"Hmm... How are we supposed to get across? The gap between the platforms is a bit too wide; we probably can't jump it."
Putting aside the matter of the eye, Hyacine fell into deep thought as she gazed at the platforms in the distance.
"There is a device over there. Perhaps we need it to open the path." Lumina pointed to a red inverted triangle device embedded in a compass-like pedestal on a nearby platform.
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Hyacine stopped her pondering and followed Lumina's finger. She looked at the red inverted triangle device, nodded to Lumina, and walked over to the mechanism, examining it closely with a serious expression.
"Hmm... The structure of this mechanism is slightly different from the one used in the Twilight Courtyard."
"It's a bit more complex than the one in the Twilight Courtyard..."
Watching Hyacine lost in thought, Phainon asked, "Can you solve it?"
"It should be no problem," Hyacine shook her head. "It will just take a little bit of time."
With that, Hyacine began to fiddle with the device before her.
Seeing this, the others remained silent, not wanting to disturb Hyacine, and quietly watched her solve the puzzle.
"It's done!"
It didn't take long at all. Soon, the red inverted triangle turned blue, and a Rainbow Bridge began to span the gap between the platforms, forming a path.
"Let's go." Having completed the puzzle, Hyacine showed no signs of fatigue. She gestured to the others, her eyes fixed on the Rainbow Bridge connecting the platforms.
She then took the first step, preparing to set foot on the Rainbow Bridge path.
"Wait, be careful!"
But just as Hyacine took half a step forward, a phantom figure appeared on the Rainbow Bridge, causing Phainon to shout a warning instantly.
Hyacine retracted her foot and cautiously observed the creature that had appeared before her. "Is that... a Winged Pegasus?"
"But it doesn't seem... to have any ill will toward us?"
Hyacine could sense that this Pegasus harbored no hostility toward them.
"A Winged Pegasus..." Phainon seemed to have a thought, his gaze lowering to Hyacine. "Hyacine, could this be the one from the legends?"
Phainon's implication was very obvious, and also very bold, but Hyacine did not immediately deny it. Instead, she thought for a moment and then nodded. "It's possible."
"Let's get closer, otherwise we won't be able to tell," Hyacine suggested.
Though she called it a suggestion, it was actually something that had to be done.
The Pegasus was right there on the Rainbow Bridge, in the path they had to take. It was impossible to simply ignore it.
"Yeah, we can't assume it will be friendly. Stay alert and follow it slowly."
After Phainon spoke, he moved to the front of the group to lead the way.
"..."
As they walked along the Rainbow Bridge, following the Pegasus, Hyacine began to explain.
Calling it an explanation was a bit of a stretch; she was actually telling a story.
Fortunately, she wasn't just standing still and telling the story. Instead, she spoke as they walked.
This made the story a bit easier to listen to.
As they moved, time flew by, and they soon arrived at a huge platform by following the Rainbow Bridge.
"It... disappeared?"
Arriving here, Hyacine looked around and watched the Pegasus vanish before her eyes. She muttered, completely unable to grasp the Pegasus's true intentions.
"Is it an illusion, or did its memory fade?" Phainon was just as confused as Hyacine.
Every action should have a motive, a purpose. The Pegasus's behavior, however, left everyone filled with doubt.
"So strange, so strange..." Having followed it all this way, Mem could sense the emotions emanating from the Pegasus: "Its memory is completely different from other memories; there is a sense of sorrow entwined with it."
"It's so heavy, it's making it hard for me to breathe."
Under the influence of this emotion, Mem's small face fell, her expression filled with sadness.
"If little Mem is about to cry, you can come into my arms. I won't mind at all if you wipe your tears on my clothes."
Compared to Mem's grief, Lumina now seemed rather carefree. Taking in Mem's posture, a smile spread across Lumina's exquisite face.
She paid little heed to the Pegasus, instead taking the time to tease Mem.
"Wow, you wicked woman, do you even hear what you're saying? How could I possibly shed tears!" As soon as Lumina finished speaking, it was as if a magical force had instantly erased all the sorrow from Mem's face, replacing it with a wave of anger.
Lumina's words caused Mem's mood to shift instantly, causing all her sadness to vanish in a flash. Her body, floating in mid-air, couldn't help but stomp its feet, indicating she was extremely furious at Lumina's remark.
Shed tears? How could Mem possibly shed tears!
How could Mem ever perform such girlish behavior?
Hmm... perhaps, maybe, she actually would.
But even if she would, even if she really did, you can't just say it out loud!
I'll be embarrassed, I'll feel shy!
After Mem's sudden huff, Lumina first responded with a laugh. Then, she slowly and deliberately spoke: "See, don't you feel much better now?"
"Eh?" The words fell, and all the expressions on Mem's face instantly froze.
Seeing Mem's stunned posture, Lumina didn't even look with disdain. Instead, she continued in a gentle voice, "Didn't you say that you felt terrible under the influence of the Pegasus's emotions?"
"So, after I livened up the atmosphere just now, you feel a lot better, don't you?"
At once, as Lumina's "thoughtless" words, which were purely for Mem's own good, fell, the scene instantly sank into a deathly silence, like a still surface of water.
Filled with tranquility.
"...Wicked woman." Mem was no fool. She understood in an instant, that this wicked woman, Lumina, was actually, actually doing it for her own good!
In Mem's heart, the anger toward Lumina, in this momentary interval, completely transformed into gratitude toward Lumina.
This wicked woman... this wicked woman is actually pretty good...
Mem's favorability rating for Lumina instantly went from the highest to the absolute highest.
Mem's natural, off-the-cuff mutter was like a small droplet of water falling onto a still surface, sending out concentric ripples.
"Lumie, you're truly too kind-hearted!"
"Yeah, yeah, that's our Sister Lumina for you."
The ripples spread, followed by a chain reaction.
The two fangirls present both praised Lumina for her kind-hearted action.
Hyacine's face was flushed with excitement, while Stelle's face bore a look of pride and affirmation.
Although they were both praising Lumina's behavior, their two completely different postures gave Lumina a sense of aesthetic pleasure and made her feel extremely comfortable.
Phainon and Dan Heng didn't say much.
Neither of them was a fool. They knew that Lumina's favorability and attitude toward Hyacine and Stelle were much higher. Although her favorability toward them was still okay, it was far from reaching the level of Hyacine and Stelle.
Whenever Lumina spoke with Hyacine and Stelle, the two of them would naturally not go over to interrupt if there was nothing that needed to be said.
At this moment, the two of them could just take advantage of the gap while the girls were speaking to observe this place.
After this thought arose in their minds, Phainon and Dan Heng glanced at each other, immediately seeing the same emotion reflected in each other's eyes.
For a moment, their eyes flickered, and they silently reached a consensus to quietly break away from the group and observe from this platform.
They wanted to see if the Pegasus that had just appeared before their eyes was an illusion or something else.
"I'm just an ordinary person, not as amazing as you imagine." Receiving the praise from Hyacine and Stelle, the corners of Lumina's mouth curled upward slightly, unable to be suppressed no matter how she tried.
After trying for a while, she finally stopped suppressing it and openly showed Hyacine and Stelle that she simply loved hearing their praise.
It meant that as long as they praised her, she would be especially happy.
And if she was happy, she might just give them a little bonus.
Although Lumina didn't say it directly, her smiling face spoke louder than words.
Stelle didn't feel much about this, but Hyacine's face flushed red, and it was impossible to tell what was going through her mind.
"Ugh... ahem." The thoughts in Hyacine's mind raged mercilessly for a moment, but soon, she remembered where she was and quickly shook her head, shaking the bold idea completely out of her mind.
With a soft cough, Hyacine forced down the emotions in her heart, no longer looking directly at Lumina's face, and forced herself to look forward.
Looking at the huge platform in front of her, and seeing Phainon and Dan Heng conducting inspections and observations on the platform, Hyacine tidied up her emotions slightly and, with a flushing little face, hurriedly went up to ask:
"Um, Miss Phainon, Dan Bao, have you found any clues?"
Looking at Hyacine's slightly flustered back, Lumina did not say anything out loud, but began to digest the beautiful girl's emotions she had just received.
"You even scared her away. Anyone who doesn't know better would think you are some kind of female ghost?" After not speaking for a long time, Herta, seeing Hyacine's flustered and fleeing figure, could not help but mock Lumina.
"Female ghost?" Hearing these two words, no expression of displeasure appeared on Lumina's face. Instead, she pretended to think for a moment, and then nodded. "A female ghost... that could work."
"As long as I can stay with beautiful girls forever, I don't care what I become."
"..."
Lumina's words, filled with "determination," left Herta speechless, not knowing how to respond to such a statement.
In Lumina's eyes, beautiful girls were the highest priority. As long as it concerned beautiful girls, she would do anything. Herta felt that by saying this, she had brought this upon herself.
Well... except for asking Lumina to do some unspeakable things.
The kind of unspeakable things a beautiful girl would do to her.
Herta scanned Lumina's youthful body wrapped in a white dress from top to bottom, a surge of heat rising in her heart, her body becoming somewhat restless under this heat.
Damn it...
If this continues, my body will soon be out of my control, won't it?
Taking a deep breath, Herta forced this emotion down, gritting her silver teeth and biting her sakura-pink lips, her heart filled with a wave of displeasure and confusion.
Even though Herta knew that if she continued like this, she would eventually fall.
Fall into becoming... the kind of *** mentioned on short video platforms.
But even if Herta knew, what could she do?
Herta couldn't find any way to solve this at all...
Or rather, Herta had plenty of ways to solve it, but she would absolutely, absolutely never use them.
Like, for example, erasing memories or something.
Those could perfectly solve this problem.
But Herta couldn't bear to do it, so in the end, she could only let the matter drop.
"Forget it, forget it, let nature take its course."
With a deep sigh, Herta stopped thinking about this problem.
Anyway, no matter what happened next, Herta would absolutely never let go.
Whether Lumina remained a flirt or focused on a single beautiful girl, Herta would absolutely never give up.
Because she...
believed in her own charm!
I am Herta, Genius Society #83, an Emanator of Erudition...
With so many achievements and great deeds accomplished, why should I give up just because of a few difficulties?
If I gave up, would I still be Madam Herta?
In Madam Herta's dictionary, there is only victory, no giving up!
Lumina: Then your dictionary must be a counterfeit.
-
After Phainon and Dan Heng observed for a while, they saw nothing.
Finally, they continued forward, riding the elevator up and walking for a short time before seeing that same Pegasus.
"I am a descendant of the hero Seliose, and we are here to fulfill her mission!" Looking at the Pegasus, even though Hyacine wasn't certain of its identity, she shouted loudly, hoping to use this method to make it stop.
But the Pegasus didn't react at all.
The group continued along the Rainbow Bridge. Every time they reached the spot where the Pegasus had been, it would immediately vanish and reappear on another platform across the Rainbow Bridge.
This repeated several times. After arriving in front of a massive palace, things changed.
"Eh? Is that... another one?" Looking at the creature in front of the Pegasus, Hyacine muttered under her breath.
Because they were a bit far away, Hyacine wasn't entirely sure.
As they got closer, Hyacine saw the form of the creature standing before the Pegasus.
Seeing this, Mem hurriedly warned, "No, that's not right. This isn't a Pegasus Illusion, but... but a real living creature! It even has a life aura."
"This... Isn't this one of those Black Tide Monsters?!"
When they arrived in front of the Pegasus and the creature, Mem exclaimed in astonishment.