"What did that shorty just say?"
Evan looked genuinely puzzled.
"Shorty?! Who are you calling shorty?! Your whole family are shorties!!"
"You despicable jerk—I'm furious!!"
"I'll throw you straight to Ruan Mei and let her thoroughly research your body!"
"Heh."
Evan curled his lips dismissively.
Ruan Mei?
Yeah, no thanks—that was absolutely not an option.
After obtaining Herrscher authority, his body had already undergone automatic restructuring.
In other words, he now possessed a passive ability best described as undying sit-ups.
Killing him outright was difficult—extremely difficult.
Unless someone blew him into subatomic dust.
And even then?
He could just reconstruct a new body for himself.
Soul-steel?
Orichalcum?
Vibranium?
All perfectly acceptable materials.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"My name is Screwllum."
"Genius Society, Seat #76."
"I originate from Planet Screwllum."
"It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Genius Society."
The crisp, mechanical sounds emerged from Screwllum's vocal unit.
Truly worthy of being called a gentleman among geniuses.
Elegant.
Rational.
Much cooler than the image of that shorty—Herta.
And honestly, men tended to have an instinctive fondness for mechanical lifeforms.
So Screwllum's appearance naturally granted him a bonus to Evan's goodwill.
If this were a favorability-based game, that is.
"Greetings, Mr. Screwllum," Evan replied politely.
"My name is Evan. I was noticed by Nous and have been admitted as Genius Society Seat #85."
"Tch."
"I thought some latecomer wouldn't even know how to use the invitation ticket."
"But you actually showed up."
"How rare. Truly rare."
Herta stared at Evan carefully, scanning him from head to toe.
He looked… like an utterly ordinary human.
No visible special traits.
No academic papers.
No recognition on the scholarly networks.
How on earth did this guy get into the Genius Society?
Unfortunately for her, Herta's tsundere venom did absolutely nothing to Evan.
Joke's on her—before coming to Jarilo-VI, Evan had been a professional keyboard warrior.
Scolding entire armies online was practically a daily routine.
"Oh dear," Evan said with a sigh.
"I thought all the geniuses of the Genius Society would be gentlemen like Mr. Screwllum."
"I didn't expect there'd also be a shorty."
"At your age, you look only slightly older than Hook."
"About the same as Pela, maybe?"
"So adorable~"
…Hm?
Far away in the Azure Star Region, Herta's real body nearly blacked out.
Through her puppet, she was watching everything.
Being called a shorty was bad enough.
But comparing her to a child?!
She was furious.
"Miss Herta has been waiting here for over one system hour," Screwllum said honestly.
"She was greatly looking forward to meeting you."
"Screwllum!!"
"If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!"
"Who was waiting for him?! I just noticed someone younger than me and Stephen joining!"
"I was curious, that's all! You infuriating man!"
"Hmph!"
As expected—tsunderes never went out of style, no matter the era.
Looking at Puppet Herta puffed up in anger, Evan suddenly felt the urge to just pick one up and take it home.
If the real Herta were here, he probably wouldn't even be this interested.
Still… everyone here was a club member.
Casually abducting someone else's puppet probably wasn't appropriate.
Evan cleared his throat and tactically retreated.
Screwllum then briefly explained the origin of this place—
And introduced the identities of everyone present.
Finally, his gaze shifted to a quiet figure seated in the far corner.
"That lady is a senior member of the club."
"Genius Society, Seat #4."
"The Silent Lord—Polka Kakamond."
"!!!"
Polka Kakamond?!
Evan froze.
This was bad. Very bad.
He never expected to encounter her here.
Although she had never been officially confirmed as an Emanator—
It had already been established that she was the one who eliminated Emperor Rupert, bringing an era-ending disaster to a close.
…
Of course, what appeared here was merely a projection.
This member came and went without a trace.
No one knew her true strength.
No one understood what the title Silent Lord truly represented.
No one even knew her research field.
All that was known was this—
She was among the earliest members of the Genius Society.
She had joined countless Amber Eras before the others.
A banquet, after all, was the best way to close distances.
After a round of relaxed conversation and drinks, Screwllum turned toward Evan and asked with curiosity:
"Every member of the Genius Society has their own research direction."
"Each is a uniquely irreplaceable existence in the universe."
"Question: Mr. Evan, what is your field of research?"
"This inquiry is made at Miss Herta's request."
"Hey!"
"Screwllum! If you've got nothing to say, then don't say anything!"
"Why do you keep dragging me into this?!"
Herta protested angrily, hands on her hips—
If the puppet even had hips.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
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