"It's mainly because your Big Sister Herta is even more impressive."
"I'm just riding her coattails. I can't be called impressive."
Hearing Castorice's praise, Lumina remained as humble as ever, attributing all the credit to Herta alone.
"Are you poisoned or something?" Herta, who had been quietly enjoying the warm pool water without speaking for a long time, suddenly asked Lumina.
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Lumina paused her chat with Castorice and Hyacine, turned her gaze to Herta, and gave a soft, questioning hum, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry and anticipation.
Waiting for Herta's next words.
Under the gaze of Lumina, Castorice, and Hyacine, Herta slowly spoke, saying, "If you weren't poisoned, how could you be so humble that you'd die?"
"You'll die if you're not humble, right?"
"Uh..."
Herta's blunt words immediately stunned Lumina.
Castorice and Hyacine were naturally stunned as well.
But they quickly recovered from their shock, glanced at each other, and sighed with heartfelt sincerity: "Sister Lumina (Lumie) and Big Sister Herta (Hertie) have such a great relationship."
"Mm-hmm, that's right." Faced with this remark, neither Lumina nor Herta acted like the dead-set tsunderes in novels, rushing to deny it.
Instead, they both nodded, indicating that their relationship was indeed very close.
"Alright, alright, since the great Madam Herta herself said so, I won't be humble anymore."
Lumina followed Herta's suggestion and decided to stop being humble.
After gesturing to Herta, Lumina turned her gaze back to Castorice and Hyacine.
She said again, "I take back my previous statement."
"It's mainly because I'm impressive, and Herta is just riding my coattails."
"By sharing a small portion of my radiance with her, I can let her shine throughout the Cosmos."
This time, Lumina chose to speak the truth.
She spoke with utter seriousness, without concealing a thing.
Herta: ...
Hearing this, Herta's face stiffened, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
It seemed Herta was completely caught off guard that Lumina would actually say such a thing.
Her cherry-pink, glistening lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something.
But after trembling for a moment, they calmed down.
The words she originally wanted to say were forced back down her throat.
Herta wanted to refute Lumina's statement, wanting to tell her that she herself was also incredibly impressive.
But on second thought, she realized Lumina wasn't wrong.
After all, compared to Lumina's reputation, her own reputation as Herta was indeed a little bit inferior... well, just a little bit.
Herta's reputation was undoubtedly illustrious, a top-tier existence in the Cosmos.
But when placed alongside Lumina's name, it was like a firefly compared to the full moon, causing outsiders to overlook it completely.
Herta was almost certain that if she and Lumina appeared in the same place, everyone's gaze would fall on Lumina first.
Only after piling every possible compliment they could think of on Lumina would they notice Herta standing beside her...
Even if Herta had to admit this one point in her heart.
And... she really was beautiful.
Herta thought this to herself.
After realizing this, Herta obediently shut her mouth.
Leaning against the edge of the pool, she enjoyed the warmth the pool water brought her.
At the same time, as she felt the warmth, Herta's body began to lean toward Lumina uncontrollably.
Until her body was pressed against, and touching, Lumina's.
For a moment, a feeling warmer than the pool water spread from her arm, waist, and hips to Herta's entire body.
It made her impulsively want to let out a soft, extremely comfortable moan.
But with her extremely strong psychological fortitude, Herta still endured it.
She forced herself to swallow the soft moan.
"Mm..."
Herta's actions this time were, of course, seen by Lumina.
Lumina, who had been waiting for Herta to reveal a weakness, felt it was a pity when she saw her forcibly swallow the sound she had been about to make.
But soon, feeling Herta's body pressed against hers, Lumina thought of another fun idea.
With a slight turn of her body, in a place completely invisible to Castorice and Hyacine, she slowly reached out her small hand that was pressed against Herta's body.
She slipped it around Herta's back and gently rested it on her waist.
And then,
A pinch.
"Eek!"
Herta, who had been wondering what Lumina was trying to pull, felt a sensation that shot straight to the crown of her head when Lumina pinched her waist like that.
The words she had just swallowed erupted in an instant.
She cried out right then and there.
"Big Sister Herta (Hertie), what's wrong?"
"Is the water too hot?"
Lumina's actions were very discreet and went unnoticed by Castorice and Hyacine.
Therefore, they were both very confused and worried by Herta's sudden cry.
"I... I'm fine."
Herta glared fiercely at Lumina, her face flushed crimson as if she had just downed a bottle of strong liquor.
Feeling Lumina's small hand still resting on her waist, Herta quickly reached out and grabbed her slender, soft wrist, which felt like the finest jade.
Under normal circumstances, Herta might have taken a moment to enjoy the sensation of that wrist against her.
But now, in this situation, she had no intention of enjoying any of it.
Her palm tightened slightly as she tried to pull Lumina's small hand away from her waist.
"Eek..."
But... not only did she fail to pull Lumina's hand away, she actually got pinched again.
Herta couldn't help but let out another seductive cry that sent a rush of blood straight to one's head.
If an ordinary person had heard this cry, they would have probably gone wild with lust, right?
But for Lumina, this cry was merely... merely a little exciting.
"Um... Hertie, are you really okay?"
"I'll lower the temperature a bit."
Hearing Herta's cry, Hyacine felt that no matter how she listened to it, something seemed a bit off.
A single cry might have been a sudden startle from one's inner thoughts, but twice, and two in a row, was highly unlikely.
Hertie must be going through something.
But what could possibly happen in a pool?
It must be the water temperature.
Hyacine pondered this in her mind.
Pure as she was, she couldn't even imagine that Lumina's small hand was currently resting on Herta's waist, causing mischief...
"N-No... It's nothing, I'm really fine!"
"I... I just thought of something."
Seeing Hyacine about to stand up, Herta quickly explained to stop her.
Lumina's small hand resting on her waist didn't pull back at all because of Hyacine's movement to rise; instead, it became a bit bolder.
Squeezing and kneading, it constantly stimulated Herta's waist...
In this situation, if Hyacine stood up, she wouldn't even need to look closely; she could see what the two were doing with just the corner of her eye...
Lumina should be the one worried about this, yet why... why did I stop Hyacine...
Herta pressed her lips together, thoroughly bewildered.
"Uh... alright then."
"Hyie, if anything's wrong, you have to tell me, okay?"
Seeing Herta insist, Hyacine didn't think much of it.
"Don't worry, Hyie. With me here, how could anything happen to Herta?" Lumina smiled and gave Hyacine a reassuring gesture, her small hand on Herta's waist giving it another hard squeeze.
Herta: ...
"Take it off..." Herta leaned closer to Lumina's ear, whispering through gritted teeth.
Judging by the fact that her earlier attempt to pull Lumina's hand away with all her strength had failed, Herta understood. This sore loser Lumina must be using her Path power.
The gap in their strength was too vast. If Lumina didn't want to let go, Herta stood no chance of pulling her hand away.
"Hmm?" Hearing the words she wanted and seeing the expression she craved, Lumina was filled with delight.
Feeling delighted, Lumina couldn't help but give Herta's waist another squeeze with her small hand.
Honestly, it felt amazing.
It was the second-best feeling Lumina had ever experienced.
As for the absolute best...
There was practically no doubt. The best feeling was also on Herta.
It was that feeling she'd experienced in the forest outside Okhema City... an indescribable sensation.
A feeling... that had even made Lumina briefly lose consciousness.
A feeling... that Lumina didn't even dare touch lightly... For at the moment she touched it, she had been on the brink of falling into the Abyss...
Lumina stopped her thoughts. If she thought too much now and ruined the current mood, it would be a terrible loss.
Realizing this, Lumina squeezed Herta's small waist again.
She leaned in close to Herta's ear, breathed a puff of warm air, and whispered, "Shh... Little Herta, don't move, and don't say anything."
"You wouldn't want Castorice and Hyacine to find out what we're doing right now, would you?"
Lumina uttered a classic line from the internet.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
The water in the pool remained warm, but Herta's mind was no longer on that.
Clenching her teeth, she glared fiercely at Lumina, unable to understand what Lumina was trying to do.
"!"
But soon, Lumina answered Herta's question with her actions.
The small hand that had been resting on Herta's waist gradually began to move downward, brushing past the swimsuit and landing on Herta's fair and smooth thigh.
"Little Herta, you feel so good." A small, pink tongue peeked out from the corner of Lumina's lips, and her jade green eyes actually held a look of excitement.
"You... you..."
Herta's body stiffened, and she even began to stutter.
Wild thoughts started racing through Herta's mind.
Lumina... Lumina... she wouldn't be planning to do something... something unspeakable to her here, would she?
Herta silently swallowed hard.
To do this... to do this right in front of those two little ones...
No... no, no... absolutely... absolutely not!
Even if they didn't know, even if they couldn't see.
It's still absolutely not allowed!
"Hey, Little Herta, you wouldn't think..."
"Your opinion actually matters, would you?"
All those thoughts had been inside Herta's mind, not spoken aloud.
But Lumina seemed to possess Mind Reading, seeing right through Herta's thoughts.
Before taking any further action, Lumina breathed a puff of hot air into Herta's ear and scoffed.
If Herta's opinion mattered, what would Lumina be here for?
If Herta's opinion mattered, Lumina would have already been living a shameless life with Herta...
"Hehe..."
After saying this, Lumina directly and gently lifted the hem of Herta's skirt.
"No... don't, Lu... Lumina."
Sensing this movement, Herta's heart began to beat extremely fast.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Each beat echoed clearly in Herta's ears, as if her ear were pressed directly against her own chest.
Clear, loud...
At this point, under Lumina's step-by-step guidance, Herta had completely forgotten, forgotten that Lumina was actually someone who only talked big and never took any real action...
Well... in this situation, it was normal for Herta to forget that.
After all, the current Lumina was being proactive to an extremely unfamiliar degree.
Proactively wrapping her arms around Herta's waist, proactively squeezing her waist, proactively stroking her thighs, and... proactively lifting her skirt.
All these actions caused Herta's previous impression of Lumina to completely collapse, causing her genius brain to crash on the spot.
"Hey, Little Herta, you say no with your mouth." Hearing Herta's words of "no," Lumina smiled, looked at her body that wasn't making any resisting movements, and continued, "But your body is still very honest."
"..." Hearing these words, Herta's face, which had been struggling to hold on, instantly turned bright red.
Her face was so flushed that even amidst the steam-filled bath, it stood out quite prominently.
"Big Sister Herta!"
"Hertie!"
How could Castorice and Hyacine, bathing in the same pool, fail to notice such a conspicuous Herta?
Seeing Herta's face so flushed, as if painted with red pigment, both of their faces were covered in a wave of worry.
"Don't worry, Herta is fine."
"She's just thinking about some happy things."
Seeing Herta's state, Lumina also withdrew her hand.
If this continued, Herta was going to go berserk.
This was a no-go.
Although Lumina could still handle Herta hand over hand after she went berserk, many uncertain factors would arise.
These uncertain factors would only add unnecessary complications.
Therefore, there was no need to cause herself unnecessary trouble.
"Little Herta, it feels great, doesn't it?"
After giving a slight smile and gesture to the still worried and puzzled Castorice and Hyacine, Lumina once again focused her gaze on Herta.
She reached out and placed her hand on Herta's shoulder, which was snow-white yet tinged with a translucent crimson flush, and gently squeezed it. With a voice only she and Herta could hear, she smiled and gestured in a teasing manner.
Herta: ...
Hearing these words, the flush on Herta's face faded considerably in an instant.
But the dark aura in her purple eyes increased significantly...