Upon hearing Sylvia's generous praise, Kafka found it rather difficult to connect the girl before her with the one she'd just seen in the clothing boutique.
That girl who had been so bashful about backless and off-shoulder dresses, blushing even as she looked at herself in the mirror—and this Sylvia now sitting across from her, offering unreserved compliments, having taken her photo and proudly displaying it—they seemed like two completely different people.
Still, being complimented was always pleasant.
Kafka smiled and offered her thanks, then lowered her gaze to the phone on the table.
The photo captured her in profile, showcasing the elegant curve from her chin down to her neck.
The light from the window perfectly illuminated her face, drawing all focus there. Steam rose gently from the coffee before her, and the open sugar jar remained unsealed.
An elegant woman, her gaze seemingly distant, yet the reflection in those violet eyes held only the street scene and passersby outside the window.
"You took a lovely picture."
Kafka, too, thought it was a beautifully captured moment.
She simply hadn't realized that her own demeanor in that fleeting instant could appear so endearing.
With that thought, Kafka extended her right hand, removed her glove, and with slender, pale fingers, lightly tapped the screen, entering photo-editing mode.
Sylvia sat quietly across from her, and Kafka didn't keep her waiting long.
With just a few simple adjustments to the coloring, Sylvia felt the atmosphere in the photo instantly elevate another notch.
Sylvia herself only ever used the camera's built-in filters. She looked at Kafka now as though viewing a professional designer.
"Impressive, it's even prettier now. You know how to do this too?"
Kafka realized Sylvia probably wasn't very skilled in photography; that earlier photo was likely just a fortunate accident.
"I know a little, but it's mainly because you took it so well, dear. You could try learning photography—it might come in handy later."
Kafka thought of Firefly recently.
Now able to walk freely without relying on Sam, and no longer worried about her illness, Firefly had been experiencing all sorts of things lately, though it seemed she hadn't yet tried photography.
Perhaps Sylvia could help her with that.
Of course, Kafka definitely wouldn't bring up Firefly's name right now.
It wasn't that she had truly fallen for Sylvia, but mentioning another woman during a date would simply be tone-deaf.
Sylvia initially intended to nod vaguely and brush it off.
Her interest in photography wasn't that strong; she only took pictures occasionally.
But hearing Kafka's final sentence, she suddenly grew serious.
Kafka didn't possess prophetic abilities, but that didn't matter—they had all seen the script Elio provided.
Who knew if the photography Kafka mentioned today might become necessary at some point in the future?
"I'll give it a try when I have time."
So, Sylvia chose to nod in agreement.
She didn't press Kafka on when or where it might be needed.
After all, script-related matters definitely couldn't be spoiled casually—Sylvia knew that much. No need to invite awkwardness.
Just then, Sylvia's phone chimed several times in quick succession.
A notification popped up from Silver Wolf's account.
Since it previewed part of the message, and Silver Wolf had a habit of sending short, fragmented sentences, Kafka had already read the content before she could even push the phone back.
"It's a message from Silver Wolf. Seems like she's saying the thing you asked her to make is finished."
"Oh? Let me see."
Sylvia didn't mind that Kafka had seen the messages. She took the phone back and opened Silver Wolf's chat window:
[Silver Wolf: All done]
[Silver Wolf: Click the link yourself]
[Silver Wolf: [Link]]
[Silver Wolf: What a pain]
[Silver Wolf: You better not screw this up, it'd be embarrassing]
Seeing the blue link Silver Wolf sent, Sylvia tapped the screen.
A two-dimensional portal then appeared on the display, and two stickers were transmitted through—one with a red 'X' on it, the other with a smiley-face emoticon.
One was for blocking Herta's signals, the other was an intelligent assistant to help control the puppet during the ritual.
Sylvia picked them up and felt them.
The texture was just like ordinary stickers, albeit a bit more refined.
No telling how effective they'd be.
"Is this what you asked Silver Wolf to make?"
"Mhm."
Sylvia nodded but didn't explain what they were for.
Yeah right, Sylvia still had some pride—marrying a Herta puppet was something even she found pretty abstract.
Kafka didn't press further.
Mainly because she already knew what Sylvia was planning.
After Silver Wolf and Sylvia had hatched their scheme together, Silver Wolf came back and vented about it extensively.
Kafka knew what these two items Silver Wolf made were for.
She also knew Sylvia was planning to sneak off with a little Herta puppet.
But seeing Sylvia's too-embarrassed-to-explain expression, Kafka kindly pretended she knew nothing.
"Speaking of which, I heard from Silver Wolf that you seem troubled about how to get into the space station?"
"Yeah, mainly because I don't have a suitable identity to enter openly."
Sylvia was somewhat vexed by this. It wasn't convenient to ask the Xianzhou side to help arrange it.
Asking Kafka and the others probably wouldn't yield a suitable long-term identity either.
"Pity, we can't really help with that."
Kafka understood Sylvia's needs. A temporary infiltration identity would be easy enough.
But Sylvia clearly intended long-term contact, so a fake identity wouldn't be appropriate.
Moreover, for this operation, Kafka and Silver Wolf were planning a forceful infiltration.
That made it even less suitable.
Hearing Kafka's words, Sylvia shook her head:
"You've already helped a lot. I can't rely on others for everything."
Truth be told, Sylvia could simply pretend she'd also accidentally wandered into the space station and blend in with the Astral Express crew.
With that affiliation, coming and going from the space station wouldn't be an issue later.
Sylvia had no aversion to joining the Astral Express. In fact, traveling the cosmos aboard it fit her current mindset quite well.
It was just that, since Acheron visited her every day, Sylvia hadn't yet decided to take up permanent residence on the Express.
--+--
At the same time—
Herta Space Station.
An intelligence analysis report on Sylvia was delivered to the station.
While Asta was still reviewing the document's contents, a Herta puppet had already appeared beside her.
"Asta, summon this individual named Sylvia to the space station. I'm somewhat interested in her abilities."
"Eh? Madam Herta? But this Miss Sylvia seems to be connected to Nihility…"
Asta was all too aware of how capricious Herta could be, but this Sylvia was different from previous cases.
It was said that the residual shockwave from her single Nihility-infused slash nearly erased one of the Luofu's delves entirely.
To invite her up without proper precautions—what if the space station got blown up?
"Whatever. I leave it to you. In short, I want to see Sylvia as soon as possible."
With that, the Herta puppet turned and walked away on its own, leaving Asta behind with a sigh, helplessly massaging her temples.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.