask.
It looked familiar.
Probably something from the style of Izumo or Edo Star.
Oh, right… Izumo's already shrouded in the shadow of Nihility.
"Hahahahaha, your old man's done it, dear! Until you meet the mask's owner, you absolutely can't get rid of it!"
As Aha's laughter faded, in some dazzling, dreamlike world, a girl in a red dress froze, her small hands fumbling at her forehead, utterly lost.
Where's my mask?
Where did my massive mask go?
Is this a challenge from a rival?
Someone actually dares to challenge her?
How interesting.
Leon couldn't be bothered with Aha's childish antics and pretended not to see the mask.
Others might get played by the Masked Fools, but he wasn't afraid.
March 7th couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"But you're acting like a living Masked Fool right now, making up stories to tease people."
Stelle gave March 7th a complicated look.
"Think about it—you've made up plenty of stories about yourself too. How many backstories do you have now?"
"Hey, that's different! Mine are reasonable guesses; Leon's just having fun!"
"This girl's saying she was once a Remembrance Emanator, or related to the Remembrance Aeon, or even the mortal vessel of the Remembrance Aeon. Do you believe that?"
Stelle said earnestly, "I believe you, I really do, March. Look at my sincere eyes—can you feel my trust?"
March 7th smiled in relief, letting out a weak "Heh, haha…"
"Heh, haha… With that same prankster look as Leon, where am I supposed to feel your trust?"
The players, however, were left wavering.
The information seemed massive, yet also like it held nothing at all.
[Leon and March 7th's words—who's telling the truth and who's lying?]
[Maybe… both are true?]
[Then I'll +1.]
[True, my foot! When Leon doesn't need to be reliable, he leans into his unreliable side.]
[With that classic prankster grin, spilling a bloody, painful backstory—there's no way it's true.]
[I think March 7th's words have a decent chance of being true. It adds up.]
[Think about it—Fuli's appearance is icy, kind of like March 7th's abilities.]
[Remembrance, Remembrance… doesn't taking photos count as a form of memory? It totally does, capturing moments of the past!]
[And she's lost her memory—there's definitely something there!]
[By that logic, Leon's a memory-loss case too, so he's got something going on?]
[…There's probably something, but what we're seeing now is mostly pain.]
[So, Trailblazer's also a memory-loss case. Does that mean they were an Emanator too, like of Finality or Equilibrium?]
[Oh man, the Astral Express Amnesia Squad! I didn't even notice until now—this Trailblaze journey has three amnesiacs.]
[Lmao.]
As the chat went on, the mood turned cheerful, and people gradually stopped caring about the truth of their words.
A comment in the live stream chat nailed it.
It's Leon's "unreliable time" right now—believing a prankster means you've already lost.
[With that "Father" vibe, there's no way Aha wouldn't go after him. Weird.]
[Eh, Trailblazer's got prankster vibes too. Who can resist picking the chaotic options? And Aha hasn't gone after them either, right?]
[How can you be so sure Leon's a real prankster?]
[Isn't it obvious?]
[In some stories, a prankster personality might be a defense mechanism to hide inner pain.]
[…That actually makes sense. I have a friend who got cheated on by ten ex-girlfriends in a row, and now he's all carefree.]
[Is that friend the one in the mirror?]
[Stay strong, brother (green text). To get through life, you've gotta wear a little green.]
Stelle looked hurt, her eyes misty as she gazed at March 7th.
"March, my heart hurts. These eyes are filled with ten percent—no, nine percent trust—and you say you can't feel it?"
March 7th shot her another eye-roll and spread her hands.
"What can I say?"
"Uh, Mamba out~?"
"This girl's gonna strangle you!"
Two minutes later—
The gray and pink girls, having knocked over the cups on the tea table, were sentenced by the conductor to face-the-wall time-out.
Himeko returned to the carriage, saw the scene, and couldn't help but smile faintly.
Her gaze then landed on Leon, giving him a knowing look.
Leon understood and casually asked, "Where's Welt?"
Himeko: "He said he's staying on Belobog to study something interesting. He'll be back later."
"Then let's go handle the Stellaron containment."
Leon stood up.
The Stellaron was stored in the train's engine room, where a special energy space for the train's jumps was located.
All the Stellarons collected during the Trailblaze journey were kept there.
It was the safest place on the entire train—without Trailblaze power, no one could open it.
After placing the Stellaron inside and sealing it with a double lock, Leon couldn't help but let out a soft cough.
"This is the first time I've seen you this injured. The enemy was an Emanator, wasn't it?"
Himeko frowned.
At her words, the players' newly lifted spirits sank again unnoticed.
So blue!