Dan Heng stayed silent.
March 7th pursed her lips.
Stelle was speechless.
"Not talking, huh?"
"Silence is basically a confession!"
"Drop your weapons immediately!"
"If you resist, we'll detain you by force!"
As the Silvermane squad leader barked his order,
the patrol troops that had been spread across the area closed in all at once.
Weapons rose in unison, all pointed at the three newcomers.
Stelle weighed the baseball bat in her hand.
Me. Stelle.
Reborn from a Stellaron.
Awakened on Herta Space Station.
Walked off with a Curio baseball bat.
And personally smashed an Antimatter Legion Doomsday Beast.
And now you guys are acting tough?
Still, March 7th quietly lowered her bow.
Seeing how provocative Stelle looked, she hurriedly whispered a reminder.
"Hey!"
"You're being way too aggressive! Put the bat away!"
"Ugh—what is this?"
"We just arrived and we're already wanted criminals?"
"Does that make any sense?!"
"Belobog… the only remaining city on Jarilo-VI."
"Should we fight back, or…?"
"…Forget it. Let's leave it to fate."
The adults weren't around,
and this was Stelle's very first Trailblaze mission.
Running into something like this right out of the gate was just bad luck.
Honestly speaking, a handful of Silvermane Guards weren't much of a threat.
Even Stelle alone could probably take them.
But if things escalated like that,
any chance of cooperation between Belobog and the Astral Express would be ruined.
That wasn't what the Nameless were about.
Trailblaze wasn't supposed to start with burning bridges.
—
"Hey, hey, easy there—no need for all that."
"They're friends of mine."
"Why not do me a favor and let them through?"
A voice suddenly spoke from behind them.
A man—kind of handsome, maybe?
Definitely not on Dan Heng's or Mister Yang's level though—
appeared out of nowhere and casually hooked an arm around Dan Heng's shoulder.
His grin looked… very suspicious.
As soon as he showed up, the Silvermane Guards hesitated, sensing something was off.
Then another voice followed—smooth, persuasive, unsettlingly cheerful.
"Ahhh~"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, do me a solid, will you~?"
"Don't make old Sampo lose face here~"
Before the words even finished—
A large group of Silvermane Guards suddenly charged in the opposite direction.
"Get him!"
"That's the wanted criminal!"
Dan Heng frowned.
March 7th retreated behind him.
Stelle retreated behind March 7th.
And yes—
the baseball bat quietly came back out.
Dan Heng tightened his grip on Cloud-Piercer.
That spear was not drawn lightly.
Once it moved, only enemies would live to see the consequences.
Then—
The same man appeared again.
This time, he was sitting casually atop a crate near the city gate,
one hand braced against the box, looking completely at ease.
"Hey there."
"Nameless."
"Not exactly how my script was supposed to go,
but hey—we met anyway."
"Call it fate. I do."
"Relax. I'm just a traveling merchant."
"Name's Sampo."
"Quick—while they're busy chasing Sparkle, slip inside."
"Once they realize what's going on, it'll be too late."
With that, Sampo vanished.
Gone. Just like that.
March 7th peeked out from behind Dan Heng, pink hair bobbing, eyes wide.
"Eh?"
"Where'd he go?"
"You think I'm that easy to fool?"
"I didn't understand a single word he said!"
Dan Heng sighed internally.
The information that man carried…
If nothing else, he was almost certainly a Masked Fool.
But something was off.
No mask.
And this "Sparkle" he mentioned—who was that?
Was she the one who just drew all the Silvermane Guards away?
"…Belobog really isn't what I imagined," Dan Heng said quietly.
He turned to the two girls behind him.
"March. Stelle."
"You decide what we do next."
Sometimes,
serious people didn't make the best calls.
But when it came to these two—
The outcome might actually be better.
"…Well," March 7th said slowly.
"…Well."
Stelle echoed her once more, then looked at March.
"Let's go into the city first."
"We'll figure out the rest once we're inside."
"Even though that Sampo guy definitely doesn't feel trustworthy…"
"Something about this city feels wrong."
"Yeah!"
Stelle nodded firmly.
"Way better than getting arrested."
"And who knows how long that Sparkle person can keep them busy."
Dan Heng studied them for a moment, then nodded.
"…You're right."
"That makes sense."
"Then it's decided."
"Let's enter the city."
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