"You can't say—"

"No, I can't." Rika Fujimaru, who turned to face Killiman, immediately made a cross with both hands, and expressed her firm rejection with the help of body language, "The reason why the occult is called occult is because it can only be hinted at in a mysterious way!" ”

That's not true. Not etymologically, at least. Killman furrowed his brow. But this has nothing to do with the topic at hand after all, and he is not Magnus, so he didn't really refute this sentence.

“…… Now that my father has already dealt with this matter, perhaps we shouldn't ask more. "Koraks said it a little hard. Judging from the somewhat struggling expression on his face, it is clear that this sentence is the final victory in the intertwined and mutually negative thoughts of one or more other ideas.

But just because he missed that didn't mean that the Raven Lord had forgotten the question he wanted to pursue: "Maybe I can agree with the need for Conrad Coetz to be around here again, but I don't think it's ......"

He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to say the vicious sentence as it was: "I don't think he is entitled to live so comfortably. ”

Killiman's shoulders heaved strangely, as if he was about to make a move, but decided not to. Then, with a hint of pleading, he spoke, "Don't do that, Ecovacs. At the end of the day, he's our brother too—"

"—since the time of Istavan he has not been!"

Corax's voice thundered through the depths of the subspace, and even though he himself seemed to sit still, the furnishings in the room buzzed with the words in a strange resonance. But in the next second, the Raven Lord himself seemed to realize that he was overly excited, and like any human, he paused, took a deep breath to slow down, and when he spoke again, Corax was clearly much calmer in every way:

"Robert, I know that you once had a very happy family, so you may have some obsession with 'family affection', but for those who betrayed our father and caused the human empire to burn to this day......

He paused, trying to find some words that would more accurately describe what he was thinking, and he failed. So, after a light sigh, the Lord of Ravens simply but firmly said, "They are not worthy." ”

Killman was visibly stunned. He was about to say something, but Rika Fujimaru spoke quickly enough to block back his justification, "Do you mind if I explain this from the point of view of a complete 'outsider'?" ”

Both of them were a little upset that the dispute between the brothers was interrupted, but fortunately, the two primordials were Killiman and Corax, and for the sake of the importance of Fujimaru Rika herself, they were reluctant to hear what she had to say.

"First of all, my first feeling as an outsider is that the emperor is an irrefutable great ruler, but also an irrefutable, terrible father." Rika Fujimaru, who automatically regards silence as the default, speaks like this as soon as she speaks, "Don't rush to refute, he is the typical workaholic who neglects his son because he has too much to do, and some idealism that inexplicably feels that everyone can understand his thoughts, and does not move when he should show love to his son, and spills love when he shouldn't—these are all ironclad facts, and he is a terrible father no matter who looks at him." ”

Killiman's Adam's apple moved, and at last he didn't say anything, just folded his arms and sat there angrily, perhaps utterly unable to say anything about it. However, the increasingly gloomy "atmosphere" around him opened his mouth, but not to refute the above arguments: "I don't see how this has anything to do with our topic. ”

"The connection is that the root of this whole thing is that the emperor's 'rotten father syndrome' has flareed up again." Rika Fujimaru said justifiably, "Even now, he still feels that every one of his sons should have the opportunity to change their ways, and he is willing to let them try." This is completely, fundamentally, in fact: he is loving his son again when he shouldn't. ”

Killiman was still tense, but for a split second Corax took on an expression that was a mixture of shock, anger, bewilderment, pain, and sadness. In the second that followed, Colacs' anger apparently took up a larger part of the emotion, and he angrily said, "That's not right. I think it should-"

"From my outsider's point of view, I'm actually in favor of this recycling plan." Rika Fujimaru then dispels the point that Corax was about to make, "Although my perspective is colder: if there is one more primordial in reality to serve the Empire, the positive benefits that can be produced after a period of time are difficult to measure. Just as Mr. Robert quickly prepared for an unyielding expedition some time after his awakening, initially settling down the dark side of the empire that had become chaotic due to the unfolding of the Great Rift, in this galaxy surrounded by enemies, we should not miss any opportunity to increase the power of the empire. ”

In fact, she herself is also in the faction of "people have died once, give him another chance", but she knows very well that this kind of frivolous emotional reason will never convince the direct person and the victim of bitter hatred, so she simply ignores this "unimportant" part of the past. And the rather pragmatic reason she made at the moment did have some hope of convincing the other side: at least Corax did start thinking about it.

"Perhaps, but I don't think someone like Kotz can make a positive difference to the overall situation in the Empire." The Lord of the Ravens said reluctantly.

"At least he can still lead all of his current more than 5,000 heirs to fight, this kind of minimum thing for the original body, even if he is he, he can still do it well." "At the moment, our initial decision for these Midnight Lords is to break up their formations and redivide them, and then throw the Great Rift Atonement Expedition in batches—it's always a good thing to have a little more troops that can be used to regain lost territory for the Empire, and Conrad himself agreed." ”

"That's right," Killiman said at the right time, "I decided this after talking to him, and it seems that my father wanted him to clean up a designated planet in the Great Rift - he's changed a lot, and maybe you should-"

"—forgiven." Koraks immediately refused, "I'm not interested in what he's become now. Now, I can rationally understand the significance of his present existence here, and I recognize it. But emotionally, I'm still ......"

He took another deep breath and slowly exhaled it before he said, "I don't trust him." I can't trust him. ”

After these words were spoken, there was a subtle silence in the room for a second. After that, Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice sounded again: "Indeed, I don't think it's a good idea to leave this matter to him alone. There had to be someone of sufficient weight watching him the whole time. ”

Kiriman uneasily reminded the other party in a questioning tone: "Miss Fujimaru? ”

This sentence sounds like a consultation, but in fact it does carry a bit of a not very firm negative connotation. Before Corax woke up, this part was not included in the plan they had prepared, but Fujimaru Rika ignored him and continued to say to Corax without paying attention:

"The reason why it was only a 'preliminary decision' was because we didn't have the right person to do the position of custodian. Mr. Robert and I had other, more important things to do, and the expedition to the Great Rift was a shame compared to the plan we were supposed to carry out. However, as I said before, 'if there is one more Primordial in reality, the positive benefits that can be produced over time are difficult to measure.' ”

Corax had a hunch of what she was about to say, and flared his wings behind his back with some uneasiness. But that didn't stop the little girl from saying what she had wanted to say:

"Mr. Ecovacs, as 'a primordial', would we have the privilege of inviting you back to reality as a 'weighty' overseer to lead the Raven Guard on this mission with the Midnight Lord?"

The expression on Kiriman's face was wonderful for a moment. He didn't even dare to imagine what would happen if these two legions (warbands) with deep hatred were put together. He looked at his brother with a pleading gaze, but he couldn't tell whether the pleading meant "begging him to stay like this" or "begging him not to accede to the request."

As for Koraks himself, he pondered in silence for some time. It had been a long time, even in terms of mortal senses, but in the end, he came to a conclusion and responded with a firm attitude:

"Okay, I promise." "The blood feud between us will never go away, but now I know very well that a momentary compromise is sometimes necessary," he said. ”

He "moved" from the bed in a way that was almost physically impossible, stood up, and faced Rika Fujimaru, who had made this request to him. The massive shadow of the original body hung over the mortal girl, and to others it might have been interpreted as a demonstration, or a warning, but Fujimaru Rika still looked up at Corax's pale face without fear: she knew that the other party was just trying to make the statement look more solemn.

"I, Ecovacs Colacs, swear by my life and soul that as long as I live, I will always watch Conrad Coates and his legions move." The Lord of Ravens said, "I will do my best to judge justly what is before me, even if there is a great hatred between us that will never be quenched. It's not because I'm willing to forgive him, or because I think he can pay for his sins—just for the civilians who may still be suffering in subspace, and for the crumbling empire. ”

"That's enough." Rika Fujimaru jumped off the couch. Maybe she wanted to make the scene look more formal, but in reality, she just made her speak at a lower height. But it didn't matter, she still looked happy when she spoke: "Everyone should be grateful for your return, Mr. Ecovacs." ”

In this scene, the only person left who did not speak, Robert Killiman, showed a mixed expression that did not know whether to be happy or sad.

Miwoo (six o'clock)

(End of chapter)