Chapter 219: Actually, Dan Heng is a Total Closet Show-Off Deep Down...
Rozaliya and Liliya looked at Rekka with those kinds of eyes. The knowing, mischievous glints of two troublemakers who had just caught the Captain by his proverbial tail.
"Captain, you wouldn't want others to find out that you're pretending to be some mysterious 'Mr. Captain', right...?" Liliya whispered, her breath brushing against Rekka's ear in a conspiratorial hush.
"That's right, Captain. You'd better come clean. You definitely wouldn't want this little secret to be discovered~ right?" Almost perfectly synchronized, Rozaliya pressed up against his other side. Her soft pink hair brushed against the crook of Rekka's neck, sending a ticklish sensation down his collar.
Though they would never actually spill his secrets to the rest of the crew, the Olenyeva sisters were absolutely going to milk this for all the spoiled privileges it was worth.
"Come clean about what?" Rekka blinked, his expression a mask of flawless, practiced innocence. "I haven't the faintest idea what you two are talking about."
"Captain can fool others."
"But Captain can't fool us."
The twins spoke in eerie, perfect unison, their eyes narrowing playfully.
Rekka sighed, leaning back into the sofa. "Alright, what do you want to eat?"
"We already ate our fill at lunch."
"Then what game do you want to play?"
"Just being by Captain's side makes us happy."
"Then what do you two actually want?"
"Captain."
"Captain."
Both girls stared at him with deadpan, serious expressions.
Rekka chuckled, crossing his arms. "Fine, fine, you want the Captain. So, what's the grand plan? Are you going to slice and fry him, or steam him?"
"Captain's meat is too tough. It wouldn't taste good," Liliya critiqued flatly. "But he's very comfortable to hold."
"Captain, sleep with us tonight," Rozaliya demanded cheekily.
Rekka's eyes narrowed. Without warning, his hand shot out like a viper, snatching the spade-tipped tail that Rozaliya had been stealthily using to tickle his waist.
"Kyaaa!" Rozaliya let out a sudden, high-pitched shriek, her face flushing bright red. "Captain! You... you're cheating!"
"You two were the ones threatening the Captain first." Rekka released her tail and nonchalantly dusted off his hands, a dry smirk playing on his lips. "This is simply called a tactical countermeasure."
Nearby, March 7th groaned and sat up from the lounge sofa. A small, strange cube that had been resting on her head fell onto her lap with a soft thud. She shook her head, her pink hair bouncing as the lingering dizziness finally subsided by seventy or eighty percent.
"What are you guys talking about?" March mumbled, rubbing her eyes before squinting at the scene. "And why is Rozaliya's face so red?"
"The big pervert Captain touched my tail!" Rozaliya accused, pointing a trembling finger at him.
"...Rekka." March's gaze instantly sharpened into a glare of absolute judgment.
"She's the one who tickled me first," Rekka defended himself smoothly, not missing a beat.
March rolled her eyes, deciding to drop the subject. "Anyway... that Captain of the Hyperion, or whatever that ship is called. He said he saved several planets on the brink of destruction all by himself..." Her brow furrowed in deep thought. "It's strange. Why does that person feel so familiar?"
"Yeah, such a familiar feeling," Stelle chimed in, nodding with deep agreement from the adjacent seat. "But I just can't put my finger on who it is right now."
Suddenly, Stelle gasped. Her golden eyes widened as if struck by a divine revelation.
"I know who it is!"
Rekka blinked, raising an eyebrow.
"It's Dan Heng!" Stelle announced, her expression radiating a full ten-out-of-ten level of absolute, unshakeable wisdom. "It has to be Dan Heng. Think about it! Otherwise, why haven't we seen him around lately?"
Light-years away, in the ancient, water-bound ruins of Scalegorge Waterscape, Dan Heng let out a sudden, violent sneeze.
He was currently waist-deep in resolving the endless, headache-inducing historical disputes of the Vidyadhara. Whenever a stubborn Dragon Master mistook him for Dan Feng and started spouting archaic nonsense, Dan Heng would simply summon the surging waters of his Azure Dragon's Cleansing World and deliver a fierce, unceremonious elbow strike straight to their jaw.
"I am not him!" Dan Heng gritted his teeth, delivering another swift strike.
At this exact moment, he finally understood why Dan Feng had historically enjoyed beating up Dragon Masters for absolutely no reason. It was excellent practice for keeping one's martial skills sharp.
Honestly, who even invented these little creatures called Dragon Masters? They were quite fascinating, really. Give them a solid hit, and they would howl in pain, conveniently spilling top-secret clan information they shouldn't even have access to.
One hit, one secret. Another hit, another secret. It was a highly efficient interrogation method.
"Is it really Dan Heng?" March asked, looking highly skeptical at Stelle's overflowing confidence.
"I think the build looks exactly like his! And look at how clean and decisive his combat movements are, right?" Stelle gestured wildly, fully immersed in her own detective work. "Plus, that guy is wearing such a massive cloak that even his face is completely covered. It's obvious he doesn't want to be recognized!"
"Is... is that right?" March's face scrunched up. "While that sounds like it might make sense in a weird way... hasn't Dan Heng gone to Scalegorge Waterscape to deal with Vidyadhara business? How would he possibly have the time to sneak off and fight in some random tournament?"
"You just don't understand." Stelle leaned in closer, lowering her voice into a dramatic, conspiratorial whisper. "Even though Teacher Dan Heng usually seems quiet, stoic, and reserved... he's actually a total closet show-off deep down!"
"Makes sense."
The seemingly calmest and most traditional Teacher Dan Heng is actually a lively 'funny guy' at heart.
You might not be able to imagine it, but Dan Heng's inner world was actually very colorful.
"Think about it," Stelle continued. "He wants to look cool, but he's too embarrassed to be recognized by us, so he just went fully equipped with a secret identity. Look at that cloak, the texture, the dramatic aura—it's clearly been carefully chosen for maximum edge!"
Stelle's words were like a physical dagger plunging straight into Rekka's chest.
What do you mean, 'wants to look cool but is too embarrassed to be recognized'? Rekka's jaw tightened slightly.
When they had first arrived on the Xianzhou Luofu, he had personally led Stelle and March by the hand, teaching them the glorious arts of being massive swindlers. Yet looking at her now, it was painfully clear that Stelle still hadn't grasped the true, elevated joy of being a super swindler. She was completely off the mark.
However, since Stelle had already locked onto the idea that it was Dan Heng, her brain naturally bent all the evidence to fit that specific direction.
Noticing Rekka's stiff expression, Stelle leaned over, proudly placing her hands on her hips. "So? Was my analysis spot on?"
"Spot... spot on... yeah, completely spot on," Rekka managed to say, his voice perfectly flat.
"Right, right?!" Stelle beamed, her chest puffing out with immense pride. "I told you my intuition wouldn't be wrong!"
March 7th stared at Rekka's suspiciously sincere expression. Her mind raced, gears turning until something finally clicked into place. She suddenly remembered a very specific introduction Rekka had made back in Chapter 17.
—I am Rekka, a new Trailblazer of the Astral Express. At the same time, I am the Captain of this Hyperion, and the Ferryman of the Sea of Quanta.
Hyperion. Captain.
Ferryman.
Good grief. So he had been playing them this whole time...
March's expression instantly shifted into one of deep, exhausted understanding. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the twin sisters notice her hesitation. Both Rozaliya and Liliya simultaneously raised a finger to their lips.
Shh. Don't tell.
March 7th:...
Why did it feel like Stelle was the only one happily playing the fool right now?
"March, why do you have that weird expression?" Stelle asked, tilting her head.
"No... it's nothing."
March's face twitched, violently jumping back and forth between 'I really want to laugh out loud'and'I really want to complain about this nonsense'. Finally, it settled into a long, defeated sigh.
"Stelle."
"Yeah?"
"Have you... ever considered another possibility?"
"What possibility?"
"That... the Ferryman, actually, isn't Dan Heng at all." March hesitated for a fraction of a second before trying to gently guide her friend toward the truth.
When Rekka had originally spoken those grand titles, Stelle hadn't even boarded the train yet. Naturally, she had no idea that Rekka had once unironically called himself the 'Ferryman'. In fact, if it hadn't been for this sudden mental connection, March might not have remembered that embarrassing introduction at all.
"Impossible," Stelle dismissed instantly, waving her hand. "Look at that height, that build, those clean movements! He's clearly wrapping himself up tight because he doesn't want to be recognized. Who else could it possibly be but Dan Heng?"
"...Never mind." March entirely gave up. "Stelle, you're right. That's definitely Dan Heng."
"Right!" Stelle nodded with immense satisfaction, her golden eyes sparkling. "I told you my reasoning skills are number one in the world! The Express's top strategist is none other than me!"
Invincible.
Nearby, Liliya silently turned her head away, her face completely expressionless as she desperately tried to prevent herself from blowing her cover by bursting into laughter.
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