In Herta's eyes, Nous had once anchored three Instants in time through a method so crude and simple that it shook the entire universe. Even several Aeons stepping in hadn't changed a thing.
Was the universe's future truly set in stone?
That question had haunted countless minds for ages, including Herta's. Even after she'd solved the Solitary Waves Theory and obtained that constant, she couldn't say for sure whether it applied to Aeons as well.
Yet her clash with Polka Kakamond had put those doubts to rest. The fact that Nous was still searching for an answer meant THEY hadn't fully worked out the universe's future.
Whether the universe was ruled by chaos or certainty remained a mystery.
She still didn't have an answer, but at least things looked better than before. Surely anything was better than having the future pinned down by Nous.
Sylvia listened to Herta's grand speech and found herself agreeing with her reasoning.
But even if Herta was right, what did any of this have to do with her?
"I get all that, but what's it got to do with me? You're going to meet Nous, so you have to drag me along too? Isn't that a bit much?" Sylvia gave Herta a helpless look.
'Don't tell me she's still counting on my good luck.'
Sure, Nous couldn't predict the future with perfect certainty. But pinning down a single moment in the present should be child's play for THEM.
For Nous, it'd be like taking an open-book exam. Did Herta think Sylvia's luck could somehow change THEIR mind? Besides, her skill was just a watered-down version of the real thing. She wasn't about to put much faith in it.
"Of course I'm bringing you along to guard against Polka Kakamond. Besides, when I meet that Droidhead, Nous's descent will put a huge strain on the space station. It's not something an ordinary person can withstand."
"Seriously? Last time, the Hunt cast THEIR gaze on the space station, and nothing happened."
"That's because the Hunt looked our way on THEIR own."
Herta shrugged and tilted her head at Sylvia. When she went to see that Droidhead, she'd be the one knocking on the door. The two situations weren't quite the same.
"There's a rule like that?"
"Enough questions. Just hurry up and say yes."
Herta shot Sylvia an impatient look. She'd experienced this herself, so how could she not know?
If an Aeon took an interest in you and turned THEIR gaze your way, that was one thing. But if you went knocking on THEIR door and called THEM out, that was another matter entirely.
'Since when did this brat get so talkative?'
"Fine, fine. I'll go. All I have to do is sit there, right?"
Sylvia nodded and gave in to Herta's demands.
Herta was stubborn and spoiled. Once she set her mind on something, she'd find a way to get it done. Even if Sylvia refused, Herta would probably find some way to drag her back to the space station when the time came.
Besides, they were talking about Nous.
Sylvia didn't think she'd ever set foot on the Path of Erudition in her lifetime. Chances to see Nous in person were bound to be rare, and it'd be a shame to miss one.
After all, she couldn't count on Stelle catching Nous's gaze one day, could she?
There was a chance Stelle might attract the attention of other Paths, but Erudition? Well...
Sylvia thought of Stelle's usual behavior, grinning like an idiot all day and acting crazy at the drop of a hat. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't picture Stelle having anything to do with the Path of Erudition.
Herta looked pleased. A lovely smile even spread across her face.
Compared to the rather blank expressions of Herta's puppets, the real woman was far more expressive. Sylvia found herself revising her impression of Herta yet again.
"Now, about Little Herta. Since you've brought that machine back, let's go see him right away. No point wasting time."
Herta soon brought up the Anti-Organic Equation.
With that, the second purpose of her visit to Separius was settled.
Sylvia blinked. Wasn't this a little sudden?
"You're going there yourself?"
To avoid disturbing Ruan Mei, Sylvia had placed Claretwheel Temple's new home far from her location. Unless something came up, the two sides were unlikely to run into each other.
"Who else would go? You expect me to sit around here waiting that long for some machine?"
Herta crossed her arms and snorted.
Her time was precious. If Sylvia came begging her for help with some personal problem, Herta might agree to wait a while.
But a mere machine infected with the Anti-Organic Equation? Did it seriously expect Herta to wait for it?
"Uh... All right. I'll send you the coordinates."
After a moment's hesitation, Sylvia nodded.
The basic construction modules had already been deployed. As long as the people of Claretwheel Temple didn't insist on putting up decorative buildings right away, they could move in without a problem.
They wouldn't miss Sugata for a while.
Besides, Sylvia wanted to deal with the danger hanging over Little Herta as soon as possible.
The odds might be low, but what if something did happen?
Even organic lifeforms had a chance of becoming infected with the Anti-Organic Equation. That made it all the more important to take precautions for Little Herta.
After sending Herta the location of the new Claretwheel Temple, Sylvia messaged Sugata and Samatha. She told them she'd be coming over to begin the first round of research on Sugata.
Samatha was still worried about Sugata's safety, but Sugata agreed at once without the slightest hesitation.
He understood that much of Claretwheel Temple's current peace depended on his existence. If he went back on his word, the temple would likely lose its new home and might even offend someone powerful.
For Samatha's sake, and for the children of Claretwheel Temple, he'd already made up his mind. No matter what Sylvia planned to do to him, even if she took him apart, Sugata wouldn't hesitate.
Herta's ship lifted off before Mei's eyes and headed toward Claretwheel Temple.
One look at its direction was enough for Mei to guess that this had something to do with Sugata. She couldn't help with that, so she paid it no more mind and went back to studying the finer points of Tsubame Gaeshi.
--+--
The ship soon reached Claretwheel Temple.
Sugata and Samatha were already waiting outside, while many of the temple's residents peeked out with curious eyes.
Sylvia stepped through the hatch. She wasn't surprised to see Samatha there.
The two had endured countless hardships together on their journey to the Xianzhou. From what Sylvia had heard, Samatha had even been the one to bring Sugata into Claretwheel Temple as a full disciple. Their bond was bound to run deep.
"Come on in. Sugata, once you're inside, just follow the instructions of the person conducting the research. Samatha, you can stay beside me and watch, but don't interfere."
"Understood."
Samatha pressed her palms together and bowed, grateful for Sylvia's kindness.
Sylvia led them inside. Herta glanced at Samatha, then gave Sylvia a look without saying anything.
For Sylvia's sake, she'd let it slide.
Herta studied the machine standing before her. An individual infected with the Anti-Organic Equation who could remain so calm was quite a sight.
"Here. Connect these cables."
Herta handed Sugata a large bundle of wires.
Given the Anti-Organic Equation's capabilities, it could seize control of the ship in an instant even without a wired connection. But why would Herta hand over her ship for no reason?
Since Sylvia had assured her that this machine was rational, Herta had only set up basic network protection. She hadn't bothered with anything beyond that.
Herta had little experience with the Anti-Organic Equation.
For one thing, the subject was sensitive. For another, it was dangerous, and there wasn't much value in studying it.
Even if Herta figured out how the whole thing worked, what good would that do?
Watching Sugata cooperate with her research without complaint, Herta gave a satisfied nod and threw herself into the analysis.
Having a machine as her test subject made things much easier. Better still, this machine had witnessed the Emperor's Wars firsthand rather than becoming infected long after the fact.
Herta's curiosity was in full swing.
It didn't take long for her to forget Sylvia was even there.
About two system hours passed.
Sylvia led Samatha to a nearby sofa and urged her to sit down.
"Have a seat. Once Herta gets into her research, she won't be done anytime soon."
"Uh..."
Samatha looked at Sylvia, who'd already made herself comfortable on the sofa, then at Madam Herta, who was treating them both as if they didn't exist.
In the end, she sat down beside Sylvia.
Another system hour or two slipped by.
By then, this part of Separius had fallen into night. A glance out the ship's window showed Claretwheel Temple, now settled into its new home, glowing with lights. The faint smell of dinner even drifted over on the wind.
Waiting for Herta to finish an experiment was dull work.
Once she lost herself in her research, everyone else might as well be invisible. And if someone broke her train of thought, they'd have to deal with her temper.
Just then, someone from Claretwheel Temple sent Samatha a message. It seemed they were worried she'd been away too long and wanted her to come back for dinner.
Samatha was about to decline when Sylvia glanced over and spoke.
"Samatha, you can head back first. Who knows how long Herta's going to keep working? I'll stay here and watch over things. Don't worry, we won't take Sugata apart."
Sylvia leaned back in her seat and yawned.
Sleeping here was no different from sleeping anywhere else. She figured she might as well spend the night on Herta's ship and wait for the final results.
After all, this concerned Little Herta's safety. Sylvia cared quite a bit about that.
She also had complete faith in Herta.
The Anti-Organic Equation was only the creation of a single genius. Sylvia didn't think it could pose a challenge beyond Herta's abilities.
Samatha, on the other hand, barely knew Herta. Staying here would only make things awkward, and there was a good chance she'd get a few sharp remarks thrown her way once Herta finished.
There was no need for that.
From the way Sylvia had addressed the woman earlier, Samatha had already worked out who was analyzing the Anti-Organic Equation.
Genius Society Member #83, Madam Herta.
Rumor had it that Madam Herta herself almost never appeared in public. The few people lucky enough to meet her usually only got to see one of the Herta puppets she'd created.
Images of those puppets had spread throughout the universe, too.
And the woman before her clearly wasn't a puppet.
Which meant this had to be Madam Herta herself.
Once Samatha realized that, even her training as a monk couldn't keep her breathing steady.
'Just what kind of powerful patron has Claretwheel Temple managed to find?'
'Someone who can even get Madam Herta herself to come here!'
Hearing Sylvia's suggestion, Samatha gave up on staying to watch.
If this really was the famous Madam Herta, her presence wouldn't make any difference. She couldn't even begin to understand what the woman was doing.
Samatha rose, pressed her palms together, and bowed to both Sylvia and Herta.
"Then this humble monk shall take her leave, my lady."
"Go on. Claretwheel Temple needs people to help everyone settle into the new place. Don't waste all your time hanging around here."
The construction modules had provided complete interiors, but they hadn't done anything to prepare the land outside.
For now, stepping beyond Claretwheel Temple meant walking straight into the wilderness. The monks would have to put in some work to build a small town around their new home.
Samatha nodded and left Herta's ship without a fuss.
As for Sylvia, she glanced a few times at Herta, who hadn't noticed any of this.
Then she curled up sideways on the sofa and began scrolling through her phone to pass the time.
As luck would have it, she came across a news story about herself.
--+--
[Within Borisin Territory]
[A pacifist group among the Borisin, Claretwheel Temple, has reportedly come under the protection of an unknown powerhouse. A fearsome giant beast was left behind to deter further Borisin attacks. The creature is said to possess immense strength, capable of destroying an entire fleet of beast ships with a single strike.]
[After suffering heavy losses in several failed assaults, the Borisin forces were finally driven into retreat and have yet to dare attack again.]
Sylvia watched the grainy battlefield footage. Even with the poor image quality, she could make out Claretwheel's form.
She couldn't help letting out a quiet sound of admiration.
"Whoa, Claretwheel did a great job. I'll have to praise it next time I visit."
In the footage, a vast mountain range transformed into a terrifying beast. A single roar was enough to drive back an entire Borisin fleet, while one beam of light could pierce a star.
Its overwhelming power was impossible to miss.
The Borisin had been beaten so badly that they'd fled with their tails between their legs, unable to put up a fight.
The video had spread everywhere as soon as it went public.
Some people praised it, while others questioned whether it was real.
But the report had come from a news division directly under the Interastral Peace Corporation. The company soon released an official statement claiming the footage had been provided as a courtesy by a mysterious Memokeeper.
The Garden of Recollection had verified its authenticity, leaving no doubt that the footage was genuine.
That sent the story's popularity soaring even higher.
Sylvia had no idea how the Interastral Peace Corporation had managed to dig up news about the incident so quickly.
She hadn't even returned the ship she'd borrowed, yet the story was already out.
With growing interest, she started browsing the news page.
Come to think of it, this wasn't her first time making the news.
Her name had appeared in the Interastral Peace Corporation's reports during the crisis on Penacony. This time, though, she was an anonymous figure, which made things a little more amusing.
There was another detail worth noticing.
Claretwheel Temple's reputation had grown across the universe in an unexpected way.
A group of Borisin so different from the rest of their kind had caught plenty of attention. Many people were amazed that such a community even existed.
Sylvia treated Herta's ship like her own home. Without a second thought, she pulled a blanket from her personal storage space and wrapped herself in it.
Curled up beneath the covers, she kept scrolling through her phone with nothing better to do.
Then someone tugged at a corner of her blanket.
A wide-brimmed hat fell over Sylvia's face, blocking her view. Before she could say a word, a warm body slipped under the covers beside her.
"Huh?"
Sylvia shot upright.
"Don't move!"
Herta was squinting at her with a look of clear annoyance, muttering under her breath as she tugged at the blanket and tried to wrap herself up in it.
--+--