Chapter 16 - Unsaid words

I was perplexed. Before I sent my reply to Elder Shalsheed, I checked the forum and noticed my name being mentioned. When I checked what was going on, it turned out that Elder Shalsheed's granddaughter, Lady Aininad had made a post calling me a braggart and a loudmouth, accusing me of lies, saying that she herself performed the scannings and my words hurt her pride as an explorer, as I basically belittled the job she did and that my words served only to spite her.

And of course, with her popularity, there were quite a lot of comments calling me an idiot or fool, as well as all kinds of different names, demanding an explanation and apology even though they did not even know what she was referring to.

What the hell? How was I supposed to know she did the scanning? Why would she think I specifically targeted her? Are all rich people this unreasonable? 

I wanted to just tell her to fuck off, but her grandfather was a true powerhouse. For people like Elder Shalsheed, killing people like me from across the galaxy was as easy as clapping hands. Even if I were inside an indestructible maze, 4GM are subatomic particles on a lower level than neutrinos and tachyons. Distance and even time did not matter, not to mention walls. So just as you could communicate through them across the galaxy, that same principle worked for sending powerful clots of these particles to fry my brain. And with such a vast power difference, there was nothing I could do to protect myself if Elder Shalsheed wished me harm.

There was no choice but to swallow my anger. So instead of replying to her post and aggravating the woman even more, I sent a private message to Elder Shalsheed as I intended from the start, only adding an apology for offending Lady Aininad to the message, saying that it was not my intention.

Once done, I turned back to head home, throwing all that crap out of my head. If these people were so unreasonable, to hell with them. I'll just quit it. I've downloaded everything they posted on the forum anyway. Had to splurge, but it was that single time when it wasn't worth being thrifty. There was a lot of useful information.

For example, some archaeologist in the forum explained the patterns that he found in the architecture of the demonic race, which actually explained the layouts of this place quite a lot. Had I known this information before, I wouldn't have suffered half as much. This will be very useful when I explore areas that would require several days of travel.

Now that I remembered it, I thought of thanking that guy by making a few videos proving his theories about the layouts. I was on an expedition already, so why not go around a bit.

Just as I collected all my staff and walked up to pick up Otty, who only now finished the last crumbs of his meal, I received a new message from Elder Shalsheed.

"My friend, I wish to apologize for my granddaughter's actions. Her behavior was uncourteous and disrespectful, and it's my shame as her teacher to have not prevented her actions timely. Young people with her strength tend to be rash and short-tempered, and as her teacher it was my job to rein in these downsides, yet I have failed to do so. I will admonish her and make sure she understands her wrongdoing. She will make a public apology to at least partially dispel the negative influence she caused. Once again, please accept my apology. 

I am very grateful for your explanation and the discovery you made. Answering your question, there is indeed a reason why the scanner has not shown anything. I assume that there is a solid layer of hadron material underneath, which would block any radiation from the scanner. This kind of thing is very rare, so it was almost unbelievable when you pointed it out. We will conduct a new check, and if your theory proves correct, it would mean we have found a Citadel. 

I would have said that it's a discovery of the century, but as I see from your video, you have found a Citadel of your own already, which makes me humbled. I was both excited and shocked to see it. This explains how you found the images of the creatures you've found, and I am happy you've decided to divulge this information.

As I said before, our sect would give a good price for any discovery you wish to sell.

I must, however, ask you for a favor. Discovery of the Citadel is a very big deal, and many sects would risk going to war for the treasure that could be found there. Even if it is entirely empty, the recycling of the hadron layer surrounding the Citadel alone would bring immeasurable wealth to the sect.

This material is used for the most expensive armors and the best spaceships and is always in demand.

That's why it is very important not to let anyone hear about it. I know you might be displeased with me and my sect after my granddaughter's actions, but I sincerely ask you to not divulge the information about this discovery to anyone.

Also, there is something I wish to add. I know it may sound presumptuous, as I do not know your real identity and the level of power you have, but I noticed the green hue of your 4GM particles in the video, which means you have a green glow. People with this color very rarely manage to reach a high level of power and need exceptional talent to do so. If you are indeed such a talented man, then you may just ignore the worries of this old man. However, if you don't feel very confident in your abilities, please be extremely cautious when exploring the Citadel you've found. If it managed to remain in good condition, then some of the security systems within it may still be active. 

I will send you some of the files on the systems that we are aware of. I hope this information will help you recognize the dangers and stay safe. These are our sect's secrets, so please do not divulge them to others. We will need to go to complete comm silence until the end of our investigation of the Citadel. But I hope to have a friendly conversation with you after that."

People with my color of glow need exceptional talent to get strong? By talent, he of course means fighting talent. That's the only talent people value these days. So there really is a difference in the abilities of the 4GM particles depending on the color. This was not taught in school.

From this message, I understood one thing. They thought I was a loudmouth until I proved them wrong. But now that they understood that they held a treasure in their hands they tried to buy my silence with some of their own secrets and favors. Well, I can't receive any money from anyone in my situation anyway, so selling this information would not bring me any good. Having a favorable relationship with one of the most powerful sects in the galaxy, however, was an opportunity that many could only wish for. Having an elder of the highest order owing me a favor in exchange for doing absolutely nothing, was quite a good offer.

There were, however, several things that were not said but could be read between the lines.

Long story short, what he said is: Don't bite off more than you can chew. Rather than dying with a fortune in our hands, it is better to sell it to us. Also, if you make enemies with us, we will not let you be.

Damn rich people, do they have a school teaching how to be an overbearing prick? No wonder Keith was so disgusted with that layer of society. I now understand what he meant when he called them unreasonable, to the degree that each one seemed to think that the world revolved around only them.

Just in case, I scanned the files that Elder Shalsheed sent me for malware, with several programs before opening them. After all, another way of silencing me was to try to kill me or fry my ghost assistant AI, making me unable to communicate with anyone for quite some time. 

This made me realize that if something happened to my AI or horns at this moment, I would not be able to interact with the maintenance unit, and would not be able to make any machinery work. Which would kill me from starvation, as I would not be able to print food anymore. I had to do something about it. Better have a precaution and never need it than not prepare and suffer later.

Only problem is that I had no idea where to find the horn's schematics. That wasn't openly divulged information. I do have a person who may know, though.

*****

Short melody of an opening lock sounded before the door slid open with a quiet hissing sound, letting the people inside.

A man and woman, both incredibly beautiful and dressed in rich gowns, walked into the apartment. 

As the pair of people entered the main room, a woman with slightly green skin and flaming red fur, instead of hair, tucked behind her in a ponytail stood up from the couch and bowed deeply, while holding her hand in front of her stomach. 

"Welcome back, my lady, my lord." She said, before raising her eyes and looking at the pair.

"Kids?" The woman, with a serene face that seemed devoid of all emotion, asked, as she entered the room, followed by the man.

Both of them had black gowns with silver-colored plates, with similar patterns and decorated with a family insignia. However, the woman had red-colored crystals encrusting her gown, while her partner was adorned with blue-colored crystals that emphasized them as a pair, yet made them look like two opposites.

The woman had short hair, reaching barely to her neck, ending right where her gown's high collar began. Half of her hair was tucked behind her pointy left ear, and the other part fully covered her forehead and right ear from view.

The man had longer hair, tucked into a bun on his head, and several curls at the front hanging down the left side of his beautiful face, openly showing both of his pointy ears, which were directed backward at their tips. 

Another difference in their appearance was that the man wore a mantle decorated with similar silvery patterns, and chains hanging down from his shoulders. The woman, on the other hand, was wearing elements of armor, looking both menacing and dangerous while encrusted with silvery patterns that made it look elegant and graceful.

"Asleep, my lady." Answered the red-furred woman, standing at attention, pointing with her palm at the monitor that showed the children's sleeping room.

"Good. You are free for tonight." Said the woman, in an emotionless voice, walking to the side of the room with a graceful gait, while holding her back ramrod straight in a regal manner.

"Have a good night, my lady, my lord." Answered the maid, bowing deeply once again, before walking out of the room.

"Thank you. Have a good night, Mikat." Said the man with a gentle smile, and the girl bowed slightly to him once more before exiting the apartment.

When the man turned around, he saw his wife gazing at him silently while taking off pieces of armor from herself and placing them on the shelf that slid out of the wall.

He walked up to her, raising his hands and she turned around, presenting him with her back. He opened the locks on her back that held her shoulder guards fixed to her battlesuit and held the shoulder guards from sliding off of her, careful not to harm himself on the spikes that protruded from them. 

The armor pieces weighed so much he could barely hold them; however, his wife picked them up with her hands in such a nonchalant way that she made them seem weightless.

It was hard to imagine that she could wear all those pieces of hadron armor for an entire banquet without feeling tired.

As she hung the shoulder guarda on the special hanger, she sat down on the couch and started to take off her ankle protectors.

"Did you take a lover?" She asked with the same emotionless voice she would use to ask about the weather.

"What?" Asked the man, stopping his hands in the middle of unclipping his mantle.

The woman did not repeat herself, only looked up at him with a stone-cold face.

"No. Why would you ask that?" The man said, taking off his mantle and hanging it on the hanger that slid out from the wall.

"You've been window shopping for horns for a week. It is considered a fine present for a favored woman, I heard." Said his wife, unclipping her second ankle protector, seeming nonchalant.

"You trace my web activity?" Answered the man, looking at her with a displeased expression.

"I am the main provider of this family; it is my right to know where the family resources are spent, don't you agree?" Said the woman, looking up at him.

"Whatever." Her husband said, turning to walk away. 

"I wasn't. A marketing company saw that our family was looking for horns and sent me their catalog. Said his wife.

"It's for myself." He added, with his back turned to her.

"I don't remember you mentioning that you wanted new ones." Said the woman as she stood up and walked to the wall where she placed her ankle guard on the shelf near the arm guard, and the shelf slid back into the wall, looking entirely seamless as if there was no wardrobe inside.

"I don't want to wear them. I only needed the schematics." Said the man, and the woman stopped her actions, surprised.

"Why?" She asked, looking at his back as he walked away.

"Hobby. I was just bored." Answered the man walking up to the door at the side of the hall, and the door opened with a silent hiss as he approached it.

"Keith." Said the woman, stopping her husband before he entered the room.

"Yes, Saneth?" Asked Keith, turning around and gazing at her with the same cold expression she had, but his voice sounded clearly annoyed.

"You may take some of my old ones." Said Saneth.

Keith did not answer, just turned away, and the door closed behind him, ending the discussion.

Saneth sighed, drooping her shoulders. Once she was left alone in the room, her stone-cold face finally relaxed, painting it with sadness.

"Good night, dear." She whispered. 

She sat down on the couch and turned on the monitor to watch some Arena news, but after several seconds realized that she could not concentrate on what was being said. She gazed to the side, where the monitor showed the children's room, with three little angels soundly asleep.

With a thought, she opened a messaging window in her head, and an empty dialog window opened in her empty scope of view, where she started to compose a message.

"Thank you for accompanying me this evening, dear. I appreciate it. I know how you hate these gatherings and interacting with all these pompous people. I am thankful that you forced yourself to attend it so that I would not be embarrassed. You looked absolutely dashing today. Good night, Keith."

She stopped as a notification asking, "Would you like to send the message?" lit up.

"No." She muttered. "Store it as a draft." She added and sighed, looking at how a folder with drafts, having a number that reached two digits, suddenly turned into three digits. Saneth closed the message window, then shut down the monitor showing news, and walked to the door across from Keith's. She threw one last gaze at his closed door and went to her room with another sigh.