Asta clenched her fists, her eyes filled with determination.
But as soon as she finished speaking, Kazuki suddenly paused.
He slowly turned around and drifted toward her, looking like a mischievous brat who had spotted an interesting prey.
The porcelain-white figure floated closer and closer.
His crimson pupils were filled with unabashed playfulness, meeting her gaze directly.
Even the cool air surrounding the puppet seemed to carry a sense of amusement as it swirled around her.
The distance was so close that Asta could clearly see the delicate purple patterns on the puppet’s cheeks.
Her heart skipped a beat, and her face, which had just cooled down, flushed deep red again.
She subconsciously held her breath and shrank back.
Asta gripped the hem of her clothes tightly and pulled her neck back, her voice trembling timidly, “M-Ms.
Herta?
You’re too close…” Kazuki completely ignored her panic.
Instead, he pushed his luck and floated even closer, reaching his arm up as if to pat her head.
However, the puppet wasn’t tall enough, and his fingertips only managed to brush against her bangs.
He didn’t get annoyed; instead, he stood on his tiptoes.
With a soft “thwack,” he flicked her forehead with his knuckle.
The movement was crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation or coyness.
“What’s the panic?” He folded his arms and slowly circled in front of her.
His tone of disdain was entirely feigned, the last syllable drawn out in a teasing lilt.
“I just saw you looking like a fool about to charge in and risk your life when you can’t even stand steady.
If you really rushed in, it would be the Herta Space Station’s reputation on the line—I don’t want people saying the station master of the Herta Space Station is just a little idiot who only knows how to put on a brave face.” Despite his disparaging words, he didn’t retreat at all.
He remained very close to her, swinging his short legs with a nonchalant air.
“I don’t have time to clean up your messes.
If you can’t even handle these scattered troops, I might as well take over the station’s trivial matters myself.
It just so happens I’ve never tried being the station master; I’ll treat it as a new research project.
No need for you to force yourself here.” Asta froze, a flicker of bewilderment crossing her eyes.
But upon closer inspection, she only sensed an overwhelming urge to punch him.
That inexplicable heartbeat from a moment ago instantly turned into a mix of laughter and embarrassment.
She bit her lip and couldn’t help but test him softly, “You…
you’re worried about me, aren’t you?” Hearing this, Kazuki arched an eyebrow.
The smile in his crimson pupils deepened.
Far from backing away, he leaned in even further, almost touching the tip of her nose, and deliberately drawled, “Worried?
Of course I’m worried.” He watched Asta’s eyes widen instantly, then suppressed a laugh as he changed his tone mockingly.
“I’m worried that you’re so easy to tease.
If something actually happens and you lose your head, wouldn’t my future days be much less entertaining?” His words caused the flush on Asta’s face to spread to the tips of her ears.
She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words, feeling both angry and ashamed.
Yet, facing this face of the Herta Puppet, she couldn’t bring herself to explode.
Despite saying the most irritating things, Kazuki stayed where he was, showing no intention of leaving.
He hovered there with his arms crossed, like an owner waiting to see a cat’s fur stand on end after teasing it.
Seeing her looking down and pouting, he couldn’t help but drift forward slowly.
“Go deal with it already, don’t just stand here dazed.
If you really encounter a danger you can’t control…” He paused, looking at Asta as she subconsciously looked up at him.
He lowered his voice, whispering the second half of the sentence into the air, “Remember to shout loudly.
I’ll bring a chair so I can have a front-row seat to the famous scene of our station master Asta turning the tide.
Of course, if you’re willing to beg me a little, I might just lend a small hand.” The last sentence was hardly a promise; it was blatant mockery.
Before he even finished, he turned and strolled toward the corridor.
His short legs moved leisurely, without any rush.
He even intentionally slowed down, waiting to hear Asta’s flustered and indignant reaction behind him.
Asta was left standing there, the cool sensation of the puppet’s fingertip still lingering on her forehead.
Her heart was a mess.
She was choked up by his annoying words, yet she found today’s “Ms.
Herta” incredibly strange.
Clearly saying the most irritating things, yet somehow making it impossible to truly get angry, leaving her only with the helpless feeling of being toyed with.
Asta bit her reddened lower lip and stomped her foot at his retreating figure.
However, she still gripped her communicator and quickly followed—not because of any romantic feeling, but purely because she wanted to see what other irritating things this particularly unusual Ms.
Herta could say.
Just as she was about to step forward, Kazuki, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped without warning.
He slowly turned around, arms crossed, watching her flustered attempt to catch up.
He raised an eyebrow and spoke, “What are you still standing there for?
The station still needs your command, station master Asta.” His voice still carried a hint of nonchalant playfulness, slightly softer than before, but without a trace of hesitation.
Instead, he wore his “I’m watching you make a fool of yourself” expression openly on his face.
He even deliberately stepped aside to make way for her, but continued to walk beside her, clearly intending to watch the whole thing.
He could have returned to the office in an instant, but he chose to walk slowly by her side, glancing at her every few steps like a mischievous brat following his owner out.
He was waiting to see her mess up; he wasn’t waiting for her, he was just afraid of missing the next bit of fun.
Asta felt uneasy under his gaze and quickened her pace, yet she didn’t dare get too far from him, fearing he might say something even more irritating.
She could only maintain a careful distance, complaining about today’s Ms.
Herta in her head eight hundred times, yet she couldn’t truly bring herself to give him the cold shoulder.
The tall and short figures walked side-by-side.
There wasn’t a hint of romantic ambiguity, only an overflowing sense of a cat-and-mouse game.
Kazuki was in complete control, waiting for Asta’s next reaction to find new entertainment.
As they walked, a slight noise suddenly came from the corner ahead.
It was the mechanical sound of the Herta Space Station’s Defense System conducting a scan.
Asta subconsciously let out a small cry, her steps faltering as her heart tightened and her whole body tensed up.
Almost the moment she spoke, Kazuki, who had been walking leisurely beside her, moved abruptly—not to block her, but to instantly float behind her.
His cool, porcelain fingertips rested lightly on her shoulder.
He leaned in and whispered into her ear with a low, deliberately eerie voice, “Ooh, judging by that sound, could it be a Void Ranger that slipped through the cracks?” Asta was already startled, and having him whisper in her ear like that made her hair stand on end.
She nearly jumped, stumbling forward a couple of steps with a cry.
She turned back to glare at him, her eyes reddening from the fright.
“Ms.
Herta!
Why did you scare me like that!” Kazuki looked at her pale cheeks and clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he was swaying.
It took him a while to stop.
He slowly pointed at the Patrol Robot that had just passed the corner and said mockingly, “Making a fuss over nothing.” He mimicked Herta’s usual tone, but without the coldness, filled instead with playful mockery.
“The Herta Space Station’s Defense System has already finished its scan.
To be scared by such a small sound, you really are useless—with this little courage, how can you guard the station?
If you really meet an enemy, won’t you just scare yourself unconscious first?” Despite his disparaging words, he showed no sign of leaving.
Instead, he floated in front of her, drifting backward while staring unblinkingly at her reddened eyes.
The more he looked, the more interesting he found it, like a child who had found a new toy.
Asta looked at his schadenfreude and felt both angry and ashamed.
She bit her lip and glared at him.
That inexplicable heartbeat from earlier was long gone, replaced by the embarrassment of being played.
She couldn’t help but say, “Ms.
Herta!
You…
you scared me on purpose, didn’t you!” Hearing this, Kazuki didn’t feel guilty at all.
Instead, he laughed even more.
He slowly floated closer to her, tilting his head with an innocent look.
“Scare you on purpose?
How could that be?” He drawled, looking at her pouting face, and added an even more annoying remark, “I was just helping you practice in advance to see your reaction to an emergency—and the result?
It was quite underwhelming.
It seems I’ll have to give you more practice in the future.” He got more excited as he spoke, showing no intention of holding back.
He even reached out and poked her pouting cheek with his fingertip, as if teasing a ruffled rabbit.
He was in complete control, without a hint of panic or embarrassment, the mockery in his eyes almost overflowing.