The current situation was that she had already passed Acheron and Ruan Mei's hurdles. Although the processes had differed, they had both expressed the same opinion.
That was to refrain from commenting on the matter.
She soon arrived at the Master Control Zone and stopped at the place Herta had mentioned. Behind the door was Herta's office, which also housed the Simulated Universe device.
She paused at the entrance for a moment.
After bracing herself mentally, Kiana walked in, stepping into this place that she was visiting for the first time, yet which somehow did not feel unfamiliar.
"You're very slow."
Standing beside the Simulated Universe with one hand on her hip, Herta looked at the newly arrived Kiana with displeasure in her eyes.
Kiana raised her hand and made an X gesture. "Let's make this clear first—I can't help you test the Simulated Universe. I've already told you the reason, right?"
She made a joke to let the conversation continue naturally.
"Testing what kind of impact Honkai energy would have inside the Simulated Universe isn't a bad idea, is it?" Herta picked up on her words. "Isn't that basically what you're doing right now?"
"Hey, don't slander a good person. I've been working very hard to control the spread of Honkai energy."
Herta revealed a look of regret. "What a pity. If the Simulated Universe were my project alone, no matter what, I'd make you go in and give it a try."
"Belobog is already a ready-made example." Kiana walked up to the Simulated Universe device and stopped, curiously examining it. "If you're really curious, you could gather more data and create a Honkai Simulated Universe yourself."
"Hmm, not a bad idea. I'll ask you for help when the time comes." Herta thought about it seriously and felt it wasn't impossible.
"Araya is enough," Kiana said with a smile as she looked at Herta. "Of course, if you absolutely need me, I wouldn't refuse."
"Want compensation?"
"Of course not." Kiana shook her head with a smile. "If you need me, you'll have to wait a while. I probably won't be staying here next."
"Going to work on your Stigmata world?" Herta's interest was immediately piqued. She was quite curious about how Kiana intended to do it.
"I need to make a trip to Penacony first," Kiana said. "After attending the Charmony Festival, I'll return to Izumo."
"What's so interesting about the Charmony Festival?"
"Have some tolerance for someone who hasn't seen much of the world. It's a grand event held once every Amber Era. If I miss it this time, who knows how long I'll have to wait?"
As she joked, Kiana turned her head to look at Herta, only to meet her gaze—and saw the expression she wore as if looking at an idiot.
Herta didn't speak, but her eyes clearly conveyed her meaning: Go on, keep fooling me. Let's see if I believe you.
"Alright, fine. Actually, a friend invited me over," Kiana admitted. "I'm quite interested in this matter. Most importantly, Penacony should be rather interesting in the near future."
"So you're not going to work on your Stigmata world?"
"One step at a time," Kiana replied. "I'll finish preparing the badge first and let Araya get used to her power. Constructing the Stigmata world a bit later won't make a difference."
Herta nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "How was your talk with Ruan Mei? You made me wait so long—you must have discussed everything thoroughly, right?"
"...Mm, we're done talking."
Thinking of Ruan Mei's situation, Kiana hesitated. She didn't know what Ruan Mei intended to do next, and she did care about it.
"Good. Then let's talk as well." Herta kept one hand on her hip and looked at her, her tone calm. "Let's talk about what happened inside the Stigmata world."
"No problem."
Kiana had already prepared herself mentally.
"First..." Herta's voice paused here, her tone growing heavier. "You haven't forgotten what happened in the Stigmata world, have you?"
"I haven't forgotten," Kiana said. "I remember. I remember everything clearly."
"You remember clearly? Good. Then I have nothing to worry about." Herta's expression instantly turned cold. "Then you certainly haven't forgotten what you did in there, right?"
"You mean confessing to you?" Kiana did not avoid it. "I know the impact of that. That's exactly why I'm here."
"Very good. Then right here, say every single one of your thoughts without omission." Herta said, "You only have this one chance."
Kiana was slightly stunned. "Can I know what you're thinking?"
"That's not important." Herta cut her off impatiently. "Hurry up. Don't make me repeat myself."
This...
Kiana frowned. She actually wanted to know what Herta thought so she could decide what to do next based on her opinion.
"At the end of the trial, I remembered everything. How should I put it..." Kiana nervously grabbed a strand of her white hair and spoke stiffly. "I didn't expect something like that to happen."
"You didn't expect it?"
Herta raised her eyes to look at her. Her already expressionless little face now appeared even colder.
"How could anyone predict something like that in advance? I didn't even have feelings for you before..." Kiana muttered awkwardly in a low voice.
"So? Do you want to say it was a misunderstanding?"
Herta's face revealed no further emotion. After all, the Herta before her wasn't even human—just a puppet.
"I don't think it can be called a misunderstanding." Knowing she might be dissatisfied, Kiana hurriedly said, "Although it was indeed unexpected, I have no intention of denying those memories."
"...Just like the words I repeated many times during the Stigmata trial—although the world was fake, the feelings that grew between us were real."
Kiana took a deep breath, raised her hand, and placed it over her heart, smiling. "You're a wonderful person. Falling in love with you during our time together was only natural."
The chill in Herta's eyes visibly eased a little. She no longer looked as stern and aggressive as before.
She agreed with that statement.
Seeing this, Kiana quickly continued, "This connection began from an illusory 'dream.' Whether it should continue or not, I want to leave that choice to you."
"Leave it to me?"
"Mm, to you." Kiana nodded seriously. "I think only you can decide. And no matter what decision you make, I'll accept it."
Herta narrowed her eyes. After meeting Kiana's firm gaze for a while, she let out a soft laugh. "You're really quite cunning."
"I truly think that way!"
"By putting the power of choice in my hands, no matter what I decide, you won't be the one at a disadvantage," Herta said. "Did you put all your intelligence into this?"
"Mm... not a very brilliant move, is it?"
Hearing that, Kiana couldn't argue and revealed an embarrassed expression.
She did intend to hand the problem over to Herta. She still wasn't used to making the first move and wanted to see Herta's stance before deciding.
"Forget it. Come with me."
Follow her?
Where to?
Kiana followed behind Herta in confusion. She watched as Herta led her to the side. Then, in a place where there had originally been no door at all, a hidden room revealed itself as Herta approached.
There was actually more space here?
"What are you standing there for?"
Noticing that Kiana had stopped moving, Herta turned around at the doorway and frowned, calling out to her unhappily.
"Hurry up and get over here."
After saying that, she walked inside. Kiana had no time to think about where this place led or what Herta intended to do. Seeing her figure disappear, she quickly followed.
Once she passed through the "door" embedded in the wall, the somewhat illusory passage rapidly vanished, returning to its original appearance. To the naked eye, there was no sign that another space existed here at all.
After entering, Kiana found herself in a room about half the size of the office outside. It shared the same space station style, but unlike the outer office, this was a room meant for temporary rest.
It was somewhat similar to the lounge in Ruan Mei's cabin sector.
"Herta?"
After leading her in, Herta stopped at the side and did not move again. Kiana's brow twitched as she walked over—only to see Herta standing there with her eyes closed.
Did she disconnect?
Kiana raised her hand and lightly poked Herta. There was no reaction whatsoever.
That confirmed it.
She had brought her in here and then logged off.
"You haven't even told me why you wanted me to come over..."
Although she couldn't see the exit anymore, Kiana was not the least bit flustered. She had never taken the proper route when coming to the space station anyway. Besides, she possessed the power of space. Leaving would be effortless.
Compared to the issue of there being no door, she cared more about what Herta was trying to do.
A helpless sigh drifted into her ears.
Kiana subconsciously looked up and saw a woman wearing a witch's hat stepping out from behind a bookshelf. The helplessness on her face was obvious.
"I'm serious," the woman said bluntly. "I could write you a recommendation letter. Go enroll in a school and get some further education. If you were even a little more observant, I wouldn't have had to walk right up to you for you to notice that I've been waiting here for quite a while."
She was beautiful.
Kiana stared at the suddenly appearing woman in astonishment, momentarily dazed by her face. Then, realizing something, she turned to look at the puppet standing stiffly in standby mode nearby.
They looked so alike.
Just like a grown-up version of Herta.
No.
This was Herta's true body, wasn't it?
"Herta?"
"Drop the questioning tone. Be certain," Herta said as she walked up to her and looked down at Kiana's stunned expression. Satisfied, she nodded. "Other than me, who else would appear here?"
It really was Herta.
Kiana's gaze moved back and forth between her and the puppet before she fell into deep thought.
They were indeed similar—extremely similar.
But how should she put it...
"What's with that reaction?" Herta raised a brow, displeased. "Don't believe it? The puppet was made according to how I looked when I was younger. Can't you tell?"
"No, you look very alike," Kiana hurriedly explained. "It's obvious at a glance that you're the real Herta. I just... I just didn't react in time."
A young girl puppet turning into a mature woman.
The sudden development had caught her completely off guard. She had only ever interacted with Herta's puppets and had never really thought about what kind of person stood behind them.
Now she had seen her.
How should she describe it?
She was truly beautiful.
Kiana praised her sincerely. She had never denied being someone who cared about appearances.
"Didn't react in time?" Herta lifted her hand and hooked a finger beneath Kiana's chin, forcing her to raise her head and meet her gaze. "You didn't expect me to show up here, did you? You should feel proud. I did make this trip specifically for you."
"...Normally?"
"Of course I wouldn't stay here all the time. The puppets are more than enough for the space station."
Kiana roughly sorted out the situation. Herta's true body had likely rushed back to the space station after the trial ended in order to have this conversation with her.
While she had been preparing herself—
Herta had been preparing as well.
Kiana was still not very used to standing this close to others. Instinctively, she shrank her neck and stepped back, creating a bit of distance.
"So, what is your decision?"
Suppressing the astonishment she had felt upon seeing her, Kiana forced herself to focus and brought the topic back on track.
"You keep saying you'll leave it up to me," Herta's gaze darkened. The hand that had been avoided now pressed down on Kiana's shoulder. "Then why are you avoiding me?"
"I don't mean anything by it. I'm just not used to it," Kiana quickly explained, her brow twitching as she looked at the hand on her shoulder.
"Oh? Not used to it." Herta smiled faintly. "When you said those things to me, you didn't look the least bit unaccustomed."
"...Can we talk about the important matter first?"
"Important matter?" Herta asked. "What counts as important? What doesn't? Isn't my meaning already obvious enough?"
Her hand slid to Kiana's face, her fingertip brushing lightly across her cheek. "You still remember what I said to you back then, don't you?"
Although she did not state it outright, Herta's meaning could not have been clearer.
"Are you really not going to reconsider?"
Kiana didn't even know what she was thinking. Even though Herta's intentions were obvious, she still asked that question in return.
"You want to go back on your word?" Herta's voice turned cold. "I understand now. You said all that because you wanted to hear me deny it, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
"Kiana, Kiana," Herta said slowly. "I don't care what you truly think inside. Since you dared to say those words, you should be prepared to bear all the consequences."
Alright, alright.
Since Herta had put it that way, Kiana felt there was no need to continue saying discouraging things.
Suppressing the excitement in her heart, she boldly stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Herta's waist, and embraced the person before her.
It was her first time meeting Herta's true body.
Her earlier instinct to create distance had been because she still felt they weren't that familiar yet. She had thought it would be better to talk first.
But Herta seemed to care about that.
In that case, there was nothing left for her to hesitate about. Herta was exactly her type—beautiful in a way that made it impossible for Kiana not to be moved.
"Alright, no problem. I'm willing to bear all the consequences!"
She felt like she had struck gold.
Was this right?
Herta raised a brow as she looked at the person who had suddenly hugged her. Being embraced like this was a rare experience for her.
"...What exactly are you thinking?"
—
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