"Miss Topaz told me a story: Seven hundred years ago, after the Stellaron landed on Jarilo-VI, the outsiders who originally resided in this world encountered an impending crisis and chose to leave."
"Among these outsiders were a group of investors from [ Interastral Peace Corporation ], but they did something significant before they left..."
"They found the [ Architects ] who insisted on guarding their homes and provided them with a large sum of money for disaster preparedness."
"It was thanks to that funding that Belobog was able to build such a tall city wall... even the research and development funds for the first batch of Automaton Soldier came from that money."
As Bronya recounted the early stories of Jarilo-VI, March 7th froze in astonishment, unable to believe it. "Such a thing actually happened! So... so, could it be that the 'business' Topaz mentioned was just coming to Belobog to collect a debt?"
"Hmm... I'm afraid so."
Bronya had prepared for the worst; their planet had finally been reborn, and now it was facing the company's demands for payment.
What merit does little Jarilo-VI possess...?
March 7th was shocked. "This is outrageous! Why did they have to come now of all times?"
"If we hadn't eradicated the Stellaron, would this debt have been settled so easily? Isn't that blatant bullying?"
"According to her, the repayment period agreed upon by the Architects and the company's investors was... 280 years. But less than a century after the loan was taken out, Jarilo-VI's connection with the entire galaxy was completely severed." Bronya nodded.
"The company believes that Jarilo-VI suffered a Destruction blow, and the civilization no longer exists, thus classifying the investment as a bad debt."
"It wasn't until the [ Stellaron ] crisis was resolved that the company discovered Belobog had actually survived all this time..."
"Then they sent Topaz to collect the debt..." March 7th pursed her lips, and Bronya added:
"Yes, principal and interest."
Xing frowned slightly. "What is the amount?"
"Astronomical level..." Bronya's voice turned low, "I don't even know how to pronounce that string of numbers accurately."
Paying back debts is a matter of course— Bronya knew this well, but the current situation was truly desperate.
"Before you even came in, Topaz had already warned me... that if the debt was overdue for too long, the company had given her the authority to take [drastic measures]."
"I never expected things to develop this way... I originally thought the company was there to help Belobog rebuild..."
Xing's idealized view of the company has been shattered. She had originally hoped that Xing could provide financial assistance to help Jarilo-VI overcome this [debt collection] crisis.
But now it seems... even emptying her entire fortune wouldn't be enough to cover the losses!
Xing didn't know if Ye Yan had the financial resources... but the only thing she was certain of was. " The Belobog people alone can't handle this."
"Yes, we need to help them figure out a way! The company has so much power, even Bronya would have a hard time dealing with them..."
"I don't know as much about the [ Interastral Peace Corporation ] as you do, but if the records in the annals are true... it's a massive organization spanning the entire galaxy; suppressing Belobog would be a piece of cake for them."
In Boulder Town, after Ye Yan showed her the past of the Church priests, Bronya had nothing left to be afraid of. She never wanted to experience that immersive sense of despair again in her life.
If the [ Interastral Peace Corporation ] were to actually take coercive measures against Jarilo-VI, the resulting sense of despair would likely be even greater than the locust swarm invading the country.
"So... so I'm so glad you came—I know you two originally just wanted to attend the festival, but now... now I want to ask you, to ask the Astral Express for help."
"Gentlemen, could you try to persuade Topaz for me? Perhaps, with the train's reputation in the galaxy..."
"Don't worry, Bronya! How could a kind-hearted Nameless refuse when a friend is in trouble?" March 7th readily agreed, and Star asked her a question:
"By the way, didn't Bronya consider asking the Church for help? I remember Chair Blake gave us a list."
The Church has at least two well-known " Emanator," but considering we haven't witnessed the strength of either side, it's too early to draw conclusions. Who knows, the Interastral Peace Corporation might even have three " Emanator."
" The Church has done so much for Belobog, I'm truly ashamed... I don't want to implicate them because of this." Bronya was unaware of the Church's true capabilities.
Looking back on the days of the reconstruction of Belobog, the architects sent by the Church worked hard every day, some even working overtime without sleeping.
Not only did they have no rest time, but these kind-hearted Church even declined meals, claiming it was to fulfill their " Eternity " vows.
Even Long-Life Species couldn't endure this... Don't you feel mentally exhausted?!
If it were those Automaton Soldier, their mechanical parts would overheat and break down after working continuously for ten days or so.
With this attitude, how could Bronya dare to Church for help again? Her conscience was aching! It made her seem like Jarilo-VI and some unscrupulous merchant group, exploiting the free labor sent by the Church.
"If necessary, resolve this by force."
Xing clenched her fists; don't underestimate her now!
As long as she doesn't encounter a [ Emanator ] level combatant, then Galactic Baseballer is invincible!
What? What if she encounters that? It's simple, she just kicks off the spot and starts swinging. She currently has two Stellaron, so self-destructing to trade one for one isn't out of the question.
If she's pushed to the brink, then don't blame her for pulling out her last trump card—that man who only knows how to drink milk tea!
Does a half-ranking [ Emanator ] count as an [ Emanator ]?
"Uh... there's no need to make things so tense. Miss Topaz doesn't seem like such an unreasonable person."
They are kind-hearted, Nameless Trailblaze; it's not good for them to be constantly fighting and killing.
"Ah, I should have let Ye Yan come down. After all, he's one of the top three fighters in the Astral Express Crew."
On March 7th, she turned to look at Xing. How did she rank her combat strength?
" March 7th, you don't understand... Now is not the time to talk about this, I'll tell you later."
Xing's goal is clear: a violent solution is unlikely to work, so she finds Topaz and uses [Persuasion] on her!
"With your silver tongue, let's try to persuade her," March 7th suggested.
Bronya was extremely grateful. "Thank you! I'm so sorry to have dragged you into trouble again..."
"While you two are on your way to find Topaz, I'll also be thinking about how to proceed. Good luck."
"Oh... and also, please be careful," Bronya cautioned.