"Little Sister Castorice, Hyie, sorry to keep you waiting."
Whatever happened in the dressing room, Lumina returned to normal after stepping out of the room.
She strode to the pool, and seeing Castorice and Hyacine bathing quietly in the water, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Mmm~ So comfortable."
Then, she gently stepped into the pool, feeling the warmth transmitted as the hot water touched her skin. Lumina couldn't help but let out a comfortable moan.
"..."
Lumina's moan was perfectly normal, with no unusual emotions mixed in.
But Castorice and Hyacine, for some reason, immediately blushed red when they heard this moan.
One couldn't tell what they were imagining in their minds based on this moan of Lumina's.
"Hmm? Little Sister Castorice, Hyie, what's wrong with you two?" After sitting in the pool and soaking her entire body in the water, leaving only her small head exposed...
After completing this action, Lumina turned her gaze toward Castorice and Hyacine.
Seeing the inexplicable blush on their faces, she muttered in confusion.
"Ah." Lumina's confused voice reached their ears, sending a jolt through their hearts.
It was as if they were doing something bad and had just been caught by the person they were doing it to.
"N... Nothing, it's... it's just a little hot."
Their faces turned even redder, but they still improvised, both using a reliable reason to explain.
"Uh..." Hearing this explanation, Lumina was momentarily speechless.
This... didn't look like a blush caused by bathing or steam.
Lumina wasn't a fool; she could tell at a glance and from the sound of their voices that the two had just come up with a random excuse to get by.
But she didn't press the issue. What if they decided not to bathe anymore if she kept asking?
So, Lumina said with a hint of concern on her face, "Hot? Then I'll adjust the water temperature."
After saying that, Lumina stood up and prepared to adjust the water temperature.
Crystalline water slid down Lumina's body, dripping onto the red carpet, as if transforming into a glazed gauze robe, adding a touch of... seductiveness to Lumina, who wore a swimsuit and had her limbs exposed.
Gulp...
Lumina had just stood up and hadn't even taken any action yet when a very distinct gulping sound drowned out the sound of water falling back into the pool, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"Huh?" Hearing this sound, Lumina turned her head to look at Castorice and Hyacine with some suspicion.
Although it was a single sound, it was composed of two different voice lines.
It was obvious that this sound was the result of Castorice and Hyacine swallowing their saliva at the exact same time.
Why were they swallowing their saliva?
Lumina was very puzzled in her heart.
"Hmm... I see."
But soon, Lumina understood.
It was only human nature, very normal, very normal.
Even Herta would have done the same.
Lumina secretly rejoiced and chuckled in her heart.
Under my charm, especially in the scene of stepping out of the water in a swimsuit, it's a very normal phenomenon to have some... lewd thoughts.
Human nature should be like this.
If this phenomenon hadn't occurred, that would be the abnormal thing.
"Um... Sis... Sister Lumina, Hyacine and I both find the water temperature just right. There's no need to adjust it." Sensing Lumina's suspicious gaze, Castorice and Hyacine quickly averted their eyes.
After that, they exchanged glances with each other and, after a brief non-verbal conversation, Castorice spoke up and stated that the water temperature was just right and did not need to be adjusted.
Sister Lumina was currently wearing a swimsuit. Although the swim skirt covered her, they also couldn't see much with her back turned to them.
But those straight, fair, slender, and long legs, as well as her arms, were constantly stimulating their small hearts...
"Mm." Since Castorice had said so, Lumina did not continue adjusting the temperature and smiled as she nodded. "If you feel the water temperature is too hot or cold, you must tell me."
After saying this, Lumina sat back down.
She made no comment about the two of them engaging in this purely human reaction.
If Lumina were interested in that kind of behavior, today would be a great opportunity to ascend to paradise together.
But Lumina didn't have any feelings about this kind of thing, so she wouldn't pick up this topic.
"Step... Step... Step..."
A moment later, the sound of light and slow footsteps could be heard.
Turning their heads to look, Herta appeared before their eyes, wearing a conservative purple swimsuit.
"Little Herta, you've finally arrived."
Offering Herta a smile, Lumina reached out and patted the water by her side, gesturing for Herta to hurry and sit beside her.
"Hmph."
Herta gave a soft snort. Although she wanted to say: "You tell me to sit, and I just sit? Wouldn't that make me lose face?"
But in the end, she still didn't say it.
Obediently following Lumina's gesture, she came to the edge of the pool, entered the water, and sat down beside Lumina.
"Mmm..."
Just like Lumina, upon entering the pool and feeling the warmth generated by the hot water wrapping around her skin, she couldn't help but let out a soft moan.
As for Herta's soft moan, Castorice and Hyacine didn't show any reaction at all.
It seemed their "shyness" was reserved for Lumina alone.
The room was quiet for a while as everyone enjoyed the spiritual purification brought about by the bath, with no one speaking a word, silently savoring the moment.
Hmm... but it seemed that the only ones silently savoring it were Lumina and Herta.
The expressions on Castorice and Hyacine's faces both had a slight, peculiar strangeness to them...
As for where that strangeness lay, it was completely impossible to tell from their outward appearances alone.
Perhaps, they were thinking about something in their hearts, causing a certain strange aura to emanate from their bodies.
Lumina and Herta both sensed the strangeness radiating from Castorice and Hyacine.
But neither Lumina nor Herta paid any mind to it at all.
Lumina didn't care because she could roughly guess what Castorice and Hyacine were thinking. It had to be some... unobservable, unspeakable, and unviewable matters.
Lumina wouldn't care about such things at all.
After all, she didn't have those kinds of thoughts herself. As long as she didn't harbor such desires, they would absolutely never be able to replicate their fantasies in reality.
And Herta's reason for not caring was very simple.
She simply didn't care what Castorice and Hyacine were thinking.
With each lost in her own thoughts, time passed minute by minute, second by second.
The temperature of the pool water had been specially regulated, remaining unchanged throughout, making their sense of time grow faint.
After an unknown amount of time, as the strangeness emanating from Castorice and Hyacine's bodies dissipated, they gradually began to enjoy the warmth of the pool water. Lumina also remembered the purpose of her trip, turned to look at Castorice and Hyacine, and asked with a full smile: "Little Sister Castorice, Hyie, what kind of stories do you want to hear?"
"Stories?"
"Aren't we telling stories about Lumie in the Cosmos?"
Hearing Lumina's words, the two snapped back to their senses, and Hyacine spoke up to ask.
"I have too many, too many stories in the Cosmos, and they are too long, too long. Even if I told them continuously for ten days and half a month, I wouldn't be able to finish them all."
Lumina explained very modestly.
Yes, very modestly.
When Lumina's stories were placed together with ten days and half a month, wasn't that just being modest?
"I see." Castorice and Hyacine nodded, not knowing that Lumina was actually being modest, and both felt it made a lot of sense.
But soon, they seemed to remember something, found a strange point, and asked in unison: "Sister Lumina (Lumie), aren't you just an ordinary Little Physician?"
"Um... uh..."
The moment these words drifted out of their mouths, Castorice and Hyacine both quickly shut their mouths.
Both cursed themselves silently.
Judging from Sister Lumina's previous actions, how could she possibly be just an ordinary Little Physician?
Clearly, Sister Lumina's self-introduction was merely her own modesty.
"Then... then tell us a story about Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta," Castorice said softly, observing Herta's expression as she spoke.
Seeing that Herta's flat expression remained unchanged, she let out a sigh of relief.
This... this wasn't about Castorice trying to uncover the relationship between Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta to find the right moment to strike.
It was simply that Castorice was genuinely curious about the story of Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta.
Two powerhouses, how could she not be curious about this?
That was one point Castorice was curious about, but as for another point, Castorice... had also thought about it.
And she had thought about it more than once.
If... if there really was no relationship between Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta.
Then Castorice... Castorice... Castorice would...
"Alright, then I'll tell you the story of how Herta and I met."
Lumina didn't know what Castorice was plotting in her mind and didn't really care.
She nodded without asking Herta's opinion and directly agreed.
The story of her and Herta wasn't a private or intimate matter after all, so why not tell it?
"Hmph, not asking for my opinion?" hearing how Lumina agreed so decisively, Herta snorted coldly.
Although Herta didn't particularly care about this matter, she still cared a great deal about Lumina's attitude.
This was a matter concerning both of them, so how could you alone agree to it?
This was a matter for two people, so how could you not ask what my opinion was?
"Then does Madam Herta have any objections to this?" Hearing this, Lumina did not ignore Herta.
She turned to look at Herta and asked, playing along with her train of thought.
"Oh, no objections, go ahead and tell it." Upon hearing what she wanted, Herta's small eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly very happy.
All Herta wanted was for Lumina to take a particular stance.
As long as Lumina's attitude was good, Herta would naturally be happy.
But her attitude...
Heh heh.
Herta could only use these two words to describe it.
Whether in attitude or personality, Lumina was the most terrible person Herta had ever met.
But precisely because of this, Herta found herself completely immersed in it...
"Thank you for your permission, Madam Herta~"
Sharing a bath with three beautiful girls in swimsuits, Lumina felt extremely happy and pleased, her mood exceptionally refreshed, and thus her attitude improved considerably.
After softly humming her thanks to Herta, Lumina turned her gaze back to Castorice and Hyacine.
She slowly began to speak, recounting her story with Herta in the tone of an "epic tale."
"Long, long ago, there was a Space Station named [Herta]. It was a place of peace and prosperity, far from any troubles, a serene and beautiful Space Station... Until the arrival of a beautiful woman shattered its tranquility..."
Herta: ???
Hearing Lumina's "epic tale" tone and the words she spoke, the corners of Herta's lips twitched continuously, as if she was completely speechless.
What was with this inexplicable sense of epic grandeur?
Anyone in the know understood Lumina was recounting the story of her first meeting with Herta; those who didn't would have thought she was describing Lumina and Herta's first battle...
And besides... what was she saying?
Since when had the Space Station become a place of peace and prosperity, far from any troubles, a serene and beautiful Space Station? How could Herta, the owner, not know about this?
Peace and prosperity... Was that really possible?
Hmm... But maybe it wasn't wrong.
As for being far from any troubles... if Lumina meant the troubles of employment, then it seemed she wasn't wrong either.
As for being serene and beautiful... well, if the environment of The Blue and the dark, starry Cosmos counted, then perhaps it did count.
Thinking about it this way... Lumina seemed to be entirely correct?
Since that was the case, Herta did not interrupt Lumina.
Lumina's voice was lovely, and when wrapped in a layer of "epic style," it took on another kind of feeling.
Soaking in the warm pool water while listening to Lumina's "epic-feeling" voice, how could this not be considered a kind of enjoyment?
"This is how Herta and I first met..."
"And the next time we met, it was..."
Lumina was very patient, recounting her meeting with Herta and everything that happened in between.
Of course, she only gave a general overview without getting into the details.
If Lumina had shared the details, Herta would have directly strangled her...
"After learning that this place might be related to [Erudition], Herta and I came here."
No one knew how much time had passed, but the pool water remained warm while much time had already slipped away.
Yet the few people in the pool didn't care in the slightest. When Lumina finished her story, she closed her lips and looked at Castorice and Hyacine with a smile.
The two of them, meanwhile, wore expressions that suggested they were still craving more.
As for Herta, she remained exactly as she ever was.
Sitting beside Lumina, calm and composed.
"So, Sister Herta and Sister Lumina are this powerful," Castorice couldn't help but sigh, the light in her eyes dimming slightly.
Through Sister Lumina's story, Castorice had learned about [Aeons] and [Emanators].
It was only after learning about these things that Castorice understood just how incredibly powerful Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta truly were.
They... even in the Cosmos, were among the very top individuals...
People of such a level, could she really... receive her warmth?
A hint of bitterness gradually emerged in Castorice's heart.
But it was quickly covered by another wave of emotion.
Along with this information, Castorice had also received a very important piece of news.
Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta, they were just friends!