Kafka had no sense of fear. Perhaps it had originally been caused by a Stellaron's influence, but when Lingchen used Purification, he discovered that her lack of fear was already a genetic issue.
The genes of the first people affected by the Stellaron on Heavenly Garment Five had probably mutated.
"So, are you willing to give me your phone voluntarily now? Oh, right, while you're at it, tell me whether there's any civilization nearby. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken corner forever, or wander around out there like a headless chicken."
"You-fine. As a genius hacker, I'll bestow this phone upon you."
"But you'd better not do anything weird with the photos on it."
Silver Wolf ground her cute little canine teeth. She really was angry. After all, the Stellaron Hunters had always been the ones threatening others, never the other way around. But she couldn't bring herself to say that.
By now, she had also realized that, given the ability she had just experienced, they really did need something from Lingchen. Firefly needed it most of all.
He could've just taken it by force, yet he actually gave me the chance to hand it over willingly. What a guy. I'm moved to tears.
After clearing her chat history, Silver Wolf reluctantly handed over her phone. Naturally, she left everything else untouched.
The phone case even featured a chibi pixel-art portrait of her.
"This is a nice phone."
Lingchen turned the phone over in his hands and set a photo of the three girls as its lock screen.
"Miss Firefly, see you next time. Judging by how you looked earlier, it's probably something to do with your condition. Once you've decided what price you're willing to pay, open the cover over this necklace's gemstone. I'll sense it."
"And you're very beautiful yourself. I do like mechs, but I like the beautiful girls piloting them even more."
Now that he had set a photo of all three girls as his lock screen, Lingchen could say that openly.
As for telling the three of them that he had seen information about them before crossing into this world, or claiming he had some kind of foresight, there was absolutely no need.
Rather than cause anxiety, have word spread and create more Self-Annihilators, or pretend to be a prophet when he had no ability to see the future, he was better off taking a different approach from the start.
What others guessed was their business. He would never admit to anything unless he actually gained the ability to foresee the future.
As for curing Firefly's Entropy Syndrome on the spot, he could indeed do it, but that would make him seem a little too much like a desperate simp.
He had liked this girl a great deal in his previous life. He had even pulled her straight to E6S5 when her banner came out, joining the Church of Firefly on the spot. Even the water he drank was "Firefly water" from a cup printed with her portrait.
But in reality, this was still their first meeting. They hadn't even had a deeper conversation yet. If he cured her outright and Firefly's feelings turned toward finding some other way to repay him rather than toward him personally, wouldn't he lose out completely? At the very least, he had to wait until Firefly thought things through and other feelings blossomed. Given her personality, he could treat her then. In any case, although this round of Purification hadn't cured her, it had relieved most of her suffering.
However, Lingchen wasn't sure what rewards he would receive next, or when he might obtain the same character card again. It would be a problem if he needed it later and no longer had it.
So, in that instant, he used the power of Domination to create a necklace containing the sealed powers of the authorities of [Purification] and [Vitality].
This necklace was enough to cure Entropy Syndrome, provided Firefly figured out what price she wanted to pay.
With Firefly's straightforward personality, once she made up her mind, she wouldn't regret it. She certainly wouldn't shy away then.
"Huh? But..."
Chapter 9: Gifts in Return for the Three Girls
"Ahem, take it. This is a special communication device. Even somewhere a phone can't reach me, this can."
Hearing that tone come out through the Sam mech's voice, Lingchen nearly lost his composure.
After all, Sam's voice was hardly that of a cute girl.
"O-okay. Thank you."
Firefly accepted the necklace and hurriedly put it away.
Who knew how the Sam mech stored things?
"Hey, aren't you being a little too forward?"
Watching Lingchen give Firefly a necklace, Silver Wolf found a strange flicker of envy rising in her heart.
The phone was hers. She had been the one he teased even when they faced an Aeon earlier. She had chatted with him the most and been teased the most throughout their journey. He had clearly seemed closest to her, yet now, after merely seeing someone else's photo, he had given that girl a necklace. Even if it was only for keeping in touch, still-
This feeling had nothing to do with love. It was like an ordinary person running into someone they really clicked with, playing games and shopping together, only for that person to find someone else a few minutes later and even give them a gift.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable about that.
"Sorry, sorry. How could I possibly forget our dear Wolfie? Here, this bracelet was prepared just for you, sweetheart. Well? Do you like it?"
The sapphire bracelet went perfectly with Silver Wolf's current outfit.
Lingchen was very fond of Silver Wolf's sweet, youthful charm. Outside of serious situations, indulging her a little wouldn't hurt.
This necklace also contained enough energy to save a life once, though Silver Wolf didn't know that yet.
Lingchen was already looking forward to the day they found out.
He had considerable faith in the girls' character.
Of course, if things really turned out differently from what he expected, he would simply consider it a lesson in human nature. Either way, these were merely things he had casually conjured up.
"Hmph. It's barely acceptable."
"And don't call me sweetheart."
Faced with Lingchen's beaming smile, his outstretched hands, and the bracelet he held-
For some reason, the girl suddenly found herself afraid to look at him.
She took the bracelet from Lingchen's hands and immediately turned her head away, her voice growing much quieter.
The little hand that brushed across Lingchen's palm tightly clasped the bracelet, and a different sort of color seemed to tint her cheeks.
Kafka's smile deepened as she watched.
Firefly might not have noticed, but she certainly had. In this brief time together, Silver Wolf had already developed a fondness for Lingchen.
Perhaps there hadn't been much before, but that moment of indignation followed immediately by Lingchen's gift had created a contrast that packed quite a punch for such an innocent girl.
After all, even Kafka would have to lavish praise on Lingchen's looks.
Perhaps, given a little more time, something lovely could come of it. But then what would Firefly do?
Looking at Firefly standing to one side without reacting, Kafka fell into thought.
How could she possibly have missed Lingchen's earlier hint?
Given Firefly's personality, there was probably a very good chance she would end up in Lingchen's arms someday.
After all, Firefly had gotten along well with her back then, too. Kafka knew her personality very well.
Thinking of a certain plan, Kafka's expression grew even gentler.
Lingchen really was direct about his intentions.
"There's something for Kafka, too."
"Oh? I get one as well?"
A glimmer danced in Kafka's eyes. She stopped thinking and looked at the earrings Lingchen offered. Rather than rebuff him, she reached out and took them.
Whatever else might be true, she was certain that all three gifts Lingchen had given perfectly suited their respective tastes.
This man really was rather mysterious.
"Of course. It wouldn't be nice to play favorites."
"You can put these earrings on directly. Hold them beside your ears, and they'll automatically pierce them without pain. When you take them off, the holes will heal on their own."
Lingchen smiled faintly.
Kafka's earrings couldn't save a life, but, like Firefly's necklace, they could alter Kafka's genes and restore her "sense of fear" at its source.
This gift was unquestionably priceless.
Of course, none of the three girls had realized that yet. Only after Firefly made up her mind would Silver Wolf and Kafka have a chance to discover it.
So for now, they simply put away their respective gifts from Lingchen.
"Since you've given us gifts, is there anything you'd like in return? After all, Firefly's is for keeping in touch, but Silver Wolf and I are different."
Kafka knew how things worked. There was no such thing as a free lunch.
"That's right. Go on, tell us what you want. As a genius hacker, there's nothing I can't get my hands on."
Silver Wolf hurriedly chimed in.
Though she had no idea why she felt a little uncomfortable inside.
Although their Stellaron Hunters were a newly established organization, although their name could silence crying children, and although they were already quite well known, they were all polite, decent people.
"You probably wouldn't agree to the things I have in mind right now, so just consider these gifts my thanks for Silver Wolf's phone. The pictures are great."
"All right, Silver Wolf, tell me where the nearest civilization is."
"I imagine Elio must be getting anxious by now."
Elio couldn't possibly foresee him, because he had crossed into this world. His future was beyond prediction.
"You really do know a great deal. Still, I hope we'll meet again someday."
At the mention of Elio, Kafka was already growing impatient. She wanted to ask whether any prophecies concerning Lingchen existed.
After all, this was a man who had attracted the Aeon of [Elation].
As for Lingchen's hint, Kafka simply ignored it for now.
"Of course we'll meet again. We've exchanged contact details, haven't we?"
Lingchen waved Silver Wolf's phone. He seemed to catch a trace of her scent.
Silver Wolf no longer even wanted to complain. The thought of the photos on her phone still made her somewhat uneasy, though. After all, no one but the girls themselves had ever seen those pictures of her, Kafka, and Firefly. Luckily, none of them were revealing. At most, some were a little alluring, while Firefly's were nothing but pictures of her making peace signs.
So she used Aether Editing to send Lingchen a set of coordinates directly.
Out of sight, out of mind. She might as well send him on his way quickly.
"There's no civilization nearby, but there's a Xianzhou 4.7 million light-years away. Yes, the Xianzhou Luofu is anchored there."
With the corporation's star charts, pinpointing their own location and those of other civilizations was quite easy.
Silver Wolf barely had to lift a finger to push the star chart to its limits.
"..."
Lingchen was rather speechless. As far as he knew, ordinary galaxies were only a hundred thousand light-years or so across. That meant crossing several galaxies, didn't it?
Fortunately, he now had the mask [Elation] had given him. Otherwise, he might really have had to swallow his pride and ask Silver Wolf and the others for a ride.
"There's also an industrial planet in a nearby galaxy, the Balanza Forge. Want to go there?"
"...Never mind."
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Chapter 10: A New Emanator Suddenly Appears
"General, the Divination Commission has sent word. An Emanator-level Imaginary Energy surge has been detected 4.7 million light-years from the Luofu."
Inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, Qingzu hurried to the desk with a report in hand.
At this point, fewer than ten system hours had passed since Lingchen unleashed Emanator-level power.
The presence of a Stellaron blocked communications, so this hadn't come through a phone call. Instead, they had made a long-range prediction, confirmed the location, and then detected the Imaginary Energy fluctuations. Normally, Imaginary Energy surges alone couldn't reach the speed of light. Even if this was Imaginary Energy stirred up by an Emanator, the distance was still a full 4.7 million light-years.
At such a distance, this was enough to demonstrate the Xianzhou's profound capabilities.
"Don't rush, Qingzu. You mustn't pick up Lady Fu's temperament. Stay calm when something happens. Have a cup of tea first."
Only after taking a light sip of tea did Jing Yuan slowly accept the report.
Qingzu remained silent. Even she knew what Fu Xuan had in mind, but Fu Xuan was far too impatient.
That might be perfectly suitable for the Divination Commission. After all, as a divination institution responsible for determining whether the Luofu was in danger, it naturally couldn't afford to act slowly. But as a general-
Qingzu couldn't really comment. After all, she was merely an employee. She had no desire to guess what General Jing Yuan was thinking.
"Hmm. It's not particularly far from the industrial planet, the Balanza Forge."
Of course, that was relative to its distance from the Luofu.
Jing Yuan leafed through the report with one hand.
Although the news of an Emanator surprised him, that was all. As long as they weren't an enemy, it was fine.
After all, he was an Arbiter-General himself. Who wasn't an Emanator these days? Though in his case, the power was inherited.