Goethe Hotel, the same guest room as before.
Adrian lay comfortably on the bed, enjoying the Goethe Hotel's signature afternoon tea.
To prevent her from causing any major trouble, after bestowing the [Eternity] blessing upon Silver Wolf, Adrian considered his workload for the day complete.
"Ah~ I really want to eat some Red Sunset sashimi. I wonder where Stelle and the others are..."
...
Administrative District, a gray figure and a pink figure stood before the [Eternity] sculpture.
"Am I seeing things? Is that a statue of Teacher Adrian?!" March 7th rubbed her eyes.
"Huh? How can you tell?"
Stelle was dumbfounded. She, the orthodox [Eternity] Pathstrider, hadn't recognized it!
"Maybe I've been drinking too much milk tea... I just feel it looks quite like him."
The main body of the sculpture was a giant Mobius strip with a single twist, but this loop wasn't a smooth ribbon. It looked more like a solidified, semi-transparent... river of milk tea?
It couldn't be helped; the undulating texture of the liquid flow on the surface was just too similar. It was hard for March 7th not to make the association.
"Ruined, it's ruined. Now whenever I see milk tea, I'll think of Teacher Adrian."
March 7th corrected her abstract thinking ability. Be more formal in public places!!!
In the following ten minutes or so, Stelle and March 7th visited many places, ate fragrant, soft, and freshly baked blueberry pancakes, and even joined a group of children to listen to the history of the museum.
"Ha~ I'm tired. I didn't expect that doing nothing but wandering around would consume so much energy..."
March 7th's head drooped heavily, as if an invisible weight was bending her neck. A fatigue that penetrated deep into the marrow suddenly swept through her whole body.
"Shouldn't we go see Bronya? After all, she sent us the invitation."
Perspective shifts to Qlipoth Fort, the Supreme Guardian's Office.
"...I fully understand your planet's difficulties, Lady Supreme Guardian."
"Belobog's current financial strain is not due to you, nor, of course, is it due to the fault of anyone in this city."
Topaz had appeared here at some point and was discussing matters with Bronya.
"But to speak on the matter itself, since Belobog has survived to the present as an independent political entity, this debt cannot be written off as a bad debt."
Bronya was about to say something, but Topaz saw through her thoughts at a glance: "The Church only helped Belobog improve the climate and environment, but did not provide other support... right?"
Trying to mess with the largest economy in the universe? A mere Church shouldn't come looking for trouble!
When most interstellar citizens talk about the IPC, they always mention omnipresent commodities and eye-catching logos: as if "wherever there is a transaction, there is the Interastral Peace Corporation."
In fact, almost all commercial activities in the galaxy are indeed built on the IPC's "Credit" system.
If interstellar trade were compared to a sports competition, then the Company is the top athlete, the various sports events, the competition venue, and the rules themselves.
In terms of the original intention of starting a business, the Interastral Peace Corporation is a selfless support dedicating everything to the [Preservation] Aeon, not much different from the Church. But in terms of commercial value... the gap is vast.
Actually, Topaz originally wanted to ask the Supreme Guardian if she had seen the man in the photo. Since Jarilo-VI's technology has lagged behind for so many years, the suspect who attacked Oswaldo Schneider might indeed choose to come here to lie low.
But... thinking carefully, this planet has been dark on the star rail charts for many years. From the perspective of ordinary people, it was likely long abandoned.
She had no impression of Adrian's face, and her colleagues in the [Ten Stonehearts] also said they had never seen him.
What can be confirmed at present is: the suspect possesses terrifying stealth technology, able to evade a series of IPC surveillance measures. It also cannot be ruled out that he carries a signal jammer.
Mmh, maybe he's actually a puppet, and the real culprit is someone else. This is just an illusion by those fools from the [Tavern]!
Sigh~ Being a P45 rank isn't easy these days. Shouldering the mission of the company's high-level executives, and having to play detective to solve crimes and chase murderers during leisure time.
It was truly ridiculous. A task that should have been the responsibility of the [Marketing Development Department] resulted in the suspect's photo ending up in the hands of their [Strategic Investment Department].
"...Ah, it seems important visitors have arrived." She sensed footsteps behind her.
"Bronya! And... Miss Topaz is here too?"
Stelle hadn't expected them to meet again so soon. The efficiency of the Interastral Peace Corporation was truly high.
"So you've already started discussing cooperation? Business matters are important, how about we..."
"It's fine, we were mostly done chatting anyway. We were just preparing to wrap up." Topaz shook her head and continued to propose to Bronya: "Lady Supreme Guardian, please seriously consider my plan."
"If Jarilo-VI wants to rebuild contact with the stars of the galaxy in the future... your credit record with the Company will be incredibly important."
After a long time, Bronya gave her answer: "I understand, Miss Topaz. I will... I need time to consider."
"Of course. However, while you are considering, my colleagues need to carry out some necessary work in Belobog... I hope everyone in the Overworld and Underworld can cooperate."
"So sorry to have disturbed your reunion with old friends with my business! Business talk is over, now you can catch up slowly... I'll take my leave first, see you later~"
Watching Topaz leave, March 7th quickly ran up to check on Bronya.
"Bronya, are you okay? That Topaz... actually has such a forceful side. I thought she was someone easy to talk to."
Stelle had already taken out her phone, ready to contact Blake at any time depending on the situation.
"Stelle, March... welcome back. Sorry, I intended to welcome you two warmly, but that lady claiming to be an envoy of the [Company] appeared suddenly and disrupted my thoughts..."
"Since it's you two, I have nothing to hide..."
Fatigue welled up in Bronya's heart, like a heaviness seeping from the depths of her limbs, making every breath seem stagnant and labored.
At this moment, Stelle and March 7th finally realized the severity of the matter.
"Honestly, I don't have much energy to think about the Solwarm Festival right now."
"What exactly did Topaz say to you?"
"...Since you have already met her, I don't need to explain her identity." Bronya cleared her throat.
"When you first came to Belobog, you must have heard people mention that history, right? About the Legion invasion more than seven hundred years ago, and the Eternal Freeze born from the [Stellaron]..."
"It seems now that many major historical events were buried under the wind and snow at that time... Those memories failed to be passed down through the successive Supreme Guardians."