Akivili opened His chat window with the "Erudition" Aeon.
On the chat screen, it still showed the question He had asked last time but never received an answer to.
With considerable patience, Akivili copied the question again and sent it to the other party.
He waited and waited, but no message came.
Akivili could not help sighing.
It seemed the Aeons could not be relied on. He could only place His hopes on His friends.
Akivili had once heard a theory that between any two people in the world, it takes on average only five intermediaries to establish a connection.
His friends were spread all across the star sea. Could it be that He still could not find a member of the Genius Society?
Akivili made a post on a social platform and blocked His close friend from seeing it. Before long, a new friend request appeared in His contacts list.
He accepted the request.
The other party sent a name: Zandar One Kuwabara.
Akivili was confused at first, but quickly remembered who this person was.
The celestial computer created by Zandar was precisely the "Erudition" Aeon.
'A genius like this… probably only an Aeon could persuade him.'
Akivili happily went to find the "Erudition" Aeon.
It seemed the other party was truly a good Aeon who looked cold on the outside but warm on the inside.
He enthusiastically expressed His thanks to the "Erudition" Aeon, but for some reason, even though the other party had helped Him, the response remained very cold, replying only with an ellipsis the entire time.
Akivili did not mind. He contacted Zandar, hid His close friend's real identity, and told him part of what He had observed.
It seemed His close friend's situation was especially serious. Even Zandar, the first seat of the Genius Society, found it difficult.
[Zandar: ???]
[Zandar: How could this happen?]
Soon after, the other party withdrew these two messages.
Akivili stared at the "typing" indicator on the chat screen. After waiting for a long time, Zandar finally sent a message.
[Zandar: The person you mentioned, do they have the habit of suppressing their emotions and never showing them in front of others?]
Akivili could not help letting out a "Wow."
As expected of the genius who created an Aeon, he was so accurate.
He did not hesitate any longer and told Zandar all the conclusions he had reached from his observations.
The Aeon and the man talked for a while and finally came to a summary.
His close friend had the habit of suppressing his true emotions and never expressing his own needs.
When interacting with others, he had a strong sense of boundaries. Even the relationships he maintained stayed only on the surface and never touched deeper topics.
He was not good at handling close relationships. When he grew closer to others, he would instinctively feel resistance and avoid them.
[Zandar: Through psychological profiling, people like this find it difficult to give trust to others. They are used to predicting the future with past pain and are especially harsh on both themselves and others]
Akivili humbly asked for guidance.
[Mr. Zandar, may I ask about the cause]
[As a friend, what should I do?]
[Zandar: Most people are like this because of their original family. A small number develop it later]
Akivili fell into thought.
His close friend had never mentioned his family.
While He was thinking, the other party sent another message.
[Zandar: Your friend belongs to the latter. Influenced by his later environment, it seems the place where he stayed before was… very oppressive for him]
Akivili scratched His head. 'How did Zandar deduce that? Was this what a genius was like? Just from a few words he could derive the truth?'
[Zandar: I know many treatment methods, but he needs to cooperate with me, for example allowing himself to have emotions and sensing his true feelings]
[Zandar: Do you think he would cooperate with treatment? Can he do the things above?]
Akivili: "..."
Leaving aside whether His close friend would be willing to seek treatment, just the part about emotions was completely impossible.
[Zandar: Outsiders cannot help him. He also does not need to rely on social relationships to gain satisfaction. No matter what kind of relationship it is, once it crosses the boundary line in his heart, he will feel resistance and distance himself from the other person]
[Zandar: What you can do is leave him space to be alone, keep an appropriate distance, and prepare sedatives. If special situations occur, give him an injection and send him to me for treatment]
Akivili was dumbfounded.
'My close friend! Has your condition already become serious enough to require forced hospitalization?!'
The Aeon automatically ignored Zandar's suggestion and the planetary coordinates he sent.
He did not understand this genius, so how could He feel at ease letting His close friend be treated by him?
It seemed He needed to keep in contact with His close friend's subordinates.
Besides sedatives, Zandar also listed several medicinal herbs unique to the Xianzhou, saying they could somewhat relieve His close friend's condition.
[Zandar: Considering he may not cooperate with treatment, you can brew it in hot water. It will also help relieve fatigue and calm the mind]
Akivili hurriedly ended the conversation with Zandar and contacted Guanliang, His close friend's subordinate.
The other party was extremely efficient and gave a reply not long after.
Guanliang said there was no problem with the medicinal herbs or the dosage. Someone would deliver the herbs as tea bags within an hour.
Akivili let out a sigh of relief.
As that genius had said, there was not much He could do.
Next… He would have to buy sedatives the next time the train resupplied.
For a long time afterward, the Aeon remained immersed in His thoughts, until various balloons appeared in the observation car and a place became piled with gift boxes. Only then did He realize that today was His birthday.
Urged by everyone, Akivili opened one gift after another, and the Nameless took turns talking about their thoughts when choosing the gifts.
When Akivili picked up a certain gift bag, Bacchus moved closer.
He immediately understood.
This was the gift His close friend had prepared for Him.
Bacchus looked eager to try and reached out, wanting to open the gift box for Akivili.
Akivili smiled and slapped his hand away. He first took out the rapier placed inside the bag and set it on the sofa beside Him, then slowed His movements and gently opened the gift box.
At the very top was a handwritten card.
[May you and your Nameless always walk upon the Path of "Elation.": Eric]
Bacchus froze.
Akivili picked up the card. Beneath it was a black hat with a wide brim.
The Aeon put the hat on His head and looked down.
Inside the gift box was also a set of medieval captain's clothing.
Before humans stepped into the star sea, they sailed ships across the ocean where undercurrents surged and death could come at any time.
People pressed forward wave after wave, riding the wind and breaking through the waves, and finally discovered new continents.
In a sense, the Nameless were sailors of the star sea.
Akivili looked at Zero and teased in an exaggerated tone, "The greatest captain in the star sea is right in front of me..."
"To receive your recognition… I am truly honored, no, completely flattered!"
Zero almost laughed out loud.
What Akivili said… was not wrong.
Didn't the Xianzhou count as a ship?
Akivili put away the gift box containing the captain's clothes and looked deeply at him.
"Thank you, Eric. I really like this gift."
The Aeon opened all the gifts He had received one by one and expressed His thanks to the Nameless.
When Pom Pom pushed over the birthday cake and urged Akivili to make a wish, the Aeon held the rapier and stepped onto the sofa with one foot.
Pom Pom let out a sharp scream, "Don't step on the sofa..."
Akivili lowered His head. Two clear footprints had been left on the sofa.
He looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, Conductor, just this once, okay?"
After coaxing the Conductor, Akivili looked up again and saw the Nameless all watching Him with suppressed laughter.
Akivili pretended not to notice. He raised the rapier seriously and, in a tone like an opera performer, said to everyone, "My followers, no, now I should say, my crew..."
"In the future, continue to witness my moments of victory..."
The Nameless smiled helplessly.
What else could they do? Having such a lively and childish Aeon… other than indulging Him, what else could they do?
No one exposed Him. They cooperated very well and echoed His words.
Zero smiled and applauded for his close friend when suddenly an inescapable figure appeared beside him.
Bacchus leaned over and whispered, "Uncle Eric, tomorrow is my birthday~"
When Zero heard the word uncle, he felt extremely uncomfortable.
He ignored him and looked straight at Akivili, who had his eyes closed while making a wish.
How could Zero not know what Aha was planning? He just wanted to receive a gift.
Aha had already taken plenty of his fine wine, and now he still had the nerve to ask for a gift?
Zero kept smiling.
"What a coincidence, tomorrow is also my birthday."
Bacchus looked embarrassed.
"How about this time neither of us gives the other a gift? We'll call it even?"
Zero kept smiling, "How could I disappoint a junior? Don't worry, I will definitely prepare an unforgettable gift for you."
Bacchus was half convinced.
He did not continue asking.
After all, tomorrow he would see the gift.
———
The next day, Bacchus received a gift bag.
From the packaging, it was a famous luxury brand across the star sea.
After returning to his room, Bacchus excitedly took out the gift box from the bag.
He untied the ribbon and opened the box, only to see it filled with paper stuffing.
After rummaging around, Bacchus finally found a slip of paper.
He looked closely and saw that it was an IOU.
Bacchus: "..."
'Too much! This is too much! What kind of person gives a child an IOU for ten billion credits.'
'Wait, Eric isn't a good person, so that's fine… No, that's not fine at all!'
Bacchus stood up angrily and knocked on Eric's door.
The other party quickly opened it.
This time, Eric was communicating with someone again.
But his expression looked gentler than usual.
The expression Bacchus had seen the most from him was a face without expression and eyes without any desire, as if nothing in the world was worth even a glance from him.
At this moment, he seemed to be in a good mood and spoke in a light tone to the person on the other side, "I saw news of your victory. You should rest properly once in a while."
He seemed to hear something unexpected and instinctively widened his eyes, then let out a soft laugh.
"Those dozen or so planets are my birthday gift? Hmm… that really is a special gift."
Zero thought, 'What is this? A burden of happiness?'
"Your gift… when you go back, you'll see it."
"Just saying in advance, the price can't compare to planets."
"It's a few sets of jewelry and some clothes."
"If you like them, just wear them in private."
"If you attend formal occasions, don't wear or use clothes and accessories whose prices can be estimated."
Hua answered with a casual "Mm," then talked about next year's Huai'en Festival.
The annual assembly was held once every ten years. Next year, besides the assembly, it would also be her twentieth birthday and her coming-of-age ceremony.
As for the coming-of-age ceremony she held with classmates when graduating from the academy? No one took it seriously.
Zero fell silent.
Could he live until that time?
He asked, "Is there any gift you want?"
Zero then added, "At that time, I might be with Akivili."
"You know there's a time difference between the Xianzhou and other planets. I'm not sure whether I can make time that day."
Hua was used to her guardian messing with her mood. After hearing this, no matter how many thoughts she had, she could not say them directly.
She thought, that is not just Huai'en Festival, not just the annual assembly, it is also my coming-of-age ceremony.
For a while neither of them spoke. After a period of silence, Hua only said, "That day is the annual assembly."
Zero did not make a firm promise.
"Alright, I'll try to make time to attend. What do you want?"
Hua paused and said, "There really is one gift I want. If I say it, will you give it to me?"
"Of course." Zero spoke solemnly and made a promise. "Hua, whatever you want, you will have."
Hua replied, "Remember what you said."
She felt relieved inside.
During the year she temporarily acted as Xianzhou Marshal, Hua understood her guardian's thoughts.
No wonder he tried desperate measures when anxious.
No wonder the moment he ran into her on the street, he immediately decided on the successor.
The workload was not something a normal person could bear.
If she got any busier, she might end up living the life of writing thirty suicide letters a month.
Fortunately, her guardian was someone who kept his promises.
Presumably on that day, he would agree to all her requests.
If that was the case, she would definitely get the Feather Dust, right?
The two ended their conversation and hung up.
Zero put away the jade communicator.
Bacchus looked resentful and shook the IOU in his hand.
"Eric is so biased."
Zero let out a light laugh, "How could that be? You and her are different."
"There is a place where I only want to take you and Akivili."
Zero trusted Akivili but did not trust Aha.
But if Aha was useful, he would not mind bringing along this unstable factor.
Of course, if Aha tried to cause trouble, he could just deal with him before dying.
Bacchus' expression changed slightly.
He vaguely guessed the answer but still softly asked the person in front of him for confirmation, "What place is it?"
Zero thought for a moment and carefully chose his words.
"How should I put it? A place where you can explore the nature of the world, I guess?"
Bacchus said nothing.
He stared at Zero for a long time. When the atmosphere nearly froze, he withdrew his gaze and gently shook his head.
"That's not allowed, my friend."