This isn't right!
She was clearly not an ordinary person, yet in this almost suffocating kiss, she actually felt short of breath, her head turning hazy.
Even so...
There was no need to kiss like that, right?
When the kiss finally ended, Kiana couldn't say a word. She clung to Herta's neck, limp, her head drooping onto her shoulder as if she had just suffered a crushing defeat.
Fortunately, Herta didn't make any further moves.
She even seemed to be in a pretty good mood.
Perhaps because she had taken the initiative just now, she carried a faint sense of victory.
"That's enough, right?"
Kiana steadied her disordered breathing. Her voice carried a soft nasal tone, and her hot breath brushed against skin, leaving a faint tickling sensation.
"Fine. I'll let you off for now."
After a brief pause, Herta gave a decisive answer that made Kiana feel relieved.
It wasn't that Kiana disliked her—it was just that being pinned down and kissed like that was far too intense.
"You're pretty clear-headed right now, aren't you?"
"Why are you asking that?"
Why ask something like that out of nowhere?
If she wasn't clear-headed, was she sleepwalking?
Was Herta suspecting that anything she said later might not count because she wasn't in her right mind?
Kiana's thoughts began to spiral.
What she didn't expect was Herta saying, "Good. As long as you're clear-headed, let's talk about the question you brought up earlier—what is divinity."
Kiana: "..."
"You don't look like someone who would think about something like that. So why suddenly bring it up? Tell me—what were you thinking?"
"Well... didn't I already say?"
She truly hadn't expected that after kissing her, Herta would suddenly switch to serious matters. Still dazed, Kiana instinctively tried to brush it off.
Herta placed her hands on Kiana's shoulders and gently pushed her back, creating just enough distance to clearly observe her expression.
Her eyes were indeed wandering.
"Do I look that easy to fool?" Herta asked, sounding puzzled.
Kiana froze slightly. Her gaze fell back onto Herta, and she blinked as she recalled what she knew about her.
Herta actually... was pretty easy to fool.
As long as you gave her something more interesting, she wouldn't bother digging deeper.
Sometimes, things would just pass like that.
Silence said more than words.
Herta clicked her tongue. "Kiana, you don't seriously think I'm that easy to fool, do you?"
"Ahaha... not really."
Kiana wasn't good at hiding her thoughts. Under Herta's steady gaze, her expression betrayed her even more easily. She forced an awkward laugh, trying to muddle through.
Herta took a deep breath. "I can see the truth at a glance. I just don't pursue it because I hate trouble."
"If you think I'm easy to fool, you're very mistaken."
Not easy to fool?
Kiana questioned it internally, but she wasn't foolish enough to say it out loud. She nodded seriously.
"Let's continue."
Herta didn't elaborate further. She had already said what needed to be said. If Kiana truly thought she was easy to fool, she'd learn otherwise soon enough.
"Continue our earlier topic?"
"Can we not talk about it?"
Kiana's gaze drifted away again, avoiding eye contact. She instinctively didn't want to discuss it.
"Why?"
"...There's no particular reason. I just need some time to process it." Kiana shook her head. She looked troubled, yet refused to explain.
"Oh? If that's the case, why did you ask me about it just now?"
"Wasn't I just half-asleep?"
Kiana leaned back against the sofa and rubbed her face twice. "Honestly, I don't remember it very clearly."
"You were dreaming just now?"
Herta seemed to understand something. In some people's eyes, dreams carried special meaning—they could reveal overlooked details, show alternative possibilities, even hint at fragments of the future.
But most people forgot their dreams after waking.
Kiana nodded. "Let's not talk about this today. Once I figure things out myself, I'll tell you."
Herta didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes seemed to question Kiana's intelligence, making Kiana puff up in annoyance.
She just didn't like thinking.
That didn't mean she was stupid.
"If it were Ruan Mei asking you right now, what would you do?" Herta suddenly asked.
If it were Ruan Mei...
"Even if I wanted to answer, I wouldn't know how," Kiana replied. "It's not that I'm treating you differently—I really don't remember. Even if Ruan Mei asked me, I'd just shake my head."
Whether she was satisfied or not was unclear. Herta simply nodded.
Then, under Kiana's tense gaze, she lifted her chin again.
"W-wait, didn't you say you wouldn't...?"
Intimate gestures really were the fastest way to understand someone and close the distance.
With just a simple motion, Kiana immediately knew what Herta intended.
The reason was simple—the two deep kisses earlier had left too strong an impression.
It felt like...
Being completely consumed.
Even though nothing else had happened. They had only kissed twice.
"Hm? Did I say that?" Herta tilted her head slightly, a smile tugging at her lips.
"You did!" Kiana protested. "You said today—"
"Today what?"
Kiana's face flushed. She couldn't bring herself to repeat those words. Gritting her teeth, she rephrased it. "You said you wouldn't do it again today."
"Do you have proof?"
"?"
Kiana stared at her in disbelief, her lips trembling as she failed to produce a single word.
Unbelievable—she was going back on her word!
"Come on, let me teach you something today."
Herta leaned down, closing in until their noses touched, as if she would kiss her the next second.
"Once you've lost your bargaining chips, you don't get to choose anymore."
"What?"
Kiana froze, not quite understanding. What did that have to do with bargaining chips and choices?
It was clearly her...
Wait—so that's what she meant!
Herta's condition had been to discuss the earlier topic properly.
And now...
There was no discussion to be had.
"Looks like you figured it out. Good. Your intelligence still has room for improvement," Herta said approvingly.
"I think—wait, what are you doing?"
Kiana was about to explain that she truly didn't remember, but before she could finish, Herta lifted her straight off the sofa.
"Since you've forgotten and you're fully awake now, we might as well do something more interesting."
"Wait, wait, wait!"
"No waiting." Herta's voice was calm but firm. "We can do something deeper—something that will help you understand exactly what kind of person I am."
...
That day, Kiana gained a much deeper understanding of Herta—she understood far more clearly what kind of person she really was.
Like a salted fish—she lay sprawled on the bed.
Kiana began to question her life.
At what point had she gone wrong? Why had things turned out like this?
No—before Herta pinned her down, she hadn't even thought about that question. That alone was her biggest mistake!
After everything that had happened with Mei and Ruan Mei, had she already, deep down, completely accepted the reality that she was the one on the bottom?
Had she already completely given up?
Herta had clearly been a perfect opportunity—a new breakthrough point. Yet not only had she done nothing, she had even been pushed down instead.
Was that really okay?
"This isn't how things are supposed to go!"
Kiana, flushed with embarrassment and frustration, punched the bed and sat up from the soft mattress. Only after everything was over did she begin reflecting—and regretting it.
The opportunity had been right in front of her.
And she had done nothing.
She buried her head into the blanket draped over her, mourning the chance she had lost. Somehow, she seemed to have unconsciously accepted this reality completely.
With her face buried in the blanket, she caught a faint, familiar fragrance.
It was Herta's scent.
Her arms tightened around her legs, her fingers gripping the blanket. Memories that made her cheeks burn surged through her mind, dyeing her face red once more.
"Why are you blushing, damn it?!"
Kiana shot upright in annoyance, roughly rubbing her face as if trying to erase that lingering warmth.
"No, this absolutely won't do!"
She gritted her teeth, her expression turning resolute. "I can't keep going like this!"
If she didn't do something, she'd never be able to turn things around again!
Thinking back to before—when she had shamelessly clung to Mei, her mind full of thoughts about making Mei her wife—
What she wanted was someone else to be her wife, not to become someone else's wife!
"Get it together, Kiana—you can do this!"
Encouraging herself, Kiana reignited her determination to completely turn the tables and take the upper hand.
Tapping her own head, she muttered to herself, "Stay sharp, stay sharp... you can do it. Back in Izumo, weren't you doing just fine? You can do it!"
After muttering for quite a while, she seemed to convince herself. Her confidence returned. She got dressed and prepared to find someone to test her resolve.
Leaving her room, she soon realized something strange—Herta wasn't outside.
The area where the device was placed was empty. Only the faint glow of the operating machine illuminated the surroundings.
Where did Herta go?
All prepared but unable to find her target, Kiana suddenly felt lost, as if drawing her sword only to find no opponent in sight.
With a hint of confusion, Kiana used the hidden passage and appeared in Herta's office.
There was someone there.
But not the Herta she was looking for.
Instead, it was the Herta puppet stationed beside the Simulated Universe.
"Herta?"
Kiana stepped closer. Since the puppet was also Herta, perhaps it could contact her real body—or at least know where she had gone.
"...Why are you already up?" The puppet fell silent for a moment before responding.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Kiana couldn't help but complain. "You just disappeared without saying a word. I'd get worried too, you know?"
"What are you thinking? This is my territory."
"Then where are you?"
Herta sized her up from head to toe. Instead of answering, she asked, "You're in such a hurry to find me—did something happen?"
"I missed you!"
Kiana declared confidently.
The puppet perfectly conveyed Herta's current surprise. She clearly hadn't expected that answer, especially since she had only just left.
"...I have something urgent to deal with. It'll be resolved soon." After a brief pause, Herta's tone returned to normal. "Go back and sleep a bit more. When you wake up, you'll see me. Or if you're bored, you can go check on Ruan Mei in the containment zone."
What impeccable timing for something urgent.
If it had come a little earlier...
The thought flashed through her mind. Kiana sighed slightly in regret. "Alright, then I'll go see what Ruan Mei is up to."
"..."
The puppet fell silent again, expressionless, making it seem as though Herta had suddenly disconnected.
Or maybe she really was busy?
"Um... I won't disturb you then?"
Thinking she might truly be occupied, Kiana spoke again.
"...Alright. Go on."
Herta spoke again, but only after a long pause. Her tone and expression were normal, yet Kiana inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine.
Wait...
Was this a trap?
No way.
It shouldn't be, right?
She was the one who said Kiana could go check on Ruan Mei if she was bored!
"Um... are you really busy?"
Kiana hesitated, unsure whether to leave or stay. She couldn't quite figure out what Herta meant.
"I told you, it's urgent," Herta replied. "But don't worry—I'll definitely be back today."
She deliberately emphasized the words "today."
So she really wasn't on the space station.
Kiana let out a sigh of relief. "Alright then, go handle your work. I'll go find Ruan Mei."
Watching Kiana leave with light, quick steps, the puppet returned to silence.
But Herta herself was far from calm.
"She just said she missed me, and the next moment she's going to find Ruan Mei?"
She had only said it casually.
And Kiana actually chose that option?
Did she not understand the situation at all?
She had just gotten out of Herta's bed, and she was already eager to see Ruan Mei? What—was the experience Herta gave her not as good as Ruan Mei's?
The more Herta thought about it, the more absurd—and the more irritated—she became.
In the end, countless thoughts condensed into a single conclusion.
When she came back, she was definitely going to make Kiana pay.
Completely unaware that Herta's words hadn't been meant literally, Kiana suddenly shivered.
The chill clinging to her body seemed even stronger.
What was going on?
Was something targeting her, her instincts warning her of danger?
"That doesn't make sense..." Kiana muttered, turning back to glance in the direction of Herta's office. "She's the one who told me to go check on Ruan Mei."
If not Herta, then who?
It couldn't be Ruan Mei herself, could it?
Or... Mei, the one she was about to see with Sirin?
It couldn't possibly be Sirin, right?!
Thinking of Acheron led her to think of Sirin, and thinking of Sirin inevitably brought back what had happened last time.
Something wasn't right.
Could Herta really have been setting a trap?
That shouldn't be the case!