"This is..."
"A Lord Ravager..."
On the Herta Space Station, Herta stared at the kitten dangling from Lumina's grasp, utterly stunned.
After a long moment, she finally managed to utter a few words filled with utter shock.
It was no wonder Herta was shocked. Keeping a Lord Ravager as a pet? In the entire Cosmos, besides the Aeons, Lumina was likely the only one capable of such a feat.
How could Herta not be shocked?
"This is... a Lord Ravager?!" Even the esteemed Madam Herta was shaken, so it went without saying that the other two were equally astonished.
"That's right, Mr. Yang. You know this Lord Ravager, too." Lumina nodded with a smile, holding the Lord Ravager up with one hand while her other hand playfully poked its head.
"I know her?" Welt was momentarily taken aback, but then realization dawned. "She's Phantylia?!"
Welt had only ever encountered one Lord Ravager. It took him just a split second to deduce her identity.
"Meow! Meow meow. (Hmph! Ants.)" The Phantylia Kitten meowed in response to Welt's exclamation.
"Come on, speak human." Lumina reached out and poked her head again, enabling her to speak.
"Hmph, ants! Remember this: I am a Lord Ravager!" Phantylia, realizing she could speak again, immediately puffed up with arrogance.
For the former Phantylia Kitten, becoming someone's pet would have been an unimaginable humiliation.
But for the current Phantylia Kitten, becoming Lumina's pet was practically a divine blessing!
After all, the Phantylia Kitten had witnessed Lumina's power firsthand.
She could punch a Lord Ravager and kick a Divine Lord.
To the Phantylia Kitten, this was like latching onto a powerful patron. She was too busy feeling proud to even consider it a disgrace.
"Heh..." Lumina chuckled softly, having heard all of the Phantylia Kitten's thoughts.
The "Discipline Phantylia Kitten" Plan had successfully concluded!
The once-unbeatable Lord Ravager had now obediently become Miss Lumina's pet!
"Truly... truly worthy of Miss Lumina. Your strength is truly formidable," Sunday praised, watching the once-arrogant Lord Ravager.
"Hmph, a Lord Ravager, Phantylia, is it?" Herta, who had been focused on the Intellitron Guy, shifted her entire attention to the Phantylia Kitten dangling from Lumina's hand.
"Hmph, woman! Since you know who I am, shouldn't you show some respect?" Hearing Herta dare to address her so casually, the Phantylia Kitten's face scrunched into a displeased pout.
"Watch your tone. This is Madam Herta, an Emanator of Erudition." Lumina, though displeased by the Phantylia Kitten's words, simply issued a warning without further comment.
"An Emanator of Erudition?" the Phantylia Kitten muttered. Then, a dismissive remark slipped from her little cat mouth: "And here I was wondering who it was. Just someone with a slightly bigger brain, I see."
Smack!
Before Herta could react, Lumina chopped the Phantylia Kitten on the head.
"If you dare speak so recklessly again, believe me, I'll twist your head right off," Lumina threatened, her voice laced with menace.
Instantly, the Phantylia Kitten obediently clamped her mouth shut.
While she knew Lumina probably wouldn't go that far, she was certain some other punishment awaited her.
For instance, Lumina was perfectly capable of finding a stray cat to "play" with...
Hmm... Of course, by "play," I mean exactly what it sounds like.
...sealing away all the power she'd worked so hard to gain and engaging in a life-or-death battle with a battle-hardened stray cat.
"Alright, alright, let's ignore this rude little kitten."
Herta paid no mind to the Phantylia Kitten's words.
Even if a fully-formed Lord Ravager stood before her, Herta wouldn't have cared.
Let alone this Lord Ravager, currently in the form of a kitten and serving as Lumina's pet. Herta saw no need to bother with her.
Herta never wasted her attention on anything she could easily crush.
Well, except for Lumina, of course.
If Lumina were someone she could easily crush, Herta would naturally focus all her attention on her...
As for what she'd do with that attention?
Don't ask.
"Lumina, do you have anything to pack?"
"We're heading to Amphoreus now."
Herta crossed her arms, her tone flat and matter-of-fact.
It seemed that "Intellitron Guy" she mentioned had truly gotten on her nerves.
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Pissing off Herta? That Intellitron Guy's life is over.
Of all the people to provoke, he just had to pick Herta.
Provoke someone else, and they might, for the sake of honor, challenge you to a fair one-on-one duel.
But provoke Herta? If she isn't absolutely certain she can instantly annihilate you, she'll swallow her genius pride and start calling for backup.
As for how many people she'll call... well, that depends on how lucky you are.
And that Intellitron Guy was clearly out of luck.
Because Herta had called her for help.
Since Herta had suffered a setback, Lumina naturally had to lend a hand.
But...
After lending a hand, it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for a small token of gratitude, right?
"Herta, don't be so hasty. Tell me about this... uh, Intellitron Guy's situation first," Lumina said, unhurried.
Even if Amphoreus contained something that could give Madam Herta trouble, Lumina wasn't worried.
She had faith in her ring.
"That Intellitron Guy is named... hmm, Lygus."
"It blocked me when I was about to enter Amphoreus."
"..."
Herta recounted her experience in Amphoreus.
"But the trip wasn't entirely fruitless," she added. "At least I know those two are okay."
"Hmm? Two people?" Hearing Herta's words, Welt and Sunday exchanged a glance. Then, Welt asked, "Madam Herta, there were three people who entered Amphoreus."
"Stelle, Dan Heng, and Little Swarm. I wonder...?"
"Hmm? Three? I only saw two." Herta paused, recalling the illusions she had seen inside Amphoreus, and shook her head.
"I'm certain I only saw two people."
"Hmm... Little Swarm, that's her name, right?"
"I didn't see her there."