"This is Herta's office."
Not long after, Clara led Screwllum to the door of Herta's office.
"Very well. I shall now extend the most dignified greetings to Lady Herta." Screwllum approached the door, ready to knock.
Inside the office, Herta sensed their arrival and was about to call them in.
"What? Greetings? Watch this." Clara said, puzzled, then strode forward and delivered a solid kick to Herta's office door.
THUD!
The sturdy door promptly fell flat on the floor.
Screwllum and Herta: …
Even someone as composed as Screwllum nearly lost his composure.
"Heh. Miss Clara is certainly… distinctive."
After this little interlude, Screwllum stepped over the fallen door and entered.
Seeing this, Clara also walked in by stepping right on the door panel.
She even took a moment after entering to prop the door back upright.
Herta: …
"My door." Once Clara was inside, Herta fixed her with a stare, clearly expecting an explanation.
"Your door was outdated. I upgraded it to an automatic one. From now on, just a light touch and it'll open on its own." Feeling Herta's gaze, Clara merely blinked at her playfully, grinning.
"…"
An automatic door, my foot.
Hearing Clara's words, Herta couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Whatever. It's just a door. I'll have Asta replace it later.
By now, Herta seemed to have grown accustomed to Clara's occasional mischief.
"Screwllum, let's discuss the hacker matter first, then move on to the Simulated Universe."
"Agreed." Screwllum had no objections to Herta's proposal.
"The Curios are mine. Since that hacker wanted to spy on my Curios, she'll have to pay an appropriate price."
"She's a wanted criminal—that's the Interastral Peace Corporation's business, not mine."
"I hear she's quite fond of games. So, I'll have the price paid through her gaming accounts." In just a few sentences, Herta laid out her judgment on Silver Wolf clearly.
"Later, I'll use the data she left behind to track all her gaming accounts, then inform the Interastral Peace Corporation to have them banned."
"Alright, that covers the action against Silver Wolf of the Stellaron Hunters. Any questions, or anything to add?"
"None." Screwllum shook his head faintly.
Silver Wolf was a respectable opponent to Screwllum, but only that—respectable. From the moment she accepted the invitation and set her sights on the station, her fate had been sealed.
"I have a question! I have a question! I have a super huge question!" Upon hearing this, Clara raised her hand like a model student, performing the gesture perfectly.
"Just gaming accounts isn't enough."
"I want to catch her in person and give her bottom a good, hard spanking."
"So hard she won't be able to get out of bed for ten days!"
Clara said with a fierce expression, already fantasizing about Silver Wolf begging on her knees.
"You… have a grudge against her?" Seeing Clara's look, Herta was somewhat puzzled.
Had Clara been bullied by Silver Wolf within the Stellaron Hunters? Impossible, right? With Clara's abilities, she'd be lucky not to bully others—how could she be bullied?
"Not really." Clara shrugged.
"I just really want to see her begging on her knees."
Herta: …
"Suit yourself." Herta felt a bit exasperated inside. When she'd watched the surveillance footage earlier, Clara had been all 'big sister this' and 'little sister that,' their relationship seeming incredibly close.
And now, she's ready to stab her in the back.
Typical her, really.
Herta didn't dwell on it. How Clara planned to spank Silver Wolf wasn't her concern.
"Since we're done with Silver Wolf, let's move on to the Simulated Universe." Herta turned her gaze toward the Simulated Universe at the center of the office.
She then walked to her desk, retrieved two tablets from a hidden compartment, and came back, handing one to Screwllum and the other to Clara.
"This is the data from the first activation of the Simulated Universe."
"As the notes say, that experiment was a great success."
Clara took the tablet and started reading, finally arriving at a three-word conclusion:
"Don't get it."
"I didn't think you would."
Clara: ?
"Then why give it to me?"
"To keep you from making a fuss." Seeing Clara react exactly as she'd anticipated, Herta allowed herself a slight smile.
If she'd only given one to Screwllum, there was a ninety-nine percent chance Clara would have started yelling things like:
'What about me, huh? You looking down on me?'
'I'm hurt, Sis Herta. You're freezing me out. Fine, if that's how it is, I'll just leave.'
'You can spend the rest of your life with your precious Simulated Universe then!'
Stuff like that.
So, when Herta hand-copied the materials, she deliberately made two copies—just to prevent Clara's pointless blabbering.
Seeing Clara's current expression, Herta was more than satisfied, ten parts out of ten.
Clara's eyes shifted mischievously, and she said with a grin:
'Ohhh~ I see. In that case, Sis Herta, explain it all to me~ In detail~'
Herta: …
Hearing this, the smile instantly froze on Herta's face.
Think you've got me, little Herta? I've got you handled.
…
'I still don't really get it. Could you explain it a bit more thoroughly, Sis Herta?'
'I've explained it thoroughly enough!' Herta rubbed her temples, trying to calm her growing irritation.
Hadn't she explained it clearly enough? Even an old sow could've understood by now!
Herta realized Clara wasn't actually failing to understand—she was just messing with her. But there didn't seem to be much she could do about it.
Actually, Herta was mistaken about Clara, because…
Clara genuinely hadn't understood.
Listening to Herta's various technical explanations, it'd be a miracle if Clara did understand.
Her head was spinning, as if she were back in math class in a past life. The only difference was that this time, the teacher was a stunning beauty.
Who the heck said having a beautiful teacher makes you study harder?
Little Clara has verified for you all: that's pure nonsense.
What you don't get, you still won't get. And what you don't need to get, you don't need to listen to.
So, little Clara decided to implement a fine old tradition:
Check out.
'Alright, I get it now.'
'Good.' Hearing this, Herta let out a sigh of relief.
See? What I explained, even an old sow could've grasped.
There's no way Clara's intelligence is worse than an old sow's, right?
Clara: Wanna say that again?
'We still have a bit of time now. How about a tense, exciting run in the Simulated Universe?' Herta glanced at the Simulated Universe, then at Clara.
'Of course. But, you know…' Clara blinked at Herta, seemingly hinting at something.
'Fine…'
Screwllum watched the two, feeling slightly puzzled inside.
Why did it seem like they'd made some kind of deal regarding the Simulated Universe?
…
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