"...There is certainly another way." Theo tightened his clenched fist even more, the tension in his arm becoming visible. "You overlooked that spot once before -so let us speak about it again." Then he gestured toward himself. "As the Shadow Swords, we have rendered you many valuable services across the three sectors, and after our recent expansion we will provide you with even more and more services on the informational front. Let our relationship remain cordial and mutually beneficial."
"Hmmm... are you threatening , little sword?" The red-skinned man looked toward Theo with only one eye open, the other still closed. "I know you do not intend to, of course, but these are dangerous words, my small friend, and they can be interpreted in many different ways... be careful."
"Of course I do not intend any threat, Your Excellency" Theo replied calmly. "I am rely murmuring a wish, one I hope you might grant-that peace may continue to prevail. We prosper, and you benefit from us as you always have. Why bring moving vessels to a halt for the sake of sothing trivial and peripheral?" Theo forced a restrained smile. "Does that subrged, forgotten spot in a Young Sector truly hold such imnse value? Why not simply forget about it altogether, hmm?"
"..." The red-skinned man remained silent for a short while, his expression unreadable. "What does Lord Human see in that spot to place such heavy protection upon it, to wager the lives of the Shadow Swords for the sake of protecting it? That is... quite intriguing"
"..." Theo did not respond imdiately.
It would have been naïve to assu that the Syndicate the sa Syndicate that had brought him news of the agreent between the Cursed Behemoth and the Savage Behemoth was unaware of the identity of the financier of the Shadow Swords, or of the true founder of the Cradle and Grave Empire, and of course Hedrick's backing as well.
Oh, they knew. They had known for a very long ti.
They were rely watching with interest and curiosity. And naturally, they would sell this information without hesitation if soone requested it and paid a sufficient price.
The only reassuring fact was that this information was no less significant than the information regarding the agreent between the Behemoths-and its price was high, exceedingly high.
"I believe you already possess more than enough secrets," Theo spoke, his eyes sharp and focused. "The lord wishes for his birthplace to remain far from prying eyes. He wants his family to remain protected for as long as possible. What about honoring such a simple request?"
"Hmmm, we can respect such a will," the red-skinned man nodded several tis in a asured manner. "After we take a look."
"..." Theo's lips trembled with suppressed anger.
It was not that he disbelieved him-not the red-skinned man, no. In truth, any mber of the Syndicate's leadership would have spoken those words with complete sincerity.
They genuinely did not care about what existed there nearly as much as they cared about the information that it existed at all.
It was said that the founder of the Syndicate of the Hidden Hand-the legendary figure, Sivar- had established this rule for them long ago: to know everything, at all tis. This golden rule was followed by all of his adherents, despite leaked rumors claiming that he himself never reads any reports at all. He simply wants them to know-for so reason known only to him.
The amount of information the Syndicate possesses regarding the treasures, wonders, and deepest secrets of the universe is beyond calculation, sothing that cannot truly be asured or cataloged.
Would they drool over the galaxy itself?
It is extrely difficult to imagine such a thing... if Theo so desired, he could simply purchase from them the locations of other, yet-undiscovered seeds. Yes they possess the locations of nurous seeds scattered throughout every corner of the universe, and they are fully capable of selling those locations at whatever price they deem appropriate, to whichever party they consider suitable.
So why does Theo not buy one? Because they are not yet capable of taking care of even a single seed properly. After 350 years, no one can predict what will happen to the one they already have, and it would be utterly unreasonable to bind themselves to another... not to ntion the absurd, astronomical price such information would demand.
Simply put, the Syndicate has no interest in artificial galaxies-this has never been their way of doing things!
Now then, why were they not prevented from entering that region? There were two reasons.
The first reason: fear that they might sell news of the existence of the Nihari Galaxy to another party before the upgrade plan was completed. There were additional concerns as well-such as them discovering the shipbuilding site and the colossal weapon, seeing the smart cities that had no equal even among other artificial galaxies within the Mid Belt, and, most importantly, seeing the Greed Crucibles and learning exactly what they were used for. To the Syndicate, that knowledge was more precious and far more valuable than the galaxy itself.
All of this made up the first reason-and it was the weaker one.
For his father had inford him, through a ssage delivered by hand to Harper inside a box prepared for self-destruction, a ssage crafted with the highest possible level of secrecy, that he possessed a seventh-grade planetary displacent equipnt.
Seventh-grade!!
Theo nearly lost consciousness that day-only sheer excitent and frantic contemplation of the possibilities kept him awake.
With that equipnt, they could, at the very least, relocate Jura, Greenland, Nihari, and all other refined planets in the event of a catastrophe. Such an action would delay their plans and might even devastate the galaxy itself, yet the re existence of this option made Theo far more reassured about the stability of their foundations.
Perhaps without the second reason, he would have acted differently and
allowed the Syndicate to enter. All he would have needed to do was conceal the Greed Crucibles by so ans, and then do everything possible to prevent them from selling the information.
But this is where the second reason ca into play: the wormhole.
If the Syndicate were to learn about that wormhole, they would handle it just
as they did specter-farm planets or any other large-scale enterprise-they would claim the wormhole for themselves and initiate an enormous
profit-driven project.
What project?
Because of the wormhole, traveling from Mid Sector 99 to Mid Sector 100 had never been easier. For instance, a traveler departing from Mid Sector 100 would normally need to board a spacecraft to reach Young Sector 100, a journey that could take only a month. From there, they could use the wormhole to instantly cross into Young Sector 99, and afterward ascend to Mid Sector 99 in at most
another month.
In practical terms, this wormhole would compress a journey of three full years into barely two months.
This is without taking into account any acceleration devices such as the Space
Flow Pendant.
And what did that an?
A catastrophe would descend upon the True Beginning Empire, the Grave, the Cradle, the Holy Covenant Academy, and all forces subordinate to Robin. Quite simply, there would no longer be any place left for them in those two
sectors.
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