Chapter 298: The Most Urgent Task
Welt laid out the events with the clarity and organization of a seasoned storyteller, but the tale he spun was so fantastical it bordered on the absurd.
After listening, Herta's beautiful eyes remained fixed on Welt. Her face was a placid mask, but a faint, almost imperceptible curve pulled at the corner of her lips—not a smile, but the subtle arc of mockery. She didn't immediately refute him. Instead, she spoke in a tone that was less a question and more a statement of fact, laced with a heavy dose of skepticism.
"How interesting. Mr. Welt, I've always believed that the members of the Astral Express, especially you, were known for their rationality and pragmatism. I never imagined you could weave such… imaginative stories."
She gave a slight, dismissive shake of her head. "Connecting different worlds? To my knowledge, even the powers of the Aeons are largely confined by the rules of this universe."
"According to your statement," she continued, her gaze flicking with detached amusement, "the little gray-haired one has accomplished something most Aeons cannot? That claim challenges our cognitive baseline more deeply than the temporal distortions on Amphoreus."
Her tone wasn't aggressive; it was the reflexive response of a scientist confronted with a hypothesis that defied every known law. She wasn't targeting Welt, but the very foundation of his "hypothesis."
Just then, Sunday, who had been listening in quiet contemplation, chose the perfect moment to interject. He offered a graceful bow, his voice gentle and magnetic, imbued with a convincing sincerity.
"Respected Madam Herta, please allow me to add to this. Although I have not experienced it myself, I have personally witnessed Miss Stelle and Miss March 7th acquire numerous items and abilities through this mysterious Chat Group—things with peculiar functions that cannot be explained by our universe's existing technology or the powers of any Path."
"For example," he said, carefully selecting his evidence, "a pill that can heal grievous injuries in moments, and…" He cited a few more examples, corroborating Welt's words while shrewdly avoiding the disclosure of too many sensitive details.
Seeing that verbal explanations were still failing to sway Herta, Welt decided it was time for a more direct approach. With a simple thought, he accessed his authority within the Chat Group and retrieved an item from its public warehouse—the very [Gourmet Tablecloth] that Stelle had once won in a lottery.
"Words alone are indeed difficult to convince," Welt said, unfolding the seemingly ordinary tablecloth in his hands. "This is one of the items Stelle obtained from the Chat Group's rewards. Madam Herta, if you would please observe."
Herta's gaze fell upon the tablecloth, her eyes narrowing in scrutiny. She still didn't believe in some "cross-dimensional Chat Group," but she was familiar enough with the character of the Astral Express crew to know they were unlikely to conspire in fabricating such a clumsy lie.
Following the method Stelle had once demonstrated, Welt spoke to the cloth. "Tapir Rolls."
The next moment, under Herta's focused stare, an almost imperceptible ripple of energy shimmered over the empty tablecloth. A small plate of exquisite, adorable tapir-shaped pastries, emitting a sweet and fragrant steam, materialized from thin air.
"...!"
For the first time, a distinct crack appeared in Herta's usually placid facade. It was a look of pure, unadulterated confusion mixed with an insatiable desire for investigation. She leaned forward, her eyes locked on the dessert that had appeared from nothing, as if trying to resolve its every molecular structure.
"Where did you get this 'curiosity'?" Herta's voice was thick with deep puzzlement. She momentarily shelved her doubts about the "Chat Group" story, her entire focus now on the anomalous phenomenon before her. "Who would be idle enough to develop something so… functionally singular and… 'domesticated'? Let me see…"
As she spoke, she reached out to take the Gourmet Tablecloth from Welt's hand. Her eyes were frighteningly bright, filled with the feverish zeal of a scientist who had just stumbled upon an unknown branch of technology.
"Directly using basic molecules from the environment for instantaneous recombination and synthesis? And it can even bypass all intermediate processes to directionally synthesize complex finished products? This energy utilization efficiency and the principles of material transformation… quite interesting."
Even as she attempted to take the cloth, her mind was already working at high speed. "But what about the energy? Where does the power to drive this level of material reconstruction come from? The law of conservation…"
Welt deftly intercepted Herta's attempt to dismantle and study the tablecloth on the spot. He folded the item away, and the plate of Tapir Rolls vanished along with it.
He calmly stated, "Madam Herta, these items are just a small facet of the Chat Group's functions. They are not the main focus we need to concern ourselves with right now."
"Their existence merely serves to corroborate that what I said was not false. What we should be concentrating on is the serious matter concerning Amphoreus." He paused, looking at Herta's expression, which was still lost in deep thought, and added, "Stelle also mentioned that if there's an opportunity in the future, and conditions allow, she would be delighted to invite you to join the Chat Group and experience it firsthand."
At the mention of this last sentence, Herta's movements hitched.
She looked up, the fervent investigative light in her eyes receding somewhat, returning to her usual state of detached calm. She let out a soft "hmph," as if annoyed that her powerful curiosity had been so easily hooked by a simple trinket. At the same time, she had to admit that the scene she had just witnessed did indeed exceed her cognitive framework.
Herta waved a hand, sat back upright, and forcibly dragged her attention back to the present. She tapped a finger against the armrest of her chair, the teasing tone in her voice now greatly diminished, replaced by a directness that was almost a declaration.
"Alright. I'll admit, no genius could resist the allure of a so-called 'other world of existence'."
Herta's voice was clear and firm. "This challenges cognitive boundaries more fundamentally than the temporal anomaly on Amphoreus. It seems my investment in the little gray-haired one in the Simulated Universe was not in vain, although she always seems to think it's not enough."
"And now it seems the 'accident' that befell her is far more interesting than I ever imagined."
She subtly shifted the topic, her mind still operating on a track of rational deduction. "Of course, based on my personal judgment, it's more likely that you, by some fortunate coincidence, encountered and entered a relatively independent spatiotemporal branch on the Imaginary Tree that we have yet to explore. The so-called 'other world' can perhaps be understood in this way."
She didn't explore deeper into that particular rabbit hole, instead pragmatically steering the conversation back to the most urgent matter. "Alright, these metaphysical discussions can be set aside for now."
"Since you've confirmed that Stelle and the other two are temporarily safe over there, and have even 'benefited from misfortune' by participating in another… ah, 'world-saving battle'?" She seemed to find the phrase slightly comical, pausing for a beat. "Then let's quickly discuss the real business at hand. How to safely retrieve them from Amphoreus—that place with the abnormal time flow—is the top priority."
Her attitude was clear: whatever strange adventures Welt and his companions had experienced, solving the immediate, practical problem took precedence. As for the tantalizing mystery of the "other world"… that could be slowly investigated later.
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