Herta had arranged temporary accommodations for them in the staff quarters.
Dan Heng, March 7th, Stelle, and Sam were walking along the pathways of the space station. Due to the Astral Express's brush with the Destruction Aeon, the entire station was undergoing emergency repairs.
Upon reaching the door to his room, Stelle called out to Sam and said to March 7th:
"March 7th, go on ahead. I need to have a word with Sam."
March 7th left without protest. The sound of her high heels clicking against the space station's metal floor gradually faded as she returned to her room alone.
Sam's gaze followed March 7th as she walked away.
Stelle asked: "Sam, why did you choose to stay on the space station?"
Sam turned his head. His entire body was wrapped in thick silver-white armor, making it impossible for Stelle to see his expression.
"How do you know my name?"
The voice that reached Stelle's ears was deep and masculine.
Even with such a masculine voice, Stelle didn't doubt this might be Luofu. He spoke in a gentle tone: "You're the universe-renowned Stellaron Hunter. How could I not know of you?"
Even without seeing his expression, Stelle knew Sam was looking at him with suspicion.
Stelle continued: "Why did you decide to stay?"
Sam shook his head slightly, remaining silent for a long moment.
Stelle was worried Sam might simply return to the Stellaron Hunters. The feeling was like having a goddess accept your confession – you're stunned but afraid to question why, fearing that asking would break the spell. Stelle said: "You can do whatever you want."
Most importantly, he needed to discover Sam's true identity. If Sam wasn't Luofu, wouldn't he be wasting his feelings on a man? Stelle thought.
Luofu, my Luofu, with silver hair flowing like silk ribbons, that black short cape like the essential darkness of night that lulls me to sleep, and that little one-piece dress. Stelle's thoughts suddenly wandered.
Pulling back his drifting thoughts, Stelle cleared his throat twice and let Sam leave.
He returned to his room and sat on the single bed, contemplating his future plans.
First, winning over Herta and completing the system mission was the most important task. Then he needed to find a way to discover Sam's true identity. Of course, he also wanted to find a way to board the Astral Express and get closer to March 7th, Himeko and the others.
Herta was a scientist, and from the game's portrayal, her curiosity was evident. But she often had a three-minute attention span before losing interest. If he could leverage those three minutes...
"I need to pique her interest in me, then find a way to stir her emotions. Also, if possible, I want to see Herta's true form..."
She said her puppet was only seventy percent accurate to her real appearance. He wanted to see what a ten-out-of-ten, universe-class genius scientist—a perfect Herta—truly looked like!
Having made up his mind, he looked around the employee room Herta had arranged for him. As expected of the talent-filled Herta Space Station with connections to the Interastral Peace Corporation—even the staff dormitories were luxurious.
He suddenly felt the urge to explore the space station. Thinking about it carefully, beneath his feet was the first map from the game: Herta Space Station.
With his decision made, he strolled leisurely through the station's corridors. Everywhere on the walls, he could see cracks caused by the Destruction Aeon's mere glance.
Staff members were busy with repairs. The main damage was to the exterior, making repairs challenging.
March 7th stood by a corridor window. The universe stretched endlessly before her, dotted with twinkling stars, flashing on and off. The familiar Earth constellations couldn't be seen from the space station, but there were strange formations instead. Stelle couldn't say what they resembled—or perhaps they resembled everything.
Stelle happened to pass by but didn't want to greet her. His relationship with March 7th was currently ambiguous—they could be considered friends or comrades. But that was before. After that kiss, Stelle was confused.
March 7th noticed his approach and silently followed behind him. The sound of her high heels made Stelle uncomfortable, as if a ghost was following him.
Could the little silver-haired one really care about that kiss? As Stelle contemplated these scattered thoughts, March 7th followed him all the way without saying a word. Stelle felt guilty and didn't want to start a conversation.
At the most severely damaged part of the space station, Asta was directing emergency repairs. Only a few individuals with the power of a Path could physically traverse space, and even these people couldn't move freely in the vacuum. Those who mastered Paths were extraordinary individuals—how could they spend time fixing walls?
There were over a dozen Paths, but only seven were currently manifested. The first person or non-human to pioneer a Path was respectfully called an Aeon by the world. Those who drew power from a Path for their own use were called Path Walkers, and most Path Walkers only had one Path.
The extensive damage to the space station's outer wall left Asta feeling overwhelmed. What if Lady Herta saw it and became upset? The possibility made her headache worse.
Arlan stood guard by Asta's side like a Rottweiler.
"Miss, replacing the entire section would be too costly."
Having grown up in the House of the Blessed, Asta's impression of money was simply numbers. Even players who could directly exchange large amounts of Cosmic Currency—Credit Points—from the store would find their wealth insignificant compared to Asta's.
Asta said: "Repairing it bit by bit takes too long!"
Arlan replied: "Miss, the company only approved funds for repairs. Please don't worry."
"..."
"You're not considering using your own money for repairs, are you?"
Asta said: "I can't let Lady Herta see her space station damaged like this!"
"Miss, Lady Herta rarely makes appearances. Even if you replaced the entire station, she wouldn't notice anything unusual."
Asta couldn't argue with Arlan and fell silent, but her eyes still showed defiance, as if saying: What if Lady Herta does notice?
"Are you having trouble?" Stelle interjected.
He still had 300 emotion points and could claim three rewards.
Based on his previous experiences, the system typically provided treasures corresponding to the current predicament, although the teleporter had been somewhat abstract. But what if the system's reward could solve little rich lady Asta's problem? Then...
She was possibly a descendant of the suspected founder of the Interastral Peace Corporation—Louis Fleming. If true, that would make her the universe's number one rich heiress.
If there was a chance to get close to the little rich lady, Stelle naturally wouldn't refuse. There would be many occasions to use money in the future. The little rich lady was inexperienced in all aspects. For him, a corporate slave in the real world, wouldn't it be easy to trick her out of some Credit Points?
But Asta's clear blue eyes looked at him with inexplicable hostility.
Stelle was confused, then realized that he was currently suspected of being a Stellaron Hunter member, which explained it.
Asta wore a sky-blue short skirt with a leg ring strapped to her right thigh. Her thighs were immaculate and delicate.
"Don't look at Miss with those eyes!" Arlan stood in front of Asta and shouted sternly at Stelle.
This bodyguard is overstepping his bounds, Stelle thought secretly.
Before Asta could calm Arlan, March 7th had already drawn her pickaxe and stood in front of Stelle, confronting Arlan.
March 7th's action enraged Arlan. Initially, he only wanted to intimidate Stelle, but now he needed to uphold the dignity of the space station's security department.
March 7th refused to back down, pointing her pickaxe at Arlan. Stelle held March 7th back, but Arlan charged forward directly.
End of Chapter