"I don't care if it's true or not. Either way, I'm not satisfied with that reason."
"Since I'm not satisfied, I won't be removing the collar from your neck. You'll just have to deal with it."
Herta's acting was flawless, without a single crack to betray her performance. But Lumina wasn't a fool—how could she possibly believe such words?
For someone of Madam Herta's caliber, controlling her facial expressions naturally was a simple task. Crafting a perfectly convincing little face was child's play.
Without mind-reading, it was impossible to judge whether she was telling the truth or lying.
But that didn't matter.
Whether Herta was speaking the truth or lying, Lumina didn't care.
Because Lumina had never cared about the truth or falsehood of her words in the first place.
What Lumina cared about from start to finish was the "interest level" of her speech.
If the interest level was high and Lumina was satisfied, she wouldn't mind even if Herta told a lie. She would obediently follow through on her promise and remove the collar from Herta's neck.
But if there was no interest at all, leaving Lumina utterly dissatisfied, she wouldn't remove the collar even if Herta told the absolute truth.
Obediently become my pet for the rest of your life!
"Shh, Little Herta, don't speak."
"The ritual has already begun..."
Lumina was a woman of her word. Since she had said she would make Herta wear the "collar" for the rest of her life and become her "pet" forever, Lumina naturally would not go back on her word.
Since Little Herta was so ungrateful, Lumina would be happy to fulfill her wish.
She immediately ended her conversation with Herta and focused all her attention on Castorice, who was currently performing the alchemy ritual.
At this moment, Castorice was kneeling on the ground, holding the Philosopher's Stone above her head with both hands.
The Philosopher's Stone emitted a red light, and the Styx tides around Styxia began to boil, gradually condensing in front of Castorice.
"Hmm, looking at that PV, the Death Dragon Castorice summoned should be very domineering, right?" Seeing this scene, Lumina instantly recalled the dragon she had seen in the [Who] PV.
It must be the one about to appear now, right?
Lumina was still a little excited.
After all, this was a fantasy world. It wasn't impossible for a dragon to turn into a Dragon Girl, into a beautiful young girl.
Clutching this "Dragon Girl" fantasy, Lumina stared straight ahead without blinking, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Meanwhile, Herta, seeing Lumina abruptly end the topic, became somewhat sullen.
But her powerful expression management and mental fortitude kept her exquisite, beautiful little face completely flawless.
Herta lowered her head and tugged at the collar around her neck.
Looking at the name "Lumina" engraved on the collar, as if proclaiming some kind of ownership, that... subtle feeling surfaced in Herta's heart once again.
Herta didn't know what words to use to describe this feeling.
Anyway, it was... it was just not a good thing.
Herta quickly shook her head, shaking the thought out of her mind.
Then she began to think, thinking about how to get rid of this collar.
Other methods were definitely out of the question, she could only start with Lumina...
Although Lumina's strength was very high,
she wasn't without weaknesses.
The powerful Lumina wasn't also impossible to defeat...
With just a small opportunity, Herta could counterattack and kill Lumina!
As long as she found that tiny opportunity, she could completely overthrow the rule of the Lumina Dynasty!
It was just that what this opportunity was, and exactly when it would appear, remained unknown.
-
"My teacher Anaxagoras, grant me the wisdom of the One."
"I call upon you, the Deprived Remains of the Dead Dragon..."
"Rise from the earth to the heavens, descend from the heavens to the earth..."
Under Lumina's expectant gaze, Castorice murmured incantations. A massive sphere slowly emerged from the Alchemical Circle, ascending into the sky guided by the tides of the Styx.
"The Giant Dragon must be inside there, right?" Lumina's eyes sparkled as she watched the sphere rise from the circle, staring intently, quietly awaiting the moment the tall and mighty dragon would break out of its cocoon.
"As below, so above; as above, so below..."
Castorice chanted "spells" that Lumina completely failed to understand, but to be fair, her voice was beautiful.
Even though she was speaking a completely incomprehensible and bizarre incantation, Lumina still had endless patience to listen.
"This is the power of all forces..."
The tides of the Styx surged in from all directions, flowing into the sphere like nourishment.
Crack—
The sphere shattered, and a pair of fleshless bony wings burst out first.
"Uh..." Watching the bony wing break out of the cocoon, Lumina blinked her small eyes, feeling a bit bewildered.
This... was a little different from what Lumina had imagined.
However, although Lumina found it unexpected, her gaze remained full of anticipation as she looked at the Giant Dragon about to break out of its cocoon.
After all, a Bone Dragon is also very cool, right?
And who said a Bone Dragon couldn't transform into a beautiful young girl?
So, there was nothing to be surprised about.
Ahead, looking at the sphere that had appeared before her, feeling the familiar aura rushing out, Castorice's expression was more resolute and serious than ever before.
The black liquid in her hand surged, condensing into a magnificent scythe.
Looking at the wave rushing toward her, Castorice swung the scythe forward with all her might.
The wave, rushing toward her with immense pressure, was instantly sliced in half by Castorice.
The seamless action made Lumina's small eyes shine even brighter.
A different Castorice from before, super cool.
"A great work that governs all death... I will grant you an embrace!"
As Castorice's words fell, the figure of that "Giant Dragon" also fully appeared in Lumina's eyes.
Lumina: "..."
She didn't know what to say about this.
Um...
The expression on Lumina's face underwent a subtle change. She rested her chin on her hand, staring at the "Giant Dragon" in front of Castorice, the anticipation on her face having long since vanished.
Although the Giant Dragon's head was still hidden inside the "egg," just looking at its body made it very difficult for Lumina to associate this Giant Dragon with a beautiful young girl.
So, unfortunately, the "Dragon Girl" dream that Lumina had been desperately longing for in her heart had probably completely shattered...
"Sigh..." Lumina sighed silently in her heart.
Lumina really wanted a Dragon Girl. I wonder where there are any Dragon Girls?
Um... Bailu doesn't count.
Bailu is a Dragon Loli, so she doesn't count as a Dragon Girl.
"Speaking of which... is that High Elder General of the Xianzhou male or female?"
"Xianzhou... Um, Fanghu? I'll go take a look when I have time."
In her heart, Lumina silently planned her subsequent itinerary.
"What's wrong? This dead dragon is so ugly, and it's not a beautiful young girl, so you're disappointed?"
Although Lumina said nothing, all of her thoughts were kept within her own mind.
When Herta, who knew Lumina well, saw her like this, she could also guess what she was thinking.
With a hint of faint mockery, she asked a question.
"Yes, Little Herta, can you become a Dragon Girl, and be my Dragon Girl?"
Hearing Herta's words, which contained a hint of mockery, Lumina's expression did not change at all. She gave a soft snort and continued along with her words.
She turned her head to look at Herta, scanning her from bottom to top, then from top to bottom, pausing for a moment in the middle, before speaking with a look of complete satisfaction: "Hmm... not bad, not bad at all. Little Herta, you have the potential to become a Dragon Girl."
"However..." Lumina's gaze returned to the area where she had paused in the middle of Herta's body.
"It's just that there are no Dragon Girls as small as you. But that's okay, having shortcomings is a good thing."
"And your strengths just happen to compensate for this shortcoming, adding a touch of freshness that makes you even more charming."
"So, you're very good, really, very good."
Herta: "..."
Why?
Why was it that even though Lumina was clearly praising her, Herta couldn't feel even the slightest bit of happiness in her heart?
Looking at the front of Lumina's chest and then down at her own, Herta once again felt a sense of gloomy displeasure.
"Will—"
"Shh~"
Just as Herta was about to speak, Lumina seemed to predict her words, cutting her off before she could even begin.
"Little Herta, you wouldn't be like those little lolitas who can't grow up, saying a line like: 'I'll grow it later,' would you?"
Lumina looked at Herta with a smile and murmured softly.
"How could I possibly say such a thing?" Hearing this, Herta's small face immediately took on an exasperated expression.
Although in that very instant, the thought of saying such words had indeed crossed Herta's mind.
But that was only because she had been influenced by some memes from short videos; in the next second, this thought naturally dissipated, leaving no trace in her mind at all.
Herta was just about to say that big ones have their advantages, and small ones have theirs too.
And the advantages of being small are actually much, much more than those of being big.
Why say that?
Because among the beautiful girls around Lumina, except for a few child-sized ones, all the others are bigger than Herta... This is nothing embarrassing to admit.
Admitting a fact bravely is not something to be ashamed of.
What Herta meant with these words was: All those beautiful girls are bigger than me, so you'll definitely get tired of them one day, right?
In that case, Herta's could give Lumina an extremely novel experience...
Um... Ahem!
As she kept thinking, Herta realized her thoughts were straying a bit, so she quickly shook her head, shaking the thought out of her mind.
Herta definitely didn't start out thinking this way, meaning, she wasn't thinking in this direction.
"Big ones have their advantages, and small ones have theirs too," this sentence was meant simply and literally.
There was no intention of associating it with anything "lewd"...
"As expected... I really should watch fewer of those short videos."
Herta sighed inwardly, feeling a bit of a headache.
Ever since she realized her feelings for Lumina, Herta had spent her free time scrolling through short videos, searching for ways to win her over.
But instead of finding any solutions, her genius brain had been corrupted...
Even a genius brain like Herta's could be affected. The power of short videos was simply terrifying!
Short videos were a real menace!
Maybe the source of Lumina's preference for beautiful girls was also because of these short videos!
Um... Okay, that probably had nothing much to do with short videos.
Short videos didn't have the power to change a person's entire way of thinking.
"Hmm... That makes sense." Hearing this, Lumina nodded.
Her gaze remained fixed on Herta's chest as she continued earnestly, "After all, this is the only part of you that looks like a child."
"Everywhere else, you are undoubtedly an extremely mature woman."
Herta: "..."
Hearing Lumina's words, Herta fell into silence once again.
This sentence... could Herta take it as Lumina praising her?
But... did she also mock her a little?
So was she praising her, or mocking her?
Herta couldn't quite tell.
After spending time with Lumina, Herta's brain started to malfunction a bit... Of course, this only happened when Lumina was the one she was talking to.
When speaking with anyone else, Herta was still the absolutely worshipped and revered genius, Madam Herta.
But the moment she spoke with Lumina... she would fall into a state of reduced intelligence.
It was as if Lumina were some kind of main protagonist, automatically applying a debuff to everyone around her, then completely "controlling" them with her repeated actions.
Herta didn't know why this was happening.
But she had realized it a long time ago.
And at that time, after understanding this "strange" point, Herta should have immediately retreated, run as far away as possible, and never seen Lumina again.
But by then, the Herta who realized this was already completely unable to escape...
On the contrary, not only did she not flee, but she also took the initiative to draw closer and cling to Lumina... to feel her body, to feel every breath she emanated.
At first, Herta couldn't quite understand.
She couldn't understand why she had become this way.
But as time passed bit by bit, Herta gradually understood.
Because of [Love].
Love makes one resist the urge to draw close, love makes one impulsive, love makes every action one takes converge toward the other person.
This was also the reason why Herta would suffer a "reduced intelligence" debuff.
Because Herta liked Lumina...
The kind of liking meant between a man and a woman.
But Lumina... she never seemed to give a direct response.
Not taking the initiative, not refusing, and not taking responsibility.
Although it wasn't very suitable for Lumina, the meaning it conveyed was actually quite similar.
[A scoundrel]
She was too much of a scoundrel, to a degree that made people unable to help but sigh in astonishment.
But while being a scoundrel, she was also cowardly as hell.
Um...
Although that was the case,
right now,
she doesn't seem to be cowardly anymore?
Herta glanced at Lumina and thought silently in her heart.
-
Author note: PS: This is tough, the 3.7 ending was a bit unexpected... I need to think about how to write the follow-up.