CHAPTER 38: 38: THE WAITING LIGHT

The complete outfit included the glinting badge on her right chest, featuring clouds, roses, and sky trimmed in gold, and even an adorable train marshal hat perched on her head.

Her skirt ended two inches above her knees, and her ribbon-adorned heels added nearly two inches to her height.

Everything had returned to being Miss Stationmaster.

How? What just happened in a second?

She hadn’t even noticed the change.

Aria glanced at the small Fluff Ball, wondering if it planned to explain what was going on.

The Fluff Ball System said nothing, merely floating like a decorative vase beside her shoulder.

As always, to her disappointment, it remained silent whenever she needed it most.

Sometimes, Aria even wondered if the Fluff Ball possessed a will or consciousness akin to that of a human.

"A woman!?"

One man yelled in surprise, his voice full of excitement, as if it were the first time he had ever seen one.

The others quickly confirmed their eyes weren’t deceiving them and couldn’t hide their own excitement.

Having their greasy gazes focused on her made Aria extremely uncomfortable as she continued toward their direction.

Instead of looking at the unknown and impolite strangers, she found herself staring at the male lead the moment her eyes landed on his familiar silhouette.

When Caelan met her gaze, Aria felt a wave of relief seeing him standing there.

As she drew closer, the whistles and crude comments from some men were annoying, but she did her best to ignore them.

"Caelan... It’s good you’re still here."

Aria spoke as she finally stood beside him.

She remembered leaving him behind earlier, instructing him to wait since he could not enter the Heavenly Train Station’s territory.

Earlier, she was deeply worried he wouldn’t believe her, think she was crazy, and leave for good without accepting his supplies or any payment from her.

At least let her have a chance to express her gratitude for being sent back to this place.

But the building right in front of the male lead, which he could not see, made her words sound like those of a crazy woman, as if she had lost her mind.

After all, someone can’t believe in something they cannot see.

When humans cannot see something with their own eyes, they simply do not believe it.

Easy as that.

Even Aria would not believe in the existence of something here if she were in Caelan’s shoes and could not see the Heavenly Train Station.

"Eh, this guy knows this beautiful chick!"

Hearing that tone of disrespect and the unpleasant term directed at Aria made Caelan’s frown deepen.

An ice-cold glare was directed at the man, who tried to fight back with a face of defiance.

Yet, the moment he caught a glimpse of the male lead’s aura, he looked away cowardly, clicking his tongue.

"There’s another one! Brother! Another woman!"

Someone shouted again, their voice crude and lewd, finishing with a slow, deliberate lick of their lips.

Samantha, following behind, appeared shortly after Aria.

Although she looked ordinary, with nothing glittering about her appearance, her identity as a female was enough to draw the gaze of this group of men.

They acted as if they were at a zoo, seeing a rare and precious animal for the first time.

Unlike Aria, who walked in silence and ignored them, Samantha gave them a death glare sharp enough to make the men’s blood boil.

Because they were men who had long yearned for a woman.

For some men in this group, the sight of this adult-looking woman was unbearably hot, and they wanted to strip her clothes off right then and there.

It was only the appearance of the man next to golden-haired Aria that kept them from doing anything to the two women.

If not, they would have been executed on the spot.

Heaven would come to their eyes, and that was what these men were thinking, except for the teenagers around them.

Two teenagers stood quietly and did not speak, not even brave enough to look at Samantha, whom they were familiar with.

"Mikey?" Samantha called out.

She noticed the young man’s faint red hair, only because a streetlight with a flower-shaped bulb stood near where Caelan was standing.

Its lights are bright enough to illuminate their surroundings, even reaching the group of men nearby in their vehicles.

Around them stretched an unknown darkness, with only the moonlight offering a faint glow.

That was why Aria noticed the single streetlight above their heads on this road.

After asking the Fluff Ball System, it explained that the Heavenly Train Station might not be visible to those who were rejected, but they would be given a waiting light outside.

In that moment, Aria couldn’t help but admire and tease the Fluff Ball System in her mind, thinking it wasn’t so bad and a bad capitalist after all.

"Hey! You’re being called by the Hot Lady!"

An older man holding a gun shoved the young teenager forward without caring that he struck another on the head.

The others burst into laughter at the sight of the youngster being pushed around.

The scene caught Aria’s eyes at once, and she no longer bothered with the Fluff Ball System.

With a sudden surge of courage, she stepped forward to stand firmly beside Samantha.

"What are you here for?"

Aria spoke, and when they heard her, the men laughed.

They leered at her body from head to toe, as if stripping her with their eyes right there and then.

Such an obvious intention toward her could not escape Aria’s senses, which made her understand why the Heavenly Train Station’s Golden Barrier was rejecting these people.

They were not good ones, perhaps even more evil than they appeared.

"Is this Mikey? The one you were talking about?" Aria glanced at the teenage boy who was now standing before them.

Samantha gave a small nod in affirmation, and the young one named Mikey lowered his gaze, guilt written all over his face.

"He is with someone named Richi... I can’t quite remember, but I don’t seem to see him this time."

Samantha was confused, and as she looked around, the men who heard the name burst into laughter. They shouted toward the back of the moving vehicle.

"Boss! Stop playing with the boy there! We’ve got fine women here to enjoy!"