After releasing the Swarm, the lingering consciousness of Duke Inferno on the Phase Flame was quickly eroded away by the insects, and this strand of masterless flame naturally drifted right into Lynelle's hands.
"Dr. Ratio will probably return that wisp of Phase Flame he has to Ruan Mei in the end. In other words, the one in my hand should count as spoils of war, right?"
Watching the flame flicker restlessly in her palm, Lynelle tilted her head slightly.
Perhaps because this strand originated from Duke Inferno himself, it seemed more attuned to the Path of Destruction—its color was even deeper than the one Dr. Ratio held.
Because of this connection, the flame felt no strangeness toward Lynelle as its new master.
In fact, it responded even more intensely to the power of Destruction within her body—after all, Lynelle's energy came directly from Nanook.
To put it simply, her "goods" were far purer than what the Duke had carried.
"But this thing kinda overlaps with my own toolkit…"
Playing with the Phase Flame in her hand, Lynelle muttered, "I'm not short on flames that burn spiritual bodies."
"As for transforming me into an energy being… but I'm practically a data lifeform myself, which is even harder to pin down. I can even substitute spatial teleportation using Sirin's character card—since we're often in, ah, 'zero-distance contact,' I'm hardly lacking her cards…"
"How about it, Corruption-chan? Want to eat this thing?"
"Huh? No, no…" Corruption-chan shook her head repeatedly.
"The max teleport range of this thing probably isn't even as fast as me flying in my true form. Plus, it's incompatible with the power inside me… Big Sister Lynelle, you should keep it for yourself."
"Alright then. Consider it a lower-tier substitute for Sirin's character card for now…"
Rolling the Phase Flame into a tiny speck, she gently placed it on her white feather-shaped hair accessory.
Only then did Lynelle realize—after putting on this little flame, didn't she somewhat resemble a certain blue-haired tyrannical girl?
Though she wasn't exactly tall, her height of over 150 centimeters at least kept her from being as easily overlooked as, say, Cerydra. Hah.
"Let's go, Corruption-chan." With that, Lynelle reverted to her true form, then manipulated the Phase Flame on her hairpin and actively took Corruption-chan's hand.
"Mhm, where to?"
"To find Stelle, and tie up the last loose ends of this matter."
As she spoke, a large mass of blue flame instantly engulfed the two figures, then vanished without a trace.
--+--
Meanwhile, on the other side, Stelle—having just deduced the truth of the incident with Dr. Ratio's help—was rushing urgently to track down Duke Inferno.
Then, following the residual traces of the Phase Flame, Stelle quickly pinpointed the other party's location.
It's just… for some reason, on the locator provided by Screwllum, why was this Duke charging straight toward her?
Worried about Asta's safety, Stelle decided not to overthink it for now.
Seeing her map coordinates about to overlap with the Duke's, Stelle decisively drew her baseball bat—
One minute later…
"Heh heh… my dear Stelle." Lynelle, who had almost been ambushed by Stelle, now wore a displeased expression, holding a baseball bat in each hand.
"Your own bat, or this flaming bat in my hand… pick one~"
"...Can we make up?"
Stelle clung to Lynelle's exquisitely shaped legs, sheathed in pristine white stockings, wearing an ingratiating smile as she nuzzled against the smooth, high-quality fabric.
She completely missed the envious look in Corruption-chan's eyes behind her.
"You can nuzzle all you want, but don't actually… eek!"
Lynelle, who had been enjoying the apology, let out an adorable yelp the moment she felt that damp sensation on her leg.
"Don't go corrupting a child! Corruption-chan is right here watching!"
Flushing, Lynelle hurriedly peeled the appendage off her thigh, then rapped Stelle on the head a few times.
"Heh heh…" Only then did Stelle properly release Lynelle, curiosity sparking.
"By the way, why is the Phase Flame in your hands, Lynelle? What happened to Duke Inferno?"
"The Duke has already crashed and burned."
"That… that fast?" Stelle's eyes widened.
"In the promo video, he looked so arrogant. I was ready for a tough fight and calling Uncle Welt for backup… How come the quest isn't even finished and he's already gone?"
"Can't be helped. Counters trump everything; type advantage reigns supreme. That Duke's whole skillset just happened to be perfectly countered by me and Corruption-chan."
Lynelle spread her hands.
"With the external threat dealt with, it's time to handle some internal troubles… Stelle, that anti-fan group, the 'Herta Surveillance Team,' hasn't disbanded yet, right?"
"Yeah, it's still around. They just don't seem to know the incident's been resolved safely. They're still celebrating in the group… Though to me, it just looks like they're using it as an excuse to vent their frustrations with the management."
"To be precise, they had a premonition." Lynelle smiled slightly, taking Stelle's phone and opening the group chat.
--+--
[Rich_Knowit: In an incident like this, the Space Station management cannot escape responsibility! Even if Madam Herta herself doesn't mind, how can we not safeguard her interests? I suggest we collectively petition Madam Herta, demanding the management address the following requests…]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: @Rich_Knowit Hey, Rich Bro, still writing your little essay?]
[Rich_Knowit: What's wrong with essays? If you don't want to step up, just be a silent bystander. At least don't side with the management! Once you gain your rights…]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: I think, as a fan of Herta, you should at least comment on my nickname first. Besides, I interrupted you because I wanted to confirm something with you.]
[Rich_Knowit: Confirm what?]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: Confirm your identity.]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: Hello, is this Mr. Richard who was previously dismissed from the station for spreading rumors about management embezzlement?]
[Rich_Knowit: !]
[Take-Ultimate-To-The-Face: Holy crap, doxxed!]
[Rich_Knowit has left the group chat.]
--+--
"See?" Lynelle gave Stelle a sly grin. "Problem solved, just like that."
"I actually asked Asta about what happened to that guy earlier. She told me Arlan had… 'persuaded' him to leave the station."
"See, sometimes these anti-fans are more dedicated than we are. Even after they're gone, they still try to sneak into the station's group chats to stir up trouble."
"Though, he's probably fuming after getting doxxed out of the blue like that by me… He'll likely try to dox me back… I'm kinda curious what his expression will be when he sees who I am."
"Uh…" Stelle's face took on a strange expression. "You're so mean, Lynelle… I feel like you have a talent for becoming a Masked Fool yourself."
"I think, considering the connection between Akivili and Aha, it shouldn't be too hard for us to tap into the Path of Elation in private."
Lynelle nodded with an exaggeratedly serious air, then smiled faintly and pulled out her terminal.
"Oh, moving fast, has he already found my contact info? Perfect, let's see what he has to say…"
--+--
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: I've accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now.]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: Oh, you found me already?]
[Rich_Knowit: What the hell is wrong with you?! Out of everyone in the whole group, why'd you dox me?!]
[Rich_Knowit: You just wait, I'll find out who you are in no time. I'm not even afraid to tell you, my family has some pull in the Corporation. Once I get your info, you're finished if I don't come find you in person!]
[MadamHertaIsFlatChested: Alright then, you'd better hurry up. I'm waiting to get this over with.]
[Rich_Knowit: …]
[Rich_Knowit: Holy shit, I'm sorry, so sorry, Madam Assistant! Actually, I'm a fan of Herta too, I really admire Madam Herta!]
[Rich_Knowit: That was my mistake earlier, I got the wrong person. Please don't hold it against me, just pretend I don't exist.]
--+--
"Hmm, he deleted me again."
Lynelle looked at Stelle's awkward expression beside her and shrugged.
"He's bold enough to stir up trouble, but the moment he realizes he might have actually pissed off Herta herself, he backs down faster than anyone… Arlan already taught him a harsh lesson last time, but he still hasn't learned his lesson."
"But it's fine, we can just leave him to Arlan again… When it comes to guys with ill intentions towards Asta, Arlan never holds back."
"So what's this guy's deal anyway…" Stelle found it hard to comprehend. "Never mind, let's drop this for now. What about Asta and the others…"
"Relax, they're all safe and sound." Lynelle glanced at a message on her terminal, then pulled Corruption-chan over from beside her and tucked her into Stelle's arms.
"If you have any questions about the ins and outs of this case, you can ask Corruption-chan too… I need to head out for a bit now."
"Oh… But where are you going?"
"To find Herta. I just got word she's back at the station… It's a good time to fill her in on this."
--+--
A few minutes later, in Herta's office.
"So that's how complicated it was…" Herta, having just disembarked from her starship, listened to Lynelle's summary with an expression that clearly said 'good thing I wasn't involved.'
"Yeah, lucky for you that you happened to be away from the station…" Lynelle averted her gaze.
After all, she realized that, following her lead, the nicknames in the not-yet-disbanded "Herta Surveillance Team" chat had all changed to things like "Madam Herta's Hat is Pointy."
Let's just say it was a good thing Herta hadn't seen it, otherwise… Lynelle would probably have spent the rest of the afternoon pressed against the desk, cosplaying as a human fountain again.
"Hey now, don't make it sound like I ran off just to avoid the mess." Herta puffed out her cheeks in displeasure.
"This genius had important business to attend to."
"Eh? So what was it?" Lynelle asked curiously.
"It's about the Simulated Universe… You should know, for a large-scale project like the Simulated Universe, we generally plan our versions two major releases ahead."
Herta cleared her throat and explained, "Right now, the Simulated Universe version is 'The Swarm Disaster.' The next version, 'Gold and Gears,' is actually already finished."
"I left this time to finalize the theme for the next Simulated Universe after that."
"Currently, we're tentatively calling it the 'Unknowable Domain'… We want to use the power of the Simulated Universe to recreate the Scholar's Strife that happened after the Second Emperor's War, fought over the Scepter System."
"Of course, that's actually a secondary goal for me. The main objective is… I want to use this Simulated Universe to contact a certain genius and see if I can convince her to join us."
"!"
Herta's words immediately made Lynelle think of a certain someone.
The strictest mother of geniuses, the mysterious woman in candy-colored sheer skirts, the person whose face is perpetually pixelated—Polka Kakamond.
"Uh…" Lynelle's expression turned odd as she thought for a long moment, finally unable to hold back her question.
"Herta, are you sure about inviting her… You know, this Lord of Silence has a flawless reputation when it comes to sending geniuses to their next life—because they all give her default positive reviews."
"What's there to be afraid of? We're just talking cooperation." Herta placed a hand on her hip and pinched Lynelle's cheek.
Clearly, Lynelle's concern was somewhat gratifying to her.
"Besides, we have an unprecedented gathering of four geniuses here. It's not like she could possibly take us all out in one go, right?"
The problem is, she really could… Lynelle's mouth twitched involuntarily.
"Of course, if you're really that worried, you can come with me when the time comes. Even though you can't directly experience the Simulated Universe, entering from our developer's perspective shouldn't be a problem."
"It'll work out perfectly—by the time this version is developed, you'll probably be back from the Charmony Festival anyway."
"Gasp—M-me?"
Lynelle couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
"Me, fight Polka Kakamond?"
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.