"Hmm... I wonder if Herta's idea of 'fast' is a little different from mine?" Lumina muttered, her voice tinged with irritation. She had been waiting at the grand entrance of The Reverie Hotel, but Herta was nowhere in sight.
As she grumbled, Lumina realized something: Herta's message had likely been sent before she even entered the Asdana Star System.
Even the Astral Express takes time to reach The Reverie Hotel after entering the Asdana Star System, let alone Herta's starship. She'd likely be waiting here for quite a while.
No, no, no! I absolutely must collect some interest from her when she finally arrives!
Though Herta herself wasn't directly responsible for the delay, that didn't stop Lumina from jotting down this grievance in her little notebook, vowing to settle the score someday.
"Hmm?" Just as Lumina was scribbling in her notebook, she sensed something. She looked up, gazing toward a specific point in the starry sky.
"This aura... it's the aura of an Emanator of Erudition."
Lumina's face lit up with mischief. "(★ ω ★)"
Oh, Little Herta, Little Herta~ You say you don't want to, but your body is telling a different story!
Having sensed the aura and confirmed that Herta was arriving in her main body, Lumina immediately tore up her little notebook.
Why bother writing anything down? I might as well collect all the interest right now! Why wait for the future?
Her eyes gleaming with anticipation, Lumina stared intently at a point in the Starry Sky, mentally rehearsing the perfect way to greet the arrival of the magnificent Madam Herta!
-
"Didn't I tell you not to wait for me at the Reverie Hotel entrance?"
"What's this? So eager to see me?"
Shortly after, a magnificent starship arrived at the Reverie Hotel's docking bay. From it emerged a towering figure clad in a pointed witch's hat—Madam Herta herself—who, like a superstar, walked toward Lumina surrounded by a throng of Little Herta Puppets.
Madam Herta, her pointed witch's hat perched atop her head, gazed at Lumina waiting at the hotel entrance, a hint of amusement flickering in her eyes, as if pleased by Lumina's gesture of greeting her.
Despite this inner delight, Madam Herta maintained a teasingly haughty demeanor, shooting Lumina a condescending glance that seemed to say, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told you not to come, yet here you are. Are you really that smitten with me?"
"Madam Herta," Lumina asked, ignoring Madam Herta's pointed gaze and scrutinizing her from head to toe and back again, feigning puzzlement, "didn't you say that for this visit to Penacony, any puppet would suffice?"
"What's this? Is even the Herta wearing the pointed witch's hat a puppet?"
After finishing her sentence, Lumina curiously glanced at the pointed witch's hat atop Little Herta's head. With a look of profound, even near-total bewilderment, she reached out and touched Herta's face.
"Hiss... it doesn't feel like one at all. Has puppet technology really advanced this far?"
As she savored the remarkably lifelike, almost intoxicatingly realistic texture, Lumina's voice and expression grew even more puzzled.
A mere touch wasn't enough. Seemingly determined to confirm whether The Herta before her was truly a puppet, Lumina began kneading and pinching Herta's cheeks.
Herta: ...
Slap!
"What are you doing?" Herta snapped, swatting away Lumina's mischievous hand with a frown. Her eyes, now narrowed, held a hint of anger.
"Aha ha... I was just trying to confirm if this was another one of your puppets," Lumina said with an awkward yet polite smile. "No harm intended. After all, you did say you only sent a puppet. And I've never seen one this realistic before."
Despite the slap, Lumina secretly savored the lingering sensation of her hand pressing against Herta's soft cheeks.
Don't misunderstand. I just wanted to verify whether this incredibly realistic Herta before me was a puppet. No malicious intent whatsoever.
Heh heh heh
Herta rolled her eyes at Lumina's utterly useless explanation.
An Emanator of Abundance can't tell a puppet from a real person? Isn't that ridiculous?
Herta was absolutely certain Lumina had done this on purpose.
As for her motive? It was likely just to take advantage of the situation.
Herta didn't care. Taking advantage of a genius like her wasn't so easy. Later, she would naturally reclaim those petty gains from Lumina.
Of course, Herta didn't exactly dislike Lumina's little act of opportunism...
[How does Herta's face compare to Robin's?]
Just as Lumina and Herta were deep in their own thoughts, the System suddenly interjected with a question for Lumina.
"They each have their own merits," Lumina replied without hesitation, glancing at the message on the screen. "If only I could have one in each hand..."
[Ah, exposed.]
"Hmm..."
The moment Lumina realized the System was trying to trick her into revealing information, she immediately fell silent.
As expected, this thing just needs a good beating...
"Hey! Lumina! Hey!"
Just as Lumina was pondering how to punish this invisible, intangible System, Herta's sudden shouts snapped her out of her thoughts.
"Hmm? What is it?" Lumina asked, temporarily shelving her plans for retribution as she smiled at Herta.
"Get inside already! What are you standing there for? Mesmerized by my beauty?" Herta rolled her eyes at Lumina's dazed expression.
"Yes, Madam Herta, you are simply too beautiful. I was so captivated, I accidentally became lost in your splendor," Lumina replied with a completely earnest nod, leaving Herta unsure whether she was genuinely praising her or just being sarcastic.
"Well, what can I say? My beauty is just that captivating."
"It's just a pity that Nous, the Erudition, saw me first. Otherwise, I would have been at least an Emanator of Beauty." Regardless of whether Lumina's compliment was genuine or not, Herta chose to believe it anyway.
"Madam Herta, with your inherent beauty, you hardly need the title of an Emanator of Beauty to prove yourself."
"Not bad, not bad. I didn't expect you to be such a smooth talker."
Lumina had somehow learned to flatter women, and her words clearly pleased Herta.
"Let's go. I've already notified the Family representative. We can just check into a room." Seeing Herta's satisfied expression, Lumina chuckled lightly, spoke these words, and turned to walk deeper into The Reverie Hotel.
Seeing this, Herta waved her hand, signaling all the Herta Puppets beside her to return to the Starship. She then followed Lumina, walking shoulder to shoulder with her.
"So, our great Madam Herta—weren't you saying that for such a trivial matter, sending a puppet would suffice? Why the sudden personal visit?"
"This caught me so off guard that I haven't even prepared properly. How rude of me."
Lumina pulled out her phone, opened their chat history, and while walking, held the phone up to Herta's face, asking with a smile.
"Do you even deserve to know the thoughts of a genius like me?" Herta scoffed, offering no explanation. Her expression and gaze remained impassive, revealing no emotion.
"Whether it's the Main Body or a puppet, isn't every Herta just me?"
"No matter which one comes, it's all the same."
Though Herta showed no outward emotion, she inwardly felt utter contempt and speechlessness toward Lumina's behavior.
Clinging to such a trivial matter—isn't that just childish?
At her age, still acting so immature and bored...
"Of course they're different," Lumina countered, unaware of Herta's inner thoughts. She flatly rejected Herta's claim.
"At the very least... the texture is completely different." Under Herta's intense gaze, Lumina slowly articulated the fundamental difference between the Herta Puppet and Herta herself.
Herta: ...
The Herta Puppet feels remarkably realistic, but it's not even one ten-thousandth as good as the real thing!
That was Lumina's assessment of the Herta Puppet and the real Herta.
Of course, Lumina kept this to herself.
After all, she'd be branded a pervert...