[After Himeko briefly introduced herself, Topaz became extremely excited. She even started chatting casually with March 7th and Stelle, with no trace of tension or confrontation in the air at all—it felt just like a few friends catching up.]
["I'm glad to see such harmonious interaction between you all. Miss Topaz, from the tone of your greeting, you should already be well aware of the current situation, right?" Himeko gradually let the smile fade from her face.]
["Of course~ The deadline has already passed, but Bronya still hasn't signed the contract. The resistance behind this doesn't take much brainpower to figure out." Topaz maintained her relaxed and cheerful tone throughout.]
[Himeko stated that they had no intention of opposing the Company's board of directors. They were only taking action because there were friends here whom they cherished—and friends of those friends. They couldn't just stand by and watch them sign an unequal treaty.]
[Seeing Himeko speak so bluntly, the situation was clearly racing toward a resolution through force. March was still quite worried about it, but Himeko only calmly shook her head and said softly: "No need to worry about that, March. She made up her mind on what to do ten minutes ago."]
——
DC Universe.
In the study of Wayne Manor, Alfred placed a steaming cup of red tea in front of Bruce; the silver tray made a faint clink as it touched the oak table.
"It seems that even interstellar business negotiations can't avoid moments of high tension. This Miss Topaz reminds me of Lucius when he's facing the Wayne Enterprises board—smiling on the surface while hiding all sorts of calculations behind it."
Bruce rested his knuckles against his chin and let out a soft sigh: "Things are already beyond salvage. From the moment Ms. Himeko uttered the words 'unequal treaty,' conflict between the two sides became inevitable."
"That Miss March seems to be quite the idealist… Her first reaction wasn't vigilant enough. When Topaz has already made up her mind, negotiations will only buy her more preparation time. Speaking of which… that Ms. Himeko really is sharp."
"From the tone of your voice, young master, it sounds as though you'd very much like to see these two sides erupt into battle?" Alfred wiped away a small tea stain that had dripped onto the table.
"Of course. Up until now, we haven't really seen the Company truly take action, have we? As the largest commercial entity in the galaxy and followers of the Aeon of [Preservation], aren't you curious what methods they might have to deal with the Express crew?"
Threats from across the cosmos were growing more numerous by the day, and Bruce now needed to include the Interastral Peace Corporation in his threat assessment. The Company's ideology, methods, and military power were all targets that required evaluation. Most importantly was the armed force the Company displayed externally.
Would they rely on that absurd technology for combat, or draw on power from the Path of [Preservation]? He knew nothing about either.
"Of course… more than the automatons their subordinates use, I'm looking forward to seeing Topaz herself fight."
The old butler let out a soft chuckle: "But Miss Topaz doesn't appear to be the combat-oriented type."
"That's only on the surface."
Bruce stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window; Gotham's neon lights twisted into spots of color in the rain curtain. "To bring an entire planet under control—such an important project. I refuse to believe the Company wouldn't prepare full military contingencies."
"That Miss Topaz… may possess military power sufficient to suppress any problem in Belobog. She is the Company's opening card—and also their final trump card for this project."
——
[Topaz expressed admiration for Himeko's perceptiveness. She laughed lightly: "You're absolutely right~ Very often, differing positions don't mean one side is right and the other wrong—but to keep the work moving forward and prevent it from stalling, there's usually only one way…"]
[Halfway through her sentence, Topaz suddenly stopped speaking. The entire plaza fell into an eerie, deathly silence.]
[She picked up her phone, smiled, and nodded: "…The reply from above has come in. Approval granted."]
["Approval? Approval for what?"]
["What? So curious about my workflow?" Topaz crossed her arms with a confident, assured expression: "If you really want to know, then I'll tell you—"]
["—The application requesting permission to launch a special assault against members of the Astral Express has been approved!"]
[With that, Topaz waved her right hand. Numby's two ears rose like wings and flew over the heads of the group. Wherever it passed, countless tornadoes whipped up. When the vision-obscuring gales finally dissipated, countless fully armed Company employees were already in position, guns and cannons trained on the three from the Express.]
["The secret to smooth sailing in the workplace is always being prepared to turn around an unfavorable situation."]
["Projects under my responsibility—allow no room for error!"]
——
Delicious in Dungeon.
"Aaahhh that little pig can fly! So cute!" Marcille's eyes sparkled as she pointed at the small creature floating above Topaz's head on the screen. "I want to raise one too! It's so convenient! It can even teleport Company people right to the scene! Cute and capable!"
"Hmm… it just looks like a pig, right?" Senshi stroked his chin, eyes narrowing slightly. "Body size is very moderate, short limbs, fat distribution should be even. If roasted, the skin would turn nice and crispy…"
Laios beside him was also observing seriously: "No no, considering its flight capability, the muscle tissue around the ears is probably more developed. Better suited for stewing or making into cutlets. But given it can open dimensional passages to escape, the real difficulty is how to catch it in the first place…"
Marcille, with her pointed ears, overheard the conversation behind her and whipped around, glaring furiously at the two: "What are you two talking about? Don't tell me you're thinking—"
"I'm just objectively analyzing the characteristics of the ingredient." Senshi answered honestly.
Laios nodded in agreement: "Yeah, after all, one day our world might connect with the Interastral Peace Corporation. We'll eventually come into contact with strange creatures like this. If we can study its ecology in advance—"
"Study its ecology?! You're clearly thinking 'how would it taste best'!"
"If it's edible, of course we should try it." Looking at Numby's adorable form huddled on Topaz's shoulder in the screen, then imagining it grilled, stewed, or air-dried, tears… unconsciously flowed from the corner of Laios's mouth.
——
["Even Phantylia's stellar destruction couldn't kill Stelle—let alone this pile of scrap metal from the Company."]
[When the smoke and dust cleared and Stelle walked out from the disassembled parts of the mechs while holding her flaming spear, Topaz couldn't help but applaud them.]
["You three truly live up to being the Astral Express's aces! That was spectacular!"]
["Warm-up's over, right? Now it's my turn—"]