Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
Lumina hadn't walked far from Herta's Office when the notification tone for the Special Group rang from her phone.
Hearing the sound, Lumina paused, a faint smile curling her lips, as if she had anticipated this outcome all along.
Mindful of the rule against celebrating prematurely, Lumina refrained from gloating excessively. She pulled out her phone to check the message.
Herta:Sorry, I was overthinking things. Don't mind it. I don't dislike you at all.
Herta:[Image.jpg][Image.jpg][Image.jpg][Image.jpg]
Herta:I haven't taken many full-body photos, so here are the few I have. I'm sending them all to you.
As Lumina scrolled through the photos Herta had sent, her lips tugged upward uncontrollably, threatening to rival the sun in their radiant arc.
Forcing her ever-widening smile into check, Lumina maintained a "calm and composed" demeanor as she opened each photo one by one.
With a serious expression, she began to... appreciate the details... No, with a serious expression, she began to study them carefully.
"Exquisite!"
After carefully examining... after carefully reviewing all the images, Lumina gave her satisfied verdict.
To "return the favor," Lumina sent several full-body photos of herself in return.
Lumina:[ [Image.jpg][Image.jpg][Image.jpg][Image.jpg] ]
Lumina:[ I don't want to take advantage of you. You sent me four photos, so I'm sending you four in return. ]
Lumina:[ By the way, Madam Herta's beauty is truly as undeniable as your temperament! [Praise (emoji).jpg] ]
After sending the message, Herta didn't reply immediately, likely busy with something.
Lumina wasn't in a rush. She first saved the four full-body photos Herta had sent into a private cloud storage specially provided by the Interastral Peace Corporation, setting the folder to private.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~ Ding-dong
Just as Lumina finished these actions, the ringtone for the [ Special Group ] notification chimed. Herta, having completed her "business," finally responded.
Closing the cloud storage, Lumina opened the chat log and began reading.
Herta:[ Where did you hear that saying? ]
Meanwhile, on the other end, Herta silently saved the full-body photos Lumina had sent to her phone. Seeing Lumina's message, her brow furrowed slightly.
If someone else had said those words, Herta wouldn't have given them a second thought.
After all, she was a genius, a member of the Genius Society, and the Emanator of Erudition. What was wrong with having a slightly prickly personality?
But hearing those words from Lumina made Herta feel vaguely uneasy... She couldn't quite explain why this discomfort arose.
Of course, Herta wouldn't bother trying to figure it out.
Hmm... Though she said that outwardly, her actions told a different story. After pondering Lumina's message for a moment, Herta sent back a probing question.
Clever as she was, Herta didn't directly express her dislike for Lumina's statement. Instead, she asked Lumina where she had heard those words.
Could Lumina have reached this conclusion based on Herta's own behavior?
No, because Lumina had used the word "indeed."
This meant Lumina had heard the statement before and was only now confirming its truth.
Who could it be?
Someone who would say something like this with such familiarity must be someone Herta knew well and who held a similar status...
There was only one conclusion left:
Ruan Mei...
"But Ruan Mei isn't the type to boast... And Lumina hasn't even met her. How did she find out?" Herta muttered, her eyes filled with doubt.
Herta could rack her brain for days and still wouldn't guess that Lumina had learned it from their "text message exchanges."
Ding-dong!
Just as Herta was puzzling over this, her phone chimed with a new message from Lumina.
Herta snapped out of her daze and focused on the screen.
[Lumina:What's this about hearing it from someone? This is a conclusion I drew myself based on your behavior, you know~♪]
[Herta:Then why use the word "indeed"?]
Herta didn't believe a word of Lumina's explanation. The fact that Lumina had deceived her stirred a flicker of annoyance within her.
Meanwhile, back with Lumina, she stared at Herta's message, momentarily taken aback. She hadn't expected that a single word could expose her lie so easily...
"How clever~♪"
Lumina couldn't help but marvel, genuinely praising Madam Herta's sharp intellect.
But the next moment, Lumina's tone shifted as she shook her head.
"But what good is intelligence? Out here, it's all about power, about influence!"
I hold the "script" in my hands—that's my strength. This paltry little Herta dares to compare itself to me?
Lumina puffed up slightly, her slender fingers tapping on the screen as she typed a reply to Herta's earlier question:
[Lumina: Because I'm illiterate! As soon as I learn a new word, I can't wait to use it.]
[Lumina: You're not going to blame me for that too, are you?]
[Lumina: Fine, fine ╮(╯-╰)╭ I'm sorry! It was my mistake—I shouldn't have used "indeed" on Madam Herta!]
[Herta: ...]
[Herta: Heh!]
Reading Lumina's message, Herta felt an inexplicable rage ignite within her. She replied coldly before slamming her phone shut.
Lumina: ?
"Huh, did Herta's phone run out of battery?"
Staring at Herta's darkened profile picture, Lumina scratched her head in confusion. She dismissed it as some sudden incident on Herta's end.
"Ahem~♪"
Lumina tucked her phone away, clasped her hands behind her back, and began humming a cheerful tune. She seemed in excellent spirits.
"Time to go find Ruan Mei~♪"