When a Birth-type Dimensional Rift appears, it spawns one or more monsters in its vicinity. Regardless of where these creatures emerge, the nearby national authorities invariably eliminate them swiftly. No country would tolerate such monsters wreaking havoc within its borders.
Unless, of course, the rift opens in international waters or uninhabited regions like the Arctic or Antarctic. But Firefly, while completing her System Missions, had crisscrossed the globe, systematically sealing every rift she found.
Suddenly, Little Herta recalled a distant memory from her early days in this world, when she first learned about Dimensional Rifts by researching old news articles.
A colossal monster had once appeared in the Sakura Nation, causing immense devastation. She remembered remarking at the time how much it resembled Godzilla.
Unable to destroy the creature, the Sakura Nation had merely driven it offshore, leaving the matter unresolved. The "Godzilla" then vanished into the sea and was never seen again.
This meant that, theoretically, the original Godzilla might still be alive! If so, where was the Dimensional Rift that birthed it?
Little Herta frowned. If her earlier deduction was correct, the situation was far more serious than she had initially realized.
The British officials before her were about to ask more questions, but Little Herta cut them off, turning to Newman and saying, "I'm heading back now. Hurry back with the Portal Gun."
Newman didn't immediately understand. Then he saw Herta No. 002 blink, cross her arms, and snap, "What are you staring at? Got nothing better to do? If you're done, scram!"
She's back! The familiar Herta flavor has returned in full force!
Newman inwardly groaned for what felt like the hundredth time, Why did it have to be the ill-tempered module? Couldn't they have installed a gentle, virtuous one instead?!
Twenty minutes later, Newman and Herta No. 002 arrived back at the Herta's residential complex, just as Leif and his daughter Lily arrived for a visit.
The moment they met, Leif strode forward with a warm smile. "You must be Herta. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I never imagined you'd be so... young." He extended his right hand for a handshake, but Herta No. 002 remained motionless. "And you are?" she asked calmly.
Herta didn't offer a handshake, and Leif wasn't embarrassed. He simply took Lily's hand and continued, "I'm Lily's father. Thank you for taking care of her these past few days!"
Herta No. 002 glanced at Lily and nodded. "Oh, so is there anything else?"
Leif pulled out a small black wooden box from his pocket, its surface adorned with red, branch-like patterns. "This is a small token of our appreciation for your kindness to Lily. Please accept it."
Without hesitation, Herta No. 002 took the box. "Understood. Anything else?"
"Huh?" Leif was taken aback by her directness. Shouldn't the recipient of a gift at least offer a polite refusal or gesture of humility?
"I... I don't think so," Leif stammered.
Herta No. 002 simply said, "Bye," turned on her heel, and walked away.
Leif stood dumbfounded, watching her go. Newman, who had been watching, couldn't help but chuckle at Herta No. 002's abruptness. "What's so funny? Move along!" she snapped.
Newman instinctively straightened up. "Yes!"
As they were leaving, Lily hurried after them, a puzzled expression on her face. "I thought you were the Principal's errand boy. What are you doing here?"
Newman pointed at himself in disbelief. "Errand boy? Me?"
Lily blinked. "Aren't you?"
Because Lily's words carried no malice—she genuinely believed it—they stung Newman all the more. "No, I... you... this..."
Lily pressed on, "So what exactly are you?"
Newman opened his mouth, but realized he couldn't quite articulate his relationship with Herta. Suddenly, Herta No. 002 interjected with precise clarity, "It's a boss-employee relationship. I'm the boss, and he's the employee."
Lily's face lit up with sudden understanding. "So, still an errand boy? Just working for Teacher Herta instead of the Principal?"
Newman remained speechless.
In a way, that was... perhaps... strangely accurate.
Soon, the trio arrived at Herta's residence. Lily, who hadn't been there in a while, paused in surprise upon entering and seeing so many Little Hertas. Newman returned the Portal Gun to Herta Herself, briefly explaining what had just happened.
Herta simply responded with a calm "Oh," unfazed by Leif's gift. She was currently preoccupied with other matters.
After making a few minor adjustments to the Portal Gun, it should finally function as she had originally intended. However, she ultimately decided to seal the device away.
In this world, anything related to space could exacerbate the Dimensional Rift disaster. It was best to avoid using such technology whenever possible.
With the Portal Gun issue resolved, Herta began to ponder the Godzilla problem. Elysia had just issued orders for the Sakura Prefecture personnel to search the sea for any trace of Godzilla, but Herta doubted that simply issuing the order would yield any results.
Her concern wasn't that the Sakura Prefecture personnel would slack off, but rather that even with their best efforts, they simply lacked the capability to fulfill such a task.
Godzilla's disappearance without a trace for so long suggested it was hiding in the deepest depths of the ocean, where current human technology was woefully inadequate for exploration.
To date, humanity had only explored approximately five percent of the ocean, leaving the remaining ninety-five percent shrouded in mystery.
Herta was now pondering whether there was a way—or what kind of equipment she needed to develop—to assist the people of Sakura Prefecture in exploring the ocean more efficiently.
She rested her chin on one hand while tapping a rhythmic pattern on the table with the index finger of her other hand. "Sakura Nation is truly absurd," she thought. "The Dimensional Rift was a global disaster. Everyone suffered initially, but why did other countries manage to handle it so well, while Sakura Nation was left with this disastrous mess?"