Even if that Lady Herta is extremely picky, she shouldn't be unable to find at least one thing that catches her interest, right?
Nolan didn't continue chatting idly with his group friends. Instead, he started pondering what kind of thing might intrigue Lady Herta.
As one of the top geniuses in the universe, Herta must have researched countless things, and likely the rarer kind at that. Therefore, getting her attention with something wouldn't be a simple task.
However, Teyvat is an unknown world to interstellar society. Perhaps the things from there could be considered novelties in the context of the universe. As a scholar dedicated to uncovering cosmic truths, it would be normal for her to show some interest.
In Teyvat, the most distinctive feature is probably the elemental power. Maybe something related to that would pique Lady Herta's curiosity. Then there are the Sacred Artifacts, imbued with extraordinary power through historical accumulation—another unique trait of Teyvat.
Still, it might be best to ask Asta first for specifics. As the stationmaster of the space station, she should know quite a bit about Lady Herta. Her advice would be crucial in figuring out exactly what might interest her.
However, it was already past 10 PM at the Herta Space Station. Perhaps Asta had already gone to rest, and it wouldn't be appropriate to disturb her so late. Waiting until tomorrow morning at the space station wouldn't be a problem.
Nolan still followed Teyvat's schedule for his daily routine. Since there was nothing urgent at the space station, he left behind the "Sword God of Lumine" and returned to the Wonderland Space for now, planning to come back tomorrow.
Wonderland Space, 2:00 PM.
Having just returned, Nolan had nothing to do and was about to look for the girls to train. After all, improving their strength was something he couldn't slack on. As he checked who was home, he noticed that Keqing's room door was open.
Oh? Keqing came back early today? Curiously, Nolan walked over.
"How does it feel? If it's fine, I'll tell the tailor to proceed with this design," Yelan said, sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on her hands with her right leg crossed over her left, looking at Keqing in front of the full-length mirror.
Keqing was wearing a backless, strapless bra-style short dress. The upper half was black, adorned with small silver specks, as if the twinkling night sky had been woven into fabric.
The skirt's hem was black on the right side, transitioning into a gradient of deep purple and black on the left, with a layered effect of purple over black. It looked intricate yet as light and magnificent as the night itself.
Through the reflection in the mirror, Keqing noticed Nolan walking in. She turned around with a smile, pressing her hand against her waist. "Perfect timing. What do you think of this dress?"
"Hmm," Nolan thought for a moment. "It's black but not heavy. It looks like a starry night sky. Personally, I think it's pretty good."
"Hmph, then this one it is," Keqing nodded with satisfaction.
"This must be a formal dress. Is there some important event coming up?" Nolan asked as he walked over to the bed, sitting next to Yelan. He casually pulled her close and kissed her soft, fair cheek.
Yelan smiled, slipping off her sleeved shawl and then pulling down her tight black pants to her thighs, revealing the soft, pale skin of her hips. She placed her hands on her knees, standing with her legs together in front of Nolan, looking back at him with a hint of allure in her expression.
Nolan stood up too, lifting the back of Yelan's deep blue backless top, gently kneading her soft, pale hips before wrapping his arms around her waist from behind, pressing against her back.
Having trained together often, Yelan immediately knew what he wanted the moment he held her. She enjoyed this more comfortable way of increasing her strength and was usually quite proactive about it.
Keqing, watching them, felt a faint, almost imperceptible blush rise to her fair cheeks. She coughed lightly, turning back to face the mirror as she answered Nolan's question.
"Ningguang is preparing ceremonial dresses for us for next year's Lantern Rite. Since the craftsmanship is complex and there are quite a few of us, preparations started shortly after this year's Lantern Rite ended. This dress I'm wearing is a sample made quickly based on the design. The materials aren't particularly fancy; it's mainly to test if it fits well."
"I see," Nolan nodded in understanding.
It seemed Ningguang must have spent a fortune on these custom outfits. Even this sample looked stunning, and judging by the soft, delicate texture, the materials weren't cheap at all. If this was considered "not fancy," then the final product would likely be incredibly expensive.
With so many girls in Wonderland Space, plus himself, getting a high-end ceremonial dress for each person would cost a massive amount of Mora. But that's just how Ningguang was—she loved making money but was also generous, especially to those close to her.
About ten minutes later, Nolan placed the slightly breathless Yelan on the bed. Then he picked up Keqing, laying her flat on the bed as well, smiling as he said, "Since the materials of this outfit aren't that precious, how about I help test its durability?"
He sat gently just above Keqing's knees, where her legs were pressed together, slightly lifting her skirt's hem. His hands slowly glided over the sheer black pantyhose connected to the barely visible white triangle panties underneath.
"Hey, even if that's the case, this dress is still of decent quality. Don't ruin it!" Keqing said, her face flushed as she turned her head to glance at Yelan beside her, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Alright, I'll test it another day then," Nolan replied, pinching the elastic band of both the pantyhose and the white panties near Keqing's hips, pulling them down to her thighs. Then he leaned over, kissing her soft lips.
"Mmh!"
The intimate training with Yelan and Keqing continued until dinnertime. Later, while bathing, he trained for quite a while with Kokomi, Miko, Xianyun, Ganyu, and Shenhe as well.
It wasn't until midnight that things finally calmed down. The slightly exhausted girls rested in their rooms.
Nolan gave himself a quick wash before preparing to return to the Herta Space Station to find Station Master Asta. After all, it was already 8 AM over there.
For the current Nolan, sleeping was beneficial, but not sleeping wasn't an issue either. It was more of a habit that he maintained. Sleeping with the girls, feeling their warm bodies against his, and continuously benefiting from the training effect through close contact—there was naturally no reason to skip it.
However, with matters to attend to today, he had to let the girls sleep on their own for now. If things went smoothly, he might even be able to return and cuddle with them a bit more.
In just a moment, with a silent shift in scenery, Nolan used the "Void StarSea" as a transit point and returned to the Herta Space Station.
He put away the "Sword God of Lumine," then left his room and headed toward the main control cabin. As the stationmaster, Asta visited the monitoring zone every day to check the surroundings, so finding her wouldn't be difficult.
At this hour, the station's staff were beginning their shifts, each getting to their respective duties. On his way to the main control cabin, Nolan saw many staff members rushing past, biting into pieces of bread—clearly having overslept. It reminded him of his own early days at work.
As he approached the monitoring zone, a small white dog dashed out from behind a holographic billboard, circling around Nolan's feet a couple of times, seemingly expecting him to pull out some food.
Unfortunately, Nolan hadn't stopped by the cafeteria for breakfast, so the little dog was out of luck. He could only smile slightly and pretend not to notice.
"Alright, Peppy, come here. You just had breakfast; you can't eat more, or you'll get fat. Then I won't be able to carry you!" Asta, with her pink hair, approached from ahead, scolding Peppy who was at Nolan's feet.
The little white dog, Peppy, barked twice, though it wasn't clear if it understood.
"Good morning, Miss Asta!" Nolan waved in greeting.
"Good morning, Mr. Nolan. Are you here to ask about Lady Herta?" Asta said with a sly smile.
"Huh, how did you know?" Nolan was a bit surprised. Could it be that one of the netizens he'd chatted with on the Herta Space Station's internal network yesterday was actually her?
"Sorry, 'MindfulOfDesire'—Mr. Nolan's nickname was just too easy to guess," Asta replied with a laugh.
"It's just a random name," Nolan said with an awkward smile, hazarding a guess. "Could it be that the anonymous person who suggested I come find you, 'AnonWellKnown,' was actually you, Miss Asta?"
"Hmm, guess," Asta replied without giving a direct answer. However, judging by her expression, Nolan already had a pretty good idea—it was most likely her.
He nodded and said, "Indeed, Miss Asta. Since you're already aware of the situation, I won't go into too much detail. I have abilities related to spatial manipulation, and when I left the planet I used to live on, I brought along some local specialties. I think these could be considered novel items in the context of the universe. Could you take a look and see if they might catch Lady Herta's interest?"
With that, he retrieved two items from the storage in his Wonderland Space. One was a condensed fire elemental ore, and the other was a teapot-shaped four-star Artifact. He gave a brief explanation of both.
"Elemental power, hmm? There are quite a few people in the universe who wield such abilities. Lady Herta has definitely studied them before, so this probably won't attract her much. However, this Artifact you mentioned… the power derived from historical accumulation is something I haven't heard much about. It feels a bit similar to the 'Light Cone' technology of the 'Garden of Recollection.' But while theirs draws power from memories—I've heard Lady Herta mention it before—she seems to have researched 'Light Cones' herself. She might actually be interested in your Artifact!"
Asta said, looking at the teapot-shaped relic with slight surprise after hearing Nolan's explanation.
"Light Cone," a power drawn from memories? What kind of thing was that? Over the past few days, Nolan had been browsing the "Interstellar Peace Network," but he hadn't come across much discussion about "Light Cones." It was probably something quite rare. He'd have to search for related information online later. Otherwise, if he encountered one without recognizing it, he might miss out on something worth a fortune!
"If that's the case, could I trouble you to contact Lady Herta, Miss Asta? If she's interested, she can study this Artifact. In exchange, I'd like to ask her a question about the Primordial Sea," Nolan said.
If a four-star Artifact could pique the interest of one of the universe's top geniuses and get her to answer his question, it would definitely be worth it.
As for giving away a five-star Artifact, that wasn't necessary. After all, keeping a five-star artifact in the Wonderland Space helped expand its size and develop unique traits. Once given away, those benefits would be gone.
Moreover, since both four-star and five-star Artifacts were fundamentally the same, just with different levels of contained power, the four-star should be sufficient for research purposes.
"If it were under normal circumstances with no particular reason, I wouldn't dare disturb Lady Herta. But with the Artifact as a justification, there's no issue," Asta replied.
She pulled out her phone from her pocket, opened the messaging app, found Lady Herta's contact, and quickly summarized the situation in a text, attaching a picture of the Artifact.
Almost instantly, a reply popped up:
Herta: Oh? A Artifact? Sounds intriguing. Asta, bring that kid over.
Seeing the message on her phone, Asta looked at Nolan with evident delight. "It's done! Lady Herta agreed and asked me to bring you to her!"
"Phew, seems like I'm in luck," Nolan said, letting out a small sigh of relief.
"Let's go. I'll take you there now," Asta said, squatting down and gesturing to the little white dog Peppy. "Go play frisbee with Arlan. I've got business at Lady Herta's office."
It wasn't clear if the dog understood, but it seemed to grasp Asta's intent, likely due to her miming the action of throwing a frisbee. Peppy barked twice and trotted off toward the Defense Division.
Once Peppy was gone, Nolan followed Asta as they headed to Herta's office. He'd snuck in there once before and had seen the girl-like figure of Lady Herta and Screwllum. He knew the office was also within the main control cabin, so it wasn't too far.
About five or six minutes later, the two arrived at the door to Herta's office. Asta operated the access panel in front of the door, and after her identity was verified, the door opened. She walked in with her fair legs stepping forward, and Nolan followed behind, his gaze passing over Asta's shoulder to spot the girl-like figure of Lady Herta standing in the distance.
If he remembered correctly, she was a puppet of some sort.
They took a few more steps forward until they stood before Lady Herta. She had her hands on her hips as she sized up Nolan and said, "Asta, this the guy who wants to make a deal with me?"
"Yes, Lady Herta," Asta nodded.
"Hello, Lady Herta," Nolan greeted politely.
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let me see the item first," Herta said, extending her hand toward Nolan. Her palm had the distinct look of a doll's craftsmanship.
Nolan didn't mind and retrieved the Artifact from his Wonderland Space once again, handing it over to Herta.
(End of Chapter)
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