"Himeko!" March dashed off like a speeding bullet towards the red-haired woman.
'So that's Himeko,' I thought, still captivated by her looks. However, that ended rather shortly as I shook my head, evading those thoughts away like they were flies. 'No simp, I am not a simp,' I reminded myself, taking a firm look as we slowly approached her.
"It's nice to see you too, March," Himeko smiled, patting the pink-haired girl and turning her attention to us.
"Dan Heng, you've been through a lot."
"It was more or less the same," Dan Heng replied, still as stoic as ever. I glanced at him. I always wondered. Was he ever afraid of something?
"What took so long, Himeko? Those last waves of the Antimatter Legion came at us like a swarm of locusts. Have you ever tried shooting a locust with a bow?" March pouted.
'She has a point,' I thought, silently agreeing with her.
Himeko placed a hand under her chin, slightly shaking her head. "It wouldn't have made a difference. My orbital cannon can deal with a whole bunch of enemies at once, but I couldn't just blow up the space station with it. Herta would not like that." A chuckle escaped from her lips.
'Wait, did she just say an orbital cannon?' I blinked. Already, this Himeko was more dangerous than I thought she would be, and she even chuckled at mentioning blowing up this space station. How dangerous are the women here in this universe? Aside from March, that is.
"Are you alright, Arlan? Asta has been worried about you," Himeko then questioned Arlan, who had been quiet ever since.
"I'm fine. A quick patching up will do. Thanks for asking. I'll report the situation to Lead Researcher Asta immediately. Bye." With those words, Arlan quickly walked away.
"Do you need help—And he's gone" I started to offer, but Arlan was already too far for him to hear me. Man, that was blunt and kinda cold. I wonder what his problem was.
"So, you are?" Himeko's gaze settled on me.
"Hmm?" I turned my head to see Himeko staring at me. "You mean me?" I pointed at myself. Weird, my hands are a bit shaky.
"Who else am I talking to?" She smiled.
"I—Ahem, I'm Ethan. Ethan Almiyers." I quickly introduced myself, swallowing down the nervousness I felt.
She then turned her head to Stelle. "How about you?"
"I'm Stelle," Stelle introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you two. I'm sure you all know who I am, but let me reintroduce myself." Himeko cleared her throat. "I'm Himeko, the navigator from Astral Express."
"In other words, she's in charge of where the express goes," March added, her voice as cheery as ever.
"March hasn't been any trouble with you two lately, has she?" Himeko asked.
Before I could respond, I saw March glaring at me, while also directing her glare at Stelle. But her glare was, I think, more focused on me.
"I've never met a more reckless girl in my life," Stelle said, without missing a beat.
"She's quite a handful and annoying, kind of a brat," I added shortly after, snorting.
Stelle and I shared a look. There was a spark of comradeship as we looked into each other's eyes.
"Hey! That's mean!" March pouted, her glare intensified. Her eyes then moved towards Dan Heng. "Dan Heng, what about you?" She asked, hopeful that her fellow trailblazer would back her up.
"I have the right to remain silent." It seemed not. Good decision, Dan Heng! I couldn't help wanting to give a thumbs-up to this guy.
March wore a betrayed expression.
Himeko chuckled. "She is as lively as ever, it would seem. Anyways, why don't the four of you take a quick break? I'm sure you are all tired by now."
I quickly agreed with her with a nod.
Soon, we headed our separate ways. March headed off to buy something from a vending machine. Dan Heng was sitting on a bench with his eyes closed, appearing to be meditating. Stelle... well, she was staring at a trash can. The reason? I don't know. I assumed she was throwing some kind of rubbish into the trash can, but for some reason, she just stood there.
I headed off to see if I could spot any familiar faces among the survivors. It took me quite a while, but I did find someone. Abraham was there, shaking and mumbling to himself. I didn't need to guess what it was.
"Abraham!" I shouted, trying to get his attention.
"Wait, Ethan? Ethan, is that you?!" Abraham shouted back, eyes widened.
"How have you been, man?" I asked, approaching closer.
"I thought you died!" Abraham exclaimed, looking at me in surprise.
"My death was greatly exaggerated," I replied, shrugging and attempting to flip my hair, though it was too short. "Anyways, I'm alive, with flesh and bones and a beating heart."
"Are you sure I'm not looking at a ghost—OW! What was that for?"
"A ghost wouldn't be able to slap you, right?" I questioned, flicking my wrist. Huh, never knew that slapping some sense into someone would feel so good.
"You—actually got a point there." Rubbing his right cheek, Abraham nodded in understanding.
"Anyways, you managed to come out unscathed. Did you actually manage to enter the evacuation zone in time?" I asked.
"Yeah, you would've seen how chaotic it was. Like no joke, bro, it was chaotic. People were screaming like scared dogs," Abraham said, shaking as the memory haunted him.
'Who wouldn't be scared?' I gave him a look before speaking. "So, how long have you been here?"
"For two hours now, I think. I'm not really worried about the time; I'm worried about the destruction of this space station!" He exclaimed with a frightened look.
Seriously, this dude needs to get a grip on himself. Calm down, man; people are looking at us weirdly.
"You understand me, right?" Abraham asked in a low voice.
"Of course," I said, smiling.
What can I say? Both of us have the same outlook on life. If it's dangerous, don't mess with it.
His expression finally turned more confident. "That's why you're my friend, Ethan. You always understand me, unlike them." He sniffled.
"There, there, buddy." I patted him on the back. I quickly pulled something out of my pocket. "Here, a napkin."
"Thanks." He grabbed the napkin and blew his nose on it. My face morphed into a small look of disgust. I honestly didn't expect him to do that, but whatever, it was only 50 credits.
"Here," he tried to hand me back the napkin, but I gently pushed it back to him. Before he could speak, I silenced him with a raised finger.
"No, keep it. It's yours," I said, trying to look as sincere as I could.
He nodded, convinced, and mumbled, "Thanks."
"No problem, buddy. Not a problem." My eyes wandered as I saw Stelle with the rest of the Astral Express crew heading towards who I assumed to be Lady Asta. Are they going to plan a counterattack? I remembered Dan Heng mentioning that. Well, good luck to them.
Surprisingly, Stelle saw me staring at them and waved.
I stared blankly for just a second before focusing my attention back on Abraham. "Hey, why don't we get a soda? My treat."
"Really?" Abraham shot a look of total surprise. Well, to be fair, I was rather stingy with my money and never paid for anyone's drinks.
"Yes, and we should go—"
"Ethan!"
"—Nevermind. The predator already reached its prey before it could run."
"What do you mean—"
"Ahem." I cleared my throat, cutting off Abraham. I turned around and saw Stelle smiling at me. "What?"
"You should join us," Stelle suggested.
"Why?" I crossed my arms and shot her a knowing look.
"Why not?" She asked back, tilting her head.
"..." Is this girl serious? "Okay, let me rephrase that. Do I have a reason to join your death squa—I mean, you guys?" I quickly changed my words mid-sentence.
She appeared thoughtful. "Hmm, now that I think about it, no."
"See? So—"
"Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't join us." Stelle insisted with an unyielding look.
My brow twitched as I took a deep breath. "Listen, Stelle—"
"She's right; there's no harm in you joining us, right?" Another voice sounded. I tilted my head to the side and saw Himeko approaching us. "I heard all about you from March and Dan Heng. You're quite a handful."
"Dude, is that—?!"
"Shut it, I know," I chided my friend, who looked like he was about to faint.
"If I did anything wrong, I am so sorry," I sincerely apologized, even bowing my head, not knowing what I did wrong but wanting to ensure that whatever offense, mainly to March, was unintentional… well, partially.
"Ethan, we don't find you guilty of anything," Himeko replied, no hint of malice or anger in her tone. "Rather, they seemed to have the same opinion of you."
'March and Dan Heng?' It couldn't be them, right? Who else would have an opinion of me?
"What opinion?"
"You're unique."
"Me? Uhm, thanks, I guess?" I didn't know what to think of that. Did they mean I was a special case? Or did they mean something else? Then my brows furrowed. Wait, what kind of reason is that?
I shot Himeko a doubtful look "Really? What is the real reason you want to accompany you guys?"
Himeko tilted her head slightly before chuckling "It seems you're quite perceptive aren't you Ethan? Well, your answer is already beside you"
I placed my attention back on Stelle. A betrayed expression took over my face as she innocently blinked at me, not knowing how she wronged me. Why? What made you convinced them? I'm just an NPC for goddamn sake unlike you Protagonist looking people! I'll die with you people around me.
"And despite how you act, deep down, you do care for others," Himeko continued.
I blinked. "Pardon?"
"Well, March did mention some things about you and her getting along quite roughly." I paled at that. "But despite that, you're always sincere in helping others in need. In fact, even Dan Heng saw it right through."
I was left speechless. Not in a million years would I have expected this conversation. Like, wow, did I just get recognized for my efforts?
Looking back before we met Stelle, we did meet a lot of researchers who needed help. Of course, under the guidance of the two Nameless, we were able to gather them to safety. Due to my expertise in the area, I managed to help them find a safer route towards another evacuation zone, unlike the master control zone. Actually, there were multiple evacuation zones, but they were smaller compared to this one. I did have a thought of going with the rescued researchers and leaving the two Nameless by themselves, but… deep down, guilt wouldn't let me. Damn it.
Before I could speak further, Himeko cut in.
"Now, it seems that Stelle has waited long enough," she said, glancing at the grey-haired girl and back at me. "Shall we?"
I opened my mouth but didn't speak immediately. After a few seconds, I spoke "I'll be right there. I still have something to talk about with my friend here. It's only for a minute."
"Of course, take your time, Ethan." With that, Himeko and Stelle left us alone.
"Dude, she's Himeko. Himeko!" Abraham exclaimed with an excited look like he had seen God himself in all his glory. I calmly turned to him. Does everybody really adore her that much? I wondered. If anything, she is beautiful, I mean, at first, I was captivated by her beauty, but after that, nothing.
"Abraham?" I called out
"Yeah?"
I gripped his shoulder. "Bid me good luck." I began walking away.
"...What?" Abraham asked, confused. "Wait, Ethan! What do you mean by that?!"