'Cyrene' gave a nod to Demiurge and then returned to the Herta Space Station, which had not yet left the battlefield.
Madam Herta was nowhere to be seen.
The one helping to manage the situation here was Screwllum.
"Lady Bai Ming, welcome back."
Screwllum gave a slight bow toward 'Cyrene'.
Reaching out to pat Digimon's head, she asked: "How is Herta doing?"
"She is currently under joint observation by the Land of Radiants and the Interastral Peace Corporation. Ruan Mei has examined her; she's fine."
It was just then.
A stream of white-gold data flowed in from outside.
And right before everyone, it took shape into the form of Herta.
A bit more mature than her doll's appearance, yet slightly younger than Big Herta herself.
She looked like Herta in her teenage years, though her chest was rather full—clearly a suspiciously private modification.
"Heheh, from now on, please call me Divine Herta!"
'Cyrene' and Screwllum exchanged a glance.
Another name change?
"So... it was you I was talking to at the time? Then did Madam Herta collapse from exhaustion?"
"No, both of us were present then."
Divine Herta placed one hand on her hip, flipping her hair.
She spoke very calmly, making a rather puzzling statement.
"Both of you were there? How could you both be together? Can a Self-Coronation include two people at once? Speaking of which, what exactly is this so-called Self-Coronation thing anyway?"
'Cyrene' was immediately confused.
Hearing this, Screwllum tilted his head and said:
"To aid understanding, please allow me to first explain the concept of the Perfect Scholar to you."
"Oh, I do know a bit about that. It's a concept from the Intelligentsia Guild, right? Infinite lifespan, infinite perspective, infinite thought, and the like..."
'Cyrene' still had a general impression of the plot involving the Unknowable Domain, since it was quite an interesting segment.
Hearing this, Screwllum nodded:
"That is the definition of a Perfect Scholar. But ordinary people have limited understanding; many think a genius qualifies as a Perfect Scholar. Yet as we both know, even geniuses are not perfect."
'Cyrene' nodded.
"Question: If there truly were a Perfect Scholar in this world, one even more perfect than a genius, who would best fit the definition?"
"...Nous?"
"Correct. So for a genius, completing the Self-Coronation refers to glimpsing Nous's thoughts, even becoming Nous."
If we're talking about perfection, then indeed, there is no scholar more perfect than Nous.
"But the problem is, one can't completely replace Nous, right? Herta herself withdrew."
"It's Divine Herta!"
Divine Herta raised her hand discontentedly, waggling a finger in front of 'Cyrene':
"Let's get this straight—I was the one who first replaced Irontomb and then successfully connected to Nous. So the victory in the contest is mine."
But even as she said this, she didn't look down on Madam Herta.
After all, even with the advantage of striking first and the racial edge of being a Digimon, she had only barely won for a fleeting moment.
"However, Nous probably doesn't care how many Hertas there are, so even after I connected to Nous, Herta got sucked in too."
After emphasizing this point specifically,
Divine Herta spoke again:
"And that's the issue. Self-Coronation is only temporary. Patavia's brain shut down after just a moment of contact with those thoughts, and even with two genius minds working together, we only lasted a little while."
"In the end, this was just permissions opened by the Droidhead THEMSELF. In THEIR calculations, the event of 'Herta completing the coronation first' could avoid the ending where Irontomb destroys everything."
Hearing this, Screwllum gave a slight nod.
He didn't seem surprised or disappointed by this news.
Instead, it was 'Cyrene' who asked curiously: "In that case, aren't you disappointed? The time as a Perfect Scholar was so brief."
"Why would I be disappointed? Honestly, I never expected to become a Perfect Scholar in the first place. For a genius, what matters most is what you see from Nous's perspective."
Divine Herta tilted her head to look at 'Cyrene':
"Besides, the Droidhead can't even calculate you—what kind of perfection is that? If he wants me, I'm not even interested. Becoming a Perfect Scholar is just a joke."
"Completing the coronation and borrowing the Droidhead's computational power to achieve my own evolution—that was my main goal."
If, at the very beginning, Divine Herta still had her sights set on becoming this world's #84, then after connecting to Nous once more and realizing that even Nous could not calculate Bai Ming, and could only refer to them as 'the one outside fate,' both Hertas realized that even Nous was not perfect—there were things even he could not comprehend.
So now, for both Hertas, the more interesting thing was fully unraveling the mystery of Bai Ming.
Hearing the latter part, 'Cyrene' raised an eyebrow.
"So, after devouring Irontomb, you used Nous's data to complete an evolution?"
"Yep. I feel incredibly good right now—so good it's almost scary."
The smile on Divine Herta's face was wild and unrestrained.
She didn't hide her excitement in the slightest.
From genius downgraded to a program, then from program evolved into new life.
Her talent had been greatly diminished.
But now, she could feel her talent had returned—not only returned, but grown stronger than before.
Making herself a genius again—that was Divine Herta's 'Self-Coronation.'
As she spoke, Divine Herta flipped her hand.
From her dress, which bore a strong resemblance to her doll's outfit, she pulled out an invitation.
"Here, my invitation to the Genius Society. Though I feel a bit bad for Stephen, he'll just have to reluctantly become #85."
Though compared to the Genius Society, Divine Herta would rather be like Bai Ming—someone even the Droidhead can't calculate.
But regardless, the arrival of the invitation was still indirect proof of Divine Herta's successful Self-Coronation, and that she had completely shed Herta's shadow, becoming a brand-new individual.
It's just that after witnessing Bai Ming's uniqueness, the so-called title of genius no longer satisfied Divine Herta.
Screwllum watched as 'Cyrene' curiously took the invitation, looking it over left and right:
"Congratulations, Madam Divine Herta. The addition of another great genius to the galaxy is undoubtedly a fortunate thing."
"No need for too many compliments, Screwllum. I don't believe that at this point, you'd still be satisfied with the title of genius."
Facing Divine Herta's gaze, Screwllum merely responded with a smile and said nothing more.
Zandar called them prisoners, and in a way, he wasn't wrong.
In fact, whether it was Herta, Screwllum, or even Ruan Mei, they could all understand Zandar's breakdown.
They just each made different choices.
If there's one common point, it might be that they were all intensely focused on Bai Ming.
So much so that Bai Ming herself grew afraid, worried that one day one of Zandar's segments might give themselves a full modification, turning them into a blank chassis for a beautiful girl robot seeking them out.
It really felt like Zandar was capable of doing something like that.
--+--