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Chapter 505: Earthling (2)

The first prominent figure awaiting the Lord.

None other than Chancellor Herisa.

“Chancellor Herisa… is a human?”

When Yeongwoo asked with a disbelieving expression, the man gave a deep nod.

“That’s correct. Not only the Chancellor, but the majority of staff working on this station are human.”

He then extended his arm to point forward and began walking ahead.

Tap, tap.

The distinct sound of leather shoes echoed, accompanied by a unique fragrance.

‘This guy even put on cologne.’

It was now certain that this man wasn’t a combatant.

But that wasn’t the important part right now.

“There are other humans on this station…? Just where did you people come from?”

“As you probably guessed — Earth. We’re Earthlings too.”

The man glanced back with a faint smile.

And once again, Yeongwoo felt like a complete novice in this vast universe.

He reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

Grab!

“What do you mean, you’re Earthlings?”

“……”

Despite Yeongwoo’s forceful grip, the man didn’t resist and remained where he was.

“Yes. We came from Earth too. Though it’s a part of Earth far, far from the one where you lived.”

“What…?”

‘The place where the Lord lived.’

Yeongwoo understood at least that this referred to the version of Earth he had known back in his planetary days.

After all, the current ‘Earthship’ had drifted incredibly far from its original location.

What he didn’t understand was—

“A faraway Earth…?”

“Ah.”

Finally, the man showed a hint of unease.

“You weren’t aware. You see, there isn’t just one planet called Earth.”

“No, I heard about that before.”

Yeongwoo recalled that he'd heard of the existence of multiple Earths from a courier who once delivered wreaths.

A strange tale — someone who lurked at the border between upper and lower universes, ambushing passersby and robbing them if they couldn’t answer his riddles.

The twist was that this mysterious being was supposedly from “Earth.”

Though the courier only knew it as a rumor, and couldn’t confirm whether that being was actually human.

But now, with Chancellor Herisa and his entourage clearly revealing themselves as Earthlings—

“Don’t tell me… Are the inhabitants of every Earth in the universe human?”

As Yeongwoo reached the end of this deduction, the man folded his hands neatly over his belly and bowed his head.

“As far as I know, yes.”

He added that even the Bate family hadn’t visited every Earth.

But even that follow-up statement struck Yeongwoo as shocking.

“You haven’t visited every Earth…? Wait, does that mean you have visited some other Earths?”

“That’s correct. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call that the Chancellor’s life’s work. Ever since establishing his great household, he’s devoted his life to seeking out other Earths.”

“Wow.”

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened.

It was already unbelievable that humans had come from outside his known universe — but to think that one of them had spent a lifetime searching for other Earths…

“…Why? Why go looking for Earths across the universe? That would take an incredible amount of money and time.”

When Yeongwoo asked this final question, the man gave a humble expression and once again bowed his head.

“That’s something you should ask the Chancellor herself.”

Then, he resumed his steps.

“Right this way. The station is so large that we’ll need to teleport several times.”

“……”

A space station so vast it required teleportation to get around.

Come to think of it, didn’t Earth mention that this station was about the size of the North American continent?

Just operating a vessel of that scale was astonishing in itself.

“Then you… Are you also from the same Earth as Chancellor Herisa?”

Unable to hold his curiosity, Yeongwoo asked again while following the man.

At that, the man stopped walking near the end of the corridor.

“No. About six years ago, the Chancellor took me in.”

“…What? From another Earth?”

This time, Yeongwoo’s jaw dropped.

That meant Chancellor Herisa wasn’t just searching for other Earths — she was sometimes taking in their inhabitants as his staff?

Almost like taking in refugees.

“Come to think of it, I’ve yet to introduce myself. I’m Via Deroche, formerly of ||Il-Earth, which has since ceased to exist.”

“Ceased to exist?”

“Yes. The Earth I was born on failed to pass the planetary trials and ultimately lost planetary sovereignty to another world.”

“Ah.”

Yeongwoo thought of the Redfoot Brothers, whose homeworld had been taken by Mara.

Apparently, similar tragedies were happening on other Earths across the cosmos.

“Mr. Via… then did Chancellor Herisa rescue you before your Earth was completely destroyed?”

“That would be accurate.”

“…She really is an incredible person, this Chancellor Herisa.”

Just then, Via pressed a blue button next to the corridor’s exit, and a bluish portal-like gate opened up in front of them.

That must be some form of hyper-fast transit system used within the station.

“This is a temporary internal portal used only within the station — perfectly safe.”

With that, Via stepped into the portal first.

“Hm.”

Yeongwoo followed him, stepping through — and in an instant, he was pulled forward into a completely different place.

A dense forest, surrounded on all sides by trees.

“What is this place?”

“The arboretum. Each sector has a fixed facility like this.”

“These trees must be from Earth.”

“That’s right.”

Even to Yeongwoo, these trees didn’t feel foreign — they were familiar in appearance and scent.

In other words, the various Earths across the universe didn’t just have similar people — their ecosystems were also comparable.

“It feels like they built a kind of space ark.”

“An interesting expression. I agree with it.”

Saying this, Via approached a large tree ahead of them and stepped on a footplate near its roots.

Clunk!

Another portal appeared in front of the tree.

This time, Yeongwoo stepped in without hesitation.

Flash!

In an instant, he passed through an industrial zone — a steel mill, a supply container passageway, and corridors lined with doors to all kinds of sectors — before finally arriving at a space that gave off a distinct atmosphere.

“This must be it.”

Yeongwoo saw a short corridor, about 10 meters long, and instinctively knew they had arrived at the destination.

At the end of the corridor was a massive, thick steel door, etched with an emblem composed of layered squares from various angles.

That had to be the symbol of the Bate family.

“Yes. Beyond that door is the Chancellor’s office.”

Apparently, Via’s task ended here, as he simply gestured toward the door and did not walk any further.

“……”

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Yeongwoo nodded slightly to Via in thanks, then turned and walked toward the massive door.

Clunk, clunk.

His boots, crafted from Vesedel armor, scraped against the metal floor with a gritty sound.

A human from another world — the first one he would meet since coming into contact with space.

It would be a lie to say Yeongwoo’s heart wasn’t pounding.

Step.

Clack.

At last, Yeongwoo arrived in front of the iron door.

He looked for a handle to open it—but found nothing.

Instead—

Thump!

The emblem of the Bate family, embossed at the center of the iron door, began to move on its own.

All the tilted rectangles gradually aligned, merging into the one at the center.

Clunk, chk-chk!

‘What the—this kind of mechanism exists too?’

Right after that, the sound of the lock disengaging came from inside the iron door, and the entrance slid open to both sides.

Clangggg.

What appeared next was a private room made of navy-colored metal.

This was the office of Herisa, the head of the Bate family.

Voooom...!

As the door fully opened, what came into Yeongwoo’s view was a giant rectangular table.

It resembled the large round table used in Earth’s assembly halls but had been tailored into a rectangular shape to match the Bate family’s emblem.

And across that table—

“Welcome, Ship Master Jeong Yeongwoo-07.”

A middle-aged woman with graying hair and a white cloak sat calmly.

“Oh.”

Yeongwoo flinched slightly at her appearance, which was far different from what he had expected.

Given her title of “Chancellor,” he had imagined a towering figure decked out in formidable weaponry.

“Are you... Chancellor Herisa?”

Still standing in the doorway, Yeongwoo asked in surprise, and the woman rose from her seat and walked past the edge of the table.

Step.

At last, her full figure came into view.

White uniform pants and jacket tucked into pitch-black leather boots—and a silver-white prosthetic arm.

“...Huh?”

Her right arm was a prosthetic.

At a glance, it looked as if it were made from white crystal, but the surface shimmered with a mysterious aurora pattern that gave it an eerie and otherworldly feel.

‘Come to think of it, her uniform’s coated with something too?’

Yeongwoo then noticed that the white uniform she wore also shimmered with that telltale iridescent light of the aurora.

She truly looked like a spacefarer.

She looked like a human who had come from the stars.

The only thing that gave off a somewhat tyrannical air was the shoulder decoration on her cloak—it looked like something a demon king might wear, and it too was wrapped in that prismatic glow.

Swish.

Then, she raised her prosthetic arm and gave a soft smile.

“Surprised? I was too. You looked far more human than I expected.”

“You mean I look human?”

It wasn’t an easy statement to agree with, but seeing her prosthetic arm, Yeongwoo couldn’t bring himself to argue.

That arm—and the way she insisted on such immaculate attire even in this rugged expanse of space—spoke volumes about her experience and capability.

At the very least, she had to be someone who had seen much more of the universe than he had.

If such a person said he looked like a human... then he probably did.

Cosmically speaking.

“……”

While Yeongwoo stood there, quietly staring, Chancellor Herisa was the first to offer a seat.

“Let’s sit. Have you had anything to eat?”

With that, she took her seat again across the table, and Yeongwoo, still feeling a bit awkward, pulled out the chair in front of him.

“Uh... water’s fine for me.”

Yeongwoo had already replaced his stomach with a transformation module, so he didn’t need to eat.

And even if he could, eating in a situation like this would probably give him indigestion—module or not.

“Water? Understood.”

She nodded and looked briefly into the air.

She seemed to be placing an order somewhere.

‘She’s quite bold, though. No bodyguards in her office.’

Of course, in space, the stronger you are, the more likely you are to be alone.

Just like Chairman Dogo never traveled with guards.

So while Yeongwoo was curious about Herisa’s capabilities, he managed to restrain himself—barely—after seeing that mysterious prosthetic arm.

Restrain the urge to swing his sword at her just to see what would happen.

“On my way here, I heard many things from Mr. Via. So I have a lot of questions.”

When Yeongwoo opened the conversation, Herisa looked intrigued.

“I have just as many questions. But before that—”

Swish.

Once again, she lifted the mysterious prosthetic arm onto the table.

“To facilitate a more productive conversation, I’ll take a small measure.”

Then she snapped her fingers with the prosthetic.

Bundles of currency came raining down from the ceiling above the table.

Fwhoop-thud!

“What the—?!”

Yeongwoo flinched, startled by the completely unexpected development.

Herisa then pointed at the bundles with her iridescent prosthetic index finger.

“Ten million per bill, one hundred bills per bundle—five bundles in total.”

“Sorry, what?”

Even as he responded with disbelief, Yeongwoo had already done the math.

That meant five billion Karma was now sitting in front of him.

‘But… they’re banknotes?’

And not even ordinary ones.

Like her uniform and cloak, the white surface of the bills shimmered with rainbow-colored light.

“What is this?”

“These are bonds issued by the Bate family. A total of five billion Karma.”

In simpler terms, cash equivalents backed by the Bate family’s credit.

“And what makes you think this will make the conversation more productive?”

Yeongwoo sat up straight as he asked.

Herisa answered with a warm smile.

“Because this is the seed capital our Bate family will be investing in Renaissance.”

“Ah.”

The investment capital—the very issue that had compelled Yeongwoo to come all the way here in person.

And the base amount was five billion.

To that, Yeongwoo could only say one thing:

“I can’t hold it in any longer.”

“And why is that?”

“There is so much ‘cooperation’ surging in this room—how can I possibly stay calm? From now on, I’ll address you as Great Warrior, Chancellor.”

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