26 Leaving

"Hey! Did you do something right now!? The parameters are going off like crazy?!"

Yuuto turned his attention away from the document and noticed that some of the holographic screens floating around the room began to show some movement.

Some of its bars began to fluctuate while the temperature that was displayed showed that it was gradually going lower compared to before.

"Density increased slightly, temperature reached a new benchmark…"

Herta intently looked at the changes in her data while her monotone voice blurted out what was going through her head.

Yuuto who was still trying to understand the quick pace of Herta's actions, looked back at the document and saw the tendrils of prismatic light radiating off the words and how it gradually streamed towards his palm.

'I guess getting rid of the black smoke from the document made my mist stronger? But was this reaction more noticeable because of the degree of 'veil' I uncovered…'

This reaction never happened when he used [Clarity] on that one word Nanook said and the only conclusion he had was the amount of black mist he removed.

Watching the stream finally stopping, Yuuto's eyes shined seeing that there were still a few more 'veiled' documents and decided that he would go ahead and try to see what else he could figure out.

It was a good opportunity for him to learn more about the things he had and the progression he could take with Herta by his side.

But despite the collaboration he's receiving with her, he wanted to keep some of his other skills hidden and limit it only to his mist for now.

Him manipulating memories could bring him unwanted trouble as his knowledge of the Garden of Recollection is still limited despite having some fragments from the Cremator he fought before.

However one thing he knew was that dealing with the Garden of Recollection was dangerous. As Welt had told him before during his time of asking questions on elements currently going on in the universe.

There was also Mythus controlling the Enigmata and his way of countering it.

Too many unknown details that had him on guard. 

"But Solarian huh… maybe I should try and ask Himeko if I could quickly go back there. I want to get some supplies for Jarilo-VI that's coming up and I could've sworn I've seen that river in the park back then…" 

***

"That should be enough for today. Good work."

"Why your welcome. I guess kicking me into a flaming bath of fire was a good sight for you."

"Meh, you were fine. You were able to withstand some decent temperatures but I should probably install a program to make the simulations more realistic…"

"Just tell me before you do anything okay…"

Yuuto looked strangely at Herta who's eyes glinted dangerously and felt the need to walk a bit further from her before she pulled him back into the Simulated Universe.

"Be sure you come back regularly. I finally have something that is interesting to research and I still have a boatload of theories I want to test."

"I don't know if I can come back regularly but I'll see what I can do. While I'm away I'll test the capabilities of storing elements we discussed beforehand."

"Yeah, yeah. Bring me some data. It will be helpful to compare the benchmarks we got today." 

Herta waved her hand dismissively as she knew the extent they were able to reach today but she saw the future of the Simulated Universe to be more favorable the more she thought about it.

'I'll send some samples to Screwllum and see if he could inscribe an integrated circuit inside.'

Yuuto noticed that Herta turned silent once again and formed a wry smile seeing that this certain genius was very passionate about her work.

'But I guess it's only limited to work that she finds worth her time.'

Leaving Herta to her own thoughts, Yuuto walked out of her office and stretched his body watching as the stars in the dark space above him shined brightly.

Even if it was for a moment, today was really eventful as he met some interesting people and at the same time learned more about the universe he was in.

Stories, experiences and memories that were hidden all around him made him realize that there was much more beneath the surface of what he saw on the game screen.

"I want to see more."

A faint sliver of white light flashed in his eyes as he smiled at this thought and felt his unhindered mind thirsty for more experiences than what it already had.

Yuuto walked through the station and took in the scenery of researchers finally settling into their work while others relaxed as the adrenaline from the invasion finally disappeared from their bodies.

After walking for quite a bit, he reached the docking station of the Express where Himeko, Stelle and Asta stood off to the side talking.

As he got closer Himeko turned her head and smiled, noticing that he seemed to be finished with Herta on whatever they were working on.

"I hope you found your time with Herta productive."

"I would say that it was a bit too productive. Her whims sure are something."

Yuuto gave out a tired sigh but he smiled after showing that he didn't mind.

"Madam Herta may be like that but I can guarantee that she will be genuine in whatever she has her attention on whether it would be the research or the people helping her." 

"I guess I can agree with that." 

Asta nodded her head as she spoke about Herta. Yuuto heard these words and also agreed as she treated him quite fairly despite experiencing some questionable simulations.

"By the way, thank you for sending that extra bonus from before. I was already satisfied by the initial amount but I didn't expect to get something more."

"It was not an issue. You and the rest of the Express saved us from the Antimatter Legions invasion on top of helping our researchers evacuate safely so I just wanted to show my gratitude."

The lack of casualties was something that Asta really appreciated and she just felt the need to show her thanks.

"We were just here at the right time, that's all." Yuuto calmly said. "Plus we couldn't have you carry all those issues by yourself so we just had to do what we could."

"Is that so?"

Asta giggled a bit as she thought his way of speaking was a bit lighthearted and remembered Yuuto was like this when he told her to take care of herself during the attack.

"How much did she give you again?" Stelle leaned her head towards Yuuto.

Although she was in the same room as him during the time he received the money, she personally didn't see the amount but judging from his reaction from before it must have been a lot.

Yuuto didn't say anything and just tilted his phone towards Stelle who stood blankly at the zeros she saw.

After staring for an unknown amount of time, she seriously looked at Yuuto and pushed her palms forward.

"Can I have some?"

"What. No? And why are you acting like a child asking for an allowance from their parents?"

"Papa?"

Yuuto felt a shiver when he heard what she called him and took a step back.

Stelle saw his reaction and a sly glint appeared in her eyes which was followed by a huge grin forming on her face.

"Papa~"

"Stop, you're making my skin crawl." 

As Stelle took a step forward, Yuuto followed along with a step back which eventually formed into a game of chase.

Himeko and Asta watched off to the side as they found their little interaction amusing and continued to see how long this would go on for.

"I feel like the Express is going to be very lively from now on."

"Oh? I'm guessing she accepted the offer you gave her."

"Other than having some knowledge on how to deal with a Stelleron, I felt like it would be hard for her to part with some of the people she had met today."

"I also think that her choice was the right one if I'm being honest. A position here would be nice for her but I feel like being…'free' would suit her the best."

Asta said her honest opinion when she learned the fact about the Stelleron from Herta and Himeko. Also by judging Stelle's personality when interacting with her, traveling with the Astral Express would have been the perfect decision.

Himeko just smiled silently and after waiting a few seconds she called out to the two troublemakers.

"Come on, let's get inside. Welt and the others are waiting for us."

Once Himeko said these words, Yuuto and Stelle stopped what they were doing and began to follow Himeko onto the Express.

As they stepped into the cabin, Yuuto remembered his request and asked Himeko if they could briefly go to Solarian so that he could buy some things.

"Sure that's alright with me. We're in no rush to jump to our next destination so a brief pit stop is no issue."

Hearing the greenlight from Himeko, Yuuto thanked her and thought about the items he may need for the eventual trip to Jarilo-VI.

"Welcome aboard new passenger! We have cookies on board for you!"

Near a table beside the window was March waving her arm towards Stelle and Yuuto who she saw enter the cabin cart alongside Himeko.

On display in front of her were desserts of many kinds with a bit of food that can pass off for lunch such as sandwiches that had different fillings in each one.

Surprisingly Dan Heng was also sitting at the table which was a rare sight considering he hardly came out of the archives.

As they approached, March sneakily made her way towards Yuuto who looked a bit confused after seeing the smile she had on her face.

"Since Stelle and Dan Heng are here I had Pom Pom make some cookies that had some weird ingredients."

"What kind are we talking about here?"

"Spicy, sour or sweet. It depends on the one you pick."

Yuuto looked at the tray March pointed at and couldn't help but think that it looked like regular cookies if she had never told him.

"Scary."

"It would be a fun welcoming game right?"

"Of course!"

Dan Heng frowned when he noticed March and Yuuto smiling like they were up to something and couldn't help but feel suspicious of what they were planning.

"Ahem, now that we have Stelle on board with us, I would like to play a simple game after we eat!"

"Yay!"

March smiled sillily hearing the applause the people at the table were giving her and invited the other two people who watched their small interaction.

"Sounds like a fun idea to do."

"I agree."

Welt and Himeko also sat down as they were interested in the game March was talking about.

"Well we should eat first! Pom Pom placed a lot of effort into these sandwiches so we should have our fill with these."

Yuuto took a bite of one of the sandwiches that appealed the most to him and closed his eyes as the taste was one of the best he had ever had.

"Pom Pom these are delicious."

"He he! Pom Pom felt like putting in more effort today so I'm happy you enjoy it!"

Yuuto watched as Pom Pom saluted and walked away but he noticed that Pom Pom was unable to hide their tail from moving around showing that they were quite happy with the compliments.

'Cute.'

Taking a bite of his sandwich, Yuuto looked outside the window and saw that the Express was gradually moving away from the space station.

A lot had happened on the day they arrived at the station and he felt oddly sad for leaving.

'Well, I'll be back since a certain researching doll would be eager to continue learning more about a certain crystal.'

Finishing the sandwich he had, Yuuto thought about his next destination other than the brief pitstop he would take.

'Jarilo-VI would be cold right? I guess I can manage if I circulate the engine through my body but I wonder how long we would stay there…'

Meeting with people from the Underworld and facing a leader who wants to turn the world she lives on into what she considers a 'New World' was something Yuuto had to prepare for.

He mentally made a list of what he wanted to buy and also thought about his experience on Solarian from before.

'I wonder if Luocha and Jingliu left for the Loufu already… they probably did. There shouldn't be any reason for them to still be there right?'

Yuuto thought as he reached for one more sandwich since the last one he ate was pretty delicious.

***

–SWOOSH

"...."

"I knew it. I felt like my mind cleared up for some reason and here you are.

"I also missed you too but do you mind removing your ice since I feel like I'll get sick if I stay like this any further…"