Ch.82Welcome to Gaia’s Forest

# Chapter 82: Welcome to Gaia’s Forest

The moon of Ka’zan, Ishadur.

Once it held the status of being the Holy Sebelli Empire’s first space colony.

But after hundreds of years, it has become a desolate desert moon with only a few weapon testing grounds and imperial research facilities.

“Thank you for accepting my request for an audience, Minister Virtorius.”

“…”

“I must say, having our meeting in a place like this was quite unexpected for us.”

I had invited the Prosnack ambassador to meet at a high-end restaurant-café inside the Imperial Food Research Institute stationed on Ishadur.

“Does it not please you?”

“Not at all, I find it quite beautiful.”

Yet the Prosnack ambassador, rather than looking at the small garden and flower beds near the café…

For some reason, was gazing with a strangely nostalgic expression at the desert of countless craters beyond the research facility’s protective walls.

The Imperial weapons testing grounds.

No, rather than nostalgia, it was something more like… fondness? Perhaps even happiness?

“Ambassador Halabi’dus?”

“Ah, pardon my rudeness.”

When I diverted the ambassador’s attention from his wistful(?) gaze at the weapons testing grounds, he finally turned his head toward me and engaged in conversation.

“Well then… since beating around the bush seems like a waste of time, let’s get straight to the point.”

“I agree.”

“Why did you request this meeting with me?”

But when I came at him directly, the Prosnack ambassador showed a reaction of surprise.

“You’re much more aggressive than I expected, though I suppose that’s understandable given what you demonstrated during our eastward expansion.”

However, the Prosnack ambassador looked into my eyes and spoke as if he couldn’t understand.

“But I find myself confused as to why you’re showing such a hostile reaction.”

“…”

“I was under the impression that Minister Virtorius was someone friendly to our cause.”

And in response to the ambassador’s reaction, instead of saying anything…

“Coffee… is ready…”

I gestured toward the café owner who was bringing us coffee.

It was Gaia, who had already completed basic rehabilitation and was spending her time tending to the garden and flower beds as a pastime while testing her abilities at this food research institute.

Perhaps due to exposure to the Empire’s finest welfare during her rehabilitation period, the previously skeletal, emaciated figure was nowhere to be seen.

Gaia, who had somehow developed a maternal pouch rivaling Arthraia’s, must have been in the garden until just now.

She brought us coffee wearing farmer’s overalls with suspenders and a straw hat on her head.

“Hmm, thank you.”

The reason I showed Gaia’s appearance to the Prosnack ambassador was simple.

‘You remember what Gaia looked like before, right? And you know your past, don’t you? Yet you expect me to show you a positive reaction and trust?’

It was to subtly convey this sentiment to the Prosnack side.

Whether he caught my meaning or not, the Prosnack ambassador accepted the coffee cup from Gaia with a puzzled expression and said:

“Thank you, it feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”

“…”

What? What does he mean by that?

Is this some new form of Prosnack psychological warfare?

To speak so casually to Gaia, whom they had reduced to a skeleton.

Of course, in response to such an attitude, Gaia quickly scurried behind my sofa to hide as soon as she set down the coffee cup.

“My, it seems I’m not very well-liked.”

Regardless, the ambassador remained composed, even smiling contentedly while commenting on how fragrant the coffee Gaia had brewed was.

I signaled to Gaia that she could withdraw now.

After Gaia departed for her garden, the Prosnack ambassador, confirming no one else was around, let out a deep sigh for the first time since meeting me.

“Haah… I see that without trust between us, this is how you choose to approach things.”

Instead of responding to the ambassador’s words, I stirred the coffee Gaia had brought, savoring its aroma.

Seeing this, the ambassador set down his coffee cup and…

Finally, as if having made some decision, he looked at me intently and spoke.

“…Minister Virtorius.”

“Yes?”

“You seem to be under some misapprehension, so let me clarify: do you think we care about the other nations in the galaxy right now?”

I hadn’t expected such a statement, and my hand stopped stirring the coffee involuntarily.

“Pardon?”

“Of course, it’s natural you wouldn’t know, but our targets are those ancient, aging empires that have descended from the Dark Age.”

“…”

“Whatever rise and fall other nations experience, whatever wars they wage among themselves, we have no interest in any of it.”

“…”

“Above all, to be frank, wouldn’t you agree that the northern part of this galaxy is the domain of the Prosnack Union?”

I felt tremendous bewilderment at the ambassador’s sudden change in demeanor.

But regardless of my reaction, the Prosnack ambassador continued:

“From the beginning, we killed all who opposed us, and all that remains are Zeltech and Kerzin.”

“…”

“Ah, of course there’s also Ztrakford, but that’s an ally of the Sebelli Empire, so we’ll exclude it.”

“…?”

“Therefore, more than anything else… excuse me for a moment.”

After taking another sip of Gaia’s coffee as if his throat was dry, the ambassador continued, shocking me once again.

“…After conquering the Kerzin Federation, dealing with them—those who will share our borders—is our nation’s grand strategy and highest priority.”

“By ‘them,’ do you mean… the Precursors who have descended from the Dark Age?”

Those who possess overwhelming technology that cannot even be reverse-engineered in the current era.

The ancient Precursors, who appear only as question marks in my national rankings—the Prosnack was saying they planned to wage war against them.

‘Wait, all of this information is essentially state secrets, isn’t it?’

I was shocked by the declaration of war against the Precursors, but as that subsided, I was hit by a second wave of shock that left me speechless.

‘…No, is he really revealing his country’s entire diplomatic strategy to me? Seriously?’

Unable to believe what I was hearing, once the shock subsided, I looked at the Prosnack ambassador with suspicious eyes and asked:

“Why exactly are you telling me all this?”

“Why, of course, to gain your trust, Minister Virtorius.”

The ambassador, having revealed everything from diplomatic strategies to national priorities, was calmly savoring the aroma of his coffee as if it were nothing.

And watching him, I felt an emotion difficult to put into words.

‘Why on earth would someone go to such lengths to gain the trust of a single individual?’

Seeing that I couldn’t understand his behavior, the Prosnack ambassador set down his now-empty coffee cup and…

“It seems you’re having difficulty understanding why we’re acting this way.”

He said these words as if seeing right through my thoughts, smiling gently.

“…”

At this point, I felt like I was merely being led around by Prosnack during this meeting.

Unable to continue like this, I immediately activated a time pause.

[Time Pause]

After what felt like another 1-2 hours of meditation to collect my thoughts, I finally deactivated the time pause, determined not to be swayed by the Prosnack ambassador’s words.

[Time Pause Deactivated]

But immediately after:

“Then I should tell you something additional, Minister Virtorius.”

“…?”

“Did you know? The Kerzin Federation is actually descended from the Precursor Empires.”

I had always assumed that the Kerzin Federation was identical to the preset empire provided in the game.

Learning from the ambassador that it was actually a separate entity with the same name came as quite a shock.

‘…So that’s why surrounding nations were overwhelmed by Kerzin!’

As descendants of the Precursors, they must have received all sorts of support.

From the beginning, they would have mobilized overwhelming forces backed by all kinds of support and fleets, subjugating neighboring countries.

‘Damn it.’

Hearing this, I felt an inexplicable irritation along with a small pang of jealousy toward the Kerzin Federation.

While some of us crawled our way up from the bottom through diplomacy, war, and everything in between…

Others succeeded simply by having good parents.

As this thought crossed my mind, I began to feel a small sense of appreciation toward Prosnack for teaching Kerzin a lesson, but…

‘Huh.’

At that moment, I realized that making me feel this appreciation was itself part of Prosnack’s scheme, and I felt a chill run down my spine.

‘Damn, this is why I hate ministerial-level meetings.’

Unlike half-wits like me, people like the ambassador before me have dedicated their entire lives to this.

To prevent myself from being manipulated again, I steeled my resolve and addressed the Prosnack ambassador:

“So, I’m curious why you’re telling me all this.”

In response to my question, the ambassador raised both hands and spoke as if he had been waiting for this question:

“Because, you see, the Precursor Empire that sponsors Kerzin… came to warn us.”