Sobek, who had suddenly figured this out, was naturally hit quite hard.
Still, he did his best to calm himself before saying to the old Grey, "Your lives will continue as they were before. The Empire will bring a better future."
The Grey representative clearly did not believe him, but aside from forcing himself to believe, what else could a powerless local gentryman like him do? In any case, the Imperial general certainly looked full of confidence when he said it.
Of course, Sobek had plenty of self-awareness. Rather than saying he had confidence in himself, it would be more accurate to say he had confidence in King Sulwika. And rather than saying he had confidence in King Sulwika, perhaps it would be more accurate to say he had confidence in the "Origin."
Her Highness Brunhilde wanted to become the "Empress of the People." That was no longer a secret. Neither were the policies and decrees she had implemented near New Asia.
Many people were filled with anticipation for the future planned by Her Highness, but there were also plenty who stood by coldly and looked down on it. Those who cursed her in secret had never been in short supply.
As for how the future would unfold, it was indeed not something a mere Sobek could explain clearly. At this point, he could only act according to his own conscience.
If we could keep the conquered regions' civilians from having their peaceful daily lives disrupted, maintain local public order, protect the infrastructure from damage, and keep interstellar shipping operating normally, then we would surely be the perfect conquerors in history.
More importantly, this accorded with Sobek's own sense of morality and helped preserve the balance of order in his heart.
However, by the time the representatives returned home in