"Phew... I really feel like I was over there in Honkai Impact for ages this time."
Lynelle sat up in her hibernation pod within the space station, rubbing her still-groggy eyes.
"Yeah, the stored data file size doubled this time. If my system couldn't automatically extract the key parts, just reviewing your experiences would've eaten up most of my research time."
Herta's voice came from beside the pod.
"Herta? What brings you here?"
"What, the Astral Express is departing today. Can't I come check on my lab assistant?" Herta pouted slightly, plopping down next to Lynelle's pod and deftly pinching her cheek.
"Such a nice feel... I've been testing the Simulated Universe all week and haven't had time to come relax with you."
"Don't talk about me like I'm some packaged happiness..."
Lynelle protested weakly, yet her body honestly scooted closer to Herta.
"As long as you can bring me joy... Actually, speaking of which, Lynelle, why were there over seven consecutive hours of blocked content in your dream data this time?"
Noticing Lynelle's movement, Herta seemed to recall something, her curiosity piqued.
"One moment you were preparing to probe that girl Kiana's core, and the next there was a solid seven hours of black screen. I almost thought my monitor broke."
"When the block finally lifted, you were back in your dorm, looking completely drained... Did you get into some fight inside Kiana's core?"
"Um..."
Herta's question immediately brought back Lynelle's embarrassing memories from that night, making her stammer.
"Ahem, y-you could say it was a fight... Anyway, the blocking was probably because it involved some private matters related to the System. This kind of situation is pretty normal, really."
"...Is that so? But..." Herta's brow furrowed slightly. She didn't doubt Lynelle was telling the truth, but if probing Kiana's core involved that Herrscher's privacy... didn't that mean the System and Kiana must be closely connected?
So, the System backing Lynelle was also a fool-type good person? To leave such a massive loophole, essentially exposing themselves outright?
At this thought, Herta couldn't help but sigh. She placed her hands on Lynelle's shoulders and spoke seriously.
"Besides me, you must never agree to let anyone else study your memories or dreams..."
"O-of course not. Is there anyone in the universe more brilliant than Madam Herta? I feel completely safe leaving the research to you."
"I'm confident too, but I'm just worried you might be tricked by other bad women." Herta shook her head helplessly.
"After all... both you and that existence are quite the fools."
"?"
Lynelle's head seemed to sprout visible question marks. "How did you jump to that conclusion?"
"Never mind, let's drop it... The main reason I came today was to give you this." Herta gave her staff a light flick, and a sizable figure materialized in her hand. "Here, the little Herta I promised you."
"?!"
Lynelle's eyes instantly sparkled.
"Y-you didn't just mean for me to pick one from the space station? You custom-made a little Herta doll just for me?"
Lynelle lunged forward and hugged Herta tightly. "Wahh, Madam Herta, you're the greatest..."
"D-don't rub your face all over my clothes! For a genius, this is a trivial matter..."
Feeling the softness of Lynelle's body against her, Herta's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't push away the girl clinging to her slender waist.
"Besides, most of the little Hertas at the space station are loaded with all sorts of odd modules, and their remote communication functions aren't optimized. Given the nature of your Astral Express, you might one day travel to some remote location and lose the signal entirely."
"Eh? We could lose signal?"
"Of course. But I specifically enhanced the one I'm giving you. Unless you're in an extremely remote location, even if you can't control the doll's body, communication should still work."
Herta tilted her chin up slightly, speaking with full confidence.
"And even if you do end up somewhere completely uncharted, I have a way to find you quickly... Through the Fourth Mirror, I can project myself to any corner of the universe. So, if you encounter anything you can't handle, just tell me."
"After all, you're my precious lab assistant. Even if you can't die, thanks to the rampant Abundance Abominations, every faction has their own methods for dealing with immortals..."
"Won't I be too much trouble?"
"You're one of my most important research projects right now. There's no such thing as trouble." Herta waved a hand dismissively.
"Alright, hurry up and pack this little Herta to take with you. I specifically replaced all the doll's joints to a normal state so you can use her as a hugging pillow... But don't you dare sleep holding her every single night!"
"Eh? Why not..."
"Because your sleeping posture is terrible too!" Herta gave Lynelle's rear a sharp slap.
"Don't forget, the Astral Express and the space station have a time difference. I don't want to log into the doll during my leisure time only to find it being hugged by you in all sorts of positions..."
"It's not allowed...?"
"Hmph, I told you, it's a doll, not some weird functional toy!" Herta snorted lightly. "But... holding it occasionally is... fine..."
"Yay! Madam Herta is a peerless gem!"
--+--
After the morning's interlude, the exhaustion from two straight days of grinding in the Honkai world instantly vanished.
In fact, if Herta hadn't reminded her, Lynelle might have forgotten that today was a special day.
The Astral Express, docked at the space station for a week, was finally about to depart.
"Stelle, how have you found life at the space station these past few days?"
"I'd say it's been pretty good, right?"
Stelle tilted her head blankly. Perhaps because she'd been doing commissions at the space station for a week, compared to when she first 'awoke', she now seemed to possess a bit more... spark?
"Oh, right, Lynelle. When I went to the Express yesterday, Pom-Pom told me to make sure we both report back early today."
"To quote it directly..."
"Passengers Lynelle and Stelle, remember to return to the Express early today. The Conductor has important matters to discuss with you."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.