Chairman Kruze gave the Sea Race member who had spoken a meaningful look.
"Quite a few people here probably know more about the negotiation process than I do. Given my position, it would be inappropriate for me to offer any guarantees here as to whether that one ton of energy crystals was a bribe.
"But if anyone thinks something underhanded was involved, I have no objection to sending another special investigation team. To demonstrate the Kruze Family's innocence, whoever raised the doubts can head that team. What do you think?"
Faced with Kruze's faint smile and the hint of amusement in his eyes, the senior Sea Race military official who had just questioned Alsace felt his heart skip a beat.
He remembered that Congress had sent a Review Committee to investigate Alsace over the Solar System incident. They had even used Truth Serum, yet Gustav, who had merely been a bystander, ended up taking a terrible fall instead.
The head of the Review Committee sent by the Sea Race had fared even worse. Not only had he caused a huge mess for his own military, but because he had treated Alsace unfairly by using Truth Serum, Chairman Kruze had later found a pretext to have him shipped straight off to some godforsaken backwater...
The warning was clear: neither the old nor the young member of the Kruze Family was someone to trifle with!
He was beginning to regret sticking his neck out. Hadn't he walked straight into the line of fire?
Just then, Patriarch Assad cleared his throat and spoke.
"Ahem! Everyone witnessed how Gustav targeted Alsace beforehand! Now that Gustav has defected, it only further proves Alsace's firm political allegiance!
"Besides, securing terms like these when the war situation was unfavorable was already an exceptional achievement. Even our civilization's