"Um, excuse me, may I have this little button?"
"I really like this thing. I'm willing to pay for it."
In Penacony's Golden Hour, after parting ways with the Astral Express Crew on the bustling streets, Lumina and Herta returned to the Sweet Dream.
Once back in the Sweet Dream, Lumina inexplicably went on a frenzy, repeatedly asking passersby for pink buttons all over the Golden Hour streets, for reasons unknown.
"Do you have your medication with you?" Herta asked, clutching her head in exasperation as she watched Lumina cradle a mountain of pink buttons. "If not, should I go buy some for you?"
Herta was undoubtedly a genius, but as the old saying goes, "Geniuses are naturally vulnerable to fools."
Herta was the genius, and Lumina was undoubtedly the fool.
Due to this natural counter relationship, Herta couldn't fathom Lumina's motives for this bizarre behavior, instead attributing it to another episode of Lumina's illness.
An episode is fine, as long as she has her medication...
Even if she doesn't have her medication, it's fine, as long as we can buy some...
"What's with all this 'bring medicine' and 'buy medicine' talk? Don't think I'm just going crazy or doing things randomly. Every action of mine has deep meaning. Stop judging my actions by your own limited understanding, okay?"
Hearing this, and feeling Herta's strange yet compassionate gaze, Lumina immediately knew what Wild Thoughts Herta was thinking.
She offered a simple explanation: she wasn't going crazy, her actions had their own profound meaning, and Herta shouldn't let her imagination run wild.
"For example?" Herta asked, waving her hand in exasperation, gesturing for Lumina to elaborate. Even a genius like her couldn't fathom the deep meaning behind Lumina's actions.
She was genuinely curious about what bizarre "deep meaning" Lumina would concoct.
"To make a certain mesugaki absolutely furious, of course," Lumina replied truthfully.
Once Sparkle had distributed all the buttons, Lumina planned to return every single one to her. What kind of expression would that face—that face that only bloomed for The Elation—wear then?
Hmm... I've gathered all the buttons she distributed and returned them to her. Isn't that a kind of... Elation?
Thinking this, Lumina couldn't help but feel a pang of regret that the Aeon of The Elation hadn't cast her gaze upon her.
The thought of losing her chance to become an Emanator of The Elation due to receiving the Blessing of Abundance too early filled Lumina with a deep sense of disappointment.
"Who's that supposed to be?" Herta asked, her voice laced with sarcasm as her fingers trembled slightly. "A fish you've been raising at the Penacony Farm?"
"Or a wild fish you're about to capture?"
Lumina: ...
"Sigh... Little Herta, Little Herta, I've told you repeatedly—you have a terrible misunderstanding about me," Lumina sighed. "I don't even know why my image in your mind has become so distorted."
Gathering the pile of pink buttons into her arms, Lumina lowered her gaze, her lashes fluttering rapidly, tears glistening in her eyes as if she were about to burst into tears.
"Heh." Though Lumina's expression betrayed no flaws, Herta clearly refused to believe she would cry over something so trivial.
The esteemed Saintess, who had witnessed the rise and fall of civilizations across multiple Amber Eras in the Cosmos, would cry over something like this? Not even Herta would believe it, let alone the Aeon of Elation.
"Go ahead, cry if you dare," Herta scoffed, folding her arms and watching Lumina's performance in stony silence.
"I... I'm not crying... It's just a little thing. Why would I cry?" Lumina insisted.
Just as Herta expected Lumina to either revert to her usual cheerful demeanor or grit her teeth and burst into bitter tears after being exposed, Lumina shook her head and forced a smile more wretched than crying itself, signaling that she was fine.
Yet tears streamed uncontrollably down her pristine cheeks. Lumina frantically wiped at her eyes, her tear-soaked fingers glistening under the light, sparkling like crystals.
"I'm sorry, Herta... Maybe you're right... Maybe I really am... like you said..." A slight sob crept into Lumina's voice as tears cascaded down her face. No matter how fiercely she wiped them away, they kept flowing, as if an endless wellspring had been tapped within her.
Herta: ...
So similar?
Seeing this, Herta muttered to herself, the unwavering conviction in her mind beginning to crumble.
"H-Herta... let's... let's go back to the Radiant Feldspar..."
When her fingers proved insufficient to wipe away the tears brimming in her eyes, Lumina resorted to using the back of her hand.
After temporarily stemming the tears, Lumina flashed Herta a pathetically weak smile, like a woman whose Heart had shattered yet forced herself to appear strong.
No way, she's really crying...? Seeing this, Herta's cold scoff and detached, amused expression gradually faded from her face.
It was too real. There wasn't a hint of playfulness in her performance. Every microexpression and subtle gesture perfectly matched the behavior of someone genuinely weeping.
"Are... are you okay?" Herta leaned closer, her voice anxious. She reached out to wipe the tears from Lumina's eyes, but her hand froze in mid-air, just before touching Lumina's cheek. After a moment's hesitation, she withdrew it.
"I'm... I'm fine. Let's go."
Unbeknownst to Herta, deep in Lumina's eyes lay a profound disappointment at Herta's half-hearted attempt to help. The small hand that had reached out to wipe away her tears, only to be abruptly retracted, left Lumina feeling deeply let down.
Little Herta, you're such a liar.
Lumina silently rebuked Herta in her heart, maintaining her pitiful facade.
Without a doubt, Lumina was faking it, but it wasn't entirely an act.
After all, if you didn't realize I was faking, what right do you have to call it an act?
As long as my act is convincing enough, you'll naturally believe it's real.
Take Little Herta right in front of her, for example. She's completely fooled, so bewildered she's practically on the verge of hugging her and showering her with gentle words of comfort.
Still, it didn't matter. Even if Little Herta is a bit timid—too timid to wipe away my tears or offer a comforting hug—surely she can manage a simple apology, right?
3...
2...
1...
"Okay, okay, I was wrong, I was wrong! I misunderstood you!"
"I shouldn't have used my somewhat dirty mind to speculate about your relationships with others."