"This place is really full of fancy collections," March remarked in awe, her voice echoing through the area as she wandered around like a tourist, examining some exotic art. "I really don't get why she collects these items and just leaves them to gather dust."
"Me neither," I shrugged, agreeing. After weeks of working in this station and my role as safe keeper of these collections, I really had no idea why Herta kept stuff like this. Is this one of her hobbies or something?
I stared at one of the collections. It was a sword, a broken half-sword, red in color with some lines of gold on the side. Why did Herta collect something like this? It's just a broken sword. Maybe it was special? Like maybe someone she knew died in a field of battle and this sword was their last remnant.
I shook my head. Nah, I'm probably overthinking it.
When I tried to get my hands closer to it, I felt it burning my hand. Though not painfully, it did make me uncomfortable.
"If it emanates heat like this when it's contained, I wonder how hot it would be if it was not contained," I mumbled, amazed at the thought.
"Cool," Stelle mumbled beside me as she stared at some random collections as well. Specifically at the glider one.
Regarding Stelle, she is mysterious. Amnesiac and, for my three weeks in the station, I never saw her. Suspicious, ain't it? But I had to take into account that I've only been here for three weeks. It's not like I've met every person in the station. Still, won't I at least feel familiar with her, especially how unique her choice of clothes was? One thing I was most proud of was my good memory. Yet none resurfaced in my mind when I looked at her.
A mysterious variable.
I had to keep an eye out for her for now. Not a stalker, but an observer. Making sure she's not a monster in disguise waiting to devour this spaceship whole.
… I might need to calm down my imagination.
Moments later, March and I decided to set off without Dan Heng. March already messaged the guy just in case and soon we took off.
On the way, we encountered several forces of the Antimatter legion. I stayed behind, waiting for March to take them out. I tried to usher Stelle to stay close to me and hide, but surprisingly, she was also a natural in combat. Who knew?
Also, she used a baseball bat for goodness' sake! Like who does that? That's not even the strangest part, the strangest part is that it glows. Yes, it glows. Like what?
Was that a power-up attack? It looked like a power-up attack. So a power-up attack?
As I cowered behind them, March gave me a look that obviously said, "Wow, you're hiding behind two girls who had to fight for you? Are you even a real man at this point?" after they were done.
Was that some sort of payback to me? That had to be payback.
I wasn't really offended by that. It was the truth, so I had to swallow any form of pride just to escape unscathed, which meant hiding behind the two young women to protect me. If my friends on Earth saw me like this, they would look down on me for stepping so low.
As we entered another area full of them, I noticed the elevator up ahead. My expression turned to glee. Yes, safety! I can finally get away from these troublemakers!
"Ah, I knew it."
"Knew what?" I asked March.
"It worked?" Stelle also asked beside me.
"Nah, I think the elevators are broken. I pressed all the buttons but nothing seemed to happen," March sighed, shoulders slumped.
"Wait, let me try." March stepped aside, letting me through. I cracked my knuckles as I placed my hands on the interface.
A couple of seconds passed.
"Is it working?" March asked, peeking from behind.
"Not working," I shook my head. It seems my knowledge of elevator fixing is nonexistent. "Maybe Dan Heng knows how to fix this? That guy gave off some strange aura around him of being a genius."
"You're right! He's basically a walking encyclopedia. He knows a ton of complicated stuff, maybe even elevator repair." March agreed with a nod.
"I don't know that one."
March and I jumped in surprise at the sudden voice. Stelle... well, she didn't even look surprised or show any other reaction in that matter.
"Whoa, why are you here?! And how did you get here before us?" March exclaimed with a question.
"More importantly, how did we not notice you?" I added, eyeing him, then Stelle. "You knew he was approaching us, didn't you?"
She tilted her head. "Yes?"
"Ah, figures." That explains her lack of reaction.
"I took a route here to the upper levels and I saw you guys up there," Dan Heng explained.
"Ah, I see. Then what about your search for Arlan? Any updates?" I asked.
"Arlan is in the control room. He's injured, but not fatally," he replied, frowning.
I don't know what's more surprising: that Dan Heng found Arlan or that Arlan got injured. If he got injured, that means there's something even stronger than the mere goons of the Antimatter legion.
"Then Dan Heng, do you know what to do with this elevator? We can't figure this out," March asked.
"Maybe Arlan knows," I pointed out. "He's the head of the security department after all."
Dan Heng nodded, agreeing with me.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go talk to him," March quickly said.
On the way, we did the same thing. Walk, eliminate some goons in our way, walk again, and eliminate again until we reach the control room. In there, we found Arlan standing, though judging from his posture, he seemed injured in his legs and hands.
"Arlan!" I shouted suddenly much to the surprise of the two nameless and Stelle... actually, she didn't even flinch nor show any visible reaction.
"Eh?! H-hey!" Arlan exclaimed as he tried to push me away, successfully blocking my attempt to hug him.
"Thank you for saving me!" I said, with his hand pushing against my right cheek.
"You're welcome. Now can you please stop?"
I relented but quickly pulled 1000 credits out of my pocket. "Here."
"What's this?" Arlan stared at it curiously.
"Your payment for saving me."
"Eh?! I can't accept that," Arlan profusely shook his head in denial as he pushed it away.
"Uh, is there anything we should know about the two of you?" March asked.
"Oh, he just saved me while I was close to death by a few inches," I answered flatly, not even bothering to mention my few shares with death anymore.
"A-Ah, I see. You did mention that quite a few times by now."
"Anyways, you're all together?" Arlan began questioning as he looked at the group.
"Yep, we're from the Astral Express—well, only Dan Heng and I," March explained, gesturing between herself and Dan Heng. "This right here is Stelle, a new survivor we found in the control room. And I guess you already know Ethan," she added, nodding towards me with a small smile.
Arlan nodded. "Oh, did Madam Herta send you here to help?" he asked.
"Ah, it's just a coincidence. We came to deliver the rare relic Herta trusted us to find... We didn't expect to arrive during an invasion," Dan Heng explained the situation.
"Talk about bad luck, right?" I said, though they ignored me. Seriously, are these people tough to crack? Even Stelle looked at me with pity. What's the pity for?!
"Why is the Antimatter targeting you guys? It seems they just ignored the surface of the planet and came straight to you guys," March asked while placing a hand on her hips.
"I... have no idea. The legion came at a very suspicious time, almost right after the security system suddenly failed."
"Wait, failed?" As I listened to Arlan, I could not help but question it. "How did it fail?"
Arlan looked at me and shook his head. "The problem was unknown. We couldn't detect them as they went right past through the station. All the outer shields failed to keep them at bay."
"Do you think there's a mole in your department?"
"That's... one of my few guesses," Arlan replied gravely.
I fell silent.
"In the end, Lead Researcher Asta immediately began to organize the evacuation. I was supposed to cover everyone as they evacuated, but... I didn't expect to end up failing in this task," Arlan continued with a sullen expression.
I patted his back assuringly. "Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Arlan. At least you saved me even though you failed the rest. It's the thought that counts, right?"
"Wow, even in reassuring, you still find a way to be bad."
I just stared at March, deadpanned.
"No, he's got a point," Arlan suddenly interjected, prompting me to look at him. "It's a good thing to be positive about the person you save rather than dwell on the people you failed." His sullen expression rapidly disappeared as he spoke, replaced by a sheer determined look.
In response, I stared at March smugly. See that? This is how I'm good at reassuring and even motivating. Now take your words back!
All I got was an eye roll. Ouch.
"Ethan's right, don't be too hard on yourself. Your legs and dominant hand were injured. It was a wise decision to hide here and avoid a head-on encounter with the legion," Dan Heng said. "Most of the staff have been evacuated safely, so right now our highest priority is to return to the master control zone and plan a counterattack."
I nodded at Dan Heng's plan. As expected of him.
"So... uh, do you know how to use the elevator? We couldn't start it," March questioned Arlan who looked at her in response.
"Since Lady Asta sent you to look for me, I assume she must've given you the encryption key for accessing the elevator system?" Arlan inquired, now looking at the two members of the Astral Express in a questioning manner.
"March... you were the one who talked to Asta, am I right?" Dan Heng questioned, while March turned her head to look away in response.
"Encryption key?" I also looked at March. Heck, everyone was looking at her like she was a suspect.
"Ehehe, uh, where'd I put it," March sheepishly smiled, patting down her pockets and glancing around nervously. Suddenly, her face lit up. "Oh! Here it is!" She showed Arlan the key.
Dan Heng facepalmed.
I stared, my brows twitching. 'We could have saved that much trouble'. I thought while I shook my head. My first impression of March was a cute girl, a pretty and cute girl, but when you got to know her, albeit I only got to know her for a few hours... well, her appearance is most likely gonna be overshadowed by how she acts. It's not a bad thing, but not a good thing either.
I don't know if I'll survive further with these two...
I looked at Stelle.
…Actually, make that three.
I felt like these guys would be a magnet for trouble.