After ending their conversation with Aglaea and the other people of Amphoreus, Lumina, Herta, Stelle, and Dan Heng found a spot to settle down, entering a private moment belonging exclusively to the Outworlders.
Lumina felt a bit reluctant to part.
But not that reluctant.
After all, Herta and Stelle were also rare beauties~
It was just that they were a bit too familiar with each other; they were old friends.
Lumina wanted to make new friends.
"Ouch." Just as Lumina was thinking this, a sudden pinch at her waist snapped her back to reality, causing her to cry out.
Looking in the direction of the force, she saw a slender, fair little hand.
Tracing up from the little hand, Lumina met Herta's expressionless stare.
There was no emotional fluctuation on her face, leaving Lumina momentarily unsure of what the action was meant to convey.
"Oh~" After staring at Herta for a second or two, Lumina finally caught on. She blinked at her, flashing a meaningful smile in acknowledgment.
Lumina knew about Herta's feelings for her, so it wasn't hard to guess the true purpose behind Herta's behavior.
Without a doubt, Lumina's recent antics had made her feel a bit sour and jealous.
Although Lumina felt a bit embarrassed about this, she probably had to apologize.
Because Lumina wasn't going to change...
She knew Herta was smart and could guess a person's thoughts just from their micro-expressions.
Therefore, Lumina stopped herself from overthinking to prevent Herta from reading her mind, lest it cause some unpredictable psychological issues for her...
Shifting her gaze to the group, Lumina revealed some information about Amphoreus: "[Erudition], [Remembrance], and [Destruction]. These three are the [Paths] entwined around Amphoreus."
"Destruction..." Hearing this, Stelle's eyes immediately widened, while Dan Heng fell into deep thought.
No wonder a Teacher can tell at a glance whether a student truly understands or is just faking it after asking a question. Lumina couldn't help but sigh inwardly as she took in Stelle and Dan Heng's expressions.
Faced with the exact same words, Stelle and Dan Heng showed two completely different reactions.
Stelle was simply bewildered and shocked.
Dan Heng, on the other hand, had already formed a hypothesis, and his thoughts had just been validated.
"Destruction... Could those Black Tides be creations of [Destruction]?"
"If so, that would somewhat explain things."
Dan Heng muttered to himself, lost in whatever he was pondering.
Seeing their thoughtful expressions, Lumina smiled and continued, "So, there is at least one [Lord Ravager] here in Amphoreus."
Only Lord Ravagers possess Emanator-Class energy of [Destruction].
What else could it be?
"A Lord Ravager..." After receiving Lumina's confirmation, Dan Heng frowned deeply, lost in thought.
And compared to Dan Heng's frowning, contemplative demeanor, Stelle appeared much more normal.
Well... not "normal" in the ordinary sense, but "normal" for Stelle.
Upon learning that there was a [Lord Ravager] inside Amphoreus, Stelle immediately shifted from her initial shock to a confident posture, standing tall with her chest puffed out.
Her stance exuded an overbearing aura, looking very much like she was ready to grab her baseball bat and charge right at that Lord Ravager for a fight to the death.
"Don't do that. Even if you dare to charge in, the residents of Okhema would be the ones to suffer." Dan Heng, noticing Stelle's movements and Spirit, sighed and gave a helpless warning.
Dan Heng knew Stelle well. If no one explained the situation or held her back, she really would just charge straight in when facing a [Lord Ravager]...
This was also evident in her encounters with the Doomsday Beast, Cocolia, Phantylia, and Sunday.
Dan Heng felt particularly helpless when it came to Stelle's temperament.
If you called her a child, she didn't exactly seem like one.
After all, a child wouldn't be foolish enough to charge headfirst into a power capable of one-shotting them.
But if you said she wasn't a child, she was just as reckless as one...
In short, Dan Heng couldn't help but feel a bit resigned towards someone like Stelle.
However, as a fellow member of the Astral Express Crew, Dan Heng had no other methods besides verbally reasoning with her.
Oh... wait, there was one other way: simply going along with her.
"Hahaha..." After being called out by Dan Heng, Stelle's confident posture and the aura that made her look as if she were about to strike down a Lord Ravager vanished in an instant.
It was replaced by a look of sheer awkwardness.
She scratched her head, understanding that her actions could bring disaster to the people of Okhema, and temporarily dropped the idea of using the baseball bat in her hands to fight a Lord Ravager until the Cosmic Heat Death.
"Sister Lumina, will you help us?" Stelle wasn't in any particular rush regarding that Lord Ravager.
After all, she had an invincible powerhouse by her side who could punch a Lord Ravager and kick Sunday.
Stelle turned her gaze entirely to Lumina and asked, full of expectation.
"Mhm, whether I help or not depends on what that Lord Ravager is plotting." Lumina hummed softly at Stelle's words, not giving a direct answer to the question.
"Uh..." Even though her Sister Lumina hadn't explicitly said anything, Stelle pretty much understood.
What Sister Lumina meant to convey was probably a neutral stance.
If the Lord Ravager tried to cause trouble, Sister Lumina would beat Him up.
If that Lord Ravager had no thoughts of bringing [Destruction] to Amphoreus or bringing [Destruction] to any faction, then Sister Lumina most likely wouldn't bother with Him.
Hmm... speaking of which, are there even righteous Lord Ravagers?
Stelle muttered silently in her heart, holding back words that would surely be treated as a joke if spoken aloud.
It was a pity she didn't voice it out.
If she had said it out loud and Lumina had heard it,
Lumina would have definitely given her an answer.
She would have told her that there are indeed righteous Lord Ravagers.
An example?
The example, of course, was right beside her.
Isn't Phantylia Kitten a living example of this?
Although she was evil before, after some train... no, after some correction by Lumina, she was prevented from going further down the wrong path.
In the end, a once-evil Lord Ravager had now become a spokesperson for justice!
Why a spokesperson for justice?
Because Lumina is justice itself, and as Lumina's pet, wouldn't Phantylia Kitten naturally be a spokesperson for justice?
"Miss Lumina, Madam Herta, are you able to contact anyone outside of Amphoreus?" Compared to Stelle, who pinned all her hopes on Lumina, Dan Heng beside her was much more reliable.
He had formulated multiple solutions.
However, these solutions required being able to reach people outside of Amphoreus.
As long as they could contact the Astral Express, Dan Heng was confident they could resolve this.
At the same time, Dan Heng had one final source of confidence...
Therefore, regarding this [Lord Ravager], apart from pondering the situation, Dan Heng didn't feel any worry in his heart.
"Contact people outside of Amphoreus? Who do you want to contact?" Lumina was quite curious about Dan Heng's solution.
But even if Dan Heng didn't say it out loud, Lumina already knew what his solution was.
Over on the Xianzhou, there was someone who had sworn to strike down a Lord Ravager.
As long as the coordinates of Amphoreus, along with the news that there was a Lord Ravager on Amphoreus, were "accidentally" sent out, a battle-hungry Xianzhou ship would soon arrive right at Amphoreus's doorstep.
"Yes, General Feixiao seems intent on finding a Lord Ravager." Just as Lumina thought, this was the very first solution that came to Dan Heng's mind.
After all, this was General Feixiao's own intention, stated in her very own words. As the ones providing the intel, not only would they not owe a favor, but they would actually make Feixiao owe them one instead.
It truly was the most perfect solution.
However...
All of this relied on the premise that the information could actually be transmitted out.
"It is a good idea." She nodded slightly, expressing her approval of Dan Heng's plan.
"But, just like you, once I entered Amphoreus, I haven't been able to send any messages out."
Even as mobile phones, Lumina's phone had far better features and signal than Stelle's and the others.
But in the data space of Amphoreus, her special phone was no different from theirs—neither could send messages out.
Well... that was a lie, of course.
Lumina's phone, specially customized by the Interastral Peace Corporation, had another special feature.
That was something like, "Help me, Sir Interastral Peace Corporation!"
As long as Lumina activated this feature, the Interastral Peace Corporation would dispatch their strongest fleet to her location at the fastest speed possible.
An alliance phone? Pretty cool, right?
Humming lightly in her heart, Lumina accepted the Interastral Peace Corporation's goodwill.
It would be even better if they only sent beautiful girls when the time came...
"I see." Dan Heng nodded and didn't say anything more.
Although Lumina didn't show any flaws on the surface, Dan Heng had a premonition.
A premonition that Lumina was definitely hiding something.
She definitely knew a lot more than he and Stelle did.
But Dan Heng didn't really mind, anyway.
Without overthinking it, Dan Heng nodded at Lumina and Herta, saying, "Miss Lumina, Madam Herta, I have no further questions, so I will take my leave now."
Hearing this, Lumina smiled and nodded.
Receiving Lumina's nod of approval, Dan Heng glanced at Stelle before turning and leaving.
"Stelle, you should get some good rest." Lumina could sense the exhaustion in her body, so she smiled and suggested to her.
Although she possessed a Stellaron Body, she was only somewhat more resilient than an ordinary person.
She would still get tired just like anyone else; there was no difference.
Therefore, after going through so much, she really needed to take a break.
After defeating the Titan of Strife, Stelle hadn't rested for very long.
Under these circumstances, physical fatigue was naturally unavoidable.
"Mhm..." Hearing this, Stelle looked at Herta, then at her Sister Lumina. After pondering for a moment, she finally nodded.
"Then I'll go get some rest first."
Although Stelle didn't seem any different from usual, still looking like her usual slightly crazy self, she was truly a bit tired inside.
If things continued like this, Stelle would find it a bit hard to handle.
So, after thinking for a moment, Stelle nodded.
"Sister Lumina, Herta, goodbye."
Waving her hand and receiving a simple acknowledgment from Lumina and Herta, Stelle left and returned to her room.
"..."
After Stelle and Dan Heng left, only Lumina and Herta remained.
Neither of them spoke, both waiting for the other to say something.
The scene fell into a dead silence.
A moment later, Herta broke the silence.
She raised her hand and asked Lumina casually, "Are you going to look for other beautiful girls next?"
Herta clearly understood that Lumina's path of "making friends with beautiful girls" was not yet over.
So she thought that the reason she sent Dan Heng and Stelle away was to better interact with other beautiful girls.
"I am, of course I am." Facing Herta's remark, Lumina agreed crisply, without the slightest intention of hiding anything.
"..."
Hearing this, Herta's heart instantly grew cold.
Great, just great. She's not even pretending anymore.
"Little Herta~"
Just as Herta scoffed inwardly, expressing her dissatisfaction with Lumina's behavior,
Lumina suddenly ambushed her, turning around to face Herta. She reached out, gently pinched Herta's chin, and leaned in close enough for them to feel each other's body heat.
Lumina stared into Herta's beautiful, dazzling purple gem-like eyes. With her lips slightly parted, she exhaled a warm breath against Herta's face.
She whispered softly, "Little Herta~ How did you know I was coming to have a nice, thorough chat with a super beautiful girl like you?"
"..."
"What are you doing?"
Lumina's sudden action really caught Herta off guard, leaving her unable to react for a moment.
But as a genius, how could Herta be bested by such a trivial surprise attack?
After reacting, she glared at Lumina and gave a plain reply of three words.
"Ha. Ha. Ha." Lumina smiled at Herta's plain response.
Plain?
As plain as could be.
Even though Herta's expression remained as usual, as if that action hadn't stirred up the slightest emotion in her.
But from such a close distance, Lumina could see.
Seeing the slightly flushed earlobes hidden beneath her hair, Lumina chuckled inwardly.
She understood that Herta was just a paper tiger right now—seemingly tough to deal with on the surface, but she only needed a slight push forward to reveal a fatal flaw.
"Alright, alright, I'm just joking."
Despite such a good opportunity, Lumina didn't choose to press her advantage. Instead, she waved her hand and stepped back to put some distance between them.
"..."
At this action from Lumina, Herta, who was already brimming with resentment towards her, grew even more resentful...
"Let's go, Herta. We're going to a good place." Paying no mind to Herta's practically overflowing resentment, Lumina smiled, turned, and walked away.
"Sigh..." Staring at Lumina's retreating back for a moment, Herta let out a sigh and quickly hurried to catch up.
"Where are we going?"
"To a... courtyard built atop a giant tree."
"A tragedy is unfolding there right now."