Spy-...
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Unlike Okhema, where eternal dawn reigned, other parts of Amphoreus still experienced the cycle of day and night.
As the Sun began to set, darkness gradually swept in, blurring the clarity and brilliance of everything within sight.
While not pitch-black, it became difficult to discern the path ahead.
Traveling under such conditions, one might easily stray from the correct path without realizing it.
Just before nightfall, Lumina and Herta returned to Stelle, Castorice, Trianne, and the others, each carrying a basket of fish of unknown origin.
"Let's have grilled fish for dinner tonight," Lumina suggested.
"We didn't bring much cooking equipment, so we'll have to make do with the campfire."
"If you don't like it, I can find something else for you."
"Whether it's delicacies from land and sea or simple home-cooked meals, I can get it all for you."
Looking at the glowing, crackling campfire, Lumina lifted her basket of fish, gesturing to the trio.
To ensure they wouldn't find the grilled fish unpalatable, she added reassuringly, "Whatever you want to eat, Sister Lumina can get it for you!"
"You can entrust everything completely to Sister Lumina!"
This perfect "Big Sister" image instantly left a deep impression on the three girls' hearts.
What beautiful young woman could resist such a perfect "Big Sister" image?
Without a doubt, none could!
Even Herta, who knew Lumina's true motives, couldn't resist her charm.
Such was Lumina's allure!
Even if you knew she harbored ill intentions, even if you knew it was all an act, even if you knew she was digging a deep pit, setting a trap—
Under her indescribable charm, you would still willingly step into it!
As for whether you could turn the tables after falling in, that would depend entirely on the beautiful young woman's own strength and fortune...
"No, no, grilled fish is fine, thank you, Sister Lumina," Trianne said hastily, waving her hands on behalf of Castorice and Stelle.
Castorice showed no reaction to Lumina's words, nor did she object to Trianne's rejection on her behalf. With her hands clasped at her waist, she gave Lumina a slight smile as acknowledgment before returning to her usual serene demeanor.
But... Castorice's lack of objection didn't mean Stelle felt the same way.
Hearing her beloved Sister Lumina's words, Stelle, a child not yet three, naturally accepted this "blessing from her elder sister."
With her hands on her hips and a beaming smile, she exclaimed like a typical child, "Sister Lumina, I want to eat..."
"Little Grey, there's nothing around here—no ponds or places to catch fish, you know."
This was a forest, after all. Even Trianne, who had lived here for years, didn't know of any ponds, let alone ones teeming with these lively, large fish.
From this, Trianne deduced that Lumina must have gone to great lengths to catch these fish.
Realizing Lumina's hard work, how could Trianne possibly refuse to enjoy the grilled fish?
She immediately stood up, took the basket of flopping fish from Lumina's hands, and volunteered to squat by the campfire to help grill them for everyone.
Let them taste Teacher Trianne's culinary mastery!
"Uh..." Stelle stammered, momentarily at a loss for words.
She had absolute faith in her Sister Lumina's abilities. That's why she could express her desires without reservation, never needing to second-guess Lumina's intentions.
But Trianne was different. Though she could sense Lumina's immense power, she couldn't grasp its true extent—only that Lumina was far stronger than herself.
So, with Lumina weighing heavily on her mind, when Stelle spoke those words, Tribbie rushed to her side, tugged at her collar, and made a simple gesture, conveying how much effort Lumina had put into catching these fish.
"Uh..." Faced with Trianne's utterly transparent hint, Stelle scratched her head, glanced at her beloved Sister Lumina, and after a moment's thought, decided to go along with Trianne's idea.
Smiling at Lumina, she declared, "Sister Lumina, I have no objections!"
"It's fine," Lumina replied calmly. "Just tell me what you want to eat."
"No worries, no worries! I want grilled fish right now!"
"Alright then," Lumina nodded lightly, offering no further comment.
Approaching the campfire, she gracefully lifted her skirt and settled down with refined poise. Her white hair fluttered in the air, the dancing flames casting an ethereal glow across her exquisite features.
Even sitting on the ground by the fire, her elegant composure and serene demeanor radiated the beauty and grace of a noble young miss.
Watching this scene unfold beside her, Herta rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flipped inside out.
If Herta hadn't shared a room with Lumina before, she might have genuinely believed that the woman in the white dress before her was a flawless being—a personification of holiness and elegance, strength and gentleness, kindness and beauty, embodying all the world's most beautiful qualities.
In reality, Lumina was a slob who would lounge on the sofa, mindlessly scrolling through her short videos, propping up her bare feet and letting her smelly toes wiggle in the air.
Well... everything else was true, except for the "smelly toes" part. Herta wasn't entirely sure about that.
After all, Herta had never gotten close enough to smell them; she'd only observed from a distance, catching no scent at all.
Whether they were truly smelly or not was something Herta would have to investigate herself.
Until Herta had smelled them personally—or if she never smelled them at all—
Then, by default, they would be considered extremely smelly toes...
"Ahem..."
Realizing her thoughts had taken a rather perverse turn, Herta cleared her throat hastily and mentally slapped herself.
What am I even thinking?
How did my mind wander to Lumina's toes of all things?
Though, admittedly, Lumina's dainty feet were quite alluring. Back in Okhema's room, I found myself stealing glances at them from time to time.
But I shouldn't even be thinking about that!
These are perverted thoughts, Madam Herta! The brain is for pondering unsolved mysteries, for exploring knowledge yet undiscovered in the Cosmos!
Not for obsessing over whether Lumina's tiny feet stink or not!
Herta thought to herself, instantly dismissing the topic of Lumina's foot odor.
Truly, she is worthy of being called Madam Herta, isn't she?
She accomplished effortlessly what others could not.
But...
Was the matter truly settled?
"So... do Lumina's tiny feet actually stink?"
Even after dismissing the topic, this thought resurfaced in Herta's mind, like a parasite clinging to her consciousness.
And for a moment, Herta seemed oblivious to its presence.
?
Seated on the ground, Lumina naturally observed Herta's shifting emotions and fluctuating expressions.
Precisely because she had witnessed everything, a large question mark materialized above her head, radiating profound confusion.
Is Herta pondering some unsolved cosmic mystery?
Lumina glanced sideways at Herta, her curiosity piqued by whatever thoughts were swirling in the other woman's mind.
Yet as intrigued as she was, Lumina refrained from asking directly.
After all, if even Madam Herta needed to ponder a problem, Lumina likely wouldn't understand the explanation even if it were given.
Of course, this was a minor matter. If she didn't understand, so be it—it wasn't a big deal.
The real reason for her silence was far more practical: asking the question and then admitting her incomprehension of Herta's summary would almost certainly invite withering ridicule that Lumina would have no means to refute.
To avoid such humiliation, Lumina chose to keep her mouth shut, ignoring Herta's expression and refusing to court trouble.
That was Lumina's assessment of Herta's demeanor at the time. Had she known the true thoughts swirling in Herta's mind, she would never have let such a golden opportunity slip away.
Is my foot fragrant or foul? Why don't you come over and sniff it yourself?
As Herta's best friend, Lumina naturally felt obliged to help verify this burning question.
Of course, the verification process wouldn't involve Lumina shoving her tiny foot under Herta's nose.
Instead, she'd sit on the sofa, cross her legs, and order Herta to crawl over on her hands and knees to sniff her feet.
Just as Herta neared her feet, Lumina would plant her foot squarely on the woman's face, creating a scene where Madam Herta was utterly subjugated by Queen Lumina.
Simultaneously, Lumina would use an Image Stone to record this humiliating spectacle, turning it into a "trump card" to threaten and oppress Herta in the future.
Hmm... of course, Lumina wouldn't actually make Herta sniff her feet.
Even she had her limits when it came to humiliation.
But this was all just fantasy. Lumina lacked Mind Reading and couldn't possibly know what Herta was thinking. Thus, she couldn't possibly enact such a scenario.
She couldn't obtain the "trump card" that would utterly destroy Madam Herta.
"Trianne, let's start by gutting the fish."
"Then we'll skewer it with a wooden stick. It'll be much easier to grill that way."
Without dwelling on why Herta had fallen into deep thought, Lumina turned her attention to Trianne's grilling efforts.
Trianne knew how to grill fish, but only barely.
She had neglected to properly prepare several parts of the fish.
Organ meat isn't something everyone enjoys.
The proportion of people who eat grilled fish innards is vanishingly small.
Therefore, grilled fish is usually gutted before cooking.
But Trianne hadn't done that...
Lumina despised organ meat. She preferred the tender flesh, the kind that's crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside—
Just like beautiful young women...
Lumina adored their appearances and personalities, but she certainly wouldn't appreciate their bones or hearts.
Hmm... she thought. Surely no one actually likes that stuff, right?
Without overthinking it, Lumina took over and demonstrated the proper technique to Trianne.
Her movements flowed like water, remarkably practiced, as if she'd done this countless times before.
"So, you can actually kill living things," Herta remarked, having finally resolved her internal debate.
What conclusion she'd reached remained unknown.
Sitting beside Lumina and watching her swiftly end the fish's life with decisive knife strokes, Herta was utterly surprised.
Herta had assumed that someone as respectful of life as Lumina would never take a life lightly.
"I'm the Holy Maiden, not a Saintess," Lumina replied without looking up, calmly handing the prepared fish to Tribbie, Stelle, and Castorice, letting them have a turn at grilling.
"Haven't you seen me eat meat before?" Lumina asked patiently, her hands still busy. "I really love meat, you know."
"If I didn't kill, I wouldn't eat meat at all."
"Hmm... true," Herta nodded, not adding anything further.
Gazing at the campfire, watching the tranquil scene it reflected—the others peacefully engaged in their tasks—and inhaling the savory aroma that wafted through the air, Herta felt deeply content.
Hmm... if only those three weren't across the fire, it would be even better.
Pushing the thought aside, Herta observed everyone busily focused on their tasks, and a sense of being superfluous crept into her mind.
Herta sat on the ground, her knees drawn up to her chest, head bowed slightly, her face buried in her arms.
In the future, will I gradually become unnecessary to Lumina too?
The thought of Lumina ignoring her, the vision of a future where she might be unwanted, blurred the burning campfire before her eyes.
"Hey, Little Herta, everyone's working. Don't just sit there idle."
"If you can't clean the fish, go roast some, okay?"
"Roast it yourself and eat it."
Lumina, standing beside Herta, seemed to sense the negative emotions radiating from her. Her hands stilled in mid-motion.
Though she couldn't fathom what was truly on Herta's mind, Lumina knew that ignoring her might plant some inexplicable seed of trouble.
After a moment's contemplation, Lumina decided to give Herta something to do—something to distract her from staring blankly at the campfire and dwelling on who-knew-what thoughts.
Finishing preparing the fish, Lumina handed it to Herta, instructing her to roast it herself.
"Mm, okay." Herta snapped out of her daze at Lumina's words.
Seeing the fish Lumina had offered, a warmth spread through Herta's heart.
Mmm... roasted over the campfire.
Herta added silently to herself, mimicking Trianne, Stelle, and Castorice by holding the fish close to the flames, ensuring it was evenly cooked on all sides.
As she continued roasting, her peripheral vision drifted involuntarily toward Lumina.
"Heh..."
Recalling her earlier thoughts and the worries that had been gnawing at her, Herta let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Since when...?
I've become... a little too reliant on Lumina.
I can't even imagine being without her anymore...
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Spy-...