Capítulo 62: Back to the Station
"So something like that happened… "
With her brow furrowed, Himeko tapped her finger on the plate holding her cup and sunk into her thoughts.
Welt was also in a similar state as the information Yuuto just told them was one that could potentially bring major problems. Especially with certain factions.
'Well, telling them this portion is good enough for now.' Yuuto sipped on the coffee that just turned cold as their conversation took quite some time.
A hint of extreme bitterness began to flood his mouth but a small fragment sunk into his tongue. Making the bitter taste turn a bit sweeter according to his liking.
After coming back from Jarilo-VI, Yuuto somewhat expected a reaction from the two as they were the members who had the most knowledge on the object known as the Stellaron.
So the actions he's done in regards to absorbing the energy within the Stellaron and ultimately 'destroying' it, would have brought a lot of questions.
Especially after they analyzed the object so they could seal it.
'But it seemed like they bought the white lie I told just now.'
Yuuto obviously trusted the two with the information on what he experienced so far. About how he was trapped in the space the Stellaron trapped him and Stelle in.
To how the two fought against the Stellaron to escape.
But there were still a few things he wanted to hide. Or more so, things he needed to hide. So that it wouldn't bring more issues to the already sensitive situation he found himself in.
Exposing his cards right now would be too dangerous.
'Forcefully adapting myself to the energy and being 'unaware' of how the Stellaron died due to the pain should be good for now.'
Yuuto glanced at the faint golden lines hidden under his sleeves and thought about how it played a good part in making the story believable.
'This sort of thing shouldn't be too dangerous in case that person heard.'
He finished the contents of his cup and used [Clarity] to keep his attention on a mirror located just a few meters away from him. Or one that should be there.
Looking at it for a few more seconds, Yuuto lowered his cup and placed his focus away as he didn't feel or notice any changes in the invisible mirror so far.
One of the main reasons he wanted to keep his cards hidden was not only for him but also for the people on the Express.
Knowing that a Memokeeper was just hidden away brought his level of cautiousness up to a certain degree. Considering that the chances of them learning what he did to that Stellaron if he were to tell them would still be there.
He had a big feeling that countless Memokeepers would start flooding to gain a chance to copy or even see the memories held within him.
Memories about the end of a Stellaron will be like a treasure trove for them.
Not forgetting that there may still be some Memosnachers willing to go after him knowing his previous history with a group of them in the past.
But recalling the Memokeeper that was on the Express, it didn't seem like she would be the type to forcefully intrude on the passengers' memories.
"First, I just want to say you did a good job fighting in the situation you found yourself in."
Yuuto snapped out of his thoughts after hearing Himeko finally speak while also faintly smiling at him.
"It must have been a big challenge considering this was your first mission but you managed to complete it excellently."
"I agree. Falling into that type of situation so suddenly and fighting until the end seemed like a story through and through."
Welt also added his thoughts as he looked at Yuuto with a small glint in his eyes. 'Is he also a fan of mechas? That picture March sent was…'
His thoughts began to wander for a second but he forcefully snapped out of it and silently sipped on his cup.
Himeko oblivious to Welt's thoughts, continued and looked at Yuuto with a serious expression.
"But I just want to tell you that this situation may warrant a lot of troublesome attention."
"..." Yuuto was silent as he noticed the tone Himeko was speaking in.
"Seeing the Stellaron in a state where it had almost zero fluctuations was almost unheard of as it was in a stage where it could be considered dead."
Himeko glanced at the data floating on her tablet and thought of the major powers that would flood towards them if they learned of this.
"Thankfully it seemed like you were just a bystander based on what you said and didn't have any direct influence. But seeing the changes in your body, it still may catch the attention of a few people."
"...I see…"
Yuuto nodded his head but he felt his finger twitch after seeing Himeko sigh in relief.
"Just curious… What types of organizations are we talking about here..?"
"Let's see…" Himeko tapped her chin to think.
"Definitely the IPC considering their stance on Stellarons. Garden of Recollection, Genius Society, Intelligentsia Guild, Antimatter Legion, maybe a few Masked Fools, and the Stellaron Hunters are some that also come to mind."
"That's a lot…"
"Of course. A dead Stellaron is something practically unheard of. Your involvement as a bystander should make you safe for now but you guys were the closest in knowing how these Stellarons die."
"O-Of course ahaha…" Yuuto began to laugh but a sudden wave of cold sweat began to wash over him hearing about the various factions.
Especially since in truth, he was far from being a bystander.
"As you're a member of the Express we will protect you and Stelle who were involved in this but be sure to be cautious when speaking about this problem. Relay this to Stelle when you can."
Yuuto nodded his head after hearing Himeko's reminders and stood up after she told him to get some rest.
Watching Yuuto leave the table in his thoughts, Himeko poured another cup of coffee for herself.
"It seems like we'll have a very eventful future ahead of us."
Himeko laughed to herself as her eyes wandered toward the set of data on her tablet. 'Not only one but we now have two bombs with us.'
She turned the power off and downed the cup within seconds. The bitter taste kept her mind sharp and brought a sense of stillness within her head.
"Let me look at this information again…"
While Himeko discussed with Welt a few things that caught her attention, Yuuto decided that he should take this time to digest his time on Jarilo-VI.
Taking a well-deserved shower and cleaning off the various filth lingering on his body, he eventually reached his room. A place that he missed a lot.
Drying himself, he eventually sunk into his bed and closed his eyes. Basking in the soft sheets that seemed to have been changed while he was away.
'I should give Pom Pom some snacks when I go shopping again…'
Yuuto placed a reminder to himself and rolled on his back to stare at the ceiling. A dense white light began to radiate off him and a couple of fragments began to float out.
"Time to organize~"
A large grin formed as he decided to take his mind off to debrief and look at the memories he hadn't gotten the chance to check since tons of events had prevented him from getting any breaks.
"The IPC should arrive on Jarilo-VI any day now but thankfully Bronya can handle it…"
He thought back to the meeting they had right before he left and felt like this would be a good chance to show how reliable a leader Bronya could be in the scenario.
"Sampo is also there so she should be fine…" An odd look began to form on his face but he decided to trust the slimy merchant to help assist her in the dark when needed.
"Now then." Yuuto pushed those thoughts to the side and waved his hand to have a few fragments appear in front of him.
He had already looked at a few of them right before he left but there were still some that needed a more thorough scan.
Skimming through the ones in his library, he moved on to a fragment. One he received just before he left.
Bronya's [Core Memory] — [Banner of Command]
Clenching his fist on the fragment, the white light exploded, and out came a tall banner that had a black wooden frame and a white transparent flag with details matching the aesthetic of the Silvermane Guards.
"Holy crap…" Yuuto was a bit shocked when an object suddenly materialized. "This is probably the first time an actual object came out of a fragment but I guess that's how special [Core Memories] are…"
Yuuto stood up and waved the flag around, playing with it while looking into the specific details it had.
"Providing mental resistance while also sharing one buff-type memory to allies within a certain radius. Sounds pretty useful."
A few ideas began to form within his mind as he looked at the banner and after twirling it one more time, he made it disappear back into his library.
Yuuto sat back down on his bed and after organizing a few more items, he eventually stopped and reached a fragment that was small but radiated a pure white color.
Vastly different from the one Bronya's [Core Memory].
Lifting his hand the fragment appeared and a bitter yet sad look appeared on his face.
"How are you Cyrilla…"
A small smile tugged on his lips when he felt the fragment fly toward his face and cycle around him. Maybe to lift him up but he continued to stare at the person who once accompanied him in his time on Jarilo-VI.
Yuuto wanted to learn what type of ability she had as Solar's [Mother's Embrace] was, if not his most used memory alongside [Jingliu's Swordsmanship] and [Clarity].
"Summon my sword…?"
He was a bit confused when he noticed the fragment shaking, urging him to summon his weapon.
After listening to it, a white sword appeared in his hands and he saw how the fragment sunk into the small crystal in the middle of the guard.
A series of information appeared in his head and a look of amazement washed over him.
Yuuto waved his sword, releasing countless lines made from his moonlight before thinking of a word within his head.
[Illumine]
–CLING
Faint star-like points appeared in the air and reflected within Yuuto's clear gaze. Imitating marks that revealed the supposed weak points in the air.
The lines of moonlight shuttered a deep white light before weaving through these individual points. Ripping the space by releasing a chain of rapid cuts.
One that was a degree sharper and heavier than the initial lines he formed.
The light faded away and Yuuto looked at the sword. "You did watch me every time I practiced…"
He remembered the spars he had with Luka and the nights when he would practice his swordsmanship.
All that time Cyrilla would stay with him. Sitting by the swing until it was time to go.
Yuuto sat in silence for a bit before putting his sword away and chuckling at how thoughtful this little girl was.
He wrapped his fingers with moonlight and felt how it had gotten denser while retaining the flexibility that he was used to.
"It seems like she wanted to make my main memory stronger than it already was."
Yuuto could already imagine the potency it now had if he combined it with the Stellaron's energy.
Releasing numerous lines made from his moonlight and chaining it all onto a single enemy's weak point.
Thinking of this made his fingers itch as he wanted to try it out but he had a feeling that it would cause quite a bit of damage to his room.
"Let's just wait until we have a place where I can test it out."
He calmed himself and thought about the planet or ship that would be their next stop.
"I should probably show her how much I've grown…"
Yuuto thought about a certain lady who he wanted to fight once more and at least land a solid attack on.
He knew however that it would be a tough goal considering his means of using the sword derived from her. As the person who crafted the swordsmanship herself, he was fighting an upward battle.
Still, he hadn't lost all hope as he now had something she didn't have. Something that caused a change within his body.
Feeling the potent flame within him, he summoned an amber-colored pen and the faint image of a bookshelf showed itself behind him.
[Each notion in the universe whether it is an object or idea are held in place within existence by the memories carried in them.]
[Using thoughts as the anvil and intentions as the hammer, build upon this belief and forge towards the pledge resonating within you. Tread lightly— for a change will alter their very essence.]
"I still don't know why the hell that book likes to put encrypted text whenever I unlock a new page from it…"
Yuuto mumbled to himself as the pen within his hand shined brighter and an amber-colored ink flowed out.
[Memoforge]
A memory that had a similar origin to [Clarity] and [Archive] where it appeared within the pages of the book within him.
Applying the concept of threading memories together to a much deeper level where it didn't matter if the threads were strong enough to hold.
As long as he has the thoughts and intentions, the forge will welcome it.
"Use [Jingliu's Swordsmanship] as the base and apply the concept of [Propulsion], the element of the [Stellaron] and footwork from [Underworld CQC]."
—-VROOOOOOOM
The pen within his fingers started to shake and four fragments flew out from the bookshelf behind him.
Yuuto's eyes shone a deep white hue as the scene of a falling moon was gradually replaced by the image of a rising sun in front of him.
***
–BZZT
–BZZZT
–BZZZZT
"AH! Shut up…"
Scrunching her face at the constant buzzing from her phone, Stelle opened her eyes and looked at who was disturbing her sweet beauty sleep.
"Herta…?" Her eyes narrowed. "I pray there isn't a new update to the Simulated Universe…"
Stelle felt a shiver at the thought and cautiously opened the row of messages she received from her.
[Hey twerp, tell the little sweet talker to message me.]
[He's not answering his phone.]
[Make sure to tell him that it's important.]
[By the way, open up your calendar for more testing. I added new features.]
[Also, I introduced you to someone so be sure to be respectful.]
"..."
Staring at the surface of her phone for a few more seconds, she collapsed onto her pillow and fought the urge to fall back asleep.
With one of her eyes peeking past her pillow, Stelle used her thumb to message Herta back.
[How big of an emergency is it?]
[Automatic reply] Hi, I'm currently unavailable, and I won't be contacting you later.
[???]
[Automatic reply] Hi, I'm currently unavailable, and I won't be contacting you later
A bulge slowly appeared on her forehead looking at the automatic reply and decided that she should pass the message to Yuuto.
With the possibility of maybe forcing him— or in better terms 'offer' him a chance to take her spot in testing the new features Herta talked about in her place.
Having her mind set on this new revelation, Stelle hopped out of bed and quickly made her way toward Yuuto's room which was a few doors down from hers.
Thinking about who Herta was referring to when she said she got introduced to someone.
–TOK TOK
"Heyy–! Someone wants to pass a message since you're not answering your phone."
"....."
Silence came back as her fist hung just a few centimeters away from the door in front of her.
"Is he sleeping…" Stelle mumbled as she attempted to knock once more but paused when she heard some movements inside.
–CLICK
"Oi, Herta was trying to message you just…. now…"
Stelle lazily spoke as she saw Yuuto open his door but stopped midway when she saw the state of him.
Sweat dripped down his face and his eyes looked weary as if he hadn't slept for days. Black ashes covered a portion of his face and his body was radiating a mild golden light.
"Hey… are you okay..?"
"Hmm… Stelle is that you..?"
"Who else could it be you—"
"Perfect! Someone who can try this thing!!"
Stelle was a bit stunned when she saw Yuuto suddenly close the door on her and return with a small box filled with a few items. These items being some glasses, a toy mic, and a normal-looking cookie.
'That cookie looks too suspicious…'
Turning her eyes away from the cookie that invoked a bit of PTSD inside her, Stelle took the glasses from the box and began fidgeting with them.
"What's this?"
"See through glasses."
"..."
"What?"
Yuuto looked at her innocently which caused Stelle to stare at him with a harder gaze.
"A pervert?" After knowing the name of the object, Stelle immediately wore the glasses and looked at Yuuto.
"Says the person wearing them." Yuuto felt a bit speechless at her shameless attempt to look at him and pinched her nose after seeing her coming closer to him.
"I lied. It's glasses that project movies that you can watch without using a television."
Pressing a button near the side of the frame, a large rectangle scene immediately formed in front of Stelle's eyes. Her senses began to tingle as faint sounds entered her head and felt like she was in a large gymnasium.
Crowds of people were yelling and shouting at the stage in the middle of the gym while two individuals fought using swift powerful kicks.
"Woah…"
"Pretty sick, right?" Yuuto chuckled seeing Stelle being so immersed in the scene she saw.
A small yawn slowly came out of him after noticing that the items he made seemed to be a success. However at the cost of accumulating tons of mental fatigue and pushing his concentration to the limits.
He only made four items using [Memoforge] but it was more than enough to push his brain into overdrive seeing as two objects in particular took a lot of focus to make.
'But it was worth it.'
The lines on his body pulsed as it felt his emotions and calmed down.
"What are you guys doing?"
Dan Heng who went to the kitchen to get some water noticed the two standing in the hallway on his way but couldn't help but ask after seeing the two.
Especially Yuuto who looked like he hadn't slept in days and Stelle who was oddly screaming her loudest while staring point-blank at a wall.
"Nothing special?"
"Right…"
Dan Heng didn't buy it but he decided to ignore it as he was already used to the two's antics by now. Trying to pass the two he was however stopped by Yuuto who offered him a cookie.
"I made these cookies, do you mind trying it out?"
"Why so suddenly..?"
"Eii~ I wanted to keep my mind off all the stress I was accumulating and felt like baking was a good option to take."
Yuuto scratched his cheek as if he was embarrassed making Dan Heng's face relax. He picked up the cookie and looked at it.
It felt warm as if it came out of the oven and tiny chocolate chips poked out the surface. All in all, it looked like a normal cookie and Dan Heng bit into it as he felt Yuuto looking at him.
He took a few seconds to chew and a sweet and crumbly taste filled his mouth.
"It's good." He honestly said.
"It doesn't taste off? Like too bitter, too sweet, or like…cardboard?"
"No, it's pretty good."
"Hmm…"
Yuuto hummed to himself as he stared at the cookie and summoned a book into his palm.
"Thank you for the feedback!"
Dan Heng nodded tasting the last bits of the cookie and walked back into the archive to organize a few documents he put on hold at the moment.
Yuuto scribbled his thoughts into the book after seeing Dan Heng's reaction before returning it to his library and pulling Stelle back into reality.
"GET HIM!! KICK HIM HAR— Hey!? It was getting to the good part!!"
"You're being too loud idiot."
Stelle tried to take back the glasses but stopped when Yuuto promised to give them to her after he tweaked them a bit.
"Anyways, why did you come to my room?"
"Ah! I totally forgot about that. Herta said she was trying to message you but you weren't answering."
"Is that so…"
Ever since he arrived at Jarilo-VI, Yuuto didn't really use his phone as he was focused on doing what he could on that planet.
So he didn't have the time to check his phone all that much.
He pulled his phone out and saw that a large block of messages came from Herta and he began to scroll through each one.
"By the way… Herta said that she wanted you to test out some new things for the Simulated Universe…"
"Lies. She said that she already booked you to test it."
"H-Huh…?"
Yuuto didn't say anything more as he read each message he received and felt curious about the emergency Herta was talking about.
***
"Hey, did you grow taller during the time you left?"
"Are you sure it's not because you're short?"
"When did my height come into this." Herta frowned when she looked at Yuuto.
"By the way, is it true that Miss Ruan Mei is here?" Yuuto said in an odd tone while he looked around.
"Yeah, I needed to call a meeting for the Simulated Universe. Want me to introduce you to her?"
"No, in fact, hide me from her."
***
Sorry for the absence hahaha. Got caught up in a big test and began to fall victim to the gacha and other games once again… *Ahem* ZZZ…Modded Terraria…
Anyways bug station arc is going to be pretty small before heading to the Loufu as I want to bridge something for Penacony.
Also after watching the Ten Stoneheart trailer.... why does Obsidian make me want to join the IPC.
Got some time so maybe more chapters who knows lol.
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