Uncertainty

"What is it that you're trying to imply, you rascal~?! All I did was scout ahead a little, so that I would have a small present ready for you. Take it as a sign of good faith, will you?"

In faux-annoyance, Eleanora pouted and crossed her arms under her ample chest, staring reproachful daggers at him. It was clear that although she had–expectedly–been caught red-handed, she would much rather engage in this charade than to openly admit it.

"As you wish, fair lady. But come on, out with it already."

Not bothering to be a spoilsport, he adjusted his behaviour to fit hers, yet still urged her to reveal what she had been up to. Admittedly, it was quite predictable, but he didn't know how much she had busied herself with it.

"Fine, fine. I won't keep you in suspense any longer. This Han Empire is clearly not even remotely close to sufficient to fulfil our resource needs, so we'll have to attempt to find new worlds to explore and exploit. Have you set up any Lesser Void Scouting Arrays yet?"

First, she laid out their current situation, then she countered with a question of her own. The Arrays that she had mentioned were used to send controlled pulses into the Lesser True Void, which would return information whenever they came across something out there. Of course, depending on the Proficiency level of the one in charge, the data received could be more accurately analysed, gaining a better picture of whatever it was that had been discovered.

"Yes, I did more recently incorporate them into my various Compound Arrays in preparation for the day when they would unavoidably need to be used. I have not started utilizing them yet, though. What about you?"

A hint of smugness stole itself on her face as she leaned forward, her smile widening.

"Oh, nothing much. I've only found a few more worlds, who all seem to be relatively close to each other. They're a bit further than how far I suspect the Hans' investigations have gone, and also 'bunched up together' like most of these ones here, if observed from a huge distance. In other words, they might be under the rule of some force of the same level as the one we've just dealt with. That's my present–no need to thank me~"

Her chosen words oozing with confidence bordering on arrogance, as well as with the desire to be praised, made him want to roll his eyes at her. Nonetheless, he gave her an appreciative nod, appearing to be deeply moved.

"Why, that's too kind of you! Not only have you fed me splendidly today, you've even presented this sort of meal for us to share as well! I'd better begin to get the return gift ready."

Scratching her cheek sheepishly, she evaded his passionate gaze, displaying a hint of shyness.

"It's alright, you don't need to go out of your way for me..."

Yet, his retort was firm and immediate.

"Nonsense! That's the least I could do!"

Clearing his throat, he brushed aside the act and refocused on the matter at hand.

"Ahem! Enough of that. In other words, we'll be sharing our findings from here on out, each taking half of what we discover out there. Did I get that right?"

Her earlier demeanour having vanished into thin air, she nodded, her expression back to her normal, amiable smile.

"Yes, that's pretty much it. Whenever we discover a world or multiple of them, we wait until our next meeting, where we'll present it to each other. Then, we can decide who will be assigned ownership over which parts of what we've found. Naturally, this will rely on both of us behaving honestly and above board, but I trust that won't be an issue."

Seeing nothing wrong with her proposal, because that was exactly what he wanted to see–as it would indirectly tie a capable peer to his war chariot–he returned a nod of his own.

Generally, it would eventually become quite easy for cultivators to re-examine many events of their past and figure out simple things like whether or not an associate had hidden something from them. This would still take at least a round or two, but if the two of them didn't intend to become enemies at that point, then they really shouldn't try anything underhanded before getting that far.

"Of course. I don't have a problem with any of this. Still, it seems as if our get-togethers will become a rather regular occurrence. How does every half a year sound to you?"

Momentarily contemplating his suggestion, she soon signalled her acceptance.

"Not too short, not too long–so perfectly fine. By the way, that is what I've got this time–the present."

Pulling out a sheet of paper densely filled with numbers, runes and graphs, she slid it over to him, who proceeded to pick it up and study it for a while. There was an amused grin on his lips.

Evidently, this functioned as both a test to see how far he had progressed on the path of Array Formations, yet if he was actually significantly ahead of her, it would also serve to give her a more accurate reading of her data. This kind of open competition and benefit-seeking was something that he didn't really mind, but rather welcomed.

"I see. 58 worlds, most of them approximately the same size, except for three, who are significantly larger. The Energy concentration in two of those is as high as the one in the Longxin World, whereas the last one's is even more impressive. There are also seven of the smaller worlds with an Energy concentration comparable to the former group of two. All in all, it looks like we'll need to directly share one of these seven, as well as the most formidable world. That aside, we can each take half."

Although he had been able to decode more than this, he only presented the info that was important to them right now. This would leave her in an awkward spot: If she was proficient enough, then she would know what he had left out, but couldn't be sure of whether or not he had actually spotted it, because it wouldn't make sense to bring it up at all. On the other hand, if she was less capable than he was, then there was no way for her to know about this little trick of his.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Let's do that, then! When would you have time to deal with our two shared spots?"

Based solely on her expression and mien, he couldn't ascertain if she had caught on, so he pushed that to the back of his mind–it seemed like the probing had failed. He had figured that this would be the case.

"We should first scout all of these worlds a little, to see whether or not anybody there could get away from us or prevent us from taking the place over. Only after we're reasonably sure that it would be a good idea to strike should we decide on a time. How about we report our findings to each other in a month and discuss it all further then?"

Seeing nothing wrong with this proposal, she smiled, albeit a little mischievously.

"Sounds good to me. That way, I'll have you all to myself again a lot sooner than I anticipated. Oh, by the way–let's keep these gatherings private, alright? I get jealous easily and wouldn't want others to intrude on our alone time."

Witnessing her return to a more playful, disingenuous guise now that the most important details had been decided, he chose to follow along with a teasing grin.

"Then what am I supposed to tell the others when they ask me what we've been up to? I'm sure you understand that their jealousy will be burning bright while we're enjoying each other's company here as well."

Pondering his question 'seriously' for a bit, she soon locked gazes with him, her own a naughty, impish one.

"You could refer to these as our 'trial marriage experience'. I'm sure that will really get them going."

Raising an eyebrow in genuine awe, he soon sighed in contentment.

"Where would my love life be without you? That will certainly serve to spice it up–and to make them want to strangle me alive. In all seriousness, though, I'm legitimately going to use that, therefore you better be prepared for them to glower at you someday."

A bit taken aback, Eleanora's expression froze for a fraction of a second, then she broke out in mirthful laughter, not the least bit bothered by him actually planning to go through with her jest of a suggestion.

"I'll be looking forward to it! You know, I'd be feeling a bit bad for them... if imagining it wasn't so hilarious. In the case that this ever develops into more than a joke, it'll make it even better!"

Chuckling a little, he nodded, then shrugged exaggeratedly with a helpless expression all over his face.

"Very true, but you're not the one who they'll be itching to tear apart! When, or if, the time comes, I'll expect being rescued by you."

Squinting a little, her smile turned a bit dangerous, a threatening aura lingering in the air.

"Oh? But wouldn't it all be your fault, for playing around with too many hearts? You made your bed, so you'll have to lie in it as well. Don't worry, I'll cheer you on from the sidelines. Silently. In my heart."

Clearing his throat in embarrassment, he looked away, observing the surroundings. At that point, he noticed evening creeping closer and consciously realized how much time he had spent here with her today.

"Thanks, you're too sweet. By the by, is it already this late? I really should be going sometime soon, else the others will truly begin to grow anxious. Forgive me for the sudden departure, pretty please?"

Snorting indignantly, she rolled her eyes, but shot him a glance from the corner of her eye.

"... fine. We'll meet each other again here in a month–don't stand me up, or else..."

Having only just got up, he paused and stared at her for a bit. Then, curiosity got the better of him.

"Or else... what?"

Breaking character, she calmly shrugged, her gaze tranquil.

"No idea, I didn't think that far ahead yet. If you had been late next time, then I would have come up with something by then to continue this bit with."

Nodding in understanding, a genuine smile stole itself on his lips.

"Makes sense. But all jokes aside, it's about time for me to leave. I'll see you again soon!"

Casually waving at her, he strolled to the Teleportation Array's core and activated it, departing from this world accompanied by ripples of Energy and a bright light.

'... I still don't understand him, but that is to be expected. Those few times when he let me peer behind the veil–were they intentional and fabricated, or intentional and sincere? It's impossible to tell.'

Right after he had left, Eleanora's demeanour shifted, as if a massive burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Being in the presence of someone like Theodore was draining and dangerous, as every single misstep of hers or unexpected decision on his end could spell her doom.

Back in the Chulong World, the man in question felt pretty much the same way. All of their flirtatious banter had been nothing but a show which they had put on, and both of them very much knew it. Truths and falsehoods had been woven in at every opportunity, leaving even them fully unable to discern where the illusion ended, and the reality began.

Other than the few matters that they had made agreements on, which they would both make reasonable efforts to honour, everything else was highly suspect. But such was the nature of interactions and most relationships between people like them.

'Enough about that. It's time to tell the rest that we're going to set off on an excursion.'