Bai Ming was, on the whole, fairly satisfied with her current state.
There was just one thing she couldn't stop thinking about.
Her lifespan.
A thousand-odd years wasn't exactly short. By most standards, it was already absurdly long.
And with the system around, even though each Roleplay only added a sliver of life—so little that against a base of over a millennium it barely even registered—it was still increasing. That much, Bai Ming could feel.
That wasn't the real problem.
The real issue was that the bulk of her extended lifespan ca from the blessings of the Aeons.
As for the joint research she, Herta, and the others had been conducting, it simply couldn't touch the lifespan of the soul.
Theoretically speaking, Servants weren't the sa thing as the Third Magic—but when it ca to longevity, they should still possess extrely long lives.
Yet Bai Ming's current state was, in theory, no different from a Servant's. And still, there had been no obvious change to her lifespan.
Which ant that the true source of longevity lay in the soul dwelling within a Servant—the Heroic Spirit.
The decisive factor likely had to begin with the soul itself.
Following that line of thought, the first thod of immortality that ca to mind was that world's fad Third Magic: the Materialization of the Soul.
Despite the na, its essence was still about achieving the soul's immortality.
But if she were to pursue that path, Bai Ming felt it would be going the long way around.
First, she didn't even understand the structure or properties of souls in that world.
Second… if it was purely about lifespan, the Heliobi already lived so long it bordered on the ridiculous.
Rather than chasing after sothing as intangible as soul materialization, she felt it made more sense to figure out the difference between herself and the Heliobi.
Why could a being like that live for so long, while her own soul would dissipate so easily—so easily that sothing like "lifespan" even applied to it?
And besides… even Aeons unrelated to life, like Nanook and Aha, had directly and efficiently increased her lifespan before.
Which ant that, in the eyes of the Aeons, her condition wasn't so unsolvable enigma.
That was undeniably good news for Bai Ming.
At the very least, it ant there was hope—sothing that could, eventually, be deciphered.
Otherwise, the lifespans of Herta and Ruan i stretched so far into the future that you couldn't even see the end of them.
And theirs were the one-and-done kind.
Compared to that, her re thousand years—earned by painstakingly gathering emotional value bit by bit—felt… pitiful.
To Bai Ming, the lifespan issue wasn't urgent, but it was sothing she needed to solve sooner or later.
Which was why she always cooperated with Herta and Ruan i's examinations.
So when Ruan i suddenly ntioned another checkup, she agreed without hesitation.
Only after agreeing did Bai Ming realize she hadn't actually heard what the check was about.
She looked up at Herta and Ruan i, paused, and asked, "Sorry, I didn't catch that. What kind of check?"
Ruan i only smiled. Herta, anwhile, shot her an exasperated look.
"So you didn't hear a single word of what Ruan i and I were just discussing?"
"I was thinking about sothing else and didn't really pay attention."
Bai Ming gave an embarrassed smile and blinked at Herta.
Herta sighed. She had expected Bai Ming might miss a few details while distracted—but not that she'd miss everything.
Still, she summarized their earlier conversation again.
"…That's the situation. So, you didn't feel anything yourself?"
"No… I thought it was just a physical thing. But now that you ntion it, maybe it is kind of strange."
Tilting her head, Bai Ming thought it over.
Looking back, when Herta had teased her earlier, her reaction really had been a bit excessive.
Theoretically, it shouldn't have been that strong, but even when she tried to compare her past and present sensations, nothing felt especially different.
Her perception was still similar to before—though her body's awareness of the world was clearly more direct.
As for why she'd beco so sensitive… that part she couldn't figure out.
Still—
So in Herta and Ruan i's eyes, she had always existed in a state detached from the world?
That felt almost unbelievable.
She had never felt that way herself. Ever since she'd inexplicably arrived here, she'd assud she'd already entered this world.
And now she was being told that only after obtaining her physical body did she begin to truly integrate into it.
It was like living in a house for years, only to suddenly discover you'd never actually been part of the family.
"Thinking that I'm only now truly blending into this world… it feels strange."
She looked at Herta and Ruan i.
If she had to guess, maybe it was because, in her forr soul-state, she'd barely been able to perceive anything directly.
Even using character cards had felt like experiencing the world through a device.
Could it be related to that?
And next ti she used a character card… would that feeling improve?
Now she was curious.
"Wait… so while I was doing all that just now, you were thinking about this stuff?"
Bai Ming suddenly realized—Herta had definitely said all those things on purpose just to tease her.
But instead of answering yes or no, Herta simply turned her head and stared at Bai Ming, smiling faintly, as if plotting sothing.
The look made Bai Ming squirm.
"H-Hey… what? Say sothing!"
Watching the scene, Ruan i suddenly understood why Herta enjoyed teasing Bai Ming.
And why Herta had smiled just now.
After all… the matter had already passed, yet Bai Ming had brought it up herself.
Which ant it truly had shaken her—she cared about it far more than she let on.
Still, if she cared, this wasn't the ti to say so, otherwise, she was simply handing Herta exactly what she wanted.
"Bai Ming," Ruan i spoke up suddenly.
"Hm?"
"Do you have anything else to do later? If not, co over to my side."
"Oh. No, nothing else. I'll head over now?"
As she spoke, Bai Ming glanced at Herta.
She only ant to check whether Herta had anything more to say, but to the other two, that glance carried a different weight.
Herta waved her off with exaggerated nonchalance.
"What're you looking at for? Go take a look. It's not like I'm going to detain you."
"Oh…"
Sothing about that reply felt odd. And her own response felt odd too.
She just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Ruan i rely smiled, waved at her, and ended the call.
Bai Ming rested at Herta's place for half a day before heading to Ruan i's location.
This ti, it was yet another barren planet in so forgotten corner of the cosmos.
Only the area around Ruan i's spacecraft bore any sign of life—a patch of environnt that looked utterly out of place on the desolate world.
Most likely sothing Ruan i had expanded purely because she preferred it that way.
Bai Ming boarded the ship and found Ruan i making pastries. Grinning, she hurried over to join her.
"I thought you might stay the night with Herta."
Without even looking up, Ruan i began the conversation.
"Why?"
"I just thought, judging from the way the two of you were acting, your relationship might… progress further tonight."
Bai Ming opened her mouth.
Why did this woman jump straight to topics like that?
"Progress further" was just a roundabout way of asking if she and Herta would end up sleeping together.
"Why would you think that…? Herta was just saying that stuff for fun."
She genuinely believed Ruan i had misunderstood, and even if their relationship did progress, it wouldn't leap straight to staying over.
Ruan i glanced at her.
"You really think so?"
"Isn't that obvious? I asked her afterward—you were there. That reaction of hers pretty much said it all. And you know Herta. Even if she's a little interested, once the novelty wears off, she'll drop it imdiately."
Ruan i chuckled softly.
That did sound like Herta's personality. But when it ca to emotions… was Herta really that simple?
Perhaps not.
She didn't know what Herta had done to make Bai Ming think that way.
From Ruan i's perspective, Herta's feelings were likely not what Bai Ming assud.
Still, since Herta hadn't clarified, Ruan i wouldn't interfere.
"By the way, I'm curious what you think," she continued. "Herta said it might be because your state is unusual. But unusual or not, those were still your own feelings, weren't they?"
Since they were busy making pastries, Ruan i didn't imdiately dive into the main topic.
Instead, she shifted to sothing else.
"I… don't know. Ruan i, do geniuses like you even want a special relationship with soone?"
Bai Ming had never really considered it—especially not with soone like a genius.
In her mind, with their ambitions and personalities, unless it was a childhood-sweetheart scenario, it seed unlikely.
"And I always feel like Herta's feelings toward are more curiosity than anything."
"I can't answer for everyone," Ruan i said calmly. "For … it would probably be difficult. But the desire to understand you does exist. It's rare to find soone capable who can stay by my side for a long ti."
She found it interesting. Though acting like Herta? That didn't seem like her style.
But given enough ti… who knew?
After all, Ruan i wasn't so emotionless machine.
"If enough ti passes, anything can happen, don't you think?"
"…Maybe."
For so reason, when Herta said sothing similar, it felt entirely different from when Ruan i did.
"Here. Try this for . Has your sense of taste changed too?"
Mid-sentence, Ruan i picked up a freshly shaped pastry and brought it to Bai Ming's lips.
"Mmph…"
Bai Ming opened her mouth and took the pastry in. Ruan i's fingertip brushed her lips, leaving sweetness lingering at the corner of her mouth.
The pastry was delicious, as always.
As for her sense of taste… there was a change, yes—but subtler than the others.
"A little. If I had to say, the flavors feel richer."
"I see…"
Ruan i's fingertip trailed lightly down from Bai Ming's chin, personally assessing her condition.
It was more or less what they'd predicted.
"When you were facing Herta earlier, what exactly were you feeling?"
Now she began asking for specifics.
Herta's account had surely trimd unnecessary details. And since Ruan i hadn't witnessed it firsthand, she could only ask now.
"If I had to describe it… all my senses just felt more direct. Not necessarily more 'real,' just more imdiate."
"Be specific. Mm… start from the physical examination. I've done similar checks on you before, so it'll be easier for to compare."
As she spoke, Ruan i stepped closer, a faint, elegant fragrance drifting with her.
"Do I really have to go into detail?"
Bai Ming felt awkward. Talking about this was almost like publicly confessing sothing embarrassing.
Seeing her reaction, Ruan i smiled.
"I don't know what the two of you will beco. But I can tell you want to win, don't you? If you're this shy, you won't stand a chance. Herta's far too narcissistic."
"I get what you an. It just… feels weird to say it out loud. But you're right. With how shaless Herta is, I can't stay like this."
Scratching her head, Bai Ming finally decided to treat this as desensitization training.
Compared to Herta, Ruan i's voice was gentler—and she would never go around telling others.
A far better person to talk to.
So, cheeks faintly flushed, Bai Ming began recounting the details.
And driven by curiosity, Ruan i occasionally pressed for more specifics about her thoughts and emotions.
It seed she intended to analyze everything through these subtle clues.
Fortunately, neither of these two geniuses had the slightest embarrassnt about such matters.
With Ruan i's encouragent, Bai Ming gradually shed much of her sha.
The atmosphere between them grew increasingly proper and composed.
Though the content of their conversation sounded ambiguous, the mood itself was unexpectedly calm.
Mostly because Ruan i didn't tease Bai Ming the way Herta did. She even guided her gently to relax.
As more details erged, Ruan i beca increasingly convinced that Bai Ming's understanding of Herta's feelings was off.
Herta was, to so degree, genuinely fond of Bai Ming. Otherwise, she wouldn't have behaved so ambiguously.
Of course, just how deep that fondness ran was another matter.
Herta was narcissistic and capricious—capable of displaying ten parts of affection from a single part of feeling.
-- --
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL
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