"Herta, what is this mirror?"
In the office, Lumina watched with great curiosity as Herta waved her hand, summoning several mirrors. She reached out and poked one.
"Waaah, Lady Lumina, please don't poke me!"
When Lumina's finger touched it, the mirror unexpectedly spoke, intensifying her curiosity even further.
"A mirror is a mirror. What else could it be?" Hearing Lumina's question, Herta seemed even more bewildered than Lumina herself.
A mirror is a mirror. You already know it's a mirror, yet you're asking me what it is?
Are you messing with me?
If it hadn't been Lumina asking, Herta would have slapped her and kicked her out of the Space Station long ago.
"I mean, what is this mirror for?" Lumina clearly detected the disdain in Madam Herta's tone but paid it no mind. She continued poking the mirror as she repeated her question.
"Waaah, Lady Lumina, please stop poking me!" the mirror cried out again as Lumina poked it once more.
Hearing this, Lumina's rebellious streak kicked in, and she couldn't resist poking it several more times.
"What else would a mirror be for?" Herta slowly walked over and pushed Lumina aside from in front of the mirror.
Herta then waved her hand, lowering herself slightly so the mirror could reflect her entire body.
"Hmph~" She tossed her hair and declared, "Mirror, mirror, please tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the cosmos?"
Lumina: ?
When Lumina heard those familiar words, the corner of her mouth twitched.
Well, I shouldn't be surprised. This is exactly what Herta would do.
"Ah, beautiful Madam Herta~ You are so lovely, so kind, so..."
"Stop. Skip all the tedious steps and just give me the result."
Faced with its master's question, the mirror naturally began a series of flattering remarks, attempting to shower Herta with cringe-worthy praise.
But Herta cut it off before it could continue.
After a moment of thought, the mirror gave its answer: "The most beautiful woman in the entire cosmos is, of course, Madam Herta..."
Hearing this, Herta nodded in satisfaction.
But...
Herta had celebrated too soon.
Just as she was nodding contentedly, the mirror finished its complete sentence.
"...is Lady Lumina, standing right beside you."
Herta: ?
Lumina: ?
Both Herta and Lumina froze for a moment upon hearing this.
Herta was stunned because she thought, Isn't the mirror's program set to have only one answer?
Lumina was stunned because she thought, Given Herta's vanity, she actually didn't program the mirror with only one answer?
"Ha? Are you kidding me? You're sure it's Lumina?!" Herta snapped back to reality first, crossing her arms and glaring at the mirror with a dark expression.
It seemed that if the mirror dared to stand by its answer, Herta would dismantle it on the spot.
"Yes, Madam Herta. The most beautiful woman in the entire cosmos is the lady beside you, dressed in a white gown, whose every glance and smile could make the stars themselves fall—Lady Lumina."
The mirror remained firm in its response, seemingly unafraid of Madam Herta's wrath.
"Hehehe, Little Herta, look how honest it's being. Don't make things difficult for it." With the mirror having spoken so boldly, Lumina felt it would be heartless not to intervene.
She stepped forward, blocking Herta, who looked ready to tear the mirror apart at any second.
"Hmph." Herta shot Lumina a glance and snorted coldly. "I never intended to make things difficult for it."
"Mm-hmm. Then remember not to make things difficult for it in the future, either." Neither Lumina nor the Mirror believed a word of it.
After all, Madam Herta's killing intent had been practically overflowing just moments ago. How could she possibly claim she had no intention of giving it a hard time?
It was like someone standing before you with a scalpel, their face radiating murderous intent, muttering, "I mean you no harm," while inching closer and closer.
Would you believe they had no ill will?
"I really wasn't trying to give it a hard time," Herta retorted, seeing the utter disbelief on Lumina's face.
"Sigh, whatever. Think what you want."
After a moment, seeing Lumina still unmoved, Herta couldn't be bothered to argue anymore. She waved her hand dismissively, signaling to drop the topic.
Though neither Lumina nor the Mirror believed her, Herta genuinely held no malice toward the mirror.
As for why...
Did she even need to think about it?
Because Herta agreed with the answer the mirror had given.
If I agreed with its answer, why would I bear it any ill will?
That's what Herta thought, but unfortunately, Lumina didn't believe her.
Not that it mattered. Whether Lumina believed her or not, Herta couldn't care less.
It was just a mirror. Not even worthy of wasting her time...
-
"Have all the staff on the space station left?" Herta asked Lumina, standing before the Simulated Universe Device.
"You might as well ask Asta instead of me." Hearing Herta's illogical question, Lumina let out a weary sigh.
"If you're tired, you can go rest," Herta said, noticing Lumina's expression.
After all, the so-called "audience with an Aeon" was just an excuse Herta had concocted to keep Lumina here.
In reality, Lumina's presence wouldn't significantly affect the process or the outcome. Herta could easily complete the task alone.
"Lap pillow." Upon hearing Herta's words, Lumina recalled what Herta had said to her back on Penacony.
"?"
A few question marks seemed to appear above Herta's head. She had clearly forgotten.
"Remember? Back in the Asdana Star System, in that room at The Reverie Hotel, you said you'd give me a lap pillow whenever I wanted." Seeing Herta's confusion, Lumina meticulously explained, eager to claim her promised benefit.
"Hmm... I remember..." Herta paused, stopping all her movements to think. She realized that, yes, such a thing had indeed happened...
But...
"I'm in a puppet body right now. My knees are hard. Are you sure you still want to rest your head on them?" Herta turned to face Lumina, slightly lifting one of her puppet's thighs and gesturing toward it.
She's currently inhabiting a puppet. If Lumina still wanted to use it as a pillow, Herta would have to admire her audacity.
Truly outrageous.
Although her puppets were crafted from top-tier materials, they were fundamentally different from a real "person."
After all, a puppet was just a puppet. If Herta made them too human-like, they would lose their purpose as puppets.
"Er..." Hearing this, Lumina glanced at the Herta Puppet's pristine white thigh, and a strange thought flickered in her mind.
It's not like it's impossible...
But the thought was extinguished as quickly as it appeared, stamped out by Lumina herself.
How bizarre...
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lumina changed the subject. "Herta, when is your main body arriving?"
"Huh? Who said my main body was coming?" Hearing Lumina's question, Herta crossed her arms, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"How can you have an audience with an Aeon without your main body?" Lumina asked, growing more confused.
Are you seriously planning to meet an Aeon in a puppet body?
The power contained within this puppet is so negligible that a single glance from Nous would reduce it to dust.
"Hmph, you're underestimating a genius a bit too much," Herta scoffed.
"It's just meeting a big Droid Head. My main body doesn't need to bother."
Herta flicked her loose hair, her words dripping with pride, as if she truly believed what she was saying...
Yes, as if. Herta's boast was something you could only use to fool a three-year-old.
An audience with Nous was no small matter for any member of the Genius Society. Herta was only saying this to dissuade Lumina from her lap pillow request and to tease her a little.
Besides, the big Droid Head wasn't the Aeon of Elation. Making jokes at his expense was perfectly fine.
"Hey, Herta..." Realizing Herta was treating her like a three-year-old, Lumina's face crumpled into a pout. "Since when did you become such a bullshitter?"
"And your bullshit is so over the top it's practically flying."
"It's just meeting a big Droid Head. My main body doesn't need to bother." Anyone who didn't know better would think the Droid Head was the one seeking an audience with Herta.
"Bullshit? Where? I don't see any. Am I going blind?" Herta feigned confusion, looking up at the ceiling as if searching for flying bulls.
"Stop messing around. When is your main body actually arriving?" Lumina asked, her face a mask of exasperation.
Although Herta was right in front of her, it was only her puppet form.
Compared to the puppet, Lumina naturally preferred Herta's main body.
That's why she was so eager to meet her in person.
"When do you want me to arrive?" Herta still didn't answer directly, deflecting with another question.
"Now. Immediately. Right this instant, right in front of me." Realizing Herta wasn't going to let her see the main body easily, Lumina decided to take the initiative.
"Oh? I never would have guessed, Little Lumina. You actually miss me that much?" Herta raised an eyebrow, covering her mouth with a hand as her small face filled with mock surprise. She acted as if she couldn't believe this Lumina before her could possibly miss her main body so intensely.
"That's right, I miss you. So hurry up and appear." Since she had decided to go on the offensive, Lumina was determined to see it through, playing along with Herta's teasing.
No matter what Herta said, Lumina just needed to leave her speechless.
"Tsk, tsk. Don't tell me you're the type who'd sulk in a dark corner, pining for me whenever I'm away?"
Herta had already seen through Lumina's intentions, knowing she was dead set on making her main body appear immediately.
Herta didn't mind. If Lumina wanted her to appear right away, she could. It wasn't like she couldn't do it.
But Lumina's determination to stay on the offensive? Herta could definitely use that to her advantage and tease her mercilessly...
"Oh, not at all. After all, don't we video call every day?"
"I openly miss Madam Herta during our calls, right out in the open."
Though Lumina was on the offensive, she wasn't the reckless type who would charge ahead without considering her defenses.
"Er..." Herta was genuinely surprised that Lumina could maintain such composure while pressing her attack.
But she quickly brushed it off, a smirk playing on her lips. "Call me something nice, and I'll appear right away."
"Like what?"
"Like: 'Big Sister Herta, your little sister Lumina has come to greet you~'"
"Something like that."
Herta demonstrated, mimicking a specific, overly sweet tone.
"Where did you even learn that?" Lumina was utterly stunned to hear such a phrase, delivered in that tone, come out of Herta's mouth.
"I saw it on a short video. Thought it was pretty amusing." It wasn't worth hiding, so Herta answered truthfully.
"Short videos..." Hearing those cursed words, Lumina sighed and pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
Snapping back to reality, Lumina turned to Herta and said, "Herta, you really should watch fewer of those short videos."
"Watch too many, and you'll turn into an idiot who just lies in bed, staring at their phone, giggling like a fool."
"I haven't detected any energy fluctuations from them. How could watching them possibly make someone dumber?" Herta's eyes narrowed slightly. She suspected Lumina was trying to trick her, treating her like a three-year-old as payback for her earlier teasing.
"It has nothing to do with energy. They're just incredibly addictive. You start believing online rumors, get brainwashed by them, and eventually turn into an idiot who does nothing but giggle while endlessly scrolling through short videos."
Lumina lectured Herta with the earnestness of a concerned mother, desperate to save her from the clutches of short video addiction.
"How do you know all this?" Herta asked, her curiosity piqued, abandoning the argument about whether or not it would make her stupid.
"Of course, I figured it out myself," Lumina replied with a dead-serious expression.
In reality, that wasn't true. The idea that watching short videos makes you stupid was something Lumina herself had learned... from a short video.
"Hmmph."
As a genius, Herta only needed a moment's thought to see through Lumina's claim. She knew Lumina must have gotten the idea from a short video.
But Herta didn't call her out on it.
Instead, a hesitant look crossed her face. After a brief pause, she asked, "Hey, Lumina..."
"If I really do turn into an idiot from watching short videos... will you take care of me?"
Herta wasn't actually worried about becoming stupid. She was using the idea as a metaphor for something else entirely...
"Uh..." Lumina froze, caught off guard by the question.
But once she processed it, she didn't need to think long. With utmost seriousness, she nodded and gave her answer:
"I will."