"Little March, Aidan, I..."
Himeko's figure appeared at the entrance of the swimming pool area. She stood there, meeting the gazes of Aidan and March 7th.
March 7th stiffly turned her head to look at Himeko by the door.
"Ah! Sister Himeko! It's not what you think!" March 7th jumped up suddenly, "This, this, this is just juice! Everything on me is really just juice!"
Himeko:?
"What?"
Himeko looked confused.
"Huh?"
March 7th realized she had misunderstood Himeko. Himeko hadn't even misunderstood yet, but she had already said that... which made it seem even more like she was trying to hide something.
"Ahem, actually, the story is like this..."
"Oh~ So, you used the little notebook Aidan gave you, made a wish to drink juice, and that's how you ended up like this, is that right?"
After hearing Aidan's explanation, Himeko's face was full of smiles.
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what happened." March 7th nodded vigorously, "I only drank half of it before spilling it all!"
Fortunately, the swimsuit was waterproof, so that wasn't a big problem. It was just the gauze around her waist that needed to be washed quickly.
"Sister Himeko, are you coming down to swim too?"
"Mmm... I don't need to, but can we change it to a beach? I want to try the seaside and beach today."
Ai-chan, dressed in a swimsuit and lying on a beach chair, snapped her fingers.
The surrounding scene instantly switched. The pool water disappeared, replaced by fine white sand and an endless azure ocean. The starry sky turned into bright sunshine, and there was even a sea breeze blowing, carrying a faint salty smell.
"Environmental simulation fidelity 99.9%. How about it, isn't Ai-chan amazing?"
Himeko took off her shoes and stepped barefoot onto the simulated soft white sand. She was wearing a Bohemian-style long dress today, and the simulated wind gently lifted the hem, making her look exceptionally leisurely. She lightly shook her feet, and the sand scattered with a soft rustling sound, not sticking to her skin at all.
"This beach is quite comfortable to walk on. It almost makes you forget we're on a warship."
"Is there a barbecue event today?"
Dan Heng walked in, having changed into his regular clothes.
"Sigh, I just heard you guys describe the swimming pool as huge, so I specifically brought my surfboard in."
Welt said regretfully, holding his surfboard.
"Mr. Welt, surfing is generally not allowed in swimming pools," Dan Heng replied, turning his head.
"I know, I'm just a little disappointed," Welt said with some regret.
"So, barbecue today?" March 7th, having changed into her casual clothes, walked out.
"Yes, barbecue today," Himeko nodded.
March 7th's eyes instantly lit up, and the previous annoyance from being drenched in juice vanished. She hopped over to Himeko and looked at her eagerly.
"Sister Himeko! I'll help you grill! I'm really good at assisting!"
"Are you sure that's helping, and not just stealing food?"
— — —
When they returned to the Astral Express, it was already past 10 PM.
Aidan pushed open the door to his room, his gaze falling on the diary on the desk. It lay there quietly, looking like just an ordinary notebook.
"What's missing...?"
Aidan mused.
Right.
On the black leather cover, the words "Death Note" were written crookedly in a slightly Gothic white font. Although he knew the notebook could only cause minor bad luck now, paired with this cover, the aura of chuunibyou and mystery was instantly maximized.
After putting these words on the cover, Aidan felt better.
Although this wasn't the Death Note, this was more interesting, and it would give a great sense of ceremony when writing someone's name in the little book later.
"I'll get a good night's sleep first."
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness quickly blurred.
At the exact moment the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand overlapped at the very top of the dial, the familiar sensation of separation arrived as expected.
A new Path descended upon him.
— — —
Today, Aidan appeared sitting in a wheelchair, his head tilted to the side. His head looked slightly larger than usual, and he was wearing non-prescription glasses.
"Good morning, everyone."
"...Aidan, what's going on with you today?"
"Today I am [Erudition]. I researched a special potion," Aidan replied.
"Your [Erudition] head wasn't this big the last couple of days. Did you perform any modifications on your body?"
"This is the Brain Enhancement Potion I researched. Its mechanism is to allow the brain to perform more efficient calculations. It's just that the head is slightly larger."
"No, no, it's still a bit obvious..."
"Why did you create this potion? Just to become smarter?"
"Of course not." Aidan leaned back against the wheelchair, crossing his hands over his stomach, looking completely composed. "When computational power reaches a certain level, one can achieve an effect close to predicting the near future by calculating the trajectory of all matter, environmental variables, and human behavioral logic."
March 7th leaned in disbelievingly, circling Aidan's wheelchair once. "Predicting the future? You're just bragging! This young lady doesn't believe that simple arithmetic can tell you what's about to happen. Then calculate this: what am I going to do next?"
Aidan stared at March 7th for a second, a confident smile curving his lips.
"You plan to extend your left hand, pinch my right cheek to see if it's swollen. Then you will find the touch is firm, and you will ask me if it hurts."
March 7th's hand froze halfway in the air.
"You! How did you know!" She quickly put her hands behind her back.
She tried to jump, but that was also within the prediction.
"You will almost fall due to unstable center of gravity, and Dan Heng will support you with his left hand."
As soon as March 7th landed, her foot slipped, and her body tilted uncontrollably to the left. Dan Heng reacted quickly, grabbing her arm and steadying her.
"Is it real or not..." March 7th straightened up, looking at Aidan in shock, "You could even calculate me slipping?"
"This is very simple. The angle of force you used when jumping was off by fifteen degrees, and the Astral Express is currently adjusting its course, so the friction coefficient of the floor is insufficient to support your landing posture." Aidan pushed up his glasses, "In my brain, this is just a very basic physics model calculation."
Welt became interested. He put down his newspaper and walked in front of Aidan.
"Aidan, since you can predict the near future, tell me what I'm about to say next?"
Aidan pushed up the non-prescription glasses on the bridge of his nose, his eyes, which looked particularly deep due to the expansion of his brain, staring at Welt for two seconds.
"Uncle Yang, next you are going to say: 'If you can calculate even this, I will admit that you truly possess the ability to predict the future.'"
Welt opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back.
"...That was a guess, not a calculation." He changed his words, "Anyone in my position would say something similar."
"Then, Uncle Yang, next you will ask me: 'Can you calculate my true thoughts?'"
Welt's expression became subtle.
"You—"
"Your true thought is that you want to know if I have the ability to predict my own actions, thus determining whether this potion is truly useful or if I am just playing tricks." Aidan continued without waiting for him to finish, "Then you will consider whether you should try a sip too, but you worry that after drinking it, your head will also get bigger, affecting your image as a mature and steady elder of the Astral Express."
Welt fell silent.
"Finally, you will decide not to drink it, but you will ask me to leave the formula for the potion behind, just in case."
"..."
"Oh right, you will also ask me, 'Did you calculate where Himeko is right now?'"
Welt subconsciously turned his head towards the entrance of the Parlor Car. Sure enough, Himeko was standing there.
Aidan stood up.
Wow, a medical miracle.