Kafka Challenges the Emanator of Erudition

On the other side.

Not far from the Blue, a small asteroid served as the landing site for a small spacecraft.

"That Emanator of Erudition, Herta, has returned to her Herta Space Station. Ugh, with her there, how are we supposed to operate right under her nose?"

A silver-haired girl with a cropped jacket in blue and purple tones, adorned with a white fur collar and revealing her midriff, kept pressing virtual keys with furrowed brows, letting out a soft sigh.

"Even I, the most brilliant hacker, don't have the confidence to hack into the Herta Space Station's control system while under the gaze of an Emanator of Erudition. Let alone sneak into her collection room and print the Stellaron out."

A woman with violet-red hair, dressed in a white shirt with a black cape-style coat and black tight-fitting pants, sat nearby, listening to music on her headphones. Her fingers swayed slightly to the rhythm.

Hearing her companion's complaints, she turned off her headphones. Her violet-red eyes revealed no discernible emotion, but her lips curled into a gentle smile.

It was a smile devoid of reaction, numb and indifferent, as if accustomed to everything.

"Hmm~ Elio really gave us a tough one this time."

"That Trailblaze Aeon suddenly returned, something that wasn't in Elio's predictions. Even Elio himself admitted the future he once foresaw has completely changed."

"What we're doing now is carving out an entirely new future."

"Silver Wolf, don't you think that's even more of a challenge?"

Silver Wolf's eyes drooped slightly. "Challenging an Emanator of Erudition is something I've done before—but that wasn't a proper confrontation."

"What we're planning now is to mess with her collection, right under her nose. By my calculations, there's a 90% chance we'll provoke her wrath."

"To directly face an Emanator's fury, huh?"

"In the original prediction, the Stellaron was supposed to attract the Antimatter Legion, letting us sneak in amidst the chaos."

"But now, with the Emanator's aura emanating from the space station, those Nanook pawns don't dare approach."

"It's just the two of us... Unless, Kafka, you're confident enough to keep Herta completely distracted while I sneak into the Curio Collection Room."

Silver Wolf let out a heavy sigh, then continued. Though Kafka was powerful enough to single-handedly take down a branch of the Interastral Peace Corporation, that was mostly against ordinary Pathstriders. It wasn't on the same level as facing an Emanator.

Their high bounties as Stellaron Hunters were largely due to their guerrilla tactics: stirring up trouble and vanishing before their enemies could organize a proper response.

Facing off against an Emanator—even to buy time—was a task far beyond their capability.

And even if they managed to delay her, the chances of getting out alive were slim.

Kafka turned her gaze toward the Blue, her violet-red eyes carrying a trace of inexplicable emotion.

"Then I'll take on the job of stalling Herta. Don't worry, even if I'm caught, Herta likely won't kill me. After all, the Corporation is very interested in Elio."

"A living Stellaron Hunter is far more valuable than a dead one."

"Besides, given Herta's personality, as long as I don't destroy her research or harm her scientists, she won't resort to killing me."

"If I do get captured, I'll definitely be handed over to the Corporation's detention fleet. You can pass the information to Blade and little Firefly in advance—they'll come rescue me."

Silver Wolf's cute face scrunched up, deep in thought. In the end, unable to come up with a better plan, she let out a long sigh. "Alright, this is the only way."

Kafka removed the handgun from her waist, carefully inspecting and loading each bullet into the chamber.

"Well then, let's begin our operation. Beam me over first."

Silver Wolf's fingers danced swiftly across the keys of a holographic interface, the rhythmic tapping echoing through the ship.

"Initiating transport!"

...

One minute later, the alarm system inside the Herta Space Station began blaring with a piercing sound.

Kafka moved swiftly, using her mind control to manipulate numerous researchers into sabotaging various operational systems of the Herta Space Station.

The entire station fell into temporary chaos.

Even Herta, the Emanator of Erudition, was momentarily at a loss against this level of mental manipulation.

After all, even within the Genius Society, each member excelled in their specific field of expertise. While they were dominant in their own domains, they were only average in others.

"Stellaron Hunters? How bold, daring to attack my space station," Herta said darkly as she monitored the real-time feed from the control chamber. On the screen, the woman leisurely manipulated the station's researchers into tampering recklessly with various instruments.

"These cosmic terrorists—are they out of their minds? Or do they not realize I've already returned to the Blue?"

Herta was livid.

Of all times to cause trouble, why now?

She was already busy preparing to welcome the Astral Express.

If she were lucky enough to meet the Aeon of Trailblaze, she wasn't even prepared for the occasion. And now, this situation was throwing a wrench into her plans.

"It's Kafka! She's one of the top twenty most wanted Stellaron Hunters on the Corporation's bounty list! Her bounty is up to 10 billion credits now!"

A stylish young girl with shoulder-length pink hair initially panicked upon hearing the station's alarms. But as she looked back at Herta, her nerves settled, feeling a strong sense of security.

With an impassive expression, Herta issued her orders. "Asta, organize the researchers for evacuation immediately. Ensure no more personnel fall under control."

"I'll handle this myself. Since she's delivered herself to me, she won't be leaving."

Asta nodded hastily. "Understood, Lady Herta."

Her heart raced with excitement.

With Lady Herta, an Emanator, personally taking action, even a notorious Stellaron Hunter like Kafka could only surrender.

...

Meanwhile.

Astral Express.

After the party ended, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.

With an additional Passenger Car newly attached, the Astral Express now had eight independent rooms in each passenger car.

Thanks to Pom-Pom's hard work, rooms for Saeko Busujima and the others were quickly completed.

In space, where there's no distinction between day and night, the only marker for rest was the Universal Standard Time.

At this moment, a certain door belonging to Shizuka Marikawa quietly creaked open. She tilted her head in her natural, absent-minded manner, her gaze landing on the door to Elias's room.

She tiptoed to his door, softly knocked, and pressed her ear to it, whispering, "Lord Elias, are you awake?"