Chapter 1906: Bro Got Jealous

Lackey and Beta arrived back at the Beta Tower instead of remaining inside the Alpha divisions, as Lackey had better things he needed to take care of, things he had already put off for far too long.

"Are you sure about this? Would it even work? What if he decides to inform the President?"

Beta asked with a slightly worried tone as she stepped out of the elevator after reaching the top floor of the Beta Tower.

Lackey followed behind her, his expression remaining calm despite the concern in her voice.

"It’s alright. I doubt he’ll inform the President, and even if he does, it would only put him in a difficult position. He won’t reveal anything unless he considers it absolutely necessary."

Beta nodded, though the hesitation in her eyes remained. She still wasn’t entirely convinced, but since it was God who had given her these instructions, she decided to place her faith in him and follow his words.

She led him into the control room of the tower, where numerous displays covered the walls, constantly showing the city’s situation and the movements taking place throughout the various divisions. Rows of control panels stretched across the room, each one connected to systems that seemed capable of monitoring and controlling nearly every function of the tower.

"This is where I give my commands to my soldiers and manage the other operations," Beta explained briefly before walking toward the main control panel.

She raised her hand and entered several commands into the holographic display. A connection request was transmitted through the network, and the screen flickered several times as it searched for its destination.

After a few moments, the unstable image finally became clear.

A golden mech-suit appeared on the display.

"...I am surprised you contacted me, Beta," Epsilon said, his voice carrying a faint note of surprise.

Beta folded her arms and tilted her head, a faintly amused smile forming on her lips. "Haha... Look at you acting so innocent after what you did behind the President’s back."

"..." Epsilon remained silent for several seconds before finally responding, "What exactly are you suggesting, Beta?"

"Please stop pretending. You know what I brought today, don’t you?"

The moment he heard those words, Epsilon fell silent again.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Beta asked with quiet amusement.

One of the mechanical tendrils behind her suddenly moved. It reached toward someone standing nearby and wrapped around him before dragging him into the camera’s view.

Lackey.

The moment Epsilon saw him, his expression became completely still.

Lackey trembled slightly beneath the grip of the robotic tendril as he raised his hands defensively.

"Please forgive me, Epsilon... I had no choice. She was determined to kill me, and I didn’t exactly come here intending to get myself killed. If anything, you’re the one who failed to keep your promise to Amara."

"..." Epsilon slowly clenched his fist.

Beta watched his reaction with an amused expression before continuing,

"If those words get out, you know exactly what happens next, don’t you? Hahaha... I almost wish I could be there when that smug expression finally disappears from your face."

Epsilon remained utterly silent for a moment, his clenched fist trembling slightly before he finally relaxed it.

"What do you want, Beta?"

"Oh? What do I want?"

"Yes. If you wanted nothing from me, you wouldn’t have made this call just to speak with me," Epsilon replied coldly.

Beta nodded, humming softly as she considered his words. A playful glint appeared in her eyes.

"Maybe I simply wanted to see you beg."

Lackey glanced toward her, his expression becoming slightly uncertain. ’This... wasn’t in the script,’ he thought as his eyes shifted between Beta and Epsilon. ’It seems like these two really do have some history... Hmm.’

Beta looked at Epsilon and said, "Anyway... yes, I do need something from you as well."

"However... I poured a lot of Aevum into this guy, so I need to get my returns," Beta said in a serious tone.

"So... I’m putting him in the Tournament."

"What?" Epsilon’s voice rose in shock.

Beta merely shrugged. "What did you expect? You’re not exactly someone who is willing to give away your Aevum. So, I had to find another way to get it back, right? And the Tournament was the perfect choice."

Epsilon fell silent. He knew exactly how the Tournament worked. People from across the Empires willingly placed bets of their Aevum on the participants, hoping to multiply their returns if their chosen fighter survived.

"Even so... he’d be dead before he ever reached the Tournament," Epsilon said seriously.

Beta blinked and tilted her head. "Oh? Are you not aware?"

"About what?" Epsilon frowned. His attention had been occupied with gathering information about the Chained World that had appeared out of nowhere, leaving little time to follow the latest events elsewhere.

Beta sighed, a faintly amused grin appearing beneath her visor. "He just defeated 2000 opponents in the Test Match."

"Huh?" Epsilon stared at her in disbelief, genuinely wondering what this insane woman was talking about.

"Just check today’s news. You’ll get your answer," Beta replied with a secretive tone.

Epsilon’s frown deepened. He immediately accessed the news feed through his suit and searched through the latest reports. When he finally found what Beta was referring to, his expression changed.

The screen displayed a horrifying scene.

A massive pile of corpses covered the Arena, blood staining the ground around them as the scale of the slaughter became clear even through the recording.

"W-What the..." Epsilon’s voice faltered as his face slowly turned toward Lackey, who was still restrained by the metallic tendril.

Beta chuckled softly. "Now you understand...?"

"..." Epsilon remained silent.

He was almost certain Amara had never mentioned anything about Lackey being an extraordinary fighter, let alone someone capable of defeating two thousand opponents.

"Now, for the second thing I want..."

"Wait." Epsilon interrupted her, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean, you want something? You’re already getting your Aevum back, aren’t you?"

Beta stared at him for a moment before a small chuckle escaped her.

"Hehe... Oh sweetie..."

That sweet tone sent a shiver down Epsilon’s spine.

Meanwhile, Lackey’s expression changed strangely, becoming darker for reasons that had nothing to do with the tendril wrapped around him.

[You cannot possibly be getting jealous, are you?]

His log asked, sensing something.

’What are you talking about? Jealous? Me? Of course not. I am the strongest and most supportive man you have ever known in your life.’

He answered inwardly with an unsettling calmness, his expression becoming dangerously dark as his eyes glowed while staring directly at Epsilon.

’Maybe I should dispose of this piece after using him... Hehe... Some pieces were never meant to reach the end, right? They’re better killed off in the middle of the night.’

[...??]

Beta continued watching Epsilon carefully. "You don’t understand your position, do you? Sure, I’m getting my returns, but..." She deliberately paused, allowing the silence to stretch for a moment before continuing.

"What about... your secret little deal with that other Empire? Huh? That definitely requires some serious compensation, doesn’t it?"

She tilted her head, a wicked grin hidden behind her visor.

"..." Epsilon fell silent. His fingers tapped slowly against the table as he considered his options before finally saying, "I can give you rare minerals from the other Empires—"

"No." Beta raised one finger. "I don’t need that..."

"Then?"

"I want a partnership."

"Huh?"

Beta leaned closer to the control panel, resting one hand against its smooth metallic surface as she looked directly into Epsilon’s visor through the holographic display.

"I said... I want a partnership in whatever you’re dealing with involving the other Empires. I want to be included in those dealings, and whatever benefits or resources come from them should be divided equally between us."

Epsilon’s eyes narrowed as he processed her demand.

"What? No way I would agree to something like that. You’re asking me to hand you half of everything I’ve spent years building behind the President’s bac—"

"Argh!"

Before Epsilon could finish, Lackey suddenly groaned as one of the metallic tendrils tightened around his hip, forcing his body slightly forward.

Beta didn’t even glance at him.

Instead, she continued staring at Epsilon with a completely cold expression.

"I am not asking you for permission, Epsilon.

I am informing you of the terms."

Her voice had lost every trace of the playful teasing from earlier. She reached toward Lackey and gripped his chin, forcing his face upward as she continued speaking.

"You know what the last thing you want is, don’t you? You don’t want to be thrown under the bus. There are already plenty of people waiting for an opportunity to take your Order and Division away from you. One wrong move, one piece of evidence in the wrong hands, and everything you have could collapse before you even realise what happened."

Epsilon’s expression hardened.

"You’re threatening me."

"No," Beta replied calmly. "I’m reminding you of your situation. There is a difference."

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Epsilon’s fingers slowly tightened against the table beside him as he stared at Beta.

Beta gave him one final look before adding, "Answer me once you’ve made your decision with that information."

She ended the call before Epsilon could respond.

"Wai—!"

The connection abruptly disappeared, and the holographic display went dark, leaving only the faint reflection of Beta and Lackey on its polished surface.

For a moment, the room was completely quiet.

Beta turned toward Lackey, and the cold expression she had worn during the negotiation immediately disappeared.

A pleased smile spread behind the visor.

"How did I do, God? Pretty good, right? I improvised your script better than you expected, didn’t I?"

The tendril around Lackey slowly loosened before retracting. Lackey rubbed his hip and looked at her.

"Improvised? Yeah... Pretty good, I suppose."

"Haha... Thank you." Beta’s eyes brightened slightly at the compliment, clearly pleased with herself.

Lackey watched her for a moment before his expression became more thoughtful.

"Hmm... There’s something I wanted to ask."

Beta looked at him.

"What is it?"

Lackey tilted his head slightly.

"It seems you and Epsilon have some kind of history."

Beta blinked.

For a moment, she said nothing. Her gaze shifted toward the dark holographic display, as though she could still see Epsilon standing on the other side of it.

"Yeah... we do."

Her voice became noticeably quieter.

"It’s complicated, you know. And I really don’t want to talk about them."

"..."

Lackey stood completely still.

His expression remained frozen like a statue, as though his mind had stopped processing everything after hearing the words, ’Yeah... we do.’

Slowly, the corners of his lips curled upward into an unsettling smile.

"Haha... Of course you do... Of course... Yeah... ahah... of... course..."

Beta turned toward him with a confused expression.

Lackey continued murmuring to himself.

"Then what about my 10,000 Affection Points?"

Beta blinked.

Something about the sudden change in his voice made her instinctively take a small step back.

"God?"

Lackey looked at her and smiled brightly.

"Nova Kestrel."

"Yes?"

"Kneel."

"Huh?"

"Kneel before your God!"

"...O-Okay."

Beta had absolutely no idea what had happened, but something about her God’s expression told her that he was angry for some reason. She quietly lowered herself to her knees like an obedient puppy before looking up at him curiously.

"Are you angry by any chance?"

"And why would I be?" Lackey asked calmly.

His voice was calm.

Far too calm.

Beta blinked several times.

’Was my improvised acting not good enough?’ she wondered nervously. ’Did I somehow ruin the script without realising it?’

Lackey’s eyes became even colder as he stared down at her.

"Looks like you aren’t reflecting on your sin... Kneel like this until I say so."

"Huh? Why would I do that—"

"HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST THE GOD’S GOSPEL!"

"HIK! F-Forgive me, God!"

Lackey crossed his arms and turned his head away with an offended expression.

"Hmph!"