Herta Space Station, Main Control Cabin.
After finishing breakfast with Herta, Adrian returned here.
Sometimes, he envied Herta.
Too lazy to move, she filled the station with her puppets, controlling them remotely to go wherever she pleased—effortless.
So, he swiped a few of Herta's puppets and sent them to the Eternity Church's outposts.
Herta herself had no objections.
"Adrian! Over here!"
A voice snapped Adrian out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw March 7th and Dan Heng waving from nearby.
As he approached, ready to explain, March 7th cut in:
"Himeko told us everything! Can't believe you're an Emanator! No wonder you handled that Doomsday Beast like it was nothing." March stood with hands on hips. With an Emanator-level companion, the upcoming Trailblaze missions would be a breeze!
"Glad you're back," Dan Heng said, not pressing further. Everyone had their secrets. He'd never seen Welt go all out either—Adrian must have his reasons.
"Huh… now that I look closely, you even changed into new clothes!" March noticed.
"No choice. The Doomsday Beast tore up my old ones. I can't stand the battle-damaged look," Adrian said, brushing it off with a casual excuse.
His original outfit was stained with Nanook's blood—definitely not wearable anymore.
So, Adrian transferred the golden blood to a trash can made of special materials and handed it to Herta.
As for Stelle…
She still hadn't woken up. Adrian felt a bit guilty.
Being stared down by two Aeons in a row—she wouldn't recover from that anytime soon.
Poor Stellaron Core, barely an hour old and already going through so much. She deserved better.
"Sigh, I'll treat her to a few cups of Immortal's Delight Tea later."
…
Meanwhile, Asta approached a newly online Herta puppet.
"Lady Herta."
Asta bowed deeply, briefly explaining the station's attack, her mind still on Adrian and that novel.
If anyone knew Adrian best, it had to be Lady Herta.
"Ugh… that kid still not awake? I'm logging off then. Call me if something's up."
"Wait, Lady Herta!" Asta mustered her courage, stopping Herta before she could disconnect.
"Hm?"
"You've worked with Mr. Adrian so many times. Has he ever told you about his past?" Asta's curiosity burned.
Herta rubbed her ear. "Adrian's… past?"
She hesitated, caught off guard by the question.
How do you even talk about an Aeon's past?
Might as well make something up. Since Adrian claimed to be a Pathstrider of [Eternity], a tragic backstory would do.
Adrian had told her about his beef with [Destruction], so she'd weave a tale around the Antimatter Legion.
Herta's genius brain kicked into gear, organizing her thoughts before spinning a story for Asta.
"Adrian… his origins are unclear. I looked into it once and found his hometown was destroyed by the Antimatter Legion. He clawed his way up to where he is now."
"He's sharp, with as many wild ideas as the Mask of Fools, always giving me new angles for Simulated Universe research."
"Why else would I work with him… You don't think I'm after his looks, do you?"
"In short, a guy whose hometown was razed, walking the Path of [Eternity], now on the Astral Express. Working with him's fun too…"
The more Herta spoke, the more she felt her story was too much. Could someone really be tied to three Paths?
There was a place, called Ongphalos by the Garden of Recollection's Remembrancers, a convergence of three Paths. Adrian had mentioned it once.
But that wasn't the point! The point was the character backstory she'd just fabricated for Adrian! It was too absurd—she didn't even believe it herself.
No taking it back now, though.
Might as well come clean to Asta…
Herta looked up, only to see Asta covering her face, looking like she'd had an epiphany and was about to cry.
Herta: ?
Wait, she believed it?!
Before Herta could clarify, an invisible force forcibly cut her connection to all the station's puppets.
Herta: ???
Seeing the puppet go still, Asta assumed Herta had logged off again.
"I never imagined Mr. Adrian had such a tragic childhood," Asta said, her nose stinging, picturing Adrian risking himself against a Doomsday Beast for the station's safety.
"That novel… could it be written by Mr. Adrian himself?"
Asta considered another possibility. After enduring countless hardships, Adrian could still smile while talking about his childhood, penning a novel in [Elation]'s playful style to make readers chuckle.
In Asta's eyes, Adrian's image grew even more heroic.
Of course, Adrian himself was clueless about this.
…
After giving Nanook a thrashing, Adrian was in high spirits. He wondered if tomorrow's galactic news would cover it.
[Trash Can Monster vs. Destruction Aeon]—that'd be a riot!
The Mask of Fools, upon hearing this, would probably be the first to mock [Destruction] and churn out thousands of forged light cones of a trash can pummeling Nanook.
After treating March 7th to a few cups of Immortal's Delight Tea, Adrian planned to check on Stelle, but his phone buzzed at the worst time.
[System Notification: Asta has sent you a friend request]
"Hm?"
Adrian frowned. He didn't think he had Asta's contact info. The only contacts from the station were Herta's.
Oh, and Peppy. That's how he got to know Alan, through Peppy.
Accepting Asta's friend request, Adrian was about to ask what was up when—
[Asta: [Transfer: 1 billion credits]]
How much?
Seeing the transfer, Adrian first reflected on whether he'd done anything shady.
Nope, seemed clean.
This must be Asta's financial aid for the Astral Express's help.
But why not send it to Himeko? She was the Express's navigator. Adrian was, at best, a guard.
[Asta: Please, you have to accept it!]
Reading Asta's message, Adrian was momentarily stumped.
After a second of internal debate, he accepted the credits.
His account suddenly had an extra billion credits. Did this girl send that much to everyone on the Express?
Asta had a slight fangirl vibe, but not much. To Adrian, she was just a sweet, innocent girl.
Why accept the money? No one turns down free credits. Adrian wasn't some upright Aeon—hadn't heard of a [Justice] Aeon in the cosmos.
But… he didn't really spend much himself.
Glancing at the still-unconscious Stelle nearby, Adrian had an idea who this billion credits should go to.