Chapter 194: If You Don't Work Hard, You'll Become March 7th's Plaything
[Path: Propagation → Erudition]
"Come, here is your collar."
March 7th chuckled mischievously, dangling a leather strap with a shiny golden bell attached to it.
"What are you doing! March!"
Rekka scrambled backward, his massive translucent wings buzzing and vibrating against the walls of the Astral Express carriage. His multi-faceted eyes darted around in sheer panic.
Dammit, how did my silly, sweet senior March turn so bad? It must have been Stelle. That trash-can-diving menace absolutely corrupted her.
"Since you decided to be a giant bug today, we can't be uncivilized people, now can we?" March 7th grinned wickedly, her usual bubbly demeanor replaced by something far more sinister. She took a slow, deliberate step forward.
"Senior March, do you really have the heart for this? Stop it, I'm not a pet!"
"You're even calling me senior to beg for mercy? What a pity, I don't want to hear any explanations right now. Besides, do you really think the excuses you're making now are of any use? Dar~ling~♭~"
Hearing that specific melodic hum, Rekka froze. March 7th tilted her head to the side. A strange, predatory smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, and the familiar pink-blue gradient of her eyes rapidly bled into a piercing, dangerous crimson.
Long Night Moon had come out to play. She had completely hijacked March's body.
"I, your senior, once said that on the Astral Express, you can only be considered... a pet." Long Night Moon lunged forward, chasing after the retreating giant insect.
"Where do you think you're going~♭~"
Despite his impressive wingspan and Propagation-enhanced speed, the confines of the passenger car offered little room to maneuver. In the end, Rekka was ruthlessly cornered and caught by the relentless Long Night Moon.
If you do not work hard, you will become the plaything of March 7th and Long Night Moon.
Ding-ling—
A crisp, humiliating sound echoed through the quiet carriage.
"Perfect~♭~"
Long Night Moon clapped her hands together with immense satisfaction and stood up, admiring her handiwork. Then, she took a step back with a soft smile. The crimson hue in her eyes began to fade, washing away as the bright pink-blue surged back in like a returning tide.
March 7th blinked rapidly, shaking her head as if waking from a dream. She looked down. Rekka was squatting on the floor directly in front of her, a leather collar securely fastened around his chitinous neck, a bell jingling with his every twitch.
"Eh? Why am I here?"
Rekka shook his neck, the bell ringing mockingly.
"Senior March, you are a massive pervert."
"You... you call me what?!"
"Pervert Senior March. Actually saying something about needing a leash to walk a pet." Rekka clicked his mandibles gloomily.
March 7th's face instantly turned the color of a ripe tomato.
"What pervert! You you you... I have no idea what just happened!"
'Perfect~♭~'
That voice, filled with the absolute mirth of a successful prank, echoed softly in the back of her mind. It was her own body, her own face, and her own voice. But who in the universe would believe her if she tried to explain that?
My pristine reputation as March 7th is ruined!
"That... that was the other me! It has absolutely nothing to do with me!" March 7th waved her hands frantically, trying to make one final, desperate struggle for her dignity.
"Senior March." Rekka tapped the wooden floorboards with a sharp forelimb. "Isn't the other you still you? It is like your left hand punching someone in the face and then blaming your right hand for not stopping it. All in all, you are still a pervert."
March groaned, covering her burning face. But deep down, a tiny, intrusive thought bubbled up: no one could refuse the sheer prestige of going out to walk a handsome, giant bug.
Not only could its size change at will, but it could also act as a loyal pet and a fierce combatant. It would not eat random garbage off the street, nor would it use the bathroom wherever it pleased. Taking it out for a walk around town would definitely command respect.
Far away on the Xianzhou Luofu, Jing Yuan rubbed his temples. He was thoroughly exhausted after a long, grueling day of reviewing official documents and military reports.
A deep weariness settled into his bones.
He glanced toward the center of his office. Last time, that naturally wicked Trailblaze brat actually had the audacity to install a fully functional Space Anchor directly onto the chair he was most used to sitting in.
He had been sitting in that exact chair for over a hundred years.
Though it had been repaired once during that century, the groove and the cushioning were perfectly molded to him. It was incredibly comfortable to sit in.
Jing Yuan stared at the glowing blue Space Anchor jutting out of his favorite seat and felt a massive headache coming on. At the time, he had indeed told the boy he could place those teleportation devices anywhere outside the military camp. But who would have thought this guy would be so blatantly arrogant to put one in the Seat of Divine Foresight?
Now he slightly suspected that if he told Rekka he could sit anywhere he liked, the guy might just bypass the furniture entirely and sit directly on his head.
At least he would not have to run into Rekka right now. That chaotic variable was currently running all over the galaxy, so surely he would not...
Jing Yuan's thoughts ground to a sudden halt.
"Good afternoon, General."
"...You?"
"I am a bug today. Isn't it cool?"
A giant, armored insect with a bell around its neck was standing in the middle of his office.
"Don't cause so much trouble, please. If this continues, I might have to start taking blood pressure medication." Jing Yuan let out a long, immensely weary sigh. The sheer exhaustion radiating from the General was so heavy that even Rekka felt a tiny bit too embarrassed to tease him further.
"Ah... I know, I know. You do not have to be so nervous, General."
Don't be nervous?
My hands physically shake just seeing you appear.
"I am a very well-behaved bug today. I will not do anything bad."
Jing Yuan expressed twelve parts of absolute doubt toward this statement. If Rekka did not cause trouble, would he still be Rekka?
"...Hm!"
Jing Yuan's golden eyes suddenly lit up with a rare spark of inspiration. A brilliant, terrible idea formed in his mind.
"The Xianzhou Luofu is about to hold the Wardance ceremony soon. Why don't... you and the rest of the Express crew help me out and handle the proceedings?"
It just so happened that there had been a massive mountain of logistical matters regarding the martial arts tournament lately. The people from the Astral Express were absolutely perfect for the job.
Although unleashing them on the event might cause a catastrophic commotion, their efficiency at solving problems was entirely obvious.
"Sure thing. I will go back and tell everyone."
"Go on, go on. Shoo."
The time for the giant bug form was officially over.
Now appearing was the form where the universe had not yet exploded solely due to his lingering conscience.
Playing house ends here.
"Tell me, Senior March."
Rekka leaned across the table, speaking to March 7th as she happily munched on her morning toast. He was back in his human form, his eyes sharp with the calculating brilliance of the Erudition Path.
"Do you want to become a legend?"
March paused mid-bite. "Go on, I am listening. Sounds interesting."
"I heard General Jing Yuan say they are holding a massive martial arts competition called the Wardance. Why don't you enter and try to win the championship? I think it would be super cool."
"Super cool?"
"Right, right. You are the strongest senior in my heart."
"Am I really that amazing?" March puffed out her chest, looking incredibly proud.
"March, you shot me in the butt with an arrow during a battle before." Stelle raised her hand from across the table, her face completely deadpan.
"That was an accident! I accidentally mixed up casting a shield with shooting a freezing arrow..."
"Anyway, Senior March, take these. With these in your hands, you can easily defeat everyone in the entire competition."
Rekka reached under the table and pulled out two swords, handing them over to March 7th.
"What are these?"
"My little invention. Anyway, these are the kind of weapons meant for sparring. They will not kill anyone, but they can easily knock people out. Even someone who does not know the first thing about using a sword can learn how to perfectly deflect attacks by relying on the sword's automatic defense and parrying system."
March 7th took the two blades. They were completely unsharpened and possessed a dull, heavy metallic luster.
"Really?"
Despite their appearance, the two swords were not heavy at all. They felt incredibly light and balanced in her hands.
"Really. Just hold the hilt. The micro-sensor device hidden inside the grip will take over a portion of your arm's neural reflexes. As long as the enemy's attack falls within the optical detection range, it will forcibly guide your arm to block the strike at the most mathematically perfect angle, and then apply a doubled reactionary force to stagger them. Why don't we find someone to test it out?"
"Dammit, you are always full of bad ideas... Who should we find?" March 7th rubbed her hands together, the swords clinking slightly. She was also feeling a bit naughty today.
"Let me try first—" Stelle stood up, pulling her trusty baseball bat from thin air.
A moment later, Stelle experienced firsthand what was called a mathematically perfect parry.
Clang!
"My hand is numb... so numb..."
Stelle dropped to her knees, her right hand shaking violently. The kinetic shockwave had traveled straight down the bat and up her arm. Her whole hand was vibrating.
"So cool. Can you install this parry function on my bat?"
"Your bat is a bit too dense and hard; it is not easy to modify the internal structure."
March 7th looked down at the Sword of Benevolence in her left hand and the Sword of Righteousness in her right hand. A confident smirk spread across her face.
"Alright! Let's go find someone who actually knows how to use a sword to try this out!"
Without missing a beat, Rekka took her straight to the one person who currently knew how to use a sword best on the entire Luofu.
"What, you want to challenge me?"
The blond youth blinked, looking at the pink-haired girl dual-wielding unsharpened training swords.
Yanqing.
The ultimate Powerhouse Tester of the Xianzhou.
The unspoken rule of the universe was simple: those who could beat him were considered the strong.
[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!]