"On what grounds?"
"Why?"
"Is Aha your illegitimate son?" Herta asked, utterly bewildered as she spun in circles next to Chen Li's dining table.
Herta still couldn't fathom why that damn Aha had responded to Chen Li's summons so readily.
"Herta, there's one thing you need to understand..." Chen Li said, gesturing at her with his chopsticks while eating dinner.
"Understand what?"
"The Aeon of Erudition might not be spying on me at all times, but the Aeon of Elation definitely is!"
"But he's an Aeon! He can't possibly be at your beck and call. Doesn't the Aeon of Elation have any pride?" Herta vented her frustration about the Aeon of Elation in this other world.
"See, that's where you're wrong, Herta. The Aeon of Elation and I have a relationship based on mutual amusement. If I ask him for some [Elation] Entries to watch my show, he might not give them... no, he definitely won't. But if I invite him to watch a show, he'll definitely show up," Chen Li explained.
Just as Chen Li said, although he had successfully invited the Aeon of Elation into the invitation space on his first try with the Key of Fateful Invitation, Aha remained silent upon arrival, doing nothing but laughing mockingly at Herta.
And as for Chen Li's request for an [Elation] Entry, the Aeon of Elation gave no reaction whatsoever, just kept laughing.
Perhaps the Aeon of Elation was enjoying the spectacle of Herta, a member of the Genius Society, being made a fool of. Or perhaps he was enjoying the spectacle of Chen Li wanting an Entry but being unable to get it.
Therefore, it was impossible to use the Key of Fateful Invitation to meet the Aeon of Elation and procure [Elation] Entries from him. If Aha truly wanted to give Chen Li an Entry, the ever-spying Aeon could have appeared before him without any key at all.
How did that saying go? Those who truly understand me need no explanation, and for those who don't, an explanation is useless.jpg
Chen Li had argued that if Aha provided him with [Elation] Entries, he could, in turn, provide Aha with even more entertainment... but how could Chen Li know if, in Aha's eyes, the fun of watching Chen Li's desperate but fruitless pleading outweighed the fun Chen Li could potentially contribute?
So, Chen Li simply asked once, saw there was no response, and decisively gave up.
In short, never expect the Aeon of Elation to do anything proper. The Aeon of Elation's proper business is to not do proper business!
"In a sense, your ability to understand the Aeon of Elation means you also have the potential to become a Masked Fool," Herta said, still spinning.
"...You have a point." Chen Li nodded in agreement.
"Can I stop now?" Herta suddenly asked.
"Obviously not. You haven't done 3,000 spins yet, have you?"
"No, but I can trade you something else for it," Herta offered.
"Such as?"
"What do you want?"
"...I want that key you wear around your neck, the one on your main body," Chen Li said.
"What do you want that for? It's just a decoration."
"I want to see if I can extract a Magical Girl-related Entry from it," Chen Li replied.
"Deal." Herta decisively agreed to the trade and stopped spinning, pulling out a chair from the dining table and sitting down.
While Herta felt Chen Li was probably in for a disappointment—the key likely had 'Magic' but no 'Girl'—it didn't stop her from agreeing to the deal. She was honestly getting sick from all the spinning. Not dizzy, just bored.
"See? I'mやっぱり not suited to be a Masked Fool after all. A Fool wouldn't give up on the fun for personal gain, but I would," Chen Li said.
"Don't state your greed so matter-of-factly," Kaguya Houraisan retorted.
"I can bear the infamy, but I must declare that everything I do is for the sake of saving the world," Chen Li countered.
"Right, right. I believe you." Kaguya nodded perfunctorily. "But what do you need a Magical Girl Entry for?"
"For Sirin."
"Hmm?" Sirin, who was eating while hugging her Benares doll, looked up, wondering how she had gotten dragged into this.
"Sirin, do you... have any interest in becoming a magical girl?" Chen Li asked suddenly.
"A magical girl? Not interested."
"Don't be so quick to refuse. I actually think you're a natural-born magical girl."
"Why would you say that?"
"Because as the Herrscher of the Void, you have the ability to manipulate space. Your connection to the Imaginary Space is closer than any other Herrscher's. You can even use your authority to travel to the location of the Imaginary Tree... With such power, aren't you already a kind of magical girl?" Chen Li mused, stroking his chin.
The Honkai world had its own unique properties, and the authority of the Herrscher of the Void was special even within that world. If placed in the world of Honkai: Star Rail... it would be even more special.
A [Path] is a part of the Imaginary, a metaphysical aggregate of spirit. When a certain condition is met, this portion of Imaginary energy can be completely occupied by an intelligent being. That being is called an Aeon, and the energy it possesses is called a Path.
In other words, if Chen Li used the [Imaginary] Entry and the [Magical Girl] Entry to forge a Curio, would it be possible to turn someone into a Magical Girl of the Imaginary Tree? If that Curio reached 1-Star and could mobilize Imaginary energy on the level of an Aeon, would that mean Chen Li had created a new Aeon in the world of Honkai: Star Rail?
If so, how many Crystals and Star Stones would he get?
"The authority of the Herrscher of the Void? Sounds a bit interesting... Sirin, was it? Would you like to learn magic with me?" Herta observed Sirin with great interest.
Herta had just learned that Sirin was a being from a different world within the same cosmology as her own, but she hadn't been particularly interested at first. But if her abilities could touch the Imaginary Tree, Herta was now very interested indeed.
The [Imaginary Tree] is a widely accepted cosmic theory in modern academia. This theory compares different worlds in different spacetimes to the structure of a tree: each branch is a form of a world's existence; each flower and leaf is the present and past they have left in the dimension of time. The treetop is in a constant state of dynamic structure as it draws ownerless Imaginary energy from the spatiotemporal vasculature—new buds grow, withered leaves fall, and countless births and endings play out in the boundless universe. This is also why every planet that gives birth to a civilization is so similar.
Upon seeing Sirin, Herta was eager to put this theory into practice.
"Magic? Not interested. I've been learning how to design clothes online recently, and I just designed an outfit. Chen Li, want to try it on?" Sirin bluntly refused Herta before turning to Chen Li.
"Ah? No wonder you didn't leave your room all day. I didn't realize you were designing clothes," Chen Li said, slightly taken aback.
"So, want to try it?"
"I guess..." Chen Li reluctantly nodded. Even if a child's first clothing design wasn't great, he couldn't discourage her enthusiasm.
"The wardrobe in my home is huge, about the size of one or two space stations. You might be able to get some creative inspiration from it. Besides, if you learn magic from me, you can instantly create clothes that match your imagination, without any need for tailoring." Curious about Sirin's authority, Herta continued to tempt her.
"Is magic... really that convenient?" Hearing Herta's description, Sirin was a little moved.
"Of course!"
"Then... I guess I can give it a try."
"Not only can I teach you magic, I can also teach you how to use the authority of the Herrscher of the Void more skillfully," Herta said confidently.
Although Herta currently had no idea what the authority of the Herrscher of the Void truly entailed, it didn't undermine her confidence. Learn your math, physics, and chemistry well, and you can go anywhere in the world without fear! And as a member of the Genius Society, Herta certainly had the capital to be confident.
"Then... Teacher, what do I need to do now?" Sirin quickly accepted this new setup.
"Simple. I'll give you one day to thoroughly read this Advanced Mathematics textbook," Herta said, producing a book from somewhere and handing it to Sirin.
"To learn magic, I need to learn advanced math?" Sirin was stunned.
"You need it for magic, and you need it even more to use the authority of the Herrscher of the Void. Since your authority is related to space, you need to learn how to use calculations to more precisely grasp teleportation distances and the angles of spatial cuts. You also need to know which formulas to use to influence time through space most efficiently... otherwise, how did you control space before?" Herta looked at Sirin, puzzled.
Surely she didn't just use brute force and instinct, such artless methods?
Sirin was silent for a moment, then took the math book from Herta and slowly opened it.
"Did you give me the wrong book?" Sirin asked suddenly.
"No, why do you ask?" I didn't give her the wrong book, so why is this math book full of English symbols?
"...I quit. Goodbye." Sirin pushed the book back at Herta and said with finality.
"Why?"
"I don't get it. I don't understand a single thing in this book!" Sirin shook her head frantically. If she had even a little interest in learning magic... she had absolutely zero interest in learning math!
"Don't be so quick to give up! Just take another look, this book is very simple! I knew all this when I was 10." Seeing something she was interested in slipping away, Herta stood up and walked towards Sirin.
"I can't learn it, I don't understand it. Stop chasing me!" Sirin flashed away, instantly teleporting behind Chen Li, looking fearfully at Herta... or more accurately, at the advanced math textbook in Herta's hand.
"Alright, Herta, don't force her. When people are pushed too far, they're capable of anything," Chen Li said to the somewhat reluctant Herta, patting the head of Sirin, who was hiding behind him.
"Except advanced math problems," Sirin added from behind Chen Li.
"If not math, how about some physics?" Although Herta couldn't understand why Sirin was so averse to these simple math problems, she still made a concession.
"...And I can't do physics problems either," Sirin continued to add.
"You, you, you... A life without math and physics is a boring life! If you're not even interested in solving problems, what are you interested in?" Herta couldn't comprehend Chen Li and Sirin's way of thinking at all.
"Saving the world," said Chen Li.
"Hitting on the person who saves the world," said Sirin.
"???"
"I mean, saving the World Bubble. I was just scared by the advanced math book in Herta's hand," Sirin quickly explained.
"Oh, scared by advanced math, huh? Understandable." Chen Li nodded with deep empathy. He had thought Sirin was so scared she'd accidentally blurted out the truth.
"..." by Herta.
Understandable my ass! That woman behind you obviously wants to hit on you! Team member Chen Li, are you awake?
However, having accidentally discovered Sirin's interest, another plan began to form in Herta's mind!
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