"Esther… do you think I'm living too without dignity?"
The moment Herta logged back into her own space station,
Asta froze for a full second.
"How——how could that be? You're Madam Herta!
How could someone like you live without dignity?"
Herta's name shook the cosmos.
People feared her.
Admired her.
Worshipped her.
Who would dare order her around?
Asta herself only escaped her family's political power struggles thanks to Herta.
In her eyes, Herta was basically the greatest being alive.
If she said she was Herta's dog, she probably wouldn't even feel embarrassed.
Who would dare say a woman like that had no dignity?
"Then why can Su Ran summon me whenever he wants, dismiss me whenever he wants…
like how I treat you every day?"
Herta looked genuinely confused.
"Uh…"
Asta thought for a moment— and realized…
Damn.
It was the same.
Su Ran wanted something? Herta gave it.
And quickly. No hesitation at all.
Even those hundred Synapse Beacons—
Herta shipped them out without blinking.
"…Maybe, Madam Herta, you could try refusing him? Just once?"
"No! What if he stops letting me assist him!?"
Herta refused immediately.
If even the role of support was gone, then what was she supposed to study?
Become a mascot cheering "666!" and "Awesome!"?
Absolutely not.
Asta sighed deeply.
"Then aren't you literally… a willing victim here?"
You say complying makes you lose dignity.
But refusing is unacceptable to you.
Then whose fault is it?
Surely not hers, the innocent bystander.
"If only that guy were more obedient…
I still don't know when I'll get my bomb."
Asta almost dropped her clipboard.
"…Bomb? Madam Herta, what… bomb?"
"Oh, nothing. He promised to make me a bomb capable of blowing up half the universe.
But I haven't seen a shadow of it yet.
He probably hasn't even created the 'new folder' for it."
Herta said this completely calmly.
Asta:
HALF OF WHAT NOW??
No way.
That had to be a joke.
…right?
"Forget it, I'm not in a hurry anyway."
Herta waved it off.
Then glanced at Asta.
"And prepare another batch of the materials used for building the space station.
I need them."
"…I understand."
Asta sighed and went to place the order.
But she already knew…
this wasn't for Herta at all.
It was for Su Ran.
Since he appeared,
she unexpectedly felt… favored?
Before this, Herta hardly ever asked her to do anything.
Now she was running errands nonstop.
And she—
once solely Herta's fangirl—
had been converted into a diehard CP shipper.
This was probably just her fate.
By normal logic, a solo fan would never betray their goddess like this.
But somehow, Asta had changed.
Maybe she, too, had been conquered by Su Ran's absurd brilliance.
Meanwhile, on a planet where she was performing recovery tasks—
"What? Another batch? And it's for Madam Herta again?"
Topaz blinked hard at the order update.
But based on past experience…
this definitely wasn't Herta's own request.
This smelled like another "free personal shopping service" for Su Ran.
And she— had absolutely no desire to deal with that man again.
Especially after the mental trauma from last time.
"Adventurine, you go," she said immediately.
"I can't leave my post."
Adventurine wanted to go—
but not for Topaz's reasons.
"That's inconvenient for me as well.
That guy likes rich women.
Not a male gambling addict like me.
Jade already volunteered."
Letting the Strategic Investment Department approach number 85 was sensible.
But letting a debt-cleansing specialist do it?
That was asking for disaster.
Topaz paled.
She couldn't stop it…
but she could at least send a warning.
"Tell Miss Jade—
whatever she does, she MUST NOT say she's his fan!
That guy SLEEPS WITH FANS!"
"...I understand."
Adventurine hung up silently.
Back in Snezhnaya—
The Tsaritsa had returned from the space station utterly transformed.
Her resolve to rebel against Celestia had doubled—
even tripled.
The executors didn't know what she'd seen…
But they knew something big had changed.
La Signora hugged the miniature Signora tighter.
"He left again.
Probably returned to Inazuma."
Hearing that, Columbina looked at the little one in her arms.
Baby… your dad abandoned us again.
Meanwhile, Su Ran—
"Finally done."
On the Jade Chamber, Su Ran wiped the sweat that didn't exist.
Ningguang handed him tea.
He took a sip swished it in his mouth like mouthwash— and spat it directly over the railing.
Ningguang:
That tea… was expensive…
Why would you…??
Then he drank the second sip properly and handed the cup back.
Su Ran patted the newly finished device beside him—
a chamber big enough for ten people.
"With this, you can travel between the Jade Chamber and the space station anytime.
No need for me to carry you personally."
Ningguang's eyes lit up instantly.
The tea wasn't important anymore.
"Then… can I move my entire office up there?
And bring a few people?"
"Sure.
Just don't bring anyone untrustworthy."
Ningguang nodded without hesitation.
"No problem.
I wasn't planning to bring many anyway."
Her aides, plus a few necessary staff—
ten people exactly.
And at that moment, Ningguang finally felt it:
Her wish had come true.
Even if the Jade Chamber's shadow could not cover the Seven Nations—
Her office now floated above the world itself.
—------------------------------
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