"Come eat breakfast, pom!"
Pom-Pom pushed the dining cart into the observation car, while Welt and Dan Heng dragged over six long benches.
March 7th's face looked grim, silently cursing Himeko's coffee for being too effective—one sip, and all traces of sleepiness vanished.
"Today's another beautiful day!"
Adrian gazed at the distant azure planet—the birthplace of Herta, the once-in-a-century genius.
He couldn't help but wonder: if he'd left a mark of [Eternity] on that planet earlier, how would Herta have turned out?
The answer was simple—she'd still have walked the Path of [Erudition] and joined the Genius Society.
Dan Heng brought out a bar of soap from his room, a gift from a church member back then.
"The news mentioned soap. I have reason to suspect the culprit is tied to the Eternity Church," he said.
"Hey, hey, hey! The church folks are all chilling on Car Wash Star. Besides the leader and priests, who'd have the power to storm the Interastral Peace Corporation?" Adrian retorted. His followers were perfectly normal—there's no way they'd cause a ruckus at the IPC.
"Oh, right! Adrian, didn't you spend some time there? I heard their bathing facilities are amazing. I'm dying to soak in a hot spring! Have you tried it?"
March 7th's eyes sparkled. She was eager to visit the revamped Car Wash Star, a place even the [Trailblaze] Aeon Akivili had once visited.
"You're getting off-topic, March," Dan Heng said, still fixated on the soap mentioned in the report. It was all too suspicious.
"Is the all-knowing Professor Dan Heng about to start deducing?"
Adrian knew Oswaldo Schneider was a jerk, but the church had no reason to go after him.
Unless that idiot had the gall to blaspheme in front of his followers—then, yeah, he might've gotten a beating.
As for Schneider getting pummeled, Adrian wasn't too concerned. He was more curious about the cowboy-like Galaxy Ranger's reaction… and that blonde kid from the Strategic Investment Department.
Dan Heng unwrapped the soap and showed it to everyone.
"A number-shaped soap? That's so unique!" March 7th took it, sniffing it closely.
"March, that's not a number," Dan Heng said after a pause.
"Huh?"
March 7th stared at the '8'-shaped soap, scratching her head.
"Try flipping it over," Adrian suggested, turning the soap to reveal an '∞' shape.
"Very much in line with the Eternity Church's style. I've heard their hot springs have similar designs. We should visit sometime," Welt said, engrossed in his newspaper, taking a sip of the coffee Himeko handed him.
Wait…
When Welt realized what he'd just drunk, it was too late.
"Freshly brewed. Good?" Himeko asked.
"Good," Welt replied stiffly, catching March 7th's sympathetic glance. He sank into thought.
Maybe I should order some milk tea powder online that looks like coffee grounds.
Breakfast ended cheerfully. March 7th scampered off to wander around, while Adrian returned to his office.
Herta had studied him yesterday and likely wouldn't be back soon. Rushing things wouldn't yield results—slow and steady was the way.
She was pretty nice, though. Before leaving, she'd gifted him an upgraded doll, insisting he'd find it interesting.
"I'm not into static figurines," he muttered, opening his phone.
Dan Heng's words had sparked something. Scrolling through his messages, Adrian found a contact with a pale moon cliff as their avatar.
It'd been a while since they'd talked. He wondered how that kid was doing out there.
Just as Adrian was about to make a voice call, a Fool's Mask popped up, flashing brightly.
"Aha~ Behold the radiant form of Aha!"
"Time for the familiar riddle game! Guess what Aha did yesterday?"
Adrian fell silent, his fist clenching slightly.
"I knew it was you, damn it!"
At that moment, Adrian wished he had a gun to shoot through Aha.
"Oh~ Sounds like you've heard! Yesterday, Aha was so bored that I thought I'd swing by the Interastral Peace Corporation for a spin. And guess what Aha found?"
"Aha discovered a vile scoundrel who'd cruelly slaughtered countless unknown clans for expansion. And get this—he's some kind of director. The state of the cosmos these days, tsk tsk…"
"That's not enough reason for you to go after him," Adrian said.
Aha, no matter how idle, wouldn't play justice warrior and pick on weak humans.
"Don't rush to deny Aha! You're bullying me, waaah~"
The mask magically shed a few tears, which, upon closer inspection, were just plastic pearls.
"So, Aha disguised as you and knocked on his door in the dead of night, hahahaha!"
Adrian: ?
"You had nothing better to do?" he snapped. "You could've pretended to be Lan or even Akivili! Make him think he was being hunted by [The Hunt] or punished for betraying [Trailblaze]!"
"No, no, no. [The Hunt] wouldn't bother with a mere human. As for Akivili… waaah~ poor Akivili." The mask grew somber at the mention of Akivili.
"Disguising as you was the best choice! Aha couldn't think of any other Aeon to impersonate."
Back when Akivili was around, the three of them—Adrian, Aha, and Akivili—used to impersonate each other, even making Nous guess who was who.
"The reason? Aha overheard his phone call. Seems he's got his eyes on your church's stronghold!"
"That place has prime water resources. Faced with such a juicy planet, of course he'd bare his greedy claws."
"…He wouldn't dare," Adrian said coldly.
"So, Aha was enacting justice on behalf of the cosmos and standing up for a dear colleague! From now on, Aha's title shall be: Kindhearted Cosmic Five-Star Citizen Aha!"
"Classic you. Go on," Adrian said.
"Aha asked him his thoughts on [Eternity], [Elation], and [Trailblaze]. The former Nameless had an okay stance on [Trailblaze], but he dared to mock [Elation]! Waaah~ Aha lost so much face!"
"But since Aha was disguised as you, Aha wasn't Aha, so no getting mad. Guess what he said next? He called your church a bunch of lunatics, hahahaha! And called you a heretic!"
The mask was about to burst into manic laughter when Adrian quickly covered its mouth.
"Blaspheming [Eternity] to an [Eternity] Aeon's face? So Aha beat him to a pulp!"
The mask vividly recounted the scene, describing how Aha utterly crushed Oswaldo Schneider.
"Aha picked up a wooden stick, silenced his voice first, then kicked him in the butt! Haha! Bet he didn't see that coming!"
"The guy's attempts to fight back were hilarious. You really should've seen it. Sadly, Aha didn't bring a recorder—too broke to afford one, waaah~"
An Aeon, broke?
Well, yeah. Most Aeons don't need money.
Except for human-like Aeons like Adrian, who linger in the mortal world rather than drifting through the cosmos, most don't carry cash.
Aha was the exception—a broke Aeon who mooched off others to get by.
Seriously, how hasn't this god starved yet?