Chapter 150: Princess Antanria

Emma seemed confused at Alexander's words that the Confederation was still hostile. They walked to a small room in the apartment to have a bit of privacy. "What are you saying?" asked Emma. "We just negotiated peace with them. You're even on the Confederation's defense council!"

Alexander said, "You know the truth just like I do. All of that's meaningless in the long run. Era is too vital a planet for them to willingly surrender it. All new players appear there, and we have incredible leverage over them.

"The Confederation will do anything to take it from us, and this peace is only subterfuge. They hope we'll lower our guard. Before, we had the military support of the Federation, but now that the Federation is gone... We can only rely only on ourselves."

Emma said impatiently, "Yes, yes, we know all that, but what about Regnier's troops? Not to mention the troops you picked up on Cronos I! The Federation might have fallen, but we still have a mighty military!"

Alexander said simply, "Orbital bombardment."

Emma paused. "What do you mean?"

Alexander said, "Do you remember the first war on Era? You remember the forces of the players, right? Almost three hundred million players on the planet, including all the SuperGuilds and First-Rate Guilds."

Emma nodded. "Of course I remember."

Alexander said, "Despite all that overwhelming power on our side, it was useless to protect us. We lacked battleships and cruisers, and so Azerof crushed us from orbit as though we were ants. The Confederation's fleet is much, much more powerful than ours, so it really doesn't matter how many ground troops we have.

"They'll crush us from orbit with atomic weapons, just like the world government did to rebels on Earth, and just like Azerof did to the players in the first war. Even a billion soldiers couldn't protect us if they were trapped on the ground! Space superiority is vital, and that's the area of warfare where we're the weakest.

"Of course, I knew the Confederation would attack us eventually, but I thought that our treaty would buy us one or perhaps even two years to prepare. But what I heard in the Montcalm manor made me realize we probably only have about six months. After that, we won't have enough power to pose a meaningful resistance."

Emma seemed more frustrated with every word. "Well, what exactly do you suggest we do? There's no way we can build a fleet big enough to defend even one planet, let alone the whole Era Prime system!"

Alexander shrugged. "Even if we do acquire Enclador Prime like we hope, and so gain all its resources, we'd still be a long way from being able to compete with the corporation-backed funding of the SuperGuilds. We might as well just get used to the fact that Lord Of War is going to have overwhelming numerical superiority both on the ground and in space."

Emma said, "That wasn't an answer about what you expect us to do!"

Alexander raised both hands in front of him. "I was just about to get to that! If we can't win through quantity, then we must win through quality. We need to break through the 4th stage of technological advancement for the Kingdom of Blackstar Kingdom!"

Emma burst out laughing. "What? Are you serious? We've only just created our own faction, and you think we can somehow technologically surpass all the other galactic powers?!"

Alexander replied, "We have the potential. Remember, we have a Zetark naval base on Era! And, of course, we know where all their other stations are in the starbelt. You know how advanced the MK.1 is compared to other ships of its class. Of course it would be silly to think we could invent all the new technology ourselves, but we don't need to, because the Zetark did it for us long, long ago. And our secret weapon, our key to this technology… is Antanria."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "That cute little girl with the maturity of an adolescent? She might be able to read her native language better than you can, but she's neither a scientist, a warrior, nor an ace pilot."

Alexander smiled. "Think again. She might appear to be only a little girl, but you're ignoring the fact that she's the only member of a race which was supposed to have died out in ancient times. Did you never wonder how that happened?

"She not only survived the fall of her species but also helped unlock a Zetark military installation. Plus, before we left for the Cronos I war, she had awakened as an Ascensionist. You might think nothing of it because all players are Ascensionists, but that's highly rare for an NPC. Antanria is absolutely 'nothing' like an ordinary little girl."

Emma thought about this for a long moment. "I see. I didn't know all of those details. So you want to base our entire strategy on the chance that she can lead us to the secrets of the Zetark Empire? Doesn't that seem a bit far-fetched to you?"

Alexander replied, "I never told you how she and I met, did I?"

Emma shook her head slowly. "No, I don't think—"

"It was at the very beginning of the game," said Alexander. "A few hours after the official launch, I'd just finished a unique quest in some ruins. But the end of the quest caused a huge disturbance in the basement of the ruins, and I was clearly supposed to run back through the main door. However, at that moment, a hidden door appeared along one wall."

Emma was intrigued. "A door?"

Alexander nodded. "Yes. A door that had been hidden just under the surface of the wall. I took an enormous risk and went through that door instead of the main exit. The risk paid off, because inside was an intact Zetark lab that had been sitting there, still with full power for over a thousand years."

Emma said, "Oh, that is interesting." But her tone had lost some of its interest.

Alexander shook his head. "No, you're missing the point. Many simple video games have ruins and dungeons where the contents remain in perfect stasis for thousands of years. How many fantasy games have candle-lit dungeons, though that should be impossible? But 'Horus' has always been different. It has always been a simulation where everything works like it would in the real world. A power system that remains active for over a millenium simply makes no physical sense. Even if the power supply could last that long, all the conduits and other parts should have failed by then!"

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Alexander kept rapidly talking. "Also, why was I the one to find it? I mean, the Tyottings have been living on their planet for at least a thousand years and are protected by the Federation. They have lots of modern technology that should let them scan the surrounding areas, so why did they never discover the Zetark shipyard and research lab? It makes no sense to me. The Federation would have given billions of credits to discover technology like this!"

Emma finally responded, "Well, you say it all seems strange, but what do you think it means? In my mind, you might be overthinking it a little."

Alexander said, "I believe someone is protecting and guiding Antanria. Probably one of this game's gods. I believe this god has intervened to manipulate Antanria's destiny—notably by making sure that I was the one to discover her.

"I think this god protected her when I disconnected her from her cryogenic pod, which is normally a process that kills the person inside it, and I think this god probably still protects her now. This is why I left her alone on Terra, even though the Federation was already on the verge of civil war when we left."

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Emma seemed baffled by this line of thinking. It really was a lot to ask her to consider at once.

Alexander continued, "I did it with the knowledge she would be put in danger. I want to test how far this deity is willing to intervene in the affairs of mortals. That's supposed to be forbidden among 'Horus's' pantheon, you know."

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Emma finally seemed to understand where the whole conversation was leading. "So, if your theory proves correct, what is your intention? How exactly are we going to use Antanria to succeed?"

Alexander said, "We'll exploit this divine favor to discover all the lost secrets of the Zetark Empire. Especially their weapon technology."

Alexander was careful not to tell Emma about one other aspect of his plan…

In his first life, it had eventually been discovered that the Zetark had been researching the relationships between different dimensions and parallel universes. Due to his unique experiences since being sent back into the past, Alexander now believed there was more to these theories than he had once believed.

Of course, it was best to avoid looking like a madman by ranting to Emma about all this. Without the same metaphysical experiences as Alexander, it would be extremely difficult for her to accept.

Emma said, "Frankly, your plan is pretty messed up. And, well, based on some far-fetched theories..."

Alexander tried not to feel insulted by her response. He reminded himself that, for someone whose experiences had been as normal as Emma's, this was a perfectly reasonable reaction.

So Alexander took Emma's hands and looked her straight in the eyes. "I understand your reaction, Emma. But there are some other factors that tie everything together… and I can't tell you about them now. You just have to trust me."

Emma sighed. "Okay, fine. I authorize you to conduct research on Zetark technology… but I warn you that the guild coffers will not finance this totally absurd project!"

Alexander gave her a slight smile. "You know, it turns me on when you boss me around like that."

Emma blushed and laughed. "Ha! Well, why don't you tell your butler to go home? We have a little business to attend to in private…"

Alexander paused. "Um, well… I don't know how else to put this. Diana is going to move in here."

Emma's expression froze. "I beg your pardon?!"

Alexander began to speak rapidly again. "Well, she's my butler, and she takes care of pretty much everything, you know. It's a very professional relationship. This is how the Montcalms and all the rich people do it, too! I pay her close to 10,000 credits a month, so it's only fair that she lives in my house so I can take advantage of her washing dishes, cleaning, cooking, and driving me around as much as possible!"

Emma's voice became deadly cold. "Oh yes, of course… And, I assume, so she can suck your cock when you get tired of me?! 'Are you kidding me?!' No way! Never! How could you be so stupid as to think I would be okay with this?!"

Alexander had known that it was a bad idea to mention it. Emma was a very jealous woman, even when everything was still going well between them. Or rather, he had known that it would make her angry, but he also knew it was best to be honest about it from the beginning, rather than to try to hide it from her.

He said, "Look, I knew it was going to be complicated, and I'm not trying to make a fool out of you. I'm asking you to move in here, too."

Emma's face became very red, and her tone lost its ice."Oh, really? You don't think it's too fast? But what will our parents think? We're not even married!"

Alexander felt relieved that she didn't take his suggestion as a hasty excuse for letting the maid live in the apartment.

"Well, my family's about to stop talking to me, so I don't know that this really makes any difference. On your side, though, I suppose you'll want to discuss it with your parents?"

Emma said, "I haven't even introduced you to them yet. This might be a bit hasty, Alexander."

Suddenly, someone knocked at the door of the small room they'd moved into at the beginning of the conversation.

Alexander got up and opened it, then took a step back in astonishment!

It was Diana, and she'd changed out of the formal outfit she'd worn while driving Alexander. Now she wore a beautiful black miniskirt and a blouse with a plunging neckline that showed off her cleavage.

Emma stared at Diana for a long time, taking her in from head to toe without a hint of emotion on her face.

Alexander groaned inwardly, realizing that this was the first time Emma had seen Diana. She would assume that Diana had always dressed like this!

Diana was extraordinarily beautiful. Even Emma had to admit that. Diana was about thirty years old, with blonde hair and green eyes. She carried a professional elegance about her, as well as an immaculate aura of maturity—one which made Emma feel embarrassingly young and immature.

Diana was basically a perfect woman in Emma's eyes, the very kind of person she aspired to be. Though Emma was largely confident and focused, she had a secret complex about her own appearance—especially about her dark skin, which she had never liked.

Emma sent a fierce glare towards Alexander. "If my parents take issue with it, then they will simply have to deal with it. I am moving here with you."

It was the perfect timing. Nothing was more effective than making a woman jealous to get what one wanted from her.

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Alexander smiled, grateful beyond belief that the scenario had not turned out much worse. "Well, I'll find an excellent room for you. Talk to Diana and she can arrange for some movers to bring your belongings and help you set up."

Emma replied, "No, I think I will take care of it on my own while you play."

It seemed that living with two women, both of whom Alexander now believed were in love with him, was going to be a big problem.

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