Red Dust, as one of Singularity Godzilla's defining characteristics, was naturally etched firmly into the minds of the two of them.
They had never heard of a substance like it before, but after witnessing Godzilla's purple atomic breath, a powerful curiosity about the existence of such a material immediately welled up in their hearts.
If even something as extraordinary as an atomic beam could exist, then what was impossible about Red Dust?
...
Jarilo-VI.
Upon visiting again, the streets were packed with traffic, prosperity everywhere. "Rapid change" was no longer enough to describe the current Jarilo.
Neither of them was particularly versed in economics. It was not that they did not understand it, but rather that genius minds spared them from worrying about such things. In any case, whether the medical district made money or lost it was never their concern.
That did not mean, however, that Jarilo's enormous transformation failed to catch their interest.
"I remember this plot of land wasn't even finished the last time I came. And now it looks like this?" Herta surveyed the surrounding changes with keen interest.
With massive amounts of external aid pouring in, Jarilo's infrastructure had advanced by leaps and bounds. Neon lights shimmered everywhere. They had arrived at dusk, and under the interweaving glow of countless lights, the city carried a distinctly Punklorde-like vibe.
"This seems to be the style of Punklorde hackers." Raising her gaze slightly, her eyes settling on a massive screen, Ruan Mei spoke softly.
As a well-known hacker hub within the cosmos, Punklorde's style was unmistakable. At the very least, she could tell that the architectural design here definitely involved people from Punklorde.
Besides that… Lowering her eyes slightly and sensing the vitality, Ruan Mei found her mood relaxing involuntarily, a clear sense of comfort spreading throughout her body.
"To not mutate under vitality of this intensity, the people living here really are blessed." Standing atop a spire with one hand on her hip, Herta chuckled.
Such dense life energy could be felt by anyone who had stepped onto a Path. Pathstriders would benefit greatly from it, let alone ordinary people.
She could see it clearly. Whether ordinary people could live to a hundred was hard to say, as lifespans differed by species, but longevity was all but guaranteed.
Normally, vitality this concentrated would most likely cause mutations in local lifeforms. Yet no such changes occurred here, because at the core of this region lay Godzilla.
This was simply a natural byproduct of Godzilla, an inherent effect of its being here.
Over time, it was easy to foresee that any human or beast born on Jarilo would far surpass those from other places.
Still, while this effect intrigued them due to its sheer potency, it was not their main objective this time.
"To properly investigate Red Dust and move further after that, we'll inevitably need Godzilla's help. But that guy is incredibly lazy. Getting him to actively assist is basically impossible."
The time perception that came with being a long-lived species was truly irritating. What? She herself had already pierced the limits of lifespan and joined the ranks of the long-lived? Then never mind.
Neither of the two geniuses was the type to sit and wait. As for the problems that followed, they would figure them out on their own.
After all, for geniuses like them, as long as there was a direction, any impossibility would eventually become possible.
That confidence was etched into their very souls.
At the same time…
"Is this really Jarilo?!" March 7th stared wide-eyed, covering her mouth as she exclaimed.
"It really is an astonishing change. But considering the recent influx of people, it's not that strange that Jarilo would transform so dramatically." Welt glanced at the many luxury ships docked at the port.
One did not need to think hard to imagine the economic impact these wealthy individuals would bring to Jarilo.
More importantly, their joint involvement spanned nearly every sector. Combined with the Interastral Peace Corporation's own arrangements on Jarilo, it would have been harder for the planet not to take off.
Even if you handed these conditions to March 7th, she could probably build a whole career out of it.
"It really is surprising. Bronya must be exhausted lately." Looking at the drastically changed Jarilo, Himeko smiled gently.
"Yeah, I've really been worn out lately. Thankfully my mother's been helping out, otherwise I wouldn't even have time to catch my breath."
As the words fell, a familiar voice sounded from nearby.
Turning around, they saw Bronya standing on the steps, smiling warmly. She stood tall and graceful, poised and composed, with the faint air of authority that came from long occupying a high position.
"Bronya!" Seeing her, March 7th dashed forward in one quick step, grinning as she greeted her.
"Welcome back to Belobog. I hope the recent unrest didn't affect you. Was your journey smooth?" Bronya smiled lightly.
"Oh, forget that. The Astral Rail is littered with wreckage from those robots now, or the tracks are damaged beyond use. Until everything's cleared up, the train's not going anywhere. But the IPC took care of all that for us, hehe."
At the mention of the IPC helping resolve the obstructions on the rail, March 7th let out a smug little laugh. Her opinion of the IPC rose for the moment. Not having to do the work yourself and getting a vacation out of it was a win for anyone.
"By the way, where's Stelle?" Bronya scanned the surroundings but did not see the gray-haired figure.
Based on her understanding of Stelle, there was no way she would miss out on something this fun.
Especially since, on the train, she ranked right alongside March 7th in terms of presence.
Now that it was mentioned…
"Yeah, where is she?" The group froze, then started looking around for the usually most rambunctious member.
Suddenly, Himeko narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze pierced through the crowd and settled on a small alley where light bent strangely and shadows gathered.
There, three indistinct dark figures were huddled together, acting suspiciously.
"Creak…"
…
At the same time, Little Herta, dispatched on an errand, was diligently carrying out Herta's orders.
Her task was to locate a selfannihilator of Nihility named Acheron.
This was not difficult. Acheron's nature ensured she stood out wherever she went. She did not provoke others, but her innate aura was enough for anyone with even a bit of experience to notice. Before long, people would instinctively avoid her.
"The person you're looking for left not long ago. I really didn't dare make her stay. If I'd known you were searching for her, I definitely would have stopped her!"
Nodding slightly, Little Herta waved her hand. She trusted the local boss's words.
No matter who it was, Acheron was someone you could not afford to offend.
Following the direction the local had pointed out, that solitary figure walked through the endless starry expanse.
Everything around her seemed to undergo some indescribable change whenever she lingered.
She noticed it as well, but there was nothing she could do, and she did not care.
She simply walked, leaving each area before the influence deepened, while there was still a chance to undo it.
The path of a selfannihilator was not an easy one.
One could even say that anyone who stepped onto this path would eventually fall into nothingness, leaving nothing behind.
It left Herta completely at a loss.
But almost no one who had stepped onto this path ever turned back.
Or perhaps they had already given up too much. Now, it was time to give up themselves.
Acheron did not know how far she had walked, but she suspected she was among those who had gone the farthest on this road.
After all, she had never heard of another selfannihilator like herself anywhere in the cosmos.
Walking alone, she did not know where her next stop would be. Perhaps until she encountered the next promised meeting, she would continue like this.
"Hey, hey, that's enough already. You've walked so far, aren't your legs sore?"
The sudden voice broke through Acheron's slightly drifting state of mind. She lowered her gaze and looked toward where the sound came from.
"…I remember you. You're Herta…?"
"I am the embodiment of beauty and wisdom, sent out personally by Miss Herta to find you!"
Little Herta puffed out her chest, speaking with righteous confidence.
"What is it?" Blinking, Acheron asked calmly.
She did not recall having much interaction with Lady Herta. The only possible connection was that they knew the same people.
"Miss Herta has a super, incredibly great experiment she wants to invite you to join. What do you say? Think about it!"
"…Oh."
An experiment.
She did not seem suited for that.
Acheron pondered briefly. She walked the path of Nihility, having forgotten much of her past, burdened by countless losses.
That did not mean her mind was broken. She could handle both simple and complex thinking just fine.
The problem was that she did not see how she could contribute. Drawing her blade?
The only possibility Acheron could think of was that Miss Herta had encountered some troublesome enemy and needed her help.
But that did not seem right either. Miss Herta was an Emanator of Erudition, wielding many wondrous techniques herself.
"I'm not suitable," Acheron said coolly.
"Perfect timing, Miss Herta is best at telling everyone who says they're not suitable 'no'. This experiment is huge, absolutely massive. There's never been anything like it in the entire cosmos, and there never will be again. Maybe Miss Herta can even help solve the problems you have!"
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Little Herta tried, Acheron still would not budge.
It left Little Herta utterly dumbfounded.
She had even brought up all sorts of rewards, but Acheron simply refused. Anyone else would have jumped at the chance to participate in Miss Herta's experiment.
With no other choice, she had to pull out her trump card.
"You don't have anything better to do right now anyway. Wouldn't it be nice to go take a look? Just like that time in Penacony, before you found the person you were looking for, you wandered around everywhere, didn't you?"
"…Alright."
Done.
…
Godzilla's current territory had expanded quite a bit compared to before. This was due to vegetation growth naturally pushing the perimeter outward, all of it planned from the very beginning. A considerable portion of the surrounding area remained uninhabited.
But whether before or after the expansion, this place was undeniably, without question, Jarilo's core.
Clearing her throat, Herta stood with one hand on her hip, holding a large megaphone emblazoned with a cute Herta logo, aiming it forward.
"Wake up!!"
Do not underestimate this megaphone.
It was a special device personally researched by Miss Herta herself.
The sound it produced, along with its infrasonic waves, was top-tier in power. At maximum output, it could even shatter the reinforced glass of a starship.
Of course, it was not at full power right now, but the resulting sound waves still made the surrounding leaves rustle violently.
"Huff!"
Not long after, a heavy exhalation sounded. Two "suns" slowly appeared, locking onto Herta.
Godzilla lazily gazed at her, his thick tail lifting slightly and swaying gently, stirring up gusts of wind.
The wind flipped the edge of Herta's hat. She tightly held her hat and looked him up and down with bright eyes.
"Hmm. You really did get smaller. So what was going on when you grew bigger before? Can you control it freely?"
Godzilla's size was never an issue.
Many had noticed the dramatic changes in his form when he unleashed his power, growing to that scale almost instantaneously.
A body thousands of meters long was truly a colossal presence.
Now, Godzilla had returned to a size of several hundred meters, many times smaller than during battle.
But when Herta examined the ground beneath him, the marks around it perfectly matched his current size.
Clearly, this was the comfortable posture he was accustomed to.
"Roar…" With a low rumble, Godzilla's eyelids drooped slightly.
From Herta, he extracted the key information.
"So you've got a new research topic, and you came to wake me up while you were at it. How about it, want to join?"
'You'd better be quiet.' His vertical pupils shifted upward. His tail deftly moved above Herta's head.
Considering this was the real Herta and not one of the puppets she let people use as golf balls, he merely tapped her head lightly with the tip of his tail.
Then the tail curved behind him and produced something familiar to her, offering it over.
It was none other than the original Herta puppet.
"Here. Charge it."
Looking at the familiar puppet, Herta fell silent for a moment. How should she put it… it was actually been kept in pretty good condition.