"… So he survived."
Heira's voice carried a level of monotony that bordered on robotic. If it wasn't for the fact her voice flowed smoothly, it would be easy to mistake her for an AI. But, as time passed, she seemed to warm up—not toward a happier emotion, but rather just toward feelings in general.
"We cannot be sure, Miss. According to our analysis, the flying ship that caused the commotion originated from the main base. However, the last sighting of Leonel Morales was at mining site 102A where the corpses of Drunken Kicks, Shadow Rat, Double Shot, and Panda were all found.
"We have cause to believe that the flying ship did not have Leonel Morales on it. But Planet Vincero was thrown into chaos soon afterward. So, it is impossible to tell if he is still on the surface or if he has long since left."
"He has left." Heira confirmed expressionlessly.
The three scientists looked toward one another but didn't bother to ask for an explanation. They had been working with Heira for long enough to know that she would provide an answer if she wanted to. If not, there was no use in asking.
Heira took a deep breath and her body suddenly relaxed. In what felt like an instant, her usual demeanor had returned. The subtle elegance of her movements, the intelligent twinkle of her eye, the calming rhythm of her breath… As though something had snapped back into place, her personality was back.
"Took a bit longer than expected." Heira shook her head. "That isn't all that happened, right?"
"Right. Gretta Ovilteen and Rollo Ovilteen have suffered quite some backlash due to their failure.
"Second, the four organizations who had participated have returned to their territories but have entered a state of near seclusion. Their movements are limited, and much of the movement that there is has been turned finding Leonel Morales.
"Thirdly, the Old Gentleman seems to have Havoc in hand as expected. It seems that he still feels as though there is a piece of the puzzle he is missing."
Heira nodded. "That old man has always been sharp. If not for this, he wouldn't be put in charge of such an important asset. However, it doesn't matter how sharp he is if he doesn't have enough information."
"… Miss, is it safe to trust that Havoc merchant?"
"It doesn't matter." Heira said without care. "He too doesn't have enough information to make a change. One way or another, the Milky Way Guild will fall to its knees before me."
Did Heira love Anared, her late fiancé? The answer was yes. But, the reason why might be surprising to most.
Those with the Soul Manipulation ability were incredibly sensitive. They experienced emotions at a much higher high than most and were natural empaths.
Heira originally saw Anared as a light along a path toward her ultimate goal. However, that easily blossomed into a true infatuation, very quickly. It didn't help that Anared's feelings for her were as clear as if she could read a book on his thoughts.
To her, the death of Anared was both the loss of a loved one and a setback that ruined plans she had been laying for decades.
Still, she was Heira Ovilteen. Failure was something she had long since become accustomed to…
The truth was that she hadn't expected to die in this way. Though she had assigned a small probability to it, it could be said that Leonel had surprised her once again, something he had quite the habit of doing. But, she still felt that this outcome was even better than the one she had planned.
It was so surprising and out of left field that no one would even have an inkling that she had staged it. That made it perfect.
"I'll kill him soon enough… But in this case, I have to thank him. I'm one step closer to overthrowing that so-called father of mine."
Things would have been easiest if she could have Earth in her back pocket. Had she succeeded, it would have only been a matter of time before the Guild Council would be completely on her side.
However, she felt that this method might taste even sweeter than her original plans.
**
It took Leonel even longer than it had Heira to reach a planet he could disembark upon. Unfortunately, he had invested most of his Craft's utility in escaping the immediate surroundings of Planet Vincero. This was why he leaned so heavily into Wind Elemental Ores. He had been planning on making use of the volatile winds to give him an added boost the people the Milky Way Guild wouldn't be able to match.
What he hadn't known at the time was that there wouldn't be any of the defensive nets he had been expecting to find. In fact, there was nothing at all. He soared away from the planet as though he was on a simple commute.
When Leonel managed to land on this mostly uninhabited planet, he didn't even step out of his ship. Instead, he took out his communication talisman and began to modify it with his Crafting Quill.
By now, he felt that Aina should be back on Planet Valiant. So, using the connection already established between the two talismans, he would teleport to her location. This would also help just in case they were someplace unexpected, that way he wouldn't make a trip without reason.
Aina's half already had a built in protective measure that would alert and send him over should someone other than her use it. So, piggy backing off of this mechanism wasn't difficult.
'I should hide the fluctuations and maybe add some concealment on the other end. It would be pretty ridiculous if I teleported over just to be chased again…'
…
In a rented room of a restaurant, a heated debate that had been going on for weeks already was still raging on. It most definitely didn't help that there wasn't a single ounce of estrogen in sight. From what could be seen, no one would expect that these were a group of brothers that had been together for ages.
"… We can't do that! I still think we should just tell him she went to see her dad and will be back!"
"You want to lie to him?!"
"It's not lying! It's the truth!"
"When in her words did she say she would be back?! Why are you defending that woman?!"
"I'm not defending her! But she clearly had her own reasons!"
"I don't care what the reasons are, they're all bullshit! We need to tell Cap the truth!"
Another volley of testosterone filled insults and roars was about to be levied when an amused voice suddenly and easily cut through it all. Its volume wasn't even particularly loud, and yet it caused them all to turn their gaze toward the very same location.
"Tell me the truth about what?"
Leonel appeared with a smile, canceling his concealment since it didn't seem to be necessary.
His gaze drifted across the room before it landed on the table. A stack of objects immediately caught his attention, causing his smile to freeze and slowly fade.