Stelle left the kitchen thoroughly satisfied.
Her stomach was filled with delicious snacks, and her mind was imprinted with the perfect curve of that pristine trash can.
Returning to the Hufflepuff common room, her face still wore that cool expression that said “don’t disturb my meal even if the universe explodes,” but her body was slumped on a single armchair in a posture completely at odds with her face.
She couldn’t help but sigh in her heart: *A good start, nice!* But if anyone who knew her were here, they might have read signals of extreme comfort from her slower-than-usual blinking rate.
When classmates occasionally passed by and greeted her, she merely lifted her eyelids and gave a tiny nod in response.
At night, as she fell asleep in her soft four-poster bed, that familiar, playful, and chaotic cosmic energy was delivered with precision once again—just like a forced, unclosable pop-up window of rogue software.
Wait, it wasn’t a pop-up!
It was a cheap, pixel-art-style nightclub party hosted directly in her head!
She felt as if her consciousness had been tossed into a washing machine on the spin cycle, accompanied by colorful flashes and the blare of trumpets!
“Ta-da!
Little raccoon!
Why are you sleeping?
Wake up and party!!!” Aha’s voice sounded like a drunk DJ, mixed with explosions and wild laughter from a crowd.
“Do you like your one-way ticket to the HP world?
Aren’t you homesick?
Don’t you miss everyone on the Express?
Himeko’s coffee—March 7th’s photos—Dan Heng cleaning up your messes with a cold face—” Scenes flashed by at high speed, loaded with deliberate sentimentality.
The next second, the style abruptly shifted as a bunch of pixelated little figures started beating gongs and drums in her head, holding up a banner: “Want to go home?
Stir up trouble first!
Elation Tokens, seven of them!
Find, find, find!” “They could be anywhere!” Aha’s voice drifted in and out, like they were playing hide-and-seek.
“Maybe in the old bat’s shampoo!
Maybe at the bottom of the red-haired mole’s cauldron!
Or maybe…
in your favorite trash can!
Hehehehe—find them!
Use all kinds of methods!
Make this world…
feel Elation!!!” *Bang!* A loud bang, like a champagne bottle popping, and all the noise and images vanished instantly.
Stelle snapped her eyes open, her golden pupils contracting in the dark, feeling as though a troop of Slumbernana Monkeys had thrown a disco party in her brain.
She sat up.
At the edge of her vision, a quest list that looked like it had been frantically scribbled with neon highlighters was flashing wildly, complete with frame-dropping effects: [ M~a~i~n~ ~Q~u~e~s~t~: Aha’s Super-Duper Invincible Elation Treasure Hunt Adventure!
] [ O~b~j~e~c~t~i~v~e~: Find seven!
Yes!
Seven!
Shiny!
Super fun!
Elation Tokens!
(0/7) ] [ C~l~u~e~s~: Go wherever it’s crazy!
Drill into whatever is ridiculous!
Logic?
Throw it away, throw it away!
] [ C~u~r~r~e~n~t~ ~H~i~n~t~: Guess what?
Blah blah blah~ ] [ N~o~t~e~: Can’t find them all?
Then stay here and be happy with me forever, hahahahaha!
] Stelle lifted her hand expressionlessly to massage her temples, which felt like they were still throbbing.
“…Aha,” she scratched her gray hair in irritation, “you’re hurting my eyes with your noise.” …This method of quest delivery was practically mental pollution.
The Path of Trailblaze was indeed full of trials.
…Fine.
She lay back down, pulling the duvet over her head in an attempt to block out the non-existent echoes of the party.
Upgrading from rummaging through trash cans to an abstract treasure hunt across the entire castle.
This was very Elation.
Before closing her eyes, her final thought carried a trace of “might as well go all in” eagerness: It seemed she couldn’t just quietly search trash cans from now on.
She had to search with style, with class, and turn it into abstract art that would make even Aha applaud.
…
The next morning, Stelle snapped her eyes open.
The bizarre electronic party forcibly implanted by Aha last night had already vanished, leaving behind only an extremely abstract quest and a numb mind from the mental pollution.
She sat up and rubbed her temples.
“Noise pollution.
It’s an absolute disaster,” she dully summarized last night’s experience.
Her movements getting out of bed were slightly heavier than usual, as if she were carrying the weight of some cosmic-level absurdity.
When she appeared in the Great Hall, she looked no different from usual.
She sat alone at the end of the Hufflepuff table, quietly enjoying her breakfast.
[ M~a~i~n~ ~Q~u~e~s~t~: Aha’s Super-Duper Invincible Elation Treasure Hunt Adventure!
] buzzed in her consciousness like background noise.
[ C~u~r~r~e~n~t~ ~H~i~n~t~: Guess what?
Blah blah blah~ ] Stelle picked up a piece of bread and took a vicious bite.
*Understood.* She confirmed internally.
This quest, at its core, was telling her to carry out her Trailblaze style to the absolute limit—upgrading from occasional abstract behavior to continuous, purposeful embarrassment.
Integrating Elation into every breath, every single moment.
She was no longer just Stelle, a student of Hogwarts; she was a Trailblazer bearing the monumental mission of “finding seven ridiculous tokens or potentially never going home”!
Finishing her breakfast, a cold fire burned in her golden eyes.
She stood up, her gray hair swaying slightly over her shoulders.
She remembered that Potions class was next.
The dungeons—cold, dark, and featuring Professor Snape, whose aura was rumored to be chilling enough to freeze a dragon to death.
The perfect spot for some Trailblazing.
[ Main Quest: Aha’s Elation Treasure Hunt!
] [ Objective: Elation Tokens (0/7) ] The quest prompt was simplified into its core information and pinned to the corner of her consciousness.
Finding the Elation Tokens was just an afterthought.
To her, turning every single day into an interesting adventure was what mattered most.
However, since she currently had no clear goals, she could still refer to Aha’s suggestions.
Just like playing a game, you had to read the quest description eventually instead of blindly skipping it, even if it was written like utter nonsense.
Most importantly, if she ever got in trouble and had her guardians called, she could use Aha’s name to cover for herself.
For instance: “Aha made me do it!” —It sounded just as unreliable as “Batman made me do it!”, but it seemed like it could divert some of the blame.