"Let me go!"
"Let me go! You can't do this!"
"I bled for Herta!"
"I served the space station with distinction!"
"You can't treat me like this!"
"I want to see Herta! I want to see Himeko!"
She sounded like a loyal minister unjustly condemned to the deepest dungeon on trumped-up charges by the emperor, despite having achieved great military honors.
Stelle's grief-stricken cries, filled with sorrow and injustice, nearly threatened to summon a June snowfall upon the space station.
With a look of profound anguish, she stared at the pink-haired girl beside her captors, her voice heavy with pain and anger:
"Why?! March, why are you just standing there watching?"
"Have you really betrayed us?"
Faced with Stelle's accusation, March 7th felt like she had a retort stuck in her throat, unsure how to respond.
Finally, she plastered on a gentle and amiable smile.
"Yes, yes, our Stelle is the great hero who saved the space station. Good hero~ If we're not feeling well, we go see the doctor, okay~?"
March 7th's tone was as soft as coaxing a one-year-old crying about getting a shot at the clinic. After placating her, she tilted her head and muttered under her breath.
"If our great hero hadn't saved so many people, would you still be unharmed when we arrived?"
This girl, Stelle, had actually snuck into the Astral Seed Department's cultivation chamber, dug a large pit in the nutrient soil, and then buried a pile of treasures—well, treasures in Stelle's eyes: trash.
Then she knelt on the ground, patting the mound of soil she'd covered it with, watering it with cultivation fluid from the nursery, and chanting with the smile of a doting mother, "Crystals, crystals, grow up quickly~!"
March 7th's face turned green when she saw the situation playback from the surveillance footage—not just because of Stelle's performance art of planting trash, but also because of the researchers who had surrounded Stelle at the time, their faces equally green, eyes burning red with rage.
The spot where Stelle had dug her pit originally contained crops that looked like weeds but were actually seedlings for their academic research reports.
To put it in perspective, it was like an agricultural student's 'graduation thesis' cultivated over an entire semester, only perhaps even more important.
When the Antimatter Legion invasion alert sounded, these researchers had prioritized rescuing their academic work, fleeing to safety clutching their crops.
They never expected that after surviving the Antimatter Legion, they wouldn't survive a certain rampaging grey-haired raccoon.
If one of the researchers hadn't recognized Stelle as the hero who saved many colleagues and helped repel the Voidrangers, it's hard to say if she would have emerged from the Astral Seed Department's cultivation chamber unscathed.
"I... I..."
Realizing later that the 'weeds' she'd pulled weren't just weeds, Stelle felt guilty and scratched her head, trying to argue softly:
"But I already gave them the crystals to compensate for their loss? Why are they still so angry?"
Those are crystals!
"You still have the nerve to say that?"
Seeing Stelle acting like she'd made a huge sacrifice, March 7th tapped her head irritably.
The culprit who destroyed their thesis work tried to compensate for months, even years, of hard work with a trash bag stained with cultivation fluid.
Putting herself in their shoes, March 7th felt her own trigeminal nerve twitching violently.
"Stelle, how could you be so thoughtless? Committing such an act that infuriates both gods and men! You'll come with me later to offer a proper apology!"
Matching the tone of an elder scolding a naughty child, Caelus shifted his restrained arms: "So, can you let me go now?"
His wrists were bound by Dan Heng using special restraint straps designed to prevent psychiatric patients from self-harming.
"Dan Heng, March, believe me, I'm really not mentally ill!"
"Mm, I believe you."
Dan Heng nodded expressionlessly, but his hands showed no sign of loosening the restraints.
"That's what all psychiatric patients say."
March 7th sighed, unable to even muster a proper retort.
This one was even more of a handful!
Apparently unimpressed by the meager contents of mere trash cans, while everyone's attention was on Stelle, Caelus went and did something big near the station's waste disposal unit.
He mixed the station's biochemical research waste with the general living waste processing pool, creating a garbage bomb that affected half a cabin section.
Stelle and Caelus seemed to have subconsciously trained themselves to protect their clothes and bodies with energy shields, avoiding getting stained by trash and filth, but others didn't have that skill!
Word was that a group of researchers happened to be nearby at the time and got splattered with a mixture containing pet waste and leftover food, which had been soaking in spoiled milk tea for two days.
That scene... Tsk tsk, March 7th didn't even dare to imagine it!
Watching the full incident reconstructed via surveillance footage, Asta's expression twisted.
During the previous Antimatter Legion invasion, many surveillance monitors in the cabin sections had been destroyed, so Asta hadn't seen footage of Stelle and Caelus opening 'treasure chests' everywhere.
Therefore, in Asta's eyes, Caelus was a true hero who had brought back dozens of researchers doomed to die, stayed by their side when the Doomsday Beast appeared, and helped the space station overcome the crisis.
She had kept telling herself that Stelle and Caelus prying open Herta's puppet mouths was just an accident.
But now, as the surveillance system was repaired, the heroic image she held shattered completely.
Especially when she saw the expressions on Stelle's face while burying trash and Caelus's face while mixing chemicals and wet garbage, her brain practically seized up.
It was a look of genuine joy, the excitement of anticipating a reward, as if they were doing something incredibly righteous. Their heartfelt expressions, combined with the surrounding garbage, delivered a powerful visual and mental shock.
Having lived so long and traveled to countless planets, Asta would dare to say she'd seen it all. But she had truly never witnessed something this... abstract.
Asta immediately found Himeko. After inquiring about the details, she promptly arranged for the space station's best psychiatric specialist.
Treat them! They must be treated immediately!
In addition, Asta provided ample compensation to the victims of Stelle and Caelus's incidents.
The Astral Seed Department researchers received promotions first, then support for rewriting their papers. Those traumatized by being splattered with garbage were given substantial compensation for emotional distress and free psychological counseling, among other things.
Everyone generously declared that the 'heroes' had done a great job!
Ahem, anyway, the psychiatrist was ready. March 7th and Dan Heng were dispatched to escort the two grey-haired individuals, who were refusing treatment, to the psychiatric consultation room.
"But we really aren't mentally ill!" Caelus pleaded earnestly, his tone sincere.
"Yes, yes, you're not mentally ill."
March 7th smiled and comforted them softly, pushing them towards the consultation room. "This isn't treatment, just a little chat with the doctor. Be good now~!"
"We'll wait for you here~!"
It's best not to have outsiders present during psychiatric consultations. After ushering the two into the corridor, March 7th and Dan Heng retreated to the doorway.
Dan Heng stood beside the door like a guardian statue, extinguishing any thought they might have had of turning and fleeing.
"I..." Stelle was choked speechless.
"Forget it." Caelus placed a hand on Stelle's shoulder and spoke calmly, "A chat is just a chat."
How does one prove they aren't mentally ill? Whoever could answer that question, Nous would surely track them down through the network on the spot. That Aeon of Erudition—that would be true genius!
"Alright."
On second thought, Stelle figured Caelus had a point. What was the big deal about chatting with someone? She loved talking to people!
The corridor wasn't long, and soon Stelle and Caelus entered the room.
There was none of the typical medicinal smell, like disinfectant. It didn't look much like a typical medical office; the room's interior decoration exuded a warm, comforting atmosphere that put one's mind at ease.
"Ah, you're here! The great heroes who saved dozens of researchers! I've heard so much about you both. Thank you, truly~!"
She was a woman who looked to be around thirty, with gentle features and a kind voice, like a caring older sister.
Upon seeing them, she stood up warmly to greet them.
"N-No problem."
Starting immediately with sincere, enthusiastic gratitude made Stelle scratch her head, slightly embarrassed.
Truly worthy of being the station's best psychological expert, huh? Her every word and gesture radiated a gentle, reassuring feeling. Caelus glanced at the work badge on her chest; the name read 'Jennifer'.
A name he hadn't heard before. Likely a character who hadn't appeared in the main storyline.
Outwardly, Caelus chatted casually with the psychologist alongside Stelle, but inwardly, he was carefully studying her micro-expressions and body language, attempting to mimic them using his 'mask' ability. Might as well use the downtime to hone his acting skills for future... antics~!
The doctor's professional skills were commendable. She spent nearly a standard hour drawing them closer psychologically before broaching the subject at an opportune moment.
"Stelle, your friends mentioned you like crystals. I'm quite interested in crystals myself. Could I perhaps see one?"
She asked Stelle rather than Caelus because she sensed Caelus was far more difficult to handle than Stelle.
"Of course, no problem!"
Finally finding a kindred spirit who understood her, Stelle pulled a crystal from her pocket—one she hadn't stored in the system inventory. "If you like it, I can give you one."
"Oh, well thank you..."
Having been briefed by the Station Master beforehand, she had already mentally prepared herself to face foul-smelling garbage.
However, the moment she saw the lustrous, azure gem radiating a captivating light in the grey-haired girl's palm, the gentle smile on Jennifer's face instantly froze.
She fell into an unprecedented silence.
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