Beyond Amphoreus, in a familiar corner of the galaxy...
"Wow, what an exciting adventure!"
An unfamiliar voice serves as the opening, followed by a series of exquisite images appearing on a non-existent 'screen'.
"You're probably just as Curiosity as I am: So, what happens next?"
"Don't rush, because... rushing won't help." A cup of milk tea floated out from the void. "Why don't you come with me first, and let me tell you a story that takes place on the other side of the galaxy..."
The voice manipulated the void a few times, opening a presentation. The first slide played was a surveillance video from the " Herta " Space Station, showing several Herta Puppet standing still.
"Look, where is this? It's the Herta Space Station —a camp for geniuses, the cradle of science."
"Look at these Herta Puppet, how exquisitely crafted they are! I've heard more than once people secretly praising them behind their backs, 'She's so beautiful...'"
"But to be honest, their recreation of Ms. Herta's beauty isn't even a tenth... no, not even a hundredth. This isn't flattery; I'm just stating an objective fact..."
Click!
The sound of a mouse clicked, and the presentation moved to the next page. Herta sat on his Scepter, facing the Aeon of " Erudition "—the Nous.
"Do you remember this scene? What an exhilarating sight! The esteemed Genius Society #83, Ms. Herta, is questioning the great Nous, seeking from Him the secrets of 'divinity'!"
Click!
The perspective shifts back to the " Herta " Space Station. In the new surveillance footage, a young man dressed in a black robe sneaks into the office.
The young man in black robes casually pulled out a cup of milk tea and lay down on the leather sofa next to him, displaying extreme arrogance!
"Oh~ You must already know this young man's true identity. My loving Lord! The selfless ' Eternity ' Lord— Lord Yite!"
"You ask who Yite is? How dare you! You don't even know His name, what's the point of living! You might as well go find the ' Antimatter Legion ' and reincarnate..."
"... I said, the Fourth Mirror —who are you talking to?"
That noble female voice was like a sharp blade, slicing through the void.
"Uh... I was just trying to add a bit of ceremony to our entrance, Ms. Herta."
" Herta " Space Station, Seclusion Zone
Herta crossed his arms and stared at the 'broken' Fourth Mirror.
"Oh, the ceremonial feel of a debut..." Herta nodded thoughtfully, "But all I seem to hear you're talking about is ' Eternity '... It has nothing to do with me..."
"Innocent, Ms. Herta! Why don't you look back a bit more? The eyes of the masses are discerning! Your debut ceremony must be a full-blown spectacle, on par with the ' Aeon '!"
Herta's lips twitched for a moment, "... There's no way such a thing exists! It would be fine if I could actually talk to the machine head, but the problem is... it's not responding at all!"
"Uh... but Ms. Herta, look here..."
The Fourth Mirror cuts back to a screenshot of the Herta's 'meeting' with the Nous:
"Judging from this picture alone, you are clearly already standing in front of the Nous."
"Oh, that? It's just a holographic projection; it's impossible to actually summon the real robot head here."
"... So you were just reciting lines to a projection?!"
It's hard to imagine that the Herta actually saw the twitching of the 'corner of the mouth' on the surface of the Fourth Mirror.
"That's called a sense of ritual, isn't that what you value most? Let's not talk about these useless things. Do you know how difficult it is to send a message to Nous? I really went to great lengths—"
"--To power the ' Audience System,' I have to draw on the entire Space Station's energy, put it into a state of silence, and then restart it later. Do you know how high the cost is for all of this?"
Is "... as high as ' Eternity '?"
Herta closed his eyes and thought for a moment, "Hmm... money matters aren't my responsibility. You should ask Asta."
"So you didn't know either!"
"I am the very essence of the Herta, the ' Emanator of Erudition,' a genuine genius—cost control? That's too mundane."
"Absolutely right, Ms. Herta!" The Fourth Mirror's expression changed instantly. "For a genius like you, the company should unconditionally provide all resources and let you lavishly pursue your interests!"
"In that case, the Herta itself, the ' Emanator of Erudition,' a true genius..."
The Fourth Mirror repeated Herta's self-introduction and asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
"What else can we do? Of course, we need to find out the fault in the ' Audience System ' and fix it."
"Uh... excuse my bluntness, Ms. Herta, you certainly have many areas of expertise. But are you sure that 'hands-on ability' is still one of your strengths?"
The Fourth Mirror points out that the cake made by Ms. Herta... to be fair, feels comparable to the coffee made by Ms. Navigator...
"If it were me, I would suggest you contact Stephen..."
"Contact him and tell him that I spent a lot of money just to cram one sentence into the head of the machine, and ended up messing everything up?"
"Alright, alright, I understand..." The Fourth Mirror blushed, then suggested, " Ms. Herta, I've thought of a perfect solution!"
Tell me about it?
"Ahem... Of course, we should bring out the ' Eternity ' Emanator knows everything— Ye Yan!"
That makes sense.
Herta spoke, he took out his phone to contact Ye Yan.
"Huh? Wait a minute, Ms. Herta, that's Aeon! Can we really contact her so easily?"
"Even a single audience with the Nous consumes the entire Space Station's power, let alone establishing a connection with the ' Eternity ' Aeon?"
"Of course, it's milk tea, Fourth Mirror."
Herta spoke calmly. The more she tried to engage with the mechanical-headed man, the more she could intuitively feel Ye Yan's true worth. "You can contact him just by phone, isn't that outrageous?"
Thinking about it this way, Ye Yan is probably the most humane Aeon after " Trailblaze " Akivili.
"Oh~ praise ' Eternity '!" The Fourth Mirror changes its expression for the second time.
"Come on, let's go check the ' Audience System ' terminal."
"Yes, ma'am! Oh, it's a pity I can't walk, I can only float..."
"You seem to be making a lot of witty remarks today?"
Upon arriving at the " Audience System " terminal, the Fourth Mirror couldn't help but mutter a complaint:
"Hmm... this is the ' Audience System '? It looks pretty much the same as the Simulated Universe."
"You're right. They both use the same underlying logic; they're essentially the same thing."
"Oh, I see." The Fourth Mirror drawled, "So this is what you call 'effective learning'? Hehe..."
If you keep spouting nonsense, I guarantee my assistant's name will become "The Fifth Mirror."
The Fourth Mirror remained silent.
"Let's get down to business. I've divided the ' Audience System ' into three sectors: 'Energy Sector,' 'Computing Power Sector,' and 'Communication Sector.'"
"Each sector operates independently, and they are only connected through the Path of ' Erudition ' when the system starts up."
"It's not easy to say a word to the machine head. Such a meticulous system is extremely difficult to test or maintain regularly, so it's normal for minor problems to occur."
The Fourth Mirror couldn't help but let out a soft hum. "Oh~ once again, praise to ' Eternity '!"
"That's the third time already," Herta cautioned. "If this continues, I might as well become an ' Eternity ' Emanator."
"That's wonderful, Ms. Herta! What are we waiting for? Let's pinpoint the coordinates to the ' Church of Eternity ' now... This is an opportunity not to be missed!"
"Never mind. I want Idrila."