Chapter 107: Stance

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy and stagnant. After perhaps three or five seconds of silence, the Governor, who had remained quiet until then, finally spoke. She looked at Yuuki and sighed, “I see now. I remember—you are that human.”

The human who had appeared on the gangway, stopped by mercenaries, yet had effortlessly dealt with them.

And a cunning one at that—he had even tried to bribe one of the mercenaries!

Confirming that the person before her was indeed human seemed to ease Rebecca’s tension somewhat. She knew the gravity here was heavier than Earth’s, meaning Earthlings would be at a disadvantage in their movements. With a lighter tone, she asked, “What is it? Are you here to avenge him?”

Upon hearing this, a smile appeared on Yuuki’s face. This was exactly what he had been waiting for.

Very well. The lady before him had acknowledged that he was the same person who had appeared on Earth, which was the answer Yuuki sought. As for anything else… Yuuki held no real expectations. After all, this was not a tokusatsu show, and not every villain enjoyed elaborating on their plans endlessly.

He shook his head and explained, “No, I don’t even know him. Wasn’t that guy hired by you?”

“Then…”

Rebecca forced a faint smile. “Is there something you want from me?”

Yuuki lowered his gun. As Rebecca secretly exhaled in relief, he sat back down at the desk. “Actually, I just want to ask you about Earth. What were you doing there? Were you sent by the Interstellar Alliance?”

Rebecca’s breath quieted; she said nothing, only watching Yuuki.

He tilted his head and nodded knowingly. “Right. You’re from the Interstellar Alliance, so your actions must be authorized by them. So, what exactly were you doing on Earth? Do you know that if the rocket had launched successfully, it would have destroyed the space station in low Earth orbit? Was that your plan all along?”

Rebecca’s gaze shifted away, still silent.

“Don’t you have anything to say, Governor?” Yuuki appeared slightly troubled. “No matter what your original purpose was, since you now find yourself stranded on this planet—one so insignificant it doesn’t even appear on the Interstellar Alliance’s list of participating worlds—as governor, it means you failed the mission on Earth, Governor Rebecca.”

Failed.

Yuuki had struck a nerve.

In truth, Rebecca herself couldn’t understand why misfortune had plagued her so lately.

Within just a few weeks, she had been demoted three ranks. Being sent to this shadow planet controlled by the “Armory” was no different from exile. After all, as a shadow planet, it lacked official recognition; her position as governor here didn’t even appear on the official roster.

On this world, she held no real power. The true authority over the Hive rested with the “Armory,” which commanded the military. A governor without any military command or support was merely a figurehead.

Yuuki watched Rebecca’s back and sensed a subtle shift—the oppressive atmosphere seemed to loosen slightly. Encouraged, he pressed on.

“Imagine if I were your direct superior. I send you to Gannon, and Gannon encounters trouble. Then I send you to Earth to oversee some affair, and you mess that up too. Finally, I send you to the Hive... and the Hive has problems as well. So, tell me—”

He lengthened his voice.

“Is the problem me, or is it you?”

Yuuki fell silent after that. The one with the problem was obviously Rebecca.

Three strikes, this “Hive” was the Interstellar Alliance’s last ounce of patience with her.

Yet from Yuuki’s words, Rebecca realized something else. She looked up at him in disbelief. “You... you said the Hive will have problems?”

“Yes.”

Yuuki nodded matter-of-factly.

“As long as I want, the Hive will have problems.”

Holding a hundred Sandalias, Yuuki barely knew how to lose.

To be precise, it was one hundred and twelve. Using the preliminary visual effects of the skills “Portal” and “Infusion,” Yuuki had glimpsed rows of neatly stacked black boxes in a warehouse beside the Armory’s base. He had counted them all.

In recent days, they had installed even more.

Sandalias were rare and precious creatures, yet they were being exploited so recklessly.

Rebecca had indeed been intimidated by Yuuki’s bizarre appearance before, but now she doubted his claims. Could a single human really challenge the power of an entire city? Especially one that was effectively a military fortress, its armed forces far stronger than those of an ordinary city.

She looked at Yuuki skeptically. “You can do that?”

“Wanna bet?” Yuuki’s tone was excited as he proposed, “If I manage to throw the Hive into chaos, forcing the Interstellar Alliance to abandon this ‘armory,’ then I win. At that time, you’ll entrust your life to me. But if I fail and nothing much happens, and the Alliance still controls the Hive, then I lose—and I’ll wager my life too. How about that? Fair enough?”

Rebecca frowned in disgust. “You’re insane. Who would bet with you?”

Yuuki shook his head. “I’m not insane. Only a madman would put his life in the hands of chance. But me... I’m absolutely sure I’ll win.”

The next moment, Yuuki disappeared from where he stood and suddenly reappeared right before Governor Rebecca. One hand grasped her waist, the other struck directly into her abdomen.

“...!!”

Caught off guard, Rebecca was punched so hard she immediately lost consciousness.

If Yuuki hadn’t caught her waist first to steady her, the poor governor might have been sent flying into the wall behind her. But Yuuki didn’t want to cause such a commotion.

Because... Yuuki intended to take Governor Rebecca back to Earth.

He recalled how, back in the hospital room, when he described the figure he had seen to the Captain, the Captain’s expression had subtly changed, as if he had realized something. Perhaps even then, the Captain had guessed that the figure was none other than former planetary governor Rebecca of Gannon.

Yuuki hadn’t been able to get much from the governor herself—her lips were too tightly sealed—but the Captain might be able to extract some information or intelligence from her.

In truth, Yuuki had been puzzled as to why the Captain had come to Earth.

Clearly, this was not a personal mission. The Captain must have come carrying a task or mission from the Land of Light; otherwise, they would never have sent Zero as his liaison.

On the other hand, the Interstellar Alliance had also begun to extend its reach toward Earth, scheming in secret.

What Yuuki could be sure of was that the Land of Light and the Interstellar Alliance did not share the same goals—they were not cooperating. The Captain’s intervention to prevent the destruction of the space station had disrupted a plan led by the Interstellar Alliance, which made their relationship plainly antagonistic.

Two alien forces intervened almost simultaneously, but the Land of Light’s progress was clearly faster. The Captain had already established contact with Earth’s official authorities, while the Alliance... whether they were simply slower or had never taken Earth’s official forces seriously from the start was unclear.

The latter seemed more likely, as most of the criminal organizations in Oplon had never learned one thing: to respect human strength.

Since Yuuki was already involved, as a human and as Taiga’s human host, his natural allegiance was to the Captain.

Setting aside his innate stance, the chip in his small head, the rocket launch base incident, and his experiences in this city had all dramatically lowered Yuuki’s opinion of the Interstellar Alliance.

In short, their reputation in Yuuki’s eyes had fallen to outright hatred—they were an enemy with their health bar flashing red. This gave Yuuki no qualms about taking action.