Through the rifts in the sea of clouds spilled a dim, gentle sunset; one moment it looked like a drawn-back curtain, the next it would swiftly furl into spiraling bands.
That was the optical effect produced by the fleet deploying its gravitational anchors and by the ionization of the atmosphere.
The atmosphere on the rooftop terrace at the very top of Goethe Manor was somewhat quiet, quiet enough that one could hear the clamor drifting up from the city of Belobog.
Purple bellflowers blossomed across the pointed witch's hat; The Herta's strides carried an elegance laced with relaxed ease.
Her left hand casually hooked around the carved shaft of her staff, the shaft wound all over with purple-black vines matching the pattern of her skirt's hem, a deep-purple gem set in the prism at its tip—like a colossal key.
"Mirror, detect anything?"
Her purple-manicured fingers gave off a pleasant, fresh fragrance as The Herta rolled the Tabora Earrings between them, faint flickers of purple lightning rippling at her fingertips—yet her brows knit together.
She rapped the surface of the magic mirror with her staff, Duang-Duang.
"Ohh——! Fish-sinking, goose-landing Madam Herta~ The great Emanator of Erudition! A genuine, bona fide Genius!"
The surface of the magic mirror rippled along with its fawning, sing-song voice, rising and falling in cadence, the gems set into its frame flashing in alternation with every stressed syllable, like it was putting on a sound-and-light show:
"Pl-please be a little gentler, won't you—I'm just a fra-fragile little mirror, so delicate I can't take a single hit."
When Herta impatiently tapped the rim of the mirror with the tip of her staff, the mirror surface instantly switched into teary-eyed mode, then turned all aggrieved and pitiful and pitched its voice higher, like a bashful maiden about to be pressed beneath her sweetheart.
"...For a mirror, don't you have just a bit too much of a sense of humor?"
The Herta watched the mirror's surface with a kind, soft chuckle:
"If you keep running your mouth, then shatter right here today—my assistant's name is about to become 'Mirror No. 5.'"
"Hurry up and report your detection results."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Mirror No. 4 gave a shudder; even though it was a mirror, Caelus oddly had the visual hallucination of it puffing out its chest, holding its head high, snapping to attention and saluting.
"Reporting, Madam Herta—the target shows no anomaly whatsoever on the macroscopic level, only...in Imaginary-state mode there seems to be a horizon line, and the interior is 'invisible.'"
"An invisible event horizon? Could it be a new type of horizon from the Ninth Quadrant? That shouldn't be...There can't be no Imaginary state at all, surely?"
Herta used her staff, the magic mirror, the scanning equipment mounted in the little Herta puppet, and so on to observe the target, yet she couldn't obtain much effective information.
At first glance, this golden earring was just an utterly ordinary accessory, but the magic mirror's feedback was enough to show how special this thing was.
It wasn't that there were no special points—it was that the simple observation equipment she carried on her person wasn't up to the task.
"Stop studying it—why not just experience it yourself."
Caelus kept up his smile and jerked his thumb toward 'himself':
"Here."
The functional-style jacket hung half open, revealing the bare-midriff little camisole underneath; Bronie had one hand stuffed in the pocket of her shorts, while the other pinched a blazing-gold pearl-like earring between her fingertips.
She glanced in the direction of the fleet, too far to make out with the naked eye, and tilted up her little head with dashing spirit.
"Heh, let's go pull off something~ big together!"
Deftly fastening it onto her left ear, Bronie crooked a finger and flicked the earring's pendant, her metal knuckles striking the gold bead with a clear, ringing chime, and quirked a brow at Herta.
"..."
Bronie's deliberately drawn-out words made The Herta fall silent for a second—mainly because that fellow Caelus had, more than once before, teased her main body's hearty laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Her curiosity about the magical gadget Dora-Caelus-mon had pulled out quickly snuffed out this thought that normally would never have crossed her mind:
"You want me to put it on?"
"Wear it on the ear opposite Bronie's."
Caelus pointed at The Herta's right ear.
"This way, then."
The Herta's scallion-white fingertips lightly rolled the earring, without so much as half a second's hesitation, and clipped it straight onto her right ear.
The metal clasp bit shut with a 'click'; she elegantly swept up her tea-brown long hair that gave off such a refined air, the strands dancing lightly in the air like the most exquisite satin, with stardust flowing and glittering through them.
"She's really pretty."
Stelle bounced over.
"But it'll be me in just a moment."
Caelus added in a voice almost too faint to catch.
"?"
Not catching what Caelus said, Herta tilted her head and cast over a puzzled look:
"And then what—what am I supposed to do...!!?"
Her voice cut off abruptly, like a sluice gate slammed shut on a stream of water, her moist, rosy lips left slightly parted; The Herta seemed to sense something, and a trace of astonishment surfaced on her face.
Before she could take in any more, her body was captured by an invisible force field, and the black-stockinged long legs beneath the hem of her witch-style skirt were displayed right before Caelus's eyes.
But The Herta had no mind to care about a trivial matter like Caelus seeing under her skirt—she could clearly feel the other half of the earring.
The two bodies attracted each other like magnets, and those curves—which added together still weren't bigger than Topaz's—pert and perky, collided amid Herta's subtle, slightly 'holy-crap' expression.
As their hems crisscrossed, the tips of their noses nearly touched, their bodies merging as though collapsing inward, and a dazzling, resplendent white light burst forth.
Within the intense light, a figure—elegant and dashing, aloof and impish—slowly emerged.
Long hair gradating from cool tea-brown-gray into blue-purple cascaded to her waist, a purple bellflower coronet atop her head standing upright and swaying like rabbit ears.
The girl wore a black functional-style long coat, its fluorescent-blue trim forming nimble bands of light, the purple hidden patterns at the cuffs and hem climbing like bellflowers, the purple dress underneath draping down to legs white as mutton-fat jade.
A silver chain swayed lightly at her collar, complementing the black choker dotted with purple flowers at her neck, making her seem both like a research sprite walking through a futuristic laboratory and like a deity reigning over the world from within the network.
Short boots wrapped her adorable, lovely feet, treading on a dark-purple platform conjured out of thin air, its texture all futuristic technology, etched with patterns like those of a magic array dial.
The most eye-catching of all was that peerless, one-of-a-kind pretty face!
The very concept of beauty was carried to its utmost extreme in this moment; it's no exaggeration to say that, had the Aeon of Pure Beauty not fallen, the very instant this girl was born She would surely have cast down Her gaze at once!
Topaz, Stelle, March 7th, Bronya—even Caelus—none of them could tear their eyes from that face; she was just like a witch.
Her only flaw was that chest of barely-there curvature.
"Huh?"
"What is this!?"
The first to cry out in alarm was Mirror No. 4; in a thoroughly humanlike manner it sprang up in midair, one corner of the mirror pointing at the girl like a finger in disbelief.
"M-Madam Herta fused with a little bunny!?"
"Why would there be this kind of crazy plot twist!?"
"What in the world even is that earring!?"
"Mirror."
The unfamiliar voice was like cool jade, perfectly fusing vigor and languor, carrying a faint trace of a milky baby-formula sweetness; what hadn't changed was that casual way of addressing others and that commanding tone.
"Uh, here!"
Mirror No. 4 reflexively snapped to attention and asked cautiously: "Madam Herta?"
"I'm not Herta. As for my name~"
The girl, who possessed a stunning, exquisite face that looked exactly like that of the Emanator of Pure Beauty, glanced at Caelus—who seemed to have been captivated by her own good looks—and gave him an impish yet seductive wink~
"Just call me Bronita."
The girl gently stroked Caelus's shoulder:
"I'm very satisfied with this name!"
The girl's silver-purple eyes were brimming entirely with Caelus, full of undisguised, intense narcissism.
Smiling, she reached out and pinned Caelus against the wall, then, without a second thought, rose onto the tips of her toes and pressed those tender, cherry-pink lips to the corner of Caelus's mouth.
"Holy crap!"
It was fine for the others, but the girl's move nearly cracked the very surface of Mirror No. 4.
Caelus wasn't surprised that the girl would do such a thing.
Herta was a narcissistic personality to begin with, and Bronie, who was essentially Caelus, needed no further mention; that narcissism was like a virus—anyone who fused with Caelus couldn't avoid being infected.
Now it was a fine mess: two narcissistic personalities fused with each other, and Bronita's narcissism had already broken past the stratosphere!
"Let's save some things for next time~"
A deep kiss, the exchange of saliva rendered in rich narcissism; the girl reluctantly gave the corner of Caelus's lips one more light peck:
"Knowing Herta's personality, there's a very high probability she'll agree."
"Sure thing."
Caelus savored the aloof girl's softness and warmth, his gaze firmly captured by that face, and returned to this other half of himself an equally narcissistic kiss.
"Mm-hm~"
The witch smiled charmingly; she turned her head to look at Mirror No. 4, which was so worked up it was trembling and at a loss for words, gazing at her own reflection in the mirror, lovingly and wistfully cupping her own face, lost in self-admiration.
"How can I be this beautiful!"
If Bronita were the heroine of some novel, she could absolutely use the ending where, one morning, she gets up, looks in the mirror, and dies of her own beauty.
"The Emanator of Pure Beauty...no, I ought to be the Aeon of Pure Beauty!"
"Me too! I want a kiss too!"
The synesthesia transmitted from Caelus pulled Stelle out of the break-state caused by Bronita's peerless beauty, and she came charging over hot and eager to personally have a taste.
Under the dumbstruck, trembling gaze of Mirror No. 4, Bronita did not refuse Stelle's plea for a kiss, touching lips together as a response.
Stelle = Caelus = half of her—what's wrong with kissing yourself?
What's wrong with it!?
She just loves herself!
Of course, Caelus could also experience this kiss through the synesthesia.
"Those guys up there—I'll leave them to you."
Caelus raised a single finger and pointed at the sky: "Soak them good and hard!"
"No problem~"
Bronita's smile held a hundred charms, her voice like a lark, crisp as a silver bell:
"Wanna come along?"
"Yeah yeah, check it out!"
Stelle bounced up and down in reply.
"Then come on over."
Bronita lightly tapped her little short boot, and the sci-fi-magic-style platform expanded to ten meters in diameter.
"Wait for me!"
March 7th, who had been snapping away clicking photos of Bronita with her camera ever since earlier, followed along.
Belobog's Grand Guardian, Rand-Duck, also strode briskly out from inside the palace.
"I want to go too."
"Topaz, do you want to come along and enjoy Bronita's performance?"
Caelus asked Topaz, who was still immersed in the shockwave of impact caused by all these events—Madam Herta and Bronie fusing, the matchless beauty, Bronita kissing Caelus on her own initiative, and so on.
"I..."
Topaz hesitated.
As a member of the IPC, even though the conflict between the Strategic Investment Department and the Market Development Department was common knowledge, for her to appear on the opposing side of the Market Development Department at a time like this was also inappropriate.
But she really, really wanted to watch up close what was about to happen!
It was like there were mice scratching at her heart!
"Don't worry about the rest—I'll lend you this for the time being."
Caelus lent Topaz the bow-tie voice-changer that could lower one's sense of presence, then looked toward Bronita.
The girl nodded and casually swept a hand toward Topaz, activating Aether Editing.
She layered a coat of 'reality editing' over Topaz, turning her into a reality skin-suit person, so there'd be no need to worry about the Market Development Department discovering her identity.
"This is...so amazing?"
Through Mirror No. 4, Topaz examined her own appearance: shoulder-length hair extending down to her back, its color turned to a highlight-streaked red, her figure become more slender and willowy, the fleshy legs gone.
Topaz could feel that her body had in fact undergone no change at all, yet on the level of reality it was an entirely different picture.
Only, that caved-in curvature, that barely-there chest, left Topaz utterly blank-faced.
She didn't know whether this lady had done it on purpose or by accident; she didn't dare say, and she didn't dare ask.
"Thank you!"
Bearing a heart full of excitement and exhilaration, Topaz stepped onto the platform.
She couldn't see through Bronita.
But both March 7th and that girl named Seele, when fused, were powerhouses approaching the Emanator level.
Madam Herta, who was herself the Emanator of Erudition, and Miss Bronie, who possessed the Aether Editing ability—with these two people's abilities added together, then...
Topaz drew in a cold breath.
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