Thinking about how she'd get revenge on Sylvia for what she had done, Herta gave Sylvia's cheeks a firm squeeze. She then leaned close to her ear and whispered, "We'll continue this on my spaceship later!"
"Huh?"
Sylvia shivered for no clear reason, but under Herta's imposing gaze, she had no choice but to nod. She hadn't understood what Herta meant at all. She'd assumed Herta just wanted to discuss Sugata in more detail once they got aboard her ship.
Satisfied with Sylvia's answer, Herta finally released her cheeks.
"All right, you came here to see Ruan Mei about something, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I've got something for her. Ruan Mei, I brought you the Borisin Warhead's heart. Do you have a container that can seal it?" Sylvia pulled a card from her pocket and showed Ruan Mei the side with the heart.
Ruan Mei had just stood up and hadn't even reached them when Herta snatched the storage card from Sylvia's hand. She turned it over with interest.
"Hold on. The Warhead's heart? Isn't this a product of the Abundance?"
"Yeah. It's probably something like the Ambrosial Arbor's fruit."
"And you didn't think to bring me something good?"
Herta gave Sylvia an indignant look before holding out her hand.
"Come on, what else have you got? Anything interesting I can add to my Curio collection?"
By then, Ruan Mei had reached them. She took the storage card from Herta's hand and said, "That's enough. Stop giving her a hard time. It's not like these things grow on trees."
"Hey, how am I giving her a hard time? You got a present, so why shouldn't I? Don't I, Herta, deserve one too?"
Herta gave a small huff before adding, "Besides, I knew Sylvia before you did! Why wouldn't she think of me first when she finds something good? We've even got a child together!"
Having Herta call her out so openly left Sylvia feeling rather embarrassed. The real Herta seemed quite different from the impression she'd formed of her through the puppets.
"Uh, then next time..."
Sylvia was about to promise she'd bring Herta something nice the next time she found it. But halfway through, she remembered that she actually had something she could give her right now.
It was the bullet she'd pulled from a gacha draw aboard her spaceship a few days ago. Although it wasn't very powerful, it carried the power of the Hunt and even had some ability to interfere with causality.
Sylvia had wondered why her luck had been so poor that time, leaving her without anything good. Apparently, fate had been saving that reward for this very moment.
Herta had complained before that Sylvia hadn't let her study the Countertemporal Shot she'd used against Polka Kakamond. A bullet from the same series should be enough to make up for it, right?
With that thought, Sylvia raised her hand and gently supported the small, delicate hand Herta was holding out to her.
She had no idea how Herta took care of her skin, but her hand was smooth and beautiful, as soft as a freshly peeled boiled egg. Even Ruan Mei's hands probably weren't this pretty.
"I know I'm beautiful, but do you really have to get so lost staring at my hand?"
Sylvia had barely spaced out for a moment before Herta's smug voice brought her back. Despite her teasing words, Herta had pushed out her chest on purpose, looking like a proud peacock. She seemed quite pleased that Sylvia was so taken with her beauty.
"Who's getting lost staring at your hand?"
Sylvia shot back without mercy. Then she reached into her pocket with her free hand, pulled out the bullet, and placed it in Herta's palm.
"I was getting your present! Here, the Curio you wanted."
Sylvia would admit that the real Herta was stunning, but that didn't give her the right to accuse Sylvia of having a hand fetish!
Herta raised an eyebrow and flicked her wrist, letting the bullet roll across her palm a couple of times.
"What's this? Some random bullet? It's even got cracks in it. Don't tell me you're planning to recount all one hundred and eight chapters of this bullet's touching life story."
"What kind of nonsense is that? Even if you wanted to hear it, I wouldn't bother telling it. Remember how you complained that I didn't let you examine the shot I fired at Polka Kakamond beforehand?"
Herta's eyes lit up.
"This is the bullet you fired at Polka?"
"Of course not!"
"Huh?"
Herta looked at Sylvia in confusion, only to find Sylvia looking right back at her with an equally puzzled expression.
"Do you think I can just pull out something capable of gravely wounding or even killing an Emanator whenever I want? This one's a weaker version. It couldn't threaten an Emanator, but its abilities work on the same principles. That's enough for research, isn't it?"
"Oh, that's not bad. At least you've got a conscience. Looks like this trip was worth it."
"You make it sound like I've ever done you wrong..."
Herta ignored Sylvia's complaint and accepted her explanation. It wasn't the same bullet that had summoned the Hunt THEMSELVES that day, but something with the same properties would still satisfy her curiosity.
For a moment, Herta even considered patting Sylvia on the head and giving her a little praise. But that seemed like a waste of time and effort, so she dismissed the idea.
Instead, she decided she'd have one of her puppets act as Sylvia's personal praise bot someday, agreeing with everything she said and showering her with compliments. Of course, Herta knew she could be rather demanding. Whenever Ruan Mei got fed up with her, she'd simply stop paying her any attention.
Yet Sylvia had taken a complaint she'd made on a whim that day to heart and found her a replacement so soon.
Herta was more than satisfied. She stepped aside with the bullet in hand and began examining it, even borrowing some of the equipment in the room to run a few basic tests.
Meanwhile, Ruan Mei gave the bullet in Herta's hand one more glance before losing interest.
She knew all about the Hunt's appearance at Herta Space Station that day, along with the bullet that had drawn THEIR gaze. She just hadn't expected Sylvia to get her hands on another item with similar properties.
The Paths Sylvia followed were already complicated enough. Surely she hadn't added the Hunt to the list as well?
As Ruan Mei considered that possibility, she began printing a container designed to isolate the power within the Warhead's heart.
Even without Sylvia explaining, Ruan Mei could make an educated guess about the heart. The energy it held had to be immense.
"Sylvia, try putting the heart inside."
Ruan Mei called her over to a clear cylindrical container. It was empty apart from a transparent nutrient solution.
"Oh, okay."
Sylvia took back the card and released what was sealed inside.
A blinding red light burst forth like a flashbang. But as soon as the container's lid sealed itself, the crimson energy was forced back inside. Only a faint, weakened glow escaped into the room.
"Whoa, it actually worked! How'd you do that?"
Sylvia couldn't help but marvel at it. A genius really was a genius. Ruan Mei had taken one look at the thing and built a container capable of sealing it.
"I've encountered similar biological tissue before. I only needed to make a few adjustments to an existing design to account for the power of the Abundance."
Ruan Mei admired the beating heart without turning around as she gave Sylvia a brief explanation.
"This heart's power is immense, but this setup won't let it display its full potential... Perhaps it needs a living biological vessel."
A chill ran down Sylvia's spine.
'Hey, I brought you a souvenir as a friendly gesture, not because I wanted you to build an artificial Warhead!'
"Uh, listen, if you're planning to make an artificial Warhead, could you tell me first? Also, I took in a group of monks from Claretwheel Temple because of the Anti-Organic Equation incident. Quite a few of them are Borisin, so please don't go grabbing them to use as vessels."
Ruan Mei was recording data on her tablet. When she heard Sylvia's words, she turned and stared at her in silence for a moment.
Why would she need to capture living vessels?
She could mass-produce them with a few taps of a button. Why would she waste her time going out to catch something so ordinary? It wasn't as though they were rare specimens with only a handful left in the entire universe.
They were just Borisin. Only ignorant mortals would treat their bodies as something precious.
Ruan Mei sighed inwardly.
'Oh, well.'
Sylvia was an amateur, after all, and she'd gone to the trouble of bringing her something valuable. She supposed she could at least give her an answer.
"I wouldn't do something so inefficient."
Sylvia had the distinct feeling Ruan Mei was looking down on her.
Unfortunately, she had no proof.
Ruan Mei continued to watch Sylvia. To be frank, Borisin physiques weren't even impressive enough to interest her.
If only Sylvia would agree to have a child with her.
Their child would surely have an exceptional physique, making it the perfect vessel.
Unfortunately, given Sylvia's personality, there was no chance she'd agree to such a thing. If Ruan Mei voiced that thought, she'd probably ruin any chance of having a child with Sylvia in the first place.
So she let the idea pass through her mind once before setting it aside. She had no plans to act on it.
Seeing that Sylvia had nothing more to say, Ruan Mei returned to her research.
The powerful heart could greatly enhance its host's physical abilities, but its side effects were still unknown. The records concerning the Borisin Warhead didn't reveal any clear drawbacks, so she'd need to conduct a more detailed study.
As she considered where to begin, another thought crossed her mind. If she could replicate the heart, improve it, and even mass-produce it, could it help her make progress on her artificial Emanator project, which had failed for the time being?
Seeing Ruan Mei sink into her own world, Sylvia decided not to disturb her.
She was about to slip away when Madam Herta suddenly grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her toward the exit.
"Come with me."
"Eh... What for?"
"Research."
"Then why are you dragging me along?"
"Mascot."
Sylvia stared at Herta, her head full of question marks. But there wasn't even a hint of a joke on the woman's face.
'Wait, she's serious? She actually wants to drag me along as her mascot?'
"Hold on, Polka Kakamond has practically vanished off the face of the universe. Do you really need me there?"
Herta glanced down at her.
"She's not dead. Who knows when she'll sneak back out and cause trouble again? You wouldn't want your territory to face another world-ending crisis out of nowhere, would you?"
'Why does that sound so wrong?'
Before Sylvia could come up with an answer, Herta had already dragged her out of the spaceship.
Outside, they ran into Mei, who'd been resting nearby.
Mei wasn't familiar with Ruan Mei, and the two didn't have much to talk about, so she'd decided not to accompany Sylvia to their meeting.
What she hadn't expected was for Sylvia to emerge with a woman she'd never seen before, practically being hauled along by the arm.
Mei studied the stranger with curiosity, wondering who she could be.
"Who's this?"
"It's Herta. The real one."
"Oh... Madam Herta. That explains it."
Mei understood at once. No wonder this woman had been able to fly her spaceship straight into Separius without setting off any alarms.
Herta didn't mind the scrutiny. She gave Mei a small nod.
"I'm Herta. I'm borrowing your little girlfriend for a bit."
At those words, a faint smile appeared on Mei's face. She nodded and made an inviting gesture.
"Be my guest."
"??? Wait, what about my opinion?!"
Sylvia stared at Mei with wide eyes.
'You traitor! All she had to do was call me your little girlfriend, and you're already won over?!'
'Where'd your cool, aloof attitude go?!'
'Help me!'
'Aren't you worried Herta might drag me off for some weird experiment?!'
Sylvia glared at Mei, accusing her of selling out her teammate with every look. But no matter how much she protested with her eyes, Herta kept dragging her toward the temporary laboratory aboard her ship.
Mei watched with a smile as Sylvia disappeared inside and the door closed behind her.
She shook her head.
What could possibly go wrong? If it were Ruan Mei dragging Sylvia off, she might've been a little worried.
But Madam Herta was far more trustworthy.
--+--
Several days before Sylvia returned to Separius, deep within Borisin territory...
At the former site of Claretwheel Temple, groups of beast ships descended upon a barren planet.
Their main target was obvious. A lush mountain range stretched for over ten thousand kilometers across the wasteland, with greenery that seemed ready to spread even farther.
Beyond the planet's atmosphere hovered an enormous flagship nearly ten thousand meters tall.
Inside, a Borisin commander frowned as he studied the mountains teeming with life.
"This should be where Claretwheel Temple stood. But wasn't this planet supposed to be barren?"
Claretwheel Temple had been home to a group of weak, cowardly fools who'd refused to kill and had withdrawn from Borisin society to live in isolation.
Their kind had little value. Though the rest of the Borisin despised them, few were willing to bring beast ships all the way out here to fight a war that would cost more than it could ever yield.
This time, however, five beast ships had vanished without a trace in a nearby star system. There'd also been reports of strange activity coming from this planet.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have bothered sending an entire fleet to investigate.
"My lord, according to our scouts, Claretwheel Temple is completely deserted. There's not a single person left."
"What?"
The Borisin commander found that absurd.
Claretwheel Temple had vanished, and the land around it had somehow become incredibly fertile?
The beast ships that had already landed were growing restless at the sight of the nutrient-rich soil. That alone was enough to suggest there was more to this place than met the eye.
"My lord, the rest of the planet's nothing but wasteland. Should we let them..."
His subordinate wanted permission for the beast ships to feed first. They'd traveled a long way, after all. It'd be a shame to leave without even replenishing their energy reserves.
"...Fine. But tell the wolf pups to report anything unusual they find!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The Borisin hurried off to relay the order.
Before long, over a dozen beast ships outside Claretwheel Temple rose to their feet.
The enormous creatures, some hundreds and others thousands of meters tall, bared their fangs at the lush land before them, their hunger clear.
Meanwhile, large groups of Borisin disembarked and headed into the mountains and the abandoned temple. They wanted to find out what strange event had taken place here.
But the moment they set foot in the forest, a deep voice echoed from every direction.
"Borisin, will you renounce slaughter, recite the scriptures, and study the secrets of the Claretwheel?"
"What the hell is Claretwheel Temple up to?!"
The Borisin entering the forest were stunned. They stopped in their tracks, raised their guard, and searched for the source of the voice.
But before they could react, one of the beast ships had already opened its enormous jaws and taken an eager bite at the vegetation covering the mountainside.
BOOOOM!
In an instant, an invisible force descended.
Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, all four limbs of the beast ship exploded into a mist of blood.
All that remained was its massive torso, which collapsed to the ground with a tortured howl, barely clinging to life.
--+--