"I know you're anxious, but please, don't be."
"I've set a timer on this collar. Until the time is up, even I have no way to unlock it."
Though she had no idea what Little Herta was thinking, Lumina didn't care.
Regardless of what was going through her mind, all Lumina needed to know was that her ultimate goal was to unlock the collar fastened around her neck.
Once she understood that, wasn't the solution simple?
She simply spread her hands, sighed, and feigned an innocent, helpless expression, suggesting that she was just as powerless against the collar as anyone else.
"Heh, do you really think I'm buying that?" Upon hearing Lumina's words, Herta's stunning, timelessly beautiful face wore an expression of utter exasperation.
Lumina had created this thing herself. If even she couldn't unlock it, it would be absolutely hilarious.
Well... in this situation, it's probably best if no one dies laughing.
After all, the one trapped in the collar right now was Herta herself.
If it were anyone else, Herta would have taken a spectator's stance, thoroughly appreciating Lumina's acting.
But now, under the influence of the collar, with those words like "Don't try, don't resist, submit to Lumina, become Lumina's pet" repeatedly swirling in her mind, Herta had no such peace of mind.
All she wanted right now was to quickly remove this collar from her neck!
Let Lumina return my right to think independently.
You'll never succeed in using a collar to change my thoughts!
Lumina: "?"
Fortunately, Lumina didn't have mind-reading abilities and was unaware of Herta's passionate inner monologue. Otherwise, a huge question mark would surely have appeared on her immaculate, fair little face once again.
As expected of Madam Herta, she always comes up with things that a normal person would find hard to imagine.
"Whether you believe it or not, I really can't unlock this collar before the time is up." Lumina sighed softly, signaling that she truly had no way to remove it.
Regardless of whether Herta believed it, Lumina had no way to unlock this collar.
As for whether it was true or false?
Did she even need to think about it?
Of course, Herta's thoughts were correct.
How could she not be able to unleash her own power?
Lumina's words were just to fool a child; how could it really be impossible to remove?
This was a collar crafted from Lumina's own power, after all. If Lumina herself couldn't unlock it, she would resign as an Emanator of Abundance on the spot and give up on befriending beautiful girls immediately!
Uh, the former was fine, but as for the latter, forget it.
Even if this was something that would absolutely never happen, Lumina would never use a beautiful girl as a "bet."
Herta: "..."
Staring intently at Lumina for a moment and seeing that she showed no flaws whatsoever, Herta clenched her small fists tightly and asked, slightly gritting her teeth: "Then how much is this 'time' you're talking about?"
"How much time do you need to remove the collar from my neck?"
Trying to force the issue would definitely not work. Lumina only needed to control her facial expression for this line.
But Herta had so much more to consider...
"Oh, let me think."
Hearing this, Lumina stared at Herta's face, observing her carefully for a moment.
Then she said very seriously, "I will need..."
"Ten thousand Amber Eras, I suppose."
Herta: "..."
The meaning of Lumina's words was extremely obvious.
It was that she wasn't even bothering to act anymore.
She was making it clear to Herta, I'm just refusing to unlock it on purpose.
What are you going to do about me?
As for this, Herta really had no other way.
Lumina was so strong, the collar she formed was naturally incredibly strong as well.
The gap in strength between Herta and Lumina was as vast as heaven and earth. Even if it was just a collar Lumina had formed, with Herta's strength, she had no way of breaking it.
If Lumina wouldn't remove it for her, then Herta could only wear this collar for the rest of her life...
Um, of course, even if Herta had very ample connections, the final result would probably be completely useless.
Perhaps even several Geniuses combined to research this collar would still have to study it for a very, very long time before they could break it?
And in this, Lumina would naturally not stand by and watch.
So, no matter what the process was, the final result would probably still be whatever Lumina decided.
If Lumina wouldn't unlock it, then it simply couldn't be unlocked.
"Alright, I know you're anxious, but I want to say, don't be so anxious just yet." Feeling Herta's gaze fixed on her, Lumina's expression remained completely unchanged.
She smiled gently, signaling Herta not to be as impatient as a child.
One should face all matters calmly and learn from Lumina's moral character: in the face of any sudden or emergency situation, one must always maintain the psychological fortitude to remain unfazed by danger.
Only in this way could one use the fastest possible thinking speed to face such a sudden and urgent situation.
The prerequisite, of course, was to possess absolute, invincible, and confident strength like Lumina's.
Herta was also extremely confident in her own strength, believing that 99.99% of the things in the entire Cosmos would not cause her any "trouble."
But unfortunately, the "gentle, kind, and beautiful" woman in white in front of her was exactly that 0.01%.
And furthermore, she was the absolute 0.01%...
Herta's current situation was much better than others', at least she could still maintain her composure and calmness.
If anyone else were in this situation, their mind would surely have gone blank and they would have fallen into a state of incoherent babbling, wouldn't it?
For example, if her current position and Lumina's position were swapped.
If she possessed the strength to absolutely suppress Lumina and place the collar on Lumina's neck, then Lumina, besides carrying out a series of silent screams and silent resistance, would be unable to do anything else.
In such a situation, Lumina, who had never experienced any setbacks, would definitely show a look of greater panic and greater anxiety than her own, right?
But unfortunately, there has never been any "if."
The premise of "if" simply could not exist.
In the interactions between Herta and Lumina, Herta had the advantage in brainpower; if they were playing a game of wits, Lumina would definitely not be able to defeat her.
But...
Lumina possessed absolute, invincible strength, strength that completely crushed Herta.
As the saying goes so well:
"One force shatters ten thousand methods." No matter how strong Herta's brainpower was, no matter how strong the plan Herta had laid out, it would all be completely smashed to pieces by Lumina's one punch...
Unless Lumina was willingly wanting to complete this plan of Herta's, otherwise Herta could not do anything to her at all.
"Whew..."
Taking a deep breath, Herta lowered her eyes slightly to look at the collar on her neck, then stared coldly at Lumina.
"Not in a hurry, then when will you be in a hurry?"
"You wouldn't want me to keep wearing this collar all the time, would you?"
After wearing it for just a short while, Herta already had the thought of becoming Lumina's "pet."
If she kept wearing it...
Then that... um, what was it, Phantylia Kitten?
That Phantylia Kitten would be Herta's future end...
No, no, this absolutely cannot be!
At the thought of this scene, Herta shook her head violently, shaking the image out of her mind.
Phantylia Kitten went from being an arrogant [Lord Ravager] to her current state of lying in Lumina's arms all day long, doing nothing, enjoying her embrace and obeying her every word as a "pet."
If Herta also became like Phantylia Kitten, she would find it completely unacceptable no matter what!
"It depends on my mood. If I'm in a good mood, I'll untie it for you; if I'm in a bad mood, I won't. It's that simple." Seeming to have seen through the anxiety in Herta's heart, Lumina covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Since Herta didn't believe her anyway, Lumina didn't need to act anymore and immediately expressed her true intentions.
Although Lumina could tell that Herta wasn't reacting this way to the collar out of a sense of shame, the main point was that Lumina's goal had been achieved.
That was to make Herta "hate" this collar, yet still have to wear it.
If Herta had been completely indifferent to the collar's existence, Lumina would have found it boring and undone it in the next second.
However, looking at the current situation, although the process had strayed slightly from the original plan, the outcome was still good.
But I wonder... what exactly is Herta thinking?
Lumina was still very curious about this.
If it wasn't a sense of shame, then what else was it that made her hate this "collar"?
Lumina's gaze kept scanning Herta's face, but she still couldn't read anything from her small expressions.
All she could see was that Herta indeed detested this "collar."
"Hey, hey, Little Herta, how about you tell me why you hate this collar?"
"If you tell me, I'll untie it for you. How's that?"
Because she was too curious, Lumina wanted to use Herta's most desired goal right now to exchange for the reason why Herta hated the "collar."
Herta: "..."
"I..."
Hearing this, Herta's cherry lips parted slightly, as if she were about to reveal the reason she hated the "collar."
But in the next second, she clamped her lips shut and fell into silence, showing no intention of saying a word.
"?"
Seeing this, a giant question mark slowly formed above Lumina's head.
No way, my Little Herta, what are you thinking about that is so embarrassing you can't even say it?
Lumina could tell that Herta truly, truly, truly loathed this "collar," as her exquisite little face was full of rejection towards it.
And yet, now she was refusing the chance to have the "collar" removed just because of a tiny "reason." This left Lumina somewhat astonished.
At the same time, it only intensified the curiosity burning within Lumina's heart.
"Are you sure? If you miss this opportunity, I won't give you another chance," Lumina threatened with a smile, driven by her intense curiosity.
So you won't say it, huh? If you won't, you can just wear this collar for the rest of your life!
Lumina looked at Herta, silently waiting like a villain for Herta's final death throes.
"You..." Hearing Lumina's blatant threat, Herta clenched her silver teeth and glared at her fiercely.
When had Madam Herta ever been threatened like this?
Even if she were threatened, Madam Herta would "return" the threat the very next moment.
The saying "No one in this world can bully me" was no joke.
But... but if the person bullying her was Lumina, then Herta seemed to have no way out at all...
"Hah..."
Realizing this, and in order to remove the "collar" from her neck, Herta took a deep breath in her heart.
Immediately after, her expression turned somewhat helpless.
"Sigh... Fine, just don't laugh at me when I say it."
Sighing softly, Herta's little face was suddenly covered with a look of embarrassment.
After a moment of hesitation, Herta slowly spoke, her words slightly stuttered: "I... I just, I just feel that wearing this collar is, is a bit too embarrassing."
"I'm afraid, afraid that others will look at me with strange eyes..."
"So, so, I, I want to take this collar off..."
Lumina: "?"
Herta's words sounded extremely sincere, and there was no sign of lying on her little face.
However,
Lumina didn't believe it.
Lumina didn't believe the reason was so simple, and she definitely didn't believe that the dignified Madam Herta would care about other people's gazes.
When Okhema "walked her pet" before, Herta hadn't shown the slightest hint of panic. Since that was Herta's first time, how could she feel flustered and ashamed this second time?
Lumina did not accept this reason.
"I don't believe you. The reason definitely isn't this." Lumina crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'll give you one last chance. If you're still trying to trick me, then you can wear the collar for the rest of your life and become my pet forever."
Herta: "..."
"I'm telling the truth..."
Herta's little face showed no cracks in its facade despite Lumina's disbelief. Instead, her expression was written all over with "helplessness."
She used a deeply sincere tone to convey that her inner thoughts were exactly as stated, without a single lie in them.
Say out loud the feeling that "wearing the collar makes me want to become a pet"?
That definitely can't be said!
If she said it out loud, wouldn't that be like pre-booking the "pet" status?
Wearing the collar might still let her hold out for a bit, and perhaps she could find a way to break it in the future.
But if she just said it out loud, wouldn't that be equivalent to a self-confession?
At that point, the collar might be taken off, but that "pet" status would be deeply etched into Herta's heart...
How could that be?!
Therefore, Herta would rather not take the collar off than ever say this reason out loud.
This is Herta, and this is a person's "dignity"!