In the end, the "thank-you gift" Herta had requested was finally accepted.
This wasn't because Hyacine and Herta had become close friends, but simply because Lumina herself had insisted on it.
Rather than letting Hyacine feel embarrassed by Herta's words, Lumina decided to play along and say that she didn't mind as long as Herta was happy.
After observing Hyacine for a while, Lumina had already gotten a general sense of her personality.
Even if Lumina didn't need the gesture, she knew Hyacine would definitely try to make it up to her in other ways later on.
Little Herta's calculations were destined to fail.
The moment the thought of opposing the great Lady Lumina even crossed Little Herta's mind, the outcome was already sealed.
Destined to come to nothing...
There had been an overwhelming number of patients over the past few days. Although the work was now complete, the fatigue that had accumulated in Hyacine's body was very real. After eating, she walked Lumina and Herta a short distance before heading back to rest.
Hyacine had put in the most effort during this time, and the exhaustion she carried was several times that of anyone else.
If Lumina hadn't helped ease a significant portion of her fatigue when she arrived, Hyacine would have likely eaten just a few quick bites and gone straight to rest.
The reason Lumina hadn't completely cleansed all the fatigue from Hyacine's heart was obvious.
It was so that this exhaustion would have meaning.
Allowing fatigue to dissipate naturally will always be far better than forcing it out with external power.
This is growth.
Using external power to purify her fatigue would be like pulling a seedling to make it grow faster—it would definitely be harmful.
This wasn't helping Hyacine; it was hurting her.
Well... of course, that has nothing to do with me.
If I were the one who was exhausted, I would definitely use my power to cleanse it. Don't ask. If you must ask, just know that I'm already a towering tree with no need for further growth...
"Are you going to take a shower?"
After returning to the room with Herta, the two fell silent. One sat upright on the sofa, the other lay across it.
Though their postures differed, both were engrossed in scrolling through their phones.
After a while, Lumina sat up on the sofa, resting her arms on its back as she looked at Herta.
"What do you want?"
Hearing this, Herta, who had been scrolling through her phone, froze. She looked at Lumina with a guarded expression.
As she stared, Herta's gaze involuntarily drifted down, landing on the thighs now crossed on the sofa.
They were as white as jade, long and exquisite, with a translucent luster that seemed to invite one to touch and kiss...
"That's a question I think..." Noticing Herta's gaze, Lumina followed it down and saw her own legs—legs she herself hadn't grown tired of admiring.
A smirk curled at the corners of her lips. She looked up and sneered, "That's a question I think I should be asking you."
"What do you want?"
How could Lumina not know what Herta was thinking?
The moment Herta saw her legs, unspeakable thoughts must have flooded her mind, right?
"Uh..."
Hearing Lumina's words and feeling the mocking smile, Herta averted her gaze, a fleeting blush creeping across her small face.
It seems that even Madam Herta, when caught doing "bad things," will feel shy and embarrassed.
Though it was only for a brief moment... Lumina saw the whole thing.
Because of this, Lumina recalled a classic quote from the Edo Star.
How cute~~
"Phew..."
Unaware that Lumina had already labeled her as "cute," Herta took a deep breath to steady her psychological state.
Then, recalling Lumina's words from just now, she replied truthfully with a calm expression.
"Of course I do."
Without a doubt, this was Herta's truest thought.
What do you want to do? Herta obviously did.
But more than that, Herta wanted Lumina to submit... submit beneath her pomegranate skirt.
As long as she could make her submit, even if she couldn't touch her, Herta would feel extremely pleased and happy!
Well... at least that's Herta's current line of thinking.
Who knows if it will change in the future.
But, she probably would.
Just having her nearby and not even taking a single bite... if anyone could resist that, they would truly be a god.
Let alone Lumina. If she could hold back, she might as well try to become the Aeon of "* Impotence"...
"Phew..." After getting Herta's answer, Lumina also took a deep breath, as if she had just made a decision in her heart.
She reached out, grasped the hem of her skirt, and lifted it slightly, exposing more of the alluring, snowy-white skin of her thighs to the air, and to... Herta's eyes.
Lumina turned her face away, not daring to look at Herta, and a blush spread across her cheeks as she did this.
She seemed to be shy.
Herta: ?
Seeing Lumina like this... like a top-tier delicacy emitting an irresistible aroma, a question mark popped up in Herta's mind, while her breathing also became somewhat uneven.
Just like the previous thought, no one could resist the temptation of Lumina in this state.
Herta's body began to feel somewhat out of her control, and she had an impulse to leap forward and pin Lumina beneath her.
But Herta still forced herself to hold back.
Herta knew Lumina's nature well. When she wasn't in a "bewildered or fainting" state, everything she did definitely had a purpose.
Without figuring out what her true intention was, Herta didn't dare to act rashly.
Otherwise, she'd fall right into her trap, jumping into the pit she dug; be held in the palm of her hand, never to escape for all eternity... If that really happened, the cost would be too high.
As long as it wasn't a lifelong restraint, but just a temporary one, Herta could still endure it.
Taking a deep breath, Herta quietly watched Lumina perform.
She didn't say a word, just watched as the hem of her skirt gradually rose, exposing more and more of her thigh's skin...
Although she couldn't pounce directly, just looking was still quite pleasing to the eyes.
Herta thought to herself as she stared at those legs, wishing she could carve this scene deeply into her memory.
Too bad, too bad she couldn't use an Image Stone to record it...
If only she could record it with an Image Stone...
Herta lamented silently.
Herta understood very well that the moment she took out an Image Stone, this "beautiful sight" would vanish immediately.
"Heh heh..." Taking in Herta's expression, Lumina chuckled inwardly. Her hands still hadn't stopped moving, continuing to pull the skirt up slowly. Calves, knees, thighs... these "scenery" enough to make most beings in the Cosmos fall into oblivion all appeared in Madam Herta's eyes. Just as the hem was pulled up further to the thighs, about to reveal the mysterious Domain that deserved to be at the top of the Cosmos's Unknown Secrets List, Lumina's movements stopped. Like a maiden falling in love, she glanced at Herta out of the corner of her eye before quickly averting her gaze. Her face flushed deeper, blooming like a vivid red rose, making her utterly adorable. Biting her crimson lips, she hesitated for a moment before speaking bashfully: "Her... Herta, you... you want... what do you want to do..." "..." This line from Lumina, spoken in a tone unlike anything she'd ever used before, reached Herta's ears clearly, making her breath grow incredibly heavy in an instant. A few wisps of bewilderment appeared in her beautiful purple pupils.
Herta's patience had its limits. It had a breaking point.
And now, that point had been reached...
Herta couldn't hold back any longer.
Lumina is practically begging for it. If I don't make a move now, won't I just be labeled as completely incompetent?
Herta rose from the sofa and began to walk toward Lumina, her footsteps heavy and deliberate.
Lumina, still sitting cross-legged on the sofa with her skirt hiked up to her thighs, didn't pull away. Instead, she watched Herta approach with a gaze full of longing.
"...Herta, what are you trying to do?"
As Herta drew closer, the stutter in Lumina's voice had completely vanished. In its place, there was a faint hint of... excitement?
"I want..."
Standing before the sofa, Herta looked down at Lumina and gave her answer with a soft hum.
Herta knew Lumina. She knew Lumina would never have shown such an expression before.
She also knew this was nothing but a trap.
But even so, unable to resist Lumina's allure, Herta lost control.
She leaned forward and lunged.
But alas...
"Hahaha!"
"You want it? You can keep dreaming."
"I'm not giving it to you."
Herta missed completely, her entire body slamming onto the sofa.
Lumina, who had just been lounging on the sofa, teasing Herta with her lifted skirt, was now standing behind her, perfectly composed and elegant. Her clothes were tidy as she looked down at Herta with a sneer.
A hint of... disdain flickered in her jade-green eyes.
It was as if she were saying, "Look at this. Is that Madam Herta? How has she fallen so far in just a few days?"
Herta was sprawled on the sofa, her hips raised in a rather comical posture.
Too bad her skirt covered her up; the position wasn't particularly obvious.
"You..."
"Uh..."
Lumina's laughter abruptly cut off. Before she could say anything else, she blushed and turned her gaze away, as if she'd seen something terribly embarrassing.
"Ahem."
Lumina's mental fortitude was still incredibly strong. She quickly composed herself and cleared her throat, refusing to show any sign of weakness.
Taking advantage of the fact that Herta hadn't yet sat up from the sofa, Lumina strode toward the bathroom.
"Herta, I'm going to take a shower first."
After speaking, without waiting for Herta to give any reply, Lumina opened the bathroom door and went inside.
For a moment, only Herta, lying on the sofa, remained in the living room.
"..."
"As expected."
Herta slowly rose, the flush on her face not having completely faded, but it had already returned to normal.
It didn't look like a blush caused by shyness, but rather like a flush caused by anger.
Come to think of it, anyone who was played with by Lumina like this would be lying if they said they weren't furious.
Even if they weren't furious, wouldn't they still be "furious"?
Herta tidied her clothes and snorted coldly.
It was fortunate that Herta had already anticipated this outcome, otherwise her mind would have been clouded by rage at this moment.
"Hmm... speaking of which, Lumina's reaction just now seemed a bit strange?"
Although Herta had been lying on the sofa with her back to Lumina, given Herta's strength, she had very clearly felt Lumina's aura change in an instant.
One second she was still mocking, and the next, she had stopped.
This feeling... it was as if she had seen something?
What did she see?
Herta muttered to herself.
She roughly reconstructed the scene in her mind.
She was lying on the sofa, and Lumina was looking at her from behind.
When Lumina was mocking her, she must have been looking at her.
So what did she see...
"..."
As she thought about it, Herta seemed to understand.
And after Herta figured it out, her previously returned normal complexion began to flush red again at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Herta wasn't an idiot; in that scene just now.
It was already incredibly obvious what Lumina had seen that caused her to leave in such a hurry...
She saw her...
Then I'll have to look back...
As Herta continued to think, the image in her mind returned to the very beginning.
The image of Lumina's skirt being lifted to her thigh.
Although this thought was a bit perverted, but... but... but Herta couldn't help but fantasize about it.
Perhaps Herta was sick.
The old Herta would never have imagined she would ever do such a thing.
If the old Herta saw her like this now, she would probably be shouting questions at herself over and over again.
"Why do I feel like I'm gradually turning into a pervert?"
Herta frowned deeply and covered her head with her hand, feeling herself drifting in a very wrong direction.
"Sigh, it's all Lumina's fault."
With a silent sigh, Herta sat back down on the sofa, her gaze fixed on the closed bathroom door. She grumbled, blaming all the "sins" on Lumina.
If Lumina hadn't been flirting with her without taking any responsibility, would Herta even be in this situation?
With such immense charm, flirting around every day was bound to attract attention.
Yet Lumina completely ignored it. If people stare, they stare, she'd probably think. It's not like I have any feelings for them anyway.
Herta could almost hear Lumina's inner thoughts.
She finally understood Lumina's mindset.
Creeak—
Just as Herta was thinking this, the bathroom door suddenly swung open.
Herta quickly turned her head toward the sound and saw Lumina, now fully dressed.
At the sight, Herta looked away with a bored expression.
"I forgot my towel."
During the time she spent in the bathroom, the flush on Lumina's face had completely vanished, returning to its usual pale white.
Picking up a disposable towel from the cabinet, Lumina gave Herta a smiling nod before returning to the bathroom door.
"Oh, right."
Just as Lumina was about to step inside and close the door, she suddenly remembered something. She placed a finger against her lips, tilted her head toward Herta, and added with a smile, "Herta, I'm not in the habit of locking the door."
"So, you absolutely must not come in and peek, okay?"
With that, Lumina stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
The sound of the lock turning never followed.
Herta: "..."
Does this idiot really think I'm stupid?
An outsider watching this scene would surely think Lumina was dropping a hint, right?
But Herta, who knew Lumina well, knew this was a complete trap.
And a trap with absolutely no reward.
With Lumina's strength, even if Herta approached the door and reached for the handle, Lumina could lock it in an instant.
Herta would then be subjected to a barrage of insults for being a pervert.
Well... if I'm trying to peek at someone bathing, I deserve to be called a pervert.
Though I really do want to see...