Inside the Soul society-
"Alright, alright..." Robin slowly drew several glowing orbs from within his head, each one pulsing with a soft, rhythmic shine, then with a gentle flick of his wrist sent them drifting gracefully toward the fairy. "Here- this is the last batch I received from the Truth Chamber tasks."
"Thank you for your hard and consistent work, Lord Human!" Timari accepted the orbs with visible delight, her wings fluttering with excitent. Each one of these solution-orbs was worth tens of millions of Pearls-an amount that could change the fate of lesser beings. "I'll deposit your earnings into your account imdiately!"
"Oh? Aren't you going to wait for the specialized verification teams?" Robin asked with a rare, relaxed smile, teasing her lightly.
"You have surpassed these kind of things, Lord Human, who would dare to say your work isn't perfect?" The fairy waved her hand, making the orbs of light dissolve into space, then with another wave projected Robin's current balance as shimring digits in the air. "There really isn't much left before your previous balance is fully restored, my Lord!"
"Hm~" Robin nodded several tis with a satisfied hum.
His balance had reached 16.6 billion Pearls.
This was the accumulated reward of fifteen intense years spent solving the Truth Chamber's complex requests, along with the profits from every item he had ever placed in the shop-including, of course, the fad Colonize the Un-colonizable Array, which had caused an uproar across entire sectors. "Send fifteen billion to Sword-Theo2." Robin issued the command casually, as though the number were nothing, then shifted his gaze away with disinterest. He had already sent him nineteen billion in the past, and now another fifteen. With that, any lingering debt would be wiped out, and his living expenses for the next century-at the very least-would be completely secured.
"Shall I display the Truth Chamber request list for you, my Lord?" Timari asked quickly, leaning forward slightly. "A new request has just arrived-twelve million!"
Even Timari herself sounded impressed by the number exiting her mouth...
In rely fifteen years, Lord Human had completed twice the number of requests he had completed during the entire 170 years following his first entry into the Soul Community.
And it was important to emphasize that the requests this ti were significantly harder, more intricate, and far more valuable than before- requests designed specifically for the person rumored to beco the next Great Truth Master... and yet he handled them in astonishingly short periods of ti.
Naturally, experience played a major role now that Robin had perfected his own path for discovering solutions and drawing inscriptions with unmatched precision. But the Eternal Feather Seraphim had also assisted him greatly, easing the difficulty of his work and saving countless hours. In addition, dividing his consciousness into four independent thought-streams-each analyzing a different problem-had drastically boosted his efficiency.
Neri hadn't exaggerated when she told him that the stars would sharpen his abilities...
"There's no need to bring up the request list. I've had my fill for now." Robin raised a hand lightly to stop Timari. "What remains of the tasks may be tempting in terms of profit, but not in terms of challenge. I'd feel no thrill completing them... Just leave them aside for now. Maybe I'll return to them soday"
"As you wish, Lord Human." Timari nodded respectfully. "Do you have any wishes? Would you like to visit any hall? You still have 1.6 billion Pearls-you could do nearly anything in any hall of the Soul society!"
"Heh~" Robin allowed a faint smile to appear. "I'll be leaving now, Timari. I'll be absent for a while. My apologies, but you'll be returning to your quiet loneliness again."
"...." Timari tilted her head, then circled around his head in a small playful loop. "What about selling sothing new in the shop? You haven't placed anything for sale in ages. Since you're leaving, why not strengthen your inco sources? That way, when you return next ti, you might be greeted by an even larger fortune!"
She circled again, wings shimring. "It's very easy and won't take any real ti-just say the word. You've completed hundreds of requests over the years. You can simply pick one of the unrestricted ones and sell it under your own na, just like you did with the Colonization Array!"
"Oh?" Robin laughed softly. "Has Lord Morval finally grown tired of my lack of movent?"
A long ti ago, after the grand auction that shook the entire sector... Robin had granted Morval the right to use the Breaths of Ages martial art for five individuals, in exchange for clearing Robin from all sales taxes and all tasks-submission fees.
That deal had saved Robin billions upon billions since then-an amount that might even surpass the worth of the martial art itself.
That was precisely why Lord Morval might now be losing patience-especially since he had made it clear that continuing the tax exemption depended on one condition: that Robin continued offering him valuable gifts from ti to ti. "....." Robin nodded several tis slowly, as though confirming the idea to himself. "Alright then... why not?" He brought his hands together and clapped softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Very well-I'm ready to participate in the market once again."
"Really? Truly?!" Timari's face lit up with a bright, delighted grin. She twirled once in the air, and with a wave of her tiny hand, a long shimring list unfolded, displaying dozens upon dozens of tasks Robin had completed entirely by his own effort-without even a drop of help from the original requesters. "Which one will you sell, Lord Human? Just point to any of them!" Robin let his eyes slide slowly across the list. Every entry was a heavy-weight task-martial arts manuals, antidote procedures for rare and deadly poisons, thods of entering extrely restricted zones, formulas for first-level fused laws... countless dangerous, complex, and trendously valuable works. And indeed, he had already shared copies of all these tasks-and more-with Harper, instructing him to pass them to Sky Opening City so they could use them as reference material to forge whatever creations they desired.
But Robin simply waved his hand dismissively. "Put all of that aside. I've learned my leason from the array."
"Oh..." Timari made the list vanish in an instant, then drifted closer to Robin's head, wings fluttering. "Do you have sothing else in mind, Lord Human?
So new concept?"
"Mm." Robin nodded thoughtfully. "It's sothing I've been considering for a very long ti, for the sake of certain people who matter to ." He tapped lightly at his temple, then extended his hand as a long, radiant strip of light slowly began erging from within. "This, of course, is only a light version- crafted using lesser-tier laws and restricted patterns. It requires complicated raw materials, several initial sessions to activate... and then a reinforcent every ten years. But if everything is done correctly, it accomplishes the sa purpose as the original design. And I believe its sales will be quite respectable." "What is it exactly, Lord Human?" The excitent on Timari's face dimd slightly; the mont she learned this was only a weakened derivative of sothing greater, her initial enthusiasm faltered.
"It's the blueprint for a device," Robin said, still smiling faintly as he continued
pulling the glowing strip. "Each device can only work for one person. Whoever uses it according to the precise thod I've indicated will regain their physical youth-completely and without a single harmful side effect. And if they do not use the device again within ten years, the natural signs of age will slowly and gently return, step by step, until the body returns to its original state-still without any complications."
"A device that restores youth... with absolutely no side effects?!" Timari's eyes burst open to their limits, her wings freezing mid-flap. "Sothing like that actually exists?!"
"Well, it does now. It's just sothing simple-an idea I ca up with one day"
Robin replied calmly. At last he drew out the final segnt of the luminous strip and passed it to Timari. "The entire device revolves around three runes derived from minor Life Laws, and two runes taken from the major Shaping Law. So make sure you set an appropriate and worthy price for it."
"Life and Shaping... two fundantal laws?!" Timari's voice trembled as her eyes grew impossibly wider.
If this was the weakened version, then what in the heavens was the original
like?! "I'm not selling the blueprint itself. Build the devices and the needed shots, distribute them, and transfer my share of the profits to ."
"Oh..." Timari made the list vanish in an instant, then drifted closer to Robin's
head, wings fluttering. "Do you have sothing else in mind, Lord Human?
So new concept?"
"Mm." Robin nodded thoughtfully. "It's sothing I've been considering for a
very long ti, for the sake of certain people who matter to ." He tapped lightly at his temple, then extended his hand as a long, radiant strip of light slowly began erging from within. "This, of course, is only a light version- crafted using lesser-tier laws and restricted patterns. It requires complicated raw materials, several initial sessions to activate... and then a reinforcent every ten years. But if everything is done correctly, it accomplishes the sa purpose as the original design. And I believe its sales will be quite respectable." "What is it exactly, Lord Human?" The excitent on Timari's face dimd slightly; the mont she learned this was only a weakened derivative of sothing greater, her initial usiasm faltered.
"It's the blueprint for a device," Robin said, still smiling faintly as he continued
pulling the glowing strip. "Each device can only work for one person. Whoever uses it according to the precise thod I've indicated will regain their physical youth-completely and without a single harmful side effect. And if they do not use the device again within ten years, the natural signs of age will slowly and gently return, step by step, until the body returns to its original state-still without any complications."
"A device that restores youth... with absolutely no side effects?!" Timari's eyes
burst open to their limits, her wings freezing mid-flap. "Sothing like that actually exists?!"
"Well, it does now. It's just sothing simple-an idea I ca up with one day"
Robin replied calmly. At last he drew out the final segnt of the luminous strip and passed it to Timari. "The entire device revolves around three runes derived
from minor Life Laws, and two runes taken from the major Shaping Law. So make sure you set an appropriate and worthy price for it."
"Life and Shaping... two fundantal laws?!" Timari's voice trembled as her eyes grew impossibly wider.
If this was the weakened version, then what in the heavens was the original
like?!
"I'm not selling the blueprint itself. Build the devices and the needed shots, distribute them, and transfer my share of the profits to ."
He placed his hand behind his back, his posture becoming calm but unmistakably stern. "As for Lord Morval-tell him I won't be offering him any gifts in the near future. I currently have nothing that would suit his status. Inform him, on my behalf, that he is free to resu collecting taxes however he
pleases."
And with that final sentence, Robin's figure blurred... and he vanished
completely.
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