---o---
Looking at the Herta puppet opening its eyes before her, the dust-covered Bronya's eyes were filled with joy. For a moment, she even forgot the exhaustion in her own body... even though her clothes were now tattered and torn, making her look like a pitiful soul who had just escaped from a battlefield.
Right now, Bronya looked truly wretched. The heavy, layered skirts of her formal military dress had been crudely and cleanly cut away for ease of movement. Although she was still wearing the exquisite uniform from Belobog, she no longer possessed her former elegant and noble bearing.
...After all, no matter how beautiful one's clothes once were, after undergoing all sorts of abstract and extreme "torment," they would likely end up looking like layers upon layers of rags meant only for cover.
And the reason Bronya had ended up in this state... well, that story began a day ago.
After deciding to steal a Herta puppet and bring it back to Belobog, hoping to awaken Herta within this timeframe and rely on her power to save Ron, Bronya had exploded with extreme drive.
For Bronya, the Herta Space Station was completely unfamiliar territory. This place was like a blank slate to her; she didn't even know the layout of its various sections, let alone be familiar with its various locations and find areas that could provide her with cover to get a Herta puppet off the station...
But perhaps it was the urgency born from her heart and the steadfast will to save Ron that helped her. Relying on her ferocious, teeth-gritting determination and extraordinary drive, Bronya actually managed to formulate a plan to get the Herta puppet off the space station within a single day.
---o---
As an outworlder, the researchers at the Herta Space Station didn't really care about Bronya's existence...
The Herta Space Station was a research station renowned throughout the cosmos. Under its partnership with the Interastral Peace Corporation, countless students and members from the Genius Society came to the station every day for academic exchanges, promoting numerous collaborative projects.
For the researchers of the Herta Space Station, waking up, walking out of their dorms, and seeing a host of unfamiliar faces was a daily occurrence they had long grown accustomed to.
And the "joke" Bronya had caused, while it quickly spread throughout the entire Herta Space Station as a piece of gossip—after all, this academic prison was sorely lacking in amusing tales of fools to liven things up—no one became particularly vigilant towards Bronya because of it.
After all, fans of Lady Herta traveled from far and wide every day, piloting their ships across tens of thousands of light-years just to get a glimpse of Herta.
Bronya was just one of them. In the eyes of the station's researchers, her strange pronouncements at most proved her frenzied adoration for Lady Herta. How could she possibly be dangerous?
Who would think that a young girl in an old-fashioned military uniform, looking like a knight of salvation from some biographical novel who had traveled from afar to seek an audience with Lady Herta with a reason as grand and amusing as "saving the world," would pose any threat?
It was precisely for this reason that Asta had chosen to have Arlan take Bronya to the staff dormitories and even made her neighbors with the group from the Herta Fan Club. It was a fitting gesture, considering how far Bronya had traveled.
Who knew, maybe they could even trick Bronya into buying some Herta merchandise to help the space station's revenue?
After all, although Asta was unimaginably wealthy, that was her and her family's money... Constantly using her own private funds to plug the holes in the station's accounts wasn't a good thing. Asta was always looking for projects and methods to generate income for the station.
What Asta hadn't expected, however, was that her choice was what truly gave Bronya the opportunity to complete her plan...
After being arranged by Arlan into the staff dormitories in the Base Zone, Bronya quickly came into contact with the fans from the Herta Fan Club.
These zealous fans quickly heard about this new "super fan" of Herta from the various small chat groups on the station and, with extreme enthusiasm, invited Bronya to a small gathering organized by the Fan Club.
Although dealing with these weirdos who obsessed over Herta puppets and other such figurines all day left Bronya feeling a bit at a loss, the excellent etiquette she had cultivated in Belobog under the strict tutelage of the Supreme Guardian-to-be allowed her to quickly get on good terms with them...
After all, what kind of bad people could possibly like figurines?
Facing a "fellow enthusiast" as fervent as Bronya, these oddballs quickly warmed up to her. Under Bronya's seemingly intentional yet unintentional inquiries, they told her everything they knew—
For example, how many of the Herta puppets on the station were Herta's personal, commonly used units, and where these puppets were located...
Also, what time the researchers in the station's security department usually got off work, where they usually congregated, and if there were any restricted areas on the station that shouldn't be entered...
All sorts of questions were casually asked by Bronya in an inconspicuous manner. The members of the Herta Fan Club, though puzzled as to why Bronya was asking about these things in such detail, were more or less able to understand.
After all, she was new here. Although Bronya seemed like a zealous Herta fan, she didn't seem like a brainless idiot who chased stars blindly. It was only natural for her to want to understand the various rules of a new place.
Therefore, the members of the Herta Fan Club enthusiastically answered all of Bronya's questions. Many of them even, on account of Bronya being pretty, generous, and polite, said that all members of the Herta Fan Club were brothers and sisters, and if she ever ran into any trouble, she could ask them for help...
And with that, Bronya thoroughly figured out all the information she needed.
After declining the invitation from these Herta fanatics to review Herta's classic achievements, she stood in a corner of the party, a dark idea gradually taking root in her heart...
She decided to take the lead and organize a Herta Merchandise Expo... Although she had absolutely no Herta merchandise, she couldn't argue with the fact that the Fan Club members were really easy to talk to.
Although Bronya's negotiation skills were just so-so, as the next Supreme Guardian of Belobog who had been through so much, she understood a thing or two...
After all, in the simulations where she acted as the Supreme Guardian, a lot of her interactions and coordination with her ministers were a form of negotiation... While she wasn't particularly good at it back then, she was by no means bad.
That level of skill, when used on these fans from the Herta Fan Club, was practically a dimensional downgrade.
Where had these otaku, who spent their days cooped up in their labs completing research tasks and then went home to happily play with their Herta figurines, ever seen a negotiation expert like Bronya?
At this impromptu gathering of the Herta Fan Club, Bronya, with her superb eloquence, convinced everyone to spontaneously decide to hold a "Herta Merchandise Expo" with her, where they would all take out their precious "collections" the next day for exhibition, to prove their devout faith as Herta fans.
And this was the grand smokescreen Bronya had pushed for to conceal her true intentions.
There were many of Herta's commonly used puppets scattered all over the space station—or perhaps it's not right to say scattered. It was simply that Lady Herta had gone there, then had to log off for some urgent business, and so the puppet was left abandoned on the spot, looking quite disorganized.
Because Lady Herta had a habit of using things when she needed them and tossing them aside when she was done, these puppets could be found in any nook or cranny...
But since no one dared to touch Lady Herta's things, especially things that were practically Lady Herta herself, these puppets were left where they were. Many of them were severely lacking patrols from the Security Department staff.
This gave Bronya an immense amount of room to operate... She could easily take away the Herta puppet from an extremely remote corridor in the Base Zone that almost no one ever passed through, and bring it under her control.
But things weren't so easy from there.
The security staff of the Herta Space Station guarded all important passages, especially the path to the platform. There were several checkpoints manned by security staff along the way. Wanting to bring the Herta puppet back to her ship was harder than ascending to the heavens...
But, this was where the "Herta Merchandise Expo" came into effect.
A Herta puppet like this, among the merchandise of the Herta Fan Club, was not a particularly special existence at all...
Because of Bronya's earlier hints, when the "Herta Merchandise Expo" began, Bronya arrived carrying such a puppet on her back. Everyone just assumed it was a high-end figurine that Bronya had acquired, one that looked identical to Lady Herta's puppet—
And that was it... Let alone a puppet identical to Lady Herta's, some fans in the Herta Fan Club could even produce puppets that looked identical to Lady Herta's actual body. They said it was a mechanical puppet that Lady Herta had once retired, far more precious than the one Bronya had acquired.
It was precisely because of this that Bronya successfully hid the Herta puppet among these figurines. She, along with these otaku who were showing off their precious high-end merchandise to other Herta fans, dispersed after the expo ended. Together, they were spot-checked by the security staff and then let go, easily passing through several checkpoints...
But, that was only for those checkpoints.
After returning with the Herta puppet to the staff dormitory area in the Base Zone, those Fan Club members, satisfied with their big figurines, went back to their rooms to rest, leaving Bronya completely without the human shield she had artificially created...
On the road ahead, she had no more teammates to use their precious Herta merchandise to take the fall for her.
However, the path ahead was only the last checkpoint... After leaving the staff dormitories and passing through one checkpoint, she would arrive at the lowest-level platform. Bronya's small ship was parked in the most inconspicuous corner of the platform. As long as she got on board, she would have perfectly completed her objective.
It would soon be time for the Security Department members to change shifts. Although they were still at their posts at this time, it was definitely when security was at its weakest.
Bronya cut off the heavy, movement-restricting skirts of her dress, strapped the Herta puppet to her body so she could carry it securely on her back...
And then... she ran!
This time, Bronya truly used every ounce of her strength. The Imaginary Energy, under her will, was dyed a verdant green, becoming a steadfast wind that propelled her forward. The security staff on shift had just let out a yawn when they saw Bronya rush past the checkpoint like a gust of wind, her footsteps never stopping as she sprinted towards the platform...
They were stunned for a moment, then immediately came to their senses, quickly notifying the other members of the Security Department and reporting an emergency. Then, they began to chase after Bronya without pause.
To be honest, this chase should have been resolved cleanly and efficiently within a few minutes.
After all, the security staff of the Herta Space Station were all highly skilled, and they were armed with lethal long-range weapons... They could even occasionally apply to use the station's lethal Curios. Dealing with a little girl like Bronya should have been a piece of cake.
One shot, and the next second, Bronya would "thump" onto the ground, her soul returning to Belobog to reunite with her Supreme Guardian ancestors...
However, who was to blame for Bronya's previously crafted image as a zealous Herta fan being so deeply ingrained in everyone's minds?
Everyone thought that this eccentric girl who had traveled from thousands of miles away was just a zealous fan of Herta. And since she was a zealous fan, it was understandable that she would do something like steal one of Herta's puppet bodies...
A zealous fan's star-chasing tendencies shouldn't escalate to the point of being a capital offense... so no one prepared to use those lethal weapons. In fact, for the sake of the Herta Space Station's image, Asta, who knew everything, even ordered the Security Department to try their best not to use those non-lethal weapons either, and to absolutely not cause any real harm to Bronya...
This was an absolutely wonderful piece of news for Bronya—those non-lethal soft-pellet guns, capture nets, tasers, and so on, aside from making her look a bit more disheveled, were unable to stop her extremely rapid footsteps under such a determined will...
So, the final result was that although she was battered and bruised and extremely disheveled, she did indeed succeed in reaching her ship before everyone caught up to her. She successfully opened the hatch of her own ship, threw Herta onto a seat, and then plopped down herself—
Immediately after, she saw the Herta puppet open its eyes and look at her expressionlessly.
Suppressing the joy welling up from the bottom of her heart and the pain and exhaustion that her limbs couldn't stop transmitting, Bronya glanced out the window at the security staff who were desperately rushing over. Without a second word, she started the ship. In a flash, she was like an arrow, disappearing into the vast sea of stars, leaving only the security staff and a hastily arrived Asta and Arlan to look at each other in dismay, watching dumbfounded as Bronya flew away...
After setting the autopilot and programming the destination for the Jarilo-VI system, Bronya immediately turned her head and looked at the Herta puppet sitting silently beside her, staring at her expressionlessly.
"Miss Herta!"
Bronya lunged forward and grabbed Herta by the shoulders, her eyes already brimming with tears:
"Please save Ron!"
Herta raised an eyebrow, a big question mark appearing above her head.
What, you're a player too??