Chapter 26: Rekka Is Awesome! — Thank You, You're Awesome Too
This was the sheer absurdity of Rekka's daily life.
"Let me get this straight..." March 7th grumbled, crossing her arms and staring at him as if he had grown a second head. "You turned into Nanook, and Nanook turned into you?"
"And we swapped lives too," Rekka added helpfully.
Dan Heng pinched the bridge of his nose, his usually stoic expression cracking under the weight of the conversation. "By the way, where is Nanook? After the explosion, He suddenly stopped moving and just stood there waiting until midnight before changing back into your appearance...?"
"Wait a minute." Rekka blinked, a single pink ahoge abruptly springing up from the top of his head like an exclamation mark. He scratched his cheek, his eyes widening as a crucial detail finally registered. "Did Nanook not get on the Astral Express?"
No!
Why didn't Nanook board the train?!
"What do you mean, 'get on the Astral Express'?" Dan Heng looked at Rekka, a deep, sinking feeling settling in his stomach. He vaguely sensed that Rekka had done something truly devastating.
"I gave my ticket to Nanook," Rekka said casually, as if discussing the weather. "I invited Him to be a Trailblazer."
Total silence descended upon the parlor car.
As soon as the words left his mouth, four sharp gasps echoed through the room.
"How do those words even form a logical sentence?" Welt muttered, his hand trembling slightly as he adjusted his glasses.
"What do you mean you gave your ticket to Nanook?!" March 7th shrieked, throwing her hands in the air.
There was such a move?!
"But he was just a confused kid yesterday!" Rekka protested, spreading his hands defensively. "I saw he really wanted to get on the Astral Express, so I just gave him a ticket... Sister Himeko, can tickets be reissued?"
"...Reissued?"
Himeko's expression was incredibly difficult to describe. Her elegant composure fractured. She raised a hand to rub her temples, her eyes closed as she seemingly tried to process this overwhelmingly shocking fact.
"...Yes, they can be reissued," she finally managed to say, her voice tight.
But the ticket was entirely beside the point.
"You are too strong."
Dan Heng finally managed to force those words past his lips. Rekka's sheer audacity shocked him to his core.
Wild. Universe-shaking.
It was enough to shock Dan Heng for a hundred years.
In fact, it wasn't just Dan Heng who was left reeling.
"Rekka is awesome," March 7th mumbled, completely numb.
"Thank you, you're awesome too," Rekka replied politely, nodding his head.
He cleared his throat, adopting a slightly more serious tone. "According to unofficial histories, the reason Nanook became the Aeon of Destruction might be because the Trailblaze once visited Adlivun, which is Nanook's homeworld. However, Nanook, who was eagerly expecting Akivili to arrive, only received the news of Akivili's demise. One can imagine the despair."
Rekka raised a single finger to emphasize his point.
"Did you see Nanook's memory segment?" Welt asked, his eyes narrowing with intense curiosity.
"No, this is actually just my speculation. It might not be true at all." Rekka dropped his hand, his expression softening. He still clearly remembered the oath he had taken just a few days ago when he officially became a Trailblazer.
He recited it softly, the words carrying a strange weight in the quiet car:
"One, even if the Path rises and falls, the Trailblazer should maintain their own judgment."
"Two, even when facing monstrous waves, the Astral Express Crew should move in the same direction."
"Three, even when facing life and death situations, one should still resist injustice."
"Four, even if forgotten by the world, one should not calculate personal gains or losses afterward."
"Five, even if the galaxy is shrouded in twilight, one should still illuminate the long night."
"Six, even if the situation is chaotic and disorderly, one should still look forward and crush the mess."
Himeko gazed gently at Rekka, the tension slowly bleeding out of her shoulders. "Although I don't know when it will come, or if it will come at all," she said softly, a warm smile returning to her lips, "just as you said, the Astral Express always welcomes those willing to Trailblaze. Even if that person is... the Aeon of Destruction. Provided Nanook is not coming for our companions, of course."
The atmosphere finally eased from its previous suffocating solemnity. After all, this was the Astral Express. They encountered all sorts of bizarre, universe-breaking anomalies on a regular basis. Rekka was just the most concentrated source of them.
"By the way, Rekka," Dan Heng suddenly spoke up, his sharp gaze falling back on the chaotic protagonist. "What is your Path today?"
The question instantly drew everyone's attention.
"Remembrance," Rekka stated simply.
That was right. The Path of Remembrance.
Today, the universe's random number generator had transformed him into a Flawless Pure Child.
Although he had no idea if male Flawless Pure Children even existed in the cosmos, he checked his physical form this morning and confirmed he had not turned into a girl. Small mercies.
"The Path of Remembrance?..." March 7th tilted her head, her eyes sparkling. "You became a Memokeeper?"
"Uh, to some extent, I guess?"
Perhaps. But the Flawless Pure Child was a stern, superior existence that completely eclipsed a standard Memokeeper in terms of raw authority over memories.
"Don't worry, I won't arbitrarily look at everyone's memories," Rekka promised, raising his hands in a placating gesture.
"Hey, hey! That... that is!" March 7th suddenly bounced on her heels, wringing her hands together as she stepped closer. "Rekka, can you help me look at my memories?"
"Look at yours?"
"Yes, yes!" She nodded vigorously, her pink hair bouncing with the motion.
Rekka's expression instantly turned a bit bitter. In reality, his current state was somewhat similar to March 7th's. However, lurking deep inside March 7th's own Flawless Pure Child body was Long Night Moon. And Long Night Moon could effortlessly single-handedly crush a novice Flawless Pure Child like him, whose actual skill level with the Path was currently terrible.
"I can... I can try, I suppose."
"Really?! Right now?"
Troublesome.jpg.
"I need to prepare for a while first," Rekka sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, then you prepare first! I'll go do a little bit of makeup or something."
"Makeup?"
"Of course! There needs to be a sense of ceremony!" With that, she spun on her heel and dashed out of the parlor car.
"What is she... dressing up as?" Dan Heng asked, watching the empty doorway.
He pondered for a brief second before answering his own question. "Based on my understanding of her, she'll probably put everything she thinks looks good onto herself all at once."
"..."
Rekka imagined that chaotic visual and suddenly regretted agreeing so quickly.
"Never mind, I'll prepare first."
The crew gave Rekka some personal space in one of the passenger cabins. He sat cross-legged on the floor, closing his eyes to focus. He hadn't fully mastered the power of the Path of Remembrance yet, considering he had only switched to it a few hours ago. Although a massive influx of knowledge and techniques regarding 'Remembrance' had flooded his mind, there was always a massive gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.
also, entering someone else's memory—especially the heavily sealed, Six-Phased Ice memories of someone like March 7th—required extreme caution. One wrong move, and he could shatter her psyche.
"Rekka! I'm ready!"
March 7th's voice rang out from the corridor, slightly nervous but vibrating with intense expectation.
The door slid open. The normally bubbly archer had gone full diva, currently wearing the free formal skin she had obtained from a login event. The elegant dress shimmered under the cabin lights.
"...Are you going to a masquerade ball?" Rekka deadpanned.
"What are you talking about! This shows respect!" March 7th pouted, planting her hands on her hips. "Looking for lost memories! This is a huge event in life! Of course I have to dress up grandly!... Where should I sit? On the bed? Or on the chair? Do I need to lie down? Or... should we light a candle or something to set the mood?"
"...Just sit on the chair. No candles needed; I'm not performing some evil cult ritual."
Rekka pointed to the simple chair opposite him.
March 7th obediently sat down. She placed her hands neatly on her knees, sitting up perfectly straight. Her pink-blue eyes stared intently at Rekka, wide and trusting.
"Then... shall we begin?"
"Take a deep breath and relax."
The temperature in the room plummeted. Countless memory fragments surged into existence between them, manifesting as floating shards of shattered mirrors and crystalline ice. The ethereal chill of the Remembrance filled the air.
"Close your eyes."
March 7th obediently closed her eyes, her long eyelashes trembling slightly against her cheeks.
"No matter what you see, don't worry."
He said that purely for her benefit. Because right now, Rekka was the one who should be worried.
Exactly one minute later, Rekka found himself pinned against a metaphorical wall inside the memoryscape, thoroughly dominated by a mature, pink-haired woman with piercing red eyes.
It went something exactly like this:
"Who allowed you to enter?" the woman demanded, her voice dripping with dangerous authority.
"March 7th, Senior," Rekka answered honestly, not moving a single muscle. "She wants to find her memories."
The woman narrowed her red eyes, stepping closer. "She wants to find them, so you just decide you have to help her?"
Rekka decisively surrendered. He raised both hands in the air, offering zero resistance.
Long Night Moon:...?
She stared at him, utterly baffled. Why was this guy such a massive pushover? He hadn't even tried to fight back!
Subconsciously, the real March 7th held a very high favorability rating for Rekka, and those positive emotions bled into the memoryscape. Because of that underlying warmth, Long Night Moon found she wasn't actually too annoyed with him either.
"You know me?" she asked, her eyes searching his face.
"I guessed," Rekka said, keeping his hands raised. "But I know you definitely won't harm March."
"...You certainly know how to talk."
Long Night Moon finally withdrew her oppressive gaze, stepping back. Her tone carried an indescribable, complicated feeling, echoing softly through the frozen void of the mind.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]