Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1363: Ideas for making profits

”How much do we need to resolve the financial crisis?” Theo furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze drifting away as he sank into silence for several long, tense minutes. Eventually, he let out a heavy sigh, as if the weight of the entire empire pressed against his chest.

”To be honest... spending a full billion pearls on the luxury and beautification of Planet Jura was, admittedly, an extreme extravagance—some might even call it madness. But I’d argue it was necessary. After all, it’s the capital. The birthplace of the Emperor himself. And now, at least, it finally looks like a capital worthy of such a title.”

He then shrugged, his voice softening.

”As for the other planets? I estimate another billion Darras should be enough to stabilize and sustain them. No need to go overboard again.”

Then he turned slightly and added in a quieter tone,

”But please—don’t let my words weigh on you too much. This is nothing more than a rough approximation. I suggest you speak with Emily; she’ll give you something far more accurate and grounded in real numbers.”

”A billion pearls?” Robin shook his head slowly, as if he had just heard the most absurd thing.

”That won’t work. Not even close.”

Theo said nothing for a moment, only nodding a few times in silent understanding. He could see the tension behind Robin’s eyes.

After working in the Mid Belt for so long, he’d come to realize how blessed they had been with Nihari... and how wasteful they’d been without even noticing.

At his current pace of income, it would take thousands of uninterrupted, peaceful years to gather that kind of money for the very first time.

And if he were to be completely honest—he didn’t even know if he could ever reach that number. Every day, one of their bases was destroyed. Every week, more of their people were lost. Who could possibly guarantee stability across millennia in such chaos?

That billion wasn’t just a number. It was a wall. A nearly impossible threshold.

”...Truth be told,” Theo continued, ”in order to gather enough resources, I was actually planning to squeeze the Empire of the Nine Paths a little.

And I even considered launching a raid on the Destruction Pit Empire—to plunder whatever was left of their broken holdings. If, of course, there’s anything left worth taking. But before I acted, I stopped myself and decided to consult you first.”

”What--?!” Robin nearly jumped from his seat, voice sharp with alarm.

”Erase that entire thought from your head. Wipe the Destruction Pit Empire from your plans entirely—understood? Forget it ever existed!”

”But Father!” Theo suddenly leaned forward, voice rising in frustration.

”Isn’t their Empress the same woman who nearly killed you with her own hands?

Why shouldn’t we return the favor? Why not pay her back—double?

I have all the means needed to infiltrate her territory unnoticed using spaceships.

I can tamper with her armies, her supply chains, her energy reserves—reduce her empire to fractured dust!

With the experience of the Shadow Swords at my side, I could break every bone in that empire until she’s left standing alone and powerless.

Then, I’ll sell that chaos to the Ghasan Empire, and within days, she’ll crumble!”

He slammed his hand against the side of the chair.

”Or better yet—I’ll plant a few strains of the red plague across her planets and leak the information.

Once the plague is reported, the response is always swift and merciless.

Even if her worlds survive, they’ll be quarantined, invaded, and searched down to the last atom—humiliated!”

”Enough!” Robin raised both hands to stop him.

Theo only knew that Helen ruled the Destruction Pit Empire because of what she let slip during her conversation with Renara on that cursed day—but he had no idea who she truly was...

He had no idea she was the daughter of Helmor the Destroyer.

”What’s done is done, alright? I have another method in motion to deal with her. Just leave it alone. Drop it.”

”...As you wish, Father.” Theo sat back in his seat, disappointment clearly written all over his face.

His tone was colder now, quieter.

”What about the Empire of the Nine Paths, then?”

”What about it?” Robin raised an eyebrow with a tinge of wariness.

Theo responded almost instantly, clearly prepared.

”The Twilight Spectrum Empire is currently forming quiet but deliberate alliances with every known enemy of the Nine Paths—including the Iron Boar Empire and several other neighboring empires.

They’re all claiming that the Nine Paths have acquired a merged law... and that this poses too great a threat. They believe they have to crush them now—before they grow too strong to handle.”

He leaned forward slightly.

”All those forces are now gathering their armies in complete secrecy, mobilizing across multiple fronts.

They’re preparing to launch a massive coordinated assault... and it’s coming very soon.”

”This is happening?” Robin furrowed his brows, concern beginning to creep into his voice.

”...But what does any of this have to do with us?”

”I want to sell them the information,” Theo said bluntly, his voice steady, confident—almost defiant.

”They’ve undercharged us time and time again for technology and products—bled us dry while pretending it was business. So why not return the favor? This time, we hit them where it hurts—in the shadows. I’ve gathered precise intelligence on every single power involved in the upcoming campaign.

I know the troop counts, who’s aligned with who, when they started deploying, and even the exact moment they’ve agreed to launch the attack. I have everything.”

”Oh?” Robin raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed.

”That’s... genuinely impressive.” He nodded with a grin, clearly pleased by the initiative.

Theo lit up at the praise, smiling broadly.

”Thanks! I’ve been putting a lot of work into this.”

”But you’re not doing it.”

Robin’s voice shifted instantly—sharp, commanding, absolute. He waved his hand in finality, shutting the door on the idea without leaving space for argument.

”They currently have four planets registered under their dominion. Which means some of our own assets are legally tied to theirs—our name is on the same papers. If you expose them now, all it takes is one of their enemies firing blindly and we’ll take the hit.

This isn’t the time for petty revenge or clever tricks.”

He paused, letting the warning hang in the air, then softened his tone slightly.

”Second of all, they don’t even have anything worth giving you in return. What can they offer you? A few millions? A handshake?

They’re barely surviving as is. Like a camel on the brink of collapse, crawling through a burning desert—starved, desperate, and seconds from toppling.”

”Heh~ I knew you’d say that,” Theo muttered with a half-smirk, though his frustration was evident.

He furrowed his brows and looked away, clearly disappointed, but already calculating, thinking of alternate ways to raise capital.

Right now, he was the only one who could handle this task. Everyone else was either too slow, too soft, or too far removed from the war.

As his thoughts spiraled, he suddenly heard Robin’s voice once more—quiet but direct:

”Tell me something, Theo. All of the empire’s current problems—whether it’s economic instability, territorial expansion, or defending our holdings in the Mid Belt... they all boil down to one thing, don’t they? Energy Pearls.

So let me ask—do you have access to the Soul Society?”

”Hmm?” Theo blinked and turned toward his father, caught off guard by the question.

”Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

”Give me your codename.”

Robin smiled as he leaned forward just slightly, a glint of mischief in his eye.

”...?”

Theo narrowed his eyes, confused but playing along.

”It’s Sword-Theo2.”

”Heh. Cute,” Robin chuckled warmly. Then he closed his eyes and went silent.

”Give me a few seconds.”

”....”

Theo drummed his fingers on the side of the chair, his foot tapping lightly as he waited.

His mind wandered again, juggling reports, supply lists, the latest troop movements, all of which still needed to be reviewed.

And yet, part of him was still baffled.

He and the Shadow Swords had spent a hundred and fifty years turning over every rock, sweeping through every cave, every ruin, and every ghost sector in search of Robin.

And all this time, he was here... on Zaron, staying in a tiny five-story hotel with wide-open windows facing a main commercial road—on the very first planet he had landed on!

How?!

Was he just lucky, or is this some kind of absurd master-level stealth art?

Because if it was, then damn... it was brilliantly effective.

”Alright—done!”

Robin’s eyes shot open as he clapped his hands once, loud and firm.

”Congratulations, little troublemaker. All your problems? Gone.”

He grinned, raising a hand casually.

”There’s no safe way to carry that much raw pearls around in physical form, so I transferred it all as credit in the Soul Society. You can now buy whatever you need—supplies, tech, support—or just convert it into Pearls directly from any Soul Society outpost. Your account is fully loaded.”

Theo exhaled, still not convinced.

”I know you took 50 million pearls from Emily before you left, Father. But that’s not enough to do anything. You should’ve kept more. An Emperor shouldn’t be walking around with less than a treasury of that size in his pocket.”

”Heh heh, relax~”

Robin waved dismissively, laughter rumbling from his chest.

”I still kept 7 billion pearls for myself. I’m not broke, don’t worry.”

”...Wait, what?”

”And the other 15 billion I just sent you—use them to kick off the next step in the plan.”

”...I beg your pardon?”