Bai Ming and Acheron spent their ti wandering all over the Luofu, eating and drinking to their hearts' content.
It was a true feast for Acheron's taste buds.
As for the things she couldn't finish... if push ca to shove, she could simply let them drift into Nihility within her own body. It was no burden at all.
Regarding the Izumo delicacies Acheron had promised Bai Ming: due to the limited conditions and ingredients, she hadn't been able to prepare much, but it was enough for Bai Ming to experience Acheron's culinary skills.
Truth be told, she was quite good.
One could tell her hands were a bit out of practice—likely because she hadn't cooked in a very long ti—but the final results were not bad at all.
Thinking of Madam Herta, who was still locked in a contest of wills with Polka Kakamond inside the small world, Acheron even went out of her way to prepare so small pastries, asking Bai Ming to deliver them on her behalf.
Though Bai Ming didn't quite understand why Acheron paid so much attention to Herta, she saw it was a gesture of goodwill and nodded in agreent.
-- --
On the other side.
Inside the small world, Kakamond, still locked in combat, was reaching her breaking point.
She had co here to explore and discover, not to play a one-on-one ga with a version of Herta who hadn't even entered with her true body.
Yet, from the mont they t, Herta had been on her like a cat on a mouse, constantly interfering and even trying to use this physical vessel to trace Kakamond's location in the outside world.
She acted as if she intended to wipe Kakamond out once and for all.
While Kakamond truly couldn't do anything to Herta here, Herta couldn't take her down either; the two were stuck in a back-and-forth stalemate.
For Kakamond, who had co here with a specific purpose, this was nothing short of miserable.
Finally, after repelling yet another of Herta's incursions, Kakamond spoke up:
"Herta, neither of us can best the other here. Why do you keep pestering ?"
"Didn't I say it before? I've always felt we were birds of a feather. Since I finally have the chance, of course I'm going to have a 'pleasant chat' with you."
Herta's tone was hostile; she clearly had no intention of letting this woman go.
After all, their past grudges were very real. Kakamond had plotted against her multiple tis, and now that she had the chance, Herta was naturally going to use her senior as a training partner.
"..."
Kakamond grew impatient.
In these past few centuries, Herta's transformation was the thing that unsettled her most, second only to Bai Ming.
However, Herta City was an iron fortress, guarded by a nascent Aeon; her domain of omniscience could not penetrate it.
This ant she had been unable to stop Herta from breaking through the boundaries of knowledge for a long ti.
In fact, at this point, Kakamond wasn't even sure if Herta had already achieved that feat.
This uncontrollable uncertainty further shook the foundations of her omniscience.
As for this ti, through Kakamond's probing, she could confirm that Herta's progress was remarkably evident. The blockade she once tried to implent had clearly failed.
This woman had likely broken through the boundaries of knowledge and might even have received a blessing from an Aeon.
Kakamond keenly sensed the power of Elation swirling around Herta.
It wasn't the kind of power one wields through a borrowed blessing, but rather as if she truly understood and mastered the underlying logic of Elation, using it to manipulate that power directly.
This change made Kakamond very uneasy.
Bai Ming ascending to Aeonhood, Herta's strange knowledge, and that Simulated Universe project which had caused several disturbances... Kakamond felt her domain of omniscience being rapidly torn apart.
Now, even the territory of Nihility had undergone such a shocking transformation; Kakamond was desperate for answers.
Yet, in the midst of this, Herta—who held the information—was specifically going out of her way to annoy her.
Kakamond even felt a sliver of fear.
Fear that the chaos of this world would spiral completely out of control in the near future, heading in a direction she could no longer comprehend.
At this mont, Polka Kakamond had already begun to consider a retreat.
Stalemating with Herta here was utterly aningless. It was a waste of ti.
Furthermore, while it wasn't yet clear who the mastermind behind all this was, Kakamond had at least ascertained one thing: the world she was currently in existed for the sake of the Sin Thirsters.
Every setting in this world was clearly related to them.
In all the different tilines Kakamond had found, the various world settings were inextricably linked to the Sin Thirsters of those respective eras.
The target was the Sin Thirsters—a collection of lingering obsessions from Pathstriders who had not dissipated.
What was the point of collecting such things?
Kakamond had pondered this for a long ti during her struggle with Herta but found no answer.
She had even seen a Sin Thirster abruptly vanish before her eyes, appearing just like one that had naturally dissipated.
But was it really just that?
Going to such great lengths and setting up sothing on this scale just to gather Sin Thirsters so they could fade away?
Where was the logic?
No matter how she looked at it, Kakamond couldn't find the catch, and that lack of a result only deepened her suspicion.
Coupled with the fact that Herta kept interfering and attacking her, the distraction caused the usually calm Polka Kakamond to feel a rare surge of irritability.
Ti to leave.
The mont Kakamond realized her mindset was wavering, she knew she had to withdraw.
Otherwise, if Herta caught wind of this hesitation, it would be a total collapse.
And compared to winning, making an escape was, for Polka Kakamond, remarkably easy.
So, when Herta seized another opening and tried to land a devastating blow, Kakamond simply played a hand of mutual destruction. She used the resulting chaos to log out and vanish on the spot in one fluid motion.
By the ti Madam Herta realized what happened, Kakamond had already detached. There was virtually no chance of finding her now.
"She ran??"
Herta couldn't even process it for a mont.
She had heard many reports about Kakamond from Divine Herta, including the exaggerated tales of her hunting down four geniuses within the Simulated Universe.
So now, seeing Kakamond decisively cut her losses and flee to parts unknown... it was a bit hard to accept.
A wave of dissatisfaction instantly flooded her heart.
"Why run? What right does she have to run!! I wasn't done yet!"
Herta felt not a shred of joy at having driven her opponent away; her heart was full of resentnt toward Kakamond's avoidance of the fight.
For a split second, Herta even considered going to Bai Ming to have her track down Polka Kakamond's true location so she could continue their "exchange of experience."
However, logic talked her out of it.
Charging blindly to soone's doorstep was clearly not the right move.
Besides, Kakamond was likely hiding sowhere under the shadow of Nihility. Bai Ming didn't want her risking contact with Nihility right now. Though Herta felt the impulse to go on a rampage, she chose to suppress the thought out of consideration for Bai Ming's feelings.
Well, if she actually made Bai Ming angry, wouldn't she be the one who had to do the coaxing?
Having taken that step and beco significantly closer, Herta was, for the ti being, willing to consider the other's feelings.
But once Bai Ming finished dealing with Nihility, Herta was absolutely going to fly over and tear the roof off Kakamond's house!
She'd let that woman know that Herta was a very vengeful person.
"You'd better hope I don't catch you next ti."
Grinding her teeth, Herta left the world in a foul mood.
Her consciousness gradually returned to Herta City.
Slowly opening her eyes, the first thing Herta saw was her familiar ceiling.
"So she did bring back to the bedroom."
Herta reached up to remove her mask and sat up in bed.
The clothes on her body had been changed into pajamas more suitable for sleeping. As for the more intimate garnts, they had naturally been removed by soone unknown.
"Heh."
Herta let out a soft chuckle; that girl was quite thoughtful.
Just as she was about to get out of bed, her palm brushed against a Light Cone.
Herta instinctively picked it up, and then she saw the image within: herself, with a mark poked onto her cheek.
"Bai Ming—?!!!"
Herta touched her cheek, pulled over a mirror brought by a puppet, and blushed furiously on the spot.
However, as she swung her legs off the bed and looked at the pajamas she was wearing, much of the irritation in her heart dissipated.
A scale began to tilt back and forth in her mind: on one side was Bai Ming's care for her, and on the other was this prankster behavior.
It was the kind of feeling where she was just starting to feel happy only to have it washed away by a prank.
"And she even used her own image... there's a limit to narcissism!"
Herta turned her head, looking at the mark in the mirror, and couldn't help but complain loudly. She completely forgot that she was the most narcissistic one of all.
According to the information left in the Light Cone, the mark would naturally fade by tomorrow, but Herta still felt disgruntled.
She decided to call the girl over to complain a bit.
With that thought, Herta prepared to send Bai Ming a ssage. But before the ssage could be sent, she saw Bai Ming step out of a rift of fla, holding a box of pastries.
Herta froze for a mont, looking at Bai Ming in surprise.
"How did you get here so fast? I haven't even sent the ssage yet."
Hearing this, Bai Ming looked back, equally puzzled.
"I ca to bring you so snacks. Did you need for sothing?"
Herta took the pastry box, sensing that it didn't look like sothing bought from a store.
Bai Ming tily added, "Acheron made these for you. She knew it was you who gave the suggestion, and she knew what you were just up to. She asked to give you her regards."
"Hmm... so soone else made them."
Herta raised an eyebrow slightly, letting out a non-committal hum.
Then, Herta glared at the still-clueless Bai Ming and tilted her face slightly toward her, prominently displaying the cheek with the mark.
Though she didn't say a word, Bai Ming instantly caught her aning.
"Oh, is that why you were going to ssage ?"
Bai Ming pursed her lips, a slight smile playing on her face as she walked toward Herta.
The sight of her looking angry with that mark on her face was actually quite cute.
However, in Herta's eyes, that expression of Bai Ming's looked like it was begging for a punch.
-- --
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL
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