Chapter 646: Secrets in the Medical Bay
Marshal Julian looked incredulous because now even he was starting to wonder if he had somehow committed accidental treason, judging by the way everyone was staring at him.
But thankfully, the cadets saved him from overthinking by shifting the discussion back to the central issue: spiritual energy.
It was then that he realized, oh no, he did know a bit about it.
But what did that have to do with breakthroughs?
Apparently, everything.
"So the dwindling spiritual energy was really the source of the problem?" Emperor Xavian asked, his tone heavy. He had been monitoring this phenomenon for a long time, as his predecessors had warned him to.
Luca and Xavier both nodded. And if not for Luca’s calm, peaceful expression, the look of despair on everyone else’s faces might have been mistaken for the aftermath of terrible news.
But this wasn’t terrible news.
In fact, nothing could have been farther from the truth.
Because what they were really hearing was that these cadets, with the help of House Kyros, had been busy creating sustainable sources of spiritual energy.
The realization crashed into them with staggering weight.
Had it not been for this new source, what would have become of the Empire in the next century?
How many of them would even make it past the next few years?
Maybe a handful.
And even if the Empire somehow limped on, it would have been a brittle shell, a pale shadow of its former self. Worse, it wouldn’t just be the Empire that fell—it would take the entire hypercluster with it.
That thought alone had their hearts skipping beats, breaths stuttering, and eyes wide.
Was this what it felt like to finally glimpse a possible future? To suddenly realize there might be more work to do, but at least that work mattered?
For the first time in centuries, the burden of survival felt lighter.
Therefore, after confirming that these children really had a hand in the sudden emergence of spiritual relics across the Empire, the ruling couple’s minds snapped toward the same concern: logistics, security, and scaling.
"Even our predecessors went to great lengths to attempt what you’ve accomplished in just a few months," the Emperor said, his voice tight with awe. "And even then, they failed. So now that you’ve actually found a way, how can we ensure it stays safe and continues to run?"
Emperor Xavian’s thoughts spiraled into calculations: supply chains, resource movement, financial capital, security forces. The list was endless, and each item felt more critical than the last.
His wife mirrored him, her eyes sharp. "From the production of that many mechas, the movement of materials alone would be immense. And then there’s the facility you mentioned."
Her words grew even sharper, her tone incredulous. "In that case, the required capitalization alone would be insane! Is this why even Nina insisted it was best to just hand over money???"
It was like lightning had struck her—sudden realization dawning.
Of course.
Money didn’t just grow on trees. For an operation of this scale, resources were not optional. They were lifeblood. And here they were, as the Imperial family, utterly failing to provide the support required.
The horror!
Her horror!
But just as her heart sank at the realization, the Imperial mother nearly keeled over again—because when she voiced her thoughts aloud, Luca answered with the most pleasing tone in the galaxy.
Apparently, money does grow on trees.
Even better, spiritual fruits actually do.
Luca flushed bright enough to light the medical bay. He had finally understood why Xavier’s parents had thought to send money.
They had assumed, from Nina’s stories, that he needed financial help. So when he had sent that thoughtful gift, his in-laws had assumed he’d spent every cent on something unbelievable for them.
Now he was saying he had actually harvested those things from his own backyard with help from his friends.
"A backyard?" the Empress repeated, incredulous. "Then, can we increase security? I have a feeling you already know, but the Federation has started making moves. Knowing how connected you all are to their likely targets, saying I am worried is the understatement of the century."
The image of the Veyras getting their hands on Xavier, or worse, Luca, had her blood boiling. At this rate, she thought it would be far better to decimate the Federation before it could worm its way in again.
Xavier read his mother’s look and understood the thought down to the last syllable. He had felt the same. But he also knew they needed to explain the steps they had taken.
"Mother," he said quietly, "while it might be harder to grasp, I take it you’ve heard about the daycare our guild started?"
"Yes. What about it?" she asked.
They had heard about it, yes. But they could not visit without drawing attention, so their knowledge came secondhand from Marshal Julian. Xavier continued, "Our operations are actually happening in places similar, but unlike the daycare, entry requires the same kind of pact you just made."
The rulers were floored. That only skimmed the surface of what they were feeling.
"Wait, what?" the Empress said.
Luca began to list off their network like a shy tour guide showing off a secret garden. "When we started, we only had one base. Now there’s a main base with very limited access, a satellite site that requires core-bound pacts, the daycare facility, and the newest one, the aquaponics complex."
The four onlookers stared, jaws slack, trying to count how much could possibly have been done in a few months.
Marshal Julian, who had actually been inside two of those places, felt like someone had replaced his spine with jelly. If those two sites were already remarkable, what were the other two? He still had no idea how everything was possible. He decided it was his duty to ask the one question that clanged around his skull.
"This is very late, and although the military signed a contract not to ask about DG’s business practices, I have always wondered how any of this was possible."
"What do you mean?" the Empress asked, looking to her brother.
Julian rubbed his temple. "There’s nothing like the two places I visited. When you see them for yourself, you will ask the same questions. It will feel easier to imagine the Federation being annexed than to explain what I saw."
His words landed like cold water. The others had only skimmed the surface. They had not scratched the true depth of it.
"The soldiers who visited the daycare are even willing to return to the front lines," Julian said, voice low. "They know that, provided they survive, they could eventually be contamination-free."
"!!!" the Emperor and Empress breathed.
"Brother, what did you say?" the Empress demanded.
"Your Majesty," Julian answered, careful and clipped, "during that delegation, a major change occurred in the military. As part of our agreement with DG, we were not allowed to discuss or ask about the specifics. But the effect was obvious. Soldiers returned to HQ and were free of contamination." He swallowed.
"The consensus among the elite nobles who practically use the daycare as a second home is that soaking in spiritual energy has helped boost their abilities and keep contamination at bay."
The Empress’s eyes widened with a stab of fear and hope.
Julian nodded. "And that’s still true, but there is a difference between managing contamination and truly being free of it. Based on what I saw and experienced, the soldiers returning from the daycare were contamination-free. Just like me."
The room went very quiet.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Luca glanced at Xavier. And the prince glanced back at his wife. The kind of look that carried entire conversations without a single word.
Finally, Luca gave the smallest nod.
Xavier straightened, his tone calm, almost too calm. "Uncle, your observation is correct; it’s because Luca can purify contamination."
"..."
"..."
The silence that followed was not the ordinary kind. It was the heavy, suffocating kind, where hearts skipped beats and thoughts slammed into each other like starships in a docking bay.
By the stars.
Maybe this was why they were meeting inside the medical bay.