"Mmm~ That's so nice. I guess these long, multi-perspective performances really are too taxing on my Spirit, huh?"
After resolving the Abyss crisis and sending March 7th and the others back to Sumeru City, Lumina casually dismantled all her creations and returned to her cozy little wooden cabin. She collapsed onto her bed—fashioned from the finest materials in the Cosmos—and closed her eyes in blissful relaxation.
The more she dozed, the more comfortable she felt. The more comfortable she felt, the more she wanted to give up.
Ugh... I have to take the Train to Penacony tomorrow...
I'm so tired. I don't want to move, I don't want to go. Screw it, I'll just stay here. It's just the Charmony Festival, who cares if I skip it?
After all, I only received an invitation; I never formally replied to the Family saying I'd attend. With my reputation across the Cosmos, the Family would never imagine that the pure and immaculate Saintess would simply be too tired to go.
Besides, Sunday will probably be overjoyed to hear I'm not coming. He'll be practically flying with happiness!
So, yeah, I'll just stay here. I'm going to sleep until the Cosmic Heat Death, until the Universe's Annihilation!!!
After a long day of exhaustion, Lumina lay sprawled on the bed like a top-grade salted fish, her face radiating blissful resignation as if she had resigned herself to this life. Hugging a body pillow larger than her entire body in an octopus-like embrace, she squinted her eyes and lay motionless like a puddle of mud, embodying the art of "slacking off" to perfection.
Even as the System relentlessly called out in Lumina's mind—pleading, urging, and advising—she remained stubbornly in her octopus-like embrace, clinging to the pillow and sprawled across the bed like a puddle of mud, her blissful expression unchanged, as if no words could penetrate her contented stupor.
After all, you can't wake someone pretending to sleep, let alone a tired Lumina pretending to sleep. No matter how many times you call out in her mind, you'll never rouse her.
Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~ Ding-a-ling~
But the very next second, a melodious chime rang from her phone. Lumina's hazy eyes instantly cleared, and she sat bolt upright, snatching the device from beside her to examine it intently.
Sure enough, nothing could wake a tired Lumina pretending to sleep... except a beautiful girl!
Lumina's Strategic Weapon: Beautiful Girls! 100% accuracy, 100% effective!
"Hmm? Herta?"
"Is this about something related to the Simulated Universe?"
Seeing that the message sender was Herta, Lumina could roughly guess its purpose, and the light in her eyes dimmed slightly.
Lumina would have much preferred—and hoped—that Herta had messaged her to discuss personal matters rather than official business, even though the likelihood of such a thing was vanishingly small.
With these thoughts in mind, Lumina opened the chat interface and began reading.
"Huh?"
However, after finishing Herta's message, Lumina froze for a few seconds before a knowing smile curled at the corner of her lips. It was impossible to tell what mischief she was planning... or rather, what brilliant schemes she was devising to foster mutual understanding and harmonious relations.
[Herta: The Aeon of Abundance appeared outside Apricot Grove because of you, didn't it?]
[Herta: To make an Aeon personally descend and cast its gaze upon you, what exactly did you do inside? How did you even manage that?]
[Lumina poked you]
[Herta: ?]
[Herta: You're so childish.]
[Lumina: Hmm? How did you find out? This just happened not long ago, right?]
Faced with an opponent of Madam Herta's caliber, Lumina chose to play dumb and stall for time, seizing the initiative.
She rapidly tapped on her phone screen, firing back a counter-question.
Perhaps because Herta had been glued to the screen, the moment Lumina's message went through, the words "The other party is typing" appeared above the Herta name at the top of the screen.
Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~ Ding-dong~
A few seconds later, Herta sent several lines of text:
[Herta: The fact that the Abundance Aeon personally descended in physical form has already spread throughout the Cosmos.]
[Herta: Open any social media app right now, and you'll see the top trending topic is information related to the Abundance Aeon and your Apricot Grove.]
[Herta: If it were another Aeon—Remembrance or The Elation, for example—it wouldn't cause such a stir. After all, one collects memories, while the other seeks amusement; neither is exactly unprecedented.]
[Herta: But He is different. The Abundance Aeon personally descended outside Apricot Grove, yet bestowed no blessings or Divine Miracles. He merely glanced at the world before departing—an act that defies the very logic of the Path of Abundance!]
[Herta: Unbelievable, Lumina! What earth-shattering feat have you accomplished?]
[Herta: I'm so curious! Would you mind telling me about it?]
The sheer volume of messages Herta sent at once made it clear she was getting a little frantic.
But her panic was useless, because...
You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Lumina thought wryly, seeing the barrage of messages.
Lumina herself had no idea...
This mystery left her deeply perplexed.
When the Aeon of Abundance descended, Lumina felt no change in her own power, nor did any Divine Miracles manifest anywhere in the Sumeru Star System.
Just as Herta had said, the Aeon merely glanced around, did nothing, said nothing, and departed without bestowing blessings on anyone...
Lumina refused to believe that when the Aeon of Abundance appeared, not a single person in the entire Sumeru Star System had prayed for a blessing.
This wasn't just a glimpse gained from treading the Path—it was the true descent of Yaoshi's Main Body. How could no one have offered prayers seeking blessings?
[May all sentient beings obtain what they seek.]
This wasn't an empty promise. As long as your prayers were sincere, Yaoshi would invariably respond.
Yet this time, Yaoshi's Main Body descended, glanced around briefly, and departed without performing any actions related to the Path of Abundance. It was truly perplexing.
Lumina racked her brains, unable to fathom Yaoshi's true intentions.
But whether she understood them or not, that didn't stop her from using this "truth" to tease Herta.
With that thought, Lumina tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment before her slender fingers tapped lightly across the screen, typing out two messages:
[Lumina: Let's video call. Typing is too tedious. We can talk face-to-face.]
[Lumina: Oh, and you must answer with your Main Body, or I'll never tell you about this. (Smile)]
Meanwhile, in a small room elsewhere, a girl standing 1.6 meters tall with a large witch's hat sat cross-legged on a chair, gazing at the messages on her phone. Her brow furrowed as she pondered.
After a moment's hesitation, she finally tapped the video call icon, sending a request.