The professor had wanted to say something, but soon closed his mouth.
He realized that trying to teach the gray-haired girl in front of him anything about manners would be pointless. It would be like playing music to a cow.
It was like discussing general relativity and imaginary number collapse theory with a wild man who had never received any education. It was nothing but a waste of words.
If he wanted his lecture to have any effect, he would first need to give the girl a crash course in basic etiquette.
The thought gave Ratio a headache. A real one.
He frowned and couldn't help raising a hand toward his forehead.
The current situation clearly meant that the coming conversation would be several times more difficult than he had expected.
Still, the girl in front of him was at least a Nameless. She should have gone through plenty of experiences. Hopefully she had developed good adaptability. If so, the conversation would go more smoothly.
Letting out a quiet breath, the professor said tiredly, "Let's return to the previous topic. The commission Herta gave you was to find a Curio whose name was even unknown."
"But Herta gave a detailed description of the Curio's characteristics. Obviously, I didn't make it up."
"True. You couldn't."
Stelle narrowed her eyes. That feeling of being looked down on reminded her of the broadcast from before.
This man was exactly the same online and in person. Nero was right, sincerity really was the ultimate move.
Mr. Ratio was very sincere. He couldn't even be bothered to hide his awful personality.
"But Herta's collection is as countless as the stars. It's hard to imagine her treating an ordinary Curio as something so valuable."
Hearing this, Stelle's eyes lit up. She knew the answer to that question. She had just remembered it.
"The Curio itself isn't the important part. Herta only cares so much because it's related to the Genius Society."
As for the things Herta didn't care much about, like the Fright Maze, it was still trapped in its phobia.
"I assume the Curio was created by a Genius. Logic: it holds extraordinary significance," Screwllum said.
"Hm..." Ratio nodded. "That point does stand."
While acknowledging Stelle's answer, he quietly let out a sigh of relief.
The gray-haired girl might be a little slow, and she had picked up quite a few strange habits from that white-haired boy, but thankfully her thinking was still normal. Her ability to respond on the spot and her basic reasoning were both more than acceptable.
Even so, he still wanted to speed up the discussion.
As for why...
He was a little afraid the girl in front of him would come up with another shocking answer.
Ratio was certain of his intuition. This debate couldn't go on for too long. Although the girl was being questioned, she clearly wasn't nervous at all.
People who were often offbeat were the ones most likely to say something unexpected.
Just like her completely sincere answer a moment ago.
"You then said this: in order to investigate the missing Curio, you sought Asta's help. Yet before this questioning began, she never mentioned that matter."
At this point, Asta spoke up, "Mr. Ratio, that's because..."
But the young lady was interrupted immediately.
"I'm asking her, Miss Asta."
Looking at Stelle, Ratio said to Asta without the slightest mercy, "The moment you started showing an unclear attitude, your testimony also became unreliable."
He looked back at Stelle.
"So, which is it? Are you lying, or is she hiding something?"
"The space station has been full of fear ever since the Antimatter Legion invaded. If another serious incident happened, it would only make things worse and completely ignite the internal conflicts. From each of our positions, some things aren't suitable to say openly."
"Hm. So Miss Asta allowed me to join because the Intelligentsia Guild has little connection with the space station while sharing the IPC's position. That way there are no worries about favoritism, and the space station's propriety is protected as well. Two birds with one stone."
Her little scheme had been exposed, but the young lady didn't look embarrassed at all.
She remained completely calm.
"As for the researchers disappearing one after another, and Security Department Captain Arlan's investigation, I've also heard about them. But they don't seem to have anything to do with the missing puppet case we're discussing."
Ratio's eyebrow lifted almost imperceptibly.
Although the girl had said some surprising things at first, she was actually performing much better than he had expected.
"Asta said at the time, 'One puppet was attacked for unknown reasons. Its whereabouts are unknown, and its signal still can't be located.' It's obvious that Herta's puppet disappeared, just like the people Arlan was investigating."
"Hm, she did say that." Ratio nodded with satisfaction. "But if you want to prove they're the same case, then show me evidence."
"According to Arlan, when a researcher disappears, a strange case of spontaneous human combustion occurs."
"That should leave an activation record in the space station's automatic fire suppression system. Maybe we can check whether there was a similar activation record when the puppet disappeared."
"Hm. If such a record does exist, then your suspicion will be greatly reduced. It will also prove the necessary connection between the two incidents." Ratio nodded. Even his tone had become noticeably gentler.
The key point of the case had finally shifted to a clear direction.
Asta also readily suggested checking the system records and surveillance footage.
However, just then, a new message appeared in the space station group chat.
Someone had posted a video.
Earlier, Stelle had learned about Herta's missing puppet through a similar video.
This time, she learned about an organization called the Annihilation Gang.
The video claimed that Herta's puppet had been taken by the Annihilation Gang. It also declared that the organization would soon take further action against the space station.
At the end of the video, a humanoid figure surrounded by flames appeared, creating a heavy atmosphere. He wore a formal suit, had the head of a goat, and stood within blazing fire.
He spoke, "The gods among the stars have perished or turned away, with no heart to care for insignificant lives."
"Only our wounded benefactor has commanded every world to bathe in the flames of destruction."
"There will always be cowards who try to reject this blessing and flee from the gift of wounds."
"Run, then. Run as much as you like. No matter where you flee... annihilation will find you in the end!"
The video ended.
Asta looked stunned.
"This is...?"
Stelle was also stunned.
The little Stellaron girl's brows slowly knitted together as she looked confused.
"Where did this edgelord come from?"
For a moment, the entire room fell silent.
In the heavy silence, everyone carefully thought back over what the figure in the video had said, then thought about Stelle's comment.
Now that she mentioned it...
It really was pretty edgy.