Seeing The Herta's completely matter-of-fact way of asking for money, Patavia could not help but freeze slightly.
She was asking for money so directly?
One had to know that the entity she was facing was the Interastral Peace Corporation—a superpower of the cosmos!
And yet this girl named Herta showed not the slightest trace of awe?!
Or perhaps this was simply the attitude a genius held toward the IPC—utterly devoid of any reverence?!
Lanvelle, standing at the side, was well aware of the terrifying scale of the Interastral Peace Corporation. She cautiously spoke to The Herta. "Herta, perhaps you should first come up with a research project, and then have the IPC transfer the funds... After all, that's the IPC!"
"There's no need." Patavia shook her head. "The IPC has indeed granted me discretionary authority. More importantly, people at headquarters have already said that as long as Herta agrees to cooperate, the IPC is willing to provide research funding—regardless of what she intends to study..."
!!
Hearing this, Lanvelle felt a massive shock surge through her heart.
The Interastral Peace Corporation—an enormous behemoth more than ten thousand times larger than the Blue Federation—was treating a single genius with such gentleness... There was even a hint of flattery!!
"Then come in. We'll use electronic signatures in the living room to sign the cooperation contract." Herman, wearing The Herta's face, spoke in a completely natural tone before turning and walking into the room.
Patavia and Lanvelle hurriedly followed. After arriving at The Herta's dormitory and sitting down on the sofa, Patavia sent the cooperation contract—prepared in advance by the IPC—to The Herta's phone.
"I've just sent the contract to you, Miss Herta. Please take a look."
Herman did not even bother flipping through it. He knew that with his research capability of 1—ordinary human-level intelligence—he would never be able to understand a contract drafted by the Corporation's professional lawyers.
Fortunately, he had help.
Turning his head toward the mirror, he called out, "Fourth Mirror, help me check whether the contract contains any deliberately designed traps or exploitative loopholes from the IPC!"
"Leave it to me, Madam Herta!" The Fourth Mirror responded swiftly while mobilizing its computational power to examine the cooperation agreement.
Patavia and Lanvelle were not surprised that the mirror in Herta's room was an AI capable of speech.
After all, Herta had solved the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum—the Solitary Waves Theory.
Several minutes passed in the blink of an eye. The Fourth Mirror's voice echoed through the dormitory.
"Madam Herta, there are no issues with the contract!"
Hearing this, Herman thought to himself:
The IPC's lawyers didn't set any traps in the contract... But thinking about it carefully, that makes sense. The Herta is not the first member of the Genius Society to cooperate with the IPC.
Most likely, in the past, a genius signed a problematic contract and the IPC suffered a major loss... That's why it's now my turn to receive a perfectly clean agreement.
After reaching that conclusion, Herman quickly operated the phone, signed his name electronically, and informed Patavia that it was done.
Patavia nodded and reported the situation upward.
Almost in the very next instant, The Herta's phone chimed with a notification.
"Magical Girl Herta-chan, your account has received 100 billion Credits!"
Herman froze for a moment. He had not expected Herta to use such an adorably cute account name. But thinking about how even her phone wallpaper featured magical girls, setting such a cute account name seemed perfectly reasonable.
On the other side, Lanvelle was deeply shaken by the sheer magnitude of the Interastral Peace Corporation's move.
Without even confirming a research project, they casually transferred—100 billion Credits!
That was 100 billion!
Ten years of the Blue Federation's GDP did not even amount to 100 billion!!
"Excuse me, you two... I need to use the restroom to calm down."
After speaking, Lanvelle practically launched herself off the sofa and rushed into the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water while muttering repeatedly:
"Whether it was me or the Federation in the past, we completely underestimated the value of a member of the Genius Society!"
"The current The Herta, valued so highly by the IPC, has already become a rising morning star in the universe!"
"Or rather... she has become the thigh that the people of The Blue must cling to!"
"I must report this to the Federation's high-level officials—and even to the leader—so that they fully realize Herta's importance to The Blue!"
After reaching that thought, Lanvelle did not hesitate. She raised her arm and initiated a group video conference call with the Federation's highest leadership. The moment the call connected, she revealed that the IPC had transferred 100 billion Credits before Herta had even stated her research project.
!!
The Federation's top officials—including the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Research, and even the Federation's leader—were all stunned.
The Minister of Finance's lips trembled in particular.
"Lan... Lanvelle, how much did you say?!"
"100 billion!" Lanvelle replied with extreme seriousness. "And I suspect that's only the starting point. As long as The Herta is willing to establish deeper cooperation with the Interastral Peace Corporation, they will invest even more. It may not be impossible for the funding to increase tenfold—to reach 1 trillion Credits!"
1 trillion!
That astronomical number shocked everyone.
At last, the leader of the Blue Federation lit a cigarette and spoke in a trembling voice filled with awe. "Is this the value of the 83rd Seat of the Genius Society? Across the entire cosmos, over countless Amber Eras, only eighty-three individuals have emerged..."
His expression then turned serious and resolute.
"Change the original commendation plan. Merely granting her the title of Academician will likely not be enough to invite Herta."
"This time, we will confer upon The Herta the title of The Blue's First Genius Academician!"
The Minister of Defense applauded. "Excellent proposal. I approve."
The Minister of Research also voiced strong agreement. "In the future, The Blue may never produce another existence like Lady Herta. The medal of First Genius Academician truly belongs to her."
Very quickly, the high-level leadership unanimously passed the proposal to award The Herta the unique, limited medal of The Blue's First Genius Academician.
Upon learning this news, Lanvelle let out a sigh of relief and thought silently:
The Blue's First Genius Academician... I hope this title will prevent The Herta from forgetting her homeland and the Federation—and that she will develop technologies to benefit the Federation!
...
Meanwhile, on the other side, after completing her task as the IPC's envoy, Patavia pushed up her glasses. She now shed the role of corporate representative and became a scholar of the Intelligentsia Guild. With a hint of yearning in her expression, she posed a crucial question to The Herta before her.
"The Solitary Waves Theory has already been solved by you. Through the formula derived from its solution, have you glimpsed the future of the universe... Is it fixed—or chaotic?!"