552 Next target
Minutes passed... maybe hours?
Neither Robin nor Billy felt the passage of time as if time had completely stopped around them
For Robin, this was his only chance to ease his heart even by a little bit, the first time he had a chance to talk about it since that dark day.
After confronting the All-Seeing God, Robin surrendered and accepted the reality that everything that happened was collateral damage that should be forgotten, but he never got over it. And even if he got over his dead wife, how could he get over Richard who was still alive? Maybe if he had died with his mother, getting over it would have been much easier, but now? To say that the issue is complex would be an understatement.
Richard represents everything Robin hates! and at the same time everything he loves...
As for Billy, he spent most of his time shocked, angry, or sad, he didn't know whether he should have beaten Robin or comforted him, but every time he held his tongue and contented himself with listening, as he knew very well that words now would not change the past, what happened had happened, and Also... If he were in his shoes, would he have made better decisions? It's hard to say...
After an unknown amount of time, Robin leaned his head back in his chair, closed his eyes, and turned his face toward the ceiling, "...Thanks for being here today, Billy. I never thought I needed this." Robin's voice was rough and unsteady, and even his cheeks had white lines from dried tears, his appearance was truly pitiful at this moment.
"...My friend, I seriously think you need to rest a little. The sky won't fall if you empty your mind and take a time-out for a while." Billy hesitated a little and then spoke. He couldn't find anything else to say in a situation like this
"Haha, time-out? Did you think I collapsed or something? Sorry to disappoint you. I think I felt a little suffocated when I thought about meeting Richard, but nothing has changed." Robin finally opened his eyes and laughed loudly, he then raised his hands to wipe the tear lines from his bloodshot eyes, before taking out a bottle of water from his space ring drinking it in one gulp, and throwing it aside, before opening his arms with a smile, "See? I'm fine as ever, haha, but I think I was really emotional in front of you today and I earned myself ridicule, I apologize for that."
"Robin, ignoring your mental state and using sarcasm won't solve anything." Billy furrowed his eyebrows
"Sitting idle and waiting for problems to be solved by themselves will not help either." Robin waved indifferently, "I will strengthen my army and crush my problems, won't that be enough? I will definitely return to Planet Nihari, and this time won't be the same."
"Strengthening the army? This might help if you want to smuggle Richard out, but how exactly will your army help you get rid of that All-Seeing guy?!"
Robin raised his eyebrows a little, "...The All-Seeing God, hah... I don't know how to describe him other than that he is a very mysterious person. When I spoke to him the last time in the bar, his words were logical and balanced, full of gaps, but still, they could be taken into account and he seemed to understand my position, but when I mentioned that I didn't want to complete the task in Planet Nihari he said that I have to try until the end, otherwise, he will not accept this result. Billy, In your opinion, is this considered an encouragement or a threat?"
Robin gave a short chuckle as he answered himself, "I personally couldn't tell, and frankly, I hesitated to ask him "Or what" because I knew that the answer would not please me. Maybe he will accept my withdrawal from Nihari only to dump me on an even more dangerous mission. What if I refuse again? Will he simply take the life he gave me? Or worse, punish me by first destroying Planet Jira in a fit of anger? In the end, I am just a disobedient ant in his eyes, I have to expect anything from him, even if he acts like a gentleman, there are no gentlemen who can reach that level of power, and he definitely didn't regine over multiple planets because of his sheen kindness!" Robin looked sideways and muttered as he tapped his chair, "All I have to do now is complete this mission and hope he fulfills his part of the promise and leave me alone. Let fate take its course, I guess..."
Billy remained silent for a moment and then asked, "...So what are you going to do about Nihari? You speak of that planet and the Nihari giants with absolute hatred and yet you strengthen your army so that you can carry out your mission and save them from the coming invasion, how exactly are you going to do this? Working for something that you hate will make you more depressed, but doing your work lazily may make the situation much worse than just standing aside and watching."
Robin chuckled when he heard this, "Haha, you're right, but who said anything about saving them?"
"What-?! Robin, do you intend to break your promise to the All-Seeing Guy? Don't tell me that you intend to help those invaders and destroy the planet Nihari to calm your anger!!" Billy stood up and shouted angrily. He heard from the Burton family merchants about the planet Nihari. It is a very huge planet containing dozens of intelligent races and its total population reaches more than a hundred billion people. If Robin intended to punish everyone for the sake of personal revenge, then...
"Hey, calm down. I did not say that I would break my promise to the All-Seeing God, nor did I say that I would raise my sword against any of the innocents among the residents of Nihari either. They will do the job themselves." Robin's smile turned strange
"...Robin, what exactly do you plan to do? Tell me, maybe we can find a better way together." Billy waved his left hand frantically, he had seen this smile once before when Robin started leading the demons on Planet Jura...
Robin waved indifferently, "These are details you don't have to know, but if it helps you sleep better, know that I have no intention of desecrating my hands with the blood of those who have no fault in the matter. I already set my course when I refused to annihilate the Flame Continent that day. I will not go back and turn into a monster again in a worthless place like Planet Nihari... not directly, at least."
"Not directly? Robin--"
"What brings you to the headquarters? You're not here because of Theo," Robin cut off Billy's words quickly with a stern voice, "You do like sticking your nose into my affairs a lot, but you're not completely useless to leave the Fifth Legion on the front line and come by yourself for no reason."
"...I'm really here for something else," Knowing that Robin had decided to change the subject, Billy gave in and walked along as well, "Tree Father Descartes recently contacted me through one of his body avatars. He told me that he had been trying to reach you for the past two years, but his avatars were destroyed as soon as they approached the tent you were staying in, so he asked me for a truce until you came out of your isolation and he could meet you. When I heard that you woke up, I came to see what is your opinion on this."
"You could have communicated with me with a voice ring instead of leaving your army and coming yourself..."
"Come one don't be this heartless. Firstly, you know that the quality of the sound in the voice rings decreases over distance as the sound becomes weaker and distorted. How do I use it in an important situation like this? Secondly, the war has been at a standstill on the Descartes front for almost two months. Whenever we advance, he retreats. Do you know how boring this is? It's more boring than staying in Jura to manage the roads and markets! Thirdly, when I heard about Theo's presence, I thought I was going to shoot two birds with one stone. Do you know how long it's been since I heard the news about Richard?" Billy shrugged
Robin remained silent for a while in front of those words, "...Tree Father Descartes wants to meet me, huh... Interesting. I happen to be intending to meet him as well. Hoffenheim is already down, if he doesn't learn from his rival's death, he will be our next target."
"So? When do you plan to meet him? I can go back and arrange the date and a neutral location."
"...The army will take some time to clean the land of Tree Father Hoffenheim from the buds and search for the treasures he possesses. Even though he is just a tree, he is still a tyrant who has ruled an area nearly a continent, and for a very long time. He must have a few treasures hidden here and there, The boys won't come back without tearing apart every wall and turning over every rock." Robin tapped his thigh a few times and then stood up, "Okay then, sitting and waiting here won't help, let's go to Descartes."
"now?!" Billy was stunned
"Yes now!"