The Galaxy.
The Astral Express, stranded for many years.
Under Leon's repairs, it finally resumed its journey across the universe.
Rejoice, the silver rails of The Trailblaze have welcomed back their true master!
[Oh yeah, got the ride. Akivili's personal, like-new Astral Express!]
After posting this on his Moments, a flurry of private messages immediately followed.
[Big Herta: ? You actually found it?]
The first person to message was Herta. From her message, it was clear she didn't have much hope that Leon would find the Astral Express.
Following the past footsteps of the Nameless to find the Astral Express, this method was a last resort, no different from finding a needle in a haystack. If Leon hadn't insisted, Herta wouldn't have recommended anyone undertake such a futile effort.
The Astral Express has been missing for so long. The Nameless have all but vanished, and even with her genius-level social network, she couldn't find a single clue about it.
It wouldn't be wrong to say finding the Astral Express was purely a matter of fate. Unexpectedly, Leon managed a blind squirrel finding a nut, stumbling upon it on his first try on Adlivun. Could this also be his super-intuition?
[Your Ideal Man: Thanks to you.]
Replying so fast. Leon looked at Herta's speed, which was no different from someone instantly joining a group buy.
Was this a double-combo of setting a special notification for him and stalking his social media space? Sigh, what a woman.
Beep Beep Beep~
Just as Leon was about to reply, Herta's call came through.
"So impatient?" he thought as he answered.
"Where did you find this train? How does it look no different from a new one?" A pleasant female voice, tinged with confusion, sounded.
Herta looked at the sheen of the train in the photo; describing it as brand new was no exaggeration. But how is that possible?
Even if some wreckage of the train had survived, it should have been completely derelict by now. Where did he get one so new?
Herta didn't know the difficulty of repairing the Astral Express, but she figured it couldn't be low. The repairs she was talking about weren't just superficial, but at the core level.
This is a vehicle of an Aeon. How many people have studied it in detail and fully understood it? Basically, a handful at best, which is as good as none.
At least in Herta's eyes, the probability of a crude warrior like Leon successfully repairing the train was zero. Because this was a task rare enough to pique Lady Herta's interest, one that a genius would likely have to handle personally.
What professional knowledge could a warrior like Leon possibly have? What, did he just pat the train a few times and it repaired itself?
Heh, Herta could only say, "Don't make me laugh." Restoring the Astral Express to pristine condition with a few pats? Do you think he's Akivili reincarnated?
"Just found it on Adlivun."
Leon told the truth.
"It was buried underground. I dug around on a hunch."
"I think it's one Akivili left behind. It's new, of course, because I refurbished it."
"It wasn't destroyed by The Destruction?"
Herta said, surprised.
The Astral Express could be found anywhere, but Adlivun was the least likely place. The reason needs no explanation.
Because it is the ascension ground of the Aeon of The Destruction. How could anything survive its wrath?
"The divine power of The Trailblaze, I guess," Leon replied.
Herta was silent for a moment.
It's not impossible. After all, there's a saying in the galaxy that "the core of the train is the heart of the Aeon Akivili, which gives the Astral Express the ability to travel between worlds."
Whether this saying is true or false, the Astral Express indeed has an extraordinary connection with Akivili.
"Then how did you repair it?"
Herta asked the question she was most concerned about.
"A little of this, a little of that, and then some more of that, and it was fixed."
Who the hell knows how it was fixed? Leon himself didn't know.
Don't ask. Prying further would be impolite. The answer is simply that if it's him, he can do it.
"Is everything on the train fixed too?"
Herta asked, still a bit skeptical.
"Should be. I haven't had time to look closely, but at least it runs without any problems."
Leon replied based on his personal experience.
"Bring it to the space station for me to see."
"The Astral Express... if I'm not mistaken, it must store a lot of past data. I need it. Bring it over so I can copy it first."
Herta, her true intentions now revealed, stated her purpose.
"Roger that." Leon didn't refuse.
What's the big deal? It's just another trip to the space station. It won't take much time.
"You didn't run into any trouble this time, did you?"
Seeing him being so cooperative, Herta nodded in satisfaction and casually asked out of concern.
"No trouble, really."
Leon thought for a moment, then replied: "But I did see you as the true master."
Herta had no idea what he was talking about.
"If you missed me, just say so."
But since Leon was being talkative, it seemed he hadn't encountered any trouble.
"Haha, very funny."
Despite saying that, Leon suddenly remembered there was indeed a moment when he thought of her. It was when he had just encountered the formula. He was thinking of asking her to crack it then.
But it shouldn't be necessary now. When he has gathered all the Stellarons himself, it won't be too late to ask her to crack it.
That thing is no good.
"If you miss me, you'll see me in a bit. See you at the space station."
Herta said goodbye before hanging up.
"See you in a bit."
Leon replied casually, and the dial tone echoed in his ear as the call ended.
"Leon, what's this?"
As she spoke, March 7th lifted a rabbit-like creature by its armpits. It was indistinguishable from a doll, wearing a red top hat and a small tuxedo, with large ears hanging down on either side like twin ponytails.
"It's warm."
After Leon finished his call, March 7th immediately questioned him about this mysterious creature.
"Pom-Pom isn't dead, of course I have body temperature, pa!"
The rabbit, held high by her, struggled, kicking its short little legs. From its clarifying words, it was clear it wanted to prove it wasn't a doll.
"And put me down! Pom-Pom is the conductor, not your toy, pa!"
The rabbit's struggles grew more intense, as if deeply offended by March 7th's actions.
"Conductor?"
Hearing this answer, March 7th was a bit confused, but she still put the rabbit she had lifted back on the ground while muttering to herself.
"Honestly, pa."
After landing, the first thing Pom-Pom did was to tidy up its messy clothes.
"What in the world do you take Pom-Pom for, pa!"
Pom-Pom was angry.
"You're the legendary conductor?"
Leon said, looking at the creature that had appeared out of thin air after the train was activated.
"That's right, pa! Pom-Pom is the conductor of the Astral Express, pa!"
The rabbit, or rather, Pom-Pom, puffed out its chest and raised its head.
As Leon sized up Pom-Pom, Pom-Pom also took the opportunity to size him up.
Finally, Pom-Pom's gaze fell upon the train ticket hanging from his collar. It felt the ticket looked familiar.
After recalling carefully, it finally remembered whose it was.
"Ah!"
Pom-Pom exclaimed.
"I remember you! You're that bastard who bombed the train, pa!"
It raised a finger and pointed at Leon, shouting.
"Pa! What are you planning this time, pa!"
"?"
A big question mark appeared over Leon's head.
How could it slander him like that? He didn't even know where the Astral Express was. If you don't even know where it is, how the hell can you bomb it?
"Conductor, please take a closer look. Do we really look like the same person?"
Leon actually knew who Pom-Pom was talking about.
It was, of course, Aha, who gave him this ticket. He had learned many legends about Aha during his journey, such as how Aha once lay in wait for months just to blow up a single car of the Astral Express.
"Hmm, you might be right."
Seeing the ticket made Pom-Pom a bit heated. After calming down and thinking it over, it realized it was impossible.
That being was from the same era as Akivili. They couldn't possibly be so young.
"The conductor misunderstood. I'm sorry, pa."
Pom-Pom bowed to him, apologizing earnestly.
"It's alright."
Leon's ticket was given to him by Aha. In a sense, Aha was the guide for his Trailblazing journey.
Without Aha, he might not have embarked on the path of the Trailblaze at all. Mistaking him was understandable.
"By the way, Pom-Pom hasn't asked for the two passengers' names yet, pa?"
Pom-Pom looked at the two and asked.
"Leon."
"March 7th."
The two replied in unison.
"Passenger Leon, Passenger March 7th, thank you for fixing the train for the conductor, pa! The Astral Express sincerely welcomes you aboard, pa!"
Pom-Pom was very grateful to them for letting The Trailblaze see the light of day again.
Leon looked at it, not responding for the moment.
This conductor was just as Gallagher had said.
As long as the Astral Express existed, it would appear out of thin air. He hadn't exaggerated; it really was the kind that appeared from nothing.
Even with Leon's The Hunt-like intuition, after repairing the train and stepping into the car with March 7th, he hadn't sensed a third person's presence inside.
Not until he started the Astral Express. Pom-Pom just appeared right before their eyes, without a single trace.
To be able to evade his perception, it was certainly no simple being.
He just didn't know if this Pom-Pom's existence was common to all Astral Express trains, or exclusive to this first one. In its heyday, there were many Astral Express trains.
But from the way Gallagher spoke before, it should be the former, a common existence. He said the conductor could only be active within the train.
It couldn't get off the train, nor could it go on adventures with the Nameless. Many had tried to take Pom-Pom away, but none had succeeded. As if there was some kind of restriction on it.
Of course, if one looked at it from another perspective. For example, if Pom-Pom had no separate physical form and was simply the manifestation of the Astral Express's self-awareness, then it would be normal for it not to be able to get off.
In Leon's view, the Astral Express was, after all, a creation of an Aeon, so it was quite normal for it to have some extraordinary qualities.
Pom-Pom getting off the train would mean the entire Astral Express would have to trail behind the Nameless. Or, if the Astral Express was driven directly to the destination instead of waiting on standby, could that be considered a different way for Pom-Pom to "get off"?
In any case, the image of a train following a person around, talking and laughing, was a bit hard to stomach.
"Conductor, do you remember the existence of every Nameless?"
Seeing that it even remembered Aha, Leon thought of his own reason for searching for the Astral Express.
Although, Aha was probably remembered so vividly because they were the worst of the Nameless.
"Of course, pa! Every passenger is Pom-Pom's most precious treasure, pa!"
Pom-Pom patted its chest and puffed it out proudly.
"Then do you remember Mikhail?"
As he spoke, Leon took out the ticket Gallagher had entrusted to him.
"Mikhail?"
Hearing these words, Pom-Pom paused for a moment, a sign that a large volume of memories was being recalled in an instant.
"Passenger Mikhail, Passenger Tiernan, Passenger Lazarina."
Pom-Pom uttered the three all-too-familiar names.
"Passenger Leon, do you know them?"
"The three of them said they were going to explore the Asdena Star System. Are they okay now?"
Pom-Pom asked with anticipation and worry.
"They're all dead. They died on their respective paths of the Trailblaze."
Leon stepped forward and handed Misha's ticket to it.
"I heard that the issuing and sealing of tickets are the responsibility of the conductor."
"I've been looking for you, Conductor."
Leon waited quietly for it to take the ticket.
"Now, I can finally return it to you."
"Tiernan's body couldn't be found, and Lazarina is in the same situation. I'm sorry I couldn't bring back all three of their tickets."
Pom-Pom took it silently, staring blankly at the ticket.
"Mikhail's friend told me that after a Nameless dies, their ticket must be returned to the sea of stars by the conductor's hand. Only then can their life of trailblazing achieve its final completion."
The meaning behind Leon's words was self-evident.
"I understand, pa."
Pom-Pom didn't say anything, just silently went to prepare the final funeral for the Nameless.
Under the witness of the two juniors, Leon and March 7th, Mikhail's ticket was successfully returned to the Aeon by Pom-Pom.
The scene was not grand, completely lacking the epic scale one might imagine. However, for a Nameless, this was enough.
Their lives were a series of ups and downs on the Trailblaze. At the end of their lives, one last, peaceful trailblazing journey seemed fitting.
"Thank you, Passenger Leon."
Pom-Pom thanked him in a somber voice. It was clear it was downcast due to the loss of its friends.
"I was just fulfilling a request. It was the right thing to do."
Leon nodded.
Pom-Pom sniffled, then asked:
"By the way, Passenger Leon, have you considered being the Navigator, pa?"
"Navigator?"
____
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