Lucretius Corvo did not answer Caryl Lohars in the first place.

He knows a lot about politics and has a limited understanding of adamantite, but it's sufficient. He also knew about war, in fact, he was born for it. Politics and urban planning were something learned, and in his first years as Astarte, he was a living machine, acting only to kill.

He knew a lot, but he was completely ignorant of Karil Lohals as a person.

He knows his name, he knows who he is, but, what about other than that?

I don't know.

Looking at those calm eyes, Corvo didn't know how to answer for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this issue had to be taken seriously.

The silence lasted for a full two minutes, a hollow echo from the far end of the gloomy hallway, pipes rumbling within the walls of the Nightfall, machines running peacefully, doing what they had been doing, unwavering, unhesitating, and absolutely rational.

They are rational because they are not intellectual.

The thought crossed Corvo's mind, and in the next second, Caryl Lohals spoke slowly, interrupting Corvo's intense and orderly thoughts.

His voice was as calm as ever, much taller than Corvo's, but his attitude in conversation was not overbearing.

"Don't worry too much, Corvo, I just asked a question." He said calmly. "You don't have to think about it in terms of political overtones, and you don't have to think too seriously. Like I said, it's just a problem. ”

"A question that could be a lot of things, Instructor Carlile."

"Are you going to take a business-like attitude? Well, Company Commander Lucresius Corvo - then let's take the matter seriously. You've read those documents, haven't you? ”

"Yes." Corvo replied solemnly. "I already have a general idea of the nostramo's adamantite gold production, and frankly, I can hardly believe it."

"Can't believe what?"

“.”

Lucretius Corvo's first instinct was to lie—he didn't want to tell the truth, which was often unpleasant and easy to infuriate. At the same time, he was also annoyed by the sentence he had just blurted out.

However, looking at those dark and calm eyes, he could not convince himself to lie.

There was nothing in the eyes he was staring at, only an almost unbearable calm. The calm was like a sharp knife that slipped open his heart, searching it carefully for traces of lies.

And if you still want to heal the wound on your heart, you'd better tell the truth.

Corvo clenched his hands.

"I can't believe that a planet as damned as Nostramo could have such a rich deposit of Adamantine." He said in a deep voice.

"That's true."

Kalil smiled softly, the calm that had been almost indifferent faded without a trace. "It's really hard to be believed, or even understood. And if you ask me, I'd say it's like an accumulation of misfortune. ”

"I don't understand what you mean." Corvo replied stiffly.

He really didn't understand.

"The instructor is the limit of my patience, Company Commander Corvo."

The smile on Carlil's face was fleeting in this instant.

"So, don't use honorifics, I respect you."

Corvo was stunned, his common sense had a hard time connecting respect with not using honorifics - according to human common sense, his common sense was that if you respect someone, you should address them by honorifics.

He didn't have time to answer the sentence, and Carlil had already changed the subject.

"The accumulation of misfortunes."

Carlil said, shaking his head calmly.

"I want to state it up front, Company Commander Corvo. You can think of what I'm going to say next as a not-so-funny joke. ”

"After all, my personal sense of humor has always been terrible."

He grinned, a smile unlike anything else before, threatening, suffocating as if someone was slowly approaching his neck with a spinning chainsaw sword.

"For me, Nostramo is such a huge production of fine gold. It seems to be a kind of revenge for the misfortunes of the dead. ”

"Don't you think that's ironic?"

Carlil asked with a chuckle. "The planet treats its people cruelly, and its unremembered people retaliate against it with ore condensed with blood and life, overexploiting it and making it an empty shell."

“.”

Lucretius Corvo didn't know how to answer. The birth of Adamantite and the blood had nothing to do with human life, he knew about it.

To be sure, Caryl Lohals told the joke in a rather gentle, even casual manner. But Corvo wasn't amused, and even had trouble breathing as if someone had pressed his back with a heavy object.

Suddenly, he remembered a time when he had been buried by the collapsed ruins of a battle. Even with the protection of the power armor, he would never say that it was a good experience.

And the heaviness of the moment is even greater than the massive building that has collapsed.

"I don't think I have much sense of humor." Carlil shook his head. "It's not funny, is it?"

"I don't think that's a joke, Instructor Carlil."

"For you, no. For me, it's not. But for some people on Nostramo, yes. ”

"The so-called aristocrats?"

"They are nobles." Carlil corrected.

"I'd love to deny that, but I can't deny the objective facts, Corvo. No matter how much we despise, loathe, or even hate them, they are aristocrats. Once upon a time, they were. And aristocracy has always been hereditary, hasn't it? ”

"So—" He gestured. "Power and power are indeed a poison."

The corners of Lucretius Corvo's eyes twitched, how could he not hear this vague reminder? However, after a short silence, what welled up in his heart was not retreat, but a kind of anger that bordered on rage.

"Your insinuation is unreasonable!" He frowned, and uttered the sharpest words with the most serene attitude of his life. "There's no way we're going to do what you imagined!"

Gaze calmly, again.

At this moment, for Corvo, Caryl Lohals' expressionless face in silence can even be considered a terrible threat.

He didn't know why he thought this way, but an instinct that swelled up from the depths of his bone marrow told him not to look away.

And he looked at him.

Half a minute later, Carlil smiled.

"Well, I apologize." He said mildly and sincerely. "I hope you'll forgive me, Company Commander Lucretius Corvo."

"Are you always like that?" With a vague desire for revenge, Corvo replied angrily. "The temptation is overwhelming."

"Temptation. It's an interesting statement, I wouldn't call it a temptation, actually, we were just talking, weren't we? ”

Carlil winked at him. "Who can deny that this is a small talk? I'm kidding. ”

If anyone could laugh at that joke, I would question his morality."

Carlil chuckled and shook his head.

"So, let's get down to business." He whispered. "You should be able to see that we have no intention of hiding anything about the Nostramo Adamantite Reserves, Lucretius, aren't we?"

"That's true, but I don't understand what that means."

"You understand." Carlil smiled. "A completely duty-free trade route, of course you understand what I'm talking about, Lucretius."

"The stakes are so high that I am afraid that I alone will not be able to decide."

Lucretius Corvo licked his lips cautiously - he wouldn't hide his desire, it wasn't necessary.

To say that someone they don't need Adamantite is a complete lie, and who wouldn't need it? Battleship keel, Titan skeleton. Who can not need it? But that's why he had to be extremely careful.

Nostramo is no ordinary trading planet, it is the home planet of the genogen Conrad Coetzes, and according to tradition, it will also be a recruiting ground for the Eighth Legion in the future.

From here, if someone wants to trade with Nostramo, it is no longer a simple business activity.

And

"It could take years to build a trade route with Maculag, Karil."

He said cautiously. "The distance between Nostramo and Maculag is not far from the entire empire. Moreover, I have no authority in this matter. ”

"I understand—this is a matter that of course needs to be decided by the Lord of Maculag."

"It's best to understand nature."

Corvo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"As things stand, the best scenario is for us to return to Makulag in five years and bring the news back. Or let the next logistics fleet to resupply bring the message back. In short, it takes time, just like a gold mine needs time to mine, doesn't it? ”

"Actually, Lucretius, we've stockpiled a fair amount of pure gold ore." Carlil said noncommittally. "And today's conversation is not actually entirely out of my own will."

Lucretius Corvo frowned sharply.

"Yes, that's what you think." Carlil bowed gently. "I was ordered by Conrad Coetze, Lord of the Eighth Legion, to come and discuss this matter with you."

He chuckled, seemingly inadvertently making another joke, but, looking into those eyes, Corvo knew he hadn't.

Yes, he didn't.

And one more chapter – or two.

(End of chapter)