Should they live together or not?
Even Aglaea was starting to feel confused.
Is this some peculiar Outworlder custom?
Hmm... best to respect it.
Aglaea murmured inwardly, finding the duo's behavior incomprehensible and refraining from attempting to understand it.
Yet she would respect it.
Perhaps this is a tradition from Beyond the Sky.
In such a situation, the slightest misstep could easily break this tradition, offending one of the two.
Aglaea, being a shrewd woman, wouldn't foolishly rush to respond. Instead, she chose silence, saying nothing and doing nothing, quietly awaiting their decision.
This was a wise course of action.
And indeed, Aglaea's approach proved correct.
Lumina and Herta were still engaged in a lighthearted, sisterly squabble over the matter.
"My dear Madam Herta, didn't you just say you didn't mind either way?" Lumina teased with a smile, unfazed even knowing Herta had abandoned her prideful demeanor.
"Why are you changing your mind now?"
Just a mere Little Herta. She poses no threat whatsoever.
"As a genius, is it not perfectly normal to be capricious, constantly changing my mind?"
In the past, Herta might have stubbornly insisted otherwise.
Hmm... I'm referring to the period shortly after she first met Lumina.
Back then, Herta didn't fully understand Lumina. Her behavior was much more restrained.
But now, having grown to understand Lumina better—especially after realizing her peculiar "obsession" with beautiful girls—Herta felt she had to maintain an unyielding defense against Lumina's advances. Otherwise, Lumina would take advantage of her and resort to excessive behavior...
"Ugh..."
It was clear Herta's "Lumina strategy" was working. Hearing her unreasonable statement, Lumina fell silent for a moment.
Herta's attitude left Lumina speechless.
After all, what Herta said was undeniably true. Geniuses are notoriously capricious, their thoughts shifting like the wind.
Lumina couldn't possibly refute that. Though, truth be told, she hadn't intended to argue in the first place.
Herta and I share a room. What reason could I possibly have to refuse? Why would I even want to refuse? I'm thrilled! Why would I refuse? That would be absurd!
Lumina had only wanted to tease Herta a little, never even considering separate sleeping arrangements.
Even if Herta remained adamant about sleeping in separate beds until the very end, Lumina would find another way to keep her here.
But what if Herta absolutely refuses?
Then Lumina would have no choice but to turn to Aglaea. (Lumina shrugs her shoulders.jpg)
Thinking no further after understanding Herta's intentions, Lumina smiled gently, placed her free hand over her chest, and gently announced the decision to Aglaea: "Agy, Herta and I will share one room."
"There's no need to waste Okhema's resources."
Hearing this, Aglaea first observed Herta's expression to ensure the matter was settled. Seeing no objection in her demeanor, she nodded slightly. "Very well, Lumina, I understand."
"From this moment onward, this suite belongs to you both permanently."
Okhema had an abundance of vacant rooms; one more or less made no difference.
To curry favor with Lumina and Herta, Aglaea simply gifted them the suite. After all, it was just sitting empty, unused by anyone.
"Additionally, I'll grant you the suite next door as well," Aglaea continued before Lumina and Herta could respond.
Lumina and Herta were two separate individuals, so even though they shared a room, Aglaea had to provide two suites.
Even if they had no use for the second one.
"Thank you, Agy," Lumina murmured, her gaze shifting to Herta beside her, as if prompting her. Look, Aglaea's already given us the rooms. Aren't you going to react at all?
Herta, understanding Lumina's silent cue, shot her a wordless glance. But she refrained from commenting on Lumina's prodding.
Turning to Aglaea, she said in a flat tone, "Aglaea, thank you for the rooms you've gifted us."
"You're most welcome," Aglaea replied. "I hope both of you honored guests enjoy your stay and have a pleasant time within Okhema." Seeing that Lumina and Herta had accepted her welcome gift, Aglaea felt a slight relief. A faint smile graced her delicate, porcelain-white face as she offered them her blessings.
"Also... I have something I need to tell you both," Aglaea hesitated briefly after the blessing, then resolved to tell Lumina and Herta about a certain matter.
"Please tell me. If you need help with anything, we'll do our best to assist," Lumina said, though she didn't know exactly what Aglaea wanted to discuss.
Lumina could roughly guess, however.
It would likely be something related to the Okheman people, or to the Flame-Chasing Journey and the Chrysos Heirs.
For both matters, Lumina could naturally offer her assistance.
However...
She wouldn't volunteer her help proactively.
So, how should I offer help?
The answer was obvious: a beautiful girl had to ask her for help.
But it was crucial to clarify this in advance.
Otherwise, Aglaea might hesitate to ask for help later, out of consideration for her status or fear of her power, leaving Lumina devastated.
Therefore, Lumina declared she would help, but without specifying what kind of help she would provide.
This paved the way for a future Chrysos Heir to seek her aid.
"It's... about matters beyond the sky," Aglaea said.
Upon hearing this, Aglaea visibly paused to ponder, as if contemplating a matter of great importance. But soon, she stopped thinking and raised a question about something beyond the sky.
"It seems Aglaea doesn't want us interfering with the Flame-Chasing Journey."
Seeing Aglaea's expression, Lumina knew exactly what she was thinking.
She's probably debating whether to let Herta and me help the Chrysos Heirs complete the Flame-Chasing Journey, right?
However, Aglaea's decision-making speed exceeded Lumina's expectations.
It seems she's made up her mind, refusing to let Herta and me interfere with anything related to the Flame-Chasing Journey.
Without dwelling further on it, Lumina feigned confusion and asked, "Something about Beyond the Sky? Agy, what is it?"
"I wonder if My Teacher... um, Teacher Tribbie, ever told you a story about the Sky," Aglaea began.
"You mean the one about a city-state in Amphoreus that yearned for the Beyond the Sky, journeyed there, and was ultimately destroyed by the Sky's wrath?"
"Yes," Aglaea nodded, then explained, "The Beyond the Sky is a taboo in the eyes of the Amphoreans."
"Okhema is the only city-state in Amphoreus unaffected by the Black Tide. We must prevent any and all disasters."
"And yearning for the Beyond the Sky is one such disaster."
"So..."
Aglaea didn't state it explicitly, but her meaning was crystal clear.
"No problem at all. It's just a small matter."
"Even if we accidentally let something slip, we have the ability to erase memories."
"So, no need to worry. Even if you don't trust our little mouths, you must trust our capabilities."
Lumina delivered these chilling words with a gentle smile, revealing a power that instilled dread.
The ability to effortlessly erase memories was terrifying indeed.
After all, who could anticipate or detect when their memories might be purged during an interaction with her?
Yet Aglaea remained remarkably unconcerned—in fact, she felt reassured.
The fact that Lumina and Herta could erase memories meant the possibility of exposing Amphoreus to the Beyond the Sky was completely eliminated.
As for whether her own memories might be erased?
Aglaea couldn't care less.
If they wanted to strike at Amphoreus or harm it, they wouldn't need memory manipulation.
Perhaps to them, the entire Amphoreus was no more than a slightly larger creature—the kind you could crush with a casual flick of the wrist.
"Hmm, thank you," Aglaea said, without giving it much thought.
It was a bizarre situation: Lumina and Herta were the outsiders, yet Aglaea, as the leader of Okhema, was thanking them. No one would believe it if she told the story.
"Why are you thanking us?" Lumina asked, voicing the unbelievable truth.
"We're the outsiders. We're following Okhema's rules. Why are you thanking us?"
"Agy, you're the leader of Okhema. You don't need to be so humble."
Lumina's words resonated deeply within Aglaea, causing a flicker of emotion to cross her face.
Aglaea's impression of Lumina had shifted considerably.
At least now, Aglaea genuinely believed that Lumina and Herta wouldn't act arbitrarily, reducing Okhema—and Amphoreus itself—to ruin.
In Aglaea's mind, Lumina and Herta had transformed from two walking bombs into honored guests from Beyond the Sky.
Based on her observations over the past few days and Lumina's recent words, Aglaea had come to this conclusion.
However, even though Lumina and Herta were extraterrestrial visitors, Aglaea still needed to maintain proper decorum.
She couldn't afford to offend them, no matter how amiable they seemed.
For Amphoreus's sake, and because Okhema couldn't withstand the consequences of their wrath.
Even if the probability of them unleashing their anger was minuscule, Aglaea wouldn't risk it.
"Mm, I understand," Aglaea replied with a faint smile, outwardly accepting Lumina's response.
But inwardly, she remained filled with respect.
Lumina noticed this, but said nothing.
She respected Aglaea's choice, believing that no ice was too cold to melt.
If it remained frozen, it simply meant the heat wasn't intense enough.
"Lumina, Herta, do you need to rest?" Aglaea asked. "If not, I can temporarily act as your guide in place of My Teacher, introducing you to Okhema's various environments, architecture, and culture."
"Hmm..." Lumina pondered for a moment, just as she was about to respond.
"No need," Herta interjected. "We're tired. We arrived in Amphoreus from Beyond the Sky just now and rushed straight to Okhema. We need to rest."
Before Lumina could utter a single word, Herta's words cut her off.
She signaled that she and Lumina were tired and needed rest, implying Aglaea didn't need to act as their guide and was free to leave.
Hearing this, Aglaea nodded first, but didn't immediately move. Instead, she turned her gaze to Lumina, seeking her opinion.
"..."
Herta bristled at this.
Why does she assume that Little Lumina is the one in charge?
Can't I be the one leading?
Do I really look like Lumina's little sidekick?
As a genius, Herta wouldn't normally care about Aglaea's thoughts or perceptions.
But if those thoughts concerned the "older sister and younger sister" dynamic between her and Lumina, then Herta took notice.
From all appearances, Aglaea had definitely taken Herta for Lumina's "younger sister."
Herta was extremely unhappy about this.
Which eye told you Lumina was the "older sister"?
Hmm... oh, never mind.
After mentally grumbling, Herta suddenly realized:
The Aglaea before me seems to have some sort of vision problem. She can barely see.
Forget it.
Given this, Herta couldn't exactly correct Aglaea's misunderstanding.
But at the very least, she had to make it crystal clear that she, Herta, was Lumina's "older sister"!
She, Herta, was the one in charge!
"Agy, since Herta wants to rest, let's indulge her," Lumina said with a smile, observing Herta's expressionless face.
Though she couldn't read Herta's exact thoughts, she could guess the general gist.
She's probably furious that Aglaea thinks she's the one in control.
Sigh...
How long has it been, and Herta is still hung up on the "older sister versus younger sister" issue?
Does it really matter who's the older sister and who's the younger sister?
As long as our bond remains strong, does it truly matter who holds which title?
So, let Lumina take the minor loss.
Lumina can be the older sister, and Herta the younger sister.
Wouldn't that perfectly resolve all our problems?
After mulling over these thoughts, Lumina stopped overthinking it. She smiled at Aglaea and continued, "Tribbie will give us a tour of Okhema later. We can explore more at our leisure."
"We'll likely be staying in Okhema for quite a while, so there's no rush."
"For now, let's let Herta rest properly."
Lumina's words dripped with the tender concern of an older sister for her younger sister.
"..."
But it was clear that Herta thoroughly disliked this concern.
"Alright, then you two rest well. I won't disturb you any further."
With a slightly suspicious glance at the pair, Aglaea withdrew from the room, closing the black-and-gold patterned door behind her.
Now, only Lumina and Herta remained in the room.