"Good thing I put up a 'Do Not Disturb' sign before I left."
"Otherwise, if anyone had messed with things, we'd have had a real disaster on our hands."
Radiant Feldspar, Divergent Universe
Herta surveyed the empty room, nodding with a hint of pride.
"Little Herta's so clever!" Hearing Herta's praise, Lumina slipped her hand through the gap in Herta's pointed Witch Hat and gently massaged her head.
It was just like a mother praising her daughter for getting a perfect score on a test.
"You've probably got something wrong with your brain." Feeling the warmth on her head, Herta shot Lumina a speechless glance but didn't brush her hand away.
After Lumina had her fill of petting Herta's head and finally withdrew her hand, Herta casually settled into a seat in the room.
The Divergent Universe testers hadn't arrived yet, and preparations for the Charmony Festival were still underway. It seemed there was nothing else to do but sit around and scroll through her phone.
Herta pulled out her phone and checked it. First, she sent Stelle a message urging her to hurry up.
Then she noticed an unread message.
It was from Screwllum.
Herta tapped it open, casually replied with "Oh," and put her phone away.
Her gaze fell on Lumina, who stood before her. "Screwllum will be arriving on Penacony soon. Once he's here, we can hand over all matters related to the Divergent Universe to him."
Lumina nodded in agreement, having no objections.
"So, what should we do now?" Lumina asked, walking to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazing down at the barely visible Penacony cityscape far below.
"Doing..."
"?"
"I mean, we can do whatever we want. There's nothing pressing," Herta clarified, explaining her earlier ambiguous remark.
"I see... let me think." Lumina nodded, not giving it much thought, and lowered her head, considering what to do next.
The preparations for the Charmony Festival were still underway, with at least one system hour until they were finished.
The honored guests invited to the festival hadn't started boarding the ships yet.
Without Stelle's arrival, the Divergent Universe tests couldn't proceed.
Hmm... it seems there's nothing more interesting to do right now except play with Herta.
As Lumina pondered this, her gaze gradually settled on Herta. Her eyes swirled with countless thoughts, as if contemplating how to... wait, no, how to have fun with Herta.
"What are you staring at?" Sensing Lumina's intense gaze, Herta crossed her arms, her expression wary.
"Doing..."
"?"
"I mean, I'm thinking about ideas for what to do," Lumina clarified, explaining the meaning of her earlier word.
"And did you come up with anything?"
Herta didn't give it much thought. Well... no, rather, she believed Lumina would never think of anything inappropriate.
Her saying that must just be her imitating my way of speaking.
"Yes," Lumina replied truthfully.
She strode over and plopped down next to Herta.
First, she reached out and straightened Herta's clothes.
"?"
Herta didn't stop Lumina from fussing with her clothes, simply watching her with a question mark hovering above her head.
Silent and still, Herta allowed Lumina to smooth her attire without resistance.
"What's the meaning of this?" Herta finally asked, after Lumina had finished and withdrawn her hands.
"Meaning? If I told you, you'd die of fright." Lumina's expression suddenly turned grave, as if she were about to reveal something of profound importance.
"?"
Under Herta's bewildered gaze, Lumina didn't rush her answer. Instead, she took a deep breath in, then exhaled slowly, as if preparing for an impending storm.
After a moment, she finally declared the purpose behind tidying Herta's clothes:
"The meaning is... there is no meaning. Just a way to kill time."
"?"
"See? Doing something pointless, wasting a bit of time—isn't that a bit less boring?"
Herta: ...
If calling the police would have actually done any good against Lumina, Herta would have loved to call the police and have her arrested...
Hmm, I really want to play cop and arrest Lumina myself. That would be just as satisfying...
"Alright, alright, I was just kidding," Lumina said with an awkward laugh, seeing Herta's expression, which looked like she wanted to bash her brains out with her Staff.
A faint blush gradually spread across Lumina's cheeks as she continued, "Herta, do you remember what you said in the room after we left Ena's Dream?"
"W-what words?" Herta's heart began to pound faster as she frantically tried to recall everything she'd said and done in the room.
Although she knew Lumina was aware of her actions, Lumina hadn't confronted her directly. This left Herta feeling uneasy.
"It's just... what you said before."
"One 'Mommy' earns you a lifetime of lap pillows."
Lumina took a deep breath, helping Herta recall their earlier conversation.
"You said I could lie down anytime, anywhere, whenever I needed to."
"Now, I need to lie down."
Whew...
Hearing this, Herta breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart, which had been pounding in her throat, gradually slowed its frantic pace.
Though it still beat rapidly...
Pat, pat, pat.
"Come, lie down."
"Madam Herta keeps her word, unlike certain individuals."
Herta patted her thigh, gesturing for Lumina to lie down. She couldn't resist taking a jab at a certain white-haired fellow.
"Who's that? Someone important enough for Madam Herta to mention?" Lumina asked, her face impassive despite knowing Herta was referring to her.
"Mmm... comfortable."
She promptly lay down, resting her body across Herta's thighs.