"This… this is!"
Stelle stared at the room in shock, so stunned by the stark contrast that she couldn't speak for a moment.
The room was made of a material resembling amber, with the floor, walls, and ceiling adorned with clearly expensive antique decorations.
Of course, the most striking thing was the temperature. The moment they entered, Stelle shivered uncontrollably. Why did it feel colder here than in Belobog?!
At that moment, Clockie stepped into the room as well. He froze for a second before saying dazedly, "This… this amber—it's divine material shed from Qlipoth's body."
"The kind that sells for millions per gram outside!"
He turned back to Mick. "Care to explain what's going on here?"
Thud—
To their surprise, Mick suddenly stumbled and fell, clutching his leg. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, likely from pain, and he groaned, "Ouch, my leg…"
Stelle helped him up, asking, "Weren't you living in that little room just now? What's this all about?"
Mick stammered, "Tch-tch-tch, I-I don't know! This house really isn't mine…"
Bang!
As Stelle walked, she accidentally bumped into a fridge, causing its door to swing open and a cascade of glittering blue credits to spill onto the floor.
"You said this house isn't yours, so these credits aren't yours either!" Clockie shouted sternly.
Seeing this, Mick's legs gave out, and only Stelle's support kept him from collapsing. Trembling, he said, "W-w-who… who put all this money in my fridge?"
Stelle's eyes widened. "So you're admitting this is your fridge!"
"…"
Mick opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. After a few seconds of silence, his handsome face crumpled, and he burst into tears. "I-I haven't spent a single cent!"
"You… you don't understand. For ten Amber Eras, my predecessors were pioneers, terrified of poverty."
"I really haven't touched a single cent…"
Stelle blinked and looked at Clockie. "He seems so innocent. I'm starting to feel like forgiving him."
Clockie: "Friend, he's not innocent. I didn't expect him to be this good at acting even in his mindspace… It's time to delete him."
"No, no! What do you want from me?!"
Mick grabbed Stelle's sleeve in panic. "Give me one more chance, please! I can change, I swear! You're good people, I'm begging you!"
"Evil Mick, stop causing a scene!"
Clockie grabbed Mick by the collar, lifting him up. "You've brought shame to your brothers and sisters by your actions. You're too reckless!"
"Mikhail's shares were meant for the Nameless of the Astral Express, but as Mikhail's incarnation, you and the others had the right to inherit them too. Yet, driven by greed, you sidelined the other six incarnations and threatened the younger generation. You brought this on yourself!"
"From now on, your assets are zeroed out! You're not allowed to buy anything, and you'll own nothing!"
With a wave of his hand, Clockie declared, "Friend, revoke his Mick status. From this moment, he's no longer Mikhail's incarnation!"
Stelle scratched her head. "Huh? Shouldn't we just delete him entirely?"
"That's too easy for him. For scum like this, the harshest punishment is to strip him of all his wealth and force him to sign his own lifelong labor contract, living a penniless life forever!"
"Oh, oh, oh! Got it!"
Stelle nodded and plopped the hat onto Mick's head. "All your money belongs to me now!"
"No, no, no—!" Mick struggled desperately. In this life-or-death moment, he somehow summoned strength he didn't normally have, breaking free from Clockie's grasp and bolting away.
"Stop! Don't even think about running—!"
…
Outside the mindspace, four people surrounded Mick, occasionally poking at him but unable to figure out how Stelle and the others had entered his body.
Firefly stared at Mick, thinking to herself: Why did Stelle dive into this guy's body? Why not mine? Does this so-called chairman have some hidden secret?
March 7th stared at Mick, thinking: Stelle's always been clever and steady. She must have a reason for doing this, right? But what if something goes wrong? Should we just dissect this guy? After all, Star's safety comes first.
"Ugh…"
At that moment, the unconscious Mick let out a muffled groan, followed by a desperate murmur: "…Faster, faster…"
Hmm?
Everyone noticed the anomaly and leaned in to listen.
Mick: "Faster, faster, faster! They're coming, they're coming!"
"'They'? Is he talking about Stelle and that 'Clockie'?" Welt speculated.
"Probably," Himeko said. "It seems like, in the three system hours we've been apart, quite a few things have happened to Star that we don't know about."
"I have a feeling they're about to come out."
As if to confirm Himeko's words, Mick's body began to tremble violently, his face contorted, and he muttered, "Faster, faster, faster, no—!"
"What kind of freak investigators are these two?!"
"I've never even seen them—how could I hide anything?!"
"Wah—wah—kimoji—!"
"No, no, don't delete me! Dame, dame, dame, dame! Ah—! Waaah—!"
As Mick's screams reached their peak, two figures—one large, one small—leaped out of his body. Stelle performed a front flip, landing stylishly… in the arms of two people.
March 7th looked at Firefly, who had reacted the same way, and smiled faintly. "Haha, looks like we're really in sync, thinking the same thing even in a situation like this."
Firefly returned the smile. "Yeah, what a coincidence. Seems your care for Stelle is no less than mine."
"No less? It's way more, okay?"
"Really? Then Penacony truly lives up to its name."
"…"
Stelle squirmed, jumping down from their arms and putting her hat back on. "Everyone, I've completely dealt with Mick. From now on, he can no longer abuse his position as chairman to do evil."
"And I have some huge news to announce."
Stelle cleared her throat, puffing out her chest proudly. "The shares Mikhail left behind, which Mick had monopolized, have now been automatically inherited. Our Express crew… is rich now!"