Honkai: Star Rail – From the Moment Tom The Cat Became My Passenger

"Me?"

Yevenko paused, lost in thought for a moment.

Himeko's meaning was obvious. She wanted both Astral Express trains to act together. In her heart, there was probably a sense of mission.

Restore the glory of the Path of Trailblaze. An unquestionable duty!

Granted, the two Astral Expresses now were a far cry from when Akivili still lived, but even so—this was a historic moment, a leap from one to two.

It was a beginning. It was hope.

Still, he planned to go back and check which jump regions were currently open on his own Astral Express. If nothing new had unlocked, sticking with Himeko's group for now wouldn't be a bad idea.

As his thoughts drifted, Yevenko felt a little thirsty. He casually reached behind himself and pulled out a bottle of milk, taking a swig.

March 7th, who'd just been watching Stelle carried away on a stretcher by the space station staff, couldn't help but spot this. Her eyes widened at the sight.

She remembered that back when Yevenko was traveling with them, he'd given her and Dan Heng some milk, and even Tom had gotten a bottle before. But now he'd just pulled out another one. Did his back pocket really fit that much milk?

March 7th crept up behind Yevenko, peering intently. She quickly realized there wasn't even a back pocket on his pants. Her eyes, already wide, went round as saucers.

Her gaze flickered back and forth between Yevenko's rather perky backside and the milk bottle in his hand, a movement that didn't escape his notice.

Yevenko looked at her, puzzled.

"March, do you want some milk?"

As he spoke, he slipped his free left hand behind his back—another bottle of milk materialized out of thin air in his grasp. He handed it to her with a smile.

"I've got plenty. Drink as much as you like."

March 7th's pink lips parted in astonishment, her eyes full of disbelief as she pointed at Yevenko.

"You, you, you…"

Himeko noticed something was off, too. Her brows knit in curiosity, her lips parting with a gentle question.

"Yevenko, how are you pulling endless bottles of milk out of nowhere?"

Yevenko's mouth twitched as he struggled to keep a straight face, suppressing the urge to laugh. He had to play this cool all the way.

He shook his head slightly. "How could it be endless? It's not like I produce milk myself."

"And anyway, Tom can pull all sorts of weird things out from behind him. As his partner, is it so strange for me to pull out a bottle of milk?"

March 7th's eyes lit up in sudden realization. She made a fist and knocked it against her palm, mumbling, "You make a lot of sense."

Off to the side, Dan Heng shook his head. Even someone as taciturn as him couldn't help but chime in:

"March, that makes no sense at all."

"If you think about it, Tom and Yevenko are hardly comparable."

"Still, with Tom as precedent, I suppose Yevenko's little stunt is totally acceptable now."

Yevenko: "…"

Come on, be more shocked, will you?!

He'd been pulling out milk for ages, and finally someone noticed, only for Tom's existence to make it seem completely normal. That was supposed to be his moment!

Yevenko suddenly felt exhausted. Wasn't transmigrating supposed to be all about showing off? Why did Tom always steal his thunder?

Himeko, ever perceptive, caught the look on Yevenko's face and a rare flicker of amusement sparkled in her eyes.

She smiled softly. "When you put it that way, it does seem perfectly normal."

"In that case, let's drop the topic for now."

"Yevenko, have you made up your mind about what I said earlier? Are you coming with us, or going off on your own Trailblaze journey?"

Yevenko hesitated, then gave up on his failed attempt at showing off.

Facing Himeko's question, he replied, "I'll discuss it with Tom first."

Himeko nodded gently. "That's fair. Tom's opinion is important too."

"Alright, we won't disturb you two. Herta just contacted us—Stelle's showing signs of waking up. We'll go check on her."

Yevenko nodded.

As March 7th left, she glanced back at Yevenko, a trace of reluctance glimmering in her brilliant, rainbow-bright eyes.

They'd been through so much together. She wanted to say something about continuing their journey side by side, but as Himeko said, every Trailblazer has their own path.

She couldn't force others to stay. But… she was a little scared she'd forget Yevenko.

March 7th seemed about to speak, then fell silent, lowering her head in thought before finally following Himeko and Dan Heng.

Seeing this, Yevenko looked down at Tom by his side.

"Tom, what do you think?"

Tom met his gaze, and Yevenko could almost hear what Tom wanted to say.

You mean, as long as I'm with you, anywhere's fine? You had fun hanging out with Himeko and March this time? You enjoyed the adventure?

"I see."

"As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."

Trust Tom to get right to the heart of things. If Tom could walk the Path of Erudition, maybe he'd make a pretty good Emanator of Joy…

Wait, who said he wouldn't end up as the god of mischief?

Yevenko considered for a moment. Honestly, sticking with Himeko's group wasn't a bad idea—at least with his knowledge of the main plot, he could keep himself safe.

After all, he wasn't the invincible one—Tom was. If Tom ever wasn't at his side and something went wrong, he'd be totally done for.

Thinking of that, he suddenly wanted to become a comedy character himself.

Screw it. When in doubt, pull a card.

I'll decide after the pull.

With that, Yevenko placed Tom around his neck and headed for his own Astral Express, parked on the platform.

A moment later, he boarded his own train.

Familiar furnishings all around, a deep sense of security settled over him as he walked to the door.

Several familiar pop-ups leapt into view before his eyes. As the [Draw Card] window flashed, his mind entered the card-pulling space.

He had his own superstition about gacha.

Switching between special passes and regular passes.

But he only had eleven [Star Rail Special Passes], while [Star Rail Passes] had almost reached thirty.

Truth was, not all those [Special Passes] had dropped from Kafka and Silver Wolf. During his fight with the Doomsday Beast, he'd found that engaging it directly had netted him a few [Special Passes] via increased Exploration Value.

In other words, taking action himself was still the best way to get stronger.

His thoughts flashed by and he immediately started his draw.

A ten-pull with special passes, right off the bat.

No golden light—the telltale purple glow appeared instead.

A hideous, bloody demon manifested before him.

"Whoa—wait, purple pulls can get you characters too?!"

...

"Uh, turns out it's just a [Light Cone]."

The next second, bottles of milk swarmed around Yevenko, the King of Milk, as a purple card appeared in his hand.

[Aatrox – Demon Sword (Light Cone)]

He tossed the Light Cone into his backpack without a second thought.

Special passes exhausted, but no matter—for now, regular passes could only draw things from Tom's world, but honestly, Tom's world had great stuff too. The rapier had already saved his life once.

With a thought, he tried again—no golden glow, but more bottles of milk appeared, and then, suddenly, another flash of purple.

Tom's image appeared before him, walking slowly out of the train door.

Yevenko's breath caught, his eyes going wide.

Wait—was this… a second Tom?

But the next second—

Tom's figure shrank instantly, and a weight landed in Yevenko's hand: a chunk of amber-like stone, with Tom's likeness sealed inside.

[Tom (Transformation Stone)]

Yevenko: "…?"

Did this mean he could become a cartoon character too?