"Castorice, Hyie, Polyxia, who wants to bathe first?"
Although Herta had agreed to the invitation for a communal bath, Lumina knew that the woman was extremely thin-skinned. Letting her bathe first was definitely something that would never happen.
She might even refuse to bathe at all.
Though the probability of that happening was not very high.
After all, if everyone else bathed and she didn't, wouldn't that be a bit awkward?
Especially since they were sharing the same pool. Even if the others didn't mind, Madam Herta herself would care, wouldn't she?
So, Lumina was in no hurry.
Tonight, no one was going to escape.
Giving in once meant giving in countless times, a truth Lumina kept deeply engraved in her mind.
The moment Herta successfully compromised, she was no longer considered an enemy by Lumina.
She was already a defeated foe!
"Are you thinking something bad about me?"
Just as Lumina had finished asking her question, before the three could answer, Herta narrowed her eyes and asked with a look of suspicion.
"How could that be, Madam Herta? With your esteemed status as an old lady, how would I dare think anything bad about you?"
These words, upon reaching Lumina's ears, did not cause any change in her emotions. She smiled slightly, responding to Herta with a smile and polite words.
"That's hard to say."
"After all, you, old lady, have a status no less impressive than mine."
Herta clearly emphasized the word "old lady."
Herta had originally not intended to give any response to Lumina's reply.
Because she knew that even if she did respond, it would probably be of little use.
But Lumina's phrase "old lady" slightly provoked Herta.
Although so-called age was completely not an issue for Herta. Even if someone were to insult her to her face, Herta would probably not care much.
But when these words came from Lumina's mouth, Herta had no choice but to care.
It wasn't that what Lumina said was problematic.
But rather...
Herta thought carefully and realized that among the beautiful girls around Lumina, she didn't seem to have any advantage in terms of age.
Of course, this was only among the beautiful girls she knew; she wasn't entirely sure of the exact situation.
But then again, that might not necessarily be the case.
During the thousand-year Flame-Chasing Journey, Castorice and the others might not have been younger than her.
But then again, Herta also understood one point.
So what if Castorice and the others were older than her?
In that guy Lumina's mouth, no matter how old they were, she would call them "younger sister, younger sister" one word after another.
And as for herself, Lumina didn't care how old she was, but just to spite her, she would call her "old lady" and "old hag" one word after another.
"Not at all, before an 'age senior,' I still have a lot to learn." Lumina was very humble, but the smile in her eyes was extremely piercing.
"Is that so?" Without caring about the piercing smile in Lumina's eyes, Herta's lips curved, she crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned back.
Leaning against the sofa, her voice became a bit husky and lazy: "Then, since I'm older than you."
"Then, if I call you Little Sister Lumina, you'll call me Big Sister Herta, no problem, right?"
Hearing this, Lumina was slightly stunned.
Herta's words were a bit unexpected to Lumina.
But thinking about it, it was actually quite normal. After all, with the warmth of three beautiful girls in her arms, Lumina had indeed become a bit carried away.
Fortunately, this wasn't a big deal; she could just bluff her way through it...
Thinking of this, Lumina shook her head and declined: "There's no need for big sister or little sister."
"If Madam Herta wishes, then I'll call you Auntie."
Lumina's expression was very serious and very obedient, just like a child from a relative's family during the Lunar New Year, with no bad intentions.
She simply called out this title named Auntie based on her own understanding of the world.
Herta: "..."
But how old was Lumina? At least she definitely couldn't be a simple child from a relative's family during the Lunar New Year.
She was doing it on purpose, she was deliberately calling her that.
Although this was a redundant thought, Herta still couldn't help but grit her teeth in frustration.
Little Lumina, Little Lumina, just you wait and see how I'll teach you a lesson later.
At the very least... at the very least, I'll make you tremble with fear whenever you see me for an entire Amber Era!
I'll make you greet me with a sweet and obedient "Big Sister Herta" every single day from now on!
For a moment, Herta was once again lost in a fantasy that rivaled Ena's Dream.
Fantasies are always just fantasies. Getting lost in them only brings you closer to "death."
Even though Herta understood this, she still couldn't help but fantasize.
Because it felt really good.
Lost in thought, Herta quickly snapped back to reality.
Resting one thigh over the other, she waved her hand. "Forget it, forget it. Let's forget about the "auntie" thing. You can just keep calling me by my name, "Herta."
"Little Lumina, my name is one of those that can't be called casually throughout the entire galaxy. The fact that I'm letting you call it casually clearly shows how highly I regard you."
When addressing Herta, who in the entire galaxy wouldn't use the respectful title "Madam Herta"?
Lumina should feel honored to have earned her recognition.
Although this was definitely an impossible feat...
"Is that so?" Lumina chuckled softly, her fair and beautiful face remaining completely unchanged.
"Then isn't that true for me as well? My name is one of those that cannot be called casually throughout the entire galaxy."
"And... my fame seems to be considerably higher than that of the venerable 'Madam Herta'."
Lumina's face was full of smiles. "The fact that I'm letting you call me casually now clearly shows how highly I regard you."
"Madam Herta."
Herta: "..."
Tsk.
Herta clicked her tongue inwardly. She had forgotten that, aside from her brain, she had absolutely no advantage over Lumina in any other way.
In fact, one could say she was at a complete disadvantage in every single aspect.
In terms of strength, identity, status, and... connections, Herta couldn't compete in any of them.
Even because of these disadvantages, Herta's only advantage, her "brain," wasn't much of an advantage anymore.
"Pure strength breaks all laws." This was a phrase Herta had seen while watching short videos.
As long as one's strength was great enough, any scheme or trickery could be directly smashed apart.
And Lumina, naturally, was the kind of person who could use pure strength to break all laws...
Looking at it this way, Herta was at a complete disadvantage, with absolutely no advantage at all.
This truly was a feeling of utter despair.
If it were anyone else facing this super high-difficulty "instance," they would have probably declared their surrender long ago, right?
But who was Madam Herta? How could she possibly endure a defeat without a fight?
She was determined to fight Lumina to the bitter end!
Even if she lost in the end, she had to tear a big chunk of meat off her!
Herta was very ambitious, and she was convinced that at the very least, she would definitely be able to complete this "fallback plan."
"Hehehe." Lumina chuckled, looking at Herta's little expression full of ambition at this moment, and shook her head helplessly.
Children, after all, cannot truly recognize the truth without suffering a bit more.
But that was fine, Lumina would still help her recognize the truth properly.
Hmm~ As expected of me, I'm truly a great person.
Helping a child who lacks awareness to recognize the truth is, of course, a "good" deed.
After humming happily, Lumina no longer dwelled on the matter of Herta.
Looking at Castorice, Hyacine, and Polyxia beside her, Lumina asked again, "Little sister Castorice, Hyie, Polyxia, who wants to go take a bath first?"
That just now question had not received an answer from the three of them, so Lumina had to ask again.
"..."
However, even after Lumina asked again, Castorice and Hyacine still didn't answer.
Their little faces were still red, and they wished they could bury their heads inside their chests.
If they weren't trying to avoid acting so unseemly in front of their Sister Lumina, they would have probably thrown themselves onto the ground and frantically dug a hole with their butts in the air, then buried themselves in it...
"Hmm?" Looking at their silent forms, Lumina deliberately put on a confused little expression, as if she found the matter very puzzling.
Of course, Lumina knew exactly why they had fallen into such a state.
But if you can play dumb, why act understanding?
Sometimes, pretending to be completely clueless can take the shame in their hearts to the next level.
"Sister Castorice, and Hyacine, what's wrong with you two?" Compared to Castorice and Hyacine, Polyxia, who hadn't experienced Lumina's "spoiling," seemed much more normal.
Even though her face was still covered in a flush, her state, when compared with Castorice and Hyacine, could be described as being poles apart.
"..."
And regarding Polyxia's question, Castorice and Hyacine still did not give any answer, which made the confusion on Polyxia's face become even deeper.
"Alright, alright, little sister Polyxia, maybe they are thinking about something important again." Hearing Polyxia's words, Lumina also let her gaze fall upon Polyxia.
"Ugh..." And along with Lumina's gaze falling, Polyxia actually felt a tremor as if she were being stared at by some vicious beast.
Looking left and right, after she did not find any traces of vicious beasts, the inexplicable tremor that had arisen in her heart also gradually disappeared.
"Sigh... why do I always have the illusion of being stared at by something?"
Ever since coming out of the Nether Realm, Polyxia always had this kind of feeling from time to time.
Clearly, there was nothing else around, let alone any so-called vicious beast staring at her, yet she still had this inexplicable feeling.
Once or twice might be considered normal.
But now that it had happened so many times, it truly made Polyxia feel very confused.
Fortunately, although it had occurred so many times, it still had not caused Polyxia any influence or harm. After understanding this, Polyxia didn't think too much about it.
After keeping a small part of her mind on guard, she didn't pay much more attention to this matter.
Maybe it's because I just came out of the Nether Realm, and my body and spirit are not quite adapted to the environment of the mortal world.
Polyxia silently made a guess in her heart.
Then her consciousness returned to reality, and she looked at Castorice and Hyacine, who were still burying their heads, not knowing what they were thinking about.
Seeing that they still had no intention of speaking, Polyxia turned her gaze to Lumina.
Beautiful, truly beautiful.
More beautiful than anything Polyxia had ever seen...
If "beauty" had a name, it would definitely be Sister Lumina.
Muttering silently in her heart and praising Lumina for a while, Polyxia then took the initiative to speak softly: "Sister Lumina, I'll go take a bath first."
"!" Hearing this, both Castorice and Hyacine abruptly raised their heads and stared at Polyxia, as if she had just said something absolutely shocking.
"Uh..." Feeling their gazes, Polyxia was suddenly at a loss for words.
She scratched her head, her face filled with confusion: "Um... what's wrong?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Polyxia felt strange, and Sister Castorice and Hyacine seemed strange too.
Her words should have been a perfectly normal statement, right?
Just a simple "I'm going to take a bath first," there shouldn't be anything inappropriate about it, right?
Then why did they have those expressions?
Polyxia found it completely incomprehensible.
"It's... it's nothing." Hearing Polyxia's confusion, neither Castorice nor Hyacine answered her question.
Instead, they continued to bury their heads in their chests, their faces still flushed.
They could already imagine what state Polyxia would be in after emerging from the bathroom.
That... nightgown.
That piece of clothing, though called a nightgown, was actually a piece of lingerie...
The only benefit of wearing that nightgown was that it added a touch of seduction.
It made her look more charming, and more... capable of awakening the most primal desires in one's heart.
Castorice and Hyacine had both been through this experience, but Polyxia had not.
But Castorice and Hyacine didn't dare to say it out loud...
The principle of "letting the other Daoist die instead of this humble Daoist" could perhaps be applied here.
And besides, it wasn't a matter of life and death, just a feeling of extreme embarrassment in their hearts.
Sister Lumina wouldn't do anything either, her eyes would just glance down from time to time.
A step further would be a slight hug, nothing worth "dying" over.
But even so, even with just this one "embarrassment," Castorice and Hyacine, who had experienced it firsthand, still felt extremely terrified.
They, they... they didn't want to repeat the same mistake!
But, but if Sister Lumina requested it, Castorice and Hyacine would have no choice.
They could only tell themselves: since they had already worn it once, wearing it a second time probably wouldn't be a problem, right?
"Alright, don't worry about Castorice and Hyacine for now." Lumina knew what they were thinking.
A glint of light flashed in her jade green eyes, and the corners of her lips curled slightly, as if she had thought of some mischievous idea.
"Polyxia, let's go. I'll take you to the dressing room to pick out some clothes."
After saying this, Lumina stood up and led Polyxia toward the dressing room.
And upon hearing the words "dressing room," Castorice and Hyacine's bodies visibly trembled a few times...