To Divine Herta, the Herta Space Station had no real use for Asta, and the Simulated Universe Space Station was far too preoccupied with its simulations, neglecting actual academic research.
In contrast, the atmosphere of the Laboratory in the Land of Light was much better suited for Asta.
Of course, more importantly, this meant Divine Herta could dump all the management duties onto Asta just like old times and go back to slacking off herself.
Even though Divine Herta and Madam Herta were now two distinct individuals walking different paths, they remained remarkably similar in certain habits.
They both hated trouble, and they both loathed trivial chores.
In fact, the current Research Institute in the Land of Light was already crawling with data-body clones that Divine Herta had split off to fill every corner.
As for the lady herself, she had set up a residence in a remote area near the Land of Light—a place no one else knew about.
The Land of Light Research Institute was primarily for research, but like the Herta Space Station, it had absorbed nearly all the top talent from the various worlds affiliated with the Land of Light.
Divine Herta had zero interest in management.
While it wasn't impossible to find a suitable candidate for Acting Station Master within the Land of Light, for Divine Herta, it was simply a matter of being used to Asta.
Replacing her with anyone else just felt... off.
Bai Ming raised her hand and called out to Divine Herta, "When you go to pick her up, take me with you! I want to see too!"
"Suit yourself."
"Yay!~"
After chatting with several Geniuses in Herta City about Paths and Aeons, the conversation naturally drifted toward the Simulated Universe.
With Bai Ming gone for two months, the maintenance of the Simulated Universe had fallen onto the shoulders of Divine Herta and Screwllum.
Moreover, because of the massive pile of firewalls Bai Ming had suddenly added, the two of them had spent a considerable amount of effort just trying to decipher the code.
Fortunately, Aha didn't cause any chaos this time. That was because Aha had been busy watching the showdown between Bai Ming and Equilibrium and hadn't bothered with the Simulated Universe at all.
Consequently, the Simulated Universe had run smoothly over the past two months.
While a few bugs still popped up, they were all considered valuable data.
If there was one problem, it was that the firewalls were so overkill that if anyone wanted to borrow the Simulated Universe's computing power to deduce certain research topics, they had to physically come to the Space Station.
Remote operation was out of the question.
Once they finished exchanging their recent findings, this rare meeting came to an end.
Bai Ming was then invited to Ruan Mei's base to help with an upcoming experiment. However, before Bai Ming could set off for Ruan Mei's territory, Divine Herta called her aside.
"Come on, let's go bring that girl Asta back. I know where she is."
"We're leaving right now?"
Bai Ming felt Divine Herta's projection grab her arm and pull her toward the exit, wondering if this person's initiative wasn't just a bit too high. "How old even is Asta right now?"
"She's about ten or so. It's the perfect time for her to study abroad in the Land of Light. Leaving a girl like Asta with those boring fools is a total waste."
Divine Herta pushed Bai Ming onto a Herta City starship.
"Don't just Phase Flame over there; we have to pick someone up. You take this ship, and I'll meet up with you halfway."
With that, Divine Herta deactivated her projection and vanished from Bai Ming's sight.
Left with no chance to get a word in, Bai Ming had no choice but to step into the luxuriously decorated solo ship, hand the navigation over to the ship's AI, and settle in for the journey.
The ships in Herta City might have been nothing more than a way to get around in Herta's eyes, but in terms of performance, they were better than anything else on the market. It didn't take long to reach the destination Divine Herta had identified.
After meeting up with her data clone mid-transit, and before they reached the Asta family's estate, Divine Herta suddenly asked a question:
"What exactly is the relationship between you and my other self now?"
"Cough—!"
Bai Ming, who was sipping a drink on the sofa, nearly sprayed it everywhere as she choked.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at Divine Herta. "We just... slept in the same bed for one night. That's not enough to make you think like that, right?"
Faced with such a weak defense, Divine Herta let out a soft "Hmph," her expression practically saying I know exactly what's going on.
"I think I know myself well enough. The way that girl looks at you isn't quite right. Besides, I've never had a habit of sleeping with others—especially not in my own bedroom. For her to accept something like that, her feelings for you must be anything but ordinary."
"..."
Bai Ming fell silent, her eyes practically trembling. Seeing this, a question mark slowly formed over Divine Herta's head.
"?"
"You don't seriously think she was just being 'nice,' do you? How is that even possible?"
Divine Herta looked at Bai Ming with total exasperation. Did this girl really think Herta didn't have those kinds of intentions?
"I wouldn't say I think that, but... I kind of feel like Herta is just purely obsessed with my face."
"..."
Listening to Bai Ming's reply, Divine Herta's lip twitched.
Didn't she understand Herta? Her other self's attitude clearly showed she wanted Bai Ming to take the initiative.
But Bai Ming—whether she was acting or really was that dense—seemed to have no inkling that Herta could have those kinds of feelings.
She honestly thought Herta just liked looking at her face so much that she didn't kick her out of the bed.
Realizing this, Divine Herta found it genuinely hard to keep a straight face. What did this girl take her and her other self for... research-obsessed machines?
Looking at Bai Ming's reaction, Divine Herta had a pretty good idea of how this would go.
Unless something unexpected happened, those two were definitely going to keep being awkward like this indefinitely.
However, she suspected her other self would probably run out of patience first; after all, Herta usually seemed to have quite a short fuse when dealing with Bai Ming.
And then there was the fact that Bai Ming had several other women she was close with. Herta was hardly the only one. Just thinking about the scenes that might play out in the future, Divine Herta couldn't help but shake her head and click her tongue.
There was going to be some serious drama to watch later. Of course, she wasn't going to say that out loud. Best not to get involved; it was much better to just watch the fun from the sidelines.
The ship traveled for about two days. After several jumps, they finally arrived at the world where Asta lived. It wasn't Pier Point, but it was quite close.
Before Bai Ming even had a chance to find out which family or department Asta belonged to, Divine Herta grabbed her and marched boldly onto the Asta family's carpet.
"Wait, you're just... walking right in?"
"And why wouldn't I? Look at my face, then look at yours. Why on earth would you think we wouldn't be allowed in?"
Divine Herta completely ignored the startled passersby and the heavy armed security.
She stormed into the luxury building—which was either a mansion or an office—as if she were walking into her own home.
Just as Herta had suspected, Bai Ming still lacked a proper understanding of what her current status represented. To her, all the rules of this world could be treated as if they didn't exist.
Whether it was the IPC or the Family, the Masked Fools or the Xianzhou—as long as Bai Ming wanted to go there, no one with half a brain would dare stop her.
Of course, while Divine Herta didn't mind correcting Bai Ming's perception, she didn't think Bai Ming keeping a bit of that "innocence" was a bad thing.
Innocence without power makes you a victim; but when you have the power to upend the world, it isn't being a victim—it's having a grander perspective.
"Alright, stop looking. They're just a bunch of boring people. I took a quick look at the local surveillance records; Asta should be getting a lecture from her parents right now. This way."
Divine Herta led Bai Ming straight toward a specific room in the high-rise.
Bai Ming nodded, understanding the situation. Asta loved astronomy and had great talent, but the elders of her family never cared about her hobbies.
When she was little and said she liked the stars, they just thought she was a little girl who liked shiny things.
Now that she was older and still said she liked the stars, they just thought she was wasting her life on trivialities.
Just then, a man in a sharp suit—clearly someone used to a life of luxury—hurried toward them in a panic. "Madam Divine Herta, and..."
Unfortunately, the man couldn't even finish his sentence. When he first saw Divine Herta, he was merely nervous. But when his gaze shifted from Divine Herta to the white-haired girl beside her, he froze.
His eyes widened, his pupils trembling until they nearly went unfocused.
That appearance, that face, that hair... even without a mask, he recognized her.
The one who spread Originium and solved the reproductive crisis of the Long's Scions—the newly ascended Aeon of Elation, Bai Ming!!
The man simply stood there and fainted from pure terror. Before he lost consciousness, only one thought echoed in his mind: An Aeon has come to my house.
Their family was indeed powerful, but they couldn't compare to the entire IPC. And even the IPC was nothing in the face of an Aeon.
What on earth had their family done to deserve a visit from an Aeon...?
Divine Herta raised a hand with interest and waved it in front of the man's face.
Then, she let out a grin and laughed, looking at Bai Ming. "See? This guy recognized you and fainted on the spot. You really need to get a proper handle on your own influence."
"..."
Bai Ming scratched her cheek awkwardly. "But it wasn't like this back on the Luofu. Some people even dared to ask me for a blessing directly."
"That's different. The Xianzhou reveres you as the Arbiter of Myriad Distinctions; you're an orthodox deity to them. Plus, you've had a lot of contact with them in the past. If you went for a stroll in Amphoreus, people wouldn't be that afraid of you either. But the IPC is different, okay?"
Divine Herta shook her head helplessly. People who were already familiar with Bai Ming would obviously be fine. But how could strangers possibly handle it?
"Still, this works out. Saves me the breath. With you standing right here, I bet even Asta's sister would faint. We can just pack Asta up and take her home then."
"...You make it sound like we're kidnapping her," Bai Ming couldn't help but retort.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL