"Your earlier unreasonable behavior?"
"Did you display any unreasonable behavior earlier?"
After mentally scolding Lumina for her fondness for beautiful girls and her "flitting through a garden of a thousand flowers," Herta refocused her gaze on the Lygus standing before her.
She crossed her arms, adopting a deliberately puzzled expression to convey her confusion about what Lygus meant.
"Ah..."
Hearing this, Lygus immediately understood that Herta's question wasn't as straightforward as it seemed.
He realized he would have to resort to a different approach.
Since gentle persuasion had failed, it was time for a more forceful method.
"Madam Herta, Miss Lumina, and you... Honored Lord Ravager, the words I spoke earlier were not falsehoods."
"In fact, they were a simplified version of my full argument."
"Oh? Go on, then. Who knows, I might actually leave Amphoreus if your complete argument is convincing enough." Herta's eyebrows shot up, her curiosity piqued by the mention of the unabridged argument.
"Looks like Amphoreus is hiding quite a few secrets," Lumina murmured with a soft smile, her gaze drifting to the nearby water altar. A mysterious glint flickered in her jade-green eyes.
"What have you noticed?" Herta asked, sensing Lumina's gaze and turning to face her.
"Ah, I was just wondering how I should present myself to those beautiful maidens when we enter Amphoreus," Lumina replied earnestly, turning to face Herta with a serious expression and tone.
Herta: ...
Hearing this response, Herta suppressed the urge to knock Lumina unconscious and imprison her, glaring at her before shifting her gaze back to Lygus.
"Hmph, cut to the chase. Don't bother with small talk."
Herta was too shrewd to be easily fooled. Lumina's earlier expression had revealed that her true thoughts were far from what she claimed. But since Lumina didn't want to share, Herta wouldn't press the matter.
If Lumina could find interesting clues outside Amphoreus and at its entrance, Herta was confident she could uncover even more intriguing secrets within its depths.
And if she couldn't...
This could only mean that what Lumina had discovered far exceeded her own imagination. Naturally, Herta wouldn't go looking for trouble...
"Amphoreus is the cradle nurturing a Lord Ravager..."
"Its emergence will trigger catastrophic upheavals in the Cosmos."
"This is a game of cosmic chess between gods. If Madam Herta insists on entering Amphoreus, she will step onto the chessboard itself."
"This will bring about your catastrophic Destruction."
Lygus, realizing that gentler approaches had failed, resorted to brute force.
But it went beyond mere toughness, directly threatening Herta's life.
These words were a stark warning: if Herta dared to enter Amphoreus, her only fate would be annihilation...
"...Heh heh heh." After a moment of stunned silence, Herta burst into laughter.
Her crisp, ringing laughter echoed endlessly through the entrance to Amphoreus.
"Ha ha, Intellitron, remember this."
"I am Herta, Genius Society member #83, Emanator of Erudition."
"There is no place in this Cosmos I cannot reach, no place I cannot enter."
"So, instead of dissuading me from entering Amphoreus, this has only strengthened my resolve."
"A cosmic chess game between the Aeons and the gods? Intriguing."
"How could such a grand game be complete without me?"
Herta's lips curled into a bright, confident smile that lit up her exquisite face. The air around the Amphoreus entrance shimmered with her ethereal beauty, carrying a fragrance as peerless as her countenance.
Meanwhile, Lumina, who had been fantasizing about the perfect way to enter Amphoreus and charm the young maidens within, turned her head at the sudden surge of fragrance and froze in place, utterly mesmerized.
Lumina adored Ruan Mei's remark: "Madam Herta's beauty is as unquestionable as her temper."
Lumina, however, held the opposite view. Compared to Madam Herta's breathtaking beauty, her so-called temper was utterly insignificant.
"What's this? Stunned speechless?" Herta teased, flicking her hair with a hint of pride and arrogance. "Lost in my beauty?"
Perhaps it was because Lumina's gaze held no pretense of concealment, or perhaps Herta had been watching her closely. Whatever the reason, the moment Lumina froze, Herta seized the opportunity to tease her.
When it came to appearance, Herta possessed absolute confidence.
While the idea of Lumina being completely devoted to her, with her eyes fixed solely on Herta, was a bit unrealistic...
Herta remained utterly certain that she could secure an exceptionally high place in Lumina's heart.
Herta stood by her earlier statement:
"If Nous, the Erudition, hadn't cast a glance her way first, the Cosmos would have gained another Emanator of Beauty!"
"Indeed," Lumina replied, conceding without hesitation. "Madam Herta's eyebrows are unparalleled. It's perfectly natural for me to be captivated by them."
"Then let's have that Intellitron bring the four little ones here. We can return to the Space Station afterward, and I'll let you gaze at them to your heart's content."
Driven by her own desires, Herta made a subtle suggestion.
While she was immensely curious about the nature of the "chess game" between gods, this curiosity paled in comparison to the... well, the sheer irritation she felt whenever Lumina flirted in Amphoreus.
However, based on Herta's understanding of Lumina...
She almost certainly wouldn't agree.
Unless he offered... an even more tempting condition...
But that was impossible, absolutely impossible.
"Herta, what kind of person do you take me for?"
Lumina's response was exactly what Herta had anticipated.
The moment she heard the question, Lumina's face showed no hesitation, instantly becoming exceptionally earnest.
"This is a chessboard where gods play against gods."
"Think about it. Within this chessboard, Amphoreus serves as the battlefield. Imagine the desperate, hellish conditions its people must endure."
"Therefore, for the sake of my Path of Abundance, I will undoubtedly rescue the people of Amphoreus from their suffering."
Lumina's face radiated righteous conviction, as if she were truly wholeheartedly devoted to resolving Amphoreus's crisis.
Though...
That wasn't entirely wrong.
The only inaccuracy lay in the phrase "wholeheartedly devoted".
Lumina did genuinely want to save Amphoreus.
Rescuing Amphoreus and helping its people escape their suffering was indeed one of her primary goals.
But at the same time, her initial encounter with the beautiful girls within was naturally another primary objective...