章節 35: The Blessing of Elation
You had no idea where Oleg had arranged for you to stay, so everyone turned to ask Natasha, and only then did you find the place.
"Oh, you must be the Distinguished guests Oleg mentioned? Welcome to the Goethe Grand Hotel."
Standing by the entrance in her receptionist uniform, Gotie greeted the group.
"Goethe?" Stelle scratched her head, the name sounded familiar.
"Hmm, have you seen that grand Goethe Inn in the Upperworld?"
"Ah, some unpleasant memories are coming back…"
At the mention of the name, March 7th felt a headache coming on, remembering her less-than-stellar experience in the upper district.
Meanwhile, Gotie continued to explain.
"That's a branch of our grand hotel. Several hundred years ago, an ancestor of the Goethe family started from scratch, fully believing he could make it big.
Eventually, he achieved his dream, opening a branch in the most prime location in the upperworld."
March 7th listened and nodded in admiration.
"Anyone with a dream is unstoppable. That's truly inspiring."
"Oleg told us to take good care of you. Here's your key, to the most spacious suite we have."
With that, Gotie handed the room key to March 7th.
March 7th thanked her, then turned to distribute the keys.
"One for Stelle, one for Dan Heng, one for Kevin…"
"Wait, where's Kevin?"
March 7th looked around but couldn't spot Kevin anywhere.
Stelle shrugged, indicating she didn't know either.
"Don't bother looking, Kevin went ahead to chat with Sampo," Dan Heng reminded, unable to believe the two of them hadn't noticed when Kevin left with Sampo after they exited the mining district.
"Of course! Those two are totally up to something!"
March 7th crossed her arms, looking as if she had known all along.
"And what eye of yours saw that?" Stelle asked in confusion, wondering how she had missed it.
"They were all touchy-feely, hugging each other…"
"Uh, please don't exaggerate. All they did was put an arm around each other."
Dan Heng cut off March 7th wild speculation.
"If we're talking about being close, you two are much more 'touchy-feely,' aren't you?"
Stelle teased, pinching her chin in thought.
March 7th face turned red at the mention, recalling standing with Stelle on the Shamash greatsword, that "You jump, I jump" moment, and when Stelle whispered into her ear, blowing softly.
Her face flushed, she covered it in embarrassment.
"Wow! All this time, the romance was right beside me!"
Stelle sighed and shrugged, acting as if it were all perfectly normal.
"It's totally normal for girls to be close, okay? Besides, you didn't exactly push me away, did you?"
Seeing them getting close again, Dan Heng stepped in and pulled them apart.
"Enough fooling around. Let's get serious. Kevin isn't back yet, and we don't know when he'll return. I suggest we assign someone to keep watch. After all the commotion in the Upperworld, I'm sure everyone's learned a lesson."
"I think Uncle Oleg seems trustworthy enough. No need for such an old-fashioned thing like keeping watch, don't you think?"
"Trust is one thing, but caution is still wise. What do you think, Stelle?"
Dan Heng looked at Stelle, waiting for her response, as assigning a watch required everyone's input.
Stelle looked at the two of them, grinned mischievously, and said, "Not my problem."
March 7th gave Dan Heng a look, then made a "peace" gesture to Stelle.
"You're the best, always saying the most irresponsible lines with such ease."
"If anyone's going to keep watch, I'd recommend march 7th."
Stelle said playfully, looking at march 7th.
"No, no way! I've never stayed up all night before! Do you have any idea how bad it is for your skin? Besides, just hearing the word 'night watch' makes me sleepy…"
March 7th covered her mouth as she yawned, though it was hard to tell if she was genuinely tired or faking it.
"I'll take the watch."
A voice came from behind. The group turned to see Bronya standing there.
"Bronya, you finished talking with Oleg? She didn't give you a hard time, did she?"
March 7th asked with some concern, knowing the long-standing tension between the lower and upper worlds.
Bronya shook her head and sighed.
"Nothing much. Our conversation didn't go well. We couldn't reach an agreement on some matters."
"After learning so much all at once, I doubt I'll sleep well tonight. If you trust me, leave the watch to me."
March 7th waved her hand dismissively. "Of course we trust you, you're one of our 'Stellaron Hunters.' But making you keep watch… I don't feel good about that.
You're a Silvermane officer. If anything happens, you'll be more at risk than we are."
"If they think that way, I can't blame them… The Silvermane Guards do owe the people down here.
If only someone had stepped up back then to explain to Guardian Cocolia the consequences of her actions… but it's too late for regrets now.
Don't worry about my safety. Oleg promised I wouldn't be harmed, and I believe he's a man of his word. Go rest."
Seeing how firm Bronya was, no one argued further. They said their goodnights and went to their rooms.
Before leaving, March 7th handed Kevin and Bronya's room keys to her, reminding her that Kevin hadn't returned yet. She told her to either give him the key when he got back or go rest in her own room if she got too tired—no need to force herself to stay up.
Bronya nodded…
…
"Big brother, we didn't need to come all the way out here just to talk, did we?"
Sampo looked around at the icy wasteland, utterly confused as to why they had suddenly ended up here.
Shortly after leaving the mining district, Kevin had dragged Sampo into a secluded alley. After ensuring no one was around, the two disappeared and reappeared in this snow-covered wasteland.
To be honest, Kevin wasn't sure where exactly they were either. But it was definitely far from Belobog, and no one would interrupt their conversation, not even if a fight broke out.
"Spill it, Sampo Koski. What's your real reason for being here? Did He send you?"
Kevin suspected Sampo's antics in the mining district weren't just for fun. But he couldn't believe that Sampo's purpose was purely entertainment.
"What purpose? I'm really just here for the show! There are tons of believers of the Aeon of Elation in the universe, why'd you single me out? We all love a good laugh, don't we?"
Sampo stubbornly denied having any hidden motives, trying to pass off his actions as nothing more than a carefree follower of Elation enjoying some mischief.
But whatever method Sampo had used, Kevin couldn't probe his thoughts any longer. The power of perception couldn't reach him, leaving Kevin no choice but to use physical means.
Sampo, still trying to explain, suddenly found he couldn't speak. He was frozen in place, unable to move or even open his mouth. It felt like his body was trapped in a transparent box, the walls closing in, pressing against his flesh.
This was the same technique Kevin had used to subdue the Vagrant earlier! Was Kevin really going to kill him?
Kevin summoned the Shamash sword from imaginary space, gripping it tightly as flames erupted—just as they had when he fought Swaro. Only this time…
The sword gathered power, and flames shot skyward, tearing through the clouds. If the strike landed, Sampo would be incinerated on the spot.
Sampo was terrified, realizing there was no way out. Kevin wasn't just threatening him; he was seriously about to kill him under the guise of asking questions.
But just as the sword was about to strike, a hand grasped the blade, and the flames instantly vanished.
It was Sampo—he had broken free from the spatial binding and snuffed out the flaming sword.
Kevin retracted his weapon and cautiously eyed "Sampo." He could feel a palpable shift in the aura before him—denser, more sinister.
"Who are you?"
Though Kevin had his suspicions, he still asked.
"You already know. Haven't you been searching for me, Fool?"
The voice was raspy and sharp, both gleeful and manic. "Sampo" slowly raised his head, his eyes glowing red, staring at Kevin with a twisted grin.
"You're… Aha…"
Kevin uttered the name, recalling how Aha had called him the same thing in the simulated universe.
But Aha didn't respond directly to Kevin. Instead, he revealed Kevin's true identity.
"Kevin, the man who inexplicably disrupted the predetermined outcome."
Aha's words hit Kevin like a thunderbolt. He was shocked—Aha knew?
"How do you know that?"
"How do I know? No… you're thinking too simply. We all know…"
Aha's mouth twisted into a crazed smile, Sampo's face contorting grotesquely under his influence.
"From the moment you arrived in this universe, we've been aware of you. Though our attitudes vary, that hasn't stopped us from keeping an eye on you…"
"I've been helping you since you boarded the train, but why… why didn't you accept my gifts?!"
Aha clutched his head, leaning toward Kevin with a mix of anger and confusion.
Kevin was shaken to the core. So it was true—the black power
"However, Aha forgives your offense, so Aha will give you Aha's blessing again. This time, you have no right to refuse."
Aha suddenly flashed in front of Kevin and pointed at his chest so fast that Kevin had no time to resist and was frozen.
Immediately afterwards, there was a burning sensation in the chest again, and a blessing mark appeared in the empty space on the chest.
Aha nodded when he saw this, and seemed to be very satisfied with his work.
He looked at Kevin who was being immobilized by him and said.
"Aha will Go, he can do whatever you want, but you'd better let him go. After all, the show isn't over yet."
"We will see each other again in the future. I look forward to your transcendence... the "Fool" with infinite possibilities..."
Aha left, and Sambo, who was possessed by him, fell straight on the bed, and the inexplicable power that bound Kevin also disappeared with his departure.
Kevin glanced at Sambo, quickly took off his clothes and looked at his chest.
It was the pattern of a fool's mask, another mark of blessing...
Touching the mark on his chest, Kevin looked up at the bright stars in the night sky and murmured.
"Beyond... Everything..."
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