Herta's figure along with a pink-haired researcher carrying some sort of telescope-like staff came into view. As per usual, Herta was wearing her smug expression as she looks at the predicament that the man has got himself into. And seeing that made him somewhat annoyed, but he managed to suppress it and give out a smile
He ignored Arlan and the rest as he walked closer to her as if he was an old friend...
"Ah, finally a familiar face. It's been far too long Herta...about fifty years perhaps? I see that you're still coped up in a room somewhere while only interacting with others through your puppets like some sort of antisocial rat. How about you come out for once and smell the fresh air, I'm certain that you'll love the feeling of touching grass once more"
"It's nice to see you again too, Chronos. It's great to see that you're still as arrogant and as much of a show-off as you were centuries ago. Is it really fun to bully the laymen like this? I reckon you have more important things to do...like your research perhaps? How's that going by the way? I heard that you haven't made any more progress in decades"
Both of them stop walking the moment they're at the appropriate distance for a conversation, and the man scooted his face toward Herta's. And due to the massive size difference between them, it was as if the man was bowing his entire body...
"It's just a little slump, I reckon that I could get over it in a hundred more years or so"
"Fufufu, oh really? Because it seems to me that you're past your prime, old man. How about you wake up to the smell of coffee and throw in the towel already? Those little children in the intelligentsia guild could use a bit of guidance from their elders"
"Ahahaha! What irony, the pot is calling the kettle black. Both of us haven't made any big contributions in the society recently so you really are the last person to belittle me about this...unless of course, you do have something in the works? Is that the reason why you called for me here?"
"Fufu, I see that decrepit brain of yours is still working..."
"M-Madam Herta, this person is-?" The researcher who was walking beside her moved in to ask, and while Arlan hasn't said anything else since her arrival, it was obvious that he was also curious about the identity of the man
"Oh, right I forgot that you guys weren't here when he last visited. Ehem, this manchild right here is Genuis Society Member no. 70, Chronos the weaver of reality. He's the leading researcher of Quantum manipulation throughout every corner of the universe, and he's also a pioneer in making some of the greatest spacecraft defense systems known to man...he's done a couple of other research that made an impact on civilization, so he's a big shot I guess?"
"W-What?..." The researcher was clearly baffled, as well as Arlan and the rest
"Ehehehe~ It's nothing special really, anyone could do things like these if they try hard enough"
"Please ignore him, he may try to act humble but he knows full well that he's a celebrity and that what he's doing is a big deal" Herta explained with a sigh
"I-I-I'm so sorry sir!" Arlan shouted as he knelt down on the floor, the rest of the security team followed suit
"I didn't realize that you were truly Madam Herta's guest...T-There was no records in our systems so I had assumed that you were-"
"Yeah, don't worry about it my boy, you were just doing your job" He reached down for Arlan and forcibly pulled him up to his feet he patted the dust from his clothes before continuing "If anything, it should be your superiors who take the blame. Am I right, Herta?"
Chronos glared at her, and in response, she merely smiled while faking a whistle
"My, oh my, what could you be implying I wonder?"
"No need to play coy with me, you gave us a false invitation code and didn't record our arrival so we'd be perceived as a threat, right? What I don't get about all this is its pointlessness. You should know better than I that your little peashooters here in your space station can't bring down Avalon even if you used your entire ammunition"
The fact that he so proudly declared this without so much as a hint of lies made the guards mouth open agape
"Just trying to have a little fun, I suppose? It'd be boring if you were to just arrive here normally. And besides, even if the chances were 0.000001%, I'm willing to bet on that if it means your ship going down and you floating helplessly on the deep space"
"Hah, those chances are way lower than you thought I'm afraid. Anyways, enough chit-chat, Herta. I canceled all my appointments and research discussions just to be here so just lay it to me straight, what do you want?"
"Now, now, I can understand your desire to not waste time but there's no need to rush. I'll discuss it with you in full detail so follow me..."
Herta walked ahead without looking back, and Chronos lets out a sigh as he slowly followed suit. They reached the elevator after a while, and Herta looked back to the rest of the crew
"I'll be fine on my own, just take the next ride down and wait outside my office"
All of her subordinates bowed as the elevator doors closed. After fiddling with the Intercom a bit, the ride began to slowly descend down...
"I'm surprised they let you go alone with me. What if I decided to do something with you?"
"You know that this vessel here is nothing more than a puppet. If you want to break it then be my guest, I'll just send the invoice to your mail"
"Hehe, hard pass. I reckon that you'll overcharge me for that piece of scrap...by the way, that little researcher with the cherry hair that was with you...who was she?"
"Hmmm, curious are we?" Herta replied with a smirk, but even if that was how it seemed in the surface, Chronos could tell that there was another hint of emotion just layered underneath it...
"Well, yeah you don't usually just grace anyone with your company so the fact that you did with that girl must mean she's interesting enough to be worthy of it"
"Hm...fair enough. Her name is Asta, and she's the lead researcher of this place"
"Asta? That name sounds oddly familiar...well, whatever. I'm surprised that you were even conducting any sort of research here. I was under the impression that you built this place as your little toolbox for all the treasures that you collect"
"I initially didn't plan it...but I then realized that they make funds out of whatever they're doing. And since it'd be incredibly helpful with my projects, I figured that I just sit back and let them do their thing. Besides, looking at them squirm about as they frantically search for the answers to rudimentary questions is adorable..."
"I know I'm not one to talk but you really need to work on that personality of yours"
"Fufufu, I'm perfect the way I am..."
"Good grief, no wonder the other folks see us as weird Hermits"
Silence fell upon them as the elevator continued to descend...
"Hmmm, rudimentary questions huh? I wonder if the way you're looking at your researchers is similar to how the Nous looks at the entire genius society..."
"...Maybe" Herta muttered as she stared off into the distance
Nous, the celestial computer that was created by the founder father of the Genuis society himself
No one exactly knows how it looks, where is it located, or what are its intentions. But one thing remains true, in its search to find the true answer to the mysteries of the universe the Nous had already calculated most of the variables and questions that were being asked by man. Making everything they're doing seems pointless. After all, what's the point of doing something if the Nous already knew the answer thousands of years ago?
"But all of that changes now...soon, we could reach out and grab the secrets of the universe ourselves and surpass the knowledge that even Nous posses..." Herta cut through the silence with these words...
And even Chronos was taken aback...
"You...I've heard whispers among the walls that you along with Srewllum and Ruan Mei have been doing a little project that had the I.P.C and the Intelligentsia guild up in their britches. Does that have something to do with what you're saying right now?"
Herta didn't respond and merely stared at the elevator doors as they came to a halt and opened, revealing the main control room of the space station. They were both greeted by gazes of admiration from both the guards and the other researchers. But as usual, both of them ignored them and walked ahead to her office
Chronos looked at the control room, seemingly impressed
"I see that this old place got a face-lift"
"Hm, just a couple of months back. I've been sent to run some errands with the I.P.C and they, in turn, give me a bit of funds as well as other things. What you're seeing here is just nothing more than their backhanded way of inviting me to their side...which I don't want to be a part of"
"Help a spoiled child and they'll continue to throw a tantrum till they get you once more...I suppose the things that Zander once said were true"
Both of them chuckled as they entered Herta's office
"...Seriously?"
And the moment they did so, Chrono's eyes immediately fell upon the machine that was at the massive machine that was in the center of the room. She ignored Herta and began to walk closer in order to analyze it. His brain went to work and shut off everything else that he considered to be unnecessary
From a quick glance, he was able to discern that the machine was made up of the highest-quality parts that he had ever seen. He figured that not even the I.P.C or the Xianzhou Alliance could provide her with something like this. It would be no exaggeration to say that this would probably be enough to drain an entire planet or two out of its resources...
But other than that, he was also able to notice a few parts that are designed to create a neural link between the machine and the brain of the person who'll use this. There were a couple of other things he noticed, but the bottom line is that this was seriously one amazing piece of work...
"Impressive, right?" Herta proudly asked as he scooted closer to his side
"Calling it impressive would be so much of a grave understatement that it's an insult. This thing is just...fascinating. I can see now why you needed the combined effort of multiple Genius Society members to make this. But why? Why go through all that effort...what is this thing for anyway?"
"This right here is a machine that is capable of emulating high-quality and accurate simulations in order for us to find the truth about the aoens and the universe itself! It's the one thing that'll allow humanity to reach for the stars of knowledge and find out the truth! I call it the metaverse!"
"Metaverse? Sounds like you're jumping in on a bandwagon trend or something"
"Hmph, I've heard that from the others as well. Fine then, we can arrange the fine details of the name later. Putting that aside, you can probably guess why I've called you here, right?"
He'd be a fool if he hadn't
"You want me to help you with this? Don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to work with a fine piece of art such as this...but from the looks of it, the machine is already done. What else do you need me to do with it?"
"This is the problem with you sometimes, you opt to rush it with your inventions rather than tweaking all the fine details and making sure that everything would proceed smoothly. Look, I want you to help me with the bug-checking of the metaverse and the arrangements so that nothing goes wrong"
Chronos was sent into deep thought as he heard her answer. Somehow, it managed to pop up more questions than answers...
"Okay, I get that. But why are you asking me? I'm sure that Ruan Mei and Screwllum would definitely be a better option for helping you with this, they're the ones that made this thing after all"
"They both have important events and plans coming up which had already booked their schedules. Believe me, I had tried to convince them, but it's just plain bad luck on my part that they both couldn't come in..."
Is it really? Chronos thought to himself
He had the opportunity of interacting with the two in the past, and he could tell for certain that they wouldn't abandon the chance to work on something as fine as this. Even if a star were to explode and destroy their home planet, they'd probably still choose to work on this rather than mourn for their fallen brethren
"Huh...what about the other members of society then?"
"You know they won't even bother to reply to my messages"
"Right...what about getting some outside help? Like Adrian Taylor or that red-nosed old man? Or hell, you could even get the I.P.C to help you a bit, I reckon that you two are close enough for them to assist you"
"Giving this task to them is like giving a computer to a baboon while expecting them to write up a program. They just don't have the capabilities of doing such a thing"
"...The Intelligentsia Guild?"
"I'm offended that you even suggested that"
"Right, too far. I'm sorry"
Chronos lets out a sigh as he looks up to the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought
After a while, he looks back down
"What do I get in return?"
"A favor from me"
He couldn't help but be surprised. When negotiating a deal, Herta often preferred to avoid narrowing her rewards in order to make things less of a hassle for her. So the fact that she openly replied with such a proposition was...strange...
"I'll help you with your research, I could give you funds, I'll do anything so long as you help me with this..."
"Hah?...I really don't get you right now. Why go so far as to have me on board?"
Hearing this, Herta turned to look in the opposite direction...
"...Do I really need to say it straight, you fool?...I need to have only the best of the best in this. You're the only one capable of handling this so...I need you to work with me"
"Huh? Excuse me, I didn't hear that could you say it again"
"...No way"
"I won't join in if you don't. Come on, say it for me again word for word. Please help me Chronos, I need you, you're the only one who can help me. Go on"
Herta's puppet slightly trembled before she looked back again, looking directly at him
"P-Please help me Chronos. I need you, you're the only one who can help me"
Hearing this, he smiled from ear to ear as he danced around the office and raised his arms up in the air
"Ah! Good Aeons above, to think that the day would when the great Herta would beg me for help! Could you also say; You're better than me in every way?"
"Hmph, don't push your luck. So are you in or not?" Herta reached out her hands
"But of course, I'd be a fool to pass out working on something like this" he grasped it and return
And so, a deal was made by the two. A deal that would usher forth events that even they could not possibly foresee. And as they looked back on this in the future, they could only conclude that this was the start of the spark between the two geniuses...