The waiting time passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for Hyacine to return the Coreflame of [The Sky].
As usual in the early morning, the high sky remained gloomy and dark. The crimson sky disturbed everyone's fragile hearts, continuously exerting some subtle influence on them.
These subtle influences were very, very small. If taken out on their own, they wouldn't even be strong enough to attract anyone's attention.
But the sheer quantity was overwhelming.
This subtle influence affected every single citizen within Okhema at all times, every minute and every second. Over time, something that didn't even deserve to be noticed would eventually evolve into something that could prove fatal.
And now, in just a few short days, Lumina could already clearly sense the emotions and atmosphere of the surrounding crowd quietly shifting as time passed.
This kind of emotion and atmosphere might not even have been noticed by the people themselves.
No, or rather, even if someone did notice, the people around them wouldn't believe what they said.
After all, only a tiny minority could notice this. Since everyone else felt they were fine, in their eyes, the ones who actually noticed the changes in mood and atmosphere were the ones who were problematic.
The minority submits to the majority; this has always been the way of things since ancient times.
To prevail over a majority with a minority on a single issue is truly difficult unless one possesses absolute evidence.
And even with absolute evidence, it wouldn't be as easy as imagined.
Let alone now, when this minority had no evidence at all. Even if they could notice, everyone else would just assume they had gone mad...
"Their state isn't very good, is it?" Lumina took in their emotions, and Herta naturally did the same, sighing involuntarily as she felt the emotions emanating from the people around her in this oppressive atmosphere.
In Herta's eyes, this was no different from so-called slow death.
If they were allowed to continue like this, Okhema would likely be silently infected by this atmosphere within a month. Eventually, all the emotions suppressed in their hearts would erupt, delivering a devastating blow to this city-state amidst the apocalypse.
"Yes, with this gloomy atmosphere persisting for so many days, their mindsets have naturally been silently affected." Lumina nodded, swept her gaze over the surrounding citizens, and then withdrew her eyes.
"Isn't the Great Holy Maiden going to help the common people who are suffering in this moment?" Seeing that Lumina had only taken a glance and made no further move, Herta's lips curved upward slightly as she asked.
Hearing this, Lumina glanced at her indifferently, immediately noticing the slight curve of her lips.
"..."
The upturned corner of her mouth caused those crystalline lips to tremble slightly, and her slightly parted cherry lips seemed to exhale a faint fragrance that wafted over the heart, making one's heart itch with the irresistible urge to rush forward and kiss her.
Little Herta, oh Little Herta, do you know that this little expression of yours, tinged with a bit of mischief, is absolutely unfair?
Resisting the urge to rush forward and press her head back, Lumina shook her head and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"Do you think I should go help them?" Instead of answering Herta's question directly, Lumina asked her a question in return.
Herta's little expression was very pretty, and it sparked a nameless fire in Lumina's heart. But pretty as it was, and tempting as it was, Lumina did not know the reason why Herta had made such an expression.
Lumina did not know what Herta was thinking in her heart to make such a little expression.
Although none of this mattered at all, the only thing that mattered was that Herta's little expression was truly very pretty, and Lumina also really liked it.
"Do you think I think you should go help them?" Facing Lumina's counterquestion, Herta gave a reply that left one feeling utterly speechless, yet with no way to refute.
"No help."
After Herta spoke, Lumina didn't bother wasting any more time on her, immediately rolling her eyes in response to Herta's previous question.
Herta's intelligence "perhaps" was higher than her own. If Lumina continued to follow her line of reasoning, she might fall into a trap Herta had carefully designed. There was no need for that, after all, it was just a simple question, and she had already answered it.
It wasn't a big deal, just a minor back-and-forth. Otherwise, if she got caught up in this trivial matter and ended up falling into Herta's trap, it would be a bit of a loss.
Although Lumina believed that even if she fell into Herta's trap, it wouldn't be a problem, she still preferred to avoid such "controversial" matters if possible.
Even if one has the strength, they can't afford to be so reckless.
Even if one's economy is high, they could still accidentally die from being too reckless... could they?
Of course not!
Lumina was certain of this in her heart, but in the end, she still did not say it directly.
After answering Herta's question, her jade green eyes swept over the surrounding crowd, showing no ripple of emotion, before she withdrew her gaze.
Should she come out to help them dispel the negative emotions silently influencing their hearts?
There was absolutely no need for that.
It wasn't that Lumina would ignore these people just because they were merely a bunch of data. It was simply that she felt there was no need to intervene.
The two most important points were: first, they hadn't noticed anything. Although the smiles on their faces had faded and their hearts were filled with some confusing emotions, their lives continued as usual, completely unaffected.
Even if they were affected, they would only assume they were just a bit tired lately. They would either endure it and adjust their schedules or go to the Twilight Courtyard to receive some simple treatment.
They wouldn't overthink it at all and wouldn't encounter any problems in the short term.
Under such circumstances, why would Lumina step in to help them resolve this single negative emotion?
Lumina's intervention comes at a high price, you know~
Of course, this wasn't the main reason. The main reason was that "Era Nova" was less than a week away, and by then, everyone's condition would return to normal.
In that case, why should Lumina go out of her way to find trouble for herself?
If it were a beautiful girl, Lumina would take the opportunity to build up some favorability. But if it's just ordinary people, then they can just quietly wait for Era Nova to be completed.
Lumina would only go out of her way to find trouble if it involved a beautiful girl. Normally, she just did things based on her mood.
Lumina was willing to lift a hand to heal an entire dying planet, but if it was just to heal a city that was merely feeling a bit down but otherwise in no danger, then she'd pass.
"I see, I understand." Herta clearly grasped the logic behind Lumina's thoughts. Upon receiving this answer, her delicate, pretty face showed no surprise. She nodded slightly and stopped speaking.
For a moment, the path to Hyacine's room became somewhat quiet as the two walked.
When with a beautiful girl, Lumina always had endless things to say, provided she hadn't fallen into an extremely awkward state due to some incident...
As long as she wasn't in such a state, the atmosphere when with a beautiful girl would absolutely never cool down!
Yet at this moment, with Herta, even though they weren't in any awkward state, Lumina still kept her mouth shut, causing the atmosphere to instantly fall into a cold and quiet state.
Herta, however, didn't seem to mind this at all.
After all, she was used to it.
When Lumina was with other beautiful girls, didn't she often neglect Herta as well?
Compared to those times when she not only neglected her but also cuddled with other beautiful girls right in front of her, just being simply neglected now felt a tiny bit easier for Herta to bear.
After all, having experienced so much, in Herta's subconscious, as long as Lumina stayed by her side, staying by her side alone, it was a very comfortable, very happy, and very joyful thing.
"Huh?"
"No, that's not right..."
Suddenly, Herta paused, her foot hanging in mid-air.
Her pupils shrank sharply, and an expression of utter disbelief appeared on her immaculate, jade-white face, as if she were someone who had just been startled, seeing something terrifying appear before her eyes.
"Herta?" Noticing Herta's movement, Lumina's beautiful brows furrowed, she stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at Herta.
Her face showed a hint of concern, confusion, and worry.
"...N-nothing, I'm fine." Herta lowered her head, and after a moment of silence, she finally shook her head under Lumina's worried gaze, indicating that she was fine.
"I just thought of something... terrifying. Don't worry about it."
Sensing Lumina's growing concern after her words, Herta snapped back to her senses and quickly offered a further explanation.
"Alright..." Seeing her refuse to say more, Lumina didn't press the issue. She gave Herta a somewhat suspicious glance before averting her gaze.
Lumina didn't have Mind Reading, after all. Since Herta wouldn't say, there was nothing she could do.
She couldn't force Herta to speak, could she?
That was definitely out of the question. Everyone had their own secrets. If she didn't want to share, then she wouldn't. Lumina would never pry into her secrets.
After all, doing so would be extremely presumptuous. Even as best friends, they had to maintain this boundary.
Otherwise, their friendship would surely not last very long.
Once would lead to twice, twice to thrice, and thrice to countless more. Eventually, under constant prying, this friendship would be worn down until it completely vanished...
And once a best friendship completely vanished, it would be difficult to even sit down as ordinary friends.
Lumina had to maintain this boundary... right?
The answer was a question mark.
The only reason Lumina hadn't asked any follow-up questions was simply because she had no curiosity about the matter, so she didn't pry further.
If Lumina were curious about it, she would have pressed the issue no matter what.
After all, in Lumina's eyes, it was absolutely impossible for a beautiful girl who had already become her "best friend" to lower her favorability rating~
This didn't mean that the beautiful girls' favorability wouldn't drop, but rather that Lumina could keenly notice any impending drop in favorability and stop it before it happened.
Although no beautiful girl had ever lowered her favorability toward Lumina so far, she still had utmost confidence in her own perceptiveness.
Even if she didn't trust her perceptiveness, she trusted the beautiful girls' affection for her.
After all, to this day, Lumina had never been disliked by any of the beautiful girls who had become her "best friends" or "good friends."
Even their favorability ratings had never dropped a single time. This was the confidence Lumina radiated from the inside out.
When it came to the path of beautiful girls, Lumina firmly believed that she was invincible!
The kind of invincible that accepted no doubts whatsoever!
Thinking about this, Lumina silently glanced at Herta, found that she was still lowering her head in silence, and couldn't help but sneer in her heart.
I am invincible, yet that mere Little Herta actually dares to try to oppose me?
Ridiculous, ridiculous.
But, though your actions are very ridiculous, I have already been lonely on the high mountains for too long.
Since someone has challenged me, I will naturally not back down.
One can only say, Little Herta, you are the challenger!
As she thought, Lumina's heart suddenly swelled up like a little pufferfish, and a picture immediately appeared in her mind: Lumina suppressing Herta with a single hand, making her unable to escape from Lumina's Five Finger Mountain for the rest of her life, and unable to get back on her feet!
Although Lumina didn't like to fantasize, after all, this kind of fantasizing, in Lumina's eyes, was something that only the weak, the defeated, and those lacking confidence would do.
But, well, Lumina had absolute confidence in herself, so for this matter, she could also simply engage in a little double standard.
What others considered the mark of the weak, in Lumina's hands, became planning ahead for a complete victory...
"Strategizing from the command tent," that should be the phrase, right?
Lumina felt quite pleased with herself, already pondering her plans for after she completely defeated Herta and pinned her under Five Finger Mountain for good.
She didn't spare a single thought for what she would do if she were to lose this "battle."
If she were to lose this "battle," how could she use a backup plan to escape safely while paying only a small price... Lumina seemed to have never considered this point.
After all, in her eyes, as long as she stood there, as long as she appeared there, she absolutely, absolutely could not lose!
This wasn't arrogance, but absolute confidence from within her heart.
The fact that Lumina had never suffered a complete defeat from her first encounter with a beautiful girl until now was a perfect example.
So—
A backup plan? What backup plan?
Why prepare a backup plan for a game that's a guaranteed win?
Lumina asked herself.