"Wow, Miss Herta, this puppet of yours is really pretty."
"I wish I had a puppet like Miss Herta's…"
After shaking hands with Herta, Clara offered her praise, then spoke with a hint of disappointment in her expression.
Herta was a smart woman; she understood Clara's inner thoughts right away and gave a faint smile.
"Compared to how I looked as a child, it's barely seventy percent similar."
"I have many puppets. If you like them, you can go to the Herta Space Station and pick any one to take with you."
A single puppet meant little to Herta. If giving one away could earn her a favor from Clara, then the puppet would have served its greatest purpose.
"Really?!"
Hearing this, Clara's earlier disappointment vanished, replaced by a sweet smile.
"Then thank you so much, Miss Herta~"
Clara spoke with a sweet, heart-melting tone. If it weren't Herta before her, but someone else, they probably would have been completely captivated.
Seeing that Herta remained completely unmoved by her sugary words, Clara felt a bit bored. She thought for a moment, her eyes darting around as if she'd hit upon a brilliant idea.
"I've long heard that Miss Herta, together with Ruan Mei, Screwllum, and Stephen Lloyd, co-developed a simulation system for researching Aeons."
"If Miss Herta ever needs any help, you can always ask me~~~"
"As your devoted little fan, I'll 'give it my all' to help you~"
"!"
Herta, who had been perfectly calm until now, instantly grew wary upon hearing Clara's "kind offer."
"How do you know about that? Did… [The Slave of Fate] tell you?"
Aside from the other researchers involved, no one should have known about the Simulated Universe system. Yet she… not only knew what was being researched, but even the names of the participants.
Was [The Slave of Fate] truly that terrifying?
Just as Herta was lost in thought, Clara's next words made her freeze completely.
"Huh? Elio? Why would it tell me?" Listening to Herta, Clara couldn't help but feel exasperated.
"It'd sooner tell Sam than tell me."
At least Sam had a line in the script.
Combat, exhilarating!
And Clara? She didn't even get half a punctuation mark. Every time she was assigned a mission, Elio would only ever say one thing to her:
"Handle it yourself, meow."
Beyond that, not a single extra word. Was it afraid that if Clara knew even one word, she'd turn the entire script upside down?
Damn it, I, Clara, swear here and now: one day, I'll pluck every last hair off Elio's body! Every single one!!!
"Then how did you find out about this?"
If [The Slave of Fate] hadn't told her, then how did she know? It was practically a secret research project back then; there shouldn't have been any leaks…
As for the other members talking? Herta had considered that possibility but quickly dismissed it.
Every genius had their own pride; they wouldn't disclose the research for mere gain.
Besides, Herta didn't believe Clara could offer any "benefit" tempting enough for the other members.
"I naturally have my own channels." Clara placed her hands on her hips, looking somewhat smug.
Got you, little Herta.
"Don't worry about how I found out."
"If you run into any problems during your research, you can ask me to come help. All you need to know is that, and that's enough."
Hearing this, Herta didn't rush to answer, instead weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
To be honest, given Clara's reputation across the cosmos and the various major deeds she'd pulled off, Herta wasn't too keen on letting her into the Simulated Universe for testing.
But if an Emanator could be brought in to test the Simulated Universe, it would be a huge boost to the research progress…
Thinking this, Herta glanced at Clara, still feeling somewhat conflicted.
"Hmm?" Sensing Herta's gaze, Clara tilted her head and gave a light hum, quietly awaiting Herta's reply.
"Fine. When are you free?" Looking at Clara's utterly innocent expression, Herta finally agreed.
Clara's incredibly tempting appearance was one factor; another was that the Simulated Universe had reached a critical stage and desperately needed a test subject.
But due to the high requirements for test subjects, no suitable candidate had been found so far.
Since Clara wanted to be that test subject, Herta had no reason not to oblige her.
"Mmm… let me think." Clara nibbled her finger, her mind working.
She pondered when the Astral Express would arrive at the Herta Space Station… Recalling recent news, the Astral Express had re-entered the cosmic stage and completed several Trailblazing journeys already.
By that logic, it should be arriving soon.
Ah, whatever. She'd just secretly follow Kafka when the time came.
"I still have some business to take care of at the Corporation right now. I'll come to the Herta Space
Station once I'm done."
"Alright." Herta nodded, then asked with some puzzlement:
"You're the Corporation's most-wanted fugitive right now. What business do you have there?"
"Turning myself in."
Herta: ?
"Turning myself in." Thinking Herta hadn't heard clearly, Clara repeated it matter-of-factly.
"My bounty is ninety-nine billion nine hundred million. Who wouldn't be tempted by that?"
Herta: …
"Oh, right, Miss Herta, let's team up once." Clara's eyes sparkled as she grinned at Herta.
"Miss Herta, think about it. You pretend to capture me, then hand me over to the Corporation to claim the bounty. After I break out of prison, we split it fifty-fifty. How's that?"
"I refuse." Upon hearing this, Herta rejected it without a second thought.
If something like that were discovered, she'd probably be permanently blacklisted by the
Corporation. Ninety-nine billion nine hundred million? It wasn't like Asta couldn't come up with that amount.
Well… okay, Herta wasn't actually sure if Asta could, but let's assume she could.
So there was absolutely no need to offend the Corporation over some credits.
Herta's reaction was within Clara's expectations, so she wasn't flustered, speaking leisurely instead:
"Miss Herta, if I'm not mistaken, you're constantly getting bottlenecked by the Corporation lately, aren't you?"
Herta: …
Your "guess" is spot on.
"What are you getting at?"
"My wanted notice isn't just about the bounty. Anyone who captures me also becomes an Honorary
Consultant of the Interastral Peace Corporation."
"Then, Miss Herta, you wouldn't get bottlenecked anymore."
"So, what do you think? Tempted? Tempted?"
"Honorary Consultant…" Hearing this, Herta rested her chin on her hand, falling into thought.
"You make a fair point, but I refuse."
Clara wasn't wrong—many materials in the cosmos were held exclusively by the Corporation. If she became an Honorary Consultant, she might gain access to those materials…
Of course, it was only a possibility. What the Corporation was really like, Herta knew all too well.
"Mmm… alright then." Upon hearing this, Clara didn't press further. She waved her hand and hopped away.
"See you later, Miss Herta. I'll treat you to some fireworks in a bit."
"Fireworks?"
Watching Clara's departing figure, Herta felt a bit puzzled but didn't ask further.
"What a strange person."
Herta shook her head and left the Interastral Peace Corporation.
…
Herta: Regarding Clara (2)
Clara? Putting aside her abilities, her appearance is incredibly alluring. When interacting with her, you must never agree to anything she proposes just because of how she looks. Otherwise, you might get scammed out of everything you own, down to your underwear.
You ask if I've ever been scammed by her?
Hah, as if. I'm an Emanator of Erudition, a member of the Genius Society—how could I possibly be scammed by her? How could I? How could I???
…
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