"Dad!" Robin was taken aback by how easily he was taking in the new information. His mother and others were still reeling from the new revelation, and his dad seemed to be treating this like any other Tuesday.
Robin's mother was a bit horrified that her son had killed people, but she also knew that it was because of him that they were safe. She had seen how humanity had changed over a year or so. Even the news, which used to spew hatred from one community to another, had stopped. Now, the news showed more actual events and was more inclined towards positive stories.
Of course, humans were being humans. Their viewership went down because the news channels didn't spew hatred towards any particular community or spin the narrative. This infuriated Robin because at the end of the day, people seemed to love drama more than the progress of humanity. And later, they'd point fingers at others.
Victim-crying was really a problem, and no one took responsibility for their own actions.
"Is it really true that you are the one who saved Earth?" His mom asked.
"That is one aspect of things, and we also won the war against the aliens when we went out," Robin said. This made everyone interested, and for a moment, everyone forgot that he was the Supreme Leader.
Robin and his friends narrated what had actually happened in the name of war and how soon their lives would change. Humans were simple creatures to begin with, so once they got to know how they had saved humanity, the little awkwardness they had about Robin being a murderer eased for them. Though Robin was sure that it would take a lot of time for them to settle on the fact that he was some kind of big shot.
While the huge 'talk' was going on in Earth Palace about how Robin and his friends reached the top and roamed the universe, something else was happening in the space station. Now the world leaders had another important 'guest' to entertain. They weren't even sure how to treat this person.
They had seen that Lumis came out of his own accord from the spaceship and wasn't a POW. In addition, the Supreme Leader even said to treat him as a guest. But could the World Leaders do so?
Some were cold to him, some were neutral, and some were warm. Everyone had their own thoughts when talking to Lumis. Though Robin had indicated for them to talk to him, Robin had also put the fear of God in them.
"So umm.. Mr. Zora.. Can you explain to us what is going on?" Mexico took the courage and asked what had exactly happened in the battle to let him come to Earth.
"Of course, let me start by apologizing for whatever had happened. The signal that was received was one of the old relics which we had since before the establishment of Luminary Collective..." Lumis said.
"Excuse me, what is Luminary Collective?" India asked.
"Oh yes.. Sorry.. Luminary Collective is the empire that is currently ruling this galaxy," Lumis replied.
"There is rule in this galaxy?" Everyone was surprised as they were expecting that the whole galaxy was just some territories.
"Yes, in order to be recognized by the universe and have a proper connection with others, every galaxy must have some form of governance. It can be a single monarch or a consortium of families coming together to maintain stability, which has been the case in this galaxy. So, before the establishment of the Luminary Collective, there were remnants of old empires, and one such relic was with us. It was the signal receiver that caught the transmission triggered from here. We thought we had discovered new territory and needed to conquer, but we were proven wrong," Lumis said with a tinge of regret in his voice.
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If that day he hadn't sent that platoon to conquer this land, they wouldn't be in this significant development, and he could only hope that going forward, it was the right decision. Lumis continued to speak about the war and what had happened.
"What is a High Elder?" UAE asked, as they were confused about the new term that Lumis introduced while mentioning the Supreme Leader. Then Lumis went on to explain what a High Elder meant and also elucidated the concept of an S-class galaxy and its ratings.
"So you mean to say that our Supreme Leader registered himself as an S-class citizen?" USA asked, as they couldn't wrap their heads around the whole concept. The entire discussion hall fell silent out of shock and the sheer grandiosity of what Lumis was saying.
"Yes, due to one of his subordinates being a species hailing from an S-class galaxy, he got registered as an S-class affiliate and thus a citizen," Lumis explained.
"What about us? We belong to the same species," one of the World Leaders asked.
"No. Species has almost nothing to do with this. Only the species that belongs to the S-class galaxy will have the rights to be an S-class galaxy, and others will have to go through procedures and pay for this," Lumis said. This made some of them unhappy while others didn't seem bothered.
The concept of the universe was too vast; even the size of a galaxy was overwhelming for their small human brains. Lumis then dropped the bomb that the High Elder, due to his abilities, would take up the highest position in the Luminary Collective.
This sent the whole crowd into a collective gasp, as they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Lumis could see their surprise and smirked. He then went on to explain why this was the case and why having a High Elder in a galaxy was important, and the fact that they were respected everywhere in the universe.
"How does one become a High Elder?" Japan asked.
"Sir, if I had known, wouldn't I have been a High Elder by now? Some say that it is hereditary, as in most cases in a High Elder family, but of course, that doesn't mean anything in particular. The universe is huge, with billions of galaxies, so High Elders come about many times, and some pass away. The main point is, your leader has become a High Elder, and humanity, which looks entirely different from the whole galaxy's species, will not face problems due to the security umbrella you have at the moment," Lumis said.
This made the whole crowd happy and meant that they would have some respect in the galaxy, and perhaps even in the universe. Lumis spoke further, but he was careful not to divulge the business opportunities, so he didn't mention the VR world or the fact that he and Robin were almost openly conspiring to dominate the gaming industry.
Introducing them to the VR world would give them exposure and jeopardize his chances of becoming wealthy. They discussed more about how Robin had asked them to be the platform for humans to launch themselves into the galaxy, and Lumis was happy to help them.
They talked about what was unique to this world, and Lumis was surprised by the fact that the planet, which seemed to have hardly reached planetary civilization, had the firepower to go against a galaxy. The High Elder was truly an enigma, and he would have to make sure not to offend him in the future.
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"So you're proposed her on a faraway planet?" His mother noticed the ring on Cathrin's finger and asked.
"Yes, well... Yeah." Robin was a little flustered as he was being caught. Cathrin heard what his mom had said. She immediately came forward and took Robin's hand. After that, she announced that she and Robin were engaged. This sent another kind of wave through the small group, and everyone came forward to congratulate them.
By now, they understood how powerful Robin was, as he had explained that their home would soon change, as would their lives. They would be holding power that no Earthling had ever held before, ruling over a galaxy. All because Robin was some kind of hotshot.
Power speaks, and thus almost everyone forgot that Robin had blood on his hands. After the engagement was announced, Cathrin's mother asked if they could celebrate, to which everyone said yes.
With that, the maids and the people arranged a small banquet where everyone could celebrate, enjoy, and even dance a bit. The engagement had to be reenacted again for the family to be satisfied.
Cathrin's parents were very happy knowing that their daughter was marrying the most powerful human being in all of human history, and Robin's parents were also happy for the same reason. Typical Asians! But somehow, Robin's father was very neutral about it, and although he was proud, the first thing he asked Robin was,
"Are you happy with what you are doing?"
"Dad, I am powerful just so that I can go to far-off places without fear. I have always wanted to travel the world and explore, but I am also lazy."