Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Sorotek Star System
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The Sorotek star system lay on the outskirts of the Holy Nation.
For some reason, it was the very system the Empire had demanded independence for.
A quick check on the star chart revealed no obvious geographical advantages—it just seemed like one utterly ordinary star system among the vast expanse of the galaxy.
But there had to be something to it, right?
After all, Countess Nananna had explicitly said it was on the Emperor's orders.
I'd seen plenty of Imperials praising the Emperor's grace or His Majesty's benevolence, but I couldn't recall any direct imperial decree like this before.
In this galactic age, with so many domains to manage, I'd assumed the Emperor delegated everything to experts and kept a hands-off approach.
It might be nothing major, but since even he was interested in Sorotek, it was worth a look.
Or maybe not.
Perhaps the Emperor just offhandedly remarked, "Hmm, it'd be nice to have this one," and his overzealous subordinates jumped on it.
Imperials' loyalty to the Emperor bordered on worship, after all.
The Korallak Mercenary Corps—which had joined the Holy Nation's side in the war—headed for Sorotek, a remote system on the edge of Holy Nation territory.
The Korallaks had pulled back to the rear for now, while the Beriraks were closer geographically up at the Empire's front lines.
But crossing from Empire space into Holy Nation territory looked like too much of a hassle, so I just went with the Korallaks instead.
Arriving in the Sorotek system in a Korallak body, I was surprised to find visitors already there.
Guests come to check the Emperor's honey pot?
The Empire's demand for Sorotek was so outlandish that I figured it wouldn't leak before even reaching the Holy Nation—but apparently, it had slipped out somewhere.
Not everything went through me in negotiations, after all.
No way Countess Nananna was that loose-lipped.
Getting closer, I was relieved to see they weren't an exploration team digging for hidden treasures in Sorotek.
They were Holy Nation construction ships, building facilities for the new border.
Space stations, supply bases, light fortresses, immigration checkpoints, that sort of thing.
Sorotek apparently had no habitable planets, so they needed even more orbital infrastructure.
At least with so many nations breaking away from Holy Nation influence lately, the Talatullan racial ratio had gone up.
So they probably wouldn't need as many facilities as the PATO-standard buildings required.
How much could rock-people possibly need, anyway?
Organic beings, on the other hand—why did they require so damn much? Unless you aggressively gene-modded like me, they were such an inconvenient species for space living.
If gods existed in this world, they really ought to buff organics a bit.
Two barren rocky planets and three massive gas giants.
That was everything orbiting the Sorotek star.
The asteroid belt was so sparse it might as well not exist, making the system resource-poor and essentially worthless.
The star system itself held no great value, but the Holy Nation had learned something while surveying it.
Sorotek was one of the brightest stars visible from the homeworlds of nearby nations.
In Earth terms, something like Betelgeuse.
Within the Holy Nation, just mentioning the name got you an "Oh, that star?"—it was that famous.
Indeed, entering the Sorotek system, the star dominated your view right away.
But that was Holy Nation talk. From the Empire, it was barely observable, so probably irrelevant.
Didn't seem like they were after some cultural or symbolic blow to the Holy Nation, either.
There were brighter stars than Sorotek aplenty, and they weren't irrational enough to gamble on annexing a pretext-less system over that.
Yet here was a star system desired by the Empire's founder—a figure absent from even Sil-L0-K's database.
There had to be something here.
If the Holy Nation ignored the system entirely, I could've scoured the planets myself. But as a new border zone, there were too many eyes watching.
Time to play my universal trump card: money.
Who the hell is this guy? Jarvis brought me another weird article.
How does someone like that even become a reporter?
Filled with Ozztlan worship—it probably keeps him safe and long-lived in the Holy Nation.
Anyway, I'd finished buying off all the witnesses in the system.
No prying eyes left now.
Scour every planet, and something's bound to turn up.
Plus, with the Holy Nation short on fleets, handing over Treegalaon means they'll use it frugally.
Bonus: I could finally plant spies in their ironclad military.
Time to get serious with the investigation.
"Tear it all up."
I'd gotten permits to mess with the planets in advance.
"I'm the new supervisor, Korallak. Battle Priest."
After wrapping up the construction firm acquisition, I'd gone straight to the battle priest.
Building permits and planetary mining rights were separate, so I figured I'd haggle the price down.
I'll handle it at a rock-bottom rate for you.
No, your previous supervisors lacked faith in Ozztlan.
Where's the Holy Nation's spare cash right now? Reparations to pay, ruined planets and cities to rebuild.
So many places bleeding money.
I'll do it for just the base fee.
"A model for all true believers. It's lamentable how many chase personal gain when the Holy Nation teeters on the brink."
Great atmosphere.
In exchange for this sweet deal, mind if I use a bit of system resources?
I've cut the price so much—surely a little resource use is fair.
"Hm. Such trifles shouldn't hinder the great cause. Do as you like. But."
The snake-headed battle priest beckoned me closer with a wave.
"...When filing reports, list the original amount. Understand?"
Ah, so he's that kind of guy? Risk just vanished.
"Understood. For Ozztlan."
"Hm. For Ozztlan."
Jackpot.
How do weirdos like this end up in key posts?
Talatullans seemed stiff and odd but never corrupt. Maybe the snake look?
War must've thinned out the Talatullans plenty—seeing types like him in charge said it all.
Anyway, with permits secured, full-scale mining began.
What I needed was probably in the core anyway.
Couldn't dig that deep, but ransacking the outer layers ought to turn up something.
After months of searching...
Clank... clank...
I discovered a structure that looked awfully familiar.