"So lively," came Himeko's voice as she arrived with the others.
"Everyone's here, huh? What a crowd?"
The small-statured, arrogant Herta immediately caught the attention of the three.
Especially when Serval noticed the obvious mechanical joints on Herta, her eyes lit up.
"This is Herta, a member of the universally renowned Genius Society and also the Emanator of Erudition."
-----------------------
"Emanator!? Erudition?!"
Hearing the word "Emanator," their expressions instantly changed, and all eyes turned to Herta.
Having taken supplemental courses, they naturally knew what an Emanator represented.
And the Emanator of Erudition—that meant one of the top minds in the universe, a genius among geniuses. The term "genius" hardly did them justice.
Each member of the Genius Society had left an indelible mark on the universe with their talent.
This was the Genius Society, entities even the IPC treated with reverence.
"Heh, at least you all have some sense," Seeing their reactions, Herta chuckled.
There were still people in this world who recognized The Genius Society.
"And what brings you here?" Bronya asked softly.
"I came to see your god. I'm quite interested in that big guy."
"Hey, shorty, I don't care what kind of Emanator you are, or what genius you claim to be—show some respect to our god."
Hearing Herta's words, Seele couldn't help but speak up.
She wasn't asking everyone to worship Godzilla fanatically, and didn't care how outsiders viewed it, but proper respect for the god was essential!
"Pfft!"
As soon as Seele said that, March 7th burst into laughter and hurriedly covered her mouth. She looked a mess trying to stifle her laughter, tears in the corners of her eyes, but she felt utterly refreshed.
"..." Herta originally wanted to snap back, but held her tongue under Himeko's calming gaze.
She didn't want to be drained of energy and forced to redo her entrance.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She cleared her throat and said, "Did you all know you were in real danger a few days ago?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
Everyone was confused—except Himeko, who understood what Herta was referring to.
"During your battle with the Antimatter Legion, an Emanator of Destruction was watching from space. That big one's final attack was because of her. It missed and hit an asteroid instead."
"Emanator of Destruction!"
"Emanator of Destruction!"
Hearing Herta's words, whether it was Stelle, March 7th, or Bronya, they all cried out instinctively.
Herta nodded slightly. "I personally stepped in to block her. Just for that, you should at least let me meet him, right?"
Everyone looked at Himeko for a decision.
Then they saw her nod slightly, her expression shadowed by concern.
Because of the victory banquet, Himeko didn't plan to reveal this heavy news now.
She had intended to wait a few days, but hadn't expected Herta to return today.
"Alright, whatever that being wants to do will have to wait. I can confirm she's not near Jarilo-VI right now, and hasn't sent anyone here. So relax, now let me go meet him." Though overbearing, the information Herta brought did justify her attitude.
Bronya nodded slightly, deep in thought.
"Seele, take everyone to the audience chamber. I can't leave this place right now." Bronya sighed, her whole demeanor heavy with exhaustion.
Winning the war felt great, but the aftermath was just as miserable.
With Cocolia and Topaz handling the negotiations, all the cleanup naturally fell on her.
Seele nodded and took a deep breath, then turned to the group.
"Let's go."
...
On the way to see Godzilla, Serval glanced at Herta's mechanical joints, her mind racing, but she just couldn't figure out how it worked.
"What are you looking at?" Serval's gaze was too obvious and was noticed by Herta right away.
Scratching her head awkwardly, Serval chuckled and said, "I'm just a little curious, Lady Herta—what's going on with your body?"
"A puppet. I've got loads of these kinds of puppets at my space station, just simple mechanical constructs."
That's not simple at all.
The more indifferent Herta acted, the more shocked Serval felt inside.
A puppet that can move freely and connect to consciousness—what kind of technology is behind that?
And from what Herta said, she has plenty of these at her station. The reputation of the Genius Society truly lives up to its name.
"Cheh, stingy. You've got so many but won't give me even one," Stelle muttered under her breath.
Herta chuckled, "My puppets aren't toys for you."
...
Underworld, Godzilla's resting place.
Tingyun stared at the puppet hanging from Godzilla's claw, lost in thought.
"Why does this puppet look so familiar? Have I seen it somewhere before?"
She was sure she had seen that exact puppet—not just a vague sense of déjà vu.
But she couldn't quite put her finger on where or when.
"Tingyun, what's wrong?"
Just then, Serval's voice came, accompanied by a string of footsteps.
Tingyun turned to see Seele, Himeko, and the others approaching, along with a familiar-looking shorty.
"Wait a second!"
"What's wrong? Are you tired?" Serval noticed Tingyun's expression and asked.
"A Xianzhou foxian—hmm, that's rare. Why are you here?" Seeing Tingyun, Herta looked puzzled.
Jarilo actually let someone from the Xianzhou come here?
"My name is Tingyun, a envoy from Luofu Sky-Faring Commission. As for why I'm here, well, that's a long story."
Tingyun chuckled and didn't answer directly. Just before Herta could speak, she asked in return, "But you, miss—haven't we met somewhere before?"
Upon hearing Tingyun's words, Herta paused slightly.
"It's not surprising that you recognize me. Geniuses are always dazzling, after all. My name's Herta—you've heard of it, haven't you?"
Herta? Oh! Herta!
Suddenly, everything clicked in Tingyun's mind.
The mystery that had puzzled her vanished in an instant.
So what she had seen was Herta all along! She'd long heard that Lady Herta created many puppets that traveled the universe in her stead. Seeing it in person today, the rumors were indeed true—but wait…
What's going on here?
Tingyun instinctively looked at the Herta puppet hanging on Godzilla's claw and fell silent again.
The others followed her gaze curiously.
"..."
"Pfft! Hahaha, hahahaha!" This time, Seele truly demonstrated what it meant to laugh out loud—tears were forming from how hard she laughed.
Even Himeko couldn't help but chuckle.
"Come on, Herta! You gave my big brother a puppet, why can't you give me one too?" Stelle was angry.
Herta instinctively took a step away from Stelle—staying too close to a fool might be contagious.
Covering her face helplessly, Herta didn't expect that Godzilla would actually hang her puppet on his claw. That expression obviously showed he was treating it like a real tool.
Just as Herta was about to step forward and retrieve her puppet, a pair of vertical pupils locked onto her.
Godzilla opened his eyes and scanned the group.
He immediately spotted the shorty standing front and center.
"Huh, you came to me." After staring at Herta for a while, Godzilla gave up the tempting idea.
Compared to the energy of a couple of puppets, messing with Herta might bring unnecessary trouble.
As the 83rd seat in the Genius Society, all Herta had to do was say what she needed, and plenty of factions across the universe would willingly offer it—no payment required.
"Fine, take it." After a long silence, Herta sighed and decided to gift the puppet to Godzilla.
Just a puppet, after all. She had tons more at the station—it was a mass-produced model.
Besides, she wasn't worried about Godzilla doing anything evil with it. It simply wouldn't work like that.
What she was more concerned about now was what this guy was really planning.
"Hello, I'm Herta. I was helping you fend off enemies in the universe just a few days ago, remember me?"
Herta reached out and lightly tapped Godzilla's claw.
Godzilla nodded slightly.
As he nodded, the puppet hanging from his claw continued to swing, making Herta a little uneasy.
"Fine, I'll just say it—I'm willing to cooperate with you if you cooperate with me on the actual operation."
"Hey, what are you saying?"
Hearing this, Seele gave her a hostile glare, gripping her scythe tightly. If Herta made even one wrong move, she'd charge forward and cut her down immediately.
No matter what fancy title she had—Genius Society or not—if she dared offend Godzilla, she was done for!
"Herta..." Himeko sighed and rubbed her temples.
Herta was brilliant, but when it came to social skills... not so much....