"Drink some warm water; it helps soothe the pain."
March 7th took the cup and sipped from it, her pink-and-blue eyes peeking over the rim to steal a glance at him.
"What are you looking at?"
"Looking at you." March 7th put down the cup and said matter-of-factly, "This young lady was thinking, after you changed to Erudition, even though you're weak as anything, you seem quite useful? You can make ice cream machines, you know how to take care of people, and you speak nicely..."
"This is called the dual output of emotional and practical value."
"...Speak human."
"It means I can make you happy and help you solve problems."
"Oh." March 7th nodded. "Then how many days can you stay in this state?"
"One day. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, it'll switch randomly."
"Then what will you become tomorrow?"
"I don't know." Aidan shrugged. "It could be [Preservation], [The Hunt], [Elation], or [Nihility]. The probabilities are equal; it's completely random."
"Then what if you turn into [Nihility]?"
"Then it'll be a problem." Aidan thought seriously for a moment. "In the [Nihility] state, I'll feel that everything is meaningless. I might just lie in my room all day without moving, unable to take an interest in anything."
"Then wouldn't you just become a salted fish?"
"Worse than a salted fish. At least a salted fish can be eaten; I'll be radiating nothingness from every pore."
March 7th imagined the scene and couldn't help but shiver.
"No, no! You have to find a way to control it!"
"I can't control it." Aidan answered quite frankly. "This is a characteristic of the Path; it's not something I can choose. I can only accept it and try to let every state of mine be as useful as possible."
"But... but..."
"Don't worry." Aidan interrupted her 'buts'. "Even if I turn into [Nihility], I won't hurt anyone. At most, I'll just lie flat for a whole day, not speaking or moving, feeling that everything is utterly meaningless. But it'll be fine once it switches the next day."
"Then what if you turn into [Elation]?"
March 7th asked one question after another like a curious child.
"I might become a Masked Fool, or perhaps a Sorrowful Bard." Aidan smiled. "In any case, no matter what I become, I'm still me. You definitely won't shun me, right?"
"Of course not!" March 7th nodded vigorously. "I didn't even shun you when you turned into a bug, so I won't shun you no matter what you become!"
"Then what if I have a long, mournful face in front of you all day?"
"Then I'll find a way to make you laugh!" March 7th said confidently. "If you turn into a Masked Fool and act all silly and improper all day..."
"Then you'll laugh along with me?"
"Yes!" March 7th giggled. "Anyway, no matter how you change, I can handle it!"
After saying this, she suddenly paused, then turned her face away somewhat shyly.
"Um... what I mean is... you're under my protection, so no matter what you become, I'll look out for you..."
"Alright, as part of our mutual assistance, I should also remind you—even though there's medicine, you shouldn't eat any more ice cream today. If you ruin your stomach again, I don't have a second dose of that effective medicine."
March 7th stuck out her tongue and pulled her plushie back into her arms, rubbing her chin against the plushie's soft head.
"I know, I know. You're as naggy as Uncle Yang."
She muttered, but her eyes drifted toward that machine several times; she clearly hadn't had enough. However, the faint ache in her stomach made her drop the idea of having another cup.
"Speaking of which..."
March 7th suddenly thought of something, leaning forward with her eyes sparkling as she looked at Aidan.
"Since you're [Erudition] now, can you calculate where our next stop will be? Or... or can you calculate when I'll be able to find my memories?"
The smile on Aidan's face faded slightly. He looked into March 7th's expectant eyes and gently shook his head.
"I can't calculate that."
"Huh? Didn't you become smarter? You can't even calculate this?" March 7th's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"Being smart doesn't mean being omniscient, especially regarding matters involving the future." Aidan explained patiently, "Predicting is merely a deduction of future possibilities based on existing information. The less information there is, the less accurate the deduction. As for your memories..."
He paused, his gaze falling on the wall behind March 7th that was covered in photos.
"Actually, I think you're pretty good the way you are now. The past is important, but if you ignore the present just to find the past, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? Look at these photos; these are your current memories, things that truly belong to you."
March 7th followed his gaze and looked back.
"I guess you're right..."
She nodded thoughtfully, her fingers unconsciously pinching the ears of the Pom-Pom plushie.
"Although I'm still curious sometimes about what kind of person I was before, now I have Pom-Pom, Uncle Yang, Sister Himeko, Dan Heng... and a weird junior like you. I seem to be quite happy."
"That's the spirit." Aidan stood up and straightened his slightly wrinkled clothes. "Even if the past is a blank slate, as long as the present and future are colorful, it's fine. Besides, I have a feeling that your past will find its way to you sooner or later, and when it does, you won't be able to hide even if you want to."
"Hey! Don't jinx it!"
———
Aidan returned to his room.
Indeed.
This body of his was truly too weak.
He needed to build himself a defensive tool powerful enough to perfectly protect him in battle.
"No, offense is the best defense."
Right?
Right.
Then the ultimate form of offense is an explosion; the underlying code says so.
A bomb?
Aidan was lost in thought.
An ordinary bomb definitely wouldn't do.
It would be best if it could be carried around and then pulled out directly when needed, with immense power at the critical moment.
He began to draw blueprints.
The Star Annihilation Bomb—the principle is to use imaginary energy to trigger a chain reaction in a star's core, instantly draining all the energy of a star and then releasing it in the form of an explosion.
But, was this power too small?
As soon as he thought about how powerful the enemies the Astral Express faced were, Aidan shook his head. He couldn't hold everyone back; he had to increase the bomb's power.
Then...
Expand the range?
How about using a Galaxy-Destroying Bomb?
A lightbulb seemed to go off over Aidan's head.
Aha!
This feels like something I can work with.
With a galaxy-level strike, few creatures should be able to survive.