Ultimately, through sheer willpower, Herta managed to resist the urge to peek at Lumina.
But because of this, the fire in her heart remained unvented. Her entire body felt as if it were being roasted in a furnace, so hot it was on the verge of melting.
The sensation was excruciating for Herta.
If she weren't an Emanator of Erudition—and a tsundere... ahem, if she weren't the peerlessly beautiful Madam Herta—she would have lost her resolve long ago, pounced on Lumina, and done some... indescribable things to her.
Of course, if she could have done it, she naturally would have.
But she couldn't.
The moment Lumina stepped out of the bathroom after her shower, the desire in Herta's heart instantly reached its peak.
She was wearing pajamas—thin, but they covered everything.
No arms were exposed, no little feet were visible. Only her neck was bare, yet it seemed to be enough to exert an incredibly powerful allure.
The fair, smooth skin still glistened with a few lingering droplets of water, as if she had been coated in a filter. Her cheeks, flushed from the bath, and her gentle, soft gaze added a touch of seduction to her already immaculate beauty.
Her damp hair was still dripping with little droplets, and each sound of a droplet falling on the floor seemed to drip onto Herta's heart.
Beautiful, so beautiful.
Herta really admired herself.
If someone else were in her place right now, they would probably have pounced on her without considering the consequences.
Lumina, so beautiful, must be devoured.
Her clothes must be stripped off, she must be pinned beneath her, she must be subjected to... some unspeakable acts.
Power, power, power, Herta wanted power!
What about the Aeon of Elation?
What about Aha?
Hurry up and get out here and give me all the power of the Path, I want to fuck Lumina to death!
The dark aura in Herta's heart actually occupied her entire purple eyes in an instant.
Fortunately, she quickly returned to normal.
Because she knew that although Aha liked to watch for fun, how could this kind of fun possibly attract His attention?
It is better to rely on oneself than on a god. Only by becoming strong oneself can all problems be solved.
Herta understood this logic perfectly well.
"Whew..." She took a deep breath.
As soon as Lumina stepped out of the bathroom, before she could say a word,
Herta immediately rose from the sofa and stepped into the dressing room.
She grabbed a less revealing set of pajamas without waiting for Lumina to speak, and hurriedly entered the bathroom.
Although Herta had maintained her self-control, the fire in her heart was ultimately no solution. It had to be extinguished as soon as possible.
Otherwise, it would be bad for her health.
So Herta came up with a method, a nearly perfect method.
Fire, of course, had to be extinguished with water.
Hot water or warm water would work, but the best would be cold water or ice water.
"Hehe..."
Watching Herta step into the bathroom, Lumina's lips curled slightly, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
"I can't let her go crazy, after all. I should give her a little 'dessert' to eat every now and then."
In the bathroom, Lumina had left a little "dessert" for Herta.
This "dessert" could slightly soothe the emotions in Herta's heart.
"Whew... This is a little embarrassing." Lumina's face flushed as she thought about what she had left for Herta as a "dessert."
After all, this was the first time Lumina had ever done something like this.
Although... although leaving this "dessert" wasn't exactly difficult.
After all, if Herta wanted to eat this "dessert," she would have to do something far more difficult than what Lumina had done.
"Little Herta, Little Herta, you can do it, Little Herta."
Lumina hummed softly, then heard a "bang" as the bathroom door shut tight, and Herta's figure disappeared from her sight.
Immediately after, she stopped thinking about it and began her post-bath routine.
Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Herta's hair clung to her skin, making her look a bit disheveled.
"Whew, I have to put out the fire in my heart quickly."
Herta approached the device and turned the temperature down to a single digit.
Taking a bath at this temperature, an ordinary person would probably be gone after a short while.
But for Herta, an Emanator, this was no problem at all.
A rustling sound echoed in the bathroom as Herta quickly stripped herself completely bare.
"Huh?"
But just as Herta was about to put her clothes away.
She suddenly noticed that in the area where she placed her clothes, there was a piece of clothing that Herta was very familiar with.
It was Lumina's clothing.
The clothing that Lumina... had just worn.
"I left one piece of clothing inside. I wonder if Herta will do something... perverted?"
Having dried her hair, Lumina sat cross-legged on the sofa. Listening to the sounds of bathing from the bathroom, she felt immensely curious.
Not long after Herta entered the bathroom, the sounds of bathing began, leaving Lumina unsure of what to think.
I wonder if Herta has buried her face in the clothes I left behind to catch their lingering scent?
Lumina was so curious that she even had the thought of sending out a wisp of her consciousness to observe Herta inside the bathroom.
But she quickly crushed that idea herself.
She could never bring herself to peek at a beautiful girl like that.
Forcing down her curiosity, Lumina's face suddenly flushed red.
"With Herta's intelligence, she must have guessed that I left the clothes there on purpose..." If Lumina wasn't feeling shy about this, it would definitely be a lie.
Lumina had only left one piece of clothing there, taking all her undergarments with her. Herta would definitely understand this point.
She would definitely understand that Lumina did it on purpose, that she had deliberately left that piece of clothing there.
After all, a woman must wear at least two pieces of clothing, right?
If you forgot to take all of them, then that would be fine.
But if you only have one piece of clothing left there, then you've got a big problem.
Without a doubt, Herta is no fool. How could she fail to see something that any normal person could figure out?
However, this wasn't really a major issue.
Lumina was certain that even if Herta knew the answer, she wouldn't say it out loud.
Judging by how Herta's mind had been racing with wild thoughts the moment she saw Lumina's clothes, Lumina felt there was a sixty percent chance she would do something... well, something common to human nature.
As for whether this common-sense behavior was going too far, Lumina wasn't entirely sure.
Would she just look at the clothes from a distance and fantasize in her mind?
Or would she take the clothes in her hands and bury her face in them...
Or perhaps...
Lumina really couldn't be sure.
But whichever it was, it would serve as a [dessert].
Of course, a [dessert] can only satisfy a craving for a moment, not for a lifetime.
After all, you can't get full on [desserts] alone~
And that was precisely the effect Lumina wanted.
She couldn't let Herta "starve," nor could she let her "get full."
She would feed her a little [dessert] from time to time to relieve the tension in her heart.
With long-term implementation, she would be completely won over.
Just like a... pet.
-
Night fell.
Though the sun still shone brilliantly and dawn continued to illuminate the world, if Lumina declared it night, then it was night.
No matter how bright it was, as long as Lumina said so, it could only be night.
So, night silently crept over the crown of Okhema, bringing them the tranquility of darkness.
Although, except for the two in Lumina's room, the rest of the people felt nothing at all.
After their bath, the two of them, like human-shaped sachets, emanated an alluring, faint fragrance.
The faint fragrance spread, creating a pink filter in the room, affecting the throbbing hearts of young men and women.
But unfortunately, the room contained two young women, not a young man and woman.
Though it seemed to make little difference.
The room was very quiet, with plenty of water stains still remaining in the bathroom, and one piece of clothing still lying there silently, as if it had never been noticed.
But if one looked closely, they could feel that on this piece of clothing, two lingering scents...
These were the scents unique to two people.
On a large bed, two figures lay quietly within.
"Don't you... have anything you want to say to me?"
Sensing the familiar atmosphere, and seeing that Lumina had no intention of speaking, Herta cast aside a bit of her dignity and asked.
"Say what?" Lumina softly snorted, "I don't know what I'm supposed to say. How about Madam Herta gives me a demonstration?"
"You!" Hearing this, a surge of anger instantly flared up in Herta's heart.
Nighttime, on the same bed, about to go to sleep, what kind of words do you think I'm supposed to say?
Of course it's goodnight, goodnight!
Herta didn't even know how to say it anymore.
Given Lumina's personality of having roamed among a thousand flowers, Herta didn't believe for a second that she didn't know this.
She was absolutely doing it on purpose, she just didn't want to say it.
Herta pressed her lips tight and clenched her small fists, her clean and beautiful face filled with resentment.
She wished she could eat Lumina alive, swallow her whole.
After eating her into her "stomach," Lumina would never be able to leave her side again!
But obviously, such a thing was completely impossible.
In the face of absolute power, let alone Herta eating Lumina, even Lumina eating Herta would be considered a pretty good outcome.
Now, Herta had already evolved from the initial stage of "whoever eats whom becomes the older sister" to the stage where only a sister in spirit is a true older sister.
Even if you ate me, it wouldn't mean you are my older sister.
That would be purely physical, not spiritual.
As long as I don't acknowledge you as my older sister in spirit, you will never be able to become my older sister!
Herta thought very dominantly.
Although this made some sense, it wasn't much.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it rude.
But at least, she had successfully convinced herself.
She successfully brought a lot of comfort to her somewhat desolate, silent, sad, and desperate soul.
It allowed the sense of struggle in her heart to burn fiercely once again.
Once again, she was filled with longing for a beautiful future life.
"Shh, I can feel those emotions in your heart that arose for some reason."
"But I want to say, don't think about it, just go to sleep obediently."
Lumina yawned, lying on her side on the bed, facing Herta.
Although Herta's expression remained calm on the surface, Lumina, who was familiar with Herta, could still see a lot of meaning in it.
For example, her eyelashes were lifted, a certain light flickered in her purple eyes, and her forearms were slightly tensed, revealing a hint of muscle... These actions almost all pointed to words like "motivational" and "struggle."
Then, based on Lumina's understanding of Herta, she could arrive at a conclusion.
At this moment, she must be going through some "chicken soup for the soul" session for her own bright future. Although the "chicken soup" session had no practical effect, it really could make her continue to struggle.
"Mhm~ Not bad, not bad." Lumina was very gratified in her heart to see Herta in this state.
After taking a bath, she deliberately left a piece of clothing there, wasn't it just to keep Herta from giving up easily?
Now that Herta had become excited and full of longing for the future, this was exactly the result Lumina wanted to achieve.
Let the bullet fly for a while, and when the time comes, directly use Five Finger Mountain to suppress Herta for a lifetime.
Let her be her "younger sister" for the rest of her life, and let her call her "Sister Lumina" for the rest of her life.
"Hmph."
Lumina's words pulled Herta out of her fantasy world and back to reality.
Letting out a cold snort, Herta couldn't be bothered to say anything and pulled the blanket up to cover half her face.
Feeling the faint fragrance lingering and blending within the blanket, Herta couldn't help but let the corners of her lips curl upward.
But every time her smile reached a certain point, she would instantly pull it back. Yet, in the very next second, it would start curving upward again.
Time and again, what had been a simple smile mysteriously turned into the corners of her lips twitching.
Covered by the same blanket, even though they lay far apart, Herta could still feel the faint scent continuously wafting around her nose and the warmth radiating from her side.
With all these factors combined, even Herta, who had been toyed with several times by Lumina, felt incredibly at ease at this moment.
Finally, she slowly closed her eyes, preparing to drift off into... a sweet dream.
"Hey, Little Herta."
Just as she was about to, Lumina suddenly spoke, interrupting Herta's descent into her sweet dream.
"What?" Herta snapped her eyes open and glared fiercely at Lumina.
"Ugh..."
Then all the anger that had flared up in her heart instantly vanished.
Lumina's exquisite and flawless face was right there for Herta to see, making Herta feel a bit... overwhelmed.
Averting her gaze slightly, Herta forced herself not to look directly at Lumina's face.
If she kept looking, Herta was afraid she wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all.
"Hehe." Seeing this scene, Lumina's lips curled up slightly, and her heart felt a surge of satisfaction.
Objective achieved~
Want to sleep? Get up and go back to sleep again!
This was Lumina's true goal, but of course, she couldn't say it out loud.
Stretching out her small hand from under the blanket, Lumina watched Herta lying on her side facing her.
Lumina raised her hand and gently rubbed Herta's head over and over again.
"Little Herta, good night~"
Before Herta even had time to react, Lumina withdrew her hand after rubbing it a few times.
Her voice was gentle and slightly charming as she murmured softly, then she placed her hands in front of her neck and slowly closed her eyes.
"Hoo zzz... hoo zzz"
After only two or three seconds, Lumina's breathing became steady, and she fell fast asleep.
Herta: "..."
Fine, fine, you wake me up, take advantage of me, and then you fall happily asleep.
How come you get all the benefits?
Since you've taken all the good stuff, what do I get?