["Himeko! It's actually Himeko! It—It should be the real one, right? Not a hologram or something…" Seeing Himeko, March 7th was overjoyed and immediately rushed over.]
[Himeko smiled faintly: "Don't worry, little March. It's really me in the flesh—no substitutes."]
[After meeting with Bronya, Himeko honestly explained the true purpose of her visit—she wanted to inform Bronya of the full picture of the situation so she could make a better-informed decision.]
["I happen to know a friend who is familiar with Topaz's background. Indeed, because of what happened to her homeworld, in her eyes, being absorbed by the Company is probably the only way for Belobog's civilization to survive."]
["But I'm afraid there's one thing she deliberately didn't mention: not every world that accepted the Company's terms was truly saved."]
["You mean…"]
["Rebuilding a planet's ecosystem… a project of such massive scale inevitably comes with risks." Himeko paused, then continued: "I obtained some data from my friend. The planets that truly regained vitality under the Company's technology account for 63% of the total projects."]
["Of course, this is average data. For the projects personally handled by Topaz, the overall success rate is above 80%. Her professional competence is undoubtedly top-tier."]
——
KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!
"Fraud! This is absolute fraud!"
Aqua slammed the table and stood up, her aqua-blue eyes blazing with fury: "That woman named Topaz actually dares to deceive Bronya with such despicable tactics! How is this any different from those cultists who scam people into buying fake holy water?!"
Kazuma rubbed his ears, which had gone numb from Aqua's shouting, and muttered: "Hey hey, can you keep it down? Everyone in the tavern is staring at us now."
He looked at Bronya's shocked expression on the screen and scratched his head: "Honestly, a success rate of 60-80% for such a huge project sounds pretty good to me. If Topaz told me it was 100% successful, I'd actually think there was something fishy about it."
"Kazuma! Why are you siding with the bad woman?!" Aqua leaned right up to Kazuma's face, crossing her arms in a big "X." "If you keep acting like this, you'll get tricked by bad women!"
"You're obviously the one who's easier to trick?! You dumb goddess!" Kazuma retorted irritably.
"But if the reconstruction success rate isn't 100% but only 80%, then there's definitely an element of gambling involved." Yunyun looked at Bronya with worry. "Betting the future of the entire population on an 80% win rate… probably… isn't worth it."
At that moment, the usually silent Yunyun suddenly spoke up: "Moreover, I think Topaz is still concealing one point… and that's the 'standard' for what counts as 'reconstruction success.' Exactly to what extent does Jarilo-VI need to be rebuilt before it qualifies as 'successfully transformed' in the Company's eyes?"
"Is it just stopping the rampage of wind and snow? Or restoring it to the state from a thousand years ago? Or… helping Belobog fully become a competitive interstellar civilization, allowing everyone in both the upper and lower districts to achieve prosperity?"
"If it's merely improving the planet's environment that counts as reconstruction success, then I think Bronya still needs to consider this much more carefully."
——
["What I wanted to convey are these numbers, these [probabilities]. I believe that only by making all the information fully transparent and open can it be considered fair to you."]
[After conveying everything she intended to say, the final decision still rested in Bronya's hands.]
["I see… Thank you, Ms. Himeko. Your information has allowed me to see the true nature of this matter." Bronya lowered her head to look at the contract Topaz had sent. "No matter how beautiful the other side's promises are, this piece of paper represents nothing but a gamble. As a leader, I absolutely cannot sign an indentured contract on behalf of all the citizens just because I believe in good fortune."]
[Bronya raised her head and looked around, meeting the firm gazes of the ministers and builders—some young, some older—and finally confirmed the answer in her heart.]
[Himeko dropped the pretense and nodded to her: "Since you've made up your mind, I won't pretend to be neutral anymore. I believe your choice is the right one, Bronya."]
[With her decision set, Bronya planned to spend some time rallying all the residents in the city before meeting Topaz again.]
[Before that, she hoped the members of the Astral Express crew could help locate her and stop the Company people from continuing to occupy Belobog's assets.]
[Bronya looked sincerely at the members of the Express crew. On her long-exhausted face, a brilliant smile finally appeared: "Belobog will not sell its own future. The only ones worth remembering forever are friends like you, who have repeatedly extended a helping hand in times of crisis."]
[Soon after, Gepard sent a message to the group, stating that Topaz possessed some technology to control automatons. Right now, she was with Svarog, and their approximate location was in Rivet Town.]
——
Akame ga Kill!
"Phew… Good thing Himeko came just in time."
Seeing Bronya change her mind, Mine finally let out a long sigh of relief. Moreover, with Himeko stepping in to back her up this time, the sense of security was completely maxed out.
"Even though Himeko has come forward, if Topaz insists on completing this project, things will still be very difficult."
Najenda lit a cigarette and said meaningfully: "What the Express crew is resisting isn't just one Topaz—it's the entire galaxy-spanning commercial conglomerate behind her. The Express crew may be renowned across the galaxy, but opposing the Company is definitely not a wise move."
"But the Express crew also has the Xianzhou Luofu backing them up. The Company should be wary of that, right?"
Najenda spread her hands and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "Hard to say. Although the Express crew is on good terms with the Xianzhou Luofu, that doesn't mean the Luofu has to intervene every time Himeko and the others handle matters on other planets. It wouldn't be appropriate."
"Moreover, the Express crew is backed by the Luofu specifically—not the entire Xianzhou Alliance. Even if the Xianzhou wanted to support the Express crew… the Company probably wouldn't have too many reservations."
"…Eh? Wait! So that's what you guys were focusing on?" Lubbock suddenly reacted from the side and shot a puzzled look at everyone.
"Oh? Then what were you focusing on?" Najenda smiled.
"Of course it was Gepard! The guy single-handedly took out all those automatons with just his fists! Is he even still human?! If he were from the Xianzhou, I wouldn't be surprised at all, but the problem is—Belobog's humans are pretty much like us, right?"
"Cut it out. He's a legitimate Pathstrider of Preservation."
Mine wore a mischievous expression: "Who knows—maybe if you start believing in the Aeon of Preservation from today, one day you'll step onto the Path of Preservation? Then no Imperial Arms could break your defense, and dealing with Esdeath would be a piece of cake. How about it? Wanna give it a try?"