General Oswood's eyes lit up, and a trace of emotion flickered across his face. It looked far more genuine than Yu Lian's earlier, perfectly measured show of "being moved." Either he really was touched by Yu Lian's understanding, or he had become very good at putting on that expression.
"Exactly, exactly. That's the generosity of a great power! After all, we won a glorious victory in the New Continent expedition, and our contribution to the entire galaxy was no less than the Empire's." The chief military attaché to the Commonwealth said solemnly, "The whole galaxy can see that now. Thanks to the actions of war heroes like you, the rest of us have found our diplomatic work much easier than before."
Colonel Silva and Rozes exchanged a look, wondering if these two planned to keep praising each other until tomorrow.
Then Yu Lian said, "That's true. At least when it comes to dealing with marauders, our contribution has been far greater than the Alliance's. In that regard, we're more like a responsible great power than they are. Which means we have even more reason to show the bearing of one! I see. General Oswood, you truly are a seasoned and prudent senior. I hope you'll continue to offer me your guidance."
Major General Oswood felt there was something off about that, but couldn't find any evidence at the moment. Colonel Silva and several accompanying officers whose names weren't important, however, looked visibly uncomfortable once again.
Unfortunately, General Oswood didn't notice. Lowering his voice, he said, "The other side's negotiating team has added Lieutenant General Gujiao, an expert on equipment and negotiations. He used to be chief engineer at Lionheart Industries and a military representative at Polaris Heavy Industries. Now he's the deputy director of the Alliance's Department of Defense Equipment."