"Welcome, new friends from Beyond the Sky, to Amphoreus, to Okhema."
Okhema, the Marmoreal Palace, the Hero's Bath.
The golden-haired woman, radiating Divinity, smiled warmly as Tribbie introduced Lumina and Herta.
"Is this your type?" Herta raised an eyebrow, glancing at Lumina and asking. "What do you think of Agy, the woman Tribbie mentioned?"
Her expression remained carefully neutral, making it impossible to discern her true thoughts.
It seemed like a simple, ordinary inquiry.
"I prefer someone like you, Herta."
Unfortunately for Herta, Lumina wasn't part of the "ordinary" crowd.
Lumina understood exactly what Madam Herta was thinking. She chuckled softly, winked, and sent a wink attack.
"..."
Madam Herta fell into a brief silence, struck by Lumina's wink assault.
After a moment, she scoffed lightly. "Hmph, you've probably said that to countless beautiful girls before, haven't you?"
"Am I just another pretty face you've used that line on?"
Though Herta said those words, the tips of her ears, hidden beneath her hair, gradually flushed pink in response to Lumina's words and wink.
Fortunately, the blush remained concealed beneath her hair, invisible to Lumina's eyes. Herta secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Suppressing her inner turmoil, she forced herself to maintain composure in Lumina's presence. At least outwardly, she couldn't let her guard down.
"Oh, no, Herta, you're my first time," Lumina purred, adopting a deliberately suggestive tone that seemed to have come out of nowhere.
"Hmph."
"Who'd believe you?"
Herta found Lumina's tone unbearable. If she continued speaking like that, Herta feared she would inevitably embarrass herself in front of Lumina—something she absolutely refused to allow!
So,
Herta let out a cold snort, turned her head sharply, and abruptly ended the conversation.
"Hehehe," Lumina chuckled softly, saying nothing more.
But those soft chuckles, reaching Herta's ears, carried a distinct mocking undertone.
They seemed to say: Sister Herta, even you can't handle this? Blushing so easily after just a few words? What will you do later?
Though Herta couldn't be certain if Lumina truly meant this, at least...
Herta heard the words spoken in that exact tone.
But she remained silent, focusing her gaze on the woman before her—the Agy Tribbie had mentioned.
Speaking too much could lead to mistakes. In this situation, silence was the wisest course of action.
"Heh." Lumina seemed to see through Herta's thoughts but didn't press her advantage.
Instead, she followed Herta's lead, turning her attention to the golden-haired woman radiating divine energy.
Unlike Ruan Mei, what Herta had said earlier was true.
This wasn't about physical appearance or behavior, but rather the overwhelming presence of "Divinity."
Lumina could tell that the golden-haired woman had been forced to bear this divine burden.
Yet deep within that Divinity, a spark of brilliant humanity still lingered.
As for Ruan Mei...
Hmm...
It was hard to say.
The thought of Ruan Mei brought back memories of their encounter in the Luofu Xianzhou Hotel, the events that had transpired within the room.
And as soon as those memories surfaced, Lumina decisively...
stopped thinking about it.
Returning to the present, Lumina smiled warmly and introduced herself to the golden-haired woman. "Greetings, leader of Okhema."
"I'm Lumina, just an ordinary little physician."
"And this is Herta, just an ordinary little researcher."
Lumina delivered her self-introduction with her usual eccentric flair, a touch of mischievousness coloring her words.
"Just an ordinary little physician? Just an ordinary researcher?"
Unsurprisingly, the blonde woman before them was momentarily taken aback by Lumina's unconventional introduction.
But the surprise was fleeting, and she quickly regained her composure.
Ignoring Lumina's eccentric introduction, the blonde woman calmly and gracefully introduced herself: "Honored guests from afar, the wind has carried tidings of your arrival on golden threads."
"I am Aglaea, the Garment Weaver of Okhema, and one of the Chrysos Heirs of Amphoreus."
"Aglaea, is it? What an elegant and lovely name," Lumina remarked.
"It's a pleasure to meet you."
As Aglaea finished speaking, Lumina's voice immediately followed.
Simultaneously, Lumina extended her hand, as if offering Aglaea a gesture of goodwill.
"...?" Herta, who was still holding Lumina's hand, nearly rolled her eyes to the heavens at this sight.
A beautiful girl in each hand? She's living the dream, isn't she?
Right now, it's one beautiful girl per hand. Soon it'll be one beautiful girl per finger, and then one beautiful girl per toe.
With twenty beautiful girls constantly at her side, let her enjoy herself to the fullest.
Seeing Lumina's behavior, Herta mentally launched into a series of sarcastic, snarky remarks.
However, perhaps because Madam Herta wasn't accustomed to or particularly skilled at being sarcastic, her remarks lacked genuine bite.
At least, they were utterly harmless to Lumina.
In fact, Lumina might even respond with something like:
"Wow, I can't believe something so wonderful exists!"
"Thank you for your Blessing, Madam Herta!"
Something along those lines, perhaps?
Because of her excessive civility, Herta always found herself at a disadvantage when discussing immoral behavior with Lumina.
And there was truly nothing she could do about it.
The foulest insult Herta could conjure was: "You dunce from the Dunce Society!"
Frankly, this insult had zero deterrent effect on Lumina.
No, not zero.
Negative one hundred.
Not only would it fail to wound Lumina, but she might even interpret it as childish teasing, a child's tantrum, or some other childish behavior.
Herta felt helpless, yet she desperately wanted Lumina to taste her true power.
But there was truly no way.
Could she perhaps develop an automated Madam Herta insult-spewing doll?
Hmm... not entirely out of the question.
But the programming would still require external input...
If some bizarre, nonsensical phrases were inexplicably imported, wouldn't that...?
Though Herta wasn't deeply versed in internet culture, she knew enough to be vaguely aware.
She knew that online, some people shed the shackles of reality, letting their true selves run wild and spewing utterly shocking, mind-blowing statements.
These included, but weren't limited to, claims like "One lick of her Jade Foot grants ten thousand years of Long-Life," or "Even the sweat left by a beautiful girl smells fragrant," and other utterly absurd remarks.
Hmm... perhaps... maybe...
Herta's attention gradually drifted from her mental musings to Lumina beside her.
She gazed at Lumina's exquisitely beautiful profile, a faint smile gracing her lips. Her gaze slowly drifted downward, settling on Lumina's bare, immaculate Jade Foot.
After a moment of focused scrutiny, Herta reached a conclusion:
Those absurd claims were all true...
At least, when applied to Lumina...
-
"Hmm?"
Though she sensed Herta's gaze fall on her bare feet, Lumina merely hummed softly, paying little attention.
Perhaps Herta was simply concerned that going shoeless might cause problems.
The answer, of course, was no. Lumina possessed a purifying ability throughout her entire body. Whether it was dust or any other impurity, nothing unclean could leave a trace on her.
Oblivious to Herta's thoughts, Lumina waved her hand and continued gesturing to Aglaea.
"Mm, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Lumina." Seeing the gesture, Aglaea didn't hesitate, reaching out to clasp Lumina's hand.
Feeling the softness of Aglaea's palm, Lumina was thoroughly content.
A beautiful girl in each hand... this must be what they call "happiness," Lumina thought to herself, feeling utterly blissful.
Snapping back to reality after a few seconds, Lumina withdrew her small hand.
As this was her first meeting with Aglaea, she certainly wouldn't do anything that might frighten her.
Judging by her current appearance, even if I were to act in certain ways, there probably wouldn't be any problems, right?
Even so, Lumina refused to take the risk.
It was the same principle she always held dear:
For a beautiful girl, Lumina would never gamble.
Because in this world, in this cosmos, nothing could ever balance on the scales against the worth of a beautiful girl.
"Agy, Cas and the others have finished dealing with the Strife Titan. I'm going to go pick them up." Seeing the seemingly peaceful atmosphere before her, Tribbie felt reassured enough to leave.
Tribbie knew about Agy's earlier interrogation of Stelle and Dan Heng.
While Agy's actions weren't wrong, there were clearly gentler methods available. Instead, she had resorted to direct interrogation and the most extreme measures.
Agy had acted for Okhema's sake, so Tribbie couldn't fault her.
But this time, Tribbie wouldn't let Agy resort to such brutal methods again.
However,
this time, Agy probably wouldn't need to use them anyway.
Tribbie couldn't sense even a trace of aura from Lumina or Herta.
Despite their complete absence of detectable presence, they had descended effortlessly from Beyond the Sky, arriving in Amphoreus and Okhema...
Therefore, Tribbie believed Agy would understand this fundamental truth.
Either Lumina or Herta, acting alone, could pose a far greater threat to Okhema and all of Amphoreus than the Titans or the Black Tide.
Yet Tribbie remained unconcerned, even allowing Lumina and Herta to be alone with Agy.
Why?
Because Tribbie trusted Agy, as well as Lumina and Herta.
Agy was incredibly intelligent, so she would undoubtedly treat their guests with utmost care.
And Lumina and Herta were certainly not malevolent individuals.
In fact, they were good people.
How could Tribbie be so certain?
Because, of course,
This was the intuition of Tribbie!
"Very well, My Teacher," Aglaea replied with a slight nod.
"Goodbye, Agy," Tribbie said, waving at Aglaea before turning her gaze to Lumina and Herta.
"Miss Lumina, Miss Herta, I still have some things to take care of right now. Once I'm finished, I'll take you on a tour of Okhema."
"Tribbie, I—"
"Alright, Tribbie! Just don't forget once you're done."
Just as Lumina was about to respond, Herta cut in with a remark that interrupted her.
Hearing Herta actually accept Tribbie's invitation, a large question mark slowly materialized above Lumina's head.
Who are you? Is this even the Herta I know?
You actually agreed to Tribbie's suggestion?
Is this for real?
"Ahem." Sensing Lumina's questioning gaze, Herta offered neither explanation nor comment, simply clearing her throat softly.
What a joke. Knowing Lumina as well as she did, Herta understood that if Lumina were looking for a guide to explore Okhema, she would undoubtedly choose a beautiful young woman.
Though Herta wasn't worried about their progress accelerating at breakneck speed.
Met in the morning, holding hands, hugging, and kissing by noon, and by evening...
That's absolutely impossible.
Even if the other party were incredibly forward, practically throwing themselves at her, it still wouldn't happen.
Because Lumina only knew how to flirt; she took no responsibility beyond that.
In most places, such behavior would get her burned at the stake.
But who could punish Lumina?
Herta wouldn't normally interfere in Lumina's affairs with other beautiful girls.
But since Tribbie had made the offer, how could Herta possibly refuse?
Besides, even the blonde woman who seemed to be the leader of Okhema addressed Tribbie as "Teacher."
That meant she must be exceptionally reliable.
Having her as a guide would surely be the best possible outcome.
"Alright then, Tribbie. I'll need your help with this," Lumina said, nodding slightly and smiling at Tribbie.
Lumina had no idea what Herta was thinking, nor did she care.
Initially, Lumina had planned to avoid troubling Tribbie and find another beautiful girl to act as her guide.
But it didn't really matter.
What difference does it make who guides us?
After all, I've always had the fairest of maidens by my side.
Stealing a glance at Herta's face, Lumina chuckled inwardly.
"Alright, leave it to us," Tribbie replied, waving goodbye to Lumina and Herta before leaving the Hero's Bath.
"Ladies, I have a question I'd like to ask you both," Aglaea said after Tribbie had left, her serene smile unchanged.
She turned to Lumina and Herta.
"Please, ask away," Lumina replied with a wave and a reassuring smile. "We'll answer truthfully."
Though they hadn't known each other long, Lumina already knew what question Aglaea was about to ask.
The very next moment, Aglaea's words confirmed Lumina's prediction.
"Miss Lumina, Miss Herta, with the immense power you both possess, why would you come to such a small, impoverished backwater place like Amphoreus?"