On the way to Okhema, the group once again fell back into a quiet calm. Everyone silently kept their own pace, stepping on the muddy earth as they continued their journey.
No one made a sound to disturb this tranquility. Castorice, Trianne, and Calypso walked together.
Meanwhile, Lumina was with Herta, Stelle, and Mem.
Castorice and her group were in front, while Lumina and hers were behind.
The distance between the two groups was about one or two meters.
Castorice's face remained flushed, and the slight redness of her pointed ears wasn't completely hidden by her hair, visible to everyone.
Neither Lumina nor Herta were ordinary people. Shortly after the small commotion just now, they both returned to normal.
At the same time, the two tacitly agreed not to mention what had just happened.
After all, for them, that action was a bit too much...
Although both seemed quite brave, and their words, both spoken and thought, were particularly "crude," if they were to actually put them into practice, they would probably be even more timid than Castorice.
For example, right now, a small peck on the cheek, which would be just a good night or good morning kiss for others. But now, for Lumina and Herta, it was as if the sky had fallen.
The two instantly turned from a pair of "best friends who share everything" into strangers who had nothing to say... and they didn't mention anything about what had just happened.
It was as if nothing had occurred at all.
This moment was just like that moment back then.
Even though Lumina and Herta had already experienced something... even more intimate, they were still reacting this way.
Last time in the small grove, Herta's clothes had been mostly removed by Lumina, and her upper body was completely exposed to Lumina, who even laid hands on her...
Although it was interrupted and forced to stop in the end, they had indeed done it.
Even so, after doing a more intimate action, just experiencing a... sometimes not even considered intimate act like a kiss on the cheek, the result was ultimately the same.
It was clear how truly cowardly Lumina and Herta were when they actually faced a real battle...
"Um... Lumina, that power you used back in the Grove..." Mem, who had been flying around Stelle, broke the silence after hesitating for a moment.
Hearing Mem's question, Lumina's thoughts instantly snapped back to reality from that kiss on the cheek.
The lingering warmth of that kiss still seemed to remain on Lumina's cheek, leaving her inner world unable to calm down for a long time.
Fortunately, Mem's voice helped Lumina solve this problem.
After all... even though Mem was still in the form of a small animal, her voice was a genuine beautiful girl's voice.
A predicament caused by a beautiful girl naturally needed to be rescued by a beautiful girl.
"Little Mem, you should call me Sister Lumina~"
But a rescue is a rescue; things that should be done to a beautiful girl cannot be skipped.
Everyone calls me Sister Lumina, so of course you have to call me Sister Lumina too.
Herta: ...
Herta, who had been standing beside Lumina without speaking or moving for a long time, felt a surge of helplessness and speechlessness when she saw Lumina actually making a move on a little doll.
However, given that kiss just now, Herta didn't feel any jealousy in her heart.
While Lumina was "building a relationship" with Mem, Herta lowered her head, extended a few fingers, and gently touched her own lips, feeling the lingering warmth as if recalling the memory.
So comfortable... truly so comfortable...
This was a feeling Herta had never experienced before, ten thousand times, one hundred thousand times, one million times... one trillion times more comfortable than solving a difficult problem or obtaining a new one.
If even a kiss on the cheek felt this good, then... what if she kissed her lips?
To press her own lips gently against those crystalline lips, and then... to merge with her... how incredibly comfortable would that feel?
Herta began to fantasize in her mind, imagining a scene.
In the scene, Lumina was nestled shyly in her arms, looking at her with a gaze full of affection, like a young girl who had fallen deeply in love.
Her voice was gentle and blissful, and she said happily, "Big Sister Herta, I love you..."
As her words fell, accompanied by the clearly audible "thump, thump, thump" of a heartbeat in the air, Lumina closed her eyes, her face flushed with shyness as she pressed her cheek closer, then pursed her lips, as if waiting for something.
Lumina presented herself like a fruit ready to be plucked, something no one in the entire Cosmos could refuse.
So, as Lumina's big sister and the protagonist of this scenario, Herta wrapped one arm around her slender, soft waist, and with her other hand, she pressed against the back of Lumina's head.
The last step, one didn't even have to think about what it was.
With a slight exertion of her arm, she pulled Lumina's body closer into her embrace.
Her palm gently stroked the back of Lumina's head before she leaned in slowly and softly to kiss those quietly waiting lips.
And then...
"Hehehe..."
As she thought, the fantasy was so beautiful that Herta let out a perverted chuckle, a sound completely out of character for her.
Lumina: ?
Herta's perverted chuckle was very soft, so soft that even Stelle and Mem, who were right beside her, didn't hear it.
But with Lumina's abilities, as long as a sound was made, whether loud or soft, she could hear it clearly.
Herta's perverted chuckle was no exception.
When she first heard this perverted chuckle, Lumina even thought she had misheard.
But the timbre was too familiar. After the thought that she might have misheard arose, the next thought was Herta.
Undoubtedly, this familiar voice must have been made by Herta.
But... Herta actually let out a perverted chuckle?
Was Lumina still in [Ena's Dream]?
Actually, she hadn't even broken free from Sunday's [Ena's Dream] back then?
Herta's perverted chuckle directly sent Lumina back to Penacony in her mind.
However, Lumina quickly dismissed this thought.
Let alone one Sunday, even if a hundred Sundays came and created a hundred [Ena's Dreams], it would be a matter of one slap for Lumina.
At most, a hundred slaps.
So... this perverted chuckle was actually and truly a sincere expression from Herta?
What... exactly was she thinking?
Lumina was very curious.
What kind of thing could make a member of the Genius Society, an Emanator of Erudition, reveal a perverted chuckle that completely contradicted her character?
Hmm... alright, Lumina seemed to have guessed it.
Guessed the reason why.
Lumina wasn't some dummy or a fool.
Knowing Herta's feelings for her, and combining it with her recent behavior, she immediately guessed why Herta would let out a perverted chuckle.
It was probably because she was thinking about... making her submit, and willingly turning her into a little sister in her mind.
Lumina could only think of this, and also felt it must be this.
If it wasn't, then it wasn't. Lumina didn't particularly care.
Because Lumina didn't plan to pay attention to Herta, didn't plan to launch a moral condemnation against her for this behavior, and didn't plan to launch any Follow-Up Attacks on her.
After all, Herta was only fantasizing in her mind. If Lumina rushed up and fought her head-on, she would definitely not gain any advantage.
Besides, having just gone through such an incident, even Lumina needed to take a moment to catch her breath.
This... this was Lumina's first time after all.
The first time someone had kissed her on the cheek...
If Lumina said she wasn't shy about having it taken from her for the first time, she would definitely be lying.
The lingering breath on her cheek constantly stimulated Lumina, making her heart beat faster and faster...
"Ahem."
Knowing she couldn't let her heart continue to race, Lumina quickly coughed a few times to snap back to her senses.
No longer thinking about anything related to Herta, she turned her gaze to the cute Mem before her.
With a gentle smile, she gestured, "Call me Sister Lumina~"
"Mem..." Hearing this, Mem crossed her arms, her little face falling as if she was somewhat speechless at Lumina's behavior.
But she didn't say much. After staring at her for a while, she followed Lumina's wishes and spoke, "Sister Lumina."
It was just a title, so Mem didn't particularly mind it.
Right now, what Mem cared about more was the power Lumina had unleashed up in The Grove.
That was the power of [Time], no doubt about it. It had to be the power of [Time].
Mem's Perception couldn't be wrong!
Xingyou had told Mem roughly about Lumina's identity. Although it wasn't very detailed, it was enough.
She was an Outworlder, and she had never contacted the [Time] Titan.
Then why was she able to use the power of [Time]?
Could it be... after she arrived in Amphoreus, she hacked the [Time] Titan to death?
Because Mem's information on Lumina was severely lacking, her first thought was to imagine the worst possible scenario.
"What are you thinking, Little Mem?"
"You're definitely thinking about something quite impolite in your heart, aren't you?"
Seeing the scared expression gradually appear on Mem's face, Lumina, who often dealt with all kinds of beautiful girls, instantly knew.
Mem must have misunderstood her because of some action, and then she'd come to see her as some super big villain.
"Mem! You... How did you know!"
Hearing Lumina's words, Mem, who had been called out by her, immediately covered her small mouth and looked at Lumina with a face full of panic.
After thinking it over for a moment, realizing that her words just now were all thoughts in her heart and hadn't been spoken out loud, Mem became even more panicked.
She... She can read minds!
"I don't have any Mind Reading ability."
Mind Reading was an ability that Lumina craved but was completely unable to obtain.
If Lumina had Mind Reading, let alone Little Herta, even if there were a hundred Little Hertas and a hundred Little Ruan Meis, Lumina could easily win them over.
In terms of interpersonal interaction, if you have Mind Reading, it's like using a hack; you can easily pass through.
No one would fail to pass the level after using a hack, right?
No one could be that bad, right?
Hmm... speaking of which, speaking of Ruan Mei, does she count as having been won over by her?
Lumina couldn't help but start recalling the various things that had happened between her and Ruan Mei on the Xianzhou Luofu.
Without a doubt, if she had to say who she was closest to now, it would definitely be Ruan Mei.
Compared to Ruan Mei, Herta wouldn't even make the cut...
After all, back when they were staying in the same hotel and lying on the same bed, Lumina had already seen every inch of Ruan Mei's body several times...
And... and... at that time, her own lips and Ruan Mei's lips... had a little bit of a minor friction.
Lumina hadn't said anything back then because she was desperately trying to hide her emotions.
In fact, the memory of that incident with Ruan Mei would occasionally surface in Lumina's mind.
As for... did that count as her first kiss being stolen?
Lumina felt that it definitely couldn't count.
It was just a little bit of minor friction between their lips, lasting only for a brief moment. Besides, both she and Ruan Mei were in a daze at the time.
This definitely couldn't count.
So, her first kiss was still intact!
It's just that the first kiss on her cheek is gone...
Herta snatched it away...
So, should she take it back?
Lumina decided to forget about it.
Setting aside the fact that this would be rewarding Herta, Lumina herself simply couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.
It's... a bit too bold. Lumina wouldn't dare do what Herta did, leaning in with her little face for a quick kiss.
"Ah! You said you didn't have Mind Reading!"
Although Lumina had been lost in these thoughts, it hadn't taken much time.
Mem's terrified voice snapped Lumina back to reality.
She quickly flew behind Stelle's shoulder, looking at Lumina with a face full of fear.
Lu... Lumina has Mind Reading, so... so doesn't that mean all her thoughts from beginning to end have been read?
This... this is too scary!
"Right, right, Sister Lumina is just that amazing."
Stelle didn't know what the Mind Reading ability really meant. She only knew that her Sister Lumina was just that awesome!
"Waaaah!" After Stelle's affirmation, Mem buried more than half her body behind Stelle, only daring to poke half her head out to peek at Lumina, terrified that she would use Mind Reading to read her inner thoughts.
Having all her secrets as a beautiful girl exposed... this was a super scary thing!
"Hehehe." Seeing Mem's reaction, Lumina couldn't help but chuckle.
Mem's "plushie" form was already so cute. What would she be like when she truly transformed back into a beautiful girl?
Would she become cuter, or even cuter, or perhaps super-duper cute?
Lumina was very curious, very much looking forward to it.
Mem was all pink and fluffy. After transforming into human form, she would surely be a super cute pink-haired beauty, right?
Lumina thought blissfully in her heart.
At the same time, her thoughts jumped back to the [Amphoreus Saga of Heroes] that the System had shown her earlier.
If she wasn't mistaken, after Mem transformed into a beautiful girl...
She would be that pink-haired beauty at the end of the video named [Cyrene], wouldn't she?