"Did all my predictions come true? Oh, well, that's just normal."
In Herta Space Station, Herta, who was busy making various improvements to the Simulated Universe, paused her hands for a moment before replying matter-of-factly, "After all, they were my predictions."
"Yes, Madam Herta is a peerless gem!"
Lynelle immediately raised her hands in enthusiastic agreement.
"Cut it out."
Resting her cheek in one hand, Herta watched Lynelle's lively bouncing with a slight headache.
"More than that, I'm starting to think I might have chosen the wrong Path for you back then."
"You, the rate at which you're gathering girls around you, you'd be perfectly suited for the Path of Beauty. It's a good thing Idrila isn't around anymore."
"Please, no…"
Lynelle shook her head repeatedly.
"I don't want to be treated as a heretic by the Knights of Beauty. Even if I were to become Idrila herself, I wouldn't want it. Being crazily stalked by a bunch of fans? No thanks…"
"And… it's not really that fast, is it?"
"Don't worry, the Knights of Beauty wouldn't burn you at the stake. At most, they'd seriously correct your mistakes and make you acknowledge that Idrila's beauty is unparalleled across the world—those who walk the Path of Beauty are mostly good people."
"If you ever meet them, you can trust them in most situations."
Herta first answered Lynelle's question about the Knights of Beauty, then chuckled with amusement. "Not that fast?"
"Let's not even mention your situation here. In that other world, in just two months, you managed to charm a Herrscher…"
"Speaking of which, isn't it true that aside from Welt, who was born before you, all the Herrschers in your world are now on exceptionally good terms with you? Are you some kind of Herrscher specialist or something?"
"Uh, that might actually be true…"
Lynelle guiltily averted her gaze.
Mainly because she was carrying a Stigma from Elysia inside her… this whole 'Herrscher specialist' thing… well, it was hard to argue against.
"It's fine! At least it won't turn out that way over here!"
Thinking it over carefully, she realized she hadn't really been messing around in Belobog either.
At most, Bronya was very grateful to her, and there was Clara who absolutely adored her. Thus, Lynelle quickly regained her confidence.
"And besides…"
Lynelle leaned over Herta's desk, revealing a pair of bright pink eyes that sparkled as she looked at Herta.
"Since when did Herta start caring about this sort of thing?"
"I'm not caring about it. I just don't want to find out one day, when I need you for an experiment, that some girl you've provoked has locked you up in a basement."
Herta gave a light 'hmph' and avoided looking at Lynelle's grinning face.
"Also, if you're really that bored, go help Stelle test my Simulated Universe. Even if you can't enter it yourself, assisting with the external management process is still easy—ever since you got back, aside from switching worlds and playing games at night, you've been glued to my place every spare moment during the day. I'm getting tired of it."
"Well, I'd love to, but I'm actually kinda busy right now, you know?"
Lynelle tilted her head. "Pom-Pom just messaged me saying the Astral Express is departing this afternoon and asked me to come back for a meeting this morning… They're probably announcing the next destination, right?"
"Ah, leaving so soon?"
Herta's head shot up, then she immediately caught herself, quickly coughing twice under Lynelle's amused gaze to cover the awkwardness.
"Oh, right… Himeko mentioned it to me the day before yesterday. I've been so busy with the Simulated Universe these past couple days, I completely forgot."
"So, where are you headed next?"
"Uncle Yang said the next stop is the Planet of Festivities, Penacony."
Although Lynelle knew very well that, according to the storyline, Kafka would soon visit the Express and bring a new course for the Astral Express, for now at least, both Himeko and Uncle Yang were preparing for Penacony as the destination.
"That place… the Harmony's turf. Doesn't interest me much."
Herta shook her head. "If you end up staying there for a while, you can drop my name. All living members of the Genius Society are permanent, highest-tier VIPs there."
"My suite should be pretty spacious; you can just stay there."
"If I can go, I'll definitely take you up on that."
Lynelle nodded vigorously. "Barring any unexpected surprises, of course."
--+--
However, just as Lynelle was preparing to depart, another group out in the cosmos was also talking about her.
Two days earlier, aboard the Stellaron Hunters' ship.
"Silver Wolf? What are you…"
"Crunch time. Almost done."
Silver Wolf didn't even look up, focused on her ether editing. "No choice. Lost the bet. The other side was just more skilled this time… And that Opal, damn it. I'll remember that shorty."
"Oh… Her."
At the mention of the bet, Firefly immediately understood what Silver Wolf was talking about.
Thinking about it, her feelings towards this mysterious Lynelle were still quite complicated.
On one hand, she was happy that Stelle had found reliable companions after losing her memory, quickly integrated into the Astral Express, and was as spirited as ever.
But on the other hand… after hearing Silver Wolf's descriptions of Stelle's "daily life,"Firefly felt a tiny bit jealous.
But I was the one who came first…
So, tangled up in these complicated emotions, Firefly always paid close attention to anything related to Lynelle.
"Done."
Silver Wolf let out a breath. Next to her hand, a series of "Punklordian Regards" lay neatly arranged.
"Next step is to find a chance to give this to Lynelle… I remember Elio's script said Kafka will be visiting the Astral Express in a couple days. I'll just hitch a ride then."
Glancing at Firefly, who was still staring silently at these items, lost in thought, Silver Wolf teased, "What, wanna come along and see Stelle?"
"Th-that's probably not a good idea…"
"Silly. Even though I've only played some 18+ games, I still know that in the war of love, you gotta take the initiative."
Silver Wolf sighed. "You can't just be passive like this, you know?"
"But whatever… I guess it depends on personality. Speaking of games, since you don't wanna go see Stelle and Lynelle yet, how about playing some games with me instead?"
"Play games? But my skills…"
"I know, I know. No game is harder to operate than the Firefly Type-IV."
Silver Wolf spread her hands. "But this isn't an action game. Strictly speaking, it's a story-driven game."
"Story?"
"Yep. It's that cartridge Lynelle gave me."
Silver Wolf nodded. "According to her, this game is based on her past. I checked it out earlier; maybe because it's a trial version, there isn't much story. Probably only about ten hours max."
"Aren't you curious about Lynelle? Perfect, since we've got nothing to do now, wanna try out that cartridge together and learn about her past?"
"Th-that works!"
Firefly nodded eagerly. "Just to make sure Stelle doesn't get tricked…"
"How are you still worried about that? Judging by her personality, I feel like it's more likely Stelle's the one who'd trick her into bed…"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.