It's actually much more than that. Kiriman thought.

But he did not say it, and he remained appropriately and requires. There are some words that are not fit to be spoken, at least not in the present.

"I don't think it's hard for you to understand." So, he said.

Carlil raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a compliment?" He shook his head. "But you know I'm not going to accept it, right?"

"Which thing? Is this compliment, or is it my suggestion?"

"I'm answering two, but you've given a choice within the given, cunning, my friend. So, I'll go with the former, Robert." Carlil smiled. "Personally...... I don't like politics very much."

Robert Killiman sighed slowly.

There seemed to be a storm swept by those calm blue eyes, and it was fleeting, and it disappeared without a trace in an instant, leaving only a calm relief.

He put down a few things, picked them up, and now, the giant sitting directly across from Carlir, looked like a man who had been tired for a long, long time.

It's really similar. Carlil thought thoughtfully.

"I don't like it either." Robert Killiman said quietly. "But it's the foundation that keeps a lot of things running, so I have to learn it, get familiar with it, and use it."

"Really?"

Killiman frowned slowly, and after that, he realized that Karil Lohals was watching him with that terrible gaze again, and that it was more terrible for a politician to be dug into his heart than to be pointed at a hundred shotguns at the same time.

At least all the latter can do is kill you, and they can't force you to spit out your true thoughts.

He groaned in pain.

"You're like a skilled digger." Killiman whispered. "What the hell do you want to do? Do you want to peek into all the secrets of my heart?"

"I can take this compliment." Carlil chuckled. "Take it easy, Robert, though. I'll only know what I want to know, like the real meaning behind that invitation. I'm not going to expose some things, like you need to prove yourself as well."

「......」

After a long period of silence, Robert Killiman chose to be honest. He had to be honest.

He spoke slowly.

"There are still many places in the Extreme Star Domain that have not been fully explored, and the Emperor has given me autonomy. I can do a lot of things in this vast starfield, and I will be almost unhindered by the laws of the Empire. For example, I gave two agricultural planets to one of my brothers."

"No merit is not rewarded." Carlil said. "One of the ancient languages of Terra."

"Adamantite is worth more than you think, Carlil, and most of the time, it's hard currency of hard currency." Kiriman said solemnly.

"It's not just what we need, if the production of Adamantite on Nostramo is really as abundant as Conrad said, then I can do a lot of things with it, such as trading with the Mechanical."

"And now, the main thing that will be traded on this soon-to-be-opened trading route is pure gold."

"Nostramo is in need of everything including food, and I can make a deal with you, but that's no reason for me to take advantage of the fire. I can't ignore the value of the gold and simply exchange it for material and personnel assistance, I have to make amends."

"So you're going to compensate with two agricultural planets?"

"Yes, that's why I invited you to this expedition. The 'selection', which was attended by instructors from the Eighth Legion, could have made some people shut their mouths to a greater extent."

He said this in a resolute voice, and Carlil couldn't help but laugh—it was clear that Robert Killiman was annoyed by those who were talking about him behind his back. He didn't say it explicitly, but his words were enough to reveal it.

"How?" Robert S.

Kiriman asked expectantly.

"I can't think of a reason to refuse." Carlil said. "If I don't think about that alliance, I'll reject your proposal...... But if you include it, I have no reason to refuse."

"In other words, you agree?"

"Like I said......

Carlil smiled and stood up and held out his right hand to him, "I can't think of a reason to refuse."

Killiman did not immediately complete this ancient ritual, he stood up and was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"Can we do this differently?" He asked, slightly unnaturally.

-----------------

The sound of the instruments ticking and the smell of disinfectant was pungent, but it wasn't a problem for Van Cleef, who could only faintly smell a faint smell now. His nose has not yet been fully reshaped, as is his tongue, and the sense of smell depends on them to function fully.

From his throat, he let out a little breath and hissed, not unlike the greeting that the Nostramo people were accustomed to. It's just that he didn't do it because he wanted to greet anyone, but because his voice was recovering little by little.

The tingling sensation was too strong, and he needed to use it this way to make himself feel better.

After doing this, he raised his right hand with great difficulty. The beating nerves and muscles on the thick bones are being remodeled at a rate visible to the naked eye, and the blood rushes to the unobservable interior.

Van Cleef stared at the horrific scene, and moved thoughtfully the five fingers of his right hand, which were now fully mobilized, and the nerves and muscles at the tip of his forearm moved with them.

Seeing this scene, a smile was finally born on his pale and weak face.

"I promised I'd fix you, Van Cleef." A giant sitting beside him said. "And you can see it now, your body is recovering little by little - so, don't you really want to get some tranquilizers and get some sleep?"

Van Cleef opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but with a few strokes of his broken tongue, he spat out a few charred teeth. He held them in the palm of his right hand and spoke after that, with an eerie voice, but at least he was able to make sounds.

"I'm sure." He said with difficulty. "Dosage of tranquilizers...... would make me sleep for at least eight hours...... The Ultramarines... Medical officer... It won't save medicine."

The reason he gave made Carlil laugh dumbly — he wasn't sure if Van Cleef was joking, but it did have a sense of humor.

"It will take four hours, and you'll be fully recovered." Carlil said. "So, I guess your plan is to go straight back to the station without wasting a minute?"

"Yes." Van Cleef hissed.

Don't get me wrong, of course he wasn't speaking Nostramo, it was just the sound of breath in his throat that caused the result. Frankly, the sound he's talking about now is quite uncomfortable.

But Carlil didn't care.

"So, how are you going to explain this to them?"

Van Cleef shook his head, white and red flesh spreading around his neck.

"They won't ask." He said. "At least... Apart from... People other than Siani won't ask."

"Just because they don't ask doesn't mean they don't have questions."

"I'll fix it." Van Cleef said firmly. "You don't have to worry about that."

Staring at him, Carlil didn't speak.

Van Cleef's two hearts beat incessantly between the plate-like bones, making monotonous and staggered sounds. The bed was still full of blood, but it wasn't a sticky mixture of flesh and blood anymore, but the marks left by the remnants of the new flesh as it healed.

"I'm sorry." Carlil said in a deep voice.

"You don't have to apologize." Van Cleef replied calmly. "You're not the only one who is derelict in your duties."

Look at the book