Chapter 30

Stelle felt a bit puzzled.

[Dr. Edward: My apologies. When I recorded this dream bubble, some of the audio tracks were already lost—perhaps even memory substance cannot carry that unspeakable sound.]

[But to enhance the experience, I can adjust this dream bubble, which means you can choose to dub it with anyone's voice—as long as you are familiar enough with them, I can perfectly replicate your subconscious!]

Dr. Edward explained.

[Stelle: Can it be anyone's voice?]

Stelle found this feature somewhat interesting and asked out of curiosity.

[Dr. Edward: No, it must be someone you are familiar with—unless you have no requirements for the fidelity of the voice.]

[Alright, please make your choice! I will do my best to satisfy your needs.]

Dr. Edward denied it, then asked Stelle to choose her preferred sound source.

[Stelle: I choose March 7th!]

Stelle only pondered for a moment before making up her mind!

[Dr. Edward: Very well! Replicating for you now...]

[Replication complete! Now you can better enjoy the dream.]

Dr. Edward's notification sound rang out.

[Pom-Pom: Then, do you, and the other passengers, admit to being responsible for the following malicious incidents—]

[You drove a snowmobile into the Theobald Stadium, disrupted the order of the venue, caused the competition to be interrupted, and resulted in twenty Trailblazers having to perform three months of unpaid labor with you to repair the severe damage to the stadium's exterior—]

[—Do you plead guilty, Pom?]

[...I admit it.] March 7th's somewhat listless voice rang out.

[Pom-Pom: You snuck into the Haya-I-Bang-Li Zoo, used half an Amber Era's budget of the Express crew to buy two hundred and fifty rhinogradentia cubs, raised them in the restroom causing them to multiply infinitely, which led to a large amount of sewage filling other carriages—]

[—Do you plead guilty, Pom?]

[...I admit it.] March 7th's tone this time was extremely helpless.

[Pom-Pom: You invaded the dining car kitchen, announced to everyone that it needed disinfection, causing forty-two fragrant, crispy, crunchy Pom-Pom Pies to vanish into thin air, and took away the last bowl of Express hot pot on the top shelf of the refrigerator, leaving the Conductor hungry—]

[—Do you plead guilty, Pom?]

When Pom-Pom mentioned this, his tone became even more agitated!

[You made this one yourself, didn't you... but I did take the Express hot pot.]

March 7th only admitted to one item this time.

[Pom-Pom: Ahem. Don't get cocky, I haven't finished listing the menu yet, Pom!]

[As well as the "Express Data Bank Entry Collective Disappearance Case," the "Watering the Observation Car Potted Plants with Su Leda Incident," the "Noise Attack on the Conductor During Rest Time," the "Conductor's Private Snack Storage Vault Invasion Case..."]

Pom-Pom gritted his teeth and rattled off many more heinous crimes!

[Stelle: Does this have anything to do with Akivili at all?]

Hearing this,

Stelle could no longer hold it in,

and couldn't help but ask.

[Dr. Edward: Reiteration—I will not make any explanatory or suggestive comments on the content of this dream bubble.]

Dr. Edward replied,

the implication being,

whether this is truly Akivili's dream bubble or not,

he does not guarantee it!

[Pom-Pom: Wait, wait, wait—a total of forty-six malicious incidents! Do you admit that they were all committed by you?]

Pom-Pom's angry voice rang out again.

[I'm sorry... I really am the worst Nameless in the world.]

March 7th lowered her head, her tone full of shame.

[Pom-Pom: ...No, you are not, Pom!]

Pom-Pom shook his head in denial.

[Huh? Could there be someone worse than me?]

March 7th was very surprised.

[Pom-Pom: Of course there is.]

[Who?] March 7th asked curiously.

[Pom-Pom: That guy who blew the Express into two pieces, Pom!]

Pom-Pom said this through gritted teeth.

Subsequently, the image began to cut out.

Stelle returned to reality.

[—The content of this dream bubble ends here. I wonder how you feel?] Dr. Edward inquired.

[Stelle: That's it?]

Stelle felt a bit unsatisfied.

Setting aside whether the scene just now was real or not,

it was quite interesting.

[Haha, this is the dream bubble that best fits the desires of your subconscious! If you wish to enjoy it repeatedly, you can also pay Credits to purchase it—]

Dr. Edward smiled slightly and began his sales pitch.

[Stelle: So the cat's out of the bag, huh??]

Stelle raised an eyebrow,

feeling that Dr. Edward had finally stopped pretending.

He had just said it was free,

and now he was asking her to pay for it directly.

So it was just a means to induce consumption, right?

[Dr. Edward: I admit this dream bubble is not cheap—you may consider it further!]

[How about it? Do you intend to buy it?]

Dr. Edward looked composed and confident.

He seemed to have Stelle figured out.

[Stelle: ...I'll buy it!]

Stelle originally didn't want to buy it,

but after thinking about it,

the stuff inside was very interesting,

and perhaps she could show it to Pom-Pom.

So she spent 100,000 Credits to buy it.

Anyway, she often took on odd jobs,

and she wasn't short of these 100,000 Credits.

[Dr. Edward: Thank you very much—looking forward to your next visit!]

[Oh, right! Given that this is your first time experiencing a dream bubble at our shop—this "Commemorative Sticker" is a gift for you! You can use it to decorate your Dream Passport and record your unique journey in Penacony!]

Buying a dream bubble and getting a sticker as a gift,

Stelle thought it was so thoughtful it could make one cry.

Stelle: "What kind of bizarre content was in that dream bubble??"

Stelle: "Is this really Akivili's dream bubble?"

Stelle: "Are you kidding me?"

March 7th: "That's right, I also think the content inside is too ridiculous."

March 7th: "But why did you have to use my voice as the sound source for the dream bubble!!"

March 7th: "It was so cringey that my toes curled up enough to build a Herta Space Station!"

Himeko: "Hehe, although this video is quite exaggerated, Pom-Pom's appearance in it is still quite interesting."

Welt: "Indeed, this is the first time I've seen Pom-Pom like this."

Pom-Pom: "......Actually...."

Pom-Pom: "Some of the things in there... really did happen, Pom."

Pom-Pom: "It's just that so much time has passed that the passengers who boarded the Express later don't know about them, Pom."

"What?"

"The things in there are actually true?!"

"Conductor, please tell us!!"

"I want to hear, I want to hear!"

Inside the carriage.

Stelle saw Pom-Pom's message in the live stream,

and immediately came before Pom-Pom,

starting to show a gossipy expression.

"Hehe, I also want to hear the Conductor tell stories!!"

March 7th followed closely behind.

Peeking out.

"Sigh..."

"Those are all stories from a long time ago, Pom."

"When the time is right, we'll pick a moment to talk about them properly."

"Let's not talk about these things for now..."

Pom-Pom's expression was somewhat sentimental, as if recalling the past.

Stelle and March 7th saw this and exchanged a look,

both nodding understandingly.

They no longer pestered Pom-Pom for details about these stories.

"The Express hot pot, that Express hot pot I liked the most... that guy, when exactly will he return it to me?"

Pom-Pom was lost in thought, unable to help but mutter to himself.

Paimon: "Fragrant, crispy, crunchy Pom-Pom Pom Pie!"

Paimon: "Is this the Conductor's specialty snack?"

Paimon: "I bet it must be delicious! Just hearing the name makes my mouth water involuntarily!"

"Wuwuwu, I really, really want to eat a Pom-Pom Pom Pie!!"

"Aether, how can we find your sister faster!"

"I can't wait to board the Astral Express!"

Inside the room,

Paimon had crystal-clear drool at the corner of her mouth,

and began shaking Aether's arm.

This left Aether very helpless,

not knowing how to comment on Paimon.

March 7th: "I've never heard the Conductor mention this pastry either?"

March 7th: "Is it really the Conductor's specialty?"

Pom-Pom: "Uh... well... this is indeed my signature dish, Pom."

Pom-Pom: "It's just that I haven't made it in a long time."

Pom-Pom: "If you like it, I'll make it for you another day, Pom!"

Himeko: "Oh? Then I'm looking forward to it."

Stelle: "Already drooling."

Paimon: "Drooling +1"

Hook: "Drooling +2"

Amber: "Drooling +3"

The video continued.

[Stelle: I thought I'd find clues about the Nameless as soon as I came up, turns out it's not that easy...]

Stelle left the dream shop,

and complained in a low voice.

[She ran that way—hurry and catch her!]

As Stelle was walking, she suddenly heard noisy shouting.

[Stelle: What's going on? What's all that racket? Let's go check it out.]

Stelle was a bit puzzled,

so she prepared to go to where the sound was coming from to take a look and join in the excitement.

[Don't think you can run! You stowaway!]

Stelle walked for a while and came to a corner,

discovering a super cute young girl,

who was currently being blocked by two fierce-looking people.

This made the young girl look very pitiful.

[N-no, excuse me! Please help me...]

The strange young girl suddenly saw Stelle,

and ran over in a panic.

She wanted to ask Stelle to save her.

[Stelle: Protecting a beautiful girl is my duty!!]

The weak young girl before her stirred Stelle's desire to protect.

So she agreed without hesitation.

[Guys, she has an accomplice!]

[Perfect! Take them both down!]

The two fierce-looking people saw this,

and immediately shouted loudly,

wanting to step forward and apprehend the two.

Stelle saw this situation and was about to pull out her thick and hard baseball bat,

to give these two an unforgettable lesson.

However, at this moment,

a voice interrupted her actions.

[Alright, alright, boys—that's enough.]

After the person who arrived scolded them,

he stared at the girl called a stowaway for a few moments.

Then he shifted his gaze to his subordinates.

[O-officer?]

One of the subordinates saw the person who arrived,

and was immediately somewhat surprised.

[How are you doing things? Open your eyes and look, is this girl the stowaway we're looking for?]

This officer started scolding as soon as he spoke.

[Eh, this... who is this person?]

The female subordinate who was scolded,