Upon hearing this, Dr. Ratio's expression remained unchanged as he lightly agreed.
Stelle shifted her gaze away from him and organized the events she had experienced earlier.
At first, Herta had asked her to find an important curio.
But after throwing out the problem, Herta ran off. Stelle had no choice but to run around the space station asking for information about that curio and whether there were any witnesses.
Then she suddenly lost consciousness and woke up to the current scene.
Stelle simplified the complicated process and, in just a few minutes, described the more important parts.
After listening, Dr. Ratio said calmly:
"According to your statement, the reason you met with Herta was because you received a named commission to find a curio whose name you don't even know."
"But Herta has countless curios in her collection. It's hard to imagine she would value an ordinary curio so highly."
Stelle refuted: "You're right, but only on the premise that the curio is ordinary."
Dr. Ratio: "Feel free to speak plainly."
Stelle: "The curio itself isn't the main point. It's because it's related to the Genius Club that Herta took it seriously."
"The correct angle."
Screwllum approved of Stelle's words and added:
"It's likely that curio is the creation of some Genius. Logic: it holds extraordinary significance."
Dr. Ratio: "That point holds. I don't deny the possibility. But afterward, this is what you said—"
"To investigate the lost curio, you sought help from Asta. However, before the inquiry even began, she didn't mention a single word about it."
"I'm starting to wonder—are you lying, or is she hiding something?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Asta couldn't help but look at Stelle with a hesitant expression.
Stelle didn't ignore Asta's gaze and signaled for her to relax.
"That's right. Asta deliberately hid some things. Due to her position, these matters aren't suitable to be discussed openly."
"What position is more important than Herta's safety?" Dr. Ratio seized the key point.
Stelle frowned. This guy was deflecting to Herta again.
In reality, the attack on Herta's doll wasn't a big deal at all.
Just as Leon had said earlier, Dr. Ratio was definitely using the incident as an excuse. His real intentions were still unknown.
Just as she was about to lay everything out clearly, Asta sighed helplessly and spoke first.
"…Forget it. Since I tacitly allowed Mr. Ratio to participate in this matter, he's not an outsider. Stelle, tell him the inside story."
Stelle nodded. "After the Antimatter Legion incident, the space station has remained unstable and deeply mired in a crisis of trust."
"If another malicious incident occurs at this time, it would be like pouring oil on fire and completely ignite internal conflicts."
"As luck would have it, the space station happened to have cases of staff disappearances at this time. Next came the attack on the Herta doll."
"What do you think would happen to the space station if Asta didn't hide these things?"
Dr. Ratio wore an noncommittal expression.
"No wonder Miss Asta tacitly allowed my participation. After all, a representative of the Genius Society wouldn't have much connection with the space station, yet our stance aligns with the company's."
"No need to worry about favoritism, and the space station's interests will still be protected. Killing two birds with one stone."
"Continuous staff disappearances… I learned some related information from the Defense Department Captain Arlan's missions."
Stelle: "Then you know about Adler, right?"
Dr. Ratio: "Adler?"
Stelle: "A Level 2 staff member. The head of the Species Boundary Department said he's the person who knows the most about curios."
"When I met Arlan, Adler happened to be assisting him in investigating the continuous disappearance cases."
Dr. Ratio: "Then did he tell you the answer to the disappearance incident?"
Stelle shook her head. "Adler seemed to have thought of something at the time, but afterward he never contacted me. I don't know the specific reason for the staff disappearances."
Dr. Ratio: "So you think the continuous staff disappearances are related to the attack on the Herta doll, but I don't think so."
Stelle's gaze turned a few degrees colder. How could she not hear the aggressive tone in his words?
"No matter how much you suspect me, I'm still just an unrelated person who was accidentally dragged into this—just like you, who was also accidentally dragged in but started playing the role of interrogator."
Dr. Ratio: "Oh? So?"
Stelle: "Asta said that a Herta doll was attacked for unknown reasons and has gone missing. Its signal also remains impossible to locate."
"The same modus operandi is almost identical to the staff disappearance cases."
Dr. Ratio: "Miss Asta did say that. But so what? If you want to prove the two are the same incident, then produce evidence."
Stelle: "While investigating the continuous disappearance incidents, Arlan discovered something strange."
"Before and after the staff members disappeared, there were records of the space station's automatic fire suppression system activating briefly."
"Arlan described it like this: every victim was accompanied by a bizarre case of spontaneous combustion before they disappeared."
"That's what he said."
Asta fell into deep thought and murmured:
"But what I don't understand is, after verification, the space station couldn't find any traces of fire anywhere…"
"Correct. But this information has even more important meaning right now—"
Stelle spoke with certainty:
"Although it can't be used as direct evidence, if there were also records of the fire suppression system activating around the time the doll was attacked, then there would be sufficient reason to suspect that the two incidents are connected."
Dr. Ratio pondered. "If the two incidents were indeed committed by the same person, then your suspicion would decrease significantly. But the premise is that the system contains the records you claim exist."
Leon said lightly: "That's easy to handle. Master Control Room. Surveillance records. Please."
Asta: "I think so too. Let's go. Head to the Master Control… Hm? What's that sound?"
Asta opened her phone.
Seeing her action, Stelle did the same and discovered that the Herta Inspection Squad group chat had gained another video.
"Herta Lady Solo-Push News Flash — Breaking news, breaking news!"
"The matter of Lady Herta being attacked finally has an update. The Annihilation Gang has claimed responsibility for the entire incident and will take further action. The Society expresses strong condemnation toward this…"
A burning flame-headed figure suddenly appeared right in front of the camera and said something that made people frown.
"The gods of the stars have passed away, leaving behind different customs. They have no heart to care for the insignificant masses."
"Only the wounded benefactor can command all realms to bathe in the flames of destruction."
"Yet there are always cowardly villains who delusionally refuse grace and flee from bestowed wounds."
"Flee then. Flee as much as you like—wherever you flee, Extinction will eventually arrive!"
Dr. Ratio: "A declaration of war in writing, a letter of warning—you've been targeted."
"The Legion's aftermath hasn't even faded, yet the Annihilation Gang is already following closely behind. It seems that compared to Erudition, your space station has a better affinity with the Path of Destruction."
Stelle rubbed her chin with two fingers. "Annihilation Gang … I feel like I've heard of them somewhere. Leon, do you have any impression?"
Leon: "I've heard of them, but I'm not familiar with the so-called Duke Inferno."