"..."
Robin stared at Timari's small face for several long seconds.
Anger simred beneath the surface. Fear followed close behind...
Yet he could not direct those emotions at her. Even if he demanded that she be replaced, another fairy would simply take her place-one that might be even more intrusive, sharper, and more intelligent than Timari herself... assuming there were any real differences between them in the first place.
As for her words about the galaxy soul-Robin's irritation stemd not from the topic itself, but from the fact that she had chosen to ntion it instead of letting the matter quietly fade into deliberate neglect. That alone was enough to unsettle him.
But did Drear Galaxy know about Nihari? Of course they did.
Within the True Beginning Empire, there were countless individuals who possessed the seed. They moved freely and routinely between the Mid Sector and Nihari, doing so on a constant basis. Even if they traveled through subsidiary planets first, it was almost impossible to imagine that Drear Galaxy did not already hold a comprehensive map of Nihari itself, along with detailed records of several planets orbiting it.
Even if the seed was incapable of transmitting sound or visual data, the simple fact that the seed's location could be pinpointed-and by extension, the clustered locations of nurous planets within a tightly confined region-was more than enough to confirm the existence of an artificial galaxy.
Was Robin terrified by this realization? Not particularly.
Drear Galaxy already knew his identity as Lord Human, and they knew that he was Robin Burton. They knew he financed the Shadow Swords. They knew he was Hedrick's hidden partner. They knew he funded both the Cradle and the Grave. They knew everything about him-details that so might consider far more dangerous and destabilizing than the seed itself.
And that was not all...
In truth, Intiras Galaxy most likely knew that sothing unusual was unfolding in Nihari as well, and for much the sa reasons. The portals of the Cradle and the Grave Empire remained permanently open to hundreds of planets within Nihari Galaxy that were spatially adjacent. Such activity could never go unnoticed for long.
It would not be strange in the slightest if several of the scouting vessels dispatched toward the protected zone had been motivated-directly or indirectly-by both Drear Morpheus Galaxy and Behemoth Intiras Galaxy, sent to confirm their suspicions and evaluate the situation firsthand.
From an informational and intelligence standpoint, Morpheus and Intiras were in no way inferior to that Syndicate. However, there existed one crucial difference...
Intiras and Morpheus considered consequences-even if only to a limited degree.
The consequences of sending forces into a distant and unstable sector.
The consequences of disturbing the Cosmic Elder.
The consequences of provoking Sevar.
The consequences of earning the resentnt of the other great powers of the universe.
The consequences of losing even a fraction of their vast trade networks and terrifying monopolies.
Compared to that Syndicate, they had sothing real to lose. And because of that, they did not recklessly chase after every seed or treasure that revealed itself openly. That was precisely why they had never set their sights on Verillion, despite being fully capable of erasing Hedrick from existence.
Only the Hidden Hand Syndicate disregarded all such considerations entirely- and that utter lack of restraint was exactly what made it so dangerously unpredictable.
Robin lowered his gaze for a few monts and rubbed the space between his eyes, the weight of countless calculations pressing down on him.
"Show Lord Damir's ssage."
"Of course!" Timari replied brightly, giving a gentle wave of her hand.
An image of a familiar young man materialized before Robin:
>
"..."
Robin listened in silence. It was only natural that the results exceeded expectations after all, he had charged them 6.4 billion Pearls for that upgrade alone.
"Ugh... what an idiot!!" Robin slamd his hand against his forehead. He had just emptied everything he owned, pouring out every last coin, leaving himself not even a billion or two, as he often liked to keep for ergencies. It was typical of him to act this way-reckless, yet decisive.
He let out a long, heavy sigh and pressed the reply button.
"Lord Damir, of course I am willing to contribute. However, I am currently experiencing a shortage of liquidity. Please send the full quantity you have using the usual thod, and I will settle the cost with you as soon as possible. Even if it takes a few years due to my present lack of funds, you will receive everything within a few years at most. You have my word on this."
He then closed the ssage, leaning back slightly.
No matter what else happened, the Shadow Swords would gain trendous advantage from those curses if Theo was forced down the path of war. Curse talismans and devices might not influence large-scale wars much, but in one-on-one combat, they were utterly lethal. And that was precisely the kind of fighting that awaited them against the Syndicate. The Syndicate did not maintain formal armies-only a vast number of talented followers, highly skilled and spread across countless locations.
This ti, Robin moved his own hand and deliberately opened Lord Saher's ssage. The man's image appeared, smiling broadly yet calmly:
Then, his tone shifted suddenly, and his smile deepened into one loaded with subtle aning:
"A gift package?" Robin murmured, raising an eyebrow slightly. He glanced around the interface, scanning the screen until he found a button labeled. Without hesitation, he pressed it.
Whoom
A blue box appeared in front of him, displaying detailed images of several items:
An image of energy Pearls, labeled ×3 billion.
An image of planetary artifact, labeled ×10.
An image of a ti chamber, labeled x3.
"Oh, how thoughtful of him," Robin said, his lips curving into a broad,
appreciative smile.
When it ca to logic and straightforwardness, Ti Galaxy was exceptional. All they lacked was soone to provide them with ideas on how to maximize
the tools and resources they already possessed in abundance, Instead of the isolation they live in. And in Robin, along with Seraphim, they had found the perfect partner.
After a few monts spent adjusting his expression, steadying his breathing, and controlling the rhythm of his heart so that his anxiety would not betray him in the tone of his voice, Robin placed a carefully composed smile on his face and pressed reply:
He pressed send. Afterward, he exhaled a long, heavy breath and cracked his neck, the tension in his shoulders slowly loosening.
"Alright... who's next?" he muttered to himself.
He let his gaze wander across the list of unread, important ssages. Since he
did not know which one to prioritize, he allowed chance to decide and pressed open one at random, preparing himself for whatever awaited within.
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