"Let's go, I'll be mindful of my boundaries."
Although Anaxa was surprised by how Lumina addressed Aglaea, he quickly regained his composure.
Surprised or not, it had nothing to do with him, so why should Anaxa dwell on it?
That woman becoming a younger sister... heh, how amusing.
Anaxa enjoyed it.
He'd enjoy it even more the day that woman became someone's daughter.
Without lingering on the topic, the group started their visit to the "Heroes" of The Grove after a few final words.
"Professor, after all these years, you and Lady Aglaea still..." On the way to their destination, Castorice couldn't help but ask.
If possible, Castorice truly wished that Professor Anaxa and Lady Aglaea wouldn't be so hostile to each other...
Both Professor Anaxa and Lady Aglaea were good people, after all.
But in the end... whenever Professor Anaxa and Lady Aglaea were together, the scene almost resembled a battlefield...
"Neither of us is petty."
"You know exactly what's at the root of our conflict."
Anaxa stated the fundamental cause of their disagreement directly, and upon hearing his words, Castorice shut her mouth and didn't mention the matter again.
"Castorice, is there some sort of conflict between... Sir Anaxa and little sister Aglaea?" Lumina was curious about the matter between Anaxa and Aglaea.
She leaned close to Castorice and whispered into her pointed little ear.
Warm breath, carrying a faint fragrance, brushed against Castorice's fair-skinned ear, which then began to flush red at a visible speed.
Whoa.
The speed at which Castorice's ear turned red was incredibly fast, so fast that even Lumina had to marvel at it in her mind.
Hmm~ Not bad, not bad at all. A little cutie like this is much more interesting.
After her silent exclamation, a gleam suddenly appeared in Lumina's eyes.
Like a wolf spotting a little lamb, she couldn't wait to open her bloody maw and devour her in the next second!
Then she'd chew the little lamb carefully in her mouth, savoring the texture and taste it offered...
Hmm... why do I suddenly feel a little wicked?
Lumina kept thinking, and before she knew it, she had inexplicably placed herself on the "evil" side.
That definitely wasn't right. She revised the thought.
Suddenly it became a story about one fragrant and soft little lamb meeting another fragrant and soft little lamb.
Just as the two little lambs became the best of friends, the other little lamb suddenly revealed its fangs while the first one was completely off guard.
As it turned out, this was an evil wolf disguised as a fragrant and soft little lamb.
The evil wolf was waiting for a time, waiting for an opportunity, waiting for... a time when it could devour the fragrant and soft little lamb.
Uh...
So it's still the story of the evil wolf eating the little lamb?
Lumina silently complained in her mind.
"Sis... Sister Lumina, please... please don't get so close."
Before Lumina could finish weaving her story, Castorice's slightly shy words reached her ears, dragging her back to reality and temporarily halting her storytelling.
Coming back to her senses, she looked at Castorice with her face flushed red, staring straight ahead and biting her crystalline lips, not daring to look at her. Lumina's heart was filled with a sense of healing.
So cute~
Castorice is truly adorable~
Lumina's favorite are beautiful girls who blush at the slightest touch or the slightest proximity. Because this allows her to frequently see their flushed faces and skin, which is very pleasing to the eye.
Of course, "favorite" doesn't mean she dislikes others.
To be precise, Lumina considers all types of beautiful girls to be within her "favorite" range.
For example, Herta, who is occasionally sharp-tongued and sometimes a bit tsundere. Lumina also super likes this kind of personality.
The fact that she's difficult to subdue and hard to hold in the palm of her hand is not something Lumina considers a drawback at all.
The more difficult she is to subdue and the harder she is to control, the more Lumina enjoys the process.
And in the end, after successfully subduing her and controlling her, the sense of achievement obtained will definitely be extremely comfortable and enjoyable.
Hmm... although it's unlikely, it's unlikely that such a thing would happen.
But if something really happened where she was the one being controlled by the other person, Lumina felt that the enjoyment would turn into "torture."
"Why is that, Castorice?"
"I won't be affected by the curse on your body, you know."
At the thought of the scene where she would be "tortured," Lumina quickly snapped back to her senses.
She looked at Castorice and chuckled softly, her warm breath once again brushing against Castorice's ear.
"..."
Lumina could tell that Castorice's steps had noticeably become heavier.
It seemed her actions had successfully diverted a lot of her attention.
Even walking had become a bit difficult.
If other people hadn't been present, and if there weren't so many Okhema people around, Lumina would have scooped her up long ago.
She would have lifted Castorice in a princess carry.
Even if your feet are a little heavy to walk with, then Sister Lumina will help you walk~
As she thought this, after completing her previous actions toward Castorice, Lumina naturally took Castorice's small hand.
Feeling the delicate and soft small hand in her own, Lumina felt very comfortable.
"S... Sister Lumina..."
Lumina felt the warmth emanating from her palm, and naturally, so did Castorice.
She didn't struggle at all, but her voice stuttered as she called out Lumina's name.
Although she didn't say it outright, Castorice's meaning was already very obvious.
Namely, she wanted Lumina to let go...
"Little Sister Castorice, don't you like it like this?"
Lumina could hear the subtext in Castorice's words, but she didn't mind at all.
Just because I understand doesn't mean I'll listen.
If I did everything you said, wouldn't that make me look so weak?
"Ugh..." Hearing Lumina's words, Castorice tried to pull back her small hand. But no matter how hard she tried, the hand Lumina was holding seemed to have lost all strength, and no matter how she tugged, she could never pull it free.
And after hearing Lumina's words, Castorice stammered, her heart seeming to be conflicted about something.
But in the end, she still said it, answering Lumina's question.
"It's... not... not that I dislike it."
"It's just... just a little... not used to it."
Castorice answered honestly.
Hearing this, Lumina's lips curled up slightly.
Little Castorice, oh little Castorice, you jumped into this yourself, so you can't blame me.
After chuckling inwardly, Lumina, whose hand was still holding Castorice's small hand, applied a bit more strength, turned Castorice's small hand, and then slid her fingers through Castorice's fingers.
In less than a second, the two changed from holding hands by the palms to interlocking their fingers... It looked exceptionally ambiguous, exceptionally warm.
And a sweet atmosphere gradually emerged around the two of them.
"Little Sister Castorice, since you're not used to it."
"Then we should do it often, do it many more times."
"After doing it many times, you will naturally get used to it."
Lumina gestured to Castorice with a smile on her face, full of sincerity and earnestness.
It was completely impossible to tell if the idea she was plotting in her heart was a good idea or a bad idea...
"Um, uh..." Hearing this, Castorice suddenly felt dizzy.
If it weren't for the fact that there were still so many people around, Castorice would probably have fainted from the heat.
Although it was indeed very comfortable and warm, but... but for Castorice, it was simply a bit too embarrassing.
Castorice was not like other children. Even the most socially anxious children had at least some contact with their parents, family, or relatives when they were young.
But Castorice had none at all. Strictly speaking, Sister Lumina... was the first person to touch her.
The first person... to touch her without causing any harm.
"What do you think, Little Sister Castorice?" Not satisfied with Castorice's previous reaction, Lumina launched a Follow-Up Attack just as Castorice's words trailed off.
She asked directly, right to her face, if Castorice had any objections to what she had just said.
"Um... uhm."
Warmth continuously spread from her palm throughout her entire body. No matter how Castorice thought about it, she couldn't think of any words to refuse.
Rather... besides it being truly too embarrassing and too awkward.
Castorice... Castorice actually quite liked this action.
Hand in hand, palm to palm, fingers interlocking... It really feels so comfortable.
Castorice thought silently to herself, while a faint smile gradually appeared on her face. It seemed that not only did she not dislike this action, but she even... really enjoyed it.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
After all, for the current Castorice.
The Lumina before her was the special one...
"Then... let's keep holding hands like this."
The faint smile on Castorice's face was naturally seen by Lumina.
Without a doubt, Castorice was now completely under her control.
It happened much faster than she had imagined.
Lumina nodded with great satisfaction, and a smile that could make anyone succumb appeared on her fair, delicate face.
Whether it was a good or bad thing for such a beautiful girl to become a scoundrel who loved all beautiful girls...
Watching the behavior and interaction between Lumina and Castorice before her, Herta crossed her arms over her chest. Her face, which had the potential to become an Emanator of Beauty, was as calm as water, showing no emotion.
In her heart, she silently sighed at Lumina's behavior and all her actions after arriving in Amphoreus and Okhema.
Although it was a sigh, it was also a question.
But Herta already had the answer in her heart.
Lumina's penchant for loving all beautiful girls was, without a doubt, a bad thing for Herta.
Because Herta wanted to put a lock on her...
Well... it wasn't that Herta was calling her a shared bicycle, but rather that she simply wanted to fiercely confine this person who went out and flitted from flower to flower at home.
To make her have no other choice but to stay at home and be with her.
Because she liked her, and didn't want her to engage in intimate behavior with other beautiful girls.
This would make Herta jealous, the super-duper jealous kind.
Then why was Herta so calm, showing no expression of jealousy at all, as she watched the behavior before her?
Wasn't it just that Herta really had no other good moves left...
Fortunately, besides holding hands and hugging, Lumina had no other excess thoughts.
Otherwise... otherwise Herta would truly have become an "impotent husband."
Hmm... if Lumina had other deeper desires.
This "impotent husband" would definitely not be just Herta alone.
"Sigh..."
Herta silently sighed in her heart.
If Herta were stronger than Lumina, she would have long ago tied her up with a rope and dragged her back to her room to do the things she truly desired most in her deepest heart.
But obviously, this was just a dream. Her strength was far inferior to Lumina's.
Even if she actually managed to tie Lumina in her room, without some external stimulation, Herta really couldn't... bring herself to do such a thing.
So what was this external stimulation?
For example, if Little Lumina, after being thrown onto the bed, still kept up her act, saying things like "Herta-chan" will always just be a little sister.
Finally, as if possessed by a mesugaki, she would say things like, "Trash Herta, Trash Herta, just as expected from a little trashy fish. I thought you were so amazing, but you're just a glass cannon trashy fish."
"Trash, just stay in the fishpond properly and wait for your Sister Lumina to come and favor you!"
Words like these.
If Lumina really said such things, Herta would immediately cast aside all the timidity and shyness in her heart, and then the thoughts of "occupying her," "punishing her severely," and "making her... so she couldn't even speak" would take over.
Alright, having thought this far, it was time to wake up from the dream.
Herta felt both incredibly envious and gnashed her teeth at Lumina and Castorice's current behavior.
But she had no other choice. She could only follow her original plan and engage in... some "proactive and stimulating" actions to make Lumina lose control, and then...
Herta was still very confident in her own charm.
It's just that... proactively taking some lewd actions was something Herta really... couldn't bring herself to do.
Herta's face, as calm as still water, began to change.
She pressed her lips tightly together, her heart undergoing a violent struggle, contemplation, and rationalization.
"..."
Although Lumina, holding Castorice's hand in front, had her eyes fixed entirely on Castorice, she still saw Herta's changing expression to her right perfectly.
"Hmph, just obediently become my good little sister~"
Lumina was super satisfied with Herta's behavior.
As long as she continued following this plan, even Madam Herta, an Emanator of [Erudition], would completely fall into the palm of her hand as a plaything!
Just surrender obediently. Struggling is futile!
Hahaha! Hahaha!
Lumina began laughing wildly in her heart.
She even had the urge to pop the champagne at halftime.
"Hmm... What's that? How is that possible?"
"Why would he be here?"
While Lumina, Castorice, and Herta were each lost in their own thoughts, Anaxa, who was walking at the very front, suddenly frowned upon reaching their destination and let out a confused and puzzled exclamation.