NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6: Herta Space Station 2
{Previously, Herta Space Station}
"From this angle, the view is quite something, isn't it~" Austin stood gazing at the blue star in front of him, through the platform of the space station, before turning to the man with ash-colored hair and sand-colored eyes beside him.
He is a young man with long hair that reaches the middle of his back, wearing a dark brown cloak adorned with desert-colored patterns. He holds a staff longer than himself, topped with a gem from the desolate desert.
"I heard that the train stops here often. I wonder if, in the future, Your Majesty will come here so often that you'll get bored."
"That's right~, what should we do? Should we leave you here for a while? What do you think, Klein? Are you interested?"
"Excuse me, sir; you know I'm still tied up with the IPC meeting. I can only stay until you board the train."
"What a shame~" Austin turned back towards the inside of the space station, staring at the long train parked on the platform. "Then let's go; even though we arrived early, we shouldn't go inside late. It would be rude."
"Yes, Your Majesty, as you say." Klein turned and followed Austin closely.
"But it's such a pity, isn't it? I was planning to wear an outfit that looked like Genius No. 85, but who would have thought the train would arrive on the same day like this? I barely had time to change my outfit~"
"Is that why you wore casual clothes like this?"
"Of course, when I think about it, wearing comfortable clothes is the best way to let them know I'm still doing well~."
"It sounds like you care about the people on this train more than that genius number 83, don't you?"
They walked until they reached the elevator, but Austin stopped dead in his tracks because Kline's question reminded him of the years past when he left the Abyss Domain alone to wander the sea of stars as an anonymous visitor.
Before having to part ways with the train to return to administrative duties, time passed, and the borders of the Abyss Domain were fully opened. Many people ventured into the galaxy just as he once did, including THC.
"Of course, when I went out alone, they helped me with many things. I haven't seen them in so long; I wonder how they've been." After saying that, he pressed the elevator button and walked inside. "Who knows, there might be new members joining; who can tell~"
"Then I guess I have to look good; being an important companion of His Majesty and all, coming in a casual outfit wouldn't be appropriate." The outfit and staff in Klein's hands emitted a soft glow and transformed into a light sandy-colored suit, which he put on instead.
"Haha~* Finally, you understand the importance of attire and first impressions, don't you?"
"I just don't want to scare them with this battle suit, you know. Normally, I don't want to reduce my self-defense like this." Klein tightened the brown tie on his chest and changed his black fingerless gloves to fingered gloves of the same color as the tie.
"You can just put it on again in a split second, can't you? Relax a bit. If you get too stressed, it'll be my fault~"
"Most of my stress comes from His Majesty, after all," he said. A few seconds later, the elevator doors opened, and the researchers and staff stood waiting, bowing their heads in respectful greeting.
And among them was a member of the Express crew, Himeko, who was the guide of the train and the only member at the time Austin traveled as an anonymous visitor.
She has bright red hair down to her waist, tied back in a bun with gold rose-shaped ornaments, matching the color of her eyes. She wears a white evening gown with sleeveless, V-neck, and spaghetti straps wrapped around her neck, lined in a shade of red that matches her hair. She also wears a long black coat lined with gold, featuring rose patterns on the right sleeve and white frills from the cuffs.
Himeko wears various pieces of jewelry, including a black choker adorned with golden roses, golden earrings on the right side, a black and gold bracelet on her left hand, black gloves on her right hand, a black mini skirt embellished with hanging flowers at her waist, and pitch-black high heels.
Even though Austin had met countless women in Abyss, Domain, and the Sea of Stars, it was hard to find a girl as beautiful as her. Every time he saw her eyes, it felt like he was irresistibly drawn to her.
"Welcome, Mr. Augustin Regulus Lionheart de Abyss. I, Asta, am deeply honored to welcome you to this Herta Space Station." The young head researcher, slender with pink hair and soft azure eyes, bowed slightly as she welcomed him. She wore a white collared shirt with ruffled sleeves that were not attached to the body of the shirt.
She tied a black bow under her neck, wore a black skirt adorned with gold, and covered it with a purple cape. Around her waist, she had a pink and white jacket that wasn't zipped up. She had a lanyard with an ID card around her neck and wore black high heels.
*Ahem~* Klein cleared his throat to snap Austin out of his silence, who had been staring at Himeko without blinking since the elevator opened.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I got lost in thought because I ran into an old acquaintance I hadn't seen in a long time." Austin quickly regained his composure and turned to Asta. "It's an honor for me, Ms. Asta, to have you visit the space station of a genius like Mrs. Herta. And there's no need to use 'Sir,' just 'you' or, if it's more convenient, just 'Austin' will do. As for this person, he is Sir Klein Hall, my personal physician and advisor." Klein placed his hand on his chest and bowed respectfully.
Austin smiled at the other party amicably and scanned everyone there attentively, until he noticed that the person with the train ticket on their clothes was not just Himeko. Besides her, there were as many as three others wearing it.
"You are flattering me too much. Mr. Austin, would you like me to show you around?"
"With great pleasure, it would be a great honor for me, but..." Austin's fiery eyes sparkled with golden hues, intricate patterns of runes swirling within his iris and pupils as if they were alive. Klein, who seemed to sense it as well, quickly glanced left and right.
"But?" Suddenly, the alarm sounded throughout the station. Void Rangers appeared out of thin air, dozens of them above, charging in to attack the surrounding people without caring who they were.
"Guess I'll have to save it for later," a single-handed longsword appeared in Austin's right hand. The blade was slightly curved with a single sharp edge, colored silver with gold lacquer, resembling a willow branch embedded with purple crystals at the base. The hilt had a handguard reinforced from the end, which was also gold like the crossguard.
He swung it back and forth rapidly with terrifying precision. The silver blade sliced through the bodies of every Void Ranger that came near, severing them into dozens of pieces in an instant until they vanished into the void just as they had appeared.
"Void Ranger!? If they're here, that means..." Asta exclaimed in panic.
"Anti-Matter Legion, Your Majesty, we should evacuate the people immediately." Klein summoned his staff into his hand.
"Hmm. Mrs. Asta, it seems we don't have time to walk around anymore. Let's handle the immediate situation first." Asta nodded in agreement with Austin's words and immediately turned to issue emergency evacuation and assistance orders to people in various zones.
"Klein, you'll have to take care of the injured and the defense. I'll go see what I can do." Austin turned to Klein, who had changed back into his combat uniform.
"Austin!" Himeko's voice called him from behind, making the young man turn back once more.
"Even though it's a bit late, it's nice to see you again, Himeko~" Austin smiled warmly as he nodded his head in greeting to the member of the Pioneer Train beside her. "But now isn't the time to reminisce; let's catch up properly after we deal with the Anti-Matter Army~."
After saying that, Austin took a step forward, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared as if he had teleported. The sight left the man in the Pioneer Train, who was wearing glasses and holding a cane, wide-eyed.
It's not because he was amazed by it, but because this wasn't the first time he had seen something like this. It was something he had seen countless times before from another man in the past whom he considered a friend. That brought back memories of that man as if it were just yesterday.
"Is something wrong, Welt? Why do you have that expression?" Himeko turned to the man she called Welt.
"Right, right! Mr. Yang looks like he found a cake he wanted to eat in a secret shop he never thought he would get to eat from~" The young girl with light pink hair and eyes mixed with pink and azure, one of the train crew, turned to Welt. She wore a white shirt topped with a loose pink and blue short coat, a blue and white pleated skirt, and a black vest around her waist. She had a golden buttoned choker at her neck, a camera hanging at her hip, and her right hand wore an archery glove and blue-black boots.
"March, Mr. Yang is nothing like you... but Mr. Yang does seem a bit strange. Every time you talk about Mr. Lionheart, you always act oddly, and today, meeting him in person, it became even clearer." Another member of the train team noticed Welt's odd behavior and asked out of concern and curiosity. He was a tall, slender young man with black hair and deep blue eyes, wearing a black turtleneck and a white coat in the Xianzhou style. His left shoulder was adorned with thin jade armor, and his right arm wore dull armor. He wore dull gray long pants, black shoes with white soles, and a jade earring in the Xianzhou style on his left ear, connected to another earring on the other side.
"Even you, Dan Heng? But anyway, what can we say? He... quite resembles someone I know. But as for the details, let's leave that for later; as he said, After we drive away the army, we can talk about it again."