Chapter 315: Kenji the Skunked
Splash!
With the sound of water breaking, the spray caught the sunlight, refracting a rainbow.
A fisherman never gets skunked, but the thing he reeled in was... strange. Kenji looked at the "fish" on his hook.
"I... why did you come up?"
Kenji was fishing in the manor's artificial lake, which was stocked with many kinds of fish from both the Human World and the Gourmet World. But the one who bit the hook was Firefly.
I've made it. I reeled in a mermaid. I can start a new branch of the family tree.
What material is this clothing made of? It's so tough. It didn't tear at all, even after getting snagged by a fishhook.
Firefly rubbed her eyes. I fell asleep... how did I get reeled in? I have no idea, honest.
"Am I still... 'skunked'?" Kenji tossed Firefly aside and asked Elysia and the others.
This wasn't the fish he was expecting. If he went to show this off, it would probably recreate that famous scene of the laughing policemen.
"It probably doesn't count as skunked. A mermaid is still a fish," Atashino mused. At least Kenji did catch something.
Elysia held back her laughter, not knowing what to say. For the past few days, Kenji had sat here all day, getting skunked every single time. Today, he finally caught Firefly.
She strongly suspected that Firefly, the mermaid, saw Kenji getting skunked and felt so bad for him that she hooked herself.
Hoshi-Firefly... you're a real one. I'm crying.
It really wasn't Kenji's fault. He had suppressed his Food Luck. When luck can't play a role, you just have to rely on fate.
...
[Brother Scorching Sun]: "I was checking the chat logs. Our World-Bearing Titan of Omphalos is supposed to be named 'Kefale.' But now, in everyone's memory, it's 'Ompha-joy' (刻法樂)."
Bai'e was baffled. In his own memory, it was also "Ompha-joy."
If it weren't for the chat logs, he would have just accepted this as normal.
Omphalos has been... pranked, hasn't it?
[Star Forger]: "Aha did it. 99% probability."
No doubt about it. The other 1% is that Aha convinced someone else to do it.
[Ruan Mei]: "If it's Aha, he's definitely capable of this."
Don't be fooled by the memory alteration. This has nothing to do with Fuli. Even if Fuli made a change, it wouldn't be for something as trivial as "Kefale" vs. "Ompha-joy."
[Shadowkhan Queen]: "So? Is it just the name that changed?"
[Bai'e]: "No. I feel like Omphalos is... a lot happier now. There's an... atmosphere of Elation."
(Aha: Don't thank Aha! Aha loves laughter! Aha IS Elation!)
[Little Monster]: "That Aha... he seems like a pretty good god."
[Shizu-cute]: "Not necessarily. The way I see it, that Aeon of Elation is fine when he's not stirring up trouble. But when he is... it's pure chaos."
The Aeon of Elation seeks fun. But who becomes the fun... that's for Aha to decide.
[Galactic Baseballer]: "I wonder if Boss Aha would find it fun to turn everyone on Omphalos into Pathstriders of Elation."
The Astral Express has two "Bosses" now. One is Akivili, one is Aha. Both their names start with 'A'.
[Brother Scorching Sun]: "Please, spare Omphalos. That's... too much Elation."
Bai'e looked at "Ompha-joy," who was now wearing an Elation mask. He couldn't even "salt" (complain) about it.
But even though he was speechless, he could only sigh helplessly. You can't "elbow" an Aeon.
Wink~
Out of nowhere, Bai'e felt the mask... move. It looked right at him and even gave him a wink.
Urp...
Bai'e, remembering Aha's human form was male, felt a wave of nausea. Being winked at by a dude... he wasn't gay.
This is too 'abstract'! Dammit! Even the mask can wink! Omphalos has gone so crazy I don't even recognize it anymore!
"Hey, Bai'e, what's wrong?" Wandi asked with concern, patting Bai'e on the back.
"Wa..."
Xiadie saw this, and her eyes lit up with an unprecedented glow. Her "Shipper" attribute exploded.
Bai'e x Wandi... hehehe. This is... this is... too good!
Inspiration! It's flowing! The main characters of my next light novel will be Bai'e and Wandi!
"???"
Polypoetia was full of question marks. She didn't understand why her sister suddenly had such an excited smile. It was... a little too intense. She wasn't used to it.
Do I... need to take my sister to see a doctor at the Gloom Garden?
"Wandi, stay away from me for a bit."
Bai'e instantly put distance between them. He had just been grossed out, and now he was wary of Wandi.
Entrusting your back to a man is one thing, but this isn't a battlefield. It felt... unsafe.
"Bai'e, what's wrong with you?"
Wandi, realizing what he was thinking, looked at Bai'e with black lines on his forehead. Please do not question my sexual orientation.
All the Golden-Born of this era had regained their memories of past loops.
Wandi remembered all the times Bai'e had "stabbed him in the back."
This bastard... he was so clumsy at first. But in the later loops... he was a total pro.
...
Toriko's World.
"Checkmate."
"Elysia, want to go again?"
Buer (Nahida) asked with a smile. She was playing chess with Elysia. This was their tenth game, and Elysia had lost every single one.
Playing chess against the God of Wisdom... Elysia was just too confident in herself.
"No more! I'm definitely not good at this stuff♪!" Elysia flopped onto the grass and started "worming" around. She really thought she had a talent for it.
She wanted to prove her learning ability was strong, but... she just got slapped in the face.
Encountered the God of Wisdom. Fought with all my might... but could not win.
Smack!
Kenji's hand blocked Elysia's head. He looked at her with a half-smile. What do you think you're doing, crawling toward Buer?
"Let go! Only Buer's lap pillow can warm my heart! I need to go... absorb... Buer's... energy♪!"
Hearing this, Buer instantly distanced herself.
Lap pillow?
She had a feeling that if Elysia lay down, it would be face down, and she'd go for an "epic inhale" right... there.
"Want to try the 'family punishment' I prepared especially for you?"
"I don't♪!"
Elysia instantly sat bolt upright.
That "punishment" was designed specifically for her.
Seeing a group of beautiful girls in front of her, but being restrained and unable to cuddle them... it was too cruel.
"What were you thinking, challenging Buer?" Kenji asked, satisfied, and amused by the recent scene.
"If you had picked anyone else, you might have had a chance."
Even if Buer didn't have the Void for calculations, she is the God of Wisdom. Her brain is a computer. Her processing speed is... who knows how many light-years ahead of Elysia's.
Elysia tapped her red lips and said seriously, "If I had beaten Buer, wouldn't that have been more impressive♪?"
Kenji rolled his eyes. "You're a genius. You can be discharged from the asylum now."