This Chat Group's Vibe is a Bit Off

Put me in your position, weld me to that throne as a puppet, and I wouldn't have a single complaint!

Another thing worth noting was that she never expected Koschei not to be the top dog—he wasn't even second or third, looking like a total nobody. Instead, the one she'd initially overlooked, thinking he was Koschei's servant—Qianyi—turned out to be the real boss.

Good thing she hadn't shown it; otherwise, she'd be at rock bottom right now.

"Great Your Majesty, I offer you eternal loyalty."

Calming herself, Aibrana stepped forward, stopping one step short of the throne, extending her hands, and kneeling before the two of them.

Neither Qianyi nor Talulah understood her gesture. Koschei played narrator on the side: "This is the Kiss Hand Ceremony, a necessary step for nobles swearing fealty to an emperor."

They both nodded, but neither reached out a hand for Aibrana to kiss.

Because Qianyi figured Talulah was the emperor, so she should accept the Kiss Hand Ceremony. Meanwhile, Talulah thought, I just scratched my foot with these hands—letting someone kiss them would be awkward and unhygienic. You do it.

So they silently passed the buck, leaving Aibrana standing there with her hands out, frozen.

Time ticked by. The Banana Dragon was sweating buckets, pressure mounting.

Wh-what's going on...

Am I being looked down on? Does he not want my loyalty?

No, it must be that I haven't done enough. How dare I presume to ask for the Kiss Hand Ceremony? That's too much. This is the Emperor of Ursus, who might even seize Victoria in the near future—a being halfway to being the Emperor of Terra. How could I overstep?

I should lower my stance further, offer the Kiss Foot Ceremony, or even become the step-stool for His Majesty to mount his horse?

Just as she was about to lower her hands and take a humbler approach, she finally got a response.

"Ata, why didn't you reach out?" Qianyi felt Aibrana, left hanging for over ten minutes, must be mortified, so he broke the deadlock.

"Huh?" Talulah was startled.

"What's with the surprise? You're the Emperor of Ursus—of course you should accept it."

"I just scratched my foot. Are you sure you want me to offer these hands for someone's Kiss Hand Ceremony?" Talulah raised her hands, which had been on her feet, showing them to Qianyi.

Aibrana thought this was a great chance to score goodwill, so she volunteered: "Actually, I could accept—"

"Fine, fine, I'll do it. Can't really make a loyal subject who traveled all this way kiss your foot-scratched hands." Qianyi and Aibrana spoke at the same time. Noticing Qianyi had spoken, Aibrana immediately shut up, letting him finish. When she heard it was Qianyi, not Talulah, who would accept her Kiss Hand Ceremony, she nearly burst out laughing.

Can't laugh, not yet!

Aibrana held her breath, carefully lifted Qianyi's outstretched hand, her face as solemn as a groom about to put a wedding ring on his lifelong love.

She lowered her head, lips slightly closed, and kissed the back of his hand. Since her motives were far from pure, she was especially unruly during the ceremony, deliberately sticking out her tongue, its tip lightly scraping and gliding. Where it passed, it was warm, soft, sticky, slick beyond description, with a hint of fiery heat.

But she knew her place and dared not overstep, only tasting briefly before pulling back, then pulling out a handkerchief to wipe Qianyi's hand clean.

After she declared her fealty, the remaining Reunion members and leaders—Patriot, FrostNova, Alina, and the rest—each took their turn.

Children, is this some kind of Terra-style orgy?

After one round, Qianyi felt like he'd been thrown into a basement with ten thousand succubi, drained dry and out of his mind.

Damn, why is ascending to the throne harder than killing eighteen Inner Guards? Shouldn't have let Talulah slack off and made her do this grueling work.

Just then, a Snake Scale member rushed in with a report.

"Report! Report to the Emperor, the Grand Duke, those nobles, those nobles..." As if seeing something incomprehensible, the Snake Scale member could barely catch his breath.

"Those nobles? Hah, those damn nobles finally deign to come pay homage?" Koschei's expression was cold. If it had been a bit earlier, he'd have eagerly received them. But now, with the two Drac sisters having sworn fealty as Ursus nobles and subjects to New Ursus, completing the oath to the new emperor, he no longer needed them.

There were plenty of people who could replace these nobles.

"Make them wait. Ursus needs a reform. Since they refuse to follow the new emperor, they can go with the old one." Koschei said coldly, implying they all deserved death.

"Those nobles are all dead."

"???"

Chapter 82: When I Plan to Form a Band with You Guys for Life, You'd Better Agree

No one knew why Fyodor abdicated. All they knew was that this useless Haki Dragon, who'd inexplicably gained Koschei's favor, replaced the Grand Duke of Baikal, and then had the Third Army Group taken by the emperor, was about to be crowned.

Though the nobles knew Koschei was the biggest among the dukes, and after the emperor "abdicated in favor of the worthy," Koschei was effectively the emperor, they still had to resist to protect their own interests.

Knowing they couldn't face Duke Koschei alone, they tacitly gathered outside Saint-Junburg, neither obstructing Koschei's coronation nor offering fealty, leaving him roasting over the fire.

They figured Koschei would eventually cave, lower his stance, and negotiate, yielding more benefits.

Then they got wiped out by an Unknown AOE.

And the culprit behind it all said—

"Good riddance! Pop the champagne~!"

"Hurry up and seize all those nobles' estates. It's almost New Year's—give the brothers under me a year's, no, three years' worth of red envelopes."

Qianyi had no idea how those nobles died so absurdly, but that didn't stop him from looting their gold.

Nobles were like ATMs—always whining about being broke, but when you gave them a few whacks, they coughed up cash faster than anyone.

"Three years' worth? That much?" Talulah was shocked.

"Is that a lot?" Qianyi chatted idly while having Koschei tally the list of nobles gathered outside Saint-Junburg. "That's not much at all. Loyal people deserve rewards. Besides money, I plan to give them spiritual and honorary recognition—titles, for instance. I want to make them nobles, break them out of the Infected class."

"You're going to grant titles to Infected?" Talulah was stunned.

"Why not?" Qianyi countered.

"Isn't this too radical?" Alina grew worried too. Currently, infected people in Ursus were still hunted by everyone. Rashly letting a large number of infected ride roughshod over ordinary people...

"Nobles—there are as many substitutes for them as you want. Does it matter whether they're infected or ordinary?" Qianyi didn't think the power he'd gathered couldn't handle this problem.

This was the Terra Continent, not some bizarre world. Discrimination against the infected wasn't like Floating Chickens or the Mafia, etched into the world's foundational logic. With enough strength, you could just crush it outright!

"What about a commoner uprising?" Patriot asked the fatal question.

"Then they're not ordinary civilians, but enemies of the Empire, and must be struck down hard." Qianyi picked up the Scepter resting by the throne, twirling it casually in his hand like a pen, his tone languid: "Since we're conferring titles, there should be a starting point. Let's begin right here in this room. Right now, everyone present—all of you—will be ennobled."

His voice was light, so light it sounded like he was stating a fact rather than issuing a command or request, yet it struck others' ears like a sudden thunderclap.

"We shouldn't be present for a high-level meeting. We'll take our leave." Frost, Mudrock, and the other Sarkaz bowed, preparing to exit.

"We'll temporarily withdraw as well." Aibrana and Lavhini also planned to tactfully leave.

This was Ursus's ennoblement ceremony. They were Sarkaz from Kazdel and Dracs from Victoria—completely unrelated to Ursus. Staying wouldn't earn them a share.

"Please stay. As I just said, I want everyone in this room ennobled, and right now, you're standing in it." Qianyi smiled.

"We're Sarkaz." Frost emphasized their origins.

"Do you look down on Ursus's titles? I can swap them for other compensation."

"No, how could we! Becoming Ursus nobles is something we never even dreamed of."

"Then stay. I need you, Ursus needs you. Can you give me the rest of your lives?"

"Your Majesty..."

The Sarkaz mercenaries' eyes brimmed with tears. In the past, they'd given everything—even their lives—fighting wars for some country or faction. But after helping them win, those people's first move was always to forget their roots.

Not only did they withhold promised rewards, they even tried to weasel out of basic employment fees. All because they were Sarkaz—on this continent, a despised, lower-class race, hunted like street rats.

Now, someone had let them contribute nothing the whole time. The big brother charged ahead, fighting at the front while they watched from behind. After the battle, instead of kicking them away and saying they were useless, he wanted to share the glory of victory with them.

Was this a dream...

"All drifters want a place they can call 'home.' Ursus's weather is a bit cold, but it has plenty of space. Even living here a lifetime is fine." Qianyi said calmly, then looked at the Wildfire sisters: "Victoria's Regal Authority can't be given to you, but after I conquer Victoria, I can promise you the title of Duke. Your territory can be renamed Tara. The Tara Dynasty can't be revived, but the Tara Duchy can exist."

"You... you know all this?" Aibrana said tremblingly.

Qianyi didn't answer directly, continuing his speech: "You traveled all the way from Victoria to Ursus—you must have suffered a lot. You may face even more hardships ahead, but trust me, I'll make sure the Dracs reclaim everything they should."

"Why?"

"Because Talulah is my lifelong friend. You're her only remaining kin. I don't want Drac infighting, and I don't want this already shattered race to disband over selfish lust for power."

"..."

Aibrana fell silent.

Lifelong friend... such a heavy phrase. So they were friends? Talulah wasn't her puppet, but her friend? How could they have that kind of relationship?

Out of nowhere, a shocking thought surfaced in her mind. She wanted to refuse outright and say she could replace Talulah, become the Red Dragon puppet under your command, willing to give you everything.

If I fight Talulah, will I win?

But the moment that thought arose in her heart, she felt something deep inside shatter in an instant.

No! Don't say it. If I do...

She looked at Qianyi, who was smiling, waiting for her agreement, and swallowed that absurd, shocking idea. She had a premonition: if she stubbornly opposed Talulah for power, the emperor truly in control would teach her what was worse than death.

Wait! Since Qianyi and Talulah were friends, didn't that mean she had a chance!

"Isn't Qianyi getting heavier?" Toyokawa Shoko felt Qianyi was terrifyingly strong now, like a humanoid black hole—anyone who saw him got sucked in.

"Heavy?" Artoria didn't quite understand the term.

"Meaning he's always asking for someone's lifetime, the rest of their life, or everything." Toyokawa Shoko felt those three words might soon merge and evolve into 'until death do us part.'

"That's good." Artoria said. "I want to be with Qianyi for a lifetime too."

Toyokawa Shoko was speechless. After a long pause, she squeezed out a few words: "...You're heavy too."

Was a lifetime something you could promise so easily? Could one person really bear so many people's lives? What would that one hundred million Band Dissolution Tax evolve into? Would it really land on her head?

Shoko couldn't help thinking.

After a few seconds of silence, she changed the subject: "Have you all figured out how to spend your money this time?"

"Me? I'm definitely buying Magical Girl merchandise." Hiiragi Tina said.

"If you don't have anything to spend it on, could you lend me your shares?" Seele suddenly spoke up.

"What's wrong?" Toyokawa Shoko asked with concern.

Seele nodded, explaining her goal: "I want to buy a Star Destroyer."

"A Star Destroyer?!" Toyokawa Shoko, Hiiragi Tina, Artoria, and Kiana were all startled.

"Earlier, I found a broken IPC robot in the lower levels. I tried to fix it, and in its menu, I saw Star Destroyers for sale. If I had one, maybe Belobog's crisis could be solved." Seele laid out the whole story.

"Why not ask Qianyi if he has a solution?" Kiana said.

Seele shook her head: "I already owe Qianyi too much kindness to repay. I can't owe more. Belobog's future must ultimately be reclaimed by Belobog's own hands. I'll pay the money back later."

"That's true, I can't keep troubling Qianyi. I've saved up quite a bit myself, and the money I had before was never spent—it adds up to about fifteen billion yen. I'll give it all to you later." Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath, deciding to empty her entire savings to support the group.

"Are you sure it's okay to give me all of it?" Seele was a little worried it might affect Shoko, remembering that she seemed to be in urgent need of money herself.

"No need to worry. My grades at school are excellent, I get a scholarship every year, and I have a part-time job. My life is fine. Besides, now that we've taken Ursus, and next we'll seize Victoria, even the entire Terra Continent, this money can be earned back in no time." Shoko smiled, radiating a gentle, angelic glow. "And I really want to see what a Star Destroyer looks like."

Koschei, eavesdropping nearby, wore a grave expression.

Children, are you trying to destroy the Terra Continent?

How can a schoolgirl like you say something so cruel and domineering—seizing Victoria, even the entire Terra Continent, and then buying a Star Destroyer?!

Is that thing even on the same level as us?!

What nonsense! Just stick to using Origin Stone Arts like normal!!!

Qianyi, finding the conversation amusing, chimed in: "A Star Destroyer, huh? That's a fine thing. Count me in. I have plenty of funds. If anyone dares to withdraw from our Empire, we'll send them to the sky with one shot."

"I think we should love peace." Koschei said righteously. "Ursus is a peace-loving nation. It shouldn't develop such powerful weapons. Even if it must, it should take at least a hundred years—no, a thousand years!!"

"Wrong. Having a Star Destroyer but not using it, and not having one at all, are two different things." Talulah retorted to Koschei.

"But even if we pooled all our money together, it's still far from enough." Seele scratched her head and said.

"That's fine. Ursus has plenty of nobles, Victoria has plenty of nobles, and Yan has plenty of nobles too..."

Qianyi said with a smile.

Chapter 83: Kazimierz: Ursus to Sign Non-Aggression Treaty with Victoria?