After returning from the boundary of Nihility, it was exactly as she expected.
Someone had indeed tried to reach her during those ten or so days.
First, there was the Xianzhou Alliance.
Jing Yuan had sent a message stating that she was free to take a portion of the Luofu's Ambrosial Arbor roots for her research.
However, the Plaguemarks on the other Xianzhou ships could only be observed on-site; they were not to be removed.
'Georios' wasn't particularly surprised by the Alliance's decision.
After all, the Xianzhou people were quite particular about such matters.
If 'Georios' had suggested simply hacking those things down—giving them a clean strike just like felling the Ambrosial Arbor—the Xianzhou would likely have agreed.
But taking them away without destroying them? That was a sensitive subject for the Alliance.
Even if the other party was an Aeon, they couldn't simply back down on a matter of principle.
According to Jing Yuan, the Alliance felt that a flat refusal would be poor form, so they had come up with a compromise.
Their investigations showed that while the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor were indeed half-dead, a flicker of vitality remained.
Research was fine, but the chances of replicating the Arbor's former glory were slim to none. Thus, the remaining roots could be left to 'Georios' to deal with.
As for the rest, she was granted the authority to visit and study the sites at any time, but nothing was to be carried off.
Of course, given 'Georios's' current capabilities, this restriction was essentially "locks are for honest people." It was more of an attempt by the Xianzhou Alliance to tentatively build trust.
'Georios' didn't have much of an opinion on it. Besides, she didn't really need a fully intact Plaguemark anyway. The remains of something like the Ambrosial Arbor—which had survived a confrontation with Nihility and hadn't quite withered away—might just yield some unexpected rewards.
So, 'Georios' sent a reply to Jing Yuan agreeing to the terms and mentioned she would be visiting the Luofu soon.
On the other hand, Herta had also sent messages to 'Georios'.
Compared to Jing Yuan's politeness, Herta was much more blunt:
[Herta: I need you for something. Get back here, fast.]
[Herta: ? Where are you?]
[Herta: Back at the boundary of Nihility again, I bet. Tch.]
[Herta: Remember to reply.]
The messages had been sent three days ago. Judging by Herta's tone, it didn't seem like anything too troublesome or monumental. Otherwise, she would have provided more detail instead of just telling her to check in upon seeing the message.
After replying to Jing Yuan, 'Georios' finally clicked on Herta's chat box:
[Nameless: I'm back. What's up?]
[Herta: It took you ten minutes to reply after reading the message.]
[Nameless: ?]
[Nameless: ...And?]
'Georios's' lip twitched at Herta's bizarre remark.
[Herta: I'm annoyed. I'm picking on you now.]
[Nameless: ...]
[Nameless: You're really just going to admit you're looking for a fight?]
[Herta: Stop talking and get over here.]
With that, Herta went offline.
Looking at the ever-willful Madam Herta, one could only say that was the "authentic" experience.
Still, being rushed like that made her curious about what could possibly require her presence so urgently.
So, having just returned, 'Georios' ignited the Phase Flame and headed for Herta City.
The moment she landed, she saw Herta—who had already reverted from her chibi form—staring at her intently.
"Yo, you fixed it that fast? No wonder you called me back. Impressive, Madam Herta. Truly impressive."
'Georios' was a bit surprised. Even with her hints, clearing away that power in just ten days meant Herta had made some serious breakthroughs. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to change back.
But to her surprise, Herta flashed a sinister smile.
"Hmph. Yeah, I've got you—take this!"
This time, Herta actually went for a sneak attack.
She cut her sentence short and lunged forward. Four mirrors sealed off the surrounding space as the boots on her feet carried her toward 'Georios' as if she were teleporting.
At the same time, Herta was clutching something in her hand, aiming to slap it right onto 'Georios's' head.
Seeing this, 'Georios' instinctively stepped back. Herta's movements were fast, but compared to the current 'Georios', they weren't quite enough. If she wanted to, Herta wouldn't even be able to touch the hem of her clothes.
However, to save Madam Herta some face, she decided to dodge the sneak attack by a hair's breadth.
But right then, one of the mirrors beside her suddenly "spat" something out.
Ruan Mei, dressed in her qipao and wearing a smile, fell toward 'Georios's' face completely unannounced.
Then—smack!
Something was slapped onto 'Georios's' body and quickly merged into her.
She realized immediately what Ruan Mei had shoved into her: it was that divine body Aha had fashioned, the one she had left for Ruan Mei to study.
But if they were just returning a divine body, was all this complexity really necessary?
'Georios' was still puzzled when suddenly—poof!
Accompanied by a deliberate smoke effect, the returned divine body overrode her original appearance.
As the smoke cleared, 'Georios' felt her head become massive and heavy, while her limbs felt stubby. Even her perspective had dropped significantly.
Why had this divine body turned into a chibi??
When she looked toward Herta, several recorders had already appeared around her. Even Ruan Mei was there, a smile on her face as she reached out to squish and knead 'Georios's' oversized chibi head.
'Georios' decided to strike first.
Her large eyes fixed on Ruan Mei, trying to use her gaze to condemn the woman's conscience. "Ruan Mei, you've changed. I can't believe you teamed up with Herta to prank me!"
"Hmm~"
Ruan Mei narrowed her eyes and let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth with one hand. The current 'Georios' was simply too precious.
"You're adorable. Here, have a snack."
Ruan Mei pulled a plate of pastries out of nowhere and popped a piece into 'Georios's' large mouth. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, and just like that, she forgave Ruan Mei.
As for Herta, she walked over with a smirk, looking down at the chibi 'Georios'. She looked immensely satisfied.
"Mm, the effect is perfect. Experiment successful. I really am a genius, aren't I?"
Herta was quite proud of herself for deciphering the methods and data 'Georios' had left behind in such a short time.
The first step was always the hardest; with this successful case, her future research would be much smoother.
'Georios', sporting her giant head, looked up at Herta with an expression of pure exasperation. "You rushed me back just for this?"
"Hah, so what? This genius doesn't believe in waiting for revenge."
Herta crossed her arms and gave a haughty huff, though she couldn't resist reaching out to pinch 'Georios's' cute, chubby cheeks.
Subjected to the wandering hands of these two women, a wry, knowing smile played on 'Georios's' face. "Oh really? 'Doesn't believe in waiting,' huh? So you prepared everything and then waited three days for me? Mmph—!"
Before she could finish, an embarrassed and infuriated Herta grabbed both of 'Georios's' cheeks and yanked them outward. Her face was visibly turning red from the callout.
"Fine, fine! How dare you get snarky with this genius!"
"Chibi Hammer!"
Unfortunately for Herta, 'Georios' chose to fight back immediately.
Leveraging her now-advantageous massive noggin, she leaped straight up, turning herself into a literal "Big Head Hammer" and knocking Herta—staff and all—flying back.
Of course, she wasn't spared the impact either. Herta kept a tight grip on 'Georios's' cheeks, trying to pivot mid-air to pin the disobedient "Chibi Bai Ming" to the ground for a thorough lesson.
'Georios', meanwhile, used her sheer bulk to sabotage Herta's plan.
In the end, neither succeeded. They tumbled to the floor in a tangled mess. But the war was far from over. The moment they landed, Madam Herta and the strange chibi were at it again, tumbling and brawling.
For a while, the room was a chaotic mess of clattering and crashing—a scene of pure, noisy bedlam.
Standing to the side, Ruan Mei watched the two of them. They were full of boundless energy, trading jab for jab with their words and their fists. She shook her head with a helpless sigh.
They're both perfectly fine when they're apart... why does it always turn into this the moment they're together?
The wrestling match between Herta and 'Georios' moved from indoors to outdoors, finally coming to a halt in the courtyard where Noa was.
'Georios', thanks to her sufficiently massive head, managed to pin Herta down. Her short legs straddled Herta's waist as she looked down at the panting, disheveled puppet. 'Georios' let out a "Kekeke" cackle.
Her giant face leaned down, stopping inches from Herta's own.
"Do you yield!"
"Hmph!" Herta snorted, clearly being stubborn.
It was expected; she wouldn't win today's victory with just that. But it didn't matter—the Chibi version of 'Georios' had ways to break Herta.
She let out another villainous cackle. "Kekeke~ This big head has such huge features, don't you think? Tell me, if this giant mouth were to kiss someone, what would that look like?"
"...?!!"
Herta's face instantly twisted into an expression of pure horror. What kind of nonsense was this girl spouting?!
The thought of having her face plastered with saliva by this stupid big head made Herta's pupils tremble. She watched as the goofy, giant head pressed closer and closer.
"Don't you dare come any closer—!!"
"Kekeke—! Herta, this is the price for starting a war and losing to me—!"
'Georios's' laughter grew increasingly wicked.
Just as it looked like the two of them were actually going to collide, Ruan Mei—who truly couldn't watch their antics any longer—produced a folding fan from somewhere.
Whack!
She rapped it sharply against 'Georios's' massive forehead.
"That's enough. You're always roughhousing right under Noa's nose. Don't go set a bad example for the child."
Interrupted, 'Georios' didn't push her luck. She gave Ruan Mei a grin and scrambled up from the ground.
As for Herta... she was still bright red. 'Georios' figured she'd have to find a way to coax her out of that mood later.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL