Chapter 239: Erudition's Thousand-Layer Scheme (?)
[Path: Erudition → Elation]
His life experience at Origami University had officially come to a close.
"Gua! Principal, don't leave, ya!"
"My Lord, I am your most loyal believer, ya!"
"Yan-zi, will we meet again? Yan-zi, you must be happy when we meet again, okay? Your world doesn't have me anymore, but it's okay, you have to be happy yourself... Take me with you! How can I live without you!"
\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/
\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/\o/
He had somehow managed to make tens of thousands of teachers and students at Origami University weep uncontrollably (?).
Back on the Astral Express, the atmosphere was considerably less dramatic.
"Uncle Yang, look at the good stuff we brought back for you."
Rekka held up a pristine, carefully crafted scale model of the [Hot-blooded! Invincible! Courage! Trailblaze King!] and carefully handed it over to Welt.
Metal frame.
Electroplated parts.
Absolutely zero weld lines.
Welt's eyes lit up with the intensity of a dying star. He adjusted his glasses, desperately trying to maintain the dignified composure of a mature adult, though his hands trembled ever so slightly as he accepted the box.
"Hmm. You're very thoughtful," Welt said, his voice an octave lower than usual to mask his absolute joy.
Watching from the side, March 7th let out a quiet sigh. Seeing that Uncle Yang hadn't completely lost his mind and broken character like the last time he received a rare mecha model, she felt a tiny bit disappointed. She had her camera ready and everything.
Rekka turned to his next target. "Sunday, this is what you wanted..."
"Oh... thank you. Thank you very much."
Sunday hurriedly took the sleek briefcase from Rekka's hands. He cracked it open just a fraction of an inch, his golden eyes peering inside to confirm it was, indeed, Robin's newly released, highly exclusive commemorative album. Satisfied, he snapped it shut and gave Rekka a solemn, deeply appreciative nod.
Welt and Sunday exchanged a brief, silent look. The unspoken bond of men who had just acquired their most prized treasures.
Rekka didn't stop there. He began pulling items out of his inventory like a chaotic Santa Claus.
"Sister Himeko, here are the premium coffee beans you asked for. Dan Heng, these are the military-grade noise-canceling headphones I bought for you. Stelle, here's the limited-edition Lordly Trashcan model you've been drooling over. March, here's the rare camera charm you've been wanting for so long. Cherry Soda for Rozaliya and Blueberry Soda for Liliya. New clothes for Little Blue Light, premium fertilizer for Hachimi, and a brand-new, ultra-soft pillow for the Conductor..."
Within minutes, every single passenger in the parlor car was holding the exact item they had been craving the most.
Instead of jumping for joy, March 7th clutched her new camera charm to her chest. Her bright pink eyes darted nervously between the gifts and Rekka's face. "Why are you giving everyone gifts today?" she asked, her voice wavering. "Rekka, don't scare me. I'm telling you, I'm very easily scared..."
Rekka sighed, his expression turning unusually serious. "Actually, I really do have something important to tell everyone today..."
Stelle froze. The Lordly Trashcan model slipped from her fingers.
Her mind instantly jumped to the most dramatic, soap-opera conclusion possible: Rekka had contracted a terminal cosmic illness.
"Rekka! You can't die!" Stelle lunged forward, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him violently. "What will March and I do if you die?!"
"No way, Rekka, you..." March's eyes welled up with tears.
"Waaaaah! Don't die! Gua! Don't die!"
"Waaaah! Captain! Captain!"
"Boss, boss!"
The parlor car instantly devolved into a chaotic chorus of wailing and sobbing.
Meanwhile, Dan Heng had just slipped his new noise-canceling headphones over his ears. He tapped the side, testing the active noise cancellation. It was incredibly effective. The world went dead silent. He nodded in approval, took them off to thank Rekka, and turned around—only to see the entire Express crew huddled together, bawling their eyes out like they were attending a funeral.
"What happened?" Dan Heng asked, his stoic face cracking with genuine bewilderment.
He often felt a deep, deep frustration at being the only normal person on this train. He was always one step behind their chaotic logic. In the five seconds it took him to test a pair of headphones, the atmosphere had plummeted from a joyous gift-exchange to a full-blown mourning session. They looked ready to order a floral wreath for Rekka's grave.
"Who said I'm dying?!" Rekka roared, rolling his eyes so hard he nearly saw his own brain.
The crying stopped instantly.
"Ah, sorry." Stelle stood up straight, wiping her face completely blank as if the emotional breakdown had never happened. "I thought you were dying."
Clang.
The distinct, heavy sound of a steel pipe striking the floor echoed through the car.
Before she could say another word, Stelle was swiftly coaxed to sleep by the collective effort of the crew.
Goodnight, Haji-Stelle.
"I want everyone to help out with something." Rekka rubbed his temples, pulling out his Path-determining dice. He tossed it onto the table.
The die clattered, rolling until it stopped face up.
The symbol of a wine cup.
The Path of Elation.
"I've named this operation..." Rekka leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with mischievous intent. "Operation Catch-Aha."
The crew exchanged wary glances. Every single time Rekka's daily reset landed on the Path of Elation, his newfound cosmic power would be instantly siphoned away by the Aeon of Elation, Aha.
In the past, Aha had taken the joke a bit too far. The Aeon would literally swagger onto the Astral Express, snatch away the authority Rekka had just gained, and casually drop some infuriating trash talk before vanishing into the cosmos.
Naturally evil Aha.
Every time Aha stole the authority of Elation, Rekka was left with nothing but a single, practically useless ability taught to him by Sampo Koski: changing his appearance. And even that was severely nerfed. He couldn't turn into a dragon or a Lordly Trashcan; he was strictly limited to human forms, bound by significant restrictions.
Oh, and he also received a mask that granted him entry into The Tavern of the Masked Fools. But since Rekka had already gone out of his way to open a brand-new tavern right here on the Astral Express, the mask's utility was completely nonexistent.
"Catching Aha..." Dan Heng muttered, crossing his arms.
"Exactly! Catching Aha," Rekka confirmed, slamming a hand on the table.
"Passenger, are you sure you're confident about this?" Pom-Pom tugged at their long, floppy ears, looking deeply distressed. "Please don't blow up the Astral Express, Pom..."
"Elaborate," Welt said, adjusting his glasses.
"Let's discuss the details in my room." Rekka gestured down the corridor.
What interesting things are they discussing behind my back?
Out in the corridor, a small wooden sign hung at the entrance of the Party Car. It read: "Aha and Masked Fools Not Allowed." At some point during the meeting, the Aha mask painted on the sign had quietly turned a glowing, ominous red.
Hehehehe, nia hiang hiang hiang hiang hiang.
Inside the room, Rekka paced back and forth. "First, we must understand one fundamental truth—Aha cannot be caught."
"Huh?" March 7th raised her hand, unable to hold back her confusion. "If He can't be caught, then what are we even discussing here?"
"I thought we were actually going to catch an Aeon to keep as a pet. So it's not possible?" Stelle mumbled from the floor, having just regained consciousness. She looked genuinely devastated, as if she had already picked out a collar and a food bowl for the cosmic entity of joy.
"Dealing with Aha requires a completely different logic than dealing with ordinary enemies," Rekka explained, his tone dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "The more you try to trap Him using conventional, clever methods, the happier He gets. Because in His eyes, this is just the classic, overused trope of mortals challenging a god. Aha can guess exactly what will happen. It's nothing more than us being toyed with for His amusement."
Rekka's lips curled up into a sharp, dangerous smile. "So, we must choose a trap that Aha confidently believes we would use, then throw a sack over His head and beat Him mercilessly with a cane."
So why a cane?
Look what interesting things Aha has found.
Jie jie jie, still want to play the thousand-layer cake game with Aha?
Too naive.
Aha already knew you'd prepare in advance, you silly little Robot Head.
But Rekka had already anticipated that Aha would eavesdrop on his master plan. Knowing this, Rekka could simply revert to using conventional means to catch Him off guard.
But, as cunning and omniscient as the Aeon of Elation was, how could He not think of this layer as well?
Still trying to trick Aha?
Outside, the red mask gave a contemptuous, mocking smile.
Therefore, Aha concluded that Rekka would definitely choose conventional means to deal with Him, thinking he was outsmarting the eavesdropping Aeon.
But this, too, had already been anticipated by Rekka.
Now look behind you.
So, from the very beginning, Rekka never intended to change the plan at all.
When the clock struck midnight, the daily reset triggered.
Aha visited right on time.
The Aeon smilingly pushed open the door to Rekka's room, reaching out with cosmic swiftness to snatch the newly generated authority of Elation. He grabbed hold of it—it was the familiar scent, the familiar weight...
"Wait, no!"
Aha looked down at his hands. Instead of cosmic authority, he was holding a crude, hastily drawn body pillow lying on the bed. The Aeon's ever-smiling expression changed drastically.
"You've fallen into the trap!"
[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!]