Ms. Herta, this legendary Genius, was currently experiencing perhaps the most unexpected and bizarre few seconds of her long life.
Stelle's embrace came suddenly and fiercely, and she could even feel Stelle's arms tighten around her, as if conveying some silent support.
What made her scalp tingle was that Stelle's inner thoughts seemed to subtly transmit through the physical contact—(Ms. Herta... smells so good... and, so soft... sure enough, no matter how strong her exterior, her heart is also soft and needs to be cherished...)
And what made her brain almost shut down were the words Stelle whispered in her ear in that coaxing, self-important gentle tone:
"You've worked hard, Ms. Herta..."
"Your sister actually cares about you a lot, so don't be angry anymore..."
Sister???
A sister from which dimension?!
Cares about me?!
Angry?!
Ms. Herta felt her all-perceiving mind was now stuck in a viscous paste called "absurdity."
She had lived so long, experienced countless storms, and even faced the gaze of Aeons, yet never had she felt her personality and intelligence being trampled like this.
She could feel Stelle's arms tighten further, seemingly completely immersed in her self-woven "touching script," even instinctively rubbing against her?
(Is this Stelle treating me like a giant doll?!)
An unidentifiable anger flared up from the bottom of her heart.
She tried to struggle but found Stelle's strength surprisingly great.
"Let go."
Ms. Herta's voice was squeezed through her teeth, trying to maintain her last bit of composure and grace.
She didn't want to stage an unsightly physical conflict in the Space Station corridor.
However, Stelle clearly misunderstood.
She hugged tighter, her voice filled with a certainty of "I understand all your strong pretenses": "No! I know it's not easy for you, Ms. Herta! I know everything that happened before! So..."
(So what?! What exactly do you know?!)
Ms. Herta felt the veins in her temples throbbing.
Just as she was about to disregard her image and use some unconventional means to shake off this clingy nuisance—
A soft, rhythmic sound of footsteps approached from afar.
Ms. Herta's gaze passed over Stelle's shoulder and saw a graceful figure—Ruan Mei.
That member of the Genius Society #81 was standing there quietly, dressed in simple, elegant clothes, her expression as calm as ever.
But Ms. Herta keenly caught a fleeting glimpse of a complex emotional fluctuation in Ruan Mei's deep, ancient-well-like eyes when she saw her and Stelle tightly embracing (at least from Ruan Mei's perspective)—like surprise, and then... a hint of indifferent understanding?
The emotion disappeared too quickly, as if it were just an illusion of light and shadow.
Ruan Mei's gaze met Ms. Herta's for a moment, then she nodded slightly and said in her gentle voice:
"It seems I've come at the wrong time. Excuse me."
With that, she didn't linger, turned, and left.
(It's over.)
These two words flashed through Ms. Herta's mind instantly.
Of all people, it had to be Ruan Mei who saw it!
The misunderstanding is huge now!
Ruan Mei's appearance was like a bucket of ice water, temporarily extinguishing Ms. Herta's anger, but it made her feel another, deeper crisis—a crisis of reputation!
And the potentially resulting, most hated and meaningless gossip!
This newfound anger, mixed with the previous embarrassment, caused her voice to drop sharply below freezing point, carrying a calm before the storm, and sounded in Stelle's ear again:
"I'll say it one last time... if you don't let go, you're dead."
This time, Stelle's instinct finally overcame her brain, which was filled with stories of "sisterly affection."
The chill in that voice seemed to freeze the soul, sending a shiver down her spine, and she subconsciously loosened her arms, quickly stepping back two paces to create distance.
Only then did she clearly see Ms. Herta's face—that exquisite, artwork-like face was now shrouded in an obvious gloom, so dark it could almost drip ink.
Her violet eyes no longer held their usual rationality, but instead burned with a nearly tangible rage.
(Oh, no! This is bad!)
Stelle's heart sank, (It seems... I overdid it? Is Ms. Herta still angry with her sister? And so fiercely? She can't even be hugged?)
Looking at Ms. Herta's face, which was like dark clouds pressing down on a city, in her panic, she suddenly remembered her most important "mission item"!
She fumbled around on her body, then, as if presenting a treasure, she held up the exquisitely crafted but dark-style doll, which was completely out of character for Ms. Herta, and carefully offered it to Ms. Herta, trying to ease the atmosphere:
"M-Ms. Herta! Look! This is... this is a gift your sister asked me to give you! She said... you must really miss this doll!"
Ms. Herta's gaze fixed on the doll.
Familiar!
Too familiar!
Isn't this the same doll that Asta had cherished like a treasure, and which Ms. Herta had taken for analysis, only for it to explode and cover her face in ash?!
That thing, possibly directly related to the "mastermind" who exiled her to another world!
Now, this doll, through Stelle's hands, reappeared before her, under the name of "sister's gift."
"Heh..."
A choked sound, almost squeezed from deep within her throat, escaped Ms. Herta's lips.
She looked at the doll, then at Stelle, who had an expression of "praise me for being sensible."
Absurdity, irony, and anger intertwined, breaking through the last dam of her reason.
She laughed.
Not a happy laugh, not a joyful laugh, but a "laugh" that pulled at her facial muscles.
Stelle saw Ms. Herta "laugh," and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest:
(I was so scared, so Ms. Herta is just too happy! It seems she really misses her sister! She's just too shy to express it!)
Stelle, feeling that her mission completion was extremely high, couldn't help but start exercising her "helpful" spirit, earnestly persuading: "Ms. Herta, look, your sister has already taken the initiative to send a gift to show goodwill, so don't be angry anymore! There's no such thing as overnight grudges between sisters! It's just... uh... being bullied when you were little! It's been so long! One must look forward!"
The more Stelle spoke, the more she felt like a thoughtful little angel, completely unaware that with each word she uttered, Ms. Herta's "smile" became even more "brilliant," but the frost in her eyes almost froze the surrounding space!
Especially the two words "being bullied" acted as the final catalyst, completely igniting the long-suppressed volcano in Ms. Herta's heart.
"Haha... Hahahaha..."
Ms. Herta's laughter gradually grew louder, but there was no warmth in it.
She laughed, her shoulders trembling slightly, as if she had heard the ultimate truth of the universe—an extremely malicious truth woven from lies, about herself. (What is divinity?)
Stelle was infected by this "warm" smile and couldn't help but giggle along, feeling delighted: (It seems I really am a Genius mediator! Now Ms. Herta and her sister should be able to reconcile!)
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!