Ch.269The Sacred Place of Countless Gold. Turianic Plains (3)

# [Luminator – Turianic Industrial Treaty]

– Luminator, Victor Walker (hereafter “Vic”), holds command authority over Turianic Industries (hereafter “Tu”). However, this must be executed through consultation with the CEO or those who hold voting rights in the business.

– Tu is obligated to provide steel materials for Vic’s holy war, and must follow Vic’s control when selling orichalcon.

– If personnel affiliated with Tu remove orichalcon or other weapon-grade steel materials without authorization, the CEO has primary disciplinary authority. If the offense is severe and diplomatic friction is a concern, the CEO must immediately delegate judgment authority to Vic.

– Tu comes under Vic’s command as soon as this treaty takes effect, and Tu shall not express intent of subjugation to any apostle, monarch, city, nation, group, or individual other than Vic.

– Vic is obligated to govern Tu fairly, and Tu has the right to demand revision of the treaty if Vic deviates from reasonable and sensible demands.

– Vic will continuously supply orichalcon to Tu. However, orichalcon will be provided in raw ore form, and the specific quantity shall be determined through mutual consultation.

– Vic is obligated to protect Tu, and failure to fulfill this obligation will automatically nullify the treaty.

This was the treaty established between the Luminator and Turianic Industries.

It wasn’t really a document with diplomatic effectiveness but rather a kind of declaration that didn’t follow proper format, but that didn’t particularly matter.

If anyone were to argue otherwise, I’d drop a satellite on them and turn them into fish jerky.

I shook hands with CEO Karl and revealed my presence to the entire Turianic Plain.

In front of 200 million workers, he knelt and bowed his head to me, and I accepted his oath of loyalty with an arrogant yet solemn expression.

By this, this plain shall become my foundation, and the toil of those who refine the sun’s steel shall be rewarded on the day the empire is established.

“Behold, my servants. This shall be the reward for your devotion.”

I manipulated the satellite to begin loading freshly made orichalcon ore onto rockets.

The amount was a staggering 7,300 tons.

It exceeded the amount of orichalcon produced over 300 years.

Soon the rocket began entering the atmosphere and landed gracefully in Turianic Industry’s stockyard, casting its enormous shadow.

There was a minor incident where other metals melted from the rocket’s exhaust heat, but it didn’t matter since they weren’t more precious than orichalcon.

Click… Creeeeak…

The rocket opened, and unmanned drones automatically began moving the orichalcon ore to empty spaces in the stockyard.

Rather than “moving,” “dumping” might be a more appropriate term since they weren’t well-refined ingots, but for the company employees, “moving” would be the more appropriate word.

“The Luminator has given us orichalcon ore! Now Turianic Industries will walk the path of import substitution industrialization!”

“This is exciting! It’s orichalcon!”

“Our performance will be duplicated!”

The company employees who received the orichalcon ore via rocket delivery (literally) rejoiced, drooling like dogs.

No wonder. Orichalcon was worth whatever price was named, and it was the core component of expensive parts like engine shields for all kinds of super-heavy battleships.

And that wasn’t all.

Orichalcon was the metal of the sun, which meant it could exert powerful effects against evil spirits and malevolent gods.

Massive ships navigating dark skies and deep seas were frequently attacked by enormous monsters like dragons, and during such times, orichalcon frames and engines could endure tenaciously, ensuring the safety of the crew.

In short, it was the ultimate metal—equipped with basic exorcism functions, incredibly durable, and nearly indestructible.

I watched the employees transporting the ore while making strange noises, and as promised, I decided to transfer control of the satellites to CEO Karl.

“For your devotion and loyalty, I hereby delegate control of approximately 350 orbital satellites to you.”

“I shall serve you, Luminator.”

At that moment, a faint light formed at my fingertips, which then penetrated Karl’s head and firmly took root in his brain.

“The blessing of light!”

“The power of the sun has descended upon the CEO!”

Blessing.

No, this is science.

It’s merely nanomites artificially transferring spiritual authority delegated to me as an entity.

Those nanomites were transmitted by the orbital laser transmission satellite.

Of course, no one knew how the nanomites were automatically transmitted without me saying anything, how they emitted light on their own, or how they could carry spiritual abilities.

I simply acted as the sun instructed me to do, and observed the results.

Whenever such transcendent scenes continued, I became extremely afraid.

Science surpassing magic. Magic overwhelming science. And the Nariaki Empire, possessing divinity that overshadowed both science and magic, eventually perished not from external enemies but from civil war, which means the empire I will establish cannot avoid bloody warfare either.

How long will it take for humanity to regain the majesty of the imperial era?

And how short a time will it take to destroy that majesty again with violence and madness?

I’m afraid. But I cannot stop.

This is the path I’ve chosen, and the burden they support me to carry.

I am the Apostle of the Sun, and I will save two gods in the name of humanity.

And until then, my adventure must continue.

*

“The upgrade is in progress. They say it will be finished in three days.”

After the eventful ceremony ended, I returned to the Sky Warden.

Simon was supervising the technicians overseeing the upgrade, and I joined him to examine the blueprints and the list of parts to be replaced, exchanging opinions.

“If it goes according to design, there should be no problem. Keep up the good work.”

“Understood.”

I called over the supervisor with Simon to explain the detailed changes, and then walked along the road with Simon, admiring the sturdy appearance of the Sky Warden.

“Three days. Neither long nor short.”

With a day being 36 hours, multiplied by 3, that’s 108 hours. I had much to do during that time.

“Tell the dwarf brothers to purchase armor materials and spare parts. We still haven’t replenished what we consumed in large quantities last time.”

“I will.”

“And send the elf twins to look for some strong liquor. If we distribute strong spirits mixed with water and sugar, the soldiers will appreciate it.”

“I’ll tell them so.”

From small parties to vast empires, ultimately all problems could be solved by handling people well.

It’s just that it’s hellishly difficult, which is why families collapse, societies deteriorate, and civil wars break out.

In truth, since becoming the Apostle of the Sun, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat apologetic to my companions.

Because they gathered for adventure, not to establish a nation.

Of course, nation-building could be considered an adventure of massive scale. After all, it would involve billions of lives.

Do I truly have the qualifications and authority…

Even if I’ve gained power and qualifications, wielding them is an entirely different matter. No one knows whether there will be many who will stand against me as I try to extinguish the sun and shatter the moon, or many who will fight alongside me.

Thinking this, I downed the apple brandy my wife had brought in one gulp.

The high-proof apple aroma momentarily swirled around my nose before traveling down my throat to my stomach.

I can’t even remember the last time I was drunk.

Memories from before becoming an apostle are gradually fading, and now even how many trials I endured in Parcival is becoming hazy.

If divinity consumes me and the human in me gradually disappears, will I truly be worthy of sitting on the emperor’s throne?

How will people view me as I grasp and wield the power of the sun to extinguish it…

Not knowing, I empty my glass again.

After emptying it again and again, I sighed and embraced my wife.

My head hurts. I don’t understand why such a burden was given to me.

No, that’s not right.

Though I didn’t ask for it, this is what I’ve always desired.

The ruler of rulers and the leader of leaders. It is I who wanted to ascend to the position above all others.

As the old saying goes, the end is the most powerful driving force that justifies the means.

I covered the mouth of my wife, who was moaning sweetly beneath me, and let out a sigh.

Yes.

I am building lighthouses.

Great lighthouses containing lamps that will illuminate the world.