"Hmm?"
Just as Herta was about to enter the Path Space through the mirror for an audience with the Aeon of Erudition, she abruptly froze, as if sensing something of great importance.
"Ma... Madam Herta," the Mirror asked, confused by her sudden halt. "Have you encountered another problem?"
Hiss... Truly worthy of Madam Herta. She's far beyond what we mere mortals—no, what we mere Mirrors—could ever hope to comprehend.
The Mirror carefully scanned its surroundings but found nothing amiss.
And so, it resumed its praise of Herta.
"Heh, a problem indeed," Herta muttered.
"And a massive one at that."
She crossed one arm over her chest, pressing the thumb of her other hand against her upper lip. Her head was bowed, her face a mask of pure conflict.
It was as if something had arisen that could rival the importance of an audience with the Aeon of Erudition...
Hiss... "Madam Herta, how could anything in this universe possibly pose a massive problem for you?" The Mirror was utterly stunned, having witnessed Madam Herta's words and actions.
A problem so immense it could trouble an Emanator of Erudition... so significant it could make her halt everything just one step away from an audience with an Aeon and plunge her into deep thought...
Perhaps the Mirror was simply too foolish, but in its understanding, nothing in the entire cosmos should be capable of such a thing.
Yet, Madam Herta's expression and posture confirmed that such a thing did, in fact, exist!
Could something like that truly exist in the universe? The Mirror's curiosity burned.
"Of course," Herta replied, no longer lost in thought. She seemed to have reached a conclusion but didn't immediately share it.
Instead, she tossed her hair and spoke with uncharacteristic humility. "The cosmos is vast and full of wonders. Even Madam Herta isn't omnipotent."
"Ah~ Truly worthy of Madam Herta! Even with a reputation that echoes across the cosmos, you remain so humble!" As a devoted "Heritor," the Mirror naturally offered another round of praise upon hearing Herta's words.
"Hmph. Of course," Herta scoffed, teasing the Mirror. "But that statement has absolutely nothing to do with the matter I was considering."
"Ah~ Truly worthy of Madam Herta! Indeed, your every word, every smile, is enough to make the Aeon of Beauty descend and bestow Their blessing upon you."
The Mirror, completely unfazed, simply praised Herta again.
"Hmph. You... pass." The Mirror's words had clearly pleased Herta.
She pointed her pinky finger at it, signaling that it had passed her test.
"Hehehe, Madam Herta, I will follow in your footsteps forever!"
"Even if I can't even find a trace of your footprints along the way!"
Even after Herta's praise, the Mirror continued to laud her.
"Heh. Let's go. The experiment is paused," Herta said, tossing her hair and addressing the Mirror.
"Good thing we haven't entered the Path Space yet. The losses won't be too great."
"Once this matter is resolved, we can quickly restart and seamlessly resume the current process."
Herta covered her mouth with her hand and yawned.
Her figure then began to slowly fade, gradually withdrawing from the Audience Device.
"Hey, hey, hey! Madam Herta, you haven't told me yet! What is this 'super troublesome' matter that even the great Madam Herta finds so difficult?"
Seeing the great Madam Herta leaving so abruptly, the Mirror asked with a mix of urgency and curiosity.
It was genuinely curious—what could possibly be so troublesome that it would vex the wise and beautiful Madam Herta herself...
"Hmph. What else could it be?" Herta chuckled, hearing the urgency and curiosity in the Mirror's voice.
"Besides that Lumina woman, what else could possibly be important enough to make me halt a process just one step away from an audience with an Aeon?"
As Herta's voice faded, her figure completely vanished from the Audience Device...
Leaving the Mirror alone, utterly bewildered.
"Ah... Huh?"
-
"Besides~that Lumina~ woman~"
In the Player World, inside the live stream chat, a sour expression instantly appeared on Little Bear's face as he heard Herta's words from the game.
Yeah, right. And you two have 'nothing' going on?
The sweetness is practically overflowing, and you still claim there's nothing between you?
Does anyone actually believe that?
[Herta spoils Lumina way too much, doesn't she?]
[Sob This is so sweet it's killing me. I've decided: I'm adding an extra spoonful of sugar to every pre-made meal I deliver to the college students today.]
[Dumb question, but when are these two getting married?]
[I'm raising the Herta x Lumina flag high! Aaaah! I declare that Herta x Lumina is invincible today!]
[Selling doujinshi! Haven't thought of a title or plot yet, but the main characters are Lumina and Herta. Anyone want to buy? 30 yuan, just the price of a Monthly Pass! Don't just dream it, do it!]
[What's this newbie doing here? Don't you know doujinshi in this stream start at four digits minimum?]
"Ahem, ahem. But from what Herta said, it seems like something might have happened to Lumina?" Little Bear coughed a few times, snapping out of his daze from Herta's doting tone. He asked with a hint of confusion.
"With Lumina's strength, what kind of trouble could she possibly be in?"
"Don't tell me an Aeon actually showed up?"
Little Bear thought to himself.
Herta had been in the middle of seeking an audience with an Aeon. Yet, because of Lumina, she had abandoned the process at the very last step.
What could have happened to Lumina that would make Herta give up an audience with an Aeon just to go help her?
Little Bear was incredibly curious.
So, with this burning curiosity, he continued playing through the story.
And soon, his curiosity was satisfied—but the answer far exceeded his expectations...
"The energy released by the Droid Head's glance would be enough to turn everyone on the Space Station to ash..."
Those were Herta's exact words. But considering the entire situation and what he knew of Lumina's strength, Little Bear felt that things weren't as simple as Madam Herta had claimed.
She was just worried that the energy from Nous's glance would harm Welt and Sunday.
Because Little Bear believed it was impossible for Herta not to know Lumina's true strength.
It was also impossible for her not to know that Lumina could easily protect those two from the energy released by Nous's glance...
In that case, there could only be one truth.
Herta was simply annoyed that Lumina had left her office because of Welt and Sunday's arrival.
She was upset that Lumina wouldn't be there to witness her moment of glory.
So, she paused the process of seeking an audience with the Aeon.
She planned to resume it only when Lumina was free to watch the entire thing...
Little Bear speculated, feeling absolutely certain he was right.
Naturally, he followed this up with a roast aimed at Herta.
But this roast consisted of just two words and two Arabic numerals:
Wish you 99.
(Spy: "99" sounds like "long-lasting" in Chinese, and the phrase is used to wish a relationship lasts forever.)