Xingtie: Can’t you just let me focus on completing the commissions?

“Speaking of which, Emiya passenger, your abilities are quite convenient.”

"Pam, is there any gift you'd like to bring back from Pinocchio?"

"Pam doesn't need those things on the train. Just have fun, Emiya passenger."

"Alright, in that case, I won't bring the two seniors back."

"No need for a... huh???"

The train conductor instinctively responded, but after responding, he suddenly felt something was off. Had he just heard two familiar names?

"Emiya passenger, what did you just say?"

"I said then I won't bring a gift."

The man looked at it with a smile, then repeated it again.

"After all, the train conductor doesn't need Mikhail and Lazarina as gifts, does he?"

"..."

Pam jumped up immediately.

"Pam needs this gift! She desperately needs it!!!"

[Pam's emotional value +699]

So excited?

Moreover, it's easy to generate hundreds of emotional points.

Emiya hadn't deliberately tried to collect Old Man's coins before. Although Pam could get angry sometimes, she had never reached this emotional threshold.

No wonder he's the most senior member of the Starry Sky Train!

"Then it's a deal, I will bring them back."

"Emiya passengers, it would be best if you could bring them back, but... if it's really dangerous, at the very least, you must return safely."

"Don't worry, this time, none of us will fall behind."

……

One night,

I burned all my memories.

Since then,

My dream became transparent.

One morning,

I threw away all of yesterday.

Since then,

My steps became lighter.

"Misha, wake up, wake up! Tick-tock! It's time for work! Tick-tock! Tick-tock!"

Waking from sleep, the boy rubbed his forehead and slowly propped himself up.

"Is the break time over already?"

"Twelve minutes to go, tick-tock."

"Wouldn't that be too late?!"

Before he could even process the complex emotions swirling in his mind, the boy hurriedly grabbed his waiter's coat from the rack and rushed outside.

When he appeared in the lobby without stopping, a member of the Oak family, Jing393, quietly scrutinized him for a while before looking away.

"Thank goodness, that was close. If I had been caught again, my salary for this month would have been reduced again."

The young waiter muttered under his breath, but the strange 'disc-shaped creature' standing beside him spoke up.

"Next time, I'll wake you up thirty minutes earlier, tick-tock!!"

"Thank you for your help, Clock Boy."

He said this, then found his workstation, picked up the tools he needed, and walked towards the lobby of the Daydream Hotel.

As he passed the entrance, several guests filed in, and the young waiter instinctively bowed and greeted them.

"Welcome to Daydream Hotel."

"Welcome?"

The young man in the group stared at him, a strange smile on his face.

"Is there a problem, guest?"

"No, it's nothing. However, next time I hope you can say something different."

What do you mean?

The young man smiled, waved, and then followed the group towards the front desk, leaving the young waiter with a strange expression as he watched their departing figures.

"...What a strange guest."

but,

His gaze was unconsciously drawn to the gold train tickets on the waists of the passengers, and he seemed to murmur a syllable without thinking.

"The Nameless Guest".

...You've finally arrived.

Chapter 292: I have come to understand one thing in my short life.

"The three platinum suites on the Starry Sky Train."

"Two presidential suites on the Black Tower space station."

"Mr. Walter Yang, Ms. Himeko, Ms. March 7, and your anonymous invitations, Mr. Emiya Shirou and Ms. Hoshi, the system has completed the entry. Next, a staff member will lead you to your room."

This time, when logging in at the front desk, there was no situation where Xiaoxing Core Essence was stopped at the front desk because she didn't have an invitation. As a genius who had clearly met with Bo Shizun twice through the Genius Club, coupled with her numerous achievements in the field of scientific research, Black Tower was enough to make many people treat her as an honored guest.

Although it may be inappropriate to say it bluntly, the current Starry Sky Train Group is not even considered a top-tier second-rate force in the Star Sea. The Star God has fallen, and there is no clear Commander-level combat power. Their ancestors did have glory, but now they are truly a fallen Junker noble family. Pinocchio does not need to curry favor with the train group, and he will naturally handle people and matters strictly by business.

However, by simply handing over the Black Tower's anonymous tickets, the other side wouldn't even consider the security of the individuals' identities, because the name Black Tower alone carries such influence. Moreover... the purchasers of these two tickets were a young lady from the construction materials and logistics department of the Interstellar Peace Company. With two layers of credibility on their side, they naturally wouldn't be investigated further.

"The presidential suite! Ugh! Ah Xing, can we switch?"

Seeing the golden key card in Ah Xing's hand, Miss March looked on with envy, while Little Gray Hair looked at her best friend with a condescending smile, like a villainous female antagonist.

"Country bumpkins should just stay in the lower-class rooms."

"...Hey, tone it down, that expression of yours is awful."

"In March, I realized something in my short life."

"Three or four months is indeed a very short time."

"That's not important. What's important is... following Shirou around, eating nine meals in three days, and each meal has a different variety. My fate with you ends here. From now on, I'm going to follow Shirou into high society, attend high-society parties, and become a winner in life 々々!"

"Oh no, you've managed to latch onto a real powerhouse!"

The little pink-haired girl immediately let out a mournful cry. Putting aside the presidential suite, she remembered that Emiya had over a billion credits. When she followed Himeko and the others, her allowance was controlled. If A-Xing went with Emiya, she would definitely be able to shop to her heart's content!

Damn it...

no,

I absolutely must get into Emiya's presidential suite tonight!!

"Passengers of the Star Train, please follow me."

A servant from the family stepped forward to lead them to their room, but before they could take a step, a voice abruptly stopped them.

Passengers on the train, please wait.

Everyone turned around, and a richly dressed, blond young man walked over with a broad smile, handing out business cards to everyone.

"I am 'Gold Sand,' a member of the Strategic Investment Department of Interstellar Peace Company, and one of the experts in non-performing asset liquidation. Of course, this identity is of little value to you all."

"I've stayed here simply to get to know you all and make friends. I wonder if I might be fortunate enough to become your friend?"

Interstellar Peace Corporation.

Beneath this sea of ​​stars lies a name that cannot be overlooked.

After all, as the official entity issuing "credit points,"

Countless planets throughout the cosmos depend on this colossal object for survival.

"Is 'Sand Gold' your real name, or..."

Walter looked at the name on the business card, seemingly lost in thought, while the latter, sensing his meaning, chuckled and replied.

"I am indeed one of the 'Ten People of Stone Heart,' no need to guess."

"The Stoneheart team of ten, an 'elite team' directly under the Strategic Investment Department, was promoted by 'Diamond' himself. Each and every one of them is an absolute big shot. Do someone as important as you really need to condescend to personally contact us?"

Compared to the Star Train, the elite members under the command of "Diamond" are naturally considered big shots. The wealth they handle is mostly measured in Jinggai. Although they are still called employees, they can easily obtain hundreds of millions or even billions of credits with a flick of their fingers. Every strategy they issue is enough to affect the fate of everyone on several planets.

Just like Belloberg, if Toppa had been any tougher, this newly liberated planet would have become a colony of the company, and everyone on the planet would have become its employees. Although they would have a stable job, how much they could eat and use would depend on the company's attitude.

"You are being too modest. The train crew operates an exclusive business. Laying the silver rails is something that no other faction can do except for you nameless guests. Even the company has to rely on the silver rails you laid to travel freely in the universe. We who are in business and logistics are the most natural allies of your Starry Sky Train."

He emphasized the word "allies," and Welt and Himeko understood his meaning. Emiya, of course, understood as well, and also grasped his thoughts.

The history of Pinocene is a history of struggle against the company, at least for the first five hundred years. The family is very wary of the company's people, and it is almost impossible for the gold dust, which itself intends to recover the bad debts of Pinocene, to take back the place without finding a suitable ally.

once,

Pinocchio also had a counterpart who demonstrated power.

The company has no intention of engaging in direct armed conflict with the family. To reclaim Pinocchio, or rather, to reinvest in it, they need a plausible but absurd pretext.

And as it happens,

A watchmaker—that would be a perfect starting point.

As a group that has long been interested in Pinocchio, the company is somewhat aware of the rift between the watchmaker and the family, at least knowing that the family has been investigating this (Haono) watchmaker for hundreds of years.

The reason why Sand Gold came to Pinocchio was to try to find a clue in the watchmaker's legacy and see if he could expose any flaws in the family's secrets...

"A plausible reason to overturn the table."

He chuckled softly, gazing at the passengers on the Starry Sky Train, and spoke again.

"How about it, everyone on the train? If you would be so kind as to join me for a short get-together, I will cover all your expenses for the entire trip to Pinocchio."

Hearing Sand Gold's words, Walter glanced at Himeko. Although he didn't seem to care much about the expenses the other woman mentioned, but...

Now that the other party has come knocking, if we don't make things clear now, given the man's current behavior, there will likely be a lot of trouble later on.

"Since Mr. Sand Gold has extended such a warm invitation, it would be rather disrespectful to refuse."

"Walter, let us keep him company for a bit."

Chapter 293: You just mentioned "commission", right?

"Pinocone has been eyeing ten Amber Age companies and hasn't given up yet. These people are really persistent."

Walter couldn't help but sigh.

"With the time and energy invested here, given the size of the company, developing new regions should have been more profitable."

"The important thing is not how much money you make, but the quality of the materials you collect."

On the way to the temporary reception room, Emiya spoke softly.

“Pinocone is an important source of memora material. What the company wants has never been just credit points, but to transport materials for the Amber King.”

"Instead of spending time and effort negotiating and slowly squeezing out scraps from the family, it would be better to take it back completely and turn this mining area into our own... I reckon that according to the company's intentions, at the very least, we would have to inject capital and become one of Pinocone's shareholders."

"What's their reason for trying to lure us into this game?"