Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1909 Speeding up the process

”Which old man you will be calling, Lord Human?” Timariʼs eyes widened in clear surprise, her tone carrying a mix of curiosity and disbelief.

”...Donʼt ask about things that donʼt concern you.” Robin slowly waved his hand toward Timari in a dismissive motion, then pointed at the countless open news feeds floating before him. ”And get all of this out of my face. Iʼm not going to read through this entire mess.”

”Done!” Timari clapped her hands lightly, and everything vanished at once. A calm, almost professional smile appeared on her face as she straightened slightly. ”Todayʼs messages are finished, Lord Human. Would you like to reply to any of them? Or perhaps youʼd like me to display the Truth Chamber missions, Lord Human? There are quite a few of them-ones Iʼm certain youʼll find appealing!”

”...” Robin furrowed his brows slightly, a hint of unease crossing his expression. That fairy had begun acting as if she were his personal assistant in every sense, not merely a support mechanism within the Soul Society. She behaved as though it were perfectly natural to know his secrets, to pry into them, and to push ever deeper without hesitation. ”No, thank you. Iʼll think things over a bit and come back later.” With a brief wave of his hand, he cut the stream connected to the sprout.

After speaking those words, Robin turned and headed toward the first of the seven walls. He passed straight through it and continued onward, his steps steady but unhurried, his eyes slightly unfocused as his thoughts drifted far from his surroundings.

Neri hurried after him, closing the distance quickly so he wouldnʼt leave her behind. ”My lord, my lord-if the Shadow Swords are providing weapons to the empires of the Middle Sector 97, doesnʼt that mean youʼll need even more resources for the headquarters?” she asked anxiously. ”That alone would exceed the 140 billion Emily requested. Weʼre talking about a full-scale war against an extremely wealthy Behemoth. You might need a budget reaching 200 billion, or even 250 billion Pearls per century. Where are you planning to get all of that?”

”Two hundred and fifty billion per century? Heh-” Robin shook his head, letting out a soft laugh as if heʼd just heard an absurd joke. ”You heard the fairy yourself say that Iʼve already become one of the top hundred richest known individuals in the universe, simply because I own 107 billion. So how would I possibly need even 140 billion just to expand weapon production?” He waved dismissively. ”No, no. Thatʼs a massive exaggeration.”

Neriʼs eyes opened as wide as they could. ”But Emily-”

”Hm. That girl has learned how to be sly, thatʼs all.” Robin exited the final protective shell and continued walking at a relatively slow, deliberate pace. ”Itʼs completely impossible for the Group of Sixteen to supply resources worth a full billion Pearls every year, even if they split the burden among themselves and all their allies. No matter how tempting the offer sounds, thereʼs no way theyʼd ever agree to it.”

”The actual agreement she made with them must be somewhere around two to three hundred million annually, even if we exaggerate generously. That would put the total deficit at around seventy billion per century at most.” He paused briefly, then added, ”She claimed it was a billion a year only to give herself a comfortable safety margin.”

”...If I were to actually give her exactly what she wants -1.4 billion annually, it would completely erase the deficit,” Robin continued calmly. ”It would cover trade expenses, and still leave her with a massive surplus. Enough to invigorate the treasury, search for other merchants to buy from, and further expand military production. Even if unexpected pressure appeared, sheʼd have enough room to maneuver without coming back to ask again.” He let out a short chuckle. ”And if I refuse and give her only half the amount, sheʼd still manage to cover every cost with that sum alone... ah~ that girl with the glasses really needs a few spanks!”

”So... youʼre going to send her half?” Neri asked hesitantly, glancing back toward the sprout Robin had abandoned without even starting to browse the Truth Room requests. ”Or maybe you wonʼt send anything at all?”

”No,” Robin replied without hesitation. ”Iʼll send exactly what she asked for. Even though Emily wonʼt be the one supplying the Middle Sector 97 with weapons, she has a major war waiting for her in the Middle Sector 99-and thatʼs something we need to prepare for in advance. Perhaps the Galaxy War will unfold earlier this way.” He lifted his head slightly, his expression growing serious.

”The game has changed,” he continued, his voice firm, ”ever since Zarghul began moving personally in the Middle Sector 97 and directly threatened me with withdrawing Aro from the Middle Sector 99. At this point, I only have two real options left: either I truly withdraw, or I respond with overwhelming force.” His eyes flashed with cold determination. ”And I will respond. Iʼll respond with a force strong enough to make him regret the very day he decided to extend his hand beyond his own sector.”

”Thatʼs a Behemoth youʼre talking about!!” Neri stopped in her tracks, shock freezing her in place.

”And I am Robin Burton!” Robin shouted back, raising his voice as he waved his arm forcefully through the air.

Then, noticing the fear reflected in Neriʼs expression, he looked down at his tightly clenched right hand. His voice lowered, but its weight grew heavier. ”The All-Seeing god gave me an impossible mission-a mission through which I caught a glimpse of what will happen to Hedrick. Thatʼs why I must fight early. I must subdue every opponent before the moment of final judgment arrives.” He slowly lifted his gaze. ”I must subdue Zarghul before he even learns of your existence.”

”How will you subdue a Behemoth?!” Neri shouted, her voice sharp with disbelief and fear.

Robin fixed his gaze on her eyes, calm to the point of being unsettling. ”Youʼll see.” With those simple words, his presence faded, and he vanished completely from the soul domain.

”...” Neri remained standing where she was for several long minutes, frozen in place, her thoughts tangled and directionless, unsure of what she was even supposed to do next.

The sheer number of disasters she had witnessed alongside Robin was enough to make even stone tremble. An unavoidable war against a Behemoth stationed right next to the Middle Sector 99-and worse still, the looming possibility of a war against that Syndicate as well... all of this while his empire didnʼt possess even a single individual with a Dominant-tier domain!!

He hadnʼt even asked about the latest developments in his partner Hedrickʼs war. Most likely, he was afraid of hearing yet another chain of catastrophes piling on top of everything else...

And yet, despite all of that, he had left with a steady state of mind-he even looked motivated. Almost excited.

Was this unwavering confidence... or was it a dangerous detachment from

reality?

And then there was the second issue. If Emily and the True Beginning Empire were not the ones bearing the burden of supplying the Middle Sector 97 with military equipment, then who exactly was doing it? Had he begun fabricating scenarios inside his own head, just to reassure himself that everything would somehow work out?

Somehow... Neri began to genuinely worry about him.

”...” She tilted her head slightly, her attention shifting. Three of Robinʼs spiritual incarnations were still present, each seated in a meditative posture. All three were deeply focused, pondering methods of rapid wealth accumulation, exactly as he had ordered them to do.

For a brief moment, she felt the urge to walk over, grab one of them, and either continue their argument or demand concrete answers. But-”Heh~” she sighed softly and abandoned the thought, choosing instead to go and see what

Evergreen was doing.

Trying to understand that madman would never end well.

Crack

Robin opened his eyes while seated on his chair. Instantly, his right hand

clenched with crushing force, while his left rose to cover his eyes. His teeth ground together harshly, the tension radiating from his entire body. Less than 350 years remained until the moment beyond which there would be

no return. Every path had already reached its peak, and all of his plans had accelerated prematurely due to the rampage of the Behemoths and the sudden withdrawal of the stellar academies.

Now there were only two possible routes left before him.

Either he withdrew across all fronts, endured the passage of those 350 years, and then advanced alongside Nihari to impose a fait accompli forcing reality to accept his presence- before waiting to see how the universe would react...

Or he began baring his fangs now as well, sinking them mercilessly into every hostile skull long before the appointed time arrived.

And the choice... regrettably, was painfully clear.

Knock Knock ”Lord Robin, we need to talk!”