[***]
Beep
Beep
Beep
An alarm resonated within Asta's room which signaled the beginning of her day. In all honesty, she would've preferred to be awakened by Peppy licking her face or hearing the adorable whimpers of her dog, but considering the fact that she likes to hang out with Arlan more than her, she hadn't really had the chance of experiencing this recently...
And besides, hearing this is better than being late...She thought to herself as she sluggishly picks herself up from the comfort of her bed. It was a hard-fought battle but after a while, she finally managed to get up...
Asta wasn't really a morning person, and this became all the more apparent as the groans of her annoyance echoed throughout the entire room. While brushing her teeth, she was fiddling with her tablet while looking at her to-do list...as the lead researcher of the entire space station, her responsibilities were massive...and today was no different
"Purchase more aether supplies...Attend a meeting with the representative of the Intelligentsia Guild...Tch, I see Capote's fans are causing a ruckus again, what a pain in the neck...and check the accounting funds for this year? Wait, did I put this? Why do I have to do it?!"
These were just a few of the things that she had to do today, and needless to say, looking at it made Asta desire to just surrender back to the comfort of her bed once more. But she knew deep down she couldn't. Not unless she wants to go back to her home and inherit their family business which would definitely increase her workload tenfold
After dressing up, she went out of her chambers and fiddled with the tablet she had at hand. She continued to walk to Herta's office while ordering three cups of tea from the cafeteria. And after a while, an android carrying her order began to slowly float toward her
"Thanks" She smiled at the droid before taking the tray with tea and bringing it over herself
Normally, she would just head straight for her post at the main control room, but ever since he arrived, Asta had made a habit of bringing tea to Herta's office. As much as she didn't want to, kissing up to her superiors was part of her job. If she were to not show enough courtesy to a bigshot like Chronos then her family would scold her so much she wouldn't hear the end of it...
"Hmmm, got to say though...I'm thankful that he's not as eccentric as the rumors paint him to be" She muttered as she begins to think back on what she knew about him
Genuis society member number 70, Chronos the weaver of reality
Like most of the members of the society, Chronos had made tons of stunning achievements that truly makes him the cream of the crop. Other than his research on quantum manipulation and spaceship defense mechanisms, he had also roamed around the universe saving countless planets from the claws of the anti-matter legion...
And that's where all the good rumors about him end
She's heard tales of him blowing up entire moons for the sake of his wild experiments. As well as committing some of the most unethical and unhinged research practices known to man that most of his assistants ended up showing signs of P.T.S.D and mental instability the moment they stopped working under his wing...
Due to this, he had gone into some trouble with the I.P.C as well as the Xianzhou Alliance. But none of them were truly able to do something about him due to his massive power and influence over the universe...
A mad scientist who doubles down as a tyrant...that was basically what the rumors say he is
But so far, Asta had seen no signs of such a person...though she does understand why people would see him as a lunatic. So far in her life, she had only met three members of the society. And she was wholeheartedly convinced that each and every one of them was insane in their own little ways...
"Good morning, Lady Asta" The two guards who were stationed inside Herta's office said as they gave her a salute
Asta smiled and nodded in response...
"Good morning...Ehem, er...are those two still in here?"
The guards looked somewhat hesitant to respond...
"I'm afraid so, lady Asta. For the past 44 hours, there were no security records of them leaving the office. Not that any of them had left since their arrival..."
"I see..."
I know It's not uncommon for researchers to stay cooped up in their studies. But they had been in the same room ever since they met! Not going out for over a week is just plain crazy!...Asta thought to herself as she lets out a sigh before entering the room
If things were still the same as they were before she went in the other day, then she was in for a ride
And the moment the doors opened, her suspicions were proven correct
"You bloody idiot!" One foot in and Asta was already greeted with Chrono's scream which even caused the guards outside to tremble. Luckily, they were saved by the office doors being closed.
She began praying to the aeons above that they cast something on her so that her ears wouldn't be assaulted by this mess...
"The gal! You really had the guts to call me an idiot after messing up this entire section here?! All you had to do was tweak it a bit so that it doesn't glitch out, but nooo, you had to add a ton of other variables which just made this a convoluted mess! Now look at what you've done, the parameters are in shambles!"
"Oh please, I made that section way better than it was before. The simulation references and the neuro link codes were way off and leaving it as it would've been detrimental to the grand scheme of things. In fact, the only reason why this happened is because you tried to run up a new line of code that overlapped with this one!"
"Don't you dare put the blame on me! It was all running perfectly until you did something!"
"Nuh-uh, the glitches began to appear the moment you added the codes! So much for those countermeasures you put up..."
"Why you little-...alright, look at this you suit-wearing baboon, look at this! Do you see this?! Yeah, these codes are marked red right? And who was the one who made-"
"Those codes were perfect! I won't allow you to badmouth them like that! You know full well that there are chances for the system to wrongly flag properly functioning variables. Look at what happened earlier when you-"
This has been the sight that she was seeing ever since Chrono's arrival
Herta has always been considered to be the law around these parts
If she says that something is black even if it's white, the researchers would treat it as such. After all, she had always been right so going against her decisions would be considered foolish. So one could only imagine Asta's surprise when she sees a sight like this for the very first time...a sight of someone actually arguing with her decisions
But days had passed, and she began to be more impressed at the fact that they would always argue by the time she would arrive...
"No, no, no, you don't understand Herta. These ones were made by Screwllum in order to make sure that the Aeon simulation data is accurate, not to prevent glitches when it comes to the downloads or the upgrade to the simulator!"
"What are you even talking about?! He literally left a signature code here saying that this was the case! You know, this carelessness of yours really is a problem sometimes. If you were actually just a bit more attentive in life then maybe you would've been out there finishing your research and actually earning your name as a member of the society!"
"Don't you even go there! At least I actually have the common human decency to not quit my studies just because they were boring ! What a pathetic excuse that is on your part by the way. I bet you just hit a slump and don't know what to do next so you just leave it off and go to the next one"
"Oho, so now we're talking about that eh? Well, since you so insist then let's go back to when-"
"Oh, just shut up already" While rolling his eyes, Chronos snapped his fingers
The purple orb that was in his suit began to emit a bright light, and Asta felt that something was shifting in the atmosphere. And before she knew it...
Bang
Herta exploded
No...it would be too much of an overstatement. It's more accurate to say that she popped like a balloon and turned to dust. Other than this, there was no other damage to the office. Out of the many times, she's been here, nothing like this has ever happened so she could only stare with her mouth open agape...
"Haaaa...great, I've done did it again. I guess that's another seventy million credits off my account" Chronos sighed as he sat back down on a nearby chair while clenching his forehead...
After a while, his gaze landed on Asta, who was still dumbfounded from the scene that she just saw
"Oh, you're name is...Asta, right? I didn't really notice you there. Come here, it must be uncomfortable standing up there like that"
I've been standing here for ten minutes! Asta wanted to scream this, but she luckily held it in her mind. And more importantly...
"I-I-I...L-Lady Herta is..."
"Hm? Oh, right. Don't worry too much, that was just a puppet of hers. Whenever we would get into heated arguments like this she makes a habit of going waaayyy off-topic and resorting to her comebacks there. If I hadn't done that she would've talked about my entire history for hours"
"I-Is she gonna be alright?"
"Don't be such a worrywart. I reckon she's already reconnecting to a nearby puppet while punching her screen or something. Her puppets probably don't transmit pain either so no worries there...and with this, I have brought myself at least...hmmm, thirty and a half minutes of silence? That is if my initial calculations are correct"
Saying this, he stood up and began to work on the machine once more
"I don't really like repeating myself, so I'll say this one last time. Sit down"
It sounded like a threat at this point so Asta hurriedly followed his instructions
He began to work in silence for a while before he took a sip at a cup of tea
"Wait a minute..." Asta looked at the tray that was beside her, and true enough one of the cups she brought was gone...
"You...I've heard that you're able to stop time, Mr. Chronos. But this is my first time experiencing it. It's very...weird and uncomfortable..."
"Ahaha! I get that a lot"
"So this is the power of quantum manipulations. Is...this the power you used with Herta's puppet?"
"You bet it is, pretty cool right? It's a bit complex, but the run-down of it is that I can tweak with reality itself. Just a snap from my fingers and I can change the state of matter from solid to gas. Basically, I can turn anyone and anything into dust so long as I have enough energy for it. And you can also do other cool things like-"
I see that Madam Herta's statement about him wanting to show off remains true . Asta thought to herself as she continued to listen. She was smiling, but inside she was mortified. Asta had known that members of the Genuis society were beyond amazing, but she couldn't have imagined that it would be at this scale...
But while listening, she couldn't help but notice something...
"Hm...not to seem rude or anything, Mr. Chronos. But all of this sounds oddly similar to Aether editing"
Asta didn't know how, but she could feel that he was frowning despite not facing her
"Hmph, don't compare my masterpiece to the ones that those punklordes use. Mine is arguably more versatile and potent. And I didn't steal their idea, by the way, I made my quantum manipulation research all from scratch! You hear me!"
"A-Ahaha...I-I didn't say that..."
"Good. Now putting that aside, what brings you here Asta?"
"O-Oh, uhm nothing much. I just thought that it would be great to bring you guys tea and all that...by the way, I've heard from the security guards that you guys haven't left the office ever since your arrival so..."
"You're wondering how we're still alive and kicking?"
Asta silently nodded
"Well, for one thing, Herta's puppets don't need nourishment. I bet her real body is off in a room somewhere eating god knows what. I, on the other hand, have modified my body to the point that I don't even need nourishment to survive anymore. I could just use quantum energy to keep myself alive"
"I see...but wait, what about things like bathing or you know?...using the toilet?"
"Pft, ahahah! Come on Asta, I can manipulate reality to stop time, turn things to dust, and use that dust to build a completely different thing. You really think I don't have ways of working around necessities that you ordinary people experience?"
"Ahaha, right..."
I guess that is a foolish question...the folks at the Genius Society really are a different breed...
"... Because I don't..." She heard him mutter something under his breath, though she doesn't exactly know-
"What?"
"What?"
"You were...saying something earlier?"
"Psh, that's nonsense. I said no such thing. So anyways, thank you, Asta. Your concern for us is greatly appreciated. Is there anything else you need? Because if not then I reckon you have plenty of other things to do like...hmmm, let's see here...walk Peppy? Who's that?"
It was then that Asta noticed that he was using another intercom. And shown there is...
"Wait a second, how did you get access to my to-do list?!"
"You'd be surprised how many things regarding this space station I have under my thumb. Herta probably spends actual effort guarding the secrets that she likes to be kept. But when it comes to simple things like the privacy of employees then I have to say...your security is pretty pitiful"
"We spend over a hundred million credits every six months just to maintain that!"
"I guess that's just inefficient spending on your part. I suppose that is another problem to add to your little bucket list. Now then, if there's nothing else I'd really appreciate some silence so that I could focus here and prepare myself for when Herta inevitably comes back here with her hammer in hand and-"
"Actually I am curious about one more thing"
He was still smiling, but Asta could sense a hint of annoyance behind his gaze
But even so, she didn't really mind it
After all, to be a researcher is to go above and beyond to ask the questions that truly plague the minds of others or themselves. If she were to back down from asking this, then she would feel like she wouldn't deserve the title of lead researcher
"Hehe, somehow I know that you'll just keep persisting even if I deny you. Alright then, so what do you want to know? Is it something dull like the secrets of the stars? How to permanently stop aging? How to destroy a world? Or maybe it's-"
"How did you and Madam Herta meet?"
"Well, that's certainly unexpected...why do you wanna know about that?"
"I'm just curious. I mean, I have seen Madam Herta and Sir Screwllum talk to each other, but it isn't really on the same level as your little catfights..."
"Hm, catfights huh? You'd be surprised how bad it is on the rare chance that all of us Genuis Society members do meet each other..."
He smiled as if remembering a fond memory before he closed the intercom that he was working on and faced Asta...
"Hmm, where do I exactly begin with this? It's a long story...but if I had to put my finger on it then it all started before Herta's ascension to the Genius Society. Back when she was traveling at the Xianzhou Alliance for her research and I was imprisoned there for charges of blowing up a massive portion of one of their starships..."
"Huh?"
"It was a bright and sunny day..."
"W-Wait, I think I need some context here before you- W-Wait! P-Please explain it to me before you go off-"
[A/N: The other chapter was a bit too long for my taste so I had to leave it at a cliffhanger lol sowwy~]