*Chapter 15: Welt Fantasizes Again: Bronya? Tesla? Einstein?*

The next second, March 7th lunged towards Higokumaru, wrapping her in a hug.

The ball of white fur, moments before shrinking on the floor, visibly timid towards everything around her, was suddenly enveloped in a warm embrace.
All of Higokumaru's fur puffed up slightly. A short "Wuee ~" escaped her throat, her small paws instinctively kicking the air twice, her soft tail tensing up.

"Woah ! What is this? ! So cute ! Stelle, is this a new figure you bought?"
March 7th rubbed Higokumaru's head with her hands, unable to resist taking a couple of deep breaths.

Girls just have no resistance to these things. It's like a transforming Gundam going kacha-kacha-kacha in front of boys—no one can withstand it.
Jiang Liang now also occasionally played with Judgment of Shamash, casually tossing the dual pistols in his hands, then making kacha-kacha-kacha sounds as they transformed into the greatsword.
Anyway, in his soul state, as long as he didn't swap bodies, he couldn't affect physical objects.

From fierce beast, to being bribed by fried tofu puffs, to being easily picked up... her adaptability is faster than expected, Jiang Liang thought silently, his gaze shifting back to the open door and the corridor beyond.
The door was open, likely because Stelle had gone to get the tofu puffs earlier and didn't have time to close it in her haste, allowing March 7th to walk right in.

Stelle sat on the edge of the bed, watching with interest.
Her interest in Higokumaru wasn't as great as her interest in Higokumaru (the large beast form). That imposing appearance made Stelle think it would be incredibly cool to ride on its back for a joyride.

Higokumaru's pale eyes first widened in fright, then, seemingly sensing the lack of malicious intent in the touch, her tension eased slightly. Her small nose twitched lightly in the air, as if identifying the unfamiliar scent.

Higokumaru was a bit dazed by the sudden situation. Her small head moved slightly in March 7th's embrace, a faint "Miiwu ~" sound coming from her throat. She lifted her teary eyes, first looking at March 7th right in front of her, then carefully glancing towards Stelle and Jiang Liang.

The feeling of being held was warm and soft, carrying a reassuring scent distinctly different from the sweet aroma of fried tofu puffs.
Seeing that neither of them spoke, she hesitated for a moment. Her limbs stopped flailing and instead rested gently on the arms holding her. The tip of her tail even began to wag slightly unconsciously.

"N-Not a figure... Higokumaru is Higokumaru..." she refuted softly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's buzz, but with more confidence than the pure fear from before.

"Looks like she really likes being held ! Higokumaru, Higokumaru !"
March 7th's gaze lingered on Higokumaru's fluffy ear tips before she rubbed her face against the fur again forcefully.

Meanwhile, Stelle, noticing March 7th's attention wasn't on her, sneakily slipped over to the doorway, standing beside Jiang Liang.
"Looking at Higokumaru like this, you wouldn't guess she wanted to burn us to ashes just moments ago. Really, small animals are easier to handle if you pet them the right way... But since we just got back, shouldn't we consider what to do next? How should we accommodate her? We can't just let March hold her forever, right? There's no dedicated fox den on the train."
She pouted towards March 7th, who was still chatting happily with Higokumaru.

"Hmm, we do need to consider it... How about she sleeps with you?"

Stelle made a large 'X' gesture, shaking her head vigorously. "No way ! My privacy can't just disappear three days after boarding !"

"I'm already sharing a body with you, and you're worried about that?"

"Anyway, let's find a place for her to stay first. At least clean her up... treat her like a mascot. Pom-Pom should be quite happy..." Stelle paused, her gaze falling back on Higokumaru.

"Higokumaru, do you have any thoughts yourself? Where would you like to stay?"
She didn't expect a little fox who had just escaped danger and didn't seem very mentally mature to offer any constructive suggestions.

Higokumaru's ears twitched upon hearing Jiang Liang's words. She looked at Jiang Liang, then at March 7th holding her, and finally whispered, "I... I don't know... Anywhere here is better than... there... As long as there are fried tofu puffs... wu..."

At the end, she seemed to recall the deliciousness of the tofu puffs again, unable to resist licking her small nose, her eyes filled with pure longing for food.

"Ya ! If you don't have a place to stay, then stay with big sister me !"
March 7th's eyes sparkled as she looked towards Stelle leaning against the doorframe. "Where did you get this?"

Stelle glanced lazily at Higokumaru by Jiang Liang's feet. She pointed casually at the small, trembling creature, her tone as flat as if commenting on the nice weather. "Oh, this? I gave birth to her."

The air seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second.
March 7th's beautiful pink-blue gradient eyes instantly widened into perfect circles, her small mouth forming an 'O'. Her gaze darted back and forth between Stelle, who had just uttered the astonishing statement with a deadpan expression, and the little fox on the ground, which was clearly not a human cub. Her face was a mixture of "Are you kidding me?" and "This is absolutely impossible !"

"Are you serious? ! I'd believe it even if you said you secretly brought her back from Jarilo-VI !"
If Stelle had claimed to have smuggled the little fox back from some nook or cranny on Jarilo-VI, it would have been a hundred times more believable than the explanation that she gave birth to her.

Stelle watched March 7th's worldview-shattering expression, the smile on her face growing more pronounced. She even nodded solemnly, slowly adding, "Yeah. See? Her fur color takes after me. Both light-colored."

Jiang Liang's eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
He tilted his head slightly to look at Stelle beside him. Her face still held that unperturbed, seemingly uninvolved calmness. Her crossed arms even gave him a thumbs-up.
He felt he might already understand the personality of this co-tenant roommate.

Jiang Liang sighed silently in his heart, his gaze finally settling back on the increasingly uneasy little fox.
Higokumaru seemed to sense the suddenly tense and strange atmosphere in the room, shrinking even tighter, a faint whimper escaping her throat, looking utterly pitiful.

"Don't be scared, don't be scared. You can stay in my room temporarily. Anyway, you're tiny, you can sleep among the plush toys."

"O-Okay..." Higokumaru said softly, still subconsciously leaning towards Jiang Liang, seeking a bit of security.

"Then let's go ! Ignore that abstract monster !"
March 7th hummed softly, as if she had figured something out. She turned to look at Stelle, sighing slightly. "By the way, Uncle Yang is back..., he seems a bit down."

"Hmm? What happened?"
Stelle paused slightly.

"Don't know. Anyway, after Uncle Yang came back, he just stared blankly at the ceiling, muttering 'Bronya,' followed by a string of names... something Tesla... something Joachim... something Einstein... Anyway, the carriage is full of a sad atmosphere."
She shrugged and closed the door.

* -----*

"If the Earth were proportionally shrunk into a glass marble 1 cm in diameter, then the Sun would be a sphere about 1 meter in diameter, approximately 110 meters away from this marble. Coincidentally, my living room can just about fit that."
A solar system model – a very common type of popular science teaching aid.

Chen Ran was quite sure he had only turned his head for a second. How did this solar system model suddenly come alive?

"Terra" – The model planet was labeled 'Terra'.
Which Terra?

Detecting planetary native: Skadi

Oh, that Terra. Arknights, right?
And there's Skadi, this little orca?

Skadi is leading the Seaborn swarm, attempting to break through the Star Pod.

The translucent dialogue box flickered for a few seconds, completing the latter part of the sentence.

Chen Ran: "..."
Hold on a second.
Which Skadi is this?
And which worldline's Terra is this? !

----

TN: Dunno why there is another story in the chapter, guess it's another author's work?