Martina's office is located in the core living quarters of the Georgia space station, a little more modest than Martina's current commercial status, but it has a rather unique design. Walking into it, a light and elegant atmosphere of life comes to the face, giving people the feeling of being more of a home than an office.

"This is your office?" Looking at the small desk in the office and the three-dimensional photographs on the wall behind the desk, Robin asked back.

"Hmm...... This is my office, and it's also my study. Since she didn't hire a private secretary, Martina made her own tea for Robin, pointing to the photos on the wall and saying, "These are pictures of me and my father, and every time I sit at this desk, I can feel my father looking at me from behind." ”

Maybe it's because of talking about her **, Martina's face is slightly red. However, this intimate conversation, which is limited to the two people, dilutes the feeling of being alive when they first met.

"Speaking of which, we've known each other for so long, and this is the first time I've come to your office." Taking the fragrant black tea from Martina's hand, Robin said with a smile.

"I'm sorry, I've always wanted to invite you, but I've always been delayed because of one thing or another......" Martina looked at Robin apologetically and whispered, "Actually...... In fact, this is not only my office, but also my home and my father's home, where we lived. ”

"Home?"

"Yes." Martina had a look of nostalgia on her face, and said melancholy: "When my father took me away from Planet Alpha, he didn't get any financial support from the family, and he came to Proxima Centauri after selling all his personal possessions. So, after buying the Georgia space station and buying production equipment, we don't have any extra money to buy property on Othello. So my father made the living quarters of the space station our home, and the study room became an office. ”

“……”

Robin didn't expect that there would be such an allusion in this office, and he didn't know what to say for a while.

In the Nine Star Republic, where Robin lives, the relationship between people is very weak. So, in the eyes of the people of the Republic, home is an absolutely private place, and inviting to the office and inviting to the home are two completely different concepts, and going to the home of a single girl as a guest almost means ...... "Robin, do you want to go to my room?" ”

Just as Robin was distracted, Martina's words rang in his ears.

"Uh......" This ridiculous thought in his mind made Robin hurriedly pick up the teacup to hide his cramped expression: "Next time, I have something serious to talk to you about this time." ”

"Yes......" Martina's reply disappointed Martina, but she quickly recovered and sat down next to Robin and asked, "Is it about Bruno?" ”

"Yes." Robin took out a list and handed it to Martina: "This is the composition of the 10,000 tons of metal ingots I shipped this time. ”

"Sixty percent titanium, twenty-five percent cobalt, seven percent nickel ......" swept through the various numbers on this list, Martina couldn't help but show a surprised expression: "These are all rare metals!" ~But why didn't I see steel? Pyrite mainly contains iron sulfide. ”

"Conventional metals such as iron are directly smelted on Planet Bruno, so the 10,000-ton metal ingots this time and the 270,000-ton metal ingots in the later period are rare metals."

"Two hundred and seventy thousand tons! ～”

If this list of 10,000 tons of metal ingots surprised Martina, then Robin's words were utterly shocking. Because when she bought the mining rights of Planet Bruno, Martina was not optimistic about the mining prospects of Planet Bruno, so she wanted to do something for Robin at that time, so she bought the mining rights in Robin's name. But now, Robin has actually mined 280,000 tons of rare metals on the planet Bruno, and its value is roughly estimated to be as high as hundreds of millions, far exceeding the price paid at the auction at that time.

"How can there be so many? Two months ago, there was only 10,000 tonnes a month, and the last time you sent in metal ingots, iron accounted for a large proportion of conventional metals. ”

"I've caught a lot of pirates, and when I have enough manpower, I've naturally produced more." Robin smiled and said, "Originally, this aspect should be directly responsible for Nishizawa, the commercial representative, but now that the number is so large, if you want to carry out fine purification, you may have to occupy several production lines, so I think it is necessary for me to talk to you face to face." ”

After Martina bought the rights to Bruno for Robin, she appointed Nishizawa to sell the various metals mined from Bruno. In the first deliveries, Robin mined 10,000 tons of metal ingots, so neither sales nor purification would put too much pressure on Byron's regular production. But now, that number has multiplied by a factor of twenty-eight, so the corresponding work has become much heavier.

"If it had been a few months ago, adding 280,000 tonnes of refining would have overwhelmed my plant, but now I've expanded my operations and turned it into a refining center, which can be absorbed at the current scale."

Martina said these words with a confident expression, and combined with what Robin saw along the way, Robin also knew that there was no exaggeration in Martina's words.

"With your current scale, the production must be quite impressive, how much inventory of rare substances is left from Elliott?"

"This ......" Hearing Robin talk about this topic, Martina's face suddenly flashed with a sense of melancholy: "The inventory has basically run out, and now we have to supply not only to machinery companies such as Alex and Ford, but also to the MK military factory owned by the Osvid family." The inventory has completely exceeded my original expectations, and if the problem of raw material supply is not solved, it may be ......"

Speaking of this, Martina seemed to remember something, and looked up in surprise and asked, "Robin, I heard that you went to attack the Ultra Nebula not long ago, is this true?" ”

During this time, various military operations against Bloody Harry have been in a uproar in Proxima Centauri. However, Martina has been committed to the expansion of her career, so she does not pay too much attention to these things, and only now that she talks about the supply of raw materials for rare substances, she remembers some rumors that she heard not long ago.

"Hmm...... I just came back from the Ultra Nebula a few hours ago. Robin smiled and nodded.

Hearing Robin's admission, Martina covered her mouth in surprise: "You really went?" ...... put it this way."

"Yes, the Ultra Nebula has become my territory now. So, if you're still worried about the supply of raw materials, you can rest assured now. I guarantee that soon there will be a steady stream of rare materials arriving here from the Ultra Nebula. Robin silently estimated the time and said affirmatively: "It is estimated that the fastest batch will arrive in a week." ”

"Oh my God! ～”

Martina's promise surprises Martina, who feels as if she is destined to be her savior, and whenever she is in trouble, it must be Robin who reaches out to save her.

However, when the joy passed, thinking back to her neglect of Robin during this time, Martina felt an indescribable guilt. Having experienced a cosmic encounter, she is already very aware of the dangers of war, and this time, Robin is going directly into the lair of Bloody Harry, and the dangers to be encountered during this period can be imagined. Now, at the thought of Robin's promise of what he had paid for with his life, Martina felt a deep sense of self-reproach.

"Robin......" looked at Robin emotionally, Martina didn't know how to repay Robin for his dedication to her.

"Martina, the living conditions in the Ultra Nebula are very bad right now, so I need a lot of supplies and funds to solve this problem." Avoiding Martina's emotional gaze, Robin said with a twinkle in his eyes: "I hope you can withdraw a sum of money to me, I will mortgage 280,000 tons of metal ingots to you, and when Nishizawa starts selling, you can directly take the amount you paid me from the sales amount." ”

"How much do you need?" Martina asked without any hesitation.

"The more the merrier. There is an urgent need for necessities such as daily necessities, and the purchase ban of the Free Folk by the Autonomous Council has not been lifted, so I can only find a way to buy some large-scale ecological circulation system and bring in the Ultra Nebula in the name of the ship's own use, which should temporarily alleviate the shortage of supplies. ”

"The ecological circulation system can only guarantee the minimum nutritional needs of the human body." Martina pondered it in her heart and said cautiously: "I created a welfare foundation at the Hermes spaceport some time ago, and now it has a certain influence. In my capacity as Foundation President, I will soon submit a bill to the Othello Autonomous Council to lift the Freedman's purchase restriction order, and with my current business relationship with the Osveld family, I may be able to pass it soon. During this period, I will ask the financial department to audit the company's available liquidity as soon as possible, and all the money will be credited to your account. ”

With Martina's promise, Robin's worries are finally resolved. However, Martina's talk about the commercial cooperation with the MK military factory has given Robin new doubts.

As far as business itself is concerned, it is not surprising that MK Arsenal, the largest military-industrial enterprise in the Federation, would make a purchase order to Martina. After all, in the current era, rare substances are widely used, covering almost all aspects of mechanical parts, which can have a direct impact on the wear-resistant, thermally conductive, electrically conductive, insulation, and other special surnames of the parts. As the most cutting-edge manufacturer in the field of machinery, the quality requirements of military enterprises are destined to be much higher than those of civilian machinery. Therefore, its demand for rare substances is even greater than that of civil machinery companies such as Alex and Ford.

Cooperation with the MK military factory, there is nothing wrong with this matter itself. The real problem comes from Ansel, the head of the House of Osveld.

In this military operation against Bloody Harry, Robin has already gained the most intuitive and deep understanding of Ansel's scheming. As an Ainsel person, almost everything he does is carefully laid out, and this time, what is the meaning of providing Martina with such a staggering list of purchases?

Is it courting Martina's Byron family? Or...... Is it an attempt to send a kind invitation to Robin?

(To be continued)