Harvesting Herta's Puppet

Everyone stared curiously at the mask in Theresa's hand, which radiated an aura of wisdom, but no one reached out to examine it—not even Herta, Stelle, or March 7th, despite their curiosity.

"That mask is a manifestation of the Masked Fool's Path power, not a physical object. Only another Masked Fool can touch it."

Dan Heng explained to the three who were itching to try. They sighed in disappointment upon hearing this, and Theresa stored the mask back into the Herta Space Station System.

"By the way, Theresa, what abilities do you have now?"

March 7th asked curiously, looking at the adorable Theresa. Everyone was also interested in what skills Theresa had mastered.

"I'm not too sure either. It seems I'll have to test them in battle. But I don't dare try the Simulated Universe again—I'm afraid I'll summon some simulated Aeon. After all, I carry the aura of the Imperishable."

Theresa explained to everyone. They nodded in agreement—it really wouldn't do to mess around recklessly. The Stellaron Hunters might be able to handle it, but could Herta Space Station?

"We've already troubled the space station for quite some time. Ms. Herta, we should continue our journey. We also need to purchase Stellar Jade from you as fuel for our warp."

"A single warp requires one hundred sixty Stellar Jade as fuel. We'd like to buy sixteen thousand Stellar Jade. Same as before, one Credit Point each, right?"

Himeko said to Asta, who nodded instinctively.

However, Herta stated that since the Stellaron Hunters had helped the space station with so many problems, she would personally gift the Express Crew sixteen thousand Stellar Jade as repayment for their kindness—after all, the value of the researchers here and Asta herself was immense.

Everyone thought it over and looked to Himeko and Welt for a decision.

"In that case, the Express Crew gratefully accepts. Thank you for your generosity, Ms. Herta and Station Master Asta."

"Then let's head back to the train."

Welt said, and everyone bid farewell to Herta and Asta.

"By the way, Stelle, do you want to stay here, or come with us and become a Stellaron Hunter?"

March 7th asked Stelle, who hesitated in response.

"I suggest you go with the Stellaron Hunters. If you stay here, once my interest in you fades, you'll at most become a researcher. That's not as good as the Astral Express. Just come back occasionally to help me test the Simulated Universe."

Herta advised Stelle, who nodded in agreement.

"Herta, can I make a request?"

Theresa asked with a sly smile, her eyes darting.

"Fine, as long as you don't do anything stupid. What do you want?"

Herta looked at Theresa warily—she was genuinely scared of what Theresa might pull.

"Hey, don't look at me so scared~ I'm not going to eat you~"

"I want one of your automata as a pillow. It could also help the conductor clean the train."

Theresa said playfully in Sheshe's tone. Everyone just thought she was teasing Herta, but when they heard she wanted one of Herta's automata, they thought it was a good idea. Plus, in a pinch, Herta could connect through the automaton to share information with everyone.

"Hey! I want one too!" *2

Stelle and March 7th shouted excitedly. Herta rolled her eyes at them—they weren't as serious as Theresa. Who knew what they'd do with her automaton?

"No one except Theresa. And these lifelike automata are expensive to make. Apart from the joints being a bit off from a real person, everything else is identical."

"You two... you're not thinking of doing anything weird with it, are you?"

Herta asked Stelle and March 7th warily. They laughed awkwardly, which was as good as admitting it.

"I knew it. Fine, Theresa, I'll grant access to the automaton to you, Miss Himeko, and Mr. Welt. Oh, Dan Heng, are you interested?"

Herta asked Dan Heng. Everyone immediately looked at him with strange expressions.

"..."

"I haven't sunk that low. More importantly, I have a lot of things to deal with right now. I don't have that kind of thought."

Dan Heng quickly clarified that he had no interest in Herta's automaton.

"Good. Aside from Stelle and March 7th, the Stellaron Hunters are all fairly serious. That puts my mind at ease. I don't want to log into my automaton on your side one day and be disturbed by some weird sensation."

Herta said with the smile of an old driver. Asta also chuckled, because her dark side imagined Herta's automaton with heart eyes and a peace sign.

Y(▽)Y Something like that.

"Then this office automaton is yours. Don't mess around—I don't want to log in one day and find my automaton being tested."

Herta laughed in her old driver tone.

"Miss Herta, don't corrupt the kids."

Himeko shot Herta a look and smiled, glancing at Stelle and March 7th.

As for Theresa, she said it was nothing—she'd seen more than enough adult films in her time.

"Ahem. Alright, Ms. Herta, we should be going. Theresa, you carry her automaton. Having it act as a maid to help the Express Crew clean up now and then doesn't seem like a bad idea."

Welt said with a hint of excitement. Everyone raised an eyebrow—Old Yang's fetish seemed to be maids?

"I didn't know Uncle Yang was into such wild stuff."

March 7th whispered to Stelle, thinking she was being quiet. Stelle looked confused and said she didn't understand—she was a child less than two days old.

"Yeah, yeah, a Stellaron Essence born less than two days ago and already one point seven meters tall."

"Come on, stop staring at the automaton Theresa is holding. She's not going to let you test it. Besides, you're girls—you don't even have the equipment."

March 7th tugged on Star, complaining, while Star reluctantly gazed at the beautiful, adorable automaton, lingering as she walked beside March 7th.

"So long, Asta, Herta."

Theresa bid farewell to Herta and Asta alongside the Stellaron Hunters, and Arlan also saw them off.

Some researchers stared in shock as Theresa brazenly carried off a Herta automaton. They watched her and the automaton with envy, unsure who to be jealous of.

Everyone returned to the repaired and resupplied Astral Express, each wearing an Imaginary Storage Device—a spatial storage device. This was Ms. Herta's latest technology, convenient for everyone's daily needs.

{Basically the in-game backpack.}

"Welcome back! The train's all fixed up. Oh, by the way, did you buy the Stellar Jade needed for the warp?"

Conductor Pom-Pom greeted them with an eager shout.

It was about to start cleaning. It had a bit of a cleanliness obsession and mild OCD. But that couldn't be helped—since Pom-Pom was born alongside the Astral Express and couldn't leave the train, it would get terribly bored if it didn't find things to do!

"Ta-da! Conductor Pom-Pom, we finished all the tasks you gave us! And Sister Himeko even got a personal gift of sixteen thousand Stellar Jade from Ms. Herta—that's enough for us to warp back and forth a hundred times!"

March 7th hugged Pom-Pom happily and shouted.

Daily meme. White Album scene?