Miss Herta

Biodata

Background

Herta’s intelligence surpassed that of ordinary people from childhood. Others regarded her with awe, but she had never had a friend before meeting Seraphis. Nous had already cast a glance upon her by that time 84.

On The Blue, the Federation built a major city around her home, using her reputation to attract visitors from across the galaxy. Herta permitted this development on the condition that it did not tarnish her name. Despite living beside the planet’s largest amusement park, she remained absorbed in research and estimated that she had not gone out for a stroll in about six years 84 85.

Sera credits her with saving The Blue more than a dozen times. Her seclusion did not mean indifference to the planet: when she discovered environmental deterioration during their camping trip, she immediately ordered an investigation and intervention 90 91 94.

Appearance

• Eyes: Violet, repeatedly compared to amethysts 79 86 108.
• Hair: Long enough to reach her waist when worn down her back 95.
• Floral motif: Purple lilies, which she wears and grows in her garden 79 81 105.
• Usual colors: Predominantly purple with black accents 93.
• Qixi outfit: A self-designed Xianzhou-style ensemble with long sleeves, a long skirt, an inner layer, and an outer robe. She pairs it with light makeup, lily-shaped braids, and a hairpin made from a real purple lily 93 95.
• Witch styling: Adopts an outfit recreated by Sera from his memories of her future appearance, then begins planning a matching wand and clothing for him 92.

Personality

Herta is proud, self-assured, and direct about pursuing whatever interests her. She initially estimates that studying Sera will take only a month, considering even that a generous allowance for the unknown. When his Corruption authority overrides her laboratory permissions, she is delighted rather than offended by evidence of an ability beyond her own 14 78 79.

Her sharp tongue conceals a considerate side. Although she threatens to stop housing Sera once her research is complete, the narration clarifies that she would arrange somewhere for him to live rather than abandon him. Her handwritten account also emphasizes that she waited for his consent before making him a research subject 79 84.

Herta’s scientific confidence initially contrasts with her inexperience in affection. She recognizes that she may never find another person as compatible with her as Sera and chooses to explore those feelings despite knowing that he must leave. Once committed, she openly tells him that he matters more than a research project and becomes her favorite person 88 97 103.

She does not demand exclusive importance in Sera’s life. She accepts Cyrene’s place in his heart and focuses on securing her own acknowledged relationship with him rather than competing to replace her 48 102.

Abilities & Skills

Scientific Research

Herta is described as the human with the highest IQ on The Blue. Her expertise includes android construction, artificial intelligence, consciousness connections, and energy analysis 79 80 82 89.

• Used a Scepter to formulate the problem she solved through the Soliton Algorithm 80.
• Identified Sera’s Corruption as potentially conceptual rather than merely effective against machines, then observed him affect space 78.
• Compared controlled Honkai Energy with Imaginary Energy, concluding that the latter resembled Honkai Energy with its cost removed and substantially reduced strength 89.
• Experienced the Authority of Sentience through data temporarily granted by Sera inside his Scepter. An unspecified bottleneck gave way there; the passage does not establish a named rank or permanent acquisition of the authority 80.

Herta Puppet Development

Herta and Sera jointly construct the No. 0 prototype and subsequently produce 300 additional Herta Puppets 82 83.

• No. 0: Has a developing personality rather than preset personality tendencies. Herta deliberately leaves room to observe what she will become 82.
• Mass-produced models: Receive randomly assigned fixed personalities and behavioral logic; unlike No. 0, they lack the same capacity for independent growth 83.
• Combat systems: No. 0 destroys simulated Voidrangers using a hammer and an enlarging diamond, exceeding the theoretical model’s predicted strength 83.
• Household functions: Puppets perform errands, prepare supplies, make clothing, and take assigned posts according to their personalities and abilities 83 85 89 92.
• Design boundary: Herta does not intend to create replacements for herself or allow her intelligent puppets to cross the boundary into life 80.

Combat

• Maintains the group’s defense against Emperor III while Sera helps the alternate Herta within it regain control 15.
• Begins preparing to face Iron Tomb again after witnessing her alternate self’s condition in another timeline 138.
• Vows to defeat Iron Tomb while observing the Chrysos Heirs’ preparations with Sera 139.

Clothing Design and Handcrafts

• Designs clothing for herself and Sera, including coordinated Xianzhou-style outfits and a moon-shaped hair clip for him 93 95.
• Uses Curio scissors and a special adhesive to turn a design into wearable clothing 55.
• Memorizes and deletes a separate outfit design so that she can eventually make it by hand as a surprise for Sera 94.

Cooking

• Successfully prepares red-braised pork after consulting a cookbook; Sera praises the result 89.
• Repeatedly causes kitchen explosions by treating Curios as ingredients. These failures cease when she returns to ordinary ingredients 54 89.

Equipment & Items

• Laboratory and study — Her research facilities and extensive book collection serve as Sera’s temporary home and learning environment 77 79 81.
• Herta Puppets — A prototype and mass-produced assistants used for household work, investigations, manufacturing, and other assignments 82 83 90.
• Star-Surveying Probe — A Curio she allows Sera to use while seeking a route home; it points toward his heart 79.
• Curio scissors — Automatically cut cloth according to a supplied design 55.
• Handwritten diary — Begins as a record of Sera’s arrival and research observations, later incorporating photographs and her admission that she has fallen for him 84 94.
• Everlasting purple flower — A gift Sera creates from Imaginary Energy. He mistakes its species for a purple lily, but Herta accepts and preserves it 90 105.
• Witch Herta doll — Sewn by Sera and displayed prominently in her living room. Its removable hat conceals his farewell note 104 105 107.

Relationships

• Seraphis / Sera — Initially her consenting research subject, then her collaborator and romantic partner. She acknowledges him as an intellectual equal, places him above her research, and promises to find him across time 77 81 89 97 103.
• No. 0 Herta Puppet — Her jointly created prototype with Sera. Herta encourages No. 0 to discover what kind of person she wants to become; No. 0 later documents their relationship through photographs 82 83 94 102.
• No. 1 Herta Puppet — Entrusted with assessing the other puppets and assigning suitable work; also receives Herta’s clothing-production instructions 83 92.
• Black Tomb — An alternate-timeline Herta rescued from Emperor III. She is a separate individual, not another name for the primary Herta. Herta reacts jealously when Black Tomb kisses Sera 15 16.
• Cyrene — Recognized by Herta as holding an unsurpassable place in Sera’s heart. Herta accepts that position without abandoning her own pursuit of him 48.
• Nous — Cast a glance upon Herta before her first meeting with Sera on The Blue. Her diary jokingly claims that otherwise she might have become an Emanator of Beauty 84.
• Terminus — Offers to seal her memories and arrange a future reunion with Sera. Herta understands the whisper and accepts 107.
• Screwllum, Ruan Mei, and Polka Kakamond — Fellow geniuses present during the expedition to rescue her alternate self 15 16.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Rescue of the Alternate Herta

Sera recounts a timeline in which Herta became Iron Tomb’s head as Emperor III, ultimately dying at the hands of the Lord of Silence. Herta responds that her counterpart at least succeeded in saving the galaxy 14.

The group travels to another timeline, where Herta defends them against Emperor III while Sera assists the consciousness resisting within it. Once freed, the alternate Herta is called Black Tomb to distinguish her from the visiting Herta 15 16.

Taking the Initiative with Sera

During a group movie night at the Tavern, Herta rests her head on Sera’s shoulder and interlaces her fingers with his. She deliberately pursues him rather than waiting for him to make the first move 48.

Her familiarity with him also appears in domestic scenes: she cooks alongside Black Tomb and designs clothing for him, using Curio tools to assemble an outfit 54 55.

Earlier Meeting on The Blue

The later account of their first meeting reveals that Herta found Sera unconscious after detecting an anomalous signal. Once he awoke, she offered assistance and temporary identification in exchange for his participation in research. Her scanner could not analyze him, and his demonstration of Corruption displaced her highest access permissions without attacking the machines’ firewalls 77 78 84.

Sera stayed in her laboratory, studied her books, and demonstrated knowledge of android puppets comparable to her own. Their collaboration produced No. 0 and the first 300 mass-produced Herta Puppets 79 80 82 83.

Amusement Park and Camping

Herta fulfills her promise to show Sera around The Blue by arranging an amusement-park visit. Their Ferris wheel ride and photographs beneath the fireworks become important shared memories 84 86 87.

Both recognize their growing affection. Herta correctly deduces that their mutual feelings are shortening Sera’s remaining time and learns that he comes from her future. Rather than withdrawing, she promises to find him 88 89.

During a subsequent camping trip with No. 0, Herta confronts The Blue’s environmental decline and considers moving somewhere undisturbed. Sera’s suggestion that she present her extraordinary research as “magic” leads into the witch identity and outfit associated with her future self 90 91 92.

Qixi Confession

Herta prepares coordinated outfits for their Qixi outing. At the festival, they make qiaoguo, hang blessing plaques, pose for photographs, and release lanterns together 93 95 96 97 98 99 102.

She explicitly tells Sera that he matters more than a research project and wishes for them to reunite beneath the moon. Their evening culminates in mutual declarations of affection, with Herta naming him her favorite person 97 100 103.

Farewell and Reunion

Before leaving, Sera gives Herta a handmade witch doll. They spend their final morning in the garden, then revisit the amusement park and ride the Ferris wheel once more 105 106.

Sera carries her into the sky among the fireworks before dissolving into purple light when his countdown ends. At home, she discovers his note inside the doll and accepts Terminus’s offer to seal her memories until their future reunion 107.

After they reunite, Herta reveals that less than half a system hour passed before she regained awareness and saw Sera again—although he did not yet know her at that moment 108.

Renewed Confrontation with Iron Tomb

Herta later plans to bring the space station over and confirms that she is ready to fight Iron Tomb again. Having prepared since witnessing her alternate self’s fate, she watches the approaching conflict alongside Sera as the Chrysos Heirs assemble 138 139.

Notable Quotes

“This genius has always been direct about what interests her.” 14

“I'm a genius. It's only time. I'll master it.” 88

“What matters is you, the person doing it with me. To me, you're far more important than a research project, understand?” 97