Chapter 27: Ding Dong Seven, Accept It, You Were Born a Flawless Pure Child
"After all, losing to a companion isn't something to be ashamed of," Rekka said righteously.
"I did my best."
"You consider me a 'companion'?" This was genuinely unexpected for Long Night Moon. She had originally planned to mess with this intruder in a completely different, far more painful manner, but she hadn't anticipated him being so utterly, shamelessly direct.
"That's right!"
"Aren't you afraid that I'll erase your mind right now... Oh, wait. You aren't afraid of death." Long Night Moon frowned, the delicate line of her brow creasing.
"But not being afraid of death is one thing. Not being afraid of being twisted and flattened by me is another." She narrowed her striking red eyes, her gaze sweeping up and down Rekka's relaxed form. "You are on my turf right now. I can do whatever I want to you."
"Then torment me." Rekka simply spread his hands, completely unguarded. "This is all I've got. If you torment me, I can only lie back and enjoy it."
"?"
"Everyone laughs at me, yet I am the funniest," Rekka began, his tone carrying the solemn weight of a philosopher. "No one supports my soaring ambition, so I simply won't ascend. The strong never blame their environment, but I am weak, so I must complain fiercely. Gold will always shine, but I am just scrap iron. No one can use me, because I am completely useless."
This rapid-fire string of absolute garbage silenced Long Night Moon. She stared at him as if she had just encountered a completely undiscovered, highly concerning species of space anomaly. She had certainly never met anyone who could proudly declare 'I am trash' with such righteous, unwavering confidence.
A pure, unadulterated rogue.
And the worst part was, this rogue actually possessed genuine strength.
"Are you following the Path of Nihility today?" she asked, her voice flat.
"Nope. I am following the Path of Remembrance today."
How was she even supposed to respond to that?
"You really... have an incredible amount of self-awareness." Long Night Moon finally laughed. It sounded like a laugh, but in reality, she was simply out of ideas.
She knew perfectly well that the real March 7th genuinely liked this junior Trailblazer. She also knew this guy would never actually harm March 7th—even if yesterday's little incident where he casually swapped bodies with Nanook was more than a bit unnerving.
"So you're just going to admit defeat like that?" She stood her ground, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not going to struggle a bit? Not going to beg me to show mercy?"
"I won't. You definitely won't hit me." Rekka unceremoniously flopped backward, starfish-ing himself directly onto the floor of the mindscape. "Come on! Even if you hit me, I'll just treat it as a reward."
Long Night Moon stared. Reward your...
She was officially angered into laughter. "Get up."
"I won't."
"..."
"Unless you promise not to hit me."
"What if I insist on hitting you?"
"Then I'll just lie here and take the beating." Rekka closed his eyes, arranging his features into a picture of peaceful martyrdom. "After you're done, just remember to tell Senior March 7th that I sacrificed my life valiantly trying to retrieve her Remembrance."
The corner of Long Night Moon's eye twitched violently. Was this person... actually serious?
She looked down at his completely unguarded, relaxed face and suddenly realized a very serious problem. This guy was genuinely unafraid. It wasn't a fake bravado; he truly did not care. It wasn't even the kind of fear that came from knowing he couldn't win and accepting his fate. It was a state of complete, shameless surrender that loudly broadcasted: 'If you hit me, I'll just consider it a deep-tissue massage.'
"Aren't you afraid I'll just kick you out?"
"Then kick me out." Rekka cracked one eye open to peek at her. "After you kick me out, Senior March 7th will definitely ask, 'Rekka, why are you out so fast? Did you see my Remembrance?'Then I'll say,'I saw it, I saw it! There was a very beautiful, red-eyed March 7th inside, and she said she wouldn't let me look.'Then March 7th will definitely get super curious.'What red-eyed March 7th?' she'll ask. And then, well... you'll just have to explain it to her yourself."
Long Night Moon went completely silent.
She realized, with a sinking feeling, that she had been completely cornered. Not a physical cornering, but a flawless logical trap. This guy was literally lying flat on the ground, yet somehow, he was the one looking down at her.
"You seem quite clever now..." She refused to fully relent, her grip tightening on her umbrella. "But March 7th's Remembrance cannot be shown to you."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I just came in here to go through the motions, and to get familiar with you."
"You came specifically to see me?" Long Night Moon blinked, genuinely surprised.
"Look, Senior March 7th usually seems totally carefree, but she definitely has heavy things hidden in her heart. Although I'm following the Path of Remembrance today, I know my own half-baked skill level. If I forcefully tried to break through your barrier, I might end up damaging March 7th's mind, and that sin would be way too great. March 7th isn't exactly smart to begin with—"
Long Night Moon narrowed her red eyes dangerously.
"Ah, no, wait, I mean—great wisdom appears foolish!" Rekka hastily waved a hand from the floor.
"You really... think highly of her best interests." Long Night Moon looked down at the completely undignified gremlin before her. She lightly spun the black and red umbrella in her hand, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. "Stop lying down."
"Are you still going to hit me?"
"No."
"Not kicking me out?"
"...No."
"Not twisting me and flattening me?"
"If you ask that one more time, I really will twist you and flatten you."
Rekka immediately scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off. "It would have been better to just agree to this earlier. It's actually quite cold lying on the ground here."
The corner of Long Night Moon's eye twitched again. This guy really, truly deserved a beating.
"Since you already knew some things shouldn't be touched, why did you even come in? Just to find me?"
"How could that be! I just—" Rekka waved his hand dismissively. "It's because March 7th absolutely insisted I look. If I directly told her I wouldn't do it, she would definitely think I was just brushing her off. But if I come in here, take a lap, have a chat, and then go out and tell her I couldn't unlock it, the entire nature of the matter changes. This before-and-after process is all a matter of showing the proper attitude."
"You can go out now."
"Roger that!"
Rekka opened his eyes.
The very first thing that greeted his returning consciousness was March 7th's face, enlarged and hovering mere inches from his nose.
"Whoa, why are you leaning so close?" he asked, leaning back.
"I want to know quickly!" March 7th held up a single, eager finger, her pink eyes sparkling. "So, what did you see? Did you see it?"
"You are a Flawless Pure Child, with the absolute potential to become Fuli." Rekka stated with absolute deadpan sincerity.
"Huh?"
March 7th's expression underwent a rapid, spectacular evolution—from bright anticipation, to utter blankness, and finally settling into deep confusion.
"What did you just say? What am I?"
"A Flawless Pure Child," Rekka repeated, nodding sagely. "A prime candidate to become Fuli."
"Fuli? An Aeon?!" March 7th froze completely, blinking rapidly. The eager expectation on her face instantly shattered into massive doubt. "You're seriously telling me I might become an Aeon? Can't you find a slightly more reliable excuse if you just want to lie to cheer me up?"
"Why would I lie to you? Your pink hair is the ultimate proof," Rekka said earnestly, his face a mask of solemn truth.
"Ding Dong Seven, you must accept it. This is your destiny! You were born a Flawless Pure Child, it is written in the stars!"
Amidst his noisy, dramatic chatter, March 7th completely ignored the fact that what Rekka had just told her was technically the truth, fully convinced he was just messing with her again.
"How in the universe is my hair color proof of being a Flawless Pure Child? According to your logic, Station Master Asta also has pink hair! So is she an Aeon candidate too?"
"Asta's hair is rich-person pink. Yours is divine-nature pink. They are fundamentally different," Rekka explained patiently, as if lecturing a toddler. "Think about it. How many ridiculously powerful characters have pink hair? As the ancient saying goes: the pinker the hair, the harder the punch. Sometimes, there's even the classic pink-to-black yandere switch."
"I am not switching to black!" March 7th retorted indignantly. She planted her hands firmly on her hips, elbows jutting out as she stood in front of Rekka like an angry little teapot. "This young lady is completely consistent inside and out! Whatever I am thinking in my heart is written right on my face!"
"Yes, yes, of course. That's exactly it. You're so right," Rekka agreed, his tone dripping with placating sarcasm.
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