"This place doesn't care about logic, only about fun. No matter how outrageous something is, as long as there's fun to be had, everyone accepts it."
Stelle looked around as the gazes of the Masked Fool swept over them like searchlights, laughter rising and falling from all directions.
"What are they laughing at?"
"No idea," Aidan shrugged. "Maybe they're laughing at the mask on your head."
Stelle instinctively touched the red mask on her face. It was Aidan's Fool mask, and it did look a bit comical on her, but surely not to the point of causing that much laughter.
"Don't they get tired of this?" Stelle frowned, reaching out to take the hot milk pushed over by the bartender. "My jaws ache just looking at them."
Aidan shook his head: "Let's ignore them for now. We came to the tavern to find a Sorrowful Bard."
"Um... so, can we really find a Sorrowful Bard in a tavern? Didn't they say Sorrowful Bards aren't allowed inside?"
"Even though Sorrowful Bards are officially banned from entering the tavern, if one really wanted to come, who could actually stop them?"
"Then how do we find them? We can't just go up to everyone and ask, 'Hello, are you a Sorrowful Bard?'" Stelle bumped Aidan with her shoulder. "We'd probably be laughed to death by this crowd... that would be so embarrassing."
"Weren't you the one who wasn't afraid of being laughed at for rummaging through trash cans?" Aidan stroked his chin, his gaze darting through the crowd. "Sorrowful Bards advocate for asceticism. If one were really hiding here, they definitely wouldn't be laughing, or their laugh would look worse than crying. We're looking for someone who looks particularly out of place... Look, there's one."
But after a brief chat, Aidan awkwardly discovered something.
This person wasn't a Sorrowful Bard; they were just an ordinary low-level employee of the Interstellar Peace Corporation.
The reason he was laughing so abstractly was that he overheard someone talking about social benefits, working four system hours a day, and having two days off a week.
That truly is... miserable, brother.
"Do you think anyone has the ability to build a company on par with the Interstellar Peace Corporation?"
Aidan glanced at Stelle, who had asked the question, thought about it seriously, and then replied: "Yes—couldn't our Express do it? March can be the mascot, Himeko and Mr. Yang are the reliable seniors, you're the spiritual leader, and Dan Heng can be the workaholic."
"That sounds pretty cool... It would be great if such a company really existed."
"Mhm."
"Do you think, in other worlds, everyone on the Express would be as close as we are..."
Aidan paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yeah, they would be. An Astral Express Crew for a lifetime."
Although the plan to find a Sorrowful Bard had stalled, the two of them still gained quite a bit.
"I have a major decision to make."
Back on the Astral Express, Stelle delivered an important speech to everyone.
"I want to change the name of the carriage, and the Conductor has agreed."
"Which carriage?"
"The Party Car. I think we can rename the Party Car to 'The Tavern.' After all, Shush can mix drinks."
"What have you been up to?"
"Aidan and I went to the Masked Fool' tavern, but after going there, we realized it wasn't Elation-filled at all. So we talked it over and decided to build a New Tavern on the Express."
Himeko thought for a few seconds, then looked up at Stelle.
"I don't have any objections, but... might it attract some uninvited guests?"
"It's fine, everyone can just treat it like a dog coming onto the Express to play."
Pfft.
"And I've now deeply realized one thing: the Elation content of our Astral Express easily surpasses those people at the tavern. It absolutely can, easily! Their Elation purity is just too low."
Aidan held up a finger.
"Of course, since the tavern doesn't let Sorrowful Bards in, we'll let them in. Masked Fool and Aha are not allowed to enter."
"I don't object to changing the Party Car into a tavern. However, explicitly putting up a sign banning Aha and the Masked Fool while specifically welcoming Sorrowful Bards..." Himeko set down her cup and shook her head, "I'm afraid the only people who show up will be Masked Fool."
"True, the more you don't let them in, the more they'll try to squeeze their way inside..."
Aidan suddenly froze.
"What's wrong?"
"Aha was just talking to me."
"What?"
"They said the Old Tavern says Aha and Sorrowful Bards are not allowed, and the New Tavern I'm planning says Aha and Masked Fool are not allowed. Before the New Tavern, Aha wasn't allowed in, and after the New Tavern, Aha still isn't allowed in. So wasn't this New Tavern built for fucking nothing?"
"Pfft."
"Then He started acting spoiled with me, saying that since I said He couldn't enter, He insisted on entering."
"Quite rebellious."
Dan Heng leaned against the back of the sofa, speaking up for once: "So, are we still opening the New Tavern?"
"Yes," Aidan said through gritted teeth, "We have to. And I'm going to hang that sign exactly as planned. I want to see how Aha tries to get in."
"What if He really does get in?"
"Then I'll—" Aidan thought for a moment, then suddenly lost his steam, "Then I'll just buy Him a drink."
"That attitude changed way too fast."
"What else can I do? What am I supposed to do to an Aeon?"
"Good awareness," Himeko nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. "So when do you plan to start renovating the Party Car?"
"Now." Aidan rolled up his sleeves. "While I'm still on the Path of Elation today and have some free time, let's get it done. If I change to a different Path tomorrow, I might not have the heart for it."
— — —
The renovation of the Party Car went more smoothly than he had imagined.
Stelle and Dan Heng were responsible for moving things, while Aidan was in charge of directing them.
"Move that cabinet a bit to the left—yes, yes—further left—too far, a bit to the right—actually, back to the left—forget it, just leave it there."
The original Party Car had been transformed into the likeness of a small tavern. The bar remained, but a few bar stools were added. Small round tables were placed in the corners, and the walls were decorated with items brought back from Jarilo-VI.
The most eye-catching thing was the new sign hanging at the door.
[Aha and Masked Fool Not Allowed Inside]
Aha didn't show up, which actually made Aidan a little disappointed.
Sigh, Aha actually didn't come. He had thought Aha would show up.
Forget it. After all, Elation always does the unexpected. Just like how Aidan clearly avoided Aha when offering incense to the Aeons, yet Aha insisted on coming to play. This time, he had openly provoked Aha, but Aha didn't budge at all, as if nothing had happened.
However, it seemed no one had noticed one problem.
That was, what Aidan had hanging on his bedroom door should be a painting of an Aha mask, not a red Aha mask itself.