Chapter 161

Miles away, in a humble house tucked into the side of the hill within Miyama district, Gray slept in peacefully in the cozy bed prepared in the safehouse, her silver hair splayed across the pillow as she dreamt of a galaxy far, far away.

Drifting in a ship that comically looked like a child's drawing of a rocket, the words Dun Stallion II painted on the side in bold blue letters, though the paint didn't seem to so much as flake in the vacuum of space, with unshielded radiation and starlight hammering on it. Round portholes lined it's length, with a large cross near the main thruster at the end of the ship's main body. Two maneuverable boosters were attached to its sides, completing the appearance of a stereotypical rocket.

The rocket itself wasn't very large, perhaps around the size of a regular trailer truck, but the insides had been expanded with generous usage of SWAG (Spatial Warp Alternating Generator) manufactured by Tesla Inc., creating enough space that the interior was more like a typical mansion you could find from a rich magus family like the Edelfelts.

There were enough rooms for a squad of people to live in, with space left over, and there were recreation rooms, a canteen, a shared bath with a mini onsen installed, a miniature swimming pool that doubled as shipping tank for aquatic creatures and goods, a kitchen, a garden and a room filled with tanks, canisters and complicated equipment that Assassin had already forgotten the purpose of, To say that they had utilized the space well was an overstatement. Rather, she had simply crammed as many things as she wanted until it was full to bursting.

On the couches located in the recreation room, Gray sat up, blinking her eyes under the harsh white light that shone from illumination strips on the ceiling. Looking around she stared at the unfamiliar surroundings she was in, so far from what she remembered in her half-conscious state as she was carried into the safehouse.

Arcade machines, or what looked like arcade machines, were stacked from wall to wall, her surroundings completely engulfed by them as she turned her head, her eyes travelling across the room.

There were antique arcade games, pinball shooters, air hockey, motor and car racing, shooting sims, wheel games, mole whackers, crane games and more. Some of them looked incredibly old, with scratches on the sides, faded signs and scuffed controls, while others were incredibly new, with one still covered from head to toe in plastic wrapping. A few had headsets and what looked like latex gloves with a small circle that was glowing, and one was a futuristic looking pod that looked like an escape pod straight out of a sci-fi movie.

Sneezing, Gray rubbed her nose, the dust in the air irritating her sinus. It looked like the room had been unused for some time, either that or the ventilation system had broken down. It was uncomfortably warm here, though it wasn't to the degree that she'd start sweating, but straddling the line between being warmer than usual and breaking out in sweat.

Quickly getting her bearings, Gray slid off the couch and walked towards the closest door, or what looked like a door. It was more like a circular slab of steel that was opened like a camera lens, several lens crossing and connecting at the center.

Before she could reach the door, it opened by itself.

"Damn, how'd we run out of fuel already? I thought we topped up on Artorium after the last bounty we got."

Striding through the swiveling hatch, Assassin strode through into the room and plopped down on the couch, all her clothing removed except for her bloomers and school gym uniform. Though she was barefoot against the metal floor, she didn't seem to mind it at all, and her hair was untied, cascading down to her shoulders.

"Aaaahhh...So hot. If only the fridge was still working."

Gray patted herself all over, frantically checking if there was something wrong with herself after Assassin walked straight through her like a ghost. Her hands remained solid as she patted herself, the clothes she wore ruffling against her touch.

Ah, could it be?

Her mentor had told her of the possibility to share dreams with a Servant, to see the past of a Servant through their dreams, and the reverse was also true as well. Perhaps, this was what she was currently experiencing?

Whatever the case, it didn't seem like Assassin had noticed her. The Servant had flopped on the couch and was currently lazing on it while swinging a paper fan in her hand, the sheen of sweat covering her skin and reflecting the light, making them shine under the industrial strength lights above. Her clothes clung tightly to her skin, accentuating the few curves that Assassin possessed, not completely absent, but still far from the womanly proportions of Lancer and Ruler. If she sweated any more, the shape of her bra would probably be visible.

She let out another long sigh as she lay there, the couch fabric slowly darkening as her sweat fell on the blue wool.

"It's like Tatoovine with the heat that's going on in this ship. All the support systems were switched until only the essential functions remained, and even though temperature shouldn't affect Servant bodies, it's still too damned hot. Uuuuhhhhh…"

Assassin mumbled to herself, her word getting increasingly incoherent by the end.

Gray hesitantly stretched out her hand towards Assassin, but it stopped midway. If this was a dream, there truly was nothing she could do. The hand that was held out retracted, returning beneath the folds of her cloak.

Without warning, the lights on the ceiling flickered, the room plunging into darkness then switching back to full brightness like a strobe light, then they failed completely. A rumble shook the spaceship, anything that wasn't bolted down shifting in their positions from the shipwide quake. Gray instinctively hit the floor, though in her dream form the sensation couldn't hurt her.

Red emergency lights she hadn't noticed before started flashing above, turning the room a blood red, and a flat, mechanical female voice started speaking over an intercom system placed in every room and hallway throughout the ship.

"Emergency landing ETA projected at 3 minutes Solar time. All personnel, brace for impact. Atmospheric entry in, approximately 1 minute. All personnel brace for impact."

The voice repeated the lines, including some about securing all fragile goods, furniture, stowing away volatile substances, checking the seals on demonic artifacts and some other things that Gray didn't understand, and then the ship turned into a bungee castle.

The furniture flew up into the air, the entire couch with Assassin smacking into the ceiling, passing through Gray as the Master gently floated into the air, unperturbed by the disturbances. The turbulence increased in ferocity as the tables went flying across the room, one of them snapping in half as the corner hit one of the arcade machines bolted to the ground, wood splinters floating in the air as Assassin and the couch went back to the ground, though upside down.

Klaxons screamed, emergency lights flashing intermittently, and objects flew left and right in the room. The room increased to an even hotter temperature, enough to start cooking eggs, though Gray just felt a slight increase. Between it all, Assassin bounced like a ragdoll in the chaos, actually sleeping while being flung around randomly, or at least that was what it looked like to Gray. Drool escaped her lips, her fan somehow still securely gripped as her body contorted into positions that were obscene for a human being when she impacted on the hard surfaces. Then she bounced off and reverted to normal.

When they finally crashed on the planet, and Assassin still didn't get up, Gray realized she was just knocked out from the start after slamming head first into the ceiling.