The next day, Admiral Mike sent Germain many gifts, saying they were a good omen from the battle last night.
He also praised Germain highly.
However, after that, Mike rarely showed up in front of Germain.
Even when he did appear, he was always surrounded by numerous Nen users as guards.
The news about the soldiers fainting quickly spread.
Ordinary people were still confused, not knowing what terrifying beasts these soldiers had faced to end up in such a state.
But those with information channels had figured out the whole story by the next morning, and they were all shocked.
Many restless people suddenly became active again.
From all directions, they began strongly supporting the Hunter Association's work, praising their selfless dedication.
Some wanted to meet Germain, but they were quickly refused.
The unrest inside the coastal fortress lasted for a long time.
Only after several announcements from Admiral Mike did the tension finally ease.
The first announcement said that Admiral Mike would send a fleet to return to the Refueling Island to report the situation.
There was a military base on Refueling Island, enough to contact the Six Continents.
At the same time, the fleet would provide limited space to accommodate some passengers from the New Continent.
The fleet would take these honored passengers to Refueling Island, where ships and airships from the Six Continents would pick them up.
Of course, most of these passengers were nobles and wealthy people who no longer wanted to stay in the cursed New Continent.
They had had enough of this place.
However, Queen Oito was not among them.
Her public reason was to stay with the citizens of the Kakin Empire who remained here.
This earned her considerable favor.
In reality, she had thought carefully.
She still had many supporters on the New Continent who acknowledged her status.
She even had a fallback option through the Hunter Association.
The situation was urgent.
At worst, she could give up her identity as the Queen and seek refuge with the Hunter Association, under Chairman Netero and Mr. Germain's protection.
Being an ordinary person wouldn't be so bad.
If she returned to the current Kakin Empire with this fleet, it would be like water without a source, a tree without roots.
Her only leverage was her status as a Queen, a title granted by the late King Nasubi, and she had no children or family power.
Back in the Kakin Empire, for Queen Oito to become a mere puppet would already be considered a good outcome.
What she feared most was being forced to become a sacrifice for someone else's goals.
As for the civilians who could never board this fleet, they watched coldly, silently observing.
Admiral Mike had not openly spoken about it, but the fleet had a secret mission.
That mission was to escort the "Hope" to the Refueling Island, where the military fleet there would take it back to the Six Continent.
This would undoubtedly shock the upper echelons of the V6 faction, with obvious consequences.
The second announcement was that Admiral Mike decided to build numerous towns and roads between the coastal fortress and BW1, connecting these two strongholds.
Currently, the food, water, and daily needs of more than a hundred thousand people were concentrated in just these two places, which was overcrowded.
It was time to open up more living areas.
Many people suddenly realized: yes, they were here to colonize.
Some people chose to leave with the fleet.
Of course, others decided to stay behind and start a second career outside the Six Continents.
However, how many of them could really get rich here was another matter entirely.
The third announcement stated that Admiral Mike decided to recruit some civilians as mercenaries.
The soldiers from his fleet, combined with the original BW1 troops, had formed a large-scale V6 joint army.
Admiral Mike's forces had already reached over thirty thousand soldiers.
But he was still not satisfied and hired civilians to become mercenaries, further expanding the army.
All of this was for the final announcement.
The fourth announcement revealed that Admiral Mike would send the army on a conquest mission.
The plan was to take control of the entire new continent island by the end of the year.
He had already written the military plan and instructed the fleet heading to the refueling island to submit it for V6 approval.
To support this, Admiral Mike showcased many land weapons he brought with him— tanks, off-road vehicles, mechanical armors, shells, and more.
After displaying the large batch of weapons, Mike finally felt at ease and stopped avoiding contact with Germain.
If they met on the road, they would even stop for a short chat.
After all, human strength had its limits.
No matter what, it could never be stronger than a batch of modern weapons, right?
Regarding these announcements, the Hunter Association's attitude was to fully support all V6 joint army actions— as long as they did not violate the Hunter Association's principles or harm professional hunters' rights.
They were especially enthusiastic about the construction of towns and transportation infrastructure.
Not long after, the returning fleet set off from the coastal fortress, sailing toward the refueling island.
Amidst all the undercurrents and turmoil, things remained unusually calm around Germain's place.
On the night of April 20th, rain began to fall softly outside, pattering against the window.
Germain and Shizuku were having dinner slowly in the Hunter Association district cafeteria.
They ate quietly without speaking.
Whenever Shizuku glanced at him, Germain would hand over a box of tissues.
This was their unspoken understanding.
After quite a while, even Shizuku, who was usually slow to notice things, found it strange enough to lift her head.
She looked around and realized that, without her noticing, all the people who had been sitting beside her eating had left the cafeteria.
Even the auntie at the food pickup area seemed to have disappeared.
The large cafeteria was now almost empty, with only Germain and Shizuku left.
It felt quiet and hollow.
"Germain, Germain," Shizuku called softly a few times.
"What is it?" he replied.
"Have you noticed? There are so few people in the cafeteria tonight. Now it's just the two of us."
Germain lifted his head, glanced left and right, then lowered it to eat his food again.
"Indeed."
"Germain, Germain."
Shizuku called softly again.
For some reason, even though it was just the two of them, she lowered her voice as if sharing an important secret.
"Do you think they have a new cafeteria now, and they all went there but didn't tell us?"
Germain looked up again, quite surprised to hear this from Shizuku.
Even though he knew her well, he hadn't expected her to think this way.
Shizuku blinked her big eyes and looked back, her expression showing she wasn't joking.
Just as he was about to speak, suddenly all the lights in the cafeteria went out, plunging the place into darkness.
Shizuku instinctively became alert.
She even abandoned her bowl and chopsticks, jumped up from her seat, and conjured her "Blinky" in her hand, looking left and right cautiously.
"Germain, watch out! There's an enemy!"
"It's nothing. No enemy."
Only then did Shizuku realize that Germain hadn't released his "En," nor was he on guard…
This was really unlike Germain's usual style.
Although the dining hall lights were all off, the moonlight outside still spilled inside.
Shizuku's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and she saw Germain stand up from his chair.
He took a few steps forward and then suddenly knelt halfway down right in front of her.
Germain's unexpected move left Shizuku frozen in place.
He took a small box out of his pocket and gently opened it, revealing a pair of silver rings.
Each silver ring had a small, delicate Greed Dragon Crystal set at its center.
Inside the Greed Dragon Crystals flowed swirling patterns like fiery clouds, as if the sunset itself had been captured within them.
Shizuku seemed to understand the situation, yet at the same time, she didn't.
She tilted her head, clutching the "Blinky" tightly in her hand.
Germain looked up and said to her, "Shizuku, we've known each other for several years now."
"From our initial partnership based on mutual benefit, to the close bond we share today, we have been through a lot together."
"We've eaten meals together, taken action together, fought side by side — everything has become natural."
"To be honest, before I met you, I couldn't imagine someone entering my life and staying by my side."
"At some point, I suddenly realized there could never be a second woman who trusts me more than you."
"Nor could there be a second woman whom I would trust like I trust you."
"I've decided to hold on tightly to the one person in this lifetime I cannot afford to lose."
"I don't want regrets, nor do I want to leave anything unfinished."
"Shizuku, will you marry me?"
*******
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