Herta understood, she completely understood.
With her genius brain, anything Lumina could think of, Herta could naturally think of too.
So-called promises are generally promises made by the strong to the weak, how could the weak make promises to the strong?
If the weak make promises to the strong, they either have a faction backing them up, or they have talent.
Herta met both of these points, but Lumina was even more superior.
In this situation, Lumina's promise to Herta could be treated as a mere formality.
The kind that didn't even need to be taken seriously.
While Herta's promise to Lumina had to be carried out exactly according to the standards of a promise.
If she didn't do it, Lumina could rely on her powerful influence to force her to do it...
Tsk!
Herta clicked her tongue inwardly, even though she knew she had fallen for Lumina's trick, there was nothing she could do.
It couldn't be helped, who asked Lumina to be stronger than her?
The stronger one can naturally do whatever they want, this was already a truth recognized by the entire galaxy.
Without power, the weak are just meant to be bullied by the strong.
Just like in Herta and Lumina's interactions, it was always Lumina bullying Herta.
There were hardly any times when Herta bullied Lumina...
There were no other reasons; it was simply because Herta was weaker than Lumina, so she had always been in a weaker position.
Fortunately, this bullying from Lumina could only be considered minor skirmishes, unable to extinguish the desire in Herta's heart to become the "elder sister."
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. Now it's you, Lumina, bullying me, Herta.
Thirty years from now, it will be me, Herta, bullying you, Lumina!
When that time comes, I won't be as gentle as you.
When I become stronger than you, or the first day your power dissipates, Herta will directly press Lumina down.
The kind to do it without the slightest hesitation!
Of course, this was just for saying and fantasizing only.
Being stronger than Lumina was simply a completely impossible thing...
"Hmm? Castorice, you don't need to mind Herta's words." Unaware of the activity in Herta's mind, seeing that Castorice had remained silent for a long time, Lumina still thought she had been affected by Herta's words just now.
A gentle whisper comforted her.
"Ah? No, no, it's not because of Big Sister Herta." Hearing this, Castorice snapped out of her thoughts and hurriedly shook her head.
She had just felt that... the relationship between Big Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta was truly wonderful.
Yes, isn't that only natural?
Big Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta are equally matched in status, so their relationship is naturally good.
Naturally, it is much better than that of Castorice, this... this "country" girl.
Big Sisters Lumina and Herta are the match made in heaven...
Castorice really envied the relationship between them...
Castorice really wanted to take Big Sister Herta's place.
Even if... even if this was somewhat rebellious.
"Mmph, mmph, mmph!"
Realizing this thought, Castorice's heart jumped in shock, and she hurriedly shook her head to force her consciousness back to reality.
Her eyes dared not look at Herta, filled with an extremely strong sense of guilt.
Pant... pant... pant...
"Castorice, you can't do this. Being able to receive Sister Lumina's warmth is already enough, it's already enough!"
Even though Castorice felt in her heart that it was still not enough, she had to force herself to be satisfied.
A moment later, under the gazes of Sister Lumina and Big Sister Herta, Castorice suppressed all these "rebellious" emotions deep within her heart.
After taking a deep breath, she returned to the original topic.
She seriously asked Lumina, "Sister Lumina, is there anything you like, or anything you particularly want?"
"Or is there something you particularly want to accomplish?"
"It's just... it's just." At this point, Castorice paused, her face flushing slightly, looking very embarrassed. "It's just that this thing you want to accomplish... is something I can help you achieve..."
"Like, something you particularly want? Something you want to accomplish?" Hearing this, Lumina was slightly stunned, seemingly not expecting Castorice to say such words.
Hmm... not expecting it?
Of course she expected it. Even before Castorice spoke, Lumina already knew what she was going to say.
Doing this was merely to play along with Castorice on the surface, just acting.
How could she make Castorice feel embarrassed without acting?
How could she speedrun Castorice without taking any damage without acting?
-
"Hmm... No, I don't have anything," Lumina said after pretending to think for a moment, shaking her head to indicate that she didn't have anything special she wanted, nor anything special she wanted to achieve.
Of course she did, but she couldn't say it out loud.
If she said it, Lumina wouldn't have any problem, but Castorice and Polyxia's brains would probably overheat and overload on the spot, then just explode, right?
For the safety of Castorice and Polyxia, Lumina would still pretend to be in a state of "no desires and no demands."
"Heh." Beside her, Herta, who had been toyed with by Lumina, heard this and immediately crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a cold "heh."
No desires and no demands, huh? What are you pretending for?
Stash that fiery gaze you have when looking at beautiful girls before saying something like that.
Herta immediately shot Lumina a look of contempt.
If one day, Lumina really entered a state of no desires and no demands, then it could only explain one point.
All the beautiful girls in the galaxy were dead.
Only under this almost completely impossible circumstance could Lumina possibly fall into a state of no desires and no demands.
Why would this situation be impossible? The answer was even simpler.
When beautiful girls were being slaughtered indiscriminately, Lumina would definitely enter a "berserk" state, and then, with the longing for beautiful girls in her heart, she would become the Aeon of [Beautiful Girls].
Ultimately, she would protect all these beautiful girls under the Aeon's "Protection."
In this case, wouldn't it be impossible to completely exterminate the category of beautiful girls?
"Heh what heh, if you want to drink milk, go find your mother." Hearing Herta's cold snort, Lumina felt that she could no longer keep indulging her.
She immediately retorted, without a single swear word, but the insult was still very excessive.
Only—
"I don't have a mother." Hearing this, Herta's face was calm, and she answered without any ripples.
Lumina: "?"
Upon receiving this answer, Lumina's fair and beautiful face immediately stiffened, and she didn't know what to say.
Slap!
I'm really a jerk! How come I can't control this mouth?
In her heart, Lumina gave a Lumina plush doll a hard slap, severely denouncing her own very impolite and very hurtful behavior.
Although Lumina didn't slap her own cheek, this slap on the Lumina plush doll was enough to prove the importance she attached to this matter.
As for why she took this matter so seriously but didn't give herself a hard slap on the cheek?
The reason was actually quite simple, because Lumina was so beautiful that even Lumina herself couldn't bear to hurt her.
For a beautiful girl as stunning as Lumina, Lumina would be too busy cherishing her with utmost care to ever hurt her with a slap.
Giving a slap to the Lumina plush doll was already Lumina's limit.
"Herta, I..."
"I don't have a mother, but I want to drink milk." Before Lumina could even start apologizing, Herta interrupted her.
She leaned slightly toward Lumina, her head moving close to her face, and her lips drew near her ear.
Her small mouth parted slightly, and a warm breath, seemingly charged with electricity, brushed against Lumina's ear, bringing a wave of heat and a tingling numbness.
"So, can you act as my mother, and like a mother who has just taken office for the first time in this position, feed me milk?"
Herta's voice was very soft and faint.
Even though she was speaking right next to her ear, one had to listen carefully to understand what she was saying.
Her face was flushed red. Saying such words was a huge challenge for Herta.
Saying these words, even Madam Herta felt extremely shy and embarrassed.
Not to mention... not to mention that she was saying this to Lumina.
If she hadn't prepared herself in advance, Herta would have probably fainted on the spot.
Although it might not have been that exaggerated in reality, it was probably close enough.
"Ugh..."
Herta's face was flushed red. The words she had spoken after overcoming her inner shyness had an extremely obvious effect, and the feedback she received in return was also perfect.
When Lumina heard Herta's words, her entire body stiffened, and a faint blush appeared on her fair face.
In those jade green eyes, a trace of an imperceptible, strange emotion also flashed by.
Taking Lumina's reaction into her sight, the corners of Herta's lips curved slightly, and the shy demeanor of the little girl with a flushed face also dissipated a bit.
Although the words were extremely shy and made Herta feel very embarrassed, as long as they were useful, it was worth it.
Herta silently noted this method in the little notebook in her heart.
If a method worked once, it meant it would be useful in the future.
Although Lumina would also come up with moves to solve this method, Herta still acknowledged this truth.
It wasn't about copying exactly; she just needed to make a small modification, and it would be fine.
Thinking this, Herta took the first step; once she found this method, the rest would be simple.
In Herta's mind, the "Painting of the Beautiful Future" that had originally been buried deep in her heart now resurfaced once more.
"Gulp..."
After swallowing, Herta stopped thinking.
She prepared to claim the "spoils of war" generated by this victory.
Taking advantage of the time while Lumina was still savoring her words just now, Herta wrapped one arm around Lumina's waist and reached out with her other hand to touch her buttocks.
Sensing the softness blooming in her hand, Herta felt as if she had already stepped half a foot into a beautiful future.
She gently stroked with both hands, and the sensation on the buttocks gave Herta an endless aftertaste.
But the feeling on the waist could no longer satisfy Herta.
She withdrew her small hand and slowly moved upwards along Lumina's waist.
Ultimately, she successfully touched that wisp of softness.
This was a feeling that Herta would never forget in her life.
But beautiful times always have an end, and this feeling did not last long before quickly disappearing.
"Ahem, let's drop this topic. There are children around, after all."
Feeling the tingling sensation spreading across her body, Lumina decided not to pursue the matter further.
After all, Castorice and Polyxia were still watching from the side.
If she were to hold Herta accountable, it would inevitably scare them.
And if they got scared, the loss would outweigh the gain.
She was already at a disadvantage; she had to stop this now, or things would only get worse.
And Little Herta shouldn't get too arrogant.
Just because Lumina wasn't doing anything to Herta right now didn't mean she wouldn't do something to her later.
Endure for a moment, and the wind will calm. Take a step back, and the sea and sky will open up.
Today's patience was all for the sake of a better revenge in the future.
Let her be arrogant and smug for a while, letting her mood reach its peak, a level where she could stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun.
Later, Lumina would give her a super critical hit.
She would make her experience the sensation of a drop tower.
Plummeting from paradise straight into hell, the psychological impact would be severe.
It's easy to go from simple to extravagant, but hard to go from extravagant back to simple.
By then, she might be able to completely control Little Herta in one fell swoop, plunging her into the "disaster" of going from extravagant back to simple.
Just let her enjoy it for now.
Lumina glanced sideways, her peripheral vision catching Herta as if she were still savoring that moment, that very sensation, and sneered inwardly.
"You're right, there are children present." Herta narrowed her eyes, feeling extremely pleased with her successful counterattack on Lumina.
"But if there were no children around..."
As Herta thought, her little pink tongue poked out slightly, licking her lips, making their already crimson surface even more glistening and alluring.
Even Lumina's heart couldn't help but skip a beat when she saw this scene.
She had to admit that for someone with Herta's looks to make such an expression and strike such a pose, the temptation was comparable to a short-lived being's yearning for eternal life.
"Phew..." Taking a deep breath and glancing faintly at Herta, Lumina stopped dwelling on her matter.
Right now, the most important things were still Castorice and Polyxia.
Wearing a smile, she asked Castorice and Polyxia, "Little sister Castorice, and little sister Polyxia, could you tell me the reason why you're asking this question?"
Lumina asked this knowing the answer, simply wanting to see the two of them blush.
"Um..." Just as Lumina had anticipated, a faint pink flush instantly spread across their fair faces when they heard her words.
The youthful skin, teeming with collagen, looked even more tempting under this blush. It made Lumina's mouth water as she impulsively wanted to rush forward and take a bite out of Castorice and Polyxia's adorable faces.
Faces so cute, so soft. Biting them would surely feel like biting into a cloud, wouldn't it?
"Um... S-Sister Lumina."
Perhaps Lumina's desire to bite them was too strong. Castorice and Polyxia found it unbearable, their flushed faces turning away as they dared not meet her burning gaze.
Because they simply couldn't imagine how terrible their bodies would become if they kept staring into Sister Lumina's eyes...