"Is that really Herta? Why does she seem so different from the one I saw yesterday..."

After witnessing Herta personally bring food to Su Ran, March 7th was completely shaken.

No matter how she thought about it—

She couldn’t reconcile this with the Herta from yesterday,

Who had looked like she wanted to dissect her alive.

"My camera! Where’s my camera?!"

Only then did March snap back to reality.

She started fumbling around, trying to capture this historic moment—

Before remembering...

She had left her camera in Herta’s office.

This morning, she had even asked Stelle to retrieve it for her.

Left with no choice,

She pulled out her phone to record instead.

Thankfully, it was a product of the Interastral Peace Corporation—

High-performance, excellent image quality.

Still...

It just didn’t feel the same as her camera.

She glanced to the side—

At Asta, who was already wearing a knowing, delighted smile.

At this point,

Asta had already recorded the entire food-delivery process.

"As expected of the CP I ship..."

The chemistry between those two was getting stronger and stronger.

"...You’re definitely more professional than me."

Seeing how prepared Asta was,

March could only admit defeat.

Though honestly—

She never realized Asta was this into gossip.

"But... does Su Ran always attract this many onlookers when he invents something?"

The scene was overwhelming.

Outside the lab—

At least fifty researchers had gathered.

March had never seen a scientist this popular.

In her mind, that kind of attention was reserved for galaxy-famous idols.

"Not always," Asta explained.

"But if Mr. Su Ran is working in that particular lab, it does tend to draw a crowd. After all, everyone wants to be among the first to witness a genius invention."

If it were inside Herta’s office—

Or Su Ran’s own station—

Then outsiders wouldn’t get the chance.

"...Sounds impressive. But is he really that amazing? Even Herta brings him food?"

That was what shocked March the most.

This was Herta—

Not some ordinary person.

In terms of status,

She stood at the very top.

"...That’s the first time I’ve seen it too," Asta admitted.

"But Herta really does indulge Mr. Su Ran a lot. I don’t think she’s ever refused any of his requests."

On the contrary—

It was usually Su Ran who rejected her.

Looking at it that way,

It wasn’t hard to tell who held the upper hand. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

But to outsiders—

It was almost unimaginable.

Herta—

Who normally wouldn’t even spare people a glance—

Was treating someone this generously.

Even executives from the IPC didn’t get that kind of treatment.

"So... if you become friends with Mr. Su Ran, doesn’t that basically mean you get access to Herta too?"

March’s eyes lit up.

She had just discovered a workaround—

A way to not be so afraid of Herta.

"...That’s probably true," Asta nodded.

"Herta tends to care about anything related to him."

Even toward his acquaintances—

She showed unusual tolerance.

"You want to be friends with Herta too?"

Asta noticed something off about March today.

She kept avoiding Herta’s puppets—

Even inactive ones.

Which was strange,

Because she had been perfectly fine before.

"Well... it’s just that Herta seems interested in my memories. And... it feels kind of scary."

Despite Asta being Herta’s subordinate,

March trusted her completely.

Especially now—

With their shared hobby (shipping CPs),

Their bond had grown even closer.

They were basically besties.

"Memories? But... aren’t you amnesiac?"

If she had no memories—

What was there to study?

"I am... but Su Ran told me yesterday that he saw the Aeon of Remembrance, Fuli, inside my memories."

"And then Herta suddenly got really interested. She even wanted to go into my head herself."

"...Yeah, that does sound like her."

Asta immediately understood.

Herta’s current research focus—

Was the origin of Aeons.

So any clue related to an Aeon—

Was invaluable.

At that moment,

Asta completely understood why March was scared of the puppets.

If it were her—

She’d be nervous too.

"Finally... it’s done."

A device resembling a balance scale had just been completed.

As Su Ran lifted his head—

He saw it.

A crystalline figure—

Standing right in front of him.

Outside the lab,

The researchers stared in disbelief.

"That’s the Aeon of Remembrance!"

The crowd instantly erupted.

Even Welt and Himeko were stunned.

Fuli—

Had appeared without any warning.

And yet—

It did nothing.

Said nothing.

It simply watched—

For a brief moment—

And then disappeared.

Just as mysteriously as it had arrived.

But everyone understood why it came.

To record a major event.

Su Ran’s invention—

Had drawn the direct attention of Fuli.

Even prompting the Aeon to manifest personally.

So just how extraordinary—

Was this creation...?

—------------------------------

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