Well, well, look what I've found—a Star Rail train?"
Herta boarded the Astral Express.
Then she noticed Himeko sitting inside one of the passenger cars.
"Just you?"
"Of course. Everyone else has already gone into the Luofu."
Someone had to stay behind and watch the train.
Although Pom-Pom was there, Himeko had still chosen to remain behind.
After all, this Trailblazing expedition was merely dealing with a Stellaron crisis. In fact, she felt that the Luofu itself should have been capable of resolving the situation.
So she hadn't gone along.
"Oh. Then can you get them to open the gate?"
Naturally, Herta wanted to enter the Luofu.
Earlier, her communications hadn't gone through, and nobody had responded.
Although she'd arrived quickly via the stargate, barging in uninvited wasn't exactly polite.
So she planned to give the Luofu two hours.
If nobody responded by then, she'd simply take it as tacit approval of her entry request.
"I can't. Ever since Dan Heng went in, the Luofu's gates have been completely sealed."
At the moment, even Himeko didn't know what was happening inside.
The only reason she wasn't too worried was because Su Ran was there.
Even if the Astral Express crew couldn't handle the crisis, at least someone was there to serve as a safety net.
"But why did you come to the Luofu, Herta?"
The Express crew had come because Su Ran invited them.
But what was Herta's reason?
"I'm here for Su Ran!"
Nothing on the Luofu particularly interested her.
So naturally, she was here to find a person.
"Couldn't you just contact him and have him come to you? Why make the trip yourself?"
Himeko knew very well that Su Ran had placed a device aboard Herta Space Station that allowed instant travel to virtually any corner of the universe.
It was far superior to a stargate.
Rumor had it that the device had once transported an entire star and nearly destroyed Blue Star.
That was something ordinary stargates simply couldn't accomplish.
For Su Ran, traveling across the cosmos should have been no more troublesome than taking a trip to the restroom.
"You think I haven't tried? He leaves my messages on read!"
Herta huffed.
"It's outrageous! He actually made me come all the way here to find him personally!"
Did he have any idea who was funding all his spending on the Luofu?
And yet he dared show such disrespect to the great Lady Herta?
He deserved to be locked in solitary confinement!
"Uh..."
Himeko couldn't help smiling helplessly.
Was this really the Herta she knew?
The Herta in her memories had always been proud and aloof.
When had she ever acted this humble toward anyone?
"Herta, don't you think you're indulging Su Ran a bit too much?"
Even if they were both members of the Genius Society, was there really any need to spoil him this much?
If Herta was already like this, Himeko didn't even want to imagine how others treated him.
"Am I? Where? And even if I am, so what?"
Herta clearly disagreed.
"Geniuses are supposed to have quirks. That's normal."
"If you're not proud of your talent, can you even be called a genius?"
"Otherwise you're just destined to be a corporate slave."
"If you're capable and still bend over backward to please everyone else, that's textbook tool behavior."
"I see... As long as you're happy."
Himeko gave up.
She felt Herta was beyond saving.
If even a Genius Society member behaved this way, she couldn't imagine anyone else.
"Still, I doubt it's just because he left you on read. Knowing you, there has to be a more important reason."
Otherwise, why would Herta travel all the way to the Luofu herself?
"Not bad. You're pretty sharp."
Herta pulled out her phone.
"Yep. He pulled off something huge again, which is why I'm here."
She displayed a photo.
"A Light Cone..."
The image showed a Light Cone depicting Su Ran and Fuli engaged in conversation.
No wonder Herta was obsessed with it.
Everyone knew that Fuli was the universe's greatest surveillance camera.
Whenever a major event occurred somewhere in the cosmos, there was a chance Fuli would appear to witness it.
But Fuli always observed.
Never interfered.
Light Cones themselves were records of events.
Yet if the recorder—Fuli—appeared within the Light Cone itself...
Then the implication was obvious.
This time, Fuli had been one of the protagonists.
The Aeon of Remembrance had personally participated in a major event.
How could that not raise questions?
"There must be something universe-shaking between him and Fuli. Of course I have to get answers."
If Su Ran hadn't kept leaving her messages on read, she wouldn't have needed to come all the way here.
"That really would be a universe-shaking event."
If word got out, even more eyes would turn toward Su Ran.
He was already a genius famous across the cosmos.
After making one headline after another, he was now apparently holding conversations with an Aeon outside his own Path.
Even Fuli had broken precedent and personally appeared within a Light Cone.
How could people not care?
Even Himeko—who wasn't a Memokeeper of the Garden of Recollection—found herself curious about what exactly had happened.
"So, are you planning to go in? Things aren't exactly peaceful on the Luofu right now."
"Tch. What's the big deal? It's only a Stellaron."
A mere Stellaron didn't concern Herta in the slightest.
Compared to whatever had happened between Su Ran and Fuli, the Luofu's Stellaron was insignificant.
In fact, it ranked below the "Stellaron brat" on her list of concerns.
"I'm giving them two hours. After that, I'll use my own methods to get inside."
For now, Herta settled into the Astral Express to wait.
Although her real body remained on Blue Star, sending a puppet all the way here still counted as hard work.
"There are five of us. Three must pay the price. Dan Feng! You're one of them!"
Without Kafka's Spirit Whisper suppressing him, Blade's mara had become even worse.
He launched himself at Dan Heng with complete disregard for his own life.
After all, he couldn't die anyway.
Kafka stood off to the side, quietly watching the show.
Although the script had deviated significantly from Elio's predictions...
At least this part still matched.
The ending of this segment was still on track.
All they had to do now was wait for the Luofu's general to arrive.
"Still not stopping?"
A crescent-shaped sword arc carrying icy cold split the battlefield apart, carving a massive trench between the two combatants.
Kafka blinked in confusion and looked over.
...Wait.
Where did you come from?
You weren't in the script at all.
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