When Sarasa turned one month old, Greed Island's technology let the Meteor City leaders call to congratulate her.
On the video call were Shalnark and Sheila. Machi and Pakunoda were there too, but they didn't appear on screen.
After the usual praise and congratulations for Sarasa, Shalnark finally brought up the support Meteor City had recently received and expressed his gratitude.
"Thank you, Gelman." His usual smiling expression gone, he spoke solemnly. "We know who brought change to Meteor City, and we're deeply grateful."
"Even if you didn't mean to, you directly brought about the fall of the Kakin Empire's Hui Guo Rou royal family, avenging Sarasa."
"I think Sarasa, Chrollo, and the others would thank you for your help, if they knew."
Sheila said the same.
Meteor City still had only three Elders: Shalnark, Machi, and Pakunoda.
They weren't simply trying to consolidate power. More importantly, they wanted Meteor City to pull in the same direction, and for now, it was better for them to govern.
Now that the outside world had eased its restrictions and garbage was no longer dumped in Meteor City, and they had put in the work to improve things within the city, Meteor City had changed significantly, both inside and out.
Of course, it was still far from being a normal region. But with the plans they had laid out for the coming decades, at least there was hope for this place.
Shalnark's final words weren't only for Gelman on the other end of the call. He also meant them for Machi and Pakunoda beside him.
After a long hesitation, Machi and Pakunoda offered their thanks from somewhere out of view.
"Gelman, thank you. We'll never forget what you've done for us."
Shalnark didn't press the two to say more. He spoke to Gelman