"Sister Lumina, I remember telling you before that whether you're at the Space Station or not, the door to your room will always be open for you!"
"The room's facial recognition system has always had your profile saved. All you need to do is scan your face."
Looking at Sister Lumina, who seemed as perfect as a goddess, Asta forcefully suppressed the yearning desire in her heart and answered Lumina's question about why she had been summoned.
"Eh? Is that so?" Lumina blinked in surprise. After a moment of recollection, she realized Asta had indeed mentioned this before...
Hmm... I really did forget... But no matter, that wasn't my primary purpose anyway... Lumina thought to herself.
Without dwelling further, Lumina's face immediately filled with remorse as she gazed at Asta and softly said, "I'm so sorry, Asta... I carelessly forgot about that... Even though I only needed to confirm it myself, I still made you come all the way here while you were working... I'm truly sorry..."
Lumina now resembled a child who had done something wrong, as if realizing the full extent of her transgression. She quickly lowered her head and apologized...
"It's... it's okay... I... I..."
Though Lumina's current state pleased Asta greatly, bringing a sliver of joy to her long-neglected heart, the sound of Lumina's soft apology stirred a sudden panic within Asta. Her voice began to tremble and stutter.
In Asta's eyes, she could have easily reminded Sister Lumina with a simple phone call, but she hadn't...
Because she had desperately wanted to see Sister Lumina, to bask in her familiar scent, to recapture the warmth of a mother she had long missed...
So, it was my selfishness that led to this...
Sister Lumina did nothing wrong—I'm the one at fault!
"I'm sorry! Sister Lumina, I shouldn't have been so selfish!"
With this realization, Asta hesitated no longer. She bowed deeply to Lumina at a ninety-degree angle, then shouted out, begging the Saintess to forgive her sins...
Lumina: ?
Staring at the inexplicably contrite Asta before her, Lumina blinked, a large question mark hovering above her head.
She seemed utterly bewildered by Asta's inexplicable apology and the formal ninety-degree bow, a gesture reserved for the highest respect.
Girl, wasn't this my fault? How did you twist things around in your head so quickly and make it your fault instead? Lumina's lips twitched slightly as she silently cursed.
It was obvious what had happened. After Lumina's apology, Asta's little brain had started churning, and based on her idealized image of Lumina, she'd naturally ended up blaming herself for everything.
After all... in Asta's eyes, Lumina must appear as a sacred and inviolable being, a Saintess radiating holy light from every pore, gentle and virtuous.
Hmm... what exactly does "virtuous" mean?
Dismissing the thought, Lumina's gaze returned to Asta, who remained bowed at a ninety-degree angle before her. The speechless, bewildered expression on Lumina's face vanished, replaced by a gentle smile that seemed capable of purifying all the world's impurities.
Lumina placed a hand on Asta's shoulder, applying gentle pressure to raise her upright. Her emerald-green eyes locked directly onto Asta's.
"Ugh..." Asta found it somewhat awkward to meet Sister Lumina's gaze.
In just a few seconds, Asta's pupils shifted slightly to the left, breaking eye contact with Lumina.
"Little Asta, why are you apologizing? As the acting head of the Space Station, you must be incredibly busy, right?"
Lumina smiled gently, noticing Asta's fidgeting and hidden thoughts. She withdrew her hand from Asta's shoulder.
Looking at the adorably clueless Asta before her, Lumina continued, "Yet Asta, at my mere word, my simple question, managed to carve out a moment from her busy schedule to personally appear before me."
"I haven't even begun to express my gratitude, yet Asta is already apologizing?"
"And besides, if anyone should apologize, it's me to Asta, wouldn't you agree?♪"
Lumina clasped her hands behind her back and winked playfully with her left eye, instantly dealing Asta ten thousand points of Crit DMG.
Lumina: ?
Hearing Sister Lumina's words and feeling the Crit DMG from her wink, Asta instantly felt as if she had ascended to paradise. Her already stuttering speech grew even more incoherent, to the point where she couldn't even complete a single sentence.
Just as Asta had gathered her thoughts, suppressed her inner desires, and prepared to explain everything clearly, the hatch to Herta's Office burst open, revealing Herta inside with a slightly displeased expression.
"You two! Can't you take your bickering somewhere else? You're disturbing me!" Herta glared at Lumina, then at Asta, who now resembled Lumina completely, her voice dripping with irritation.
I wouldn't care if you were just bickering—Herta doesn't give a damn anyway... But why are you doing it right in front of my office door?
Although the hatch to Herta's private office was undoubtedly soundproofed to the highest standard, what kind of power did Herta possess? Could she really not hear their conversation through a single hatch?
Of course she could. It wasn't even a matter of difficulty; the sounds simply drifted into her ears without her even needing to listen consciously.
In truth, Herta could have easily blocked out the noise entirely. But for some reason, she didn't... Instead of silencing them, she slammed the hatch open to interrupt their argument.
Given Herta's personality, one would naturally expect her to choose the first option: silently isolating the two voices, pretending she heard nothing.
Yet Herta chose the second option, directly opening the door to interrupt Lumina and Asta's conversation. Even Herta herself probably didn't know why she made that choice.
All Herta knew was that listening to their incessant chatter made her feel slightly irritated, prompting her to open the door and interrupt them.
"M-Madam Herta..." Asta, startled awake by Madam Herta's sudden appearance, quickly regained her composure.
Having not seen Sister Lumina in so long, Asta had been overcome with longing, leading to her embarrassing display.
"Waaah... (ㄒoㄒ)/~~ It seems I didn't buy enough Sister Lumina merchandise. I'll order another Starship's worth right away..." Asta silently wept in her heart, resolving to make amends.
"Hmm?" Lumina hummed softly as Little Herta appeared before her. She patted Asta's shoulder and headed toward her former quarters.
"Asta, I'll handle things from here. You should get back to work."