Chapter 140: A Potted Plant on the Path of Abundance
"That excuse was absolutely perfect; even I didn't see that move coming."
Liliya's brow furrowed, a flicker of irritation crossing her face. "How can she be allowed to hog him all to herself for the whole day? No way, we can't just stand here and watch!"
Rozaliya frowned, her arms crossed defiantly. "It's obvious she's trying to take advantage of the fact that the Captain is so easy to talk to today. She's locked him in her room just to hear sweet nothings!"
"Exactly," Liliya nodded, her expression serious. "Rozaliya, our progress is already lagging behind."
The twin sisters marched to March 7th's door and began pounding on it with unified purpose.
"You have the nerve to steal our man, so have the nerve to open this door!"
Another jealous battlefield had erupted on the Astral Express. But for once, Rekka felt not a single shred of fear toward the escalating chaos. His eyes, now a warm and gentle amber, were filled only with deep sincerity.
"Ehehe... Hehe..."
Rozaliya was giggling foolishly while sitting in a chair, a cascade of pink, heart-shaped bubbles practically popping over her head. Though Liliya wasn't quite as exaggerated, the long, draconic tail swishing back and forth behind her was a clear giveaway; she hadn't escaped Rekka's compliment offensive either.
"Liliya... I was praised like that by the Captain..." Rozaliya sighed dreamily.
"Me too..." Liliya murmured, her own cheeks flushed.
The sisters had easily succumbed, rendered completely defenseless and utterly tamed by a barrage of heartfelt praise.
March 7th looked at the two completely smitten girls, and a powerful sense of crisis surged within her. She had finally managed to trick Rekka into her room, but before she could even share a few secrets, she was intercepted by these two.
"Aren't you two supposed to be preparing for a livestream? Not streaming today?" she asked, trying to reclaim her territory.
"Not streaming," Rozaliya shook her head, her gaze fixed on Rekka. "Today is for listening to the Captain talk."
"Not streaming tomorrow either," Liliya added decisively.
March 7th's lips twitched. This was a disaster.
Rekka stood by the window, the faint starlight from the cosmos outside illuminating his face and coating his gentle eyes in a soft, ethereal glow.
Unfortunately for March 7th, she couldn't withstand the compliment offensive either. Within minutes, she was praised until she was rolling on her bed, giggling uncontrollably.
"Hehehehe, ah, hiang hiang hiang~" she squealed, kicking her feet in the air.
March 7th tried to sit up, her face beet red. "I can't... I can't do it... I'm going to faint from happiness." She flopped right back onto the plush mattress. "Captain! Say a few more words! I want to hear more!"
Outside the room, Stelle pressed her ear tightly against the door, her golden eyes wide and round with fascination.
"How's the situation inside?" Dan Heng asked, standing to the side with his arms crossed, a picture of stoicism.
"The battle is intense!" Stelle gave a hushed, live commentary. "That guy Rekka is absolutely slaying; he can take one down with a single sentence! March 7th, Rozaliya, and Liliya have already started talking nonsense!"
Dan Heng pondered this for a long moment before finally reaching a conclusion. "Forget it. Let's just let Rekka be pinned down by them in there for now."
Even Welt, who had earlier endured a combined praise session from Argenti and Rekka, was still feeling a bit dazed and spiritually absent. Older people, having lived through many years, simply couldn't handle such terrifyingly potent stimulation.
"Passenger Rekka! The Conductor has something important to discuss with you, Pom!"
Pom-Pom's voice, loud and clear, cut through the door. The sound was so sharp and authoritative that it forced March 7th and the Olenyeva sisters to snap back to their senses.
"Of course, no problem, Conductor," Rekka's pleasant voice replied. "I'm happy to help."
Rozaliya, Liliya, and March 7th didn't stop him. It wasn't until Rekka and Pom-Pom had left that the full weight of their earlier actions crashed down on them. They had blurted out all their true feelings...
Rozaliya was the first to recover. She suddenly bounced up from her chair, covering her burning cheeks with both hands and letting out a short, mortified wail.
"What did I just say?!"
"Was that... the Captain's Domain of Truthful Words?" Liliya wondered aloud, her own composure cracking.
"Ugh..." March 7th buried her face in her pillow, leaving only her wide, horrified eyes visible. She stared at the ceiling, her mind replaying all the shameless things she had just said.
"Rozaliya," Liliya began, a hint of teasing in her tone, "you just said that being praised by the Captain once could keep you happy for a whole year."
"Liliya!" Rozaliya lunged over to cover her sister's mouth.
Liliya gently pried her sister's hand away and smoothed out her own messy hair. "We were all just affected by some kind of power the Captain was unconsciously radiating, causing us to speak our true feelings..."
"That's... that's because the way the Captain praises people is just cheating!" Rozaliya's face was flushed crimson, her hands cupping her burning cheeks as she stubbornly defended herself. "And—and I wasn't wrong, anyway. If the Captain praised me like that every day, who wouldn't be happy!"
"You also said," Liliya continued mercilessly, "that if the Captain wanted, you could pack yourself up and deliver yourself to his room."
"Isn't that just our normal level of performance?" Rozaliya shot back, trying to sound nonchalant.
Knock, knock.
The door was tapped twice. Before March 7th could even begin to compose herself, Stelle's head poked inside.
"Heey, March. Sobered up yet?"
March 7th snapped her head up from the pillow, her pink hair a chaotic bird's nest. "What do you mean, 'sobered up'?! This lady is perfectly sober!"
"Oh~ perfectly sober, huh?" Stelle drawled, walking to the bedside. She cleared her throat with great ceremony. "'Rekka, if you want, you can stay in my room all day today, and I'll let you praise me however you like'—tsk tsk, I wonder who said that?"
"Alright, Stelle, stop teasing her," Dan Heng spoke up, stepping into the room to break the tension. "The Conductor called Rekka away so urgently. Something must have happened. We should go take a look."
"Right," Stelle agreed, though her grin didn't fade.
"Finally, Rekka has switched Paths."
Himeko breathed a quiet sigh of relief from her seat in the parlor car. She, too, had fallen victim to it; the way she had looked at Rekka earlier was filled with an unsettlingly potent motherly affection.
Anything Rekka praised today became a bit... strange. Everything changed in the direction of his praise. For example, the potted plant in the corner of the Express had been praised by him for its vitality until it received the blessing of Abundance.
Yes, that potted plant had began the Path of Abundance. A tiny, potted Ambrosial Arbor in the making.
The Conductor, however, had keenly discovered this phenomenon. Pom-Pom had immediately put Rekka to work, having him praise all the broken things on the Express. Whether it was a faulty broom or a wobbly table, they all became perfectly fixed after a round of his sincere compliments.
"It's late at night. What's wrong with you?"
Rekka turned around, his hands full of various snacks, and looked at Stelle.
"I felt hungry, so I came to the fridge to get something to eat," she explained.
"Oh... so what is it today? Elation?" Rekka asked, his demeanor now light and mischievous.
"Yeah, it's Elation," he confirmed, stuffing a piece of bread into his mouth.
"Elation... requires eating this much food?" Stelle eyed the mountain of snacks in his arms.
"I don't know. Maybe yesterday's Path of Beauty consumed too much energy? I just keep feeling hungry."
"Oh, then eat more." Stelle patted Rekka's head, and a brilliant, terrible idea suddenly sparked in her mind.
"Hey, come over here for a second."
"I want to try what it feels like to be a mom," she declared. "Come, sit on my lap and eat."
"Are you serious?" Rekka asked, tearing off another large piece of bread.
Stelle had already sat down on the sofa, her legs pressed neatly together. She patted her thighs with both hands, an expectant look on her face.
"Come on, come on. I'll hold you while you eat. It'll taste better that way."
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