But thinking about it carefully, it was only reasonable that The Herta liked magical girls. After all, in Honkai: Star Rail, the name of her Ultimate had always been "Told Ya! Magic Happens."
Moreover, her usual outfit was a black-and-purple magical girl ensemble. The pointed hat never left her side.
When Herman reached this point in his thoughts, he picked up the phone and logged into The Blue's network to understand its current situation. Very quickly, he confirmed that during this period—before Herta had joined the Genius Society—The Blue had already established a connection with the wider universe.
At present, the currency used on The Blue was the credit points issued by the Interastral Peace Corporation.
Herman then searched for The Herta's name on the phone and discovered that there were indeed related entries online:
The Blue's 42nd Campus Beauty!
—The Grand Witch of Research. Even before entering university, and while still underage, she had already produced numerous inventions and received an invitation to become an academician from The Blue's national authorities!
A born saint of scientific research!
Once, a junior student had tried to strike up a conversation with this witch, only to be directly labeled by The Herta as, "A creature in heat. Get lost."
"And someone as ugly as you isn't worthy of a genius whose beauty could make fish sink and geese fall!"
"If you want to pursue me, either surpass me in intelligence or surpass me in beauty. Otherwise, what right do you have to chase me?"
Her blunt and venomous style made that junior cover his face in shame and flee. Yet because of it, Herta the campus beauty became an untouchable alpine flower—no male student dared provoke her.
After reading those encyclopedia entries, Herman blinked and thought to himself.
At eighteen, The Herta was already this sharp-tongued?
But then again, her life could be described as—smooth sailing... She had never encountered any true hardship.
No matter how formidable the wall of a problem, it would soften before her intellect and be broken through!
She had every right to be proud.
I wonder if someone like her had any friends during her teenage years?
Should I check her contacts list?
A trace of hesitation flashed through Herman's eyes. In the end, he did not open the contacts.
However, at that very moment, an urgent message was sent to Herta's phone, appearing in a floating notification.
Herman glanced at it and saw that it had come from The Blue's official authorities. It stated that the renowned Intelligentsia Guild of the cosmos had extended an invitation to Herta.
In addition, The Blue's officials enthusiastically described that the one personally coming to extend the invitation this time was a member of the Intelligentsia Guild's Candelagraphos—an existence deeply cooperating with the IPC:
Patavia!
Seeing the final name in the invitation, Herman felt an intense sense of familiarity. He quickly searched his memory and soon recalled—
Patavia!
The one who, with the aid of the Emperor's Scepter and the knowledge infusion of Nous, had written down the formula for the Solitary Waves Theory and created the Fourth Cosmic Conundrum...
But wasn't Patavia supposed to have passed away long ago? Why would she appear on The Blue?!
After pondering for a while, Herman picked up the phone and searched the galactic network for information. He soon found the relevant details.
This Patavia was not the same person who had once written the Solitary Waves Theory formula.
Rather, she was that individual's descendant, inheriting the same name.
After thinking for a moment, Herman swiftly controlled The Herta's body to close her eyes. His consciousness instantly appeared within the Simulated Laboratory, where he once again saw The Herta's soul and described the Intelligentsia Guild invitation, asking whether it should be declined.
The Herta replied indifferently, "Whether we refuse or accept doesn't matter. Herman, you arrange it. I need to continue my research!"
"Since you didn't misuse my body while controlling it, I can temporarily let you take over to handle some... daily trivialities."
Herman said, "You don't mind if I deal with personal issues for you? Like the three urgent needs of a human...?"
The Herta snapped, "Shut up. What nonsense are you saying in front of a reserve Emanator of Beauty?"
Herman blinked innocently. "Are you saying that beautiful girls don't... But I just tried earlier. They definitely do."
"And this body hasn't showered for three days. It's all sticky... Since you asked me to handle personal matters, should I help you take a bath too?"
"All right, that's enough... Get out!"
"You really don't mind?!"
"I—mind... What are you talking about? You're not even human. You're just my cheat. Handling my personal matters should be your honor!!"
Crossing her arms over her chest, The Herta stared at Herman seriously. "When you deal with my personal matters, you are not allowed to grope around. Wash with your eyes closed."
Herman blinked. "I'll try to take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, his figure vanished from the Simulated Laboratory.
Watching him leave, The Herta muttered inwardly.
'The mortal body requires far too much maintenance. Now that I have a cheat, all that wasted time can be perfectly utilized for the research I'm interested in!'
'It directly increases my research time by a third. And with the amplification of Universal Genius, solving the Solitary Waves Theory truly isn't far off!'
'Still... that senior from the Intelligentsia Guild's Candelagraphos, Patavia Adler Sommerville, really is remarkable!'
'To actually write down the Solitary Waves Theory formula... If not for those formulas, even a genius like me wouldn't be able to unravel this Fourth Cosmic Conundrum in such a short time starting from scratch!'
After that, The Herta devoted all her focus once more and began a new round of research.
As for meeting Patavia's descendant, she had no such intention. Knowledge could not be inherited through bloodlines.
And she had already guessed the purpose behind Patavia's invitation...
Meanwhile, Herman, having returned to The Herta's body, began handling her personal matters.
For example, restoring the sticky body to a clean and fragrant state.
She went into the bathroom to shower. She tried following The Herta's instructions and washed with her eyes closed, but after struggling for a while, she found she couldn't manage it. In the end, she opened her eyes and spent several dozen minutes before finally finishing the bath.
Then she began blow-drying her hair.
While drying her hair, Herman couldn't help thinking.
Eighteen-year-old The Herta truly is unmatched in beauty, capable of making the flowers shy and moon hides...
But the scale in front—
He measured it with his hand. It was indeed too small.
Maybe eating some papaya, drinking some milk, and massaging more might give it a chance to grow!
If The Herta were not only "great" in name, but also became truly "great" in body, that would be the absolute peak!
With that thought, Herman finished drying her hair... Then, following The Herta's usual style, he sent a message to The Blue's officials, declining the Intelligentsia Guild's invitation.
Afterward, he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He did not think about self-stimulation, nor about doing anything else to this body...
There was no other reason.
This body had not slept for several days. It was simply too exhausted and desperately needed proper rest.