Kids are such a joy! Was what many scientists had gushed about to you, as if trying to give you a reason to have a child? But what they didn’t know was that Herta’s puppets were basically both of your children anyway. This is because you and Herta often had to make sure they were well maintained every now and again.

So, here you two were, in her quarters, both tired as hell but knowing this was a must as the 281 Herta Puppets were lined up in front of you to be maintained, whether it be oil or new parts.

A silent curse escaped your lips as you were at her side, working on the next puppet as she did another puppet. “Can you pass me the oil?” She politely asked despite being very tired.

How she could be so calm with this tiresome process is beyond you, but you did as requested, reaching for the bottle to pass her it. The other Herta dolls were just patiently waiting.

Ruan Mei must have an easier time than you two do, because all she does is look after those cat-cake creations—a decent amount but not too much. But Herta has 281 dolls, basically twelve times the amount of Ruan Mei’s creations.

But it was necessary because there were multiple tasks across the Herta’s Space Station that needed to be attended to, and the backups also needed to be maintained.

To keep it short, you thought those scientists were liars because these puppets were the equivalent of you and Herta being parents to these puppets. Joy my ass.

“What’s with the sour face?” She inquired, her gaze slowly turning away from the puppet and back to you. But she probably knew you were tired; there were so many after all.