TN: And we're back! sorry for the week long hiatus, it was not intentional since I had to get my right leg in a cast after tripping 3 floors down a stairwell (like an idiot ://) and be unable to use my PC setup upstairs BUT I should be OK now.
Anyways, Thanks for Arcanic Madness, WeissAkumu and WolfWTF for becoming as Supporters!,
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In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed.
Since there were no noisy appliances in the room, certain sounds became especially noticeable.
"You~ still~ not done yet?"
Herta's expression was hazy, no longer knowing where she even was.
She felt as if she were drifting through the cosmos, her body freed from gravity, light as a cloud.
It was as if a phase engine had been installed inside her—surging power that made it impossible to stop!
"Herta, you seriously underestimated your own charm."
Sol didn't pause at all, speaking in a perfectly serious tone. "If I could, I'd like to keep this going forever."
"N-No!"
Herta refused in a panic.
Keep going forever? How could that be allowed?
What about her research? Wouldn't that mean she'd be taking a pure loss?!
Sol inhaled the fragrance from Herta's hair and patted her snow-white soft back to comfort her. "Relax, I know my limits."
He remembered that Stelle was still outside. This was Stelle's room, after all.
If it went on endlessly, that would be too much.
Once Herta fully realized just how wrong her understanding of him had been, he would stop at the right time.
After all, there was plenty of time ahead.
"Mm."
Herta bit her soft pink lips and answered softly, almost like a sigh.
Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as she forced her voice down her throat, trying to maintain the pride of a genius.
"Good girl, stand up."
Sol helped Herta up, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.
"W-What are you doing?"
Herta asked in a daze.
"Letting you rest for a bit."
Sol held Herta's slender ankle and said with a smile.
"Y-You—You!"
Herta's pupils trembled violently, her face instantly turning crimson.
She hadn't expected Sol to be interested in her feet too, just like Stelle.
What kind of master-and-servant coincidence is this? Sharing the same strange hobby?!
Although every part of a genius's body was flawless, using it like this made her want to die from embarrassment!
Still, at least she could catch her breath, so she reluctantly let Sol do as he pleased.
Herta closed her eyes, feeling awkward inside, yet unwillingly cooperating.
After all, she was a genius who honored contracts.
She was definitely not scared!
...
Meanwhile, Stelle stood guard outside her own room.
She leaned against the door, pressing her ear to the thinnest part, trying to catch any sound from inside.
Her delicate ear twitched several times, yet she still couldn't hear anything at all.
"Strange… Did they really not do anything in there?"
Stelle touched her silver hair, which faintly seemed to be turning green, feeling confused and disappointed.
She couldn't understand why, when those two had gone in looking inseparable, not a single sound came out.
She desperately wanted to lie to herself and believe nothing happened in her room, so she wouldn't be the tragic one.
But that was obviously impossible. Those two had definitely already gotten together—just using some method to block the sound.
Clever Stelle instantly realized the truth. Whether it was Sol or Herta, both were Emanators. Blocking the sound of a room was far too easy.
"WAAAH!"
Stelle was completely unhappy, lying on the floor and rolling back and forth, making pitiful whining noises.
What was the point of being the tragic one if she couldn't even hear anything?!
Other tragic protagonists at least got excited listening to sounds, but she couldn't hear a thing. Wasn't her suffering way too miserable?!
Did this mean she only deserved to go in afterward and sniff the air?
"Let me in, let me in..."
Stelle lightly knocked on the door with weak force, looking utterly miserable.
She wanted to watch forbidden content. She wanted to be the tragic one. She wanted to watch live!
She shoved the key into the keyhole—but of course, the door still wouldn't open.
Aaaah!
Why wouldn't they let her watch forbidden content?!
She was such a failure of a tragic protagonist!
"Stelle, what are you doing?"
Dan Heng frowned, looking at her with utter confusion.
Stelle was always strange, but today she was being strange on another level.
Like a wriggling maggot. Like a salted fish rolling around on the floor.
"N-Nothing!"
Stelle shot up from the ground at lightning speed, her face turning serious as she even started whistling leisurely.
As if the person crying and making a fuss just now wasn't her at all.
"Sigh." Dan Heng shook his head and calmly said, "If you lost your key and can't get in, the conductor has a spare. You can go get it."
"N-No need!"
Stelle rejected decisively. "The key is right here in my hand."
There was no way she was admitting she wanted to watch forbidden content.
If she did, her glorious savior image in Dan Heng's eyes would be completely ruined!
Stelle quickly changed the topic. "By the way, Dan Heng, why are you here? Are you looking for me?"
Since she couldn't watch forbidden content and the room was sealed off anyway, staying here was pointless.
She might as well go find Sparkle, Firefly, and Kafka to hang out.
She needed to complain to Sparkle about Sol not letting her hear anything, and have Sparkle mess with him tonight!
"I'm not here for you." Dan Heng shook his head and said calmly. "I left a research sample in your refrigerator. I want to check on it."
His own room was already full and didn't even have a fridge.
Stelle's room was large, occupying the second floor of an entire carriage and equipped with a massive refrigerator—perfect for storing experimental samples.
Judging by the time, that white-feather larva would hatch tomorrow. He needed to check its growth.
"N-No way!"
Stelle spread her arms wide and firmly blocked the doorway.
This room couldn't be entered at all—and she absolutely couldn't let Dan Heng go in.
Inside were Herta and Sol, doing unspeakable shady business!
"?"
Dan Heng looked at the nervous Stelle, clearly expecting an explanation.
Stelle spun her clever little brain and quickly came up with a reason. "Sol and Herta are discussing top-secret matters in my room right now. No one can disturb them!"
She nodded firmly. "That's right, exactly that!"
"What?" Dan Heng's expression changed, visibly moved. "Two Emanators of Erudition meeting… That's truly a historic moment!"
He looked at Stelle's door with reverence.
For Emanator-level existences, even casual conversation could trigger interstellar upheaval.
An Emanator of Erudition leading an era of change would have an even greater impact on the universe.
One was Sol, who openly defeated Dominicus. The other was Herta, the universally acknowledged top-tier genius.
It was hard to imagine what kind of sparks these two would create.
"Haha, yeah, definitely historic."
Stelle laughed awkwardly, cold sweat forming on her forehead.
Two Emanators of Erudition making babies—something like that had probably never happened in history. It really was historic.
"How long will they be talking?" Dan Heng asked curiously in a low voice. "If possible, I'd also like to witness their meeting."
He was curious whether the project Sol and Herta were discussing would cause another massive upheaval.
After all, his strongest impression of Sol was still that giant of light who annihilated Dominicis in a single strike.
If research was being conducted in that direction, it would undoubtedly be a monumental event—shaking the universe would be the bare minimum.
He cared deeply about the interstellar situation, since it would greatly affect their future Trailblaze journey.
"Um..."
Stelle frowned, resting one hand under her chin as she thought.
According to Herta, they would come out quickly.
But according to Sparkle, it could last three days and three nights.
She glanced at the door and chose to believe in Sol's physique. "It'll take a long time. You should go take care of your own stuff first."
Stelle patted her chest and promised, "I'm close with them. If anything important happens, I'll notify you!"
"A long time?" Dan Heng murmured, then sighed in admiration. "It really must be something major."
In Stelle's room, it was obviously impossible to conduct intense experiments.
At most, this was probably just a preliminary meeting.
Yet even such a meeting took this long—any real project afterward would likely involve trillions upon trillions of Credits, a truly epic undertaking.
"Mm-hmm."
Stelle nodded in agreement. It really was extremely important.
Two Emanators of Erudition researching Propagation—this was practically betraying their Path.
Who knew how many little lives would be lost in the process? This was huge!
"I'll be going now."
Dan Heng lowered his head and left, still guessing what kind of research it could be.
"Phew..."
Stelle finally let out a breath, only then realizing her back was already drenched in cold sweat.
She had almost failed to explain it properly.
With a sigh, she decided to stay here and wait for Herta and Sol to come out.
If she hadn't been here just now and Dan Heng or someone else had stood guard instead—
When Herta and Sol came out together and saw someone else outside, that would have been awkward.
"Hmph!"
Stelle snorted angrily.
Even though that couple wouldn't even let her hear any sounds, she still had to guard the door for them.
This was way too unfair!
Stelle leaned against the door, watching for passersby while pressing her ear to it again, hoping to catch even the faintest sound.
After Dan Heng left, no one else came by.
Although she still couldn't hear anything, her imagination started running wild.
Her long, slender legs slowly drew together, her expression turning serious.
===BREAK===
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