"All the staff on the space station have evacuated. Isn't the calibration of your Simulated Universe Device finished yet?"
Inside the office, Lumina glanced at the message Asta had sent her on her phone's chat app. She then looked up at the Herta Puppet still standing before the Simulated Universe Device and asked.
"It's done. Since all the staff have been cleared out, we can begin."
Upon hearing this, Herta stopped her work, took a deep breath, and prepared for the final step.
She turned, walked to the center of the office, and exhaled slowly.
Huuu...
Herta raised her hands slightly, a purple glow emanating from them.
"Eh? Wait, wait!" Lumina's eyes widened. She glanced at Herta, then looked around frantically, trying to stop her.
"What is it? Is there something else?" Herta paused, turning her head to ask with a puzzled expression.
At such a critical moment, if it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have just been interrupting her.
Herta wouldn't even have allowed them into her office... No, she wouldn't have let them on the space station at all.
Only Lumina could openly watch Herta conduct important experiments right by her side...
Though "watching" wasn't quite accurate. She was mostly scrolling through short videos on her phone, constantly making noise and distracting Herta.
As always.
If she weren't Lumina, Herta would have long since blasted her out of the room.
"Where's your Main Body? Aren't you going to use it for your audience with an Aeon?"
Hearing this, Herta felt a sudden urge to kick Lumina out.
But the thought quickly vanished, replaced by a smug satisfaction.
Hmph, poor Little Lumina, crying and fussing because she can't see 'The Herta.' How pitiful.
"Remember what I said before?" Herta didn't answer directly, instead using her previous words as a response. "It's just a meeting with a big Droid Head. My Main Body isn't needed for something so trivial."
"..."
Lumina sat up on the sofa, her small face covered in exasperation.
Since Herta was using her old lines, Lumina decided to do the same. "Little Herta, remember what I said before?"
"I saw a cow flying in the sky. What kind of cow is that?"
"Bragging."
"Hmph, whether I'm bragging or not, you'll find out soon enough if you just watch." Herta paid no mind to Lumina's slightly disdainful words.
Lumina was right, of course. The statement, "It's just a meeting with a big Droid Head. My Main Body isn't needed for something so trivial," was pure bluff.
But this time, she wasn't meeting the real Droid Head—just a simulation of it. Even without her Main Body, she could achieve the same result with remote assistance.
Whoosh...
Ignoring Lumina, Herta closed her eyes, and a purple light surged from her hands.
As the power within her intensified, reaching a critical point, Herta's eyes snapped open. A gust of wind instantly swept outward, disheveling Lumina's hair.
"That Herta... she did that on purpose, didn't she?" Lumina sighed helplessly from the sofa, watching Herta's expression remain completely unchanged.
The airflow had spread in all directions, but the wind hitting her was far stronger than anywhere else.
If Herta claimed it wasn't intentional, Lumina wouldn't believe her for a second.
But in this situation, Lumina didn't dare do anything rash to Herta. After all, if her actions caused the simulated audience with an Aeon to fail, she'd have to find some way to make it up to Herta...
Glare!
Dun dun dun dun♪ Dun dun dun dun♪ Dun dun dun dun♪
Right before Lumina's eyes, the lights in the office—no... not just the office, but the entire Space Station—went out.
Several mirrors materialized around the Herta Puppet, completely encircling it.
At the same time, a strange musical cue began to play.
"Huh? Where's that music coming from?" Lumina blinked, puzzled.
Hiss... Could Herta be one of those...
"Women with their own theme music?"
Staring at Herta for a moment, Lumina arrived at this conclusion.
Her own theme music... I want that too.
If Herta has it and I don't, doesn't that mean I'm a tier below her?
Lumina's bizarre train of thought began to chug along.
BOOM!
Fortunately, before her peculiar logic could get very far, an immense aura erupted from Herta's body, nearly destroying the entire Space Station...
Fortunately, the Space Station was constructed from the finest materials in the cosmos. Otherwise, based on the aura just released, the station not being reduced to ash would have been considered a good outcome...
"Looks like the experiment was a success."
Lumina glanced at Herta, then at the Simulated Universe Device whirring madly. Drawing on her limited knowledge of the Simulated Universe, she knew Herta had succeeded.
Hmm... This energy is nothing to me.
So...
Lumina's eyes darted around. She hesitated for a moment while looking at Herta, but ultimately decided to extend her divine sense and probe inside.
Although the power had nearly destroyed the Space Station, it was truly insignificant to Lumina.
Driven by intense curiosity about what Herta would do in this simulated audience with an Aeon, Lumina, after much deliberation, decided to follow her heart's desire.
Mm, it worked, as expected.
Once inside, Lumina immediately began searching for Herta.
However, before she could find her, Herta's voice rang out clearly in her ear.
"O All-seeing Presence, I ask you this—What is Divinity?"