Herta Space Station, outside Herta's office.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Lady Herta, do you have a moment?"
Asta stood at the door holding a package, patiently waiting for a response.
"The door's unlocked, come in."
Asta entered the office. Near the Simulated Universe's loading device, Herta was leisurely adjusting data codes. Hearing Asta's footsteps, she said nonchalantly, "I've told you before, if there's something, just come in. I'm too lazy to lock the door."
"Oh, you're personally at the space station today… Is there something important?" Asta asked with a smile, seeing the tall, pointy-hat-wearing Herta.
"Nah, just felt like dropping by. No particular reason," Herta replied carelessly.
That's how geniuses are—everything they do follows their whims.
"Well, your timing is perfect," Asta said with a light laugh. "There's a package for you that needs your signature."
Herta glanced at it. "Oh, open it and see."
Asta obediently opened the package and soon pulled out a projector. "It seems to be from some unknown sender. Want to take a look?"
"Sure~" Herta's voice remained lazy.
Truth be told, Herta didn't think there'd be anything worth her attention in the projector, but at this moment, she just felt like watching!
As the projector started, a video played out before Herta—
["The owner of Herta Space Station is a genius, renowned for her intellect and beauty, one of the few great figures in the galaxy today who embodies humanity."]
[Dan Heng patiently explained the current map's setting to Stelle, concluding with, "When you meet Lady Herta later, make sure to… relax a bit. She's a little… out of place."]
Seeing this, Herta's eyes narrowed. Could this be…
…What was it again?
Herta wouldn't let trivial matters occupy her precious brain capacity, so aside from knowing these three were Nameless from the Astral Express, she didn't care to know more.
"Huh? Isn't this the scene from when the space station was attacked by the Antimatter Legion?" Asta said in surprise. "Look, there are still [Legion] remnants where they're walking."
"Oh… I vaguely remember that," Herta nodded thoughtfully. "There was a lot of trouble to deal with last time. Good thing I was clever enough to make you the station's administrator."
Feeling like she'd been praised, Asta said happily, "Well, Lady Herta, you're the best."
[Boom!]
[Two colossal Doomsday Beasts emerged outside the space station's windows. Even without sound, their terrifying forms were enough to make anyone tremble.]
"Huh…? This seems a bit off. There was only one Doomsday Beast attacking the station back then. Hmm, this must be the author's fan edit, right?" Asta said, puzzled.
[The two Doomsday Beasts aimed at the group's location. The next moment, devastating beams of death shot from their mouths, obliterating the station's defenses in an instant, heading straight for the group in the master control segment.]
[At the critical moment, a mirror abruptly appeared in front of the group, absorbing the beams completely.]
[Asta froze, then slowly let out a breath: "Good thing she arrived just in time…"]
"Wow—As expected of Lady Herta!"
At this point, a mini-Herta popped up from nowhere, automatically starting to sing her praises: "Gold always shines, and Herta always sparkles. Lady Herta is the pillar of any place, la la la~"
Asta was used to mini-Hertas popping up randomly and chimed in, "Looks like this video's author knows what's up, giving Lady Herta the protagonist's spotlight."
Herta tilted her head, looking indifferent. "That's only natural. Nothing worth bragging about."
["D-Don't be scared…"]
[A timid voice sounded, and a mini-Herta cautiously approached. "It's okay now, everyone…"]
["Herta? Just in the nick of time. Thanks to you," Himeko said with a smile, greeting the mini-Herta.]
["I-It's nothing…"]
"Hm?"
At this point, Herta herself clearly sensed something off. What was up with this mini-Herta? Low on energy? Why was she speaking so softly and stuttering, as if afraid of being heard?
Well… it's understandable. After such a big spotlight moment, running out of power makes sense.
"Wow…"
Meanwhile, Asta let out a quiet gasp only she could hear, her eyes turning starry as she stared at the mini-Herta in the video. "This version of Lady Herta is so cute."
"Maybe I can contact the author to buy the rights for some merch… hehe."
[Stelle observed the mini-Herta, who kept her head down and seemed a bit shy, her pupils shaking. "You're Herta?!"]
["Eek? I-I…" The mini-Herta nervously stepped back, her small hands twisting together, nodding awkwardly. "Y-Yes, it's me."]
["Wait, you mean you're the owner of Herta Space Station, Genius Club's 83rd seat, Emanator of Erudition, the solver of the Lone Wave Algorithm…"]
[Herta: Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ]
[The mini-Herta seemed frightened, turned, and ran, quickly disappearing into the chaotic space station, leaving Stelle dumbfounded.]
"…"
Asta's heart melted at this mini-Herta, but with the real Herta standing nearby, she restrained herself.
"What… was that about?"
A giant question mark slowly appeared above Herta's head. As a "genius," few things in the galaxy could perplex her, but this scene was utterly baffling.
Why did the mini-Herta run away?
Why did she seem so flustered?
And what was up with this mini-Herta's programming? Why did it feel a bit like Stephen?
In Herta's understanding, whether it was mini-Herta, big Herta, strategic Herta, or warrior Herta, tall Herta or short Herta, they were all extensions of herself—confident, beautiful, powerful, intelligent, unmatched.
Thus, the appearance of a socially anxious Herta was almost enough to expand Herta's cognitive boundaries!
A socially anxious Herta broke her "circle of knowledge"! It was an existence she couldn't comprehend!
In those brief seconds, Herta's thoughts raced from the Big Bang to speculations on the origins of Aeons and Paths, reviewing her past life… but alas, she found no answers.
Herta was certain that even if Ruan Mei dissected her genetic code or Screwllum analyzed the mini-Herta's source code, they'd find nothing related to "social anxiety"!
"Asta? What are you laughing at?"
Herta keenly caught the hint of amusement in Asta's eyes and asked seriously.
"Cough, cough… I'm marveling at the author's imagination," Asta replied. "They actually linked you with 'social anxiety'… a creativity I never imagined."
"This must be the work of some hater. A real hater."
"Me? Socially anxious?" Herta actually pondered it for a moment. "To get to the bottom of this, I'd probably have to ask that mechanical head."
["Lady Herta isn't great with strangers. You scared her a bit," March 7th said.]
["Well, since you little gray-hair just rushed to face the death beam to protect us, I'll take a moment to explain," Asta said with a smile.]
["Lady Herta used to be a very sunny and cheerful person, aspiring to be a young, beautiful, and wise woman in everyone's eyes."]
["But unfortunately, before her mind fully matured, she encountered the internet's dark side—a user named Silver Wolf's relentless attacks."]
["Under their persistent trolling, doxxing, and cyberbullying, Lady Herta became withdrawn and insecure, no longer willing to interact with outsiders."]
["You could say she has a communication disorder. Why else would she create so many puppets to act in her place?"]
Herta: "?"
"I made puppets to save time and energy from running around. How did this author turn that into 'communication disorder'?"
Herta laughed in exasperation. "And what's this Silver Wolf nonsense? Last time she messed with me, she lost so many game accounts. Hasn't she learned her lesson?"
"Asta, give me the sender's address. I'm going to track them down and give them a piece of my mind."
Asta glanced at the delivery slip on the package and froze. "The package's origin is… a tavern?"
…
"Hahaha—hahahahaha—"
On a spaceship, a silver-haired girl in a skimpy outfit rolled on the couch, clutching her stomach, tears streaming from laughter. "This is killing me! Herta, you have your day!"
"Who's the genius who came up with this plot? I must champion their work as a galactic masterpiece, hahaha—"
"It was me! I trolled Herta!"
"It was me! I stomped Herta underfoot!"
"Hahaha—socially anxious Herta, Herta the social phobe! Wahahaha—"
"Uh… she's been laughing like this for an hour. Is she okay?" Firefly asked, looking at Silver Wolf with concern.
"No worries, let her have her fun," Kafka said with a smile. "Don't let her carefree act fool you—she holds grudges. She's still sore about her accounts getting banned last time."
"Since some fictional historian helped her vent, let her be."
"I'm curious to see what the rest of this story will be like."
"Don't you think, Elio?"
Kafka's gaze suddenly turned to a black cat nearby. It didn't move, only quietly tucking a fan-made draft under its tail.