"Hey, wake up. Are you alright?" Big Herta crouched down and poked Sparkle.
"Cough, cough, I-I'm fine," Sparkle said, struggling to her feet by holding onto the ropes of the ring.
"That's good. The Curio Forger specifically instructed me to ensure the safety of both contestants... though Aha's safety is certainly not a concern," Big Herta said.
In other words, the only thing Herta needed to worry about was Sparkle not getting herself killed by her own negative Curios.
When the Curio Forger Chen Li used the Elation's Die, he needed to spend Elation Points to ensure he didn't get screwed over, which meant he had no ability to control the die's outcome.
Herta had always felt that the Elation's Die had its own ideas about what number to roll.
"Well, thank him for me!"
"You don't need to view the Curio Forger with such prejudice. The Elation's Die really could have let you defeat an Aeon. You just had bad luck this time," Herta said, patting Sparkle's shoulder comfortingly.
"I should have known! The moment I saw this Elation's Die, the moment I saw its prefix, I should have known it was up to no good! I'm such a fool, really!"
If she had just chosen to forfeit from the start, at least she could have fallen at the hands of the Aeon of Elation in a direct fight, instead of being fully prepared only to be taken out by her own negative Curios.
At this moment, Sparkle's resentment was like that of Xianglin-sao, a broken record of misery.
"Ermm... eat this first." Big Herta offered no comment on the matter.
After all, the [Elation] Entry on the die came from Sparkle herself.
Perhaps the die had inherited Sparkle's attitude towards "Elation" so perfectly that it led to the current situation?
Seeing the fava bean in Herta's palm, Sparkle took it and tossed it into her mouth without a second thought.
Let the storm rage on!
She had nothing left to fear!
However, to her surprise, the moment the bean entered her mouth, she felt as if she had come back to life, brimming with energy!
Her body, which had been on the verge of falling apart after 20 minutes of torment from the negative Curios, was instantly restored to its peak condition.
"A Senzu Bean. A miraculous item that can bring anyone on their last breath back to full health, though it cannot cure diseases," Herta explained.
She couldn't help but marvel at the wonder of Haruhi Suzumiya.
In her own world, Haruhi could do as she pleased. The Senzu Beans she personally cultivated were identical in effect to the originals and were highly acclaimed.
Of the 365 Senzu Beans Haruhi had grown, Chen Li kept 100 for himself, gave 50 to Mobius and 50 to Ruan Mei for them to cultivate, and put the remaining 165 in the Curio group chat for any member to use as needed.
In Chen Li's words: "These friends are my bonds and my camaraderie. Their happiness and well-being are more important to me than anything else."
The group members were moved to tears.
They also heaped praise on Haruhi Suzumiya for growing the beans.
This led to Haruhi starting to question whether she was truly suited to be a botanist. As a result, she hadn't come to wreak havoc on the Herta Space Station or the Xianzhou today, instead staying in her own world to study magical plants.
But for that very reason, Chen Li had to go to her world early in the morning and toss an Elation's Die at her to prevent her from pulling off some grand stunt.
Thus, the die was left with zero Elation Points.
And so, the unlucky one in the end was Sparkle.
Everything was connected!
"I thought that eating this bean would heal my injuries but come with some strange side effect," Sparkle said.
"You're overthinking it. Alright, your injuries are healed. You can leave now," Herta said.
"Huh? Don't I need to pay any medical fees or something? You're just letting me go?" Sparkle looked at Herta with suspicion.
"If you'd like, you can have another round with the Aeon of Elation. He seems quite eager."
"Goodbye! No, goodbye forever!" Hearing Herta's words, a jolt went through Sparkle, and she immediately chose to flee.
After running through the door Herta had pointed to and returning to reality, Sparkle pushed open the door again and saw the hotel corridor... only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Just then, she received a communication request from the Curio Forger.
"..."
"..."
Face to face via video, Sparkle and Chen Li were silent for a long moment.
"Er, did you have fun?"
"Thanks, I had a great time being played," Sparkle said resentfully.
"I gave you a chance. You just didn't succeed," Chen Li said innocently.
"Oh, I really have to thank you for that chance! You never said I had to challenge an Aeon!"
"..." Chen Li didn't say anything. Instead, he tapped his Friends Circle terminal and played a voice message.
"When it comes to having fun, I, Sparkle, have never been afraid of anyone! You don't need to tell me who my opponent is, you just need to tell me what level of fun you want to see!"
"..." Sparkle was at a loss for words.
Because she really had said that herself.
But at the time, she never imagined Chen Li would arrange such an opponent for her.
Don't you think this matchup is a bit too much for me?
Your matchmaking rating is 400+ points below the match average, but don't worry about how much that "+" is, right?
What's the difference between your matchmaking system and that wuxia battle royale game that starts a match the second the lobby is full?!
"How about this? To compensate you, I won't need you to take the blame for me anymore, how's that? Or I'll try to be more low-key so no one finds out my real identity," Chen Li offered.
He truly hadn't expected the Elation's Die to be so ruthless to the original source of its main Entry.
The die had two modes: rolling for a number and competing for a win/loss. This was the first time Chen Li had seen someone roll a [1] in a win/loss competition.
Sparkle's unlucky encounter was enough to make the listener sad and the viewer cry. Even Chen Li felt a pang of sympathy.
"No need! How much trouble can a genius from the Genius Society possibly cause? As long as you don't start a universe-spanning war like Emperor Rupert, I, Sparkle, can handle any blame you rack up!" Sparkle declared, accepting her loss.
"I'm not some bad guy. Of course, I wouldn't do something so insane. But are you sure you don't want to reconsider?"
"No need! You can record what I just said as proof!"
"But..."
"No buts. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of fun you'll cook up next. Go ahead and do it! Any blame related to having fun, I, Sparkle, will carry on my shoulders! A sky-shaking farce is a badge of honor for a Masked Fool!" Sparkle proclaimed.
In fact, she had high hopes for Chen Li.
If she hadn't been the unlucky one who rolled a critical failure and got hard-controlled by her own negative Curios for 20 minutes, she would have had even higher hopes for him.
"Hachi-Hua, you... is this the resolve of a Masked Fool? Vill-V, you should learn from her," Chen Li said, turning to Vill-V beside him.
"Hmph, if I really made the Xianzhou stand up, you wouldn't be happy," Vill-V muttered under her breath.
"I meant you should learn about this pursuit of Elation on the Path of Elation. Not feeling joy or sorrow because of one person's honor or disgrace. Perhaps that will allow you to go further on the Path," Chen Li said.
"Then I have an idea! I can prepare a magic trick to make the continent of Mu disappear!" Vill-V's eyes lit up.
"I'm sorry, my tone was a bit harsh just now. You should probably just calm down," Chen Li's tone shifted.
Then again... Vill-V was never suited for the Path of Elation. She could only deceive herself and couldn't derive any joy from it.
The only thing about Vill-V related to Elation was that she herself was the "fun."
"..."
"Oh, is this lady also on the Path of Elation? I haven't seen you before," Sparkle became interested in Vill-V, who had just appeared on screen.
"Yes and no," Chen Li shook his head.
"Then are you two interested in joining the tavern? I can be your sponsor. All you have to do is go to the Mourning Actors' ship and steal a mask to prove yourselves, and you can join. That's how all the Masked Fools get in," Sparkle said, getting even more excited.
"Since all the Masked Fools' masks are stolen from the Mourning Actors, can't we just steal a mask from a Masked Fool?" Chen Li retorted.
"That works too," Sparkle nodded.
"Oh, then I have one." Chen Li took out a red and white mask.
"You're practically the Innate Sacred Body of the Masked Fool... wait, why does that mask in your hand look so familiar?" Sparkle's praise faltered as the mask appeared.
"I don't know. Aha gave it to me. It was a greeting gift when we first met. Speaking of which, the [Elation] Entry on the Elation's Die you used came from this mask," Chen Li said.
"...That's my mask!" Sparkle's hair stood on end.
No wonder she couldn't figure out who had stolen her mask!
As a low-level employee who had never even beaten a colleague, Sparkle was starting to doubt her own professional skills, and now you're telling me it was the Chairman of the Board who stole it?
"For real?"
"Didn't I show you the design blueprint for the mask?"
"I thought all you Masked Fools' masks looked the same."
"Give me back my mask!"
"I remember you saying you wanted to get your mask back with your own skills, didn't you, Sparkle?"
"...Then you'd better keep that mask safe. I! Will! Come! Get! It!"
"No problem."
"Wait, then does that mean... this mask was also stolen from me?" Sparkle couldn't help but take off the black and red mask on her head and ask.
"You'll have to ask Aha, don't ask me. Aha never told me where the mask came from," Chen Li confirmed.
Aha indeed hadn't told him, but that didn't stop Chen Li from knowing.
"Damn you, Aha!" Sparkle gritted her teeth.
If it weren't for Chen Li, she would never have known she was so favored by the Aeon of Elation.
If you favor me so much, why don't you just make me an Emanator!
I see you as my faith, and you see me as an [Elation] Entry provider, is that it?
Now... she liked him even more!
So, to express her affection, Sparkle decided to borrow the Elation's Die one more time.
"Dad, lend me the Elation's Die again!"
"What for?"
"To duel Aha again!"
"Maybe not?"
"I know you're worried about me..." A warmth spread through Sparkle's heart.
Chen Li does have some conscience after all. The fact that I just challenged an Aeon for him must have really moved him.
"That's not it. It's mainly because you being hard-controlled for 20 minutes just filled up the Elation's Die with Elation Points. It would be a waste to lend it to you," Chen Li said tactfully.
"Elation Points? What are those?" Sparkle was taken aback.
"It's something that can adjust the die's roll. It can store up to 10 points, which means you can adjust a roll of 1 to an 11."
"Then why couldn't I use it?" Sparkle's eyes widened.
If the Elation Points were full, she could have completely turned the tables just now!
"Er... before I put the die into the prize pool, I used it to save the world, so I used up all the Elation Points," Chen Li said, scratching his head.
"Damn you, Curio Forger!" Sparkle gritted her teeth.
"Don't say that. I was saving the world, after all."
"Even so... alright, fine. But as compensation for being hard-controlled by negative Curios for 20 minutes, you must lend me the fully charged Elation's Die again! I want to duel the God of Fun one more time!"
"Ermm... I could, but I feel like the moment you said that, Aha would never appear before you again. You don't actually think the Aeon of Elation isn't spying on you, do you?" On this point, Chen Li had plenty of experience.
The Aeon of Elation was a total voyeur!
"..." by Sparkle.
It was true that the Aeon of Elation could be fearless for the sake of fun.
It was also true that he could consider being watched for fun as fun itself.
But he could also find it fun that "Sparkle wants to watch the Aeon of Elation's show but can't."
The Path of Elation, it's magical, isn't it?
"But you're not completely out of chances."
"What chances?" A glimmer of hope appeared in Sparkle's eyes.
"Travel back in time 10 minutes and slap the you who said you didn't want to fight the Aeon of Elation again. You should know, when you rejected his offer of a best-of-three, the Elation's Die had already accumulated a full 10 Elation Points."
"...Don't say anymore. I really want to slap myself right now. Or can you forge a time-traveling Curio?"
"I can, but I don't think there's enough time. Alright, give me back the Elation's Die. This thing will never bring anyone happiness," Chen Li said.
The Elation's Die had been in Sparkle's possession this whole time.
"Sigh... although I'd love to spar with the Aeon of Elation again, it seems I've missed my chance." Sparkle sighed, then pressed the die in her hand directly into the video call interface before hanging up.
The die passed through the screen and landed in Chen Li's hand on the other side.
"It seems dueling the Aeon of Elation with a Curio is something that requires long-term planning," Sparkle muttered to herself.
But how to lure him out?
"I heard you wanted to spar with me?" A voice full of mirth sounded in her ear.
Sparkle turned her head to see the Aeon of Elation right beside her, then glanced at the closed video call interface. In an instant, she plastered a flawless smile on her face.
"Of course not. Dear God of Fun, I meant to say I wanted to meet with you."
Then, she balled her fist and threw a punch.
Although she didn't think she could actually harm the Aeon of Elation, the final result was still something she never expected.
Sparkle looked down and saw the familiar yellow banana peel at her feet.
"Where did you get this?" she asked calmly.
"I swiped it from Big Herta. Hurry up and use it. I have to return it when you're done," Aha urged.
In the next moment, Sparkle's senses went haywire, and she fell to the ground with a splat.
But there were gains and losses. Now, Sparkle had confirmed one thing.
When a person reaches the absolute peak of speechlessness, they really do laugh.
Damn you, Aeon of Elation! Just because I play with a kendama and wear geta, don't you dare treat me like some stereotypical Japanese character!
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