Amphoreus, location unknown.
"What a dump!"
"Lumina, I don't think anyone has ever lived here."
"Forget about those pretty girls you're so obsessed with."
"We should just tell Intellitron to bring those four little ones to us and get out of Amphoreus."
After wandering through this desolate place for some time, the disdain on Herta's face grew more pronounced.
This wretched place was nothing but a ruined relic—utterly barren.
No treasure chests either.
So it didn't even qualify as a proper ruin.
Abandoned for ages, at least a century.
There were no signs of human habitation or passage, making it a true ghost town.
Ruined relics are usually an adventurer's favorite haunt.
But this place had neither treasure nor any evidence of past inhabitants, suggesting no one had set foot here since its abandonment.
This dump? Forget pretty girls.
Even a pretty girl's ghost would be a lucky find.
Hmm...
No, even a pretty girl's ghost wouldn't do.
Knowing Lumina's nature...
She shouldn't be picky...
As long as they're attractive, she probably wouldn't care about their race...
"Hmm, Madam Herta, though I don't know what mischievous thoughts are swirling in your mind, I assure you it's not what you're imagining."
Lumina, who had been observing Herta's subtle facial expressions, sighed inwardly, a touch of helplessness in her heart.
No one told me that Madam Herta, a member of the Genius Society, was such a whimsical, imaginative oddball prone to wild flights of fancy.
Hmm...
Actually, it makes perfect sense.
After all, the prerequisite for joining the Genius Society is becoming an "oddball" yourself, isn't it?
Never mind then.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Lumina surveyed the surroundings. "While there are no signs of anyone having been here, there are signs of someone having been here."
"?"
"Do you even hear yourself talking?"
Hearing this grammatically nonsensical statement, Herta cast a concerned glance at Lumina, clearly suspecting that something was wrong with her mind.
How could she utter such a contradictory, left-brain-right-brain sparring of words?
"Heh, Herta, you heard Lygus say it outside earlier," Lumina chuckled, showing no sign of anger. "Amphoreus is a [data] world."
"Therefore, we can't observe this world with normal thinking."
"Perhaps... we could try this."
Before Herta could respond, Lumina extended her palm and clenched it forcefully.
Bang!
In the next instant, a stream of data flashed across their vision, and a perfectly intact building materialized before them.
"Hmm?"
"So that's how it works."
Witnessing this, Herta pondered briefly before instantly grasping the mechanism.
But as comprehension dawned, a small, serious expression settled on her face.
Truthfully, Herta had underestimated Amphoreus.
Initially, she'd assumed it was at most on par with the Simulated Universe.
But Lumina's demonstration revealed a level of simulation detail far surpassing even that.
Few entities in the cosmos possess computational power exceeding the Simulated Universe. A faint suspicion began to take root in Herta's mind.
Combined with the Intellitron outside, her conviction grew stronger.
Herta, however, had no intention of sharing her suspicions with Lumina.
If she was right, all well and good. But if she was wrong...
She'd never hear the end of Lumina's mockery.
So, Herta decided to observe first.
"Hmm... did you... rewind time?" Herta asked, crossing her arms as she surveyed the surroundings, feeling the weight of ages etched into the architecture.
Lumina nodded slightly. "Yes, the air is imbued with the power of the gods. By condensing this power, such feats become possible. It's quite simple," she said, her tone casual and didactic, as if explaining something utterly trivial.
"..." Herta fell silent, utterly speechless at Lumina's pseudo-scientific explanation.
Simple? As simple as a hammer to the head!
"Sigh... Well, I suppose only you could pull this off," Herta sighed after a moment, shaking her head in exasperated admiration.
Condensing the god's essence from the air, seizing the Authority over Time, and reversing its flow—this was beyond Herta's capabilities.
After all, the temporal power in the air was minuscule. While Herta could condense it, she lacked the ability to simultaneously seize the Authority of Time during the condensation process.
Herta could only manage a simple and crude approach: directly smash a temporal fissure with her staff, break through the barrier of time, and travel to the past.
While still straightforward, this method wasn't as effortless as Lumina's. Nor was it as convenient. Moreover, if the force wasn't precisely controlled, the temporal trace left behind would be irreparable.
"Let's find someone to ask where we are first," Lumina suggested, surveying the bustling scene that had replaced the once-desolate landscape after their time travel.
"Mm," Herta nodded in agreement.
Lumina's gaze swept over the crowd, eventually settling on a particularly beautiful woman. With the Phantylia Kitten cradled in one arm and Herta's small hand clasped in the other, she approached the woman.
"..." Herta wasn't surprised by Lumina's choice of target. Yet, even so, she felt a twinge of discomfort.
Feeling the warmth radiating from Lumina's hand, Herta's buried emotions began to stir once more, deep within her heart.
"Hmm..."
"This is Janusopolis, within the Abyss of Fate."
"Our next destination should be Okhema, the Eternal Holy City."
"As the Eternal Holy City, it's unlikely to be a desolate ruin like this place, shrouded in death energy."
Having finished researching Amphoreus's background, Lumina manipulated the Power of Time and returned to the present.
She quietly organized the information she had just obtained, determining their first destination within Amphoreus.
"Do you know where that... uh... O-something place is?" Herta asked, her anticipation growing with each passing moment.
There was no doubt that once they reached Okhema, Lumina would begin her series of "getting to know cute girls" activities...
"No idea," Lumina replied, shrugging to indicate her ignorance.
"Let's put Okhema aside for now. I've found something else."
"Come, follow me."
With that, Lumina took Herta's small hand and led her in a certain direction.
Meanwhile, Lumina, still pondering how to reach Okhema, failed to notice Herta's gradually darkening expression...