"I came to your office mainly because I'm a bit interested in Ruan Mei. I'd like you to introduce her to me."
"So your venomous claws have already reached Ruan Mei?"
Herta clearly hadn't fully recovered from her earlier Wild Thoughts. Hearing this, her first thought was that Lumina, the lesbian ringleader, had already targeted Ruan Mei...
Lumina: ?!
"Sis, can you please stop letting your imagination run wild?"
At this, the corner of Lumina's mouth twitched, and she instantly regretted teasing Herta earlier.
Though she didn't know exactly what Herta was imagining, it certainly wasn't anything good... Perhaps her "great image" in Herta's eyes had been completely ruined!
[ Could it be that your image was already shattered by the time you met Herta for the second time? ] the System silently added, overhearing Lumina's thoughts.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Seeing the System's comment on the screen, Lumina immediately rejected it without a second thought.
Though Lumina couldn't fathom what Herta was thinking, the look in her eyes suggested she saw Lumina as some kind of pervert.
Could Herta actually think I'm a lesbian...?
Injustice! Injustice! Lumina cried out silently in her heart. I just appreciate the beauty of young girls! I love their fragrant, soft bodies, but I have no romantic feelings for them at all!
Lumina let out a silent, exasperated shout in her heart. Of course, she wouldn't voice these thoughts aloud.
After all, this was just her speculation. If she voiced it and turned out to be right, fine. But if she was wrong... her reputation would be utterly ruined.
"Hmm... I suppose I was overthinking things," Herta said, snapping out of her reverie. She took a deep breath and gave Lumina a complex look.
Well, if she's a lesbian, so be it, Herta thought. Such cases are commonplace in the Cosmos. Compared to relationships between humans and animals, or humans and inanimate objects, this is relatively normal. As long as Lumina doesn't set her sights on me...
With these thoughts swirling in her mind, Herta had completely branded Lumina as a lesbian ringleader.
Thud!
Hiss...
Just as Herta was lost in her wild thoughts, Lumina flashed into existence before her. With a flick of her slender finger, she tapped Herta's forehead, producing a thud that echoed loudly in the otherwise silent office.
"What are you doing?!"
Though Lumina's tap wasn't excessively forceful, it was far from gentle. In fact, Herta felt a sharp pain in her very soul, as if Lumina had imbued her finger with some unknown power.
Instantly, a blaze ignited in Herta's eyes. If Lumina couldn't provide a convincing explanation, Herta would... would... would...
Hmm, actually, she couldn't do much about it...
"Obviously, I'm scrambling that brain of yours that's always filled with wild thoughts," Lumina retorted, rolling her eyes dismissively at Herta's furious glare.
"If I let you keep imagining things like that, I don't even want to know what kind of twisted image of me would take root in your mind!"
Lumina sighed, her face a mask of exasperation and helplessness.
"Hmm... I guess I was overthinking things." Hearing this, Herta replayed Lumina's behavior on the Space Station in her mind, realizing that Lumina hadn't done anything particularly excessive or intimate with Asta or March 7th. Acknowledging her misunderstanding, Herta lowered her head slightly and murmured an apology.
"It's good you've sorted things out. Though I don't know exactly what you were imagining, it certainly wasn't what you thought."
Seeing Herta finally put her wild thoughts to rest, Lumina breathed a sigh of relief. Being inexplicably labeled a pervert had really rubbed her the wrong way.
"Alright, then. Let's talk about Ruan Mei." Herta nodded lightly, relieved that Lumina wasn't a lesbian.
With a sharp change of topic, she steered the conversation away from the earlier misunderstanding and onto Ruan Mei.
"Ruan Mei, member #81 of the Genius Society, is an expert in life sciences and one of the collaborators on the Simulated Universe Project."
No longer dwelling on the previous misunderstanding, Herta resumed her usual composure, introducing Ruan Mei to Lumina in a detached, matter-of-fact manner.
"Ruan Mei is currently aboard the Space Station, though I don't know her exact location."
Hearing this, Lumina smiled, a hint of amusement in her voice as she asked, "Hmm? You don't know where she is?"
"Didn't you claim to be the master of the Space Station, implying that nothing within its confines could escape your gaze?"
"Hmph, that only applies to ordinary people," Herta retorted with a cold snort, offering a terse explanation. "As a member of the Genius Society myself, how could I possibly track her movements?"
"Ah, I see..." Lumina nodded in understanding.
But in the next moment, Lumina feigned a heartbroken expression, wiping away nonexistent tears from the corner of her eye as she said, "I thought you once said you had been watching everything I did in the Space Station..."
"So, in your eyes, Herta, am I just an ordinary person?"
Herta: ...
"Stop being dramatic. I was just bluffing before," Herta rolled her eyes, her voice exasperated.
Given Lumina's power and status, how could Herta ever dare to spy on her?
What she had said earlier was merely a ruse to tease her.
"Aww, looks like I don't fit into the category of 'normal' or 'ordinary' in Little Herta's eyes~"
"How delightful~"
Lumina chuckled softly, reaching out, and placed her palm directly on Herta's head, gently stroking it as she murmured, "Little Herta, you're just so adorable~"
Herta: ...
This woman... she can't actually be...?
Herta glanced at Lumina, feeling the warm, gentle hand caressing her head. The abandoned thought resurfaced in her mind...