"This Amphoreus... it's quite interesting."
After exchanging a few words with Himeko and the others, Lumina and Herta departed from the Astral Express.
Treading on the void, they hovered in the Cosmos. As Lumina gazed at the mysteriously colored Amphoreus before her, she seemed to sense something. The corners of her lips curled into a faint, intrigued smile.
"What did you sense?" Herta asked, noticing Lumina's expression. She extended her own Perception toward Amphoreus but detected nothing of interest—only a faintly familiar aura.
Lumina could sense it, but she couldn't.
This alone made it clear that the gap between Lumina and an Emanator had grown immense.
At this rate, Herta genuinely feared that Lumina might one day ascend to Aeonhood.
She would transform into an Aeon, eternally bound to her Path, completely stripped of all human emotions...
Herta would never tolerate such an outcome...
"I sensed... something that piques my interest." Unaware of Herta's inner turmoil, Lumina didn't answer the question directly.
Instead, she offered a classic non-answer.
"Hmph. Fine, don't tell me if you don't want to." Herta crossed her arms, clearly displeased.
She can do whatever she wants. If she wants to talk, she'll talk. If not, she won't. I don't care.
Well...
Okay, maybe I care a little. But I'm not going to say it.
"Hey, Herta, you should enter Amphoreus first," Lumina said after staring at the planetoid for a while longer.
"Why?"
"We don't want to startle the snake in the grass. I'll conceal my presence and only reveal myself when that... what's-his-name... the Intellitron guy shows up," Lumina explained. "Then, we'll team up. I'll restrain it, and you can unleash your tiny fists and give that Intellitron a good thrashing."
"Hmm..." Herta didn't respond immediately. Her beautiful, amethyst-like eyes fixed on Lumina's.
She stared intently for a moment before speaking slowly. "You... you're not planning to sneak into Amphoreus while I'm confronting that Intellitron, are you? Just so you can cuddle with those beautiful girls you're so obsessed with?"
Herta wasn't worried about whether Lumina could defeat the Intellitron guy, nor was she concerned about her own ability to give him a thorough beating.
Her only fear was that Lumina would sneak into Amphoreus while she wasn't looking.
She'll use some undetectable method to lock me out, and I'll be forced to watch helplessly as she flirts with all those girls inside...
As this thought consumed her, Herta's purple eyes darkened, and a hostile emotion—the kind she reserved for enemies—began to rise within her.
It was as if she were about to do something to Lumina...
Lumina: ?
Lumina was utterly bewildered by Herta's accusation. A giant question mark seemed to materialize above her small head.
She couldn't fathom what could have possessed Herta to say such a thing.
Speechless, Lumina didn't argue or even give Herta a look that said, Are you an idiot?
Instead, right in front of her, Lumina leaned in and gently took Herta's small hand in her own.
"..."
Under Herta's surprised and confused gaze, Lumina lifted their tightly clasped hands. "See? This way, I'll stay right by your side."
"You won't have to worry about me sneaking off somewhere behind your back."
"But didn't you say I should go in first, and you'd follow?" Herta asked, the warmth spreading from her fingertips and palm already dispelling most of her negative feelings. Though she had forgiven Lumina, a trace of annoyance remained. She huffed lightly.
"Well, I changed my mind," Lumina replied with a soft chuckle. "That Intellitron guy is nothing to me—no different from an ordinary person."
"I just need to make a tiny adjustment. Even if I'm dancing right in front of it, it won't even notice I'm there."
"I only just realized this, so I changed my plan."
Lumina's words held no trace of provocation or disdain for the Intellitron; they were simply brimming with overwhelming confidence.
Perhaps, to Lumina, the so-called "Intellitron that could guarantee Herta's destruction in a one-on-one fight" was nothing more than an utterly ordinary machine.
Herta: ...
Hearing Lumina's supremely confident words, Herta's expression remained unchanged, but her heart sank.
When she had previously arrived at Amphoreus via projection, she had been intercepted and threatened by that same Intellitron. At the time, Herta had sensed it wasn't bluffing. Barring any misjudgment of its own or Herta's power, its peak combat strength was likely equivalent to an Emanator.
And yet, an Intellitron with peak combat strength comparable to an [Emanator] was no different from an ordinary person in Lumina's eyes... If Lumina wished it, she could stand right in front of it, and it would never sense her presence...
If even a being with Emanator-level power was like this, would she, Herta, face the same fate?
In the future, could Lumina stand right before her, and she wouldn't even be able to detect her?
So, as long as she didn't want me to, I'd never be able to find her?
Herta didn't want that. She absolutely refused to accept it.
That's not fair to me...
But then again, absolute fairness didn't seem to exist in this cosmos...
At this moment, having witnessed Lumina's power firsthand, Herta felt a sense of defeat about her own Emanator-level strength for the very first time.
"Herta?" Lumina looked at her. Though Herta's expression remained blank, her eyes betrayed a storm of swirling thoughts. Lumina paused, considered the context, and instantly understood what was troubling her.
She tightened her grip on Herta's small hand and leaned even closer, their bodies almost touching.
Her voice warm and gentle, she whispered, "Don't worry, Herta. No matter what happens, I'll never use this 'disappearing' trick to mess with you."
Lumina's tone was more serious than ever before.
She wanted to keep Herta on her toes, but she would never resort to a tactic even lower than the lowest of the low to do it.
That wouldn't be teasing; it would be pure torture.
So, Lumina wouldn't allow it. She would never use such a method.
"Hmph." Hearing this, Herta's heart instantly warmed.
But she said nothing—no words of thanks, just a soft huff.
Her delicate, beautiful face regained its usual haughty expression.
"In that case, enough talk. Let's enter Amphoreus."
With that, Herta pulled Lumina by the hand and led her toward the structure.
Heh...
Lumina silently lowered her gaze, her eyes falling on how Herta's hand was now tightly gripping hers. A faint, secret smile touched her lips.