Chapter 247

Episode 247. Come to think of it, the terror plan seems a bit off;; (2)

I was planning to finish my daily quests and take a nice nap, but suddenly, I got both a communication and a chat message at the same time.

Curious about what was going on, I decided to open both the communication and chat windows simultaneously to check the contents.

Surprisingly, both messages had the same content.

– “Ah, Icarus-nim? We from the Humanity Clan have something to discuss with you. Do you have some time?”

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<‘Humanity Clan Official Chat Manager’ has initiated a chat with you.>

-[You]

-[This time, our clan would like to have a good conversation with Icarus-nim.]

-[Do you have some time?]

-[You can respond via either communication or chat, whichever you prefer.]

—————————————-

‘What’s this about?’

It was a very sudden request.

Surprisingly, the ‘Humanity’ clan, led by that guy Antares, was reaching out to me out of the blue, asking to meet.

“What’s this about?”

– “No need to be too nervous. It’s just that you’ve placed 3rd three times in this event…”

– “As such, Icarus-nim is effectively considered the representative of the central zone, so we’d like to have a discussion as representatives… something like that.”

“Hmm.”

Of course, it’s not like I have any bad blood with Humanity.

Besides, Humanity’s current strength is more than one-fifth of the Pirate Alliance’s. Even with Marian’s blessing, it’s not a place I can mess with lightly.

So, I accepted Humanity’s proposal and sent an OK signal, allowing them to come to our base.

The problem was, just a few minutes after I gave the permission…

“Wait a minute… Humanity Clan’s stealth destroyer collided with aircraft during Tiamat’s leveling process?”

“Yep, and not just one aircraft. It got hit by a dense formation of aircraft during their mobility training. We’ve already salvaged it and docked it at our facility.”

“…Oh.”

‘Holy moly.’

Maybe they didn’t intend to attack directly, but they sure gave me a surprising experience, perhaps to intimidate me?

I have no idea what they were thinking, but the fact that they boarded a state-of-the-art stealth destroyer (which is expensive) that even gravity radar couldn’t detect…

They came all the way without contacting us, then just slipped into the aircraft’s training route and got hit by a bird strike…

No, an aircraft strike. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck just hearing about it.

==========

Of course, because of this incident, the Humanity Clan members didn’t give me any trouble.

After all, what just happened was the kind of thing that, if posted on a YouTube channel dedicated to traffic accident lawyers from past lives, would get reactions like ‘Oh, this is a bit much;;’.

Even though I ended up being the perpetrator, they also came in without warning and got wrecked…

“Well… given the situation, what can you do?”

– “Hmm, let’s just let it slide peacefully.”

“Yes, but we’ll still repair the damaged parts.”

– “Then we’ll cover the repair costs for the aircraft.”

After quickly and neatly settling the matter, we decided to have a peaceful and enjoyable conversation.

But that didn’t last long.

As soon as the communication ended and all the ‘personnel’ from the other side disembarked…

“Wait a minute, why are there 10 superhumans?”

“…Good question.”

Apart from the accident, I felt a headache coming on as I watched the tired-looking representative of Humanity, followed by a swarm of 10 superhumans, coming down.

And at least three of them were close-combat PVP-specialized superhumans. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were using this conversation as a pretext to take me out.

Of course, that thought didn’t last long.

After sitting down in the base’s reception room and having a sincere and honest conversation with Humanity’s representative—no, with ‘Tiara’, whose name I learned thanks to her introduction—

Skipping all the complicated and tedious details, the conclusion I reached was as follows:

“So, the conclusion is this? ‘Humanity Clan wants to form an external mercenary contract’ with me?”

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

Of course, in addition to our own conclusion, there was a rather burly man whose appearance didn’t match his nickname…

Tiara shook her head vigorously, refuting the claim.

“That’s not it. For now, let’s establish a friendly relationship with them, okay?”

“That’s right. Please don’t misinterpret our Commander and the clan’s intentions.”

“Ma-Marian, what does that make me then?”

Amidst this, seeing the adjutant Marian, who had accompanied them, sharply criticizing, and the Commander Tiara flustered, I couldn’t help but nod thoughtfully, sensing sincerity in their demeanor.

‘It doesn’t sound bad at first glance.’

Honestly, it was more than just “not bad.” It was on a whole different level.

Frankly, it was an open secret among those in the know…

The Earth Federation, as a faction, was practically controlled by the Humanity Clan.

If I were to become friendly with the Humanity Clan like this…

Then, through Marian, I could receive protection from the Pirate Alliance.

At the same time, with the help of Princess Luka, enjoying the luxuries within the Nest of Life, I could maintain friendly relations with the Space Monsters.

Even the Earth Federation would cheer me on, and I’d become an unprecedented user under the protection of three major factions.

‘Kya.’

Of course, while the Pirate Alliance’s protection is uncertain, the secret alliance between the monsters and pirates…

And the fact that they would protect me because of it was a secret.

I tried to calm my heart, fearing my expression might give me away, and spoke calmly.

“A friendly relationship… That doesn’t sound bad.”

“I knew you’d think that way, Icarus.”

Seeing my positive reaction, Tiara… and the Humanity Clan behind her seemed eager to seal the deal with my friendly response.

“It’s modest, but…”

—————————————-

<Tiara has requested a trade with you!>

<Tiara (100,000 Minerals, 10,000 Rare Resources, 1,000 Gold) ⇒ Icarus>

<Will you accept the trade?>

—————————————-

Immediately opening the user trade window, they offered me gifts, including various resources and even gold for the auction house.

I nodded in appreciation but politely declined out of courtesy.

“No, please don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“Then…”

Of course, they understood my refusal was merely a matter of etiquette.

Tiara and I, in a stoic(?) atmosphere, naturally concluded the trade and decided to shake hands.

—————————————-

<Will you accept the trade?>

<(Y)/N>

<By accepting the trade, '100,000 Minerals, 10,000 Rare Resources, 1,000 Gold' will be delivered to Icarus.>

<Please check your message box.>

—————————————-

“I hope we can continue to meet on good terms.”

“Of course, why wouldn’t we?”

“Hahaha.”

“Hahahaha.”

==========

And at that moment, when our Icarus was unexpectedly sharing a friendly atmosphere with the representative of Humanity in the golden reception room…

Among the superhumans who had tagged along, the SSS-ranked Mirai and S-ranked Sherpa, August, sent by the Humanity Clan user…

No, actually, the spy from the Loki Clan led by Betelgeuse, ‘Indian Machete,’ was feeling bewildered, seeing Humanity on the verge of smoothly strengthening their forces.

“Ah, this is bad.”

If left like this, it was obvious that Humanity Clan, the greatest rival of the Loki Clan, would smoothly enhance their military strength.

Indian Machete decided to quickly inform the Loki Clan’s responsible person and his 1:1 dedicated chat room about the situation.