"…Shut up, please."
"Oh~ You're too kind. To receive your praise is truly a once-in-three-lifetimes honor for this drink-mixing robot."
"I said shut up!"
March 7th rubbed her hands together. Why did the car actually get colder after that joke?!
"It's called a cold joke for a reason—how could it not be [cold]? This is my latest innovation: intelligent air conditioning. As my joke wraps up, you'll experience an [immersive] chill." [Shut Up] pulled out a mini air conditioner, introducing it to Adrian and March 7th:
"It adjusts the intensity based on your preferences. The current [cold] joke setting is medium breeze. Shall I crank it up to high?"
"This robot's a bit too intelligent! Who in the cosmos tweaked this thing to be like this?"
March 7th's lips twitched, but [Shut Up] showed no signs of stopping:
"Sigh~ It seems Passenger March 7th doesn't like [cold] jokes. No worries, I've got [hot] jokes too. Wanna hear one?"
"I've got a ton of retorts, but forget it." March 7th gave up resisting.
"Next chance I get, I'm definitely teaching you how to make milk tea."
"Hey… is that the point here, Teacher Adrian?!"
"Don't rush to roast me, Miss March. I've already figured out how to upgrade your weapon." Adrian flashed a mysterious smile. [Shut Up]'s ramblings had sparked plenty of inspiration.
Cold breeze… hot breeze?
Traditional physical combat wouldn't suit March 7th—she's too cute to be swinging in close quarters!
Why not grind her Six-Phase Ice into powder, refine it a bit… and use magical means to deal with enemies? A Six-Phase Ice Spray Gun!
Enemies hit by it would be frozen solid—how's that for a strong control debuff?
"Miss March, ready to get stronger?"
…
Eternal Abyss, inside the sacred grand cathedral, a cheerful laugh echoed.
"Hahaha… What has passed shall return in [Eternity]!"
With Cocolia handled by Freesna, Blake let out a sigh of relief.
Blake first offered up the Immortal's Delight Tea gifted by Adrian, and the acting priestess approached, bowing to him:
"You're back. Where's Lady Freesna?" the priestess cut straight to the point.
"Ouch, that stings. The first thing you ask when you see me is about that quirky elf's whereabouts, sigh~"
The priestess didn't shy away, her eyes gleaming with earnest fervor. "Yes! I've told you before, my sole reason for becoming a priestess is Lady Freesna!"
"Understandable. Her story's spread far and wide, a household name… thanks to my PR efforts, of course."
"Right?! You think Lady Freesna is amazing too, don't you?!"
"That figure of hers is so majestic! Like an angel descended! Ah~ What a shame, my resistance was too weak! I fainted from excitement when I saw her and didn't get to deliver the ten-thousand-word ode I wrote for her… Damn it!" The priestess's tone was laced with regret.
Blake: …
How had he not noticed before? The new acting priestess was this passionate?
"Ahem! How's our guest doing?" Blake shifted the topic to Tingyun.
"She's doing great. While you and Freesna were away, I brought Miss Tingyun the Church's scriptures every day… including, but not limited to, giving her a tour of the cathedral, joining morning prayers, soaking in the hot springs…"
"And most importantly, helping Miss Tingyun heal from the grief brought by [Destruction]! That vile entity… known as the Ancestor of Annihilation by the Xianzhou people!"
"I heard the Lord of Extinction disguised themselves as her, blending into the Xianzhou Luofu. To avoid tipping them off, Lord Screwllum dressed her up to look like me, so there's nothing to worry about!"
"Is that so… Where is she now?"
The priestess faltered. "Uh… she, uh, ran off."
"What?!"
"Please, calm down, Pontiff Blake! You know I'm just a frail acting priestess. How could I possibly stop a Pathstrider…?" Her voice grew quieter until it was barely audible.
"No harm done." Blake helped the priestess up. "What she does is her freedom. That cosplay-obsessed weirdo—I don't know what bizarre module Freesna installed in her."
"It's my failure, Pontiff Blake! Please don't take it out on Lady Freesna! If you're angry, vent it all on me!" The priestess threw caution to the wind, clinging to Blake's leg.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's this behavior?! Aren't you afraid that elf will see this?!" Blake struggled, scolding sternly.
"It's fine! Lady Freesna will understand! I've decided—I'll imagine you as Lady Freesna to temper my resolve!"
Blake fell silent. This relentless spirit was perfectly aligned with [Eternity]! But the timing was a bit off!
No matter—now was the moment for Blake to say that line!
"Set sail! Xianzhou [Luofu]!"
…
In the large storage room on the second floor of the Party Car—Adrian and Stelle's room—March 7th stood stunned, holding a water gun radiating a chill.
"Is this a water gun?"
"An ice gun. To be precise, a chilled, upgraded water gun."
"I thought it over, and Miss March's Six-Phase Ice pairs perfectly with this ice gun."
"It's not ice, Teacher Adrian! Have you ever seen ice this pretty?"
Despite her ability being called [Six-Phase Ice], March 7th always insisted it wasn't ice but some kind of condensed crystal.
The arrows she used in battle were formed from this "Six-Phase Ice," but she wasn't exactly thrilled about using arrows.
So, Adrian decided to address the issue at its root: swap out her weapon.
"Miss March, didn't you often say that strong big shots don't use arrows as weapons?"
"That's right. Because shooting arrows made from my own crystals at shields made from my own crystals doesn't do anything!" March 7th nodded, steadfast in her view.
"Well then, now Miss March can use this water gun… er, ice gun as a weapon!"
"Teacher Adrian, you just admitted it's a water gun, didn't you?! Ugh~ Isn't this a bit childish?"
"Relax." Adrian patted his chest confidently. "I know a highly erudite professor whose weapon is a chalk tip… Not that it's funny. Everyone's weapon reflects their preferences. If Miss March doesn't like the water gun's appearance…"
"Hmm, I can reshape it to look like an ice arrow. No rule says a water gun has to look like a spray gun."
"Let's put that aside for now. Teacher Adrian, can you tell me how to use it? It's not actually for squirting water, right?"
"Simple. Miss March, just load your Six-Phase Ice in here, wait for the ammo to charge, and then blast away at the enemy." Adrian reverted to the most straightforward method.