Stellar Train: I Open a Small Shop on the Train-Chapter 142

Robin found it quite amusing.

"Paimon? Which one is that?"

Furina pointed at Paimon, who was standing on the table hugging a rice bowl bigger than herself and scarfing it down.

"That's her—Paimon. She's a real glutton. No one's more enthusiastic about eating than her."

Robin looked over at Paimon with curiosity. How could someone so tiny eat so much?

In the kitchen.

Little Evil God (Jashin-chan) finally finished chopping the last dish and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping sweat from her forehead. She walked over to Xiangling and peeked at her station.

"Xiangling, how much longer will you be?"

Xiangling replied, "Still a while. You go ahead and eat first, Jammy-chan. No need to wait for me."

Little Evil God nodded, wagged her tail, and walked into the dining hall with a tray in hand.

"Braised beef~ Braised beef~ Delicious braised beef~"

She went straight for the braised beef, only to freeze when she got there.

It was gone!!!

She felt a pang of regret—she should've come earlier and taken some from the big pot.

Left with no choice, she grabbed some random food and found a seat.

She scooped up a mouthful while chewing and watching the six little ones playing with the toy cars that Ye Yun had given them.

The six had already finished eating and were now playing with tiny toy cars, each only half the size of their palms.

The cars had wind-up springs—pulling them back would send them zooming ahead.

The six crouched in a row, competing to see whose car could go the farthest.

Little Evil God's interest was piqued. These looked fun!

She walked over to Klee.

"Klee, can I take a look at your little car?"

Klee cheerfully handed it to her. "Sure~ Jashin-chan Onee-chan~"

Jashin-chan took the car, examined it, and then suddenly chomped it down into her mouth—then spat it out.

"I've seen it. Here you go, Klee."

Klee looked at the soggy car, then burst into tears.

"Waaah! My car's dirty! I don't want it anymore!"

Hearing that, Little Evil God wiped the saliva off with a tissue.

"You don't want it? Then it's mine now~"

She turned to Bai Lu, Hook, and the others.

"Come on, Jashin-chan Onee-chan will play with you too!"

Then she wound the spring tightly and pressed the car to the ground to stop it from running off.

Suddenly, she felt a chill down her spine, and an angry voice echoed behind her.

"Jashin-chan."

She turned around and locked eyes with Yurine's murderous glare.

Little Evil God's heart dropped. She swallowed hard and quickly tried to explain.

"W-Wait! Klee said she didn't want it! I only took it because she gave it up!"

Ten minutes later.

Everyone had gathered on the deck. Little Evil God was tied to a pole.

There was a cut on her back that was still bleeding.

Yurine casually picked up a book.

"Jashin-chan, do you admit your wrongdoing?"

Everyone thought she'd finally admit fault, but instead—

"I did nothing wrong! I only took it because Klee didn't want it! What did I do wrong?!"

Stelle, March 7th, Hu Tao, and the others all gave her a thumbs-up.

"Nice, that's our Jashin-chan. Can't go a day without getting whooped."

Yurine sighed.

"Jashin-chan, you still don't understand your mistake. Very well—prepare for punishment."

She gathered a pile of firewood beneath the pole and lit it with a snap.

Jashin-chan, RIP.

Everyone partied on the Glimmerstone ship ship until late into the night.

Furina, Focalors, and Neuvillette returned to Fontaine.

As soon as they arrived, Neuvillette said goodbye.

"Lady Furina, Lady Focalors, good night. I have matters to attend to—I'll take my leave."

And with that, he headed straight for Liyue.

Furina was puzzled.

"Focalors, where's Neuvillette rushing off to?"

Focalors paused, recalling something he discussed with Zhongli.

"Oh no! We have to catch up! He's going to see Lady Calestia!"

Furina immediately rallied the Knights of Lancelot and rushed with Focalors toward Liyue Harbor.

Liyue – Mt. Tianheng.

Neuvillette appeared there. Shortly after, a portal opened, and Calestia flew out.

He looked at Neuvillette coldly.

"Oh? The second generation Hydro Dragon King?"

Without a word, Neuvillette launched an attack.

The battle between the two began in a flash.

On a nearby mountaintop, Zhongli, Venti, Azhdaha, and the Adepti sat at a stone table watching.

Venti clicked his tongue.

"Tsk tsk, as expected of Lady Calestia. Neuvillette's really getting beat up—hasn't landed a hit yet."

Azhdaha sighed. He could tell—Neuvillette, like him, was also a dragon of elemental origin.

Venti looked at Zhongli.

"Old man, are we really not going to help?"

Zhongli shook his head.

"No need. We just have to ensure the battle doesn't spill over and harm civilians."

Venti raised a brow, then resumed drinking.

The battle ended swiftly. Neuvillette lay defeated on the ground.

Calestia looked toward a distant peak.

"Focalors, Furina, come—it's over."

The two, leading the Knights of Lancelot, hurried over.

Calestia looked at Focalors.

"Furina has already explained, hasn't she?"

Focalors nodded.

"Yes. Lady Calestia, don't worry—I'll fully cooperate with the relocation plans."

Calestia nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Neuvillette and left with a warning:

"You and I have a personal grudge. If you want revenge, come find me anytime. But if you interfere with the relocation, I won't hesitate to kill you.

Personal vendettas should not endanger all of Tevyat."

After she left, Furina rushed to Neuvillette and helped him up.

"Neuvillette, are you okay?"

He shook his head slightly.

"I'll be fine—just need some rest."

But right after he spoke, he coughed up blood, startling Furina.

"You call that fine?! Lancelot! Get a stretcher! Take him back for treatment!"

Lancelot obeyed and had two knights carry Neuvillette onto a stretcher.

Lancelot glanced at Neuvillette with a teasing tone.

"Man, you really got beat this time. I did you a favor, bringing guys to carry you back.

So... what about that application I submitted to recruit trainee knights?"

Neuvillette nodded.

"Consider this a favor returned. Approved. But no more than a hundred recruits.

Your training plan consumes too many resources."

Lancelot replied:

"Of course. If you want elite soldiers, you need tons of resources."

***

The next day.

Focalors was enjoying the flowers in the garden of the Mormer Palace, accompanied by several Lancelot knights.

Furina and the girls had gotten up early to find Topaz and record a song—she was eager to post her performance online.

After a night of viral attention, Furina's personal account had reached ten million followers.

Furina had become famous overnight, now barely qualifying as a minor celebrity in the Honkai: Star Rail universe.

Focalors turned to one of the knights.

"How is Neuvillette?"

The knight bowed slightly and replied,

"My lord, Neuvillette has already recovered and can now get out of bed and move around."

Upon hearing this, Focalors said,

"Where is he? I'll go check on him."

She thought that if Neuvillette was well enough, she could make him go back to work.

There was a mountain of paperwork piled up in the office, and the mere sight of it gave Focalors a headache.

Especially now, with the migration matters keeping everyone busy—it was a nightmare.

Focalors entered Neuvillette's room.

He was sitting by the window, holding a newspaper. On the small table next to him sat a bottle of mineral water from the Astral Express.

Focalors pushed the door open.

"Neuvillette, how are you feeling? Hey, looks like you're doing quite well."

Seeing Neuvillette reading by the window, Focalors was overjoyed—finally, she could drag him back to help with her work.

Neuvillette looked at her. Everything she was thinking was written all over her face.

She was clearly beaming with excitement, obviously hoping to dump the political work on him.

Neuvillette spoke slowly.

"Not quite yet. I can only walk a few steps. As you know, Calestia is very powerful."

Hearing this, Focalors was a bit disappointed.

She had just been thinking about forcing Neuvillette back to work, but with him saying this, it didn't feel right to insist.

She pouted.

"Fine then~ You rest for now. I'll go get busy."

With that, she turned to leave.

But Neuvillette suddenly spoke up.

"If you trust me, I can take over the migration list matter."

Focalors turned back in surprise.

"Really? It's settled then! The list is due tomorrow!"

Neuvillette nodded slightly.

"Don't worry. It will be on time."

With that assurance, Focalors happily went off to work.

News of the migration had already spread throughout Fontaine the day before.

The old nobles were stirring again, trying everything to get their people onto the list.

They launched public opinion campaigns, wrote recommendation letters—they tried every possible trick.

Basically, they wanted their names to constantly appear in Focalors' view.

After Focalors left, Neuvillette summoned his secretary.

"I need you to run an errand—invite the Fatui Harbinger, The Knave, here."

Focalors was kind-hearted. Even though she knew the nobles were up to something, she wouldn't interfere unless they broke the law.

But it wasn't just Calestia who didn't want the migration to fail—Neuvillette felt the same.

This concerned all of Teyvat—there could be no slip-ups.

Neuvillette planned to strike a deal with The Knave, having her suppress the arrogance of the old noble families.

Meanwhile.

At Meropide Fortress.

Several young members of noble families had used their connections to gain positions at the fortress just the day before.

The positions weren't too high or too low, but each commanded a few guards.

They gathered together.

"Is everything ready?"

"Don't worry. I've already spoken to the prisoners. They'll riot tonight, and we'll suppress it to gain credit."

"Double-check everything. No loose ends. And make sure the prisoners keep their mouths shut."

"That's fine. They just want more money."

"Give it to them. What we need is merit. With it, we can get our names on the list. Got it?"

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

Merson Caesar nodded in satisfaction to his companions.

"Alright then. Disperse. The riot begins at 8 p.m. sharp!"

Merson Caesar was from one of Fontaine's oldest noble families, the House of Caesar.

He had been assigned to Meropide Fortress to earn merit.

The plan was to stage a riot and have the young nobles suppress it, gaining achievements in the process.

Once they subdued the prisoners, their names would be listed in the battle report submitted to the Hydro Archon.

With this accomplishment, they would likely make it onto the migration list.

Merson left the group and returned to his room, but as soon as he entered, a black mist rushed into him.

He clutched his chest like he was having a seizure and collapsed to the ground.

After a while, he stood up again. A dark glow flickered in his eyes as he grinned sinisterly.

"A riot? I love it! Calestia, you destroyed my Abyss cult—I'll destroy your entire nation!"

He walked outside, looked around to ensure no one was watching, then entered a hidden passage.

Back with Neuvillette—he had finished negotiations with The Knave.

She accepted the task. In fact, she had long been disgusted by the old noble families.

She would've taken action earlier if she'd had a reason.

Neuvillette then asked,

"Now, about your reward. What would you like?"

The Servant looked at him.

"I'd like your help. Many of the children under my care are from Fontaine—I want them to return home."

Neuvillette agreed instantly.

"Of course. Fontaine-born children have every right to return. I'll have jobs arranged for them."

The Knave turned and waved at Lyney and Lynette.

"Lyney, Lynette. You'll be returning to Fontaine. This is your true home."

But the siblings shook their heads.

"Father, we want to stay with you."

The Knave said calmly,

"Lyney, Lynette. Listen to me."

Even so, they still wanted to stay.

The Knave continued.

"You're still young. You don't need to be involved in these cruel conflicts.

Back then, it was for Her Majesty the Tsaritsa. But now that the Fatui has been disbanded...

Lyney, Lynette—take care of your younger siblings. They're still so small. Do you want them to live in fear and suffering?"

Though reluctant, the two finally agreed.

"We understand, Father."