"Huh? Passenger Lynelle and Passenger Stelle, why are you two here so early?"
Looking at the two who showed up at the train's entrance first thing in the morning, Pom-Pom's expression turned somewhat... odd.
"Eh? Didn't you tell us to come early, Pom-Pom?"
Lynelle tilted her head.
"Th-that was definitely me, but, but..."
Pom-Pom's little short arms started waving anxiously without even realizing it: "Passenger Lynelle, you've been staying at the space station for so long, surely there are people you care about that you haven't said goodbye to yet, right? And Passenger Stelle, aren't you going to take another look at the Simulated Universe project you participated in!"
"Hmm..."
Lynelle fell into deep thought.
As everyone knows, Pom-Pom is a very kind-hearted creature. Even Aha, who once blew up half a train car, is still recognized by it as a Nameless.
So, if Pom-Pom is so anxiously trying to stop them from entering...
"It's fine, Pom-Pom."
Before Lynelle could speak, Stelle suddenly seemed to have an epiphany.
Lynelle immediately shot Stelle a look of utter shock. Could it be that in just a few short days, her pure little Stellaron had already learned to understand hints like this?
"Even when facing an unknown future, we must step into it without hesitation."
Stelle's voice suddenly became passionate.
"This is the meaning of Trailblazing!"
"What kind of weird nonsense did you just realize, hey!"
Lynelle quickly tried to perform a karate chop to reset Stelle to factory settings.
However, perhaps due to their height difference, before Lynelle could act, Himeko's voice came from inside the carriage.
"Pom-Pom, what's going on out there?"
"Eek!"
Almost visibly, Pom-Pom's fluffy ears trembled. Then, its little face fell immediately, and it muttered under its breath.
"Alright then, it seems Passengers Lynelle and Stelle can't avoid it. Maybe this is for the best. Personal experience often leaves a deeper impression..."
"Eh? Lynelle and Stelle are here already this early?"
Himeko, who had walked to the hatch, immediately brightened up: "Come on in! Have you two had breakfast yet?"
"You came at just the right time. It's the train's breakfast hour. I've prepared some coffee. Strange though, for some reason, Welt, Dan Heng, and little March have all vanished... Since you're here, you can try some."
"!"
Looking at Pom-Pom, who wore an expression saying 'rest in peace,' Lynelle finally understood why Pom-Pom had been so desperate to keep the two of them from entering the train.
Pom-Pom, you're so kind!
"W-well, Sis Himeko..."
Adhering to the spirit of 'better you than me,' Lynelle immediately patted the still eager Stelle beside her and said to Himeko.
"You know, I need to try to sleep at a fixed time every day to travel to the other world... So I never drink coffee or any beverages with stimulants."
"So... how about letting Stelle handle my share?"
"Eh, me?"
Stelle tilted her head and pointed at herself. "If it's just coffee... no problem!"
"Is that so... What a shame. But, if Stelle is willing to try some, then my efforts won't have been wasted."
Himeko sighed regretfully. "Up until now, only one person has ever given my coffee a bad review."
"Um... is it okay to ask what happened to that person later?"
Stelle asked curiously.
"I kicked them off the train~"
In a gentle voice, Himeko brought out two cups of... quivering, solidified, coffee-colored unidentified lumps.
"?"
Almost the instant she saw these two cups of 'coffee,' the light vanished from Stelle's eyes.
She suddenly felt that she might, perhaps, possibly, probably...
Had been tricked by Lynelle?
Stelle immediately looked towards where Lynelle had been, only to find the young woman had already disappeared.
–+--
"I hope Stelle's okay."
By now, having escaped to the Parlor Car, Lynelle pressed her palms together, offering a sincere prayer for her good friend.
And, successfully ran into the trio taking refuge here.
"Hey? Lynelle, you're here already?"
March, sitting at the bar counter waiting for a closed-mouth blend of milk tea, was the first to spot Lynelle.
"Wait, at this hour... Didn't Sis Himeko keep you for coffee?"
March's exclamation immediately drew the attention of Dan Heng and Welt, who had been discussing something nearby.
"I managed to avoid it, but poor Stelle probably has to drink two cups."
"To evade Himeko's coffee on your very first day aboard the train... Is this Lynelle's terrifying intuition?"
Dan Heng wore a thoughtful expression. "Perhaps... Lynelle could help us break the 'jail time every three planets' curse."
"Dan Heng, have you forgotten that the cost of Lynelle skipping coffee is Stelle drinking two cups..."
March 7th suddenly spotted the flaw. "Doesn't that mean... we might have to do double the jail time?!"
"I suddenly feel the future looks bleak again."
Ahem, ahem. Don't worry, my ability is tailor-made for jailbreaks. Even though the success rate so far is zero percent, that doesn't change the fact that it's perfectly suited for the job."
Lynelle gave a thumbs-up. "So, what were you all talking about earlier?"
"We were discussing your and Stelle's accommodation," Dan Heng replied.
"Although the train has some empty passenger cabins, considering your and Stelle's situations... Would you mind being roommates with Stelle?"
"Eh?"
"Ahem, ahem. It's like this," Welt cleared his throat.
"From my observations during this time, I've found that... as a special existence who has lost her memories and, physiologically speaking, has just been 'born,' while Stelle can generally take care of herself, there are still some details of daily life that require correction with others' help."
"For example... in this past week, she rummaged through every single trash can on the space station, casually shut down several of the station's robots, and performed many laughably naive acts around the station..."
"And Lynelle, your situation is also special. Since you might adjust how many times you sleep per day based on the tension in the other world, you also need a roommate to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and to prevent the special circumstances Madam Herta mentioned... So, we were wondering if we should have you and Stelle become roommates directly."
"Of course, the final decision is up to you. If you agree... well, there's a large, unused storage room on the second level of the Parlor Car. With a little setup, it could become a sufficiently large room. Lynelle, what do you think?"
"I don't really have any objections. After all, back in the other world, I also lived with several roommates..."
Lynelle's expression turned awkward. "But, I just dumped Stelle at Himeko's place to drink two cups of coffee... Maybe right now, Stelle just wants to use her baseball bat on me?"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.