"Gold and Gears... what a massive undertaking."
In Herta's Office on the Herta Space Station, Lumina gazed at the Simulated Universe before her and couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"I must respectfully disagree, Miss Lumina," Screwllum interjected, a rare occurrence. "Logic dictates that a project jointly developed by four geniuses and yourself cannot be adequately described as merely a 'massive undertaking.'"
Even Screwllum, the very embodiment of gentlemanly conduct, delivered his rebuttal with an unmistakable air of confidence.
"Hmm, you're right," Lumina replied, nodding in agreement. She didn't argue further, acknowledging the validity of Screwllum's assessment.
After all, this creation was the result of collaboration between the cosmos's four greatest geniuses and a supremely talented, unbelievably beautiful young girl. How could such a monumental achievement be reduced to a mere "massive undertaking"?
[I bet even without the "supremely talented, unbelievably beautiful girl genius" part, those four top geniuses could still have figured it out...]
Hearing Lumina's silent grumbling, the System couldn't help but retort,
[As a hyper-advanced system, I still can't figure out why Herta dragged you into the Simulated Universe Project as a partner. I mean, your intelligence is about average for a human... Let alone being a member of the Genius Society, even a janitor from the Intelligentsia Guild could wipe the floor with you.]
"If you can't say anything useful, shut your mouth!" Lumina snapped, a vein throbbing on her forehead as those words flashed across the screen. Her cheeks flushed slightly.
It seemed the System's pointed remark had struck a nerve, causing her to overheat a little.
Tick~
Just as Lumina was about to unleash her verbal charm to "persuade" the slightly unruly Little System, a ticking sound echoed through the office.
Curious, Lumina followed the sound to its source.
There stood Screwllum, lightly tapping an air conditioner, apparently adjusting the temperature... The ticking had been the activation sound when he turned it on.
Lumina: ...
As an invincible, super-genius, beautiful girl, Lumina immediately understood Screwllum's purpose in turning on the air conditioning with a single glance.
Thus, she was at a loss for words and fell into silence.
"Miss Lumina, how is the temperature now?" Screwllum asked with perfect courtesy, noticing her silence and the fading flush on her cheeks.
It turned out Screwllum had noticed Lumina's cheeks growing flushed earlier and assumed the office's warmth was making her uncomfortable. He turned on the air conditioning to lower the temperature, hoping to alleviate her discomfort.
After all, Screwllum was an Intellitron with high heat resistance. Lumina, on the other hand, was already flushing with heat.
Lumina: ...
Faced with Screwllum's question, Lumina was at a complete loss for words. She could only express her utter speechlessness through silence.
Screwllum: ?
Even a genius like Screwllum was baffled by Lumina's silence.
Screwllum, even if his CPU burned out, would never have imagined that Lumina had been sent into a red-hot rage by just a few words from something within her...
And so, Lumina remained silent, Screwllum puzzled, neither knowing what to say. The room fell into an awkward silence.
No... it wasn't truly silent. The air conditioner hummed in the background, continuously lowering the room's temperature.
Though the sound was almost imperceptible, in the unnaturally quiet atmosphere, it seemed amplified a hundredfold in their ears...
Knock! Knock-knock! Knock-knock-knock!
Thankfully, the silence didn't last long. It was soon shattered by a series of urgent knocks on the door.
The knocks jolted both of them out of their reverie. After exchanging a glance and a nod, Screwllum strode over to open the door.
"Asta, are you looking for Herta?"
Screwllum opened the door to reveal a pink-haired young girl standing before him.
"Mr. Screwllum!" Asta greeted him with a formal bow, then spoke with a hint of urgency.
"Have you seen Madam Herta?"
"Asta, don't panic. Herta..."
"Asta, is something wrong?"
Hearing Asta's words, Screwllum was about to explain that Herta had gone out on business. But before he could finish, Lumina, who had been approaching slowly, interrupted.
"Sister Lumina!" Seeing Lumina, Asta instantly felt a wave of security wash over her, and her previously anxious heart gradually calmed.
"Come inside and tell me what's troubling you. Standing in the doorway isn't ideal."
Looking at the adorable and radiant Asta before her, Lumina's earlier frustration instantly vanished, her spirits restored to full strength.
"Mm-hmm!" Asta enthusiastically agreed with her dear Sister Lumina's suggestion, raising both hands and feet in enthusiastic support.
"Come in, then." Lumina smiled slightly, then nodded at Screwllum, as if hinting at something.
"Mm..." Screwllum understood Lumina's unspoken message perfectly but kept his thoughts to himself.
"Mm-hmm!" Watching Lumina step aside to clear a path, Asta didn't hesitate and walked inside.
Bang!
Seeing this, Screwllum closed the office door again...
-
Herta Space Station, Herta's Office
"So, what exactly happened that made you, the acting head of the station, so anxious?" Lumina asked Asta, feigning ignorance after the three of them had settled into their seats.
"It's this..." Asta quickly picked up her phone, tapped open a video, placed it on the table, and pressed play.
[Heritor Newsflash - Heritors, good evening! ]
[Emergency bulletin:]
[Madam Herta, Member 83 of the illustrious Genius Society, has gone missing after an attack on the space station. As of now, no organization has claimed responsibility for the incident.]
[Enraged Heritors are vehemently protesting and condemning the space station's management for their negligence and inaction, demanding they provide an explanation.]
"Pfft!" Lumina couldn't help but burst out laughing at the video.
"I can't—this is too hilarious! Herta's fans are all Heritors!"
Lumina had a high bar for humor; ordinary things rarely made her laugh out loud... unless they were truly hilarious!
If Herta's fans are all Heritors, then my fans must be all... Luminaires? Lumina rested her chin in her hand, a faint smile playing on her lips as this thought crossed her mind.
"Mmm... so beautiful..." Asta, captivated by her beloved Sister Lumina's radiant smile, completely forgot about the "Madam Herta Assault Case."
"Hmm..." Screwllum, observing Lumina and Asta, fell silent.
I don't seem to fit in with them... Screwllum murmured inwardly, then shook his head, dismissing the thought, and announced, "Suggestion: We should first discuss matters concerning Herta."
"Oh, right, right!" Hearing Screwllum's words, Asta snapped back to attention, nodding eagerly.
"Just recently, one of Madam Herta's puppets was ambushed and went missing. We haven't been able to locate its signal since."
"I wanted to ask Madam Herta for advice first, but she hasn't replied to my messages."
Asta sighed softly as she said this.
"And then somehow, this news suddenly spread like wildfire, right?" Lumina chuckled softly, already piecing together the rest of the story.
"Exactly," Asta nodded, her expression turning serious.
"I trust Madam Herta completely and don't believe she's in any real danger, but..."
"Those Heritors... they demand answers."
The mere thought of those Heritors gave Asta a headache.
After all, their idol was Madam Herta, while Asta was practically her right-hand woman. The Heritors inevitably harbored some resentment...
Now that they'd caught wind of this incident, they were piling on the pressure.
"I see. Well, I'll ask Herta then." Lumina nodded, took out her phone, and prepared to send Herta a message.
"Mhm, mhm." Asta nodded obediently at her words.
Even though Madam Herta hasn't replied to my messages, she'll surely reply to Sister Lumina's, right...?
Hmm... If even Sister Lumina's messages go unanswered, then Madam Herta must truly be very busy...
Asta reasoned inwardly. After all, she was insignificant in Herta's eyes. It was perfectly normal for Herta to ignore her messages if they weren't of interest.
"Oh... Right!" Just as Lumina was about to send the message, she suddenly remembered something and turned to Asta.
"Asta, could you send me that video?"
"Huh?" Asta tilted her head in confusion but complied without further question, sending the video immediately.
Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~
As the notification tone for the "Special Group" sounded, Lumina received the video from Asta.
[Asta: [Video]]
[Lumina: [Video]]
[Lumina: Madam Herta, please share your thoughts on your little Heritors. (laughs)]
[Herta: ?]
Lumina had just sent the video and her message when Herta immediately replied with a question mark.
[Herta: If you're bored and have nothing to do, ask Screwllum to teach you how to access the Simulated Universe's Test Server mode. Once you learn it, you can test the Simulated Universe.]
Herta paid no attention to the video's content. If the message hadn't come from Lumina, she wouldn't have bothered replying at all.
As for Lumina's idle behavior, Herta offered her a suggestion.
[Lumina: Eh-heh?]
[Herta: ...]
Seeing Lumina's response—those two words and a question mark—Herta sighed inwardly.
Fine, let her do as she pleases...
Shaking her head, she dismissed the matter. But just as Herta was about to put her phone away, Lumina sent another message.
[Lumina: I know you don't care about this, but you should at least offer some explanation, right?]
[Lumina: After all, someone has launched an attack on the Space Station~]
[Herta: I'm merely on a routine inspection trip at the IPC's invitation. Nothing major.]
[Herta: As for the attackers on the Space Station, with you and Screwllum there, what could possibly go wrong?]
[Lumina: Why should Screwllum and I help you?]
Faced with Herta's confident words about herself and Screwllum, Lumina immediately fired back with a scathing message.
[Herta: ...]
Sigh... On the other end, Herta stared at Lumina's message, rubbed her temples, and fought the urge to smash Lumina's brain into pulp with a hammer.
[Herta: Please, I beg you—just help me.]
Despite the impulse, Herta knew she'd never act on it. Moreover, she understood exactly what Lumina was thinking...
Though this was a trivial matter, Herta decided to indulge Lumina's peculiar whim. With a completely expressionless face, and even a hint of disdain, she typed out the following words and sent them:
[Herta: Anyway, that's that. The Space Station is in your and Screwllum's hands. I'm outta here.]
To prevent Lumina from pushing her luck, Herta seized the initiative by adding a curt reply after her disdainful message. Then, her profile picture went dark as she logged off abruptly.
"This Herta... she even wanted me to send her a voice message..." On the other end, Lumina watched Herta's lightning-fast departure with a hint of regret.
Oh well... I'll make her say it to my face when we're back at the Space Station.
Though slightly disappointed, Lumina didn't dwell on it. After all, she'd make Herta confess sooner or later—there was no need to rush.
"Sister Lumina, how did it go?" Asta asked eagerly as Lumina put down her phone, ending her chat with Madam Herta.
"Here, see for yourself," Lumina said, her eyes gleaming mischievously as she handed over her phone with feigned sincerity.
"Mm-hmm!" Asta accepted the phone and began reading.
After a few seconds, Asta's expression morphed through a range of emotions...
"Hmm~" Lumina chuckled inwardly, watching Asta's shifting expressions.
This is the first step to completely controlling Herta: making everyone around her aware of her other side.
But unfortunately for Lumina, her strategy backfired.
So... Madam Herta and Sister Lumina are actually that close... Asta murmured to herself, deep in thought.