Leo felt like he was constantly being watched from beyond. It was only when he entered the building that the stifling feeling eased.
’It looks like they heard the message,’ Leo thought, smiling behind his mask.
Since the people on the ship could convey their voices to him, he was sure that they could hear him as well. That was why everything he said was intended for their ears.
The Elven Emperor was only a front. He was directly talking to the newly arrived guests, and he was certain they understood that by now.
At this point, he couldn’t show any weakness or nervousness. Not only did he have to find the missing prince, but he also had to ensure that the information didn’t leak to others.
Viserl followed Leo silently, as if worried that even the slightest noise might annoy him.
The silence soon grew overwhelming, as Leo hadn’t told him the reason for bringing him along.
Viserl didn’t even know where Leo was taking him, even though this was the Galactic Union Headquarters. They were simply taking random paths.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who didn’t know where they were going. Leo was just as lost.
This was his first time at this place. He had thought that Viserl was going to take the lead and escort him to either his office or an assigned room where they could discuss further.
Instead, it looked like they had been walking in circles where no one was saying anything.
To his disbelief, the man who should have been guiding him was silently following, as if he expected Leo to know the direction.
Was this really normal? Was he supposed to know directions as an Envoy of Necropolis? Wasn’t this the first time that Necropolis appeared here?
’Necropolis Undead don’t have a guiding ability that helps them find a path, right? Would it look strange if I asked him to take the lead now?’ Leo thought, intentionally slowing his footsteps to let Viserl pass him.
Viserl also slowed his pace, until it looked like both of them were moving at a crawling speed.
’Fine. Then let’s stop here.’
Eventually, Leo came to a halt on a bridge that connected two inner towers inside the grand headquarters.
"Do you know why I came here?" Leo asked.
Viserl shook his head repeatedly, like a child.
Leo turned around, resting his back against the railing. He stared at Viserl but didn’t say anything. There was only silence all around.
"Do I need to cast a silence barrier myself?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"N-not at all!" Viserl hastily pulled a device from his pocket and pressed a button.
Immediately, a barrier formed around them, sealing any sound within.
’I was only guessing, but they really do have something like this.’ Leo was subtly impressed.
Now that the sound barrier was up, he could say anything, and there would be no witnesses other than Viserl.
"My younger brother..." Leo said, his voice growing a little softer. "The Second Prince of Necropolis is very naughty. He ran away from home, and I’m here to use the Galactic Union to find him."
He didn’t say he wanted to ask for the Union’s help. He didn’t want a cooperative relationship. He stated outright that he was going to use them, establishing that he was the superior in this relationship.
However, that wasn’t all his words conveyed. He used a little trick. He didn’t outright say anything about his own identity. He simply referred to Voldred’s son as his brother.
Technically, they could be considered brothers, even though they hadn’t met, right? Although he was stretching the definition a little, it was to his benefit.
His words were intended to be misinterpreted, and they clearly hit the mark.
"The Second Prince of Necropolis, your younger brother, has run away from home?" Viserl felt like the ground had been snatched from beneath his feet.
Didn’t this mean that the person standing before him was no mere Envoy of Necropolis? He was literally the First Prince of Necropolis, the Eldest Son of an existence whose name couldn’t even be spoken by weaklings like them.
He hadn’t done this when he first met Leo, even though he was scared of an Envoy’s arrival, but everything changed at this moment.
He immediately went down on one knee, his crystalline skin making a loud bang as it crashed against the floor.
"Viserl, the Seventeenth Emperor of High Planet Vitrean, greets Your Majesty, the First Prince of Necropolis!"
This was it. This was what Leo wanted. By making others misunderstand his identity, he didn’t outright lie. He just made use of selected truths.
"I don’t have time for your nonsense. Stand up." He didn’t acknowledge Viserl’s address regarding his title as the First Prince, acting indifferent. "I came here to find my little brother."
"I don’t care what you have to do, or how many people you have to use! I want information about my brother as soon as possible. If I don’t get it in time, then before anyone else... you might have to answer to me."
Leo reached out and placed a hand on Viserl’s shoulder.
"Also, no one must find out that you are looking for my brother, or someone from Necropolis. You understand, right? If this information leaks, I will know who to find."
Viserl nodded like a bobblehead, feeling like the scythe of death was resting on his neck.
He understood the significance of this information and the fact that it was told to only one person. It placed the responsibility solely on him.
If there was a leak, and Necropolis enemies learned about the missing prince, then they would also target the prince.
And if anything happened to the prince because of that... In that case, as the only person with this information, he couldn’t shift the blame.
"Oh right, stay in contact. You know how to do that, right?" Leo reached into Viserl’s pocket and pulled out his communication device.
"That’s min-"
"Huh, did you say something?"
Leo tilted his head, observing the latest generation communication device. It was something untraceable that used the secure network of the Galactic Union.
"N-nothing. I just said that it’s a wise idea for you to use that. As expected of Your Majesty." Viserl wanted to cry as his expression turned ugly. "Please treat that like a gift from this unworthy one."
"Don’t you have to remove the locks from it?" Leo showed the screen to Viserl, who immediately reacted.
He wanted to delete the classified information regarding the Galactic Union and his planet from the device. Unfortunately, he didn’t dare do anything other than remove the locks in front of Leo.
He quickly removed every lock and assigned Leo as the new master of the device.
"It should serve you well now. Please carry it with you. I’ll send you a message as soon as I arrange a new one for myself. With that, I will keep you updated about my progress."
"That shall be enough. Don’t forget, if you do well, the rewards for you won’t be small."
Leo placed the new device in his pocket, inwardly celebrating his haul. Normally, he couldn’t even imagine owning something like this.
There were some things in this universe that couldn’t be bought with wealth. Even those who had all the money in the universe couldn’t own them. A piece of tech like this was one of those things.
Leo had only heard about the features of these devices, especially the prototypes still in development. How great would information gathering be with this?
"Shall I escort you to your resting room?" Viserl was crying inwardly. His precious prototype, only one of which had been made so far, was taken from him. And he couldn’t even complain.
He had only received it yesterday. He didn’t even have time to truly appreciate it, and it was taken.
The worst part was that this device carried so many secrets. Fortunately, even within the device, those files were almost impossible to locate without prior knowledge. That was his only relief.
"No need for me to stay here. With this thing, I can always be in contact with you. I don’t have to stay here and babysit you." Leo waved his hand, the new prototype held within, as he walked out of the soundproof barrier.
Viserl, who looked like he could cry at any moment, was stunned by those words. The grim landscape within his heart suddenly became sunny.
This person was leaving? Wasn’t that good news? Even though he still had to worry about the search and the secret, at least he didn’t have to walk around his own Union like he was on pins and needles in Leo’s presence.
After Leo left, the other uninvited guests would surely lose interest and leave too. Wasn’t this for the best?
"Let me escort you outside then!" He jumped in the air behind Leo in excitement before running after him.
’Now he can focus on the search while I focus on my business. And as soon as he gets a clue, I can move in. Everything will proceed smoothly,’ Leo thought, stepping outside the Headquarters.
"Ah right, I forgot about them," he mumbled, looking ahead.
The two ships in the sky had stationed themselves, and the guests had already landed in front of the Headquarters.
One of them was Seraph, a six-winged angel. She looked beautiful in the white dress draped around her body. Even the wings behind her back gave her a divine aura.
Just one gaze at her made Leo feel the urge to worship her. His body subconsciously tried to force him down to his knees.
Fortunately, the robe granted him a certain level of protection from her aura, and the bloody aura of his sword brought him back to his senses.
Next to her was the person who had been standing atop the third ship, a guest from the third Ancient Civilization.