[Gunlovergirl (Earth): Damn, I'm so jealous right now.]
[OfficialAphrodite (Felinia 7): You're not the only one.]
[AlamoMatador4thewin (Earth): I'm kind of shocked he went through with it and actually put that ring on Diva Rowena's finger.]
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): Agreed. He knows what that means after all.]
[StealthAssassin9 (Earth): What's the big deal? It's not like they're actually married or anything.]
[CEOHopkins (Earth): They're as good as married; they both know what someone putting a ring on the fourth finger of another's left hand means.]
[OracleRomy (Elysium): So is the streamer Diva Rowena's new mate?]
[NonpareilRaphilia (Aaru): Why? Jealous, she beat you to it? 😹]
[OracleRomy (Elysium): Hardly.]
[DeverinianLordMalacoss (Deverinian 9): Why would Oracle Andromeda be jealous?]
[NonpareilRaphilia (Aaru): No reason. I'm just teasing her.]
[OfficialMuriel (Aqua Primus): If she is, then the universe will go into uproar AGAIN. It was already huge that Diva Lorelie was sharing her boyfriend, and now she's sharing him with Diva Rowena as well?]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Is there a universe's luckiest man competition? Kekeke.]
[MercheadAnderson (Palaxia): Nope, but we know who would win if there was.]
[Lizziethetruepower (Palaxia): Are you saying you're not the luckiest man in the universe for being married to me, darling?
[MercheadAnderson (Palaxia): Of course I am, honey.]
[Lizziethetruepower (Palaxia): Hmph, why am I doubtful?]
[LadyErkath (Deverinian Prime): Malgath is going to be kicking himself when he hears about this.]
[Whitehorn (Darah 5): Serves him right for disrespecting Stacey.]
[OrangeeyedStace (Felinia 7): You saw that?]
[Whitehorn (Darah 5): Of course.]
"Where else would you like to go?" Shalendra asked as she, Adam and Rowena stepped out of Falena's jewellery store.
Adam had just purchased all the Jenix jewellery that Falenas had in stock, and she was so thankful that she had offered to have it all delivered to their shuttle, which was docked at the orbital elevator space station.
"Not unless you plan to become his mate right now and join us in our hotel room," Rowena replied with a suggestive wink.
"Pardon?" Shalendra replied in confusion.
"I need to thank my husband for this wonderful gift, and so I plan to fuck his brains out," Rowena replied while waving the ring in front of Shalendra, causing her to flush red with embarrassment as she heard Rowena's bold claim.
[Noobkiller9000 (Earth): She's certainly not holding back, is she?]
[Puntanghunter69Ver2 (International Space Station): Damn, my man. The way to find your way into that fine ass is with a ring.]
[Celebrityhunter69 (Earth): Damn pervert.]
[Superhearofangirl (Earth): The streamer needs to ban this perv again after he returns.]
[Puntanghunter69Ver2 (International Space Station): …]
[Gunlovergirl (Earth): There, still faking it, you fucking space pervert.]
[Puntanghunter69Ver2 (International Space Station): Are they? Kekeke.]
[1000yearsofdeath (Earth): Don't steal my catchphrase, bro.]
[Puntanghunter69Ver2 (International Space Station): Sorry, bro, it was just such a prime opportunity to use it.]
"Well," Shalendra said before coughing awkwardly, after which she attempted to seem professional, except her still-flushing face ruined it as she added, "If you don't need me for anything else, I will be taking my leave then."
"Thank you very much for your help. We greatly appreciate it," Adam replied.
"Not at all. It's the least I can do after you saved Princess Liluth," Shalendra stated before bidding them farewell and departing.
"I think it's time we departed as well and returned to our own time," Adam stated.
"But things were just getting interesting," Rowena pouted before sticking her tongue out and saying, "just kidding. We should leave before we end up doing something that changes the timeline."
"Sounds like a plan," Adam replied as the pair hailed for the orbital elevator.
"He's not a Universal Senator's bodyguard," Queen Riniya said to Keerla as soon as the latter had entered the room and closed the door.
"How do you know?" Keerla asked.
"I contacted our Universal Ambassador and had them use their ambassadorial clearance to check all Universal Senator bodyguards, particularly Terrans that match the description of this Adam you gave me. They found nothing."
"Nothing?" Keerla replied in surprise before asking, "Does that mean he really is from outside the known universe?"
"I'm honestly not sure now, plus it now raises the question of where he got his universal force staff," Riniya replied.
"I suppose it's possible that his race created their own version of the universal force staff," Keerla remarked.
"If that's the case, it raises another question: just how advanced is his race? The universal force staff is the culmination of multiple races working together. Is his force staff really just the work of one race?"
"Maybe the orbital elevator personnel simply assumed it was a force staff since it looks so much like one, and Adam went along with it," Keerla suggested before adding, "also we don't know what his force staff is actually called."
"That's a valid point," Riniya concluded before she fell into thought.
"Any updates on the interrogation and this broker?" Keerla asked after letting Riniya think for a few moments.
"No," Riniya sighed before continuing, "the one called Bullet had failed to provide us with any other useful intel, and the broker they spoke of seems to have vanished."
"What do you mean?" Keerla asked with a frown.
"Using our family's connection with one of the Solarians who helped create the Universal Subspace Network, we managed to backtrace the planet and the location where this broker was when he contacted Bullet.
However, after we dispatched our people on said planet to that location, the broker was nowhere to be found. After the team investigated the scene, it was apparent that this broker had simply used that location for this single call and then left, since it was literally an empty dusty room."
"Meaning that this broker anticipated that we would be able to discover his location," Keerla replied as her frown deepened.
"Which is concerning," Riniya replied with a frown of her own before she continued, "It means that this broker has access to information that is not available to the general public.
The creators of the universal subspace network agreed before its release that, to prevent any one race from gaining an advantage over the others from using their creation, they would release it without warning and without revealing the identities of those who created it.
Naturally, most, if not all, of the creators have broken this rule at least once by telling someone they trust that they were one of the creators, just as one of the Solarians told Taegen and me.
However, the fact that this broker is aware that the royal family occasionally cooperates with one of the creators is disturbing."
"It could just be a coincidence," Keerla remarked before adding, "This broker could just be naturally cautious and always does business in this manner."
"I hope you're right."
"Is that why you have never told me who the Solarian creator of the universal subspace network you're in contact with is?" Keerla asked curiously.
"Yes. One of their demands in agreeing to work with us is that their identity be kept secret. While each of the creators knows that the others are secretly helping their own race even though they all agreed not to, none of them will do anything about it without concrete proof, as that would risk revealing themselves."
"And the last thing any of them wants is to be hounded by countless people in the universe because they are one of the creators," Keerla replied in understanding.
"Exactly."
Just after Riniya responded in confirmation, a knock came from the office door.
"Enter," Riniya stated just before the door opened and both women saw Shalendra enter before closing the door behind her and approaching the desk, where she stopped and saluted Riniya.
"At ease, Shalendra. Please take a seat and tell us what happened," Riniya said with a smile while indicating the seat next to where Keerla sat.
"Of course, majesty," Shalendra replied before gracefully sitting down, after which she began to tell them everything she had experienced while accompanying Adam and Rowena, with the exception of Rowena's joke that she should take Adam as her mate in forty-three years.
"Keerla already informed me that it was a device of Theodmer Sarmaer's creation that they were looking for after she contacted you earlier. It's a shame you couldn't find out exactly which device they were so interested in, however," Riniya stated after hearing the report.
"My apologies, majesty, but it seemed rude to refuse Rowena's request," Shalendra replied apologetically before adding, "Though if you ask me, I think she purposely did it so that I wouldn't see."
"Oh, really? The mystery surrounding these two just grows and grows," Riniya replied before asking curiously, "And you say they purchased Falenas Jewellery's entire supply of Jenix jewellery?"
"Yes, majesty. Rowena even suggested that Princess Liluth and I buy up as much Jenix as we can," Shalendra added.
"Really? Did she say why?" Riniya asked in surprise.
"Just that the price will skyrocket in the future," Shalendra replied while shaking her head, since she didn't understand why Rowena suggested this to her.
"Skyrocket?" Riniya replied in confusion before looking at Keerla.
Keerla shook her head before saying, "As far as I'm aware, Jenix is only used in jewellery and carvings. This, combined with its black colour, is why it's not very popular, especially with our race, thus keeping its price low."
"I honestly can't think of any reason why Jenex would suddenly skyrocket in value," Riniya said while shaking her head.