Chapter 137: Welt: I Shall Strike in the Form of a Cane
Silver Wolf's holographic projection vanished with a soft pop, dissolving into a cluster of blue data streams that dissipated without a trace inside the Astral Express carriage.
She simply couldn't handle the high-intensity mental pollution radiating from Rekka and had decided to pull the plug and run for the hills.
Rekka sighed with some regret, slowly withdrawing the hand he'd held over his chest in a gesture of deep sincerity.
"Ms. Silver Wolf left so quickly," he lamented. "I hadn't even finished reciting my praises yet."
He and Argenti exchanged a knowing glance.
"Brother Argenti."
"Brother Rekka."
"How about we go praise that beautiful potted plant over there?"
"An excellent proposition. Of course."
The two of them immediately launched into a high-intensity praise session that raged on for a full ten minutes. The richness of their vocabulary and the sheer abundance of their emotions were stunning to behold.
They praised the ordinary houseplant from its leaves down to its roots, from its vibrant color to its elegant shape. They even went so far as to describe a tiny crack on the ceramic pot as "the imperfect perfection, the truest beauty found only within flaws."
Argenti looked at Rekka, his eyes growing misty with emotion.
"Brother Rekka, your praises are like a clear spring, striking straight to the very core of my soul! To be able to travel with someone like you, who so deeply understands how to appreciate beauty, is my supreme honor as a knight. If this potted plant possessed consciousness, it would surely be moved to tears by your sincere words."
On a sofa not far away, March 7th held a glass of fruit juice, her mouth slightly agape as she stared at the bizarre spectacle.
"Did those two take the wrong medicine today?" March turned to look at Stelle and Dan Heng, who were sitting nearby.
Stelle shrugged. "They're Knights of Beauty. This isn't that strange. They seem pretty happy, and as long as they're happy, it's fine, right?"
Rekka's gaze swept across the carriage, searching for a new subject. His eyes soon landed on Pom-Pom, who was holding a small rag and standing on its tiptoes to wipe a glass window.
"Brother Argenti," Rekka whispered, subtly pointing toward the conductor. "Look, that is our Conductor. It maintains this Astral Express day after day. We must go and express our deepest respects."
Argenti followed his line of sight, and his eyes instantly lit up with a fervent glow.
The two men walked with perfectly synchronized steps toward Pom-Pom.
The conductor was concentrating on polishing the glass when it suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run down its back. It turned its head and saw Rekka and the tall, red-haired man staring at it with an intensity that made its fur stand on end.
"W-what do you want, Pom?" Pom-Pom subconsciously took a step back, the small rag in its hand dropping to the floor with a soft thump.
'Pom-Pom is just wiping the window, what do you want, Pom?' it thought frantically.
Argenti strode forward, dropped to one knee, and performed an exquisitely standard knight's salute.
"Respected Conductor, please allow me to greet you with the heavy weight of a rose!" he declared, his voice ringing with passion. "You are the very soul of this Astral Express, the lighthouse guiding everyone on their journey forward! If not for our cute and hardworking Conductor, how much brilliance would the travels of the Astral Express lose!"
Pom-Pom's head began to spin from the sudden, overwhelming barrage of praise. Its round cheeks flushed a bright red, its two long ears shot straight up in a state of high alert, and its small hands twisted uneasily in front of its chest.
"P-Pom-Pom is just doing its job, Pom!" the conductor stammered, trying to slip out of the circle the two men had formed around it. "Y-you guys, don't get so close, Pom! Pom-Pom still has to go check the engine room, Pom!"
"No! You are far too humble!" Argenti insisted, rising to his feet. "The Conductor's humility only serves to amplify your beauty! Please, allow me to offer a hymn to your noble character!"
Rekka immediately chimed in, ready to begin the next verse.
Pom-Pom finally couldn't take it anymore. It let out a short, panicked squeak, not even bothering to pick up the fallen rag, and scampered off toward the depths of the corridor on its short legs.
"Pom-Pom has things to do! Pom-Pom is leaving first, Pom!"
Rekka and Argenti watched Pom-Pom's retreating figure as it fled for its life, and both sighed in unison.
"The Conductor is truly too shy," Rekka lamented.
"Indeed," Argenti nodded in solemn agreement. "Beautiful things are always so easily bashful. Brother Rekka, let us go find the next target worthy of our praise."
The two hit it off immediately and turned in perfect sync, their gazes locking onto March 7th, Stelle, and Dan Heng.
March 7th saw the two "praise monsters" with their eyes glowing ominously as they began walking toward her, and she was so scared she practically vaulted off the sofa.
"Stelle! Dan Heng! Run! They're coming over!"
The two humanoid praise machines were closing in.
"We're in big trouble..." March whimpered, her face a mask of pure dread. She and Stelle looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Dan Heng merely lifted his eyes from his datapad for a moment before lowering his head to continue reading.
"They're here, they're here! They're really coming!" March grabbed Stelle's arm, shrinking into the corner of the sofa. "Quick, think of something!"
Stelle gripped her baseball bat tightly, the smooth wood a comforting weight in her hands. She swallowed hard. "How about I just knock them both out? A physical nap. It's very effective."
March 7th quickly pressed down on her friend's hand. "No, no, try to think of something else!"
In the short span of their frantic exchange, the two men radiating a blinding aura of brilliance had already stopped in front of the sofa.
Rekka spoke first, placing his right hand over his chest and bowing slightly.
March 7th, ever quick-witted, did a combat roll off the side of the sofa, dragging Stelle with her and escaping the immediate blast radius of the impending praise. It was too late, however, to save Dan Heng, who was still engrossed in his reading.
"In this restless world, to still find someone like you, who can calm their heart and absorb the rich nutrients of knowledge..."
Dan Heng snapped to attention.
That's right. He was praised so hard he reflexively stood at attention.
"The Knights of Beauty are so scary," March 7th whispered, swallowing nervously.
"Yeah... so scary," Stelle agreed, a bead of sweat trickling down her temple. "Is this some kind of powerful crowd-control ability?"
After finally enduring the full brunt of their admiration, Dan Heng turned and walked away. He walked away very, very quickly, practically fleeing in a dignified panic.
"Even Brother Dan Heng's back is so charming as he departs!" Rekka called after him.
Dan Heng almost stumbled.
Just then, a robot with a white chassis and a glowing green single-lens camera embedded in its head glided over. Its mechanical arms held a tray laden with several drinks of different colors.
"Dear Trailblazer," it said in its signature deadpan tone, "may I ask, would you like to take a bath first, have a drink, or listen to me tell another cold joke?"
Rekka and Argenti immediately spun around, their gazes locking onto the drink-mixing robot.
The robot, unaware of the doom that was about to befall it, tilted its head in confusion. A moment later, its internal speakers began to crackle.
"Warning. Logic module impacted by unknown data stream. Language parsing system... m-malfunctioning. Requesting restart... Requesting... re... start..."
Accompanied by a wisp of smoke that curled up from its head, the drink-mixing robot crashed right where it stood.
March 7th and Stelle watched from the side, completely dumbfounded.
"They... they praised the robot until it crashed?" Stelle swallowed hard again.
March 7th grabbed Stelle's arm. "That's it! We're calling in the final boss!" She immediately started running toward the Parlor Car.
Inside, Welt was sitting on a sofa sipping tea, while Himeko leaned by the window, flipping through some documents. Seeing the two young women burst in looking utterly flustered, Welt put down his teacup and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?"
"Mr. Yang! Help!" March 7th cried out.
Welt's eyes narrowed.
"Rekka, he..." March began, gesturing wildly with her hands as she tried to explain the reign of terror unfolding in the other carriage.
Welt listened, his expression unchanging. He nodded slightly, his only outward reaction a subtle tightening of his grip on the black cane resting in his hands—the Star of Eden.
He had heard enough. He would strike, and he would do so in the form of a cane.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]