Amphoreus, Okhema, on the street.
Four... well, four peerless young ladies, each with her own unique charm, appeared on the street, drawing the discussion and gaze of the surrounding pedestrians.
However... the sight of one of them, a white-haired young lady, walking a brown-haired young lady on a leash like a dog, incredibly caused no waves of reaction whatsoever.
It was as if this scene simply did not exist in their eyes.
"Whew..."
When they left the room, Herta's little heart was about to leap out of her chest.
After all, such a posture was simply too humiliating for Herta... Let alone Castorice and Hyacine seeing it, if passersby and pedestrians saw it too, Herta really wanted to beat Lumina to death...
Um... beating her to death was a bit much.
Then just beat her up severely... Hmm, it seems I wouldn't have the heart for that either.
Then just beat her up severely. Herta was willing to do that, and even wanted to...
But no matter what she wanted to do to Lumina afterward, she had to get through this current situation first.
If it were an ordinary person facing this scene, their brain would probably have overloaded, leaving them in a blank state after Lumina's sudden and fierce behavior, right?
For example, Castorice and Hyacine. If they were treated like this by Lumina, they would definitely be stunned instantly, becoming fools who could only "ying ying ying," right?
But Herta was no ordinary person. She was a grand Emanator of Erudition, an Absolute Genius in the Cosmos!
What kind of major storms had Madam Herta, with such a status, not seen? How could she become a fool who could only "ying ying ying"?
At least... in this situation, Herta still retained a shred of self-awareness.
So while walking on the street, she also felt that the pedestrians' gazes were not falling on her collar... nor were they discussing things like "young people play so wildly" or anything like that.
From this, Herta could tell that this Lumina fellow still had a bit of a conscience.
Blotting out the public's perception of the collar and the "dog-walking" behavior...
Although the behavior was very real, at least... at least other strangers hadn't seen it.
As for Castorice and Hyacine... they had both been duped by Lumina, thinking this behavior was for medical treatment, so... they should be fine.
"Hey, my dear Herta... little puppy, how does it feel?"
Tugging on the rope connected to the collar at Herta's throat, Lumina watched her head being forcibly pulled over by this action, feeling her furious glare. She felt as if she had awakened some sort of terrible new trait...
Ahem...
Lumina hurriedly suppressed this trait. This trait seemed not particularly good; she decided she should never use it again.
But though she thought this in her heart, Lumina, feeling the rope held in her hand, still couldn't resist tugging it a few times.
"Lumina!"
Hearing Lumina's words and feeling the repeated "dog-tugging" motions, the fury in Herta's eyes was about to erupt.
If Herta could beat her up, she would have pinned Lumina to the ground right here in the street and given her a good thrashing.
"How does it feel?" Watching Herta want to hit her but be completely unable to do anything about it, the level of pleasure in Lumina's heart immediately reached its peak.
Serves you right, who told you to fake being sick and disturb me?
Lumina snorted softly, suddenly feeling a sense of satisfaction that her old grudge had been avenged.
Glancing at Castorice and Hyacine, whose expressions remained calm, Lumina leaned close to Herta's ear without leaving a trace, and whispered, "My dear little puppy, are you still sick?"
Herta: ...
Hearing the word "puppy," Herta glared at Lumina with eyes full of rage.
This title was extremely humiliating, and Herta hated this title very much.
But... though she hated it, Herta also liked this title a little...
Of course, it wasn't that Herta had some special fetish, but rather that Herta was imagining, imagining if their current positions were reversed.
Imagining herself holding Lumina's collar like a dog on a leash, ordering her around with every "Lumina, puppy..."
"My dear Madam Herta, are you thinking about something you shouldn't be?"
"Hush... don't think about it. This is something you'll never be able to do in your entire life."
Although Herta showed no obvious emotions, Lumina could tell from the slightest trace that she must have been thinking about something.
And it was clearly something not-so-nice, triggered by the sight.
She must have been fantasizing about their positions being reversed.
Lumina chuckled softly, telling Herta that fantasies were just fantasies, and in reality, she would always have to submit to Lumina.
Want to turn the tables and become the master?
That's absolutely impossible.
"Hmph." Instead of getting flustered when Lumina saw through her thoughts, the anger in Herta's eyes faded. Her slight struggling ceased, and she calmed down as if accepting this outcome.
Whoosh—
But the next second, Lumina tugged the leash hard again, pulling Herta's head right in front of her, close enough to touch with a single step forward.
Extending a finger, she pressed it against Herta's chin, tilting her head up slightly.
As their eyes met, Lumina parted her lips slightly and let out a breath of hot air, which landed solidly on Herta's stunningly beautiful face.
"..." Feeling Lumina's breath against her cheek, Herta took a sharp, reflexive breath.
Fragrant and sweet, it held a scent that could make one throw away all their troubles and calm their heart.
"..." Seeing Herta's reaction, Lumina froze for a moment.
Sensing Lumina's sudden stillness, Herta's pale face couldn't help but flush a little.
After all, this was more or less a bit perverted...
But... but it really smelled so good.
If even her exhaled breath smelled this wonderful, what would it feel like to taste it personally with her mouth?
Herta was very curious, and very eager, in her heart.
She wanted to press her lips against Lumina's cherry-red ones, to feel their softness, to taste the deliciousness they held... This would surely be a delicacy, the most mysterious, most sacred, and most dreamlike delicacy in the entire Cosmos.
Herta had come to this conclusion based on Lumina's exhaled breath.
If even the drifting scent was this delicious, tasting it directly would surely send her ascending to the heavens...
But unfortunately, such a wonderful thing would naturally not be so easily tasted.
Given Lumina's strength and her tight-lipped nature, talking big but never acting, trying to eat her little mouth would be harder than climbing to heaven...
Oh, climbing to heaven is simple. It should be said that it's harder than becoming an Aeon.
Hmm... that's probably not so simple either.
Herta thought to herself, feeling a deep sense of regret for being unable to obtain and taste such a delicacy.
But no matter what, she must be the first to taste such a delicacy, such a delicious treat!
Herta vowed firmly in her heart.
At this moment, Herta still had no idea just how close Lumina and Ruan Mei had been back on the Xianzhou Luofu...
Although it had only been a small accident, neither Lumina nor Ruan Mei took it to heart.
Well... at least Lumina didn't take it to heart. In her mind, that fleeting moment had not achieved the "First Time" milestone.
Unaware of Herta's inner thoughts, Lumina's dazed state didn't last long. She quickly returned to normal.
A smile curved the corners of her lips as she sneered mockingly, "Oh, the own Madam Herta actually turns out to be a huge pervert who likes to sniff other people's breath~"
"This is truly a bit unexpected."
"Tell me..." Lumina paused for a moment, the smile on her exquisite cheek widening, "If I were to spread the news of this perverted incident, how would the rest of the Cosmos view you, this esteemed Genius?"
"Eh?" Herta, who had been expecting some grand threat from Lumina, froze at those words.
Seeing Herta's reaction, Lumina assumed she had actually frightened her.
So Lumina seized the advantage, wanting to crush Herta's defenses in one fell swoop and make her completely submissive, like her "little puppy."
"Hey hey, Madam Herta, you wouldn't want your perverted behavior to spread widely across the Cosmos, would you?"
Lumina pulled the rope with one hand and hooked Herta's chin with the other, forcing Herta to bend over, making her a head shorter.
Lumina looked down at her, softly muttering like a master.
Though it was a mutter to herself, it sounded like she was speaking to Herta.
"..."
Lumina's voice snapped Herta back to her senses.
After recovering, Herta rolled her eyes in exasperation, then slapped away the small finger hooked under her chin, stood up straight, and brushed off completely non-existent dust from her clothes.
A moment later, Herta spread her hands and said indifferently, "Go ahead, say what you want."
"If they find out, they find out. When did I, Herta, ever need to care about what others think?"
"Uh..." Hearing this, the smile on Lumina's face instantly collapsed, and she suddenly felt that Herta made a lot of sense.
Herta wasn't some insignificant figure, nor was she just any ordinary big shot, and certainly not the kind of person who had been "elevated" by others.
She had reached her current position step by step on her own; the public's opinion in the Cosmos wouldn't have any real impact on her.
"And, Little Lumina, are you misunderstanding something?" An expression of disbelief, as if looking at a fool, surfaced on Herta's face.
"You don't actually think Herta will be the center of their discussion if this gets out, do you?"
Herta spoke this sentence in a very flat tone, causing a small seed of doubt to sprout in Lumina's heart.
"What do you mean?" Herta's words had touched upon a blind spot in Lumina's knowledge.
Did Herta mean that if this got out, the topic on the Cosmic Forum wouldn't be Herta, but something else?
After thinking about it for a moment, Lumina understood the general meaning of Herta's words.
"Your fame, Lumina, is much, much greater than my fame, Herta." Herta looked down at the collar rope around her throat that went straight to Lumina's hand. She felt a bit uncomfortable, but still offered an explanation.
"If this gets out, people will only focus on Lumina and the incident itself, not on Herta as an individual."
There were only three points of interest in this entire event: Herta, Lumina, and why the two of them were so intimate.
Without a doubt, when faced with these three points on the Cosmic Forum, the discussions on the latter two would surely be much deeper and more widespread.
As for the fact that Herta was a pervert in front of Lumina, they would only consider it a little quirk between the two of them.
Hmm... Thinking about it this way, it doesn't seem so bad?
Whether she and Lumina end up together or not, she can just bind them together first.
Another idea had spontaneously occurred to Herta.
And this idea seemed to have an even higher success rate compared to the previous one.
She could directly use public opinion on the Interastral Network to bind herself and Lumina together.
This way, although she still wouldn't get Lumina, she could at least get a lot of psychological comfort by browsing the Cosmic Community every day.
Moreover, this new plan didn't conflict with the previous one at all.
And it was incredibly easy to pull off.
All she had to do was "accidentally" upload some intimate photos of herself and Lumina to the network, then "accidentally" buy a promotional push to amplify them.
As for whether netizens would be skeptical, Herta felt they wouldn't be at all.
After all, she had plenty of intimate photos with Lumina: sleeping in the same bed, bodies pressed tightly together... and even some "boyfriend's point of view" shots of her giving Lumina a lap pillow.
With these incredibly intimate photos, Herta was absolutely certain that her and Lumina's ship would top the trending topics!
The more Herta thought about it, the brighter her eyes shone.
It was as if she had found the path to paradise.
"?"
Seeing Herta's expression, a giant question mark appeared over Lumina's head.
What kind of chaotic nonsense was Little Herta thinking about now?
Because Herta's expression was so bizarre, Lumina couldn't read her thoughts from it alone.
No problem, whatever she was thinking, it was just a fantasy after all.
Only the weak fantasize, while true powerhouses jump straight into action.
Just like what happened yesterday with Castorice and Hyacine. The moment the idea was born, the next moment it was already put into practice.
This was the way of a true powerhouse!
Swoosh—
Without thinking any more, Lumina cheerfully tugged the rope in her hand again to tease her little puppy.
"Hmm?"
After the tug, Lumina wanted to see the anger and embarrassment on Herta's face caused by her action.
But when Lumina looked at Herta's face, all the so-called anger, embarrassment, and other negative emotions were completely absent. In their place were positive emotions like joy and happiness.
"?"
"Holy crap!"
Seeing Herta's expression, Lumina's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that Herta... has developed some special kink?