The little raccoon's point of view couldn't really be called romantic.
But there was no doubt that it was practical enough, and simple enough.
Down to earth, highly efficient, something anyone could understand and couldn't argue against.
There was no question that, in this respect, she truly deserved to be called one of Nero and Ratio's proud students.
Listening to Stelle ramble on, Firefly's eyes gradually turned vacant.
She didn't dislike this. In fact, she thought it was nice that Stelle was so full of energy. But wasn't it a bit strange to keep talking about this here?
And Firefly had the feeling that someone was watching them, but when she looked around, she couldn't find what exactly was spying on her and Stelle.
...
"Holy... your... huh?! What are you doing?! You... geez, I... tsk..."
Bang bang bang bang bang!
Siberian Duck, who was immersed in the story, angrily slammed the table.
Seeing Stelle suddenly start giving a grand speech made her furious.
Even though Stelle was right, what the hell did that have to do with the situation right now?!
A rooftop, a meteor shower, a cute girl, just the two of them, opening up their hearts!
Everything was in place.
Siberian Duck was so disappointed she nearly broke down as she shouted, "Damn you, Stellaron gremlin! You're... dense as an idiot! I was practically about to say 'I do,' and what the hell are you doing?! Why are you talking about this?! Is now the damn time for that?!"
[Siberian Duck Assistant: It's over. The streamer has snapped.]
[So Handsome I Get Beaten on the Street: I think it's understandable. That Stellaron gremlin is something else. That sudden turn threw my back out.]
[I Use Pantene: I think it's pretty normal. A Stellaron gremlin being dense and straightforward makes perfect sense, doesn't it?]
[Belobog Savage: Hehe, I'd say Nero taught her well. Grandpa wasn't like this before. As for Nero, if you asked him why life slumbers, he'd probably seriously discuss it with you.]
[Boiling Tea with Snow: Damn it, I'm both mad and laughing. The mood had already reached that point. What kind of cursed train of thought is this? The Honkai: Star Rail writing team keeps getting sicker.]
[Nero's Feet Belong in My Mouth: You can't say that. Back when I was in college, I once saw a top student in my dorm discussing calculus with his girlfriend in the dorm room.]
[Glue Man: If I remember right, Brother Yellow Pee is a guy, isn't he? That's a lot of information in one sentence.]
[Nero's Feet Belong in My Mouth: Why do you care so much? Isn't everyone online talking about "cute crossdressing boys" these days? I just got lucky back then. Anyway, I'm exhausted today. I spent the whole day playing with Nero and can't even stand up anymore.]
[Pom-Pom: Unreal.]
[Aha's Emanator: Brother Yellow Pee spent his whole life getting ruined by...]
[Sampo Stays Up Late: I seriously suspect the girlfriend Brother Yellow Pee mentioned is actually himself.]
[Glue Man: Bro, eat something good when you have the chance. If you can't afford it, at least look at it. Don't starve yourself. But seriously, I've watched Brother Yellow Pee's streams before. He's actually not bad-looking, and he's pretty rich too.]
[Glue Man: Holy shit?]
———
"Um... let's change the subject... It's not often we get such relaxing time in a beautiful dream..." Firefly hesitated for a long time before deciding to interrupt Stelle. After all, they couldn't just sit here listening to a lecture forever.
"Let's do something else that's more relaxing. You must have a lot of friends on the Express. What do you usually do together?"
Hearing Firefly's question, Stelle fell into thought.
Conductor Pom-Pom was usually very serious, but sometimes they would spray everyone with a watering can. March and she had suffered quite a bit because of that.
As for Dan Heng... well, this quiet friend really didn't have much of a sense of humor. Even if they dragged him into having fun, he'd respond with deadpan jokes so cold they made everyone feel like they needed cold medicine.
Though lately, Dan Heng had gradually started fitting in with them more. Before coming to Penacony, they could even see him smile from time to time.
As for Himeko... forget it.
No one on the Express could enjoy the coffee Himeko enthusiastically shared. Nero could drink it, but after trying it once, he never wanted it again.
Mr. Yang... Mr. Yang would tell stories, and everyone loved listening to them. But she didn't have that much knowledge stored up, so forget that too.
As for Nero...
It seemed Nero didn't need to do anything at all. Just looking at him made people feel happy.
Not everyone could learn the talent of Pure Beauty.
That left only March.
Taking photos was pretty nice.
So Stelle offered her suggestion, and Firefly happily agreed. Together, they took a picture with the dawn on the distant horizon and the meteor shower behind them.
They used Firefly's phone. After the photo was taken, Stelle returned it to her. Just then, her own phone vibrated. She opened it and found messages from the Astral Express family group chat.
[Himeko: Everyone, are you having fun?]
[March 7th: It's fun.]
[March 7th: But something feels off...]
[March 7th: It all feels kind of unreal. It's strange. I can't quite explain it.]
[Stelle: After all, we're in a dream.]
[March 7th: I ran into a man with a plaster head at the auction. He didn't do anything and just left. Super suspicious.]
[Stelle: That's Professor Veritas Ratio, one of the leading figures of the Intelligentsia Guild. He's a bit hard to communicate with, but he's actually a surprisingly good person. Nero and I had some dealings with him back at the space station.]
[March 7th: Really? Well, he definitely felt like a strange guy.]
[Welt: I also made some rather unpleasant discoveries. It's complicated. It's best discussed in person.]
[Himeko: Me too.]
[Himeko: Looks like it's time to return to reality.]
[Himeko: Gather in my room.]
[March 7th: By the way, where's Nero? Why isn't Nero saying anything?]
[Stelle: @Nero Nero, how are things over there?]
[March 7th: ???]
[March 7th: Aren't you all in the Golden Hour? Nero isn't with you?]
[Stelle: We split up because of something earlier. I think Nero is with Sampo.]
[March 7th: ??? Sampo came too?]
[Welt: The Family's invitation seems to have been sent to the Tavern as well. Perhaps Mr. Sampo is one of the representatives of the Masked Fools.]
[Nero: I'm fine. I'm with Argenti, Huohuo, and Yanqing right now. Something happened. It's nothing serious, but I might be a little late to the meeting.]
[Nero: I also found something bad over here. Those hateful Family members are exploiting their employees. I have to tell Sister Robin about this later.]
[Stelle: ?]
[Himeko: ?]
[Welt: ?]
[March 7th: ?]
Stelle put away her phone, her expression strange.
Naturally, it was because of what Nero had said at the end. Although Stelle didn't think there was anything wrong with it, she still vaguely felt that Nero was the last person who should be saying something like that.
Maybe it was because she'd seen so many Fragmentum creatures working so hard while helping at the factory.
Now she actually felt a little softhearted.
'I'm so kind.'
No one knew what the Fragmentum monsters at the factory would feel if they ever found out about this.
Of course, no one cared how the Fragmentum creatures felt.
As long as they worked hard, that was enough.
After all, they were Fragmentum creatures.
They didn't have human rights.
Although there had been some activists in the universe who harshly criticized Nero's factory, claiming that Fragmentum creatures shouldn't be treated this way.
But it didn't matter.
They soon lost every excuse and every reason.
They could no longer say anything against Nero's Fragmentum factory.
Because everyone knew that innocent, adorable, beautiful, kind, and pure little Nero would kindly help them by giving them the chance to care for Fragmentum creatures.
Not only could they get up close with Fragmentum creatures, they also received free job positions. Every one of those activists was moved to tears by our selfless, generous, universally beloved, sweet and adorable little Nero.
They cried from gratitude.
Afterward, Stelle told Firefly about the gathering. The two agreed to meet again in the real world. For now, they would head back to the Golden Hour together before leaving the dream.
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