"Mr. Sunday, Dr. Ratio, we meet again," Lumina greeted as she and Herta entered the room, her eyes sweeping over the two men inside.
Hearing the slightly familiar name "Ratio," Herta paused, then nodded coolly at Sunday before fixing her gaze on Veritas Ratio.
"Veritas Ratio, I know you. Stelle told me about you."
"Thank you for your assistance with the Space Station."
Herta remained indifferent to Ratio's help with the Space Station. If he wanted to help, fine. If not, fine. Either way, it's done.
Had they not crossed paths, she wouldn't have bothered acknowledging him. But since fate had brought them together, she felt compelled to offer a brief, perfunctory courtesy.
Thus, Herta nodded at Ratio and delivered a cold, emotionless thank you.
"To be praised by a genius is my honor," Dr. Ratio replied, his expression unchanging as he accepted her thanks with a polite bow.
"Mr. Sunday, please don't forget my data."
"I'll be taking my leave now."
It was clear that Herta, Lumina, and Sunday had matters to discuss. Dr. Ratio wasn't foolish enough to misread the situation. After addressing Sunday, he nodded briefly to Herta and Lumina before departing without lingering.
"Didn't Screwllum tell Ratio about the Divergent Universe?" Lumina murmured to herself, watching Ratio's retreating figure.
After all, in the original Story, the Divergent Universe had been Screwllum and Ratio's joint creation.
For such a major project, advance notification would have been standard procedure. Yet Ratio seemed completely unaware of it? This left Lumina puzzled.
However, her curiosity didn't require her to ponder the matter further. Her primary goal wasn't this so-called Divergent Universe anyway.
Whether Ratio knew about it or not was not only irrelevant to her but potentially advantageous.
Screwllum wouldn't arrive on Penacony for some time yet. Until then, it would be just her and Herta, enjoying their private Time together...
"Miss Lumina, we meet again." After Dr. Ratio left, Sunday rose to his feet, smiled at Lumina in greeting, and then turned his gaze to Herta.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Madam Herta. On behalf of the Penacony Family, I extend a warm welcome to your arrival."
"Spare me the formalities and get straight to the point," Herta replied curtly, clearly impatient.
Though Sunday held the esteemed position of Head of the Oak Family of Penacony, he adopted a slightly more deferential posture when addressing an Emanator of Erudition.
Herta, however, paid little heed to such formalities. She simply stated bluntly that she wanted Sunday to cut to the chase.
"Very well." Having observed Herta's demeanor during their brief exchange, Sunday understood her personality. He gestured toward two chairs. "Miss Lumina, Madam Herta, please have a seat."
Once Lumina and Herta were seated, Sunday settled into his own chair and slowly announced the Family's decision regarding their new project: "Miss Lumina, Madam Herta, after extensive deliberations among the Five Great Families..."
"Ultimately, we have approved the establishment of your new project on Penacony."
The Five Great Families almost unanimously supported the establishment of Lumina and Herta's new project on Penacony.
The reason was simple: since they had already acknowledged the project's absolute safety, the Family had no grounds for refusal.
After all, this was a new project jointly established by an Emanator of Abundance, an Emanator of Erudition, and several geniuses from the Genius Society.
Domestically, it would boost Penacony's citizens' pride and sense of security. Look, they would say, so many esteemed figures have chosen Penacony—doesn't that prove the splendor of our Sweet Dream?
Internationally, it would greatly enhance the Sweet Dream's reputation, elevating Penacony's prestige throughout the Cosmos.
Of course, the primary reason for the Family's approval was their devotion to the Aeon of Harmony. Harmony embraces all things, naturally including Abundance and Erudition.
Therefore, regardless of the Family's considerations, they had no reason to reject Lumina and Herta's proposal to establish their new project on Penacony.
Hmm... as long as this project truly poses no risks...
But with Lumina, the Emanator of Abundance, whose reputation and prestige are impeccable, there shouldn't be any issues, right?
"Where will the location be? Is Penacony providing it, or can we choose freely?" Herta asked, posing a crucial question. She neither knew nor cared about the Family's true motives.
Hearing this, Sunday replied courteously, "Vacant areas within Penacony's Sweet Dream are exceedingly scarce. Allocating space for your project would be extremely difficult, for which the Family sincerely apologizes."
Lumina and Herta remained silent, patiently awaiting Sunday's next statement.
"Therefore, after collective deliberation, the Family has decided to grant you unrestricted use of the Radiant Feldspar, an airship that navigates the Memory Zone Sea between Penacony's twelve time zones. You may use it as you see fit."
As Sunday finished speaking, a document materialized in his hand and slid smoothly across the table, landing before Lumina and Herta.
Seeing this, neither Lumina nor Herta reached for the document. After a moment, Lumina noticed Herta sitting with her eyes closed, showing no intention of taking the file. With a sigh, Lumina reluctantly picked up the document and began flipping through it casually.
This makes it look like I'm the one who proposed the Divergent Universe Project, Lumina thought to herself, inwardly grumbling as she skimmed the document.
As for the document's actual contents? Lumina had no clue. Riddled with specialized terminology, even a translator wouldn't have helped her make sense of it.
"Hmm... not bad," Lumina murmured, feigning comprehension. She calmly set the document down and flashed Sunday a practiced smile.
"I'm glad you like it, Miss Lumina." Lumina's acting skills were impeccable, and Sunday, who wasn't particularly familiar with her, naturally detected no signs of deception.
Seeing that Lumina hadn't voiced any specific merits or flaws, Sunday let out a small sigh of relief.
While Lumina possessed neither strengths nor weaknesses, this situation was quite favorable for Sunday and the Family.
Hmm... No matter how hard Sunday racked his brains, he couldn't possibly have imagined that Lumina wasn't reluctant to offer strengths and weaknesses; she simply didn't understand the "points" at all...
"Pfft..."
Though Sunday couldn't have imagined this, Herta certainly could.
From the moment she saw Lumina's earnest expression, studying the documents before her with the focused intensity of a scholar, Herta had been struggling to suppress her laughter.
When Lumina finally finished reviewing the documents with feigned seriousness and declared, "It's... alright," Herta nearly lost her composure. Only her formidable self-control allowed her to hold back.
Finally, watching Sunday sigh with relief at Lumina's verdict, Herta could no longer contain herself and burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha..."
Lumina: ...
Though Herta's laughter was barely audible, a soft murmur that could only be heard if one leaned in close, Lumina still caught every syllable.
In response, Lumina furiously scribbled a note about Herta in her little notebook, vowing to one day make her laugh to her heart's content while utterly humiliated...