Herta Thinks It's Time for a 404. (Continued)

Liu Bai began to mentally craft words and sentences.

Liu Bai spoke cautiously:

"... Can I touch it a little longer?"

"Of course, it is compensation after all... but this will only happen once!"

Asta spoke in a "fierce" tone.

"Waaah..."

But with the slightest touch, Asta emitted a sweet, girlish voice.

Ah... terrible yet wonderful.

"... May I take another look up there?"

"Um... well... it's not impossible... but, that's all—"

"Ah, Liu Bai, there's one more thing..."

The Herta's voice suddenly rang out—but then silence fell.

"Ms. Herta?"

Asta turned her head in a panic and immediately saw that Herta had an expression of utter shock.

"Um... no, it's not what you think! This is actually punishment for my mistake."

"... Really? That startled me."

Herta breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought you two had gotten together—do you think I'd be so naive as to say that!"

The expression on Herta's face changed as he sat on the cabinet.

She's not some naive young girl just entering society!

She's eaten more salt than you Asta, have eaten rice!

Putting aside Liu Bai, your expression clearly showed that you were "enjoying living a life of ignominy"!

"... Asta, your performance...is truly disappointing."

Herta for a moment, but still used a rather strong tone.

Although she didn't like meddling in other people's private affairs, Asta was different from "others" in her eyes.

This is a young man I value...

Liu Bai! Do you want to ruin Asta?!

"I... um... how should I put this..."

Liu Bai also felt like he'd been caught cheating by his mother-in-law.

"Consensual?"

"... Do you think that's a good reason?"

Herta adjusted his mindset very quickly.

... Although I was still shocked.

In some ways, this shocked her even more than "Aha in the Simulated Universe talking to her directly."

Well, to some extent.

"And when you give your reasons, could you please take your hands out first?"

"... It's not very convenient."

What's inconvenient?

Herta looked at Asta.

Asta's face was flushed, and it was impossible to tell which stage she was at—she only had theoretical knowledge in this area.

But in no way did she want to see Asta collapse to the ground after a soft groan!

"..."

Asta silently pulled out two or three tissues from the tissue box on the table and handed them to Liu Bai.

Liu Bai withdrew his hand and wiped it.

"Inconvenience in this regard."

"... You dare to do this in front of me, yet you still pay attention to such trivial matters."

Herta, unusually, didn't know what expression to wear.

Asta blushed and remained silent like a child who had done something wrong.

Liu Bai appeared quite composed—though he had a feeling of being caught red-handed.

But it's alright, Liu Bai has probably already developed a thick skin.

In the end, Herta's words could be summed up in one sentence. "Don't let these things affect your studies."

"What enlightened parents!"

"I'm not Asta's parent, and I'm not the one being gossiped about."

Herta spoke with disdain, as if this would show that she didn't care about Asta at all.

—But in reality, Asta was her most outstanding "repository manager," a position comparable to that of a closed-door disciple.

Even the affairs of the company were handed over to Asta. It could be said that, except for communication between a few extremely dangerous geniuses, the Herta had almost handed over all its worldly power to Asta.

—Even if the Space Station is just one of her "treasure troves".

"On the contrary, you should be the one to pay attention to the impact of public opinion in the future."

"..."

It must be referring to something like "a superior sexually harassing a subordinate's young daughter" within the company, right?

Ah, thinking about it that way, it does seem like a bit of a hassle... just kidding.

Liu Bai has absolutely no impression of the company.

Pure background setting...

For this setting to take effect, we'd have to go back to interstellar travel at least...

What's the big deal?

"Hmph, you're in for a headache."

Herta may have been making sarcastic remarks, but his tone was actually quite hostile.

Seeing this, Liu Bai had no intention of provoking any hatred, so he obediently nodded in response.

If you've already kidnapped someone else's child, you shouldn't be so angry.

Leave a way out for others.

"... Ms. Herta, does this mean you... agree?"

"Your business has nothing to do with me."

Although Herta spoke in a calm tone, there was a sense of unease, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Asta, don't let yourself become mediocre."

"Ah... yes! I understand!"

Asta clearly realized that she shouldn't have made such a "teasing" move—even if she didn't intend to.

"I will definitely continue to work hard in the future!"

"Really? Then come over and help me out."

Herta frowned slightly and offered his own idea.

As expected, Asta hesitated upon hearing this.

Herta wasn't surprised by this, but rolled his eyes and patiently explained:

"I'm serious, I wasn't planning to target you."

"I see..."

Asta breathed a sigh of relief. She knew the Herta well; even when the Herta was very unhappy, they usually only used open tricks to mess with people and rarely lied to them.

"Then leave the matter to me. As for my affairs with the BOSS, I'll leave them to Topaz or Lady Jade."

Asta decided to first smooth things over with the Herta, putting everything else aside for now.

"Good."

Liu Bai had no objection to this. "Then what did you mean by 'there's one more thing' when you said it earlier, Herta?"

"Can I study the giant whale in the sky and the Herrscher of Dominion? Don't worry, I'll return them to you intact."

"Well... it'll be fine if Asta takes a look."

"You really trust Asta."

Herta curled his lip.

"Alright, bring Asta in right away, I'm logging off."

(At least Asta looking like this... is much more normal than Ruan Mei looking like this, right?)

Thinking about it carefully, the former seems quite easy to accept?

After all, the former was just an ordinary relationship.

The latter... might actually benefit the universe?

——

"Hello..."

"She is..."

"What is Ningguang sending over...?"

Siegfried and the members of the Snow Wolf Squad pointed and whispered among themselves around the silver-haired girl with no personality, who was enjoying a hearty meal in the cafeteria.

"What's wrong?"

Natasha, having settled the two drunkards, squeezed in.

"Oh... isn't that Bella?!"

Danzhu squeezed in behind Natasha, and her eyes lit up when she saw the dragon girl eating heartily inside.

"Oh! I remember now, Dr. Mobius was trying to get rid of Bella after finishing his experiment, so he should have come with us?"

"... Such a grown man, and you all acted like you didn't notice?"

"Those who are 'unnoticed' or 'lacking in personality' tend to have a lower profile, right?"

Danzhu feigned cuteness.

However, Natasha now understood why Siegfried and the Snow Wolf Squad were surrounding Bella.

A formidable rival from over a decade ago, who fought to the death...

In a sense, could he be considered one's own enemy?

Natasha thought about it for a moment, then decisively gave up thinking about it.

I'm outta here, I might as well go ask Lady Cecilia for an autograph...

"Bella ~"

Danzhu hugged him without any sense of distance.

"Danzhu..."

Bella, who was licking her plate, was suddenly hugged, and she remained very calm.

Don't ask, they're just large animals at the top of the food chain with very stable interests.

"By the way Bella, when did you arrive?"