The spaceship was already waiting for us when we arrived at the hangar.
It was much smaller than what I had imagined when I heard the word spaceship. Its minimalistic design even made me doubt whether it truly belonged to Herta. The exterior was dark grey, accented with black and purple lines along its edges.
We boarded, and the first thing I noticed was that several Herta puppets were already operating the craft. The interior was compact, but had plenty of space to move around, already topping all economy class seats in a plane.
Herta #3 took the seat opposite mine, putting one leg over the other.
"It's been a while, Welt. How have you been?" Herta #3 asked as soon as we sat down. "You look different from the last time we met."
I paused and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
Her mannerisms had completely shifted, as if she was possessed by someone else…Ah, it's Herta piloting her smurf account, isn't it?
[Answer: Likely. There was a noticeable change in the imaginary energy within the Herta puppet #3.]
"It's good to see you well, Madam Herta." I bowed my head slightly. "Thanks to your generosity, I've been able to deepen my knowledge and tap into the powers of Paths like never before."
"That's good to hear." She leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm, elbow on her knee. "I also heard that you chose that commission. Why is that?"
"I believe it's for a better future." I said, recalling what I remembered. "In the future I saw, the Trailblaze will eventually face the Destruction. I just want to increase the odds of reaching the good end for everyone."
"Humnnn." Herta furrowed her eyebrows thoughtfully, then extended her hand. "Alright, let me see what you've been working on so far."
I opened my suitcase and handed over everything I'd studied and worked on over the past few days.
She skimmed through the pages, flipping them every few seconds.
Silence filled the room, broken only by the low hum of the engine.
'Wait a moment…'
I glanced out the window and saw only darkness, distant stars, and drifting asteroids.
'I was so focused on her that I didn't even notice the spaceship take off!'
I wasn't sure whether to praise the engineer who built the ship, the pilot controlling it, or the sheer presence of Herta herself for completely stealing my attention.
Probably all three, since it's likely that they are done by the same person.
"I've finished reading." Herta said, closing the notebook. "And I must say, you've done some impressive work in such a short time."
I looked back at her and noticed something new in her expression.
...Maybe it's love?
[Answer: It's curiosity.]
…You were supposed to agree with me!
[…]
"But…" Herta continued, waving the notebook back and forth. "You still haven't found an energy source for the curio. An armour and weaponry made of nanomachines isn't a bad choice, but you don't have an energy source fit for the equation. To reach the Zeroth Power, you would need something with high levels of imaginary energy like a…" Herta paused, eyes widening slightly as realisation struck. "A Stellaron."
"That's right." I couldn't help but smirk, feeling proud of myself. "Stellarons have the property to tether to the Paths, and because of this aspect, I can put it in good use in a Curio. For example, if a Stellaron would adhere to the path of Destruction, it could increase the firepower, or the path Abundance, and create a self-healing mechanism."
"But that doesn't solve the core problem." She countered. "Stellarons are lifeforms with wills of their own, and they tend to bring entire worlds to ruin. How do you plan to address that?"
One thing I noticed was that she started smiling at some point, and I could tell it was because of this small academic exchange. Unfortunately for her, this was the one question I couldn't answer yet.
"I don't have a definitive solution at the moment." I admitted. "It requires real experimentation, and I don't want to answer something that I am not sure about yet, so please allow me more time."
"Is that so?" Herta uncrossed her legs and stood up from her seat. "Alright, I will wait for your answer, and if you need, I can extend the deadline, but until then—" She smiled and poked my forehead with two fingers. "Do your best."
"…Huh?"
"I have high expectations for you." She said. "So don't disappoint me. See you soon, Welt Royce."
She returned the notebook, flashed a peace sign, and logged off.
Moments later, Herta #3 regained autonomy and…began clapping for some reason.
"Yay, yay." Her deadpan voice made it sound more like mockery than applause. "I thought you'd go insane first, but you actually pulled it off. Congratulations."
…Yeah, she was indeed messing with me.
In retaliation, I reached out and pinched both of her cheeks.
"Nnhhmmm—!" Herta #3 flailing her arms as she tried to escape, but I held firm just like my resolve.
"Feel the wrath of a thousand—hey! Don't bite me!"
The response I got was her sticking her tongue out and pulling down her lower eyelid.
[*Sigh*]
—
We arrived at Herta Space Station a few system hours later.
I walked beside Herta #3, suitcase in hand, and thankfully, there was no one waiting to receive us when we landed.
"By the way, who is currently managing the space station?" I asked.
"Another me." she replied with a tired sigh, despite not being capable of fatigue. "There's no one competent enough to handle the affairs without my supervision."
'So Herta's pink wallet and her dog's caregiver haven't arrived yet.' I noted mentally.
"And how is the Simulated Universe doing?"
"Humn." Herta didn't reply immediately, but posed a question of her own. "What do you know about the Simulated Universe?"
"Honestly, not much." I admitted. I was the type of player who played it for the rewards and not for the lore. "I know it's a virtual world created to simulate the universe, including the Aeons. You and the other three geniuses created it to study the Aeons and Paths, and other real events from the past."
"That isn't 'not much', you're pretty much spot on with its primary objective, even the expansions that Screwy and Stephen suggested are still in their initial phase." Herta said as she looked at me with a look that made me feel uneasy. "But answering your question, the Simulated Universe is almost completed, the final touches will be done in a few years at most."
"I see…"
I wonder how it is to play the Simulated Universe. I doubt there will be rewards like stellar jades, but meeting Aeons, even simulated ones, would be an interesting experience.
We walked and chatted along the way, until we arrived at the reception center in the Base Zone.
Visually, it looked just like the game, but in reality, it felt far more alive, with researchers and staff constantly moving about.
However, there was one thing I hadn't accounted for.
Since there was no reception, I thought people would just ignore my presence, and I was probably right.
But the moment they noticed Herta #3 walking beside me, everything changed.
"Is that Madam Herta?"
"She is finally back!"
"But who is that young man?"
"Could he be a member of the Genius Society?"
"No wonder Madam Herta is escorting him herself!"
That was when I remembered: almost everyone here belonged to the Herta Fan Club.
I also came to learn that not all Herta puppets shared the same intelligence level. The worker Hertas, for example, operated on a basic intelligence module, while Overseer units possessed far more advanced intelligence modules.
And Herta #3 belonged to a group more advanced than the latter category.
'…And these guys mistake Herta #3 for Herta? Did their simping cloud their eyes? No wonder Herta thought these people were hopeless.'
"Madam Herta, don't you think…" I turned to my side, but there was no one.
I was standing there, alone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Herta #3's back shrinking in the distance, away from the scene where it would soon be overflowed by the crowd, who had eyes gleaming with intent.
'You…!'
I had been betrayed!
I will remember this, Herta #3!