Happy times are always short, because what comes next is the Super Invincible Ultimate Happy Time.
At least, this was the case for Lumina.
For Castorice, Polyxia, and Hyacine, this "Super Invincible Ultimate Happy Time" for Lumina made them feel extremely nervous and very afraid.
Nervous and afraid that they would not be able to complete the task Sister Lumina had entrusted to them.
Afraid that Sister Lumina had overestimated them, thereby assigning them a task they could simply not complete, and after failure upon failure, Sister Lumina would feel disheartened and ultimately become completely disappointed in everyone.
Then... then the relationship that was already between good friends and best friends would suddenly break, the relationship with Sister Lumina would reach freezing point, and finally... finally they would completely lose Sister Lumina.
After she left Okhema and Amphoreus, the two would never meet again.
And there would be no relationship left to speak of...
This was what Castorice and Hyacine were thinking. In comparison to the two of them, Polyxia was doing much better.
After all, she didn't share such deep feelings as they did, and wouldn't say things like "If Sister Lumina leaves, the sky will fall."
But in reality... it was pretty much the same.
If this matter caused Sister Lumina to be extremely disappointed in her, Polyxia would also feel very self-reproachful, sad, and reluctant to let go.
With each lost in her own thoughts, even though the three of them were now standing in front of Sister Lumina's room, they still didn't dare to reach out and knock on the door.
They just stared at each other, frozen in place.
"Hey, Little Lumina, I say... are you really not planning to open the door yourself?"
Inside the room, the situation outside the door was naturally seen by Herta and Lumina.
Seeing Lumina, who had yet to open the door and even showed no intention of doing so, Herta finally couldn't help but ask.
Leaving the beautiful girls stranded outside the door, this didn't seem to be Lumina's style at all, did it?
Given Lumina's usual behavior, the moment those three beautiful girls stepped foot into this area, she would have eagerly risen from the sofa and waited quietly at the door, right?
How could she possibly leave them stranded at the door for so long, just as she was doing now?
Even though the reason was that they hadn't knocked.
But for Lumina, that hardly counted as a reason at all, did it?
If this were before, even if they didn't knock, the door would have opened automatically, creating an aura of a "peerless expert" for Lumina, wouldn't it?
Lumina's current posture truly made Herta feel very, very strange.
But no matter what, if Lumina continued to act this way from now on, Herta would become extremely happy.
Although she knew that such a thing was completely impossible.
The fact that Lumina looked so well-behaved right now meant she was probably thinking of something wicked again, wasn't it?
"No rush, no rush, one must never be too hasty in anything."
"I'm not in a hurry, so what are you rushing for, Little Herta?"
Just as Herta suspected, Lumina was definitely working on some grand plan again right now.
Hearing Herta's words, Lumina reproached her with a somewhat seasoned tone.
With this posture, if she were to brew another pot of tea, slowly lift the teacup, and take a gentle sip, it would perfectly match the aura of a peerless expert living in seclusion.
"Hurry? I'm not in a hurry." Hearing this, Herta simply shook her head. "I'd prefer it if you weren't in a hurry, ideally not even after we leave Amphoreus."
"How are you speaking? What does being in a hurry have to do with me?" Lumina snorted softly. "Whether you're in a hurry or not is a matter for you, Little Herta, as well as Castorice, Polyxia, and Hyacine. What does that have to do with me?"
"Heh." Herta only smiled without saying anything.
Sensing the auras of the three outside the door, Herta's mind, heart, and every single cell in her body continued to think at lightning speed.
Yes, from the moment Lumina extended the invitation until now, Herta still had not thought of a solution.
It couldn't be helped; the gap in strength was simply too vast.
No matter how brilliant Herta's mind was or how vast her knowledge, it was difficult to devise a countermeasure in just over a dozen hours.
"It seems tonight, just like last time, I can only let Lumina do whatever she wants."
After a moment, Herta suddenly gave up struggling.
If she thought too much, it might make Lumina extremely cautious, and ultimately, when she completed that matter with the three of them, she would casually imprison Herta, making her only able to watch with wide eyes without being able to perform any other actions.
If it were truly like this, besides giving up struggling, Herta could only give up struggling.
Of course, this didn't mean Herta had completely given up struggling.
This so-called giving up struggling meant giving up the struggle before the event happened, giving up on preventing the event from happening.
Since the event happening was already completely unavoidable, it would be better to let the event happen normally.
Now that Lumina was watching, Herta didn't dare to take any other actions.
But... what if Lumina was lost in her own world?
What if Lumina's attention was completely focused elsewhere?
In that case, the space Herta had to operate in would be vast, very vast.
Yes, if one path was blocked, she would just take another!
Since all roads lead to a happy life after victory, why was Herta still obsessing over only one path?
While Lumina was lost in the warmth of the beautiful girls, while Lumina focused her entire attention on the beautiful girls, Herta would directly launch a vicious sneak attack on her!
She would directly interrupt this warm moment of hers!
Although Lumina would still get the chance to take advantage of the beautiful girls, and although those three beautiful girls would still get the chance to take advantage of Lumina.
But as the saying goes, between best friends, before... they would all think it was just a joke.
Therefore, those cuddly behaviors during the foreplay didn't count as anything at all in Herta's eyes.
Didn't Lumina often engage in such behavior with the beautiful girls on ordinary days? Herta was used to it.
So, she would not develop any emotions because of this foreplay.
What Herta needed to do now was endure, endure, and endure again.
She would show a helpless and compromising expression to make Lumina lower her guard, letting her properly complete this mission together with Castorice, Polyxia, and Hyacine.
Madam Herta did not like to endure; she would normally settle scores on the spot.
But Lumina's strength was too overwhelming, and settling scores on the spot would even drag herself down with it. So even if Madam Herta did not like to endure, and did not know how to endure, she still had to accept enduring, and learn how to endure.
This was not for others, but for herself.
For the sake of herself being able to defeat Lumina, this Evil Arch-Demon King!
-
Driven by such a strong desire, Herta's previously gritted teeth and defiant expression smoothed into a calm look in an instant, as if she had found peace.
It seemed as though she had given up all hope for what was about to happen.
With her heart already dead, the so-called resistance was naturally out of the question.
Herta herself had completely given up struggling.
But Lumina didn't believe it.
Lumina completely refused to believe it.
Even if Herta's act was incredibly convincing and lifelike at this moment, Lumina would never believe that she had completely given up struggling.
As she looked at Herta's currently expressionless face, her purple, beautiful eyes showing no ripple of emotion, Lumina sneered inwardly.
Based on Lumina's knowledge of Herta, she must be carrying out another plan at this moment, right?
Let Lumina think. Could it be that this plan was to make Lumina mistakenly think she had given up struggling, thereby letting down her guard, and then, after Lumina became completely absorbed in something, Herta would suddenly spring out like a leopard that had been watching from the shadows for a long time, delivering the final blow?
The specifics might be slightly different, but Lumina felt the general idea should be about the same.
Basically, Herta was preparing to endure for a while, and then, when Lumina wasn't watching her, had her back turned, was ignoring her, or isolating her, she would suddenly pounce and deliver a fatal blow.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Lumina sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, elbows resting on her thighs, palm supporting her chin, and fingers tapping her cheek in a steady, rhythmic beat. She watched Little Herta, whose expression remained utterly impassive, with a faint smile on her lips.
She was naive, incredibly naive.
Even now, she still failed to grasp the gap in their power.
If Herta was a fierce tiger, then what was Lumina?
Lumina was a giant Godzilla...
As a giant Godzilla, could she possibly fear a sneak attack from a tiger that was smaller than her own toenail?
A sneak attack? What kind of attack could she possibly launch?
Besides helping her groom her toenails, what else could she even do?
Lumina gazed at Herta, humming softly and happily in her mind.
Of course, this was merely a metaphor, not literal truth.
Otherwise, this would be an absolute reward for Herta.
Helping Lumina groom her toenails, for Herta, would undoubtedly be a reward comparable to achieving a breakthrough in her research.
No, no, no. The moment this thought crossed Lumina's mind, she personally rejected it.
If Lumina were to judge, this reward would definitely be far greater than a research breakthrough.
At the very least... at the very least, it should be comparable to becoming an [Emanator], right?
Although there was a "tiny little bit" of self-aggrandizement in Lumina's own assessment, helping her groom her toenails was undoubtedly an insanely rewarding prize.
If it were put up for auction at an Auction House, it would probably sell for a price that would shock even an [Emanator]...
But when you thought about who the owner of this toenail was, no matter how high the price, it seemed perfectly reasonable.
After all, Lumina was worth it!
As long as the name Lumina was attached to it, as long as it bore the Lumina label, even a single toothpick could sell for an astronomical price.
This was something that had actually happened in the past, when a bunch of unauthorized people slapped Lumina's name on their own products to earn endless wealth.
If the Interastral Peace Corporation hadn't later asked her for permission and, upon receiving her refusal, arrested these name-thieves with lightning-fast methods and issued a new set of regulations, this matter probably wouldn't have been resolved so easily.
After thinking so much, there was still only one thing Lumina wanted to say.
And that was, as the "giant Godzilla," she would be taken advantage of by Little Herta, who was the "fierce tiger."
Taking advantage, taking advantage. Giving Herta just a tiny bit of advantage every now and then was naturally no problem.
Lumina had also let Herta take advantage of her a lot lately, even... even due to an accident, her... her chest had been touched by Herta once...
In short, whether she was willing or not, she had already let Little Herta take advantage of her so many times during this period.
If she let her take any more advantage, Herta might forget her place.
This was absolutely out of the question!
Eating a bit of dessert occasionally is naturally no problem at all.
But if you eat too much dessert, your body will inevitably gain a lot of weight.
In this case, you need to get a good beating... no, no, in this case, you need to do a harsh round of exercise.
Only then can the figure that has become fat from eating dessert slim back down.
If she doesn't lose weight, if she lets her keep eating this dessert, her body will definitely get fatter and fatter.
Eventually, she'll get fat to the point where even Lumina can't carry her...
Of course, this possibility is extremely, extremely small.
After all, the dignified Madam Herta was a super beautiful girl, and quite a narcissistic beautiful girl at that.
How could such a beautiful girl let herself become ugly and fat over something like this?
So, the advantage is with me.
Lumina nodded with extreme confidence in her heart.
Herta was confident in her own actions and plans, but why wouldn't Lumina be just as confident in her own actions and plans?
Moreover, Lumina was even more confident than Herta!
Because she had the strength to back it up, while Herta did not!
Even if she was eventually counter-killed by Herta, Lumina had absolutely nothing to fear.
She would directly activate "God of War" mode, play dirty, and flip the chessboard.
She would use her overwhelming strength to directly suppress her!
"What are you looking at me for? Do I have a flower on my face?" Feeling Lumina's gaze fixed on her, Herta felt a bit uneasy.
But in this situation, even if she was uneasy, she had to maintain an air of composure.
Therefore, Herta also crossed her legs, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned back against the sofa.
She looked at Lumina with a calm and serene expression, finally uttering this sentence with a hint of confusion.
"Of course," Lumina smiled faintly, "Madam Herta is more beautiful than any flower. It's only normal for me to take a few more looks, right?"
"If you must blame anyone... blame Madam Herta for being simply too beautiful."
Herta: "..."
Even though she knew Lumina was just blatantly flattering her, Herta's old face still couldn't help but flush.
If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but coming from Lumina's lips, this sentence truly made Herta unable to hold back...
"Hehehe." Seeing Herta's flustered reaction to the praise, Lumina covered her mouth and let out a charming laugh.
Immediately after, she decided not to waste any more time chatting with Herta, stood up, and walked toward the door...