MTLNOVEL Chapter 101
“Gons, this woman, Rene, is my acquaintance. That human man with her is her companion,” Gil explained.
“Then why did you call me? You don’t need me here just to catch up with old friends,” Gons replied, arms crossed like tree trunks, his expression still sour.
“You know how busy Sears is right now, don’t you? Let’s just get to the point,” Gons said impatiently.
“…That’s why I don’t like uptight people,” Gil muttered, scratching his head with a sigh. He reached under the counter and slid a flask of whiskey toward Gons.
“…What’s this?” Gons raised an eyebrow.
“Whiskey. And not just any whiskey—this is as close to the original as you can get… Should be worth a lot to you, right?” Gil grinned.
“What!? Where did you get this?” Gons’s face lit up with shock, his earlier frown replaced by wide eyes.
“It wasn’t me who got it. The owners are standing right next to you—Rene and her companion, the man in the cloak.”
Gons glanced between me and Rene, his earlier hostility replaced by surprise and confusion.
“And they’re looking for information on that certain someone. I figure you might be able to help them out, right? For this whiskey,” Gil said, tapping the flask, which made a sharp, ringing sound.
“If you’re vouching for it, it must be genuine. Fine, I’ll do business,” Gons replied, exhaling as he shifted into his merchant persona.
“But this isn’t a fair trade… If the information I’ve got is worth around 3 million meizel, then this whiskey would easily go for 9 million—maybe even 10 million, given its quality. I’ll pay the 7-million difference,” Gons offered.
“What?” I blurted out, surprised.
At first, I thought Gons meant the whiskey wasn’t enough to cover the cost of the information. But then, he declared that the whiskey was worth far more than the information, and he was willing to pay us the difference.
“Ha! That’s what I like about you, Gons. You’re too damn honest for your own good,” Gil chuckled.
“I’m just giving a fair evaluation. I don’t need your approval,” Gons retorted sharply.
In any business, the general rule is to buy low and sell high. That’s true on Earth, in Asphial, and in this world too. Honesty might sound nice, but there’s a saying: honest people don’t make good merchants.
“…I only offered because I know I can sell the whiskey. Chasing profit blindly and losing a big fish—that’s the act of a fool,” Gons said, his tone firm. Despite his uprightness, something about him just didn’t sit right with me.
“Alright, the deal is done then. I’ll transfer the 7 million to your access gear account. Now, about that information… How much do you already know?” Gons asked.
“Not much. We only know the rumors going around,” Rene answered calmly.
I removed the cloak, revealing myself. Neither Gil nor Gons seemed particularly surprised to see I wasn’t Wamelian, but rather, they nodded as if understanding.
Gons fiddled with a small device, and soon after, I received a notification on my access gear. A quick glance at the HUD confirmed it—700,000 meizel had been deposited from “Gons.”
“It’s yours. Use it as you see fit,” Gons said, turning to me. I glanced at Rene, leaning casually against the wall, who simply shrugged, indicating I could do as I wished.
“First, let me tell you this: it’s highly classified information. Not many know it… although, even if word got out, it wouldn’t change the situation much,” Gons began, his tone growing serious.
“…What do you mean?” Rene asked, her sharp instincts catching the weight in his words.
“Calm down, you’ll understand soon,” Gons reassured her. Then, he dropped the bombshell.
“Two weeks from now, the Sakura Empire will launch an invasion on this planet, Zerad, from Galaxy Alpha-12. They’ve already sent ahead a large number of spies to begin sabotage operations… Not that it would make much difference against a force of that scale.”
“The Sakura Empire? Here on Zerad?” Rene gasped.
Hearing the name “Sakura Empire” immediately made me think of the Seio family from the future. I had thought this had nothing to do with them, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Heh! The kingdom of Roifana may rule five planets, but the Sakura Empire governs an entire galaxy. They’re on a different level—it’s not even a contest,” Gons sneered.
“The Sakura Empire has infiltrated every major city. Once the fighting starts, they’ll paralyze the cities’ functions from within,” he continued.
The Sakura Empire—a nation representing the pinnacle of interstellar civilization. Hearing they governed an entire galaxy stunned me.
From what Gons explained, Galaxy Alpha-12 is home to many nations, but most of them are regional, unable to even control their own planets. In contrast, star-spanning empires like the Sakura Empire and Roifana Kingdom are considered intergalactic powers, recognized by other galaxies.
Apparently, the Sakura Empire controls around 80% of the Alpha-12 region, with a population numbering in the tens of billions. They have terraformed thousands of planets. Their sheer scale was staggering—this was the real deal, a true galactic empire.
“…But why? What reason do they have to invade Zerad? Surely they’ve got more than enough resource-rich planets in their own galaxy,” Rene questioned, voicing the same thought that crossed my mind.
If Gil wasn’t lying, and the Sakura Empire really did control an entire galaxy, why bother invading a planet in a neighboring galaxy like Zerad? They should have no shortage of resources with the sheer number of planets they possess.
I was thinking along the same lines when Gons chuckled lightly.
“The reason? I don’t know… but if there’s any value to this planet, it’s only one thing.”
“One thing?” Rene and I both echoed his words.
Gons let us ponder for a moment before speaking again, amusement dancing on his face.
“The Eternal Witch, Nias Altonia. That immortal monster is over 270 years old by now. The Sakura Empire’s reason for invading this planet is her, and her alone.”
As Gons spoke, a smug look on his face, the realization hit me all at once.