Inside the Eternal Snowfall, an advanced temperature control system kept the interior warm even in the extreme cold of outer space.
Sparkle, however, felt it was a bit too hot. She wanted to finish her "work" as quickly as possible so Setsuna would return her Path power.
Otherwise, she would be stuck as a useless nobody.
There was no helping it. Under an Aeon, one had no choice but to bow.
"Mmm!"
"Cough, cough!"
Sparkle coughed a few times, and a Royal Maid's voice came from outside.
"Commander? Do you need anything?"
"Bring some drinks."
"Understood."
No matter where Setsuna was, the Royal Maids were always on standby.
Belfast knocked on the door and entered with a tray, delivering two glasses of orange juice.
The head maid cast a casual glance and couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Commander, you really are..."
She had seen situations like this many times before, so she wasn't surprised. After giving a polite nod, she withdrew.
Gulp!
Gulp—
Sparkle took a few gulps of the drink. The mixed flavors tasted a bit strange.
She looked at Setsuna with a slightly resentful expression.
"Commander, is it enough now?"
"Come here."
Setsuna beckoned, and Sparkle obediently moved closer.
He glanced at the time.
"It's 22:30 right now. Do you know how much time passes aboard the Eternal Snowfall before sunrise tomorrow, given a sixteenfold time dilation?"
"Eh?!"
Sparkle counted on her fingers and was startled.
That meant at least four or five days. She had only been at this for half a day so far—barely even a warm-up, just the prelude.
Aeons were terrifying.
As an ordinary person right now, she felt she was definitely in for trouble.
"W-Wait, Commander!"
Sparkle gestured between him and herself, suddenly feeling immense pressure.
She looked up pitifully.
"This... isn't appropriate, right?"
She suddenly regretted being so small. If she were like Black Swan or Kafka, a mature woman, the pressure would be much less.
Even Firefly would be better—at least she was a proper young girl.
"How about you give me some Path power so I can turn into a grown woman?"
"Your imagination is quite something. No."
Setsuna tapped lightly, activating the authority of the Herrscher of the Void.
Space instantly bound Sparkle in place.
He thought the short kimono suited her perfectly—not only did it look lively and cute, it was also very convenient when needed.
"Mmm!"
Sparkle bit her lip.
"Commander, you're a bad person! Even worse than me!"
"If I were a good guy, wouldn't I just get played by you?"
Setsuna laughed.
Pfft—
No matter how carefree and mischievous Sparkle had been before, in front of Setsuna, she was still just a beginner.
There was an old saying from ancient times: strict discipline produces good children.
Setsuna followed the wisdom of the ancients. For a troublesome brat who loved causing chaos, it was necessary to teach her how to live within the Starsea Empire.
...
The sun rose and set.
From the perspective of the outside world, waking up meant just another ordinary day.
Ordinary people busied themselves once more with their daily lives.
Aboard the Eternal Snowfall, under the effects of time dilation, the holographic dome had already cycled through multiple days and nights.
"Mm—"
Setsuna let out a satisfied yawn.
Sixteenfold time dilation was far from his limit, but since there was only one person, there was no need to stretch it too long.
With more people, he could increase the curvature of spacetime further.
"Mmm..."
Sparkle held onto the ship's wall, staggering out of the bridge with uneven steps.
The good news was that she had regained her Path of Elation power.
Setsuna was satisfied and returned the power he had confiscated.
The bad news was that along with Imaginary energy, she had also gained... something else.
Her "anime intake" had increased quite a bit.
Sparkle couldn't understand how something so outrageous was even possible. But then again, this was an Aeon.
"Ugh..."
Sirius and Dido stared at Sparkle, hesitating to speak.
"Um, Sparkle... maybe you should go rest first? Take a bath? Don't walk around dripping everywhere..."
"Cleaning up after you across the Eternal Snowfall is exhausting for us."
"!"
Sparkle flushed with embarrassment and anger.
"It's not like I wanted this! Blame the Commander, okay?!"
She knew there were Aeons who loved slaughter and destruction, ones obsessed with building walls, ones with compulsive tendencies...
But an Aeon with such... grounded and human-like hobbies? This was a first.
She even suspected whether Setsuna truly wielded the Path of Trailblaze or Elation—or if he had secretly picked up something like Slaanesh's power during a trip to another universe.
"Really? I saw you looking pretty happy—eyes full of hearts, making peace signs, that expression and all."
Setsuna rubbed her head.
"Mmm!"
Sparkle had no intention of talking back anymore.
She was completely convinced—body and mind, inside and out.
The Commander of the Starsea Empire was terrifying. He knew far too many things.
...
Whoosh—
When they returned to the base.
"Commander!"
Firefly had been waiting at the entrance of the administrative center for a long time.
Not long after being tricked back, she realized she had been deceived and came here specifically to wait.
"Ah! It's you!!"
When Firefly saw Sparkle staggering over, she recalled how Sparkle had impersonated Ikaros to lure her away, then pretended to be her to go on a date with the Commander...
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
She stomped her foot and pulled out her transformation device.
Shing—!
"SAM, deploy!!!"
Boom!!!
A sonic burst rang out.
The white mech instantly lunged at Sparkle.
"Ah!!!"
Bang—!
If Sparkle hadn't reacted quickly, she would have been sent flying.
At the same time, Ikaros noticed her, spread her wings, and flew into the sky, drawing her purple bow and aiming at Sparkle.
"Master, she impersonated me to deliver false information. Request permission to execute annihilation protocol."
"Hey!!! Wait! Firefly girl! And you, pink-haired angel!"
"I surrender! I surrender!!!"
Sparkle shouted, hiding behind Setsuna.
She hadn't expected to get beaten by both Firefly and Ikaros after already being disciplined.
Either of them alone would be enough for her to handle normally—let alone now, when her body was still weak.
"Mmm!"
Firefly pouted, pointing at Sparkle peeking out from behind Setsuna.
"Commander, she... she went too far!"
"How could she do something like that? I... I prepared for so long, even reserved a restaurant and picked a scenic spot..."
"She tricked me away, and then... then... wuu... I saved up for so long too..."
The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became.
Setsuna smiled, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her silver hair.
"It's alright. I've already punished her."
"What you lost, I'll make up to you later."
"Really?"
Firefly looked up timidly.
"Mm."
Setsuna lightly brushed her lips, a faint fragrance lingering.
"Wherever you want to go, I'll accompany you."
"You are you. No one can replace or imitate you."
"Mmm..."
A faint blush spread across Firefly's face. Her grievance eased, replaced by shy sweetness.
"Commander, I..."
"I know."
Before she could finish, Setsuna responded with action.
Sparkle had perfectly imitated Firefly—her appearance, movements, expressions, even her personality and thoughts.
Under those conditions, their actions would naturally align. What Sparkle did was effectively what Firefly would have done.
"Commander, whatever Sparkle did with you, I want to do it again. This is compensation."
The girl spoke seriously, determined to reclaim her memories from Sparkle.
"I want to eat with you, watch the scenery with you, and also... the things I don't know about, mmm..."
"Pfft—hahahahaha—"
Sparkle, who had been trembling just moments ago, suddenly burst into laughter.
"Sure, sure! Let the Commander do it all over again with you, little Firefly~"
Bang—
Setsuna knocked her on the head.
"One is punishment. The other is a reward. They're different."
"Keep messing around and you know the consequences."
For troublesome brats, strict discipline was necessary—but for a pure girl like Firefly, he knew to be gentle.
"Eek—"
Sparkle shuddered.
"Then... we'll do it together in the future?"
"...That's more like it."
...
From a certain day onward, Setsuna found himself with a clingy little girlfriend by his side.
Probably to get back at Sparkle for tricking her away during their date, Firefly stayed with Setsuna whenever she had free time.
"Commander, I brewed some tea for you, and I made some cookies myself, um..."
"Commander, are you free tonight? How about we go have dinner together...?"
"Um, you've been working hard, haven't you? Do you want me to massage your shoulders?"
"..."
"Miss Firefly, I understand your desire to spend time with the Commander, but taking care of him is the Royal Maids' duty. Please refrain from taking our work."
Belfast looked somewhat speechless at Firefly, who hovered around Setsuna constantly, almost never leaving his side.
From her vast experience, there was only one explanation for this condition: the honeymoon phase.
Firefly's eyes could no longer see anyone else—only the Commander who had cured her Entropy Loss Syndrome and taken her across the sea of stars.
"Where do you want to go? Tonight, I can take you on a tour around the galaxy—Pier Point or anywhere else."
Setsuna pulled Firefly into his arms and teased her.
Though she didn't show it much normally, Firefly's figure was actually quite good.
And perhaps it was just an illusion, but after her genetic ascension, she seemed to have grown a little more.
"Mm!"
Firefly rubbed against his chest.
"Then where will we stay? Do we need to book a hotel?"
"No. We'll stay on the Eternal Snowfall."
Setsuna gently stroked her hair.
Her face immediately turned red, and she lightly punched him twice.
"You're always thinking about bullying me... mmm..."
"Hey!"
Watching the two being affectionate, Sparkle felt like she was being treated differently.
"Commander! Why are you so gentle with her but not even a little polite with me?!"
She thought about how Setsuna had played with her on the table, in his arms, folded her up, and left her so dazed she could barely walk.
Then she looked at Firefly—her expression soft and affectionate, shy yet adorable. Clearly, their experiences were completely different.
"I told you. That was your punishment for causing trouble."
Setsuna pinched Sparkle's cheek.
"Mmm!"
The little girl puffed up her cheeks.
"Commander, if there's someone you fancy, I can also turn into other people..."
"?"
Before she could finish, a trace of killing intent flashed in Firefly's eyes.
"Uh, I mean—with your permission only, Commander~"
Sparkle immediately raised her hands in surrender.
"...Who said something like that to me before?"
Setsuna paused for a moment.
Nanomachines could transform into any appearance, and Sparkle could cosplay other roles.
The two together could create countless variations, but he still preferred things in their original form.
"We require real-name registration for our parties, thank you."
...
Elsewhere.
Near the Starskiff dock.
After a period of maintenance, the Astral Express had been fully restored.
"Mm, this time, we should finally be able to properly Trailblaze a world."
Himeko checked the status of each module on the holographic interface.
Ever since the two train crews merged within the Starsea Empire and underwent major upgrades, they hadn't truly carried out a proper Trailblaze mission on their own.
The first time was an experiment led by Setsuna, where they forced their way into another universe using Trailblaze power.
The second time, before departure, they encountered Aha causing trouble and ended up throwing Them and the Masked Fools into the Warhammer universe.
Now, with external interference removed, the Astral Express could finally head toward its intended destination.
"Ahem. Our target this time is Jarilo-VI."
"As for the Trailblaze mission... I assume the Commander has already briefed everyone?"
Himeko looked at the crew.
There was herself and March 7th, Kiana, Bronya, Seele and the Valkyrie squad, Gudako and the Stellaron-born troublemaker duo, two Stellaron Hunters...
There was even a Herta puppet. The Herta was more interested in Setsuna, but also curious about the Astral Express, so she simply sent a puppet along.
"This is hilarious—one of our teammates is actually a Herta doll."
Silver Wolf knocked on the puppet's head repeatedly.
"Is it fun? Why don't you check if something's wrong with your game account instead?"
The Herta puppet asked expressionlessly.
"Hey!! Herta!!!"
Silver Wolf panicked and frantically opened her interface to check.
"...Let her off this time, Herta. If Silver Wolf starts crying and throwing a tantrum again, it'll affect our work."
Kafka sat to the side, crossing her legs as she sipped red wine.
"I'm not crying or throwing a tantrum!!!"
"..."
Himeko felt that while the crew's strength had increased significantly, there were also quite a few rivals among them.
After a brief commotion, the Astral Express slowly departed from its dock.
Accelerating through space again and again.
[Jump imminent. Please prepare.]
[Jump program ready: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...]
[Target confirmed]
Boom—
A blinding flash erupted in space as the Astral Express leapt forward.
With a brief sensation of weightlessness and disorientation, they arrived in another unfamiliar "world."
Without overloading the power of Trailblaze, it lacked the ability to break through the boundaries of the universe.
Looking out the window, not far away, a snow-covered planet slowly rotated below.
The surface was blanketed in ice, and most of the land had become frozen wasteland.
"Target world reached. Spatial readings abnormal. Star track stability has dropped to 12%."
"High-energy anomalies detected within the system, severely obstructing the Astral Express' route."
Pom-Pom shook its head as it spoke.
"Oh..."
Himeko looked at the planet below with slight surprise.
"Has Jarilo-VI already become like this...?"
Before departure, they had reviewed some information.
Jarilo-VI once had a thriving native civilization.
With the Astral Express connecting worlds and forces like the Interastral Peace Corporation arriving, the planet's civilization rapidly advanced.
Until about a thousand years ago, when a Stellaron fell upon this world, and its fate took a sharp turn for the worse.
Countless people fled in fear, and the Antimatter Legion descended, launching a full-scale invasion of Jarilo-VI.
After years of war, only the city of Belobog remained. The first Supreme Guardian, Alisa Rand, made a wish to the Stellaron, hoping to protect the planet.
Blizzards and freezing tides swept across the world. Ice storms devoured everything, and under the protection of Preservation's power, Belobog barely survived.
Since then, Jarilo-VI had been trapped in a long ice age.
After the first Guardian, every successor had to face energy crises, fragmentation erosion, and the temptation of the Stellaron.
Over the long years, Preservation never responded to them, and Belobog's situation grew increasingly dire.
The current Supreme Guardian, Cocolia Rand, in despair, once again made a wish to the Stellaron.
The Stellaron promised her a new world, at the cost of erasing all traces of the old one—embracing destruction.
"Tsk, making wishes to a Stellaron?"
The Herta puppet clicked its tongue.
"A Stellaron can indeed respond to a civilization's wish for advancement, but... the way it fulfills that wish is often not what one imagines. Most of the time, it's tied to destruction."
"I'd guess Alisa Rand only wanted to drive away the Antimatter Legion. She probably never expected the planet to end up like this."
"Isn't that basically a corrupted Holy Grail? I'm familiar with this!"
Gudako patted her chest.
"So what do we do?"
Stelle raised her hand.
With the Astral Express' current lineup, their strength was unprecedented.
There were Emanators of Trailblaze and Erudition, Stellaron Hunters, and they already understood the situation of the world in advance.
Naturally, there was no need to proceed step by step and negotiate with Belobog.
"Idiot, didn't you learn anything in the Frieren world?"
Gudako knocked the gray-haired girl on the head.
"For a world like this, efficiency, efficiency, and more efficiency!"
"Solve their problems, bring the entire world under the Starsea Empire's management, and package up anything valuable to take back."
"Go on—give those Preservation blockheads a taste of Trailblaze shock."