I groaned as my eyes adjusted to the light when I opened them. I felt like I was lying flat on hard concrete. It was uncomfortable, but the question I wanted an answer to was.
'How did I survive?'
I honestly thought that would be the end of me. The moment I felt that rather sudden sucking of energy and the lightheadedness that followed, I was done for. But it seemed not to be the case.
"Oh, look, Dan Heng, he's awake!"
'Why do I feel like that voice seems familiar somehow?' It seemed that whatever that light was messed up my memory pretty badly.
Name? Check.
Past life? Check.
Current life? Check
Huh. Never mind, I do remember everything correctly.
"Relax, March. Let him rest. He looks pretty beat."
'March?' I pondered over that name. Then it clicked. 'Wasn't it the pink-haired girl?'
Ah, right, those two who complicated my life even further just when I was close to not getting caught by another worth of trouble.
I tried to sit upright, persisting through the pain that followed. Seriously, after this, I really need a medical checkup for the number of times I've been close to death. Maybe therapy or two won't be a bad choice.
"Are you okay?" The pink-haired girl, March, approached me, concern etched on her face as she lent a hand.
I stared at her and putting aside my annoyance and a bit of anger, I accepted her help. "Ow, ow, ow, that hurts."
March flinched at my constant mumbling when she tried to help me get up. "Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to," Her eyes showed signs of panic as she spoke those words.
Honestly, that was cute.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm fine. It's just that my back is so sore that any movement will trigger—ow. See?"
"You don't look fine," the boy with the same color hair as mine but with blue eyes spoke. His face looked like an average Asian male model's I'd see back on Earth. His eyes, on the other hand, were so cold that they looked like they were made of snow when I gazed at them.
"Do I even look fine?" I questioned back at him. "Listen, I've been through a lot, faced death right in the face a second time—wait, actually, make that the third time."
"What do you mean you faced death?" March asked curiously, leaning her head closely toward me.
I turned to her. While I'm honestly flattered by having a cute girl lean so close to me, I was not in the mood right now. I shook my head. "It's better not to speak about it."
"Awh," March let out an adorable pout in response. When I say adorable, it was.
"So, where are we?" I asked, finally taking a good look around.
"We're at the Storage Zone, first floor—" Dan Heng began.
"Courtyard," I finished his sentence, much to his surprise.
"You know?" he asked.
"I mean, I'm the one assigned to this area," I replied, not knowing I had just made a fatal mistake letting that information slip out like that.
"I see. Then that's good. If what you say is true, then we have a guide here with us, March," Dan Heng nodded while I stared at him with a raised brow. 'Guide? Is this guy serious?'
"A guide? Yay!" March cheerfully replied. I ignored her and placed my attention on Dan Heng, my eyes furrowed.
"Hey, for the record, I'm not a guide, and second, you want me to go back in there?" I asked with a serious look.
"And why is that a problem?" Dan Heng just stared at me with crossed arms.
"Okay, look," I held my hands in front of me. "I'm not like you guys. You guys can fight while I can't do shit. So technically, if I go with you guys, I would be dead or a baggage of sorts. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'd be dead weight."
"Hmm," he appeared contemplative, seeming to consider my words. Whatever his consideration was, I hoped it ended with me not going with them. "Then that won't be a problem; we'll protect you."
And it was not. Great.
"That's right! You don't need to worry about being endangered if you're with the Astral Express," March stepped in and said assuringly.
'But you guys were the ones who brought the danger to me,' I held the urge to not say aloud. It would be rude, and I don't want to be rude. Then I realized something. Did they just say they're from the Astral Express?
"Wait, you guys are from the Astral Express?" I asked, looking at them strangely.
March smiled brightly, feeling smug. "Yes, we are!" She puffed her chest out proudly. "I'm March 7th. You can call me March, and this boring and serious guy beside me is Dan Heng. Just call him Dan Heng."
'Ah, that explains their weirdly unique choice of clothes.' You know, at this point, I should have realized sooner that an NPC looker like me isn't that unique compared to them, but seriously, their clothes are so colorful compared to what I wore. Even the stoic and cold guy looked fashionable enough that it was basically a contrast to his personality.
"What are you guys doing here?" I couldn't help but ask. Is there a Stellaron they need to seal in the station? Could it be why the Antimatter Legion is here?
"The space was under attack by the Antimatter Legion. We came to help under the request of Lead Researcher Asta," Dan Heng answered.
"I see. So you guys went here just to help?" They just want to do a good deed, that's all? I felt like there was more to it.
"Pretty much. As a crew of heroes, we are ready to lend a hand," March replied, nodding in agreement with her fellow trailblazer.
"So, about that light earlier, do you guys know what it was?" I proceeded to change the topic.
March shook her head while Dan Heng remained stoic but thankfully answered my question. "That's what we're here to investigate. It seemed that whatever it was was probably near the Gallery of Shadows."
I frowned. 'I don't like where this is going.' I quickly changed that frown into a smile. They didn't look like they noticed my sudden change of expression.
"I see. Then I wish you guys good luck," I said, clasping my hands as I began to turn around. "While I'm gonna—" I paused as a hand was placed on my shoulder, gripping tightly, preventing any more movement from me.
I sighed as I immediately knew who it was. "I get you don't want me to leave?"
"We need your help. You're the only one familiar with this place," Dan Heng pointed out.
"I told you, I'm not your guide."
"20,000."
"...What?"
"20,000 credits. We'll give you that amount for helping us," Dan Heng replied, not flinching when he said the amount like it didn't bother him. 'Is this guy rich?' I saw no lie in his tone. Still, wouldn't it be too much to pay some random guy just to give directions? Even his friend, March, looked agape at what he said.
'20,000, huh? Not a bad offer,' I thought. Money is money, after all. Who wouldn't want it?
"Wait, we're paying him, Dan Heng?!" March cried out in alarm, not expecting this kind of development. She even tried shaking his arm, but it didn't even falter how strong his grip was on my shoulder.
"Do you guys think so low of me that quickly after the few minutes we just met that I'm gonna accept a bribe?" I mocked a hurtful and offended tone. "Also, isn't 20,000 a bit much? How do I know if you even have that right amount?" I asked with a raised brow.
"Don't worry, we have enough."
"Eh? Dan Heng?!"
"Your friend doesn't look sure, though," I pointed out.
"She's a heavy spender. It's common that she has less than a thousand credits on her allowance right now," Dan Heng explained flatly, much to March's shock.
"Dan Heng! That's not true!"
"..."
"Are you gonna accept it or not?" He slowly let go of my shoulder as he asked.
"Let me ask you this, why are you paying such a large amount for credits for this?" I questioned back. I did have a guess, but I wanted to make sure.
"We're here to help people in need. In doing so, we need someone who is familiar with how this area works. You are that someone."
"What about a map?"
"We did, and we still found ourselves lost." Dan Heng replied, especially eyeing the pink-haired girl at the end who flinched under his stare.
I stared at him for a couple of seconds. "Fine," I sighed, and before any of them could speak, I added, "But I'm doing this for my fellow researchers, not for the money."
"Phew, see, Dan Heng, he's a good guy after all. I was kinda worried there," March said, smiling.
I was pretty sure she was happy that I wouldn't accept the money, but I wouldn't be too sure about that.
"You're not gonna accept it?" Dan Heng questioned, appearing unconvinced, unlike March.
"...Maybe as a bonus," I said, shrugging.
March looked back at me, displeased. "I take that back."
"What? Who doesn't like money?"
March said nothing but a "Hmph" with her head turned away.
"Don't mind her," Dan Heng said.
"Don't worry, I won't," I replied flatly.
As I stared at the two members of the Astral Express who were conversing with one another, strategizing their next plan, I couldn't help but feel the need to punch myself. Curse me and my desire to do good deeds. It might honestly kill me someday.