Chapter 457

On the other hand, this master of hers was deeply conflicted due to her utterly incompatible worldview, making it difficult to allocate resources toward her cultivation...

To be frank, the maid chief understood that this was likely her master’s first—and possibly last—gesture of kindness toward her.

Once she became a Star Lord, she would unquestionably be one of his own.

With her talent, she could easily become a trailblazer on this path, just like Ruan Mei.

Look at Ruan Mei now!

Her former junior from the Genius Club, once far beneath her, has now surpassed her.

Just imagine how vast the resources this master of hers poured into Ruan Mei!

It wasn’t that the maid chief looked down on Ruan Mei.

The maid chief herself was a genius—a ceiling-level genius of the Genius Club—and after eons of cultivation, she had become a perfected, complete genius in every aspect.

Ruan Mei?

The last time she met her, this junior’s life science hadn’t even reached the limit of her own intellect—back then, the gap between them was immense!

Yet now, Ruan Mei had surpassed her.

Her rational genius told her she should accept this without hesitation—it was merely her own [growth], not a distortion of thought or soul enslavement; why hold back?

But.

After countless Amber Eons of prolonged refinement, her thoughts, her soul, everything about her, had been etched into her bones, becoming an inseparable part of her soul—how could she change for the sake of some [growth]?

Her deeply ingrained, soul-deep beliefs resisted—the violent ideological shift that would come after becoming a Star Lord!

Hermes noticed the fierce struggle in his maid chief’s eyes, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile of satisfaction crossed his face.

Struggle?

Struggle is exactly what he wanted!

What he feared was if this maid chief didn’t even feel the urge to struggle—that would make manipulation far harder.

Now, signs of struggle meant [possibility]!

As the [Infinite], forcing [possibility] to collapse into a single, fixed outcome was his specialty.

He had the full ability to naturally guide his maid chief toward the direction he desired—even...

Without the [Infinite] lifting a finger, his own [Pure Beauty] could steer events toward the perfect future he favored...

Polka Kaka Mu was already out of his grasp!

Raising the next [Sis Kaer ]—even for Hermes—would bring immense satisfaction...

At that moment, Hermes’s expression shifted slightly; a tender, doting smile appeared on his face. He stood gently, arms outstretched, as if ready to embrace...

“Hermes-niigata, Beichangtan is here to find Itachi~”

From nearby in the courtyard, with no trace of spacetime fluctuation, three figures appeared silently—a large one and two small ones. One of the small figures spotted something, her face lit up with a wide grin, and she scampered over on her tiny legs, launching herself straight into Hermes’s arms.

“Little Beichangtan, did Itachi miss your Hermes-niigata?”

Watching the girl’s radiant, sunlit smile, Hermes’s smile widened without restraint; he playfully rubbed his cheek against hers, then teased the little cutie with delight.

“Of course I missed Itachi! Beichangtan thinks of Hermes-niigata every single day!”

The little one spoke without hesitation, voicing her true feelings.

“Hahaha...”

Hearing this, Hermes lifted the little cutie high into the air and laughed heartily: “Itachi didn’t make your Hermes-niigata waste his affection on Itachi!”

Though it seemed like a long time had passed, the little one had, under the doting care of countless elites in the chat group—including Hermes—used countless treasures for transcendence, rebirth, and foundational strengthening...

He Xi, who joined at the same time, had already fainted in the bathroom from envy!

Any one of these treasures, if bought casually, would have cost the Angel Civilization dearly for years!

Yet the insane elites in the chat group had unhesitatingly bought one after another, all of them poured onto this innocent little cutie...

Had the method of returning to origin, primordial conception, and becoming a born god or buddha not been too complex and time-consuming—and had the little one not been unable to endure being separated from her big brothers and sisters for so long—someone might have truly spent an astronomical sum.

Now, the little one was a genuine immortal.

Yet, whether in body or soul, she remained in the stage of a human child.

“Hermes...niigata?”

At that moment, Ailuke timidly called out, watching her little friend happily cling to Hermes-niigata; deep in her eyes, a trace of envy surfaced.

She was no longer the naive, blank Star God she once was.

At least now, she had learned what joy was, what satisfaction was, what...fear was.

She adored the Hermes-niigata before her—his utterly [Pure Beauty] was an irresistible force to an innocent child.

But since she rarely saw the “big brother” her little friend spoke of in reality, she could only grip her sister Floze’s hand tightly, too timid to rush forward like her friend.

As if sensing Ailuke’s longing and fear, Floze smiled warmly and led the little one forward.

Just then, the maid chief returned with the gourmet dish prepared personally by the God of Cuisine, Xiang Ling.

Gently lifting the lid of the food box...

A dazzling golden radiance shot skyward!

“Is this the skill of the top chef in your world, Hermes?”

Floze stepped forward curiously, studying the dish for over ten seconds before seemingly understanding something.

“It seems Itachi’re quite pleased with these dishes?”

Seeing Floze’s expression, Hermes showed a hint of surprise.

Ten seconds?

To ordinary people, that was brief—but to Floze, a God of Cuisine who had reached an unimaginable height on the culinary path, it was an eternity.

Floze nodded, then shook her head and sighed:

“The chef who made this dish is of the highest caliber, and follows a culinary path entirely different from mine—it’s profoundly inspiring. But unfortunately...”

“In the way of cuisine, her foundational roots are inherently inferior to those of the chefs in my world.”