"Honkai? That doesn't sound like a pleasant term. I'm curious—what makes it interesting to you?"
Stelle looked toward the person walking over.
It was a girl with clearly visible puppet joints.
And she strolled over without a care in the world.
First impression—she was beautiful.
Second impression—she was arrogant.
"A higher civilization embracing a lower one. As for how advanced… in my understanding, that device has existed for at least a billion years."
At first, Su Ran thought Aeons were already the pinnacle.
But as the Honkai story unfolded,
He realized Honkai itself seemed even more mysterious.
Dr. MEI from Fire Moth had spent fifty thousand years observing parallel worlds and bubble universes,
Searching for ways to combat Honkai—
And still found no solution.
How many worlds had been affected?
No one could say.
Honkai might only cover a solar system—
But where its influence extended?
That was a far more difficult question.
Hearing Su Ran casually mention the age of the Finality, Welt was deeply shaken.
"If you've never been to my homeland, then where did you learn all this?"
"Sometimes, all it takes is a story. I just happen to be very interested in your world's story… and also in the power of the Herrscher of Reason."
He made no attempt to hide his interest in Welt.
Even though Welt was a man—
That only made Welt more tense.
He was worried—
That Su Ran might be the same kind of person as that man.
"What? Worried I'm Otto reincarnated?"
"..."
At this point, Welt didn't even know what to say.
It felt like he had no secrets left.
"Even if you don't trust me, don't you trust Herta?"
Standing beside Su Ran, Herta puffed out her chest,
Hands on her hips, looking proud.
"She's so cute!"
Stelle whispered to March.
"It's not that I don't trust you… it's just that that power is too dangerous."
Welt wasn't worried that they couldn't research it.
He was worried that once they did—
It would be used for destruction.
"But didn't you say I should exist in your past? Then will you trust your own intuition?"
As for researching Honkai, Su Ran wasn't in a hurry.
Even if Welt wasn't an option—
What about Acheron?
The Twelve Blades of Izumo corresponded to Herrschers.
That suggested her homeland might also have faced Honkai.
Perhaps this universe wasn't lacking Honkai incidents—
They just hadn't caused large-scale impact.
Welt wasn't unique.
So Su Ran didn't need to focus solely on him.
"I can agree to your request. But I have one condition—this power must not be abused."
In the end, Herta's reputation carried weight.
That gave Welt some level of trust.
"Easy."
With a chance to study Honkai,
Su Ran instantly became energized.
As for "not abusing it"—
If only he used it himself, that shouldn't count as abuse… right?
With Welt's matter temporarily settled,
Herta turned to Stelle.
"So this little brat is the Stellaron?"
She had noted the old man's issue,
But that could wait.
She'd interrogate Su Ran later.
"Yep. For some unknown reason, the Stellaron turned into this girl."
Because the Doomsday Beast had been killed by Skaracabaz,
Stelle never received the gaze of Destruction.
So the Stellaron didn't go berserk—
It was currently in a safe state.
"Unknown reason? I feel like you do know the truth."
Herta looked at him suspiciously.
She didn't believe he had no clues.
"I do. I just don't feel like saying it."
"Tch—how boring."
Since he wouldn't explain, she dropped it.
Herta didn't care much about why the Stellaron became human anyway.
But this girl—
Had great research value.
Even if she looked a bit… dumb.
"Interested in becoming my test subject? Compensation is negotiable."
Even if she seemed a bit slow,
Stelle's eyes lit up.
"Like what?"
This sounded way more profitable than dumpster diving.
"I can pay you credits."
"How much per session?"
"You name it."
Credits meant nothing to Herta.
After all—
She had Asta.
And where was Asta?
Standing right next to Su Ran.
"Fifty thousand per session."
Having no real sense of money,
Stelle casually named a number.
"Deal."
Herta didn't even blink.
The agreement was made instantly.
That made Stelle hesitate.
Did she ask for too little?
She looked at Su Ran.
"Not at all. She's never even paid me credits."
Su Ran had no intention of letting Stelle fleece Herta.
Besides, Herta had never paid him in credits—
She always gave him physical resources.
"So I hit the jackpot?"
Stelle remembered what Su Ran had said—
Herta had even confessed to him.
She didn't even spend money on the person she liked—
But she was paying her?
That had to be a win!
For Asta,
Fifty thousand credits was nothing.
She wouldn't even blink.
It wasn't enough to buy a decent outfit.
Compared to the recent material purchases—
This was pocket change.
In fact, she found repeated payments troublesome.
Maybe she should just transfer a million upfront—
Buy twenty sessions in advance.
A brief invasion of Herta Space Station
Ended up bringing both Su Ran and Herta
A high-quality test subject each.
The Astral Express had no choice but to stay a few extra days
To help restore operations.
Meanwhile, March 7th couldn't wait
To run off and verify the gossip about Su Ran and Herta with Asta.
As for asking Herta directly—
She didn't have the courage for that.
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