Added to the Gacha as Rukkhadevata (Honkai Star Rail)

The next morning, Lumina slowly opened her eyes, sat up in bed, and stared out the window at the pitch-black sky. Still half-asleep, she closed her eyes again and lay back down.

"..."

"Oh, right. There's no day-night cycle on the Space Station."

After lying there for a while, Lumina finally got up again, rubbing her eyes. Once her vision cleared, she picked up her phone to check if any beautiful girls had messaged her.

"Why hasn't anyone wished me good morning?" Lumina muttered, staring at her Special Group, which was completely empty. "After all I've done for them... Ugh..."

Miss Lumina was about to feel genuinely hurt when she glanced at the time in the upper right corner of her phone. She abruptly fell silent.

6:48 AM

Lumina rested her chin in her hand and pondered for a moment.

"Hiss... Am I really this diligent?"

A wave of self-doubt washed over Lumina. She usually slept until noon, so waking up this early felt so out of character that it made her a little uneasy.

"Hmm... what did Herta message me about?"

Lumina's initial fear quickly dissipated, her attention drawn to something else.

She opened the message, pondered it briefly, and quickly grasped Herta's intention.

Her fingers tapped across the screen, typing out a reply and sending it:

[Herta: Are you still on the Space Station? I have a favor to ask.]

[Lumina: Yep! As long as it's not too troublesome, I'm happy to help ♪]

Herta replied almost instantly.

[Herta: It's about one of my experiments. Don't worry, it won't be too difficult.]

[Herta: If you agree, come to my office. It's located at xxx.xxx. If you can't find it, you can ask Asta.]

Herta logged off.

"Truly worthy of the Genius Society," Lumina murmured, watching Herta's profile picture fade to gray.

It seemed every member of the Genius Society was perpetually busy, completely absorbed in their experiments. They were either actively conducting them or on their way to do so.

The sheer number of Herta Puppets she had to create was a testament to how busy Herta was.

Lumina couldn't help but be grateful her brain wasn't sharp enough to join the Genius Society; she'd be swamped with work.

Ah, nothing beats relaxing and cuddling with a beautiful girl♪

Lumina threw back the covers, instantly revealing her stunning legs to the air, brightening the entire room.

Ding-ding-ding~

As Lumina swung her legs off the bed, the notification tone for her "Special Group" sounded from her phone.

Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed her phone to check the notification immediately.

[March 7th: Sister Lumina, good morning!]

[March 7th: We're about to head to Jarilo-VI to begin our Trailblaze!]

[March 7th: Oh, Jarilo-VI is the planet from the picture I sent you yesterday.]

[Lumina: o(* ̄▽ ̄*)ブ]

See? Beautiful girls are the best~

Just imagining March 7th's lively and adorable face on the other end of the phone lifted Lumina's spirits considerably.

[Lumina: Good morning, March!]

[Lumina: Wishing you all smooth sailing on your Trailblaze journey! (˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧]

[Lumina: Oh, right! If you ever find yourself in danger, remember to crush the hairpin I gave you. Even if we're galaxies apart, I'll be able to sense where you are, March.]

[Lumina: Then I'll ride a seven-colored auspicious cloud to come and save you!~]

[March 7th: How could I ever bring myself to destroy the hairpin Sister Lumina gave me?!]

Lumina's expression turned slightly serious as she read March 7th's silly message. She typed back:

[Lumina: Don't talk nonsense. I can always give you another hairpin, but you only get one life.]

[Lumina: If anything happened to you... I'd be so worried...]

[March 7th: Sister Lumina...]

On the train, March 7th's heart swelled with emotion as she read Lumina's message. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

If Lumina's system wasn't a character system but a nurturing or conquest system, it would undoubtedly display March 7th's rapidly increasing affection level...

A fierce determination ignited in March 7th's eyes, as if she had resolved to do something important.

[March 7th: Sister Lumina! Once I've achieved great things, I promise to take good care of you... by beating you up!]

[Lumina: Beat me up???]

A huge question mark popped up in Lumina's mind. I'm being so nice to you now, and once you've achieved success and fame, you actually want to beat me up?!

[March 7th: Ah, no, no! I made a typo! I meant to say "repay."]

Seeing the adorable silliness in March 7th's message, Lumina shook her head with a resigned smile. By the time March 7th grows up enough to repay me, we'll probably be on Version 100.1 already...

Though she didn't really care, she decided to play along.

[Lumina: Alright then! I'll be counting on you to take care of me and repay me in the future, little March~♪]

[March 7th: Mmm-hmm!! Leave it to me!]

The conversation ended there. Lumina put her phone away, gazed at the ceiling, and asked the System:

"Hey, wouldn't you say I just captured a beautiful girl's entire life with a hairpin and a few words?"

[You understand perfectly, you heartless seductress.]

Lumina: ?

Hearing this, Lumina instantly bristled and retorted, "What the hell? How am I suddenly a seductress? I didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Besides, I meant the kind of affection between close girlfriends, not the romantic kind you're imagining."

"Do you think everyone's as twisted as you are?"

Lumina explained earnestly that she had no romantic feelings for March 7th, nor did March 7th have any for her.

March 7th's affection for her was more like... the dependence a child feels for their mother?

Lumina wasn't entirely sure, but she knew it definitely wasn't romantic.

And when she talked about "cuddling," she simply meant wanting to spend time with a beautiful girl—nothing more.

[ Really? ] the System asked, observing Lumina's sincere expression with suspicion.

"Of course it's true..." Lumina replied helplessly.

She just enjoyed being around beautiful girls; she wasn't in love with them.

That had always been the case, still was, and always would be...