"No sign of Little Swarm..."
"Does that mean Little Swarm got separated from Stelle and Dan Heng?" Welt's heart tightened at the news. After a moment of deep thought, he voiced his concern.
"I don't know." Herta shrugged and shook her head, admitting her own uncertainty.
"This..." Hearing this, even Welt's usually composed expression showed a flicker of anxiety.
The three of them had entered Amphoreus in the same carriage. Logically, they shouldn't have been separated...
Unless something unexpected had happened.
But... what kind of incident could possibly endanger Little Swarm, the Starcrusher Swarm King?
Could it be... that an Emanator had intervened?
"Yes, you're right. It's exactly as you suspect." Though Welt's thoughts didn't show on his face, Herta seemed to read his mind. She crossed her arms and confirmed his suspicion.
"Amphoreus has produced three or more Emanators. From what I know—no, from what Intellitron Guy told me—the three Paths on Amphoreus are Erudition, Remembrance, and... Destruction."
Herta glanced at the Phantylia Kitten and said, "First, we can rule out the Path of Destruction as the source of the attack on Little Swarm."
"That Lord Ravager is imprisoned, so they couldn't have targeted Little Swarm."
"So, you're saying the attacker is likely an Emanator of either Erudition or Remembrance?" Welt asked after a moment of thought.
"Of course," Herta nodded, then continued, "But we don't need to overthink this."
"Who attacked her isn't important."
"What matters is whether she's in danger right now."
"Ah, you can rest assured on that point." Lumina raised her hand like an eager student. "Little Swarm is protected by wards Ruan Mei and I placed on her."
"Even if the attacker is an Emanator, they couldn't put Little Swarm in grave danger without us sensing it."
"Is that so..." Welt breathed a sigh of relief at Lumina's words.
In that case, the missing Little Swarm might actually be the safest one of all...
"Anyway, why are we wasting time thinking about it?" Herta interjected.
"Let's just enter Amphoreus and find out for ourselves, shall we?"
Herta thought Welt was simply overthinking things.
With geniuses involved, they could bring her back even if she died.
"I don't have anything to pack. We can head to Amphoreus right now," Lumina said with a slight nod, indicating she was ready to leave immediately.
She had already seen the Amphoreus Saga of Heroes PV through the System and had been drooling over the beautiful girls in it for a long time. If not for a few pressing matters and the fact that she didn't know Amphoreus's coordinates, she would have arrived there long before the Astral Express.
"Alright, let's go. We'll give that Intellitron Guy a good thrashing."
"Then we'll check out that Engulfing Guy and see if his 'rage' can truly engulf the Galaxy."
Herta chuckled, her words dripping with disdain. Clearly, Madam Herta still held a grudge against the Intellitron Guy who had threatened her and blocked her from entering Amphoreus.
"Alright, so are we just going like this, or..."
"Oh, wait a sec. I need to call someone."
Lumina had been about to ask whether they would take a vessel to Amphoreus or simply traverse the cosmos physically.
But before Lumina could finish her question, Herta suddenly remembered something, took out her phone, and sent a message to someone.
"Hmm... Madam Herta, should I interpret this action as a sign that you don't trust me or believe in my abilities?"
Lumina was clearly displeased by Herta's move to call for backup.
Am I not enough? You still want to bring someone else?
"Don't misunderstand," Herta quickly explained, sensing the displeasure in Lumina's voice. "I'm messaging Screwllum."
"I find that Intellitron Guy extremely irritating. If we just crush him outright, I won't get the satisfaction of revenge."
"So..."
"I plan to bring Screwllum along. Let a mechanical mind defeat a mechanical mind. I want that Intellitron to understand, from the inside out..."
"...that no one in this world can wrong me!"
Herta's voice brimmed with confidence.
And she had every right to be confident. An Emanator of Erudition and a member of the Genius Society—those two titles alone were enough.
Ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of the cosmos would likely nod in agreement upon hearing her declaration.
But as it happened, Lumina was part of the remaining fraction.
In response to Herta's words, Lumina uttered only five words and two punctuation marks.
"You wronged me little sister."
(Spy- "哟,负我姐." Im confused as well tbh)
Herta: ...
Upon hearing Lumina's words, Herta's confident expression instantly froze.
"Uh..." Welt and Sunday, standing nearby, exchanged a glance. They silently backed away, hoping to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"Hehehe, hehehe, hehehe..." After a moment, Herta began to laugh.
But unusually, she didn't say anything. Instead, she waved her hand dismissively.
"Let's go. We need to get to Amphoreus. Don't keep them waiting too long."
Huh? Lumina found Herta's reaction completely unfamiliar.
She's completely unfazed even after I hit her with a point-blank ultimate?
Impossible. Is this really the Herta I know?
Don't tell me her body was possessed by someone in Amphoreus?
As these thoughts raced through her mind, Lumina's small eyes darted around. A clever idea for a test suddenly occurred to her.
She strode over to Herta's side. Before Herta could react, Lumina reached out and snatched the pointed witch's hat from her head.
Then, Lumina placed her other palm on Herta's head and began to gently ruffle her hair.
Herta: "..."
"Hey, Herta, why aren't you talking anymore?"
"Is it because 'no one in the world can betray you'?"
"Hiss... If I'm doing this to you, doesn't that mean I'm doomed?"
Lumina's words carried a hint of worry and fear, but her hands were brutally honest. Not only did they not stop, but they actually sped up, instantly turning Herta's smooth hair into a complete mess.
"..."
"Heh..." Seeing Herta remain utterly unfazed, Lumina let out a soft chuckle.
"Little Sister Herta, if you like this, just call me 'Sister Lumina~' and I'll do it for you anytime, anywhere."
"Get lost."
Though Herta's reaction was unexpected, it wasn't that far off from Lumina's predictions.
Lumina hadn't even started trying, and Herta was already at her limit.
Herta gently pushed Lumina's hand off her head, snatched back her Witch's Hat, and put it back on.
"Let's go. Stop wasting time."
"You don't want anything to happen to Stelle and the others, do you?"
"The space station has a starship. We'll take that."
Herta pulled the brim of her hat down, hiding the faint blush on her cheeks...