Two months on,
Zhao Chen left the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy for the first time and appeared before everyone.
This was chiefly because the Owl Dragon's newest batch of new T6 warships was being delivered into service, and it was not like before.
Before, it had commonly been on the eve of war; never mind any commissioning ceremony, often they were rushed to the battlefield before even their trial voyages were done.
The new ships then had truly been born in the fire of war.
But now there was no war.
And, the Empire being newly founded, it was just when renown was needed.
The people of the Imperial Propaganda Department were naturally not going to let so fine a chance slip.
They wanted to hold a new-ship ceremony for this batch of T6 warships being delivered for use, with the Emperor attending.
That way the ceremony would be of a grade high enough.
It would be broadcast to the whole Empire as well, to add to the Empire's renown and let more people learn of the Empire's might.
In truth Zhao Chen had not been much interested in it.
But the Imperial Propaganda Department had gone straight to Secretary-Officer Lilith.
Secretary-Officer Lilith thought it over and still told Zhao Chen of the proposal, and won him over with several reasons.
In the end Zhao Chen chose to attend.
At this moment Zhao Chen was in the Owl Dragon Empire's Owl Dragon System, in the dome of an interstellar city.
Here, apart from the opaque floor underfoot, all overhead was wrapped in a special fully transparent material, so that the guests within the dome could see the splendid sights of the cosmos outside.
A good many people had already gathered here.
Every one without exception was a person of the Owl Dragon Empire's present center of power.
And this was only the highest-grade banquet venue.
Within the Owl Dragon System there were fully several dozen banquet venues prepared for this ceremony.
Only those venues were of a lower grade than this one, for the Emperor would appear only here, facing the guests here in person.
And the people at the other banquet venues could see only the Emperor's hologram.
"Ha ha ha, Old Chen. You're here too. I hear business is going well on your side."
"Governor Jiang, you jest. You're a star-region governor; I'm only an interstellar trader. Whether business is good or not still depends on you, doesn't it?"
"No, no, no; don't say such things here. I only serve the Empire, and everything is done by the Empire's rules. You do business by the rules; whether it goes well or badly, I don't interfere."
"Ha ha ha ha, we still have Governor Jiang to thank."
"Old George, I hear your side has taken in a batch of T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruisers. How about it: let me have ten thousand. Per ship, I'll pay this price!"
"You, Park. You've come to sponge off me, have you? You don't know what the T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser costs now? Never mind your price; even thirty percent more and I wouldn't sell to you. And ten thousand ships besides? Dream on!"
In the banquet hall people had gathered in twos and threes, each in their own circle.
Everyone knew in their heart what grade they were.
Though all who could come here were the top of the Owl Dragon Empire, and great figures of every walk of life,
even within the tip of this pyramid there were upper, middle and lower.
Those of the lower could only stay in the outer ring.
And those figures who could summon wind and rain in some star region or cluster of star systems counted here only as the middle, without so much as a booth seat.
And the true core,
the very top of the top,
was in the core area, where all had been given half-moon booth seats, and could sit and enjoy this fine occasion.
That was the gap of standing!
"This wine's not bad. Where's it from? A specialty of Bils Star? I'll take a few bottles back. I hear there are T6-grade interstellar battleships among these newly commissioned ships? Dear granddaughter, get Grandpa a few to play with." Old Master Chu Changhe sat on the sofa savoring the fine wine, and looked at his granddaughter Chu Xuan, in uniform beside him.
Chu Xuan rolled her eyes. "If you want those few bottles of wine, fine. But you want me to get you a few T6 interstellar battleships as well? The Owl Dragon Empire's fleet groups don't have many of these interstellar battleships themselves right now. How could they give them to you at a time like this?"
"It's just a few interstellar battleships. You have a word with that lad; at worst I'll pay for them." Old Master Chu Changhe curled his lip.
"Pay?" Chu Xuan poured a basin of cold water over her grandfather without ceremony. "Owl Dragon-line warships of T6 grade have no export version at present, so there's no outside price. But going by the building cost I know of, plus the profit margin on T6-grade warships: first, I'd estimate the building cost alone at a quadrillion star coins. Add the sales margin and it would go up at least several hundredfold. Warships of this grade are no longer things you can get by buying."
As she spoke, Chu Xuan picked up a bottle of drink from the table and took a sip.
Queen Qin Xiaolei, invited and seated beside them, nodded in agreement as well.
Her own ship now was a T6 Lord-of-Thunder-class Heavy Interstellar Destroyer,
given her outright by Zhao Chen.
For as the queen of a kingdom within his Empire, she could hardly go without a ship that did her credit.
So T6 Owl Dragon-line warships had a price and no market.
Even with money, you could not necessarily buy them.
And every one of them was priced beyond the sky besides!
At this point Old Master Chu Changhe said without the least hesitation, "By seniority, I'm his elder, after all. Come to that, he and I had it agreed before: he's my grandson-in-law. What's wrong with a grandson-in-law honoring his own grandfather with a T6 warship? Don't tell me that lad won't own to it now he's become Emperor? That won't do; when this old man sees him in a while, I'll have to have it out with him properly."
Chu Xuan, who had just taken a sip of her drink, all but sprayed it out, and glared at her grandfather, her cheeks flaming.
At the same time she looked around; apart from Qin Xiaolei, in the same booth, casting a suggestive look their way,
it had drawn no one else's notice.
Only then did Chu Xuan breathe easier.
"Grandpa! What are you saying? That was all an expedient back then. I won't have you bring it up again!" Chu Xuan said crossly.
"An expedient? With my granddaughter's good name? That won't do!" Old Master Chu Changhe huffed and glared.
It truly made Chu Xuan's head swell to twice its size.
In truth, by rights, Old Master Chu Changhe's standing and strength fell far short of qualifying him for this inner circle.
For the Chu family's strength extended only to one star region within the Starlight Kingdom.
But because Chu Xuan was now a marshal of the Owl Dragon Empire, in charge of the Owl Dragon Empire's Second Legion Fleet Group,
Old Master Chu Changhe had this standing.
And since the Emperor had had dealings with Old Master Chu Changhe before, others treated the old master with great respect as well.
At this point
every light in the dome hall dimmed.
Apart from the stars overhead, only one beam of light shone on a pair of open doors.
Then an imposing figure was seen to walk out:
the first Emperor of the Owl Dragon Empire,
Zhao Chen!
He wore the Emperor's splendid ceremonial dress, and his military boots struck the floor, a sign that he was an Emperor who had come out of war and fire.
Behind Zhao Chen came two graceful figures:
Supreme Marshal Charlotte;
Supreme Secretary-Officer Lilith.
Charlotte too was in uniform, striking and dashing.
Lilith today wore a rather loose gown, with a layer of gauze over the upper half, so that she seemed less alluring and more dignified.
Once Zhao Chen had arrived, every officer of the Owl Dragon Empire present stood straight and gave Zhao Chen a military salute.
The rest greeted His Majesty the Emperor each with their own courtesies.
For the Empire took in many kingdoms and many races, each with its own customs, and Zhao Chen allowed them all.
"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Long live His Majesty the Emperor."
"The Sacred Light follows His Majesty the Emperor."
Call upon call rang through the whole hall.
Zhao Chen walked without a change of expression to the head seat of the hall, where there stood a chair in imitation of the throne.
Zhao Chen went up the steps, turned, and sat.
Beside Zhao Chen stood two chairs as well,
not so lavish and dazzling as the throne, but simpler.
"No need for ceremony; be seated," Zhao Chen said, with a wave of his hand.
Charlotte and Lilith sat first.
Then came the booths nearest Zhao Chen.
As for the people outside, some chose to stand, and some sat on the tall stools that now appeared.
At this point Lilith made to rise and speak.
But Zhao Chen pressed her hand down.
And Charlotte, understanding without a word, rose.
"Today's banquet is in truth very simple. It's to bring everyone together for a celebration. To celebrate the rise in our Owl Dragon Empire's military strength. To celebrate the delivery into service of two main warships of our Owl Dragon Empire!"
Charlotte raised her hand and pointed at the starry sky overhead.
Somehow, brand-new warships, one after another, had already appeared in the river of stars in neat, orderly ranks.
There were not so very many; at a sweeping glance, about a million or so.
And the most numerous was an interstellar escort; by comparison the interstellar battleship numbered only a tenth of it.
"That warship with a hull like white jade is the first batch of our Owl Dragon Empire's newly built T6 White-Jade Black Tortoise-class Heavy Interstellar Strategic Escort! And that warship, silver in the main and bearing purple-gold dragon patterns, is our main warship, the T6 Purple-Gold Silver Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship!" Charlotte's voice rang out forcefully, carrying through the whole starry dome.
"Let us admire their brilliant forms, as they begin their journey among the stars with the Owl Dragon Empire's fleets!"
At this moment every eye was fixed on those two T6 warships.
What was looked at most, naturally, was the T6 Purple-Gold Silver Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship!
For this was a heavy interstellar battleship, after all;
it simply could not help drawing the eye.
And at this moment this T6 Purple-Gold Silver Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship had every weapon module open, so that it seemed a fierce tiger baring its fangs, ready to fight at any moment!
Its outward look alone sent a chill through anyone who saw it.
"So big." Old Master Chu Changhe looked at this giant ship and could not help swallowing.
"So thick," a voice beside him said suddenly.
Old Master Chu Changhe looked over without thinking.
It was a woman officer with her hair in a ponytail, in the same Owl Dragon uniform as his granddaughter.
He knew this one too:
the Owl Dragon Empire's Fourth Legion Fleet Group marshal, Xue Xiaoxiao!
Younger even than his own granddaughter, and a genius at command.
And she was said to dote on interstellar battleships, with experience and understanding all her own in fighting with them.
At this moment Xue Xiaoxiao was like a besotted admirer gazing at her goddess,
wishing she could press herself against her goddess this very moment, touching every plate of her goddess's hull armor with her own skin,
and running her own two hands over that thick, great interstellar cannon!
Hff hff hff hff
Even Xue Xiaoxiao's breathing had grown quick.
This was simply the goddess of her dreams!
She had to have it, and no one could take it from her.
Happily, she had had word of it well before:
the lead ship of this T6 Purple-Gold Silver Dragon-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship would be assigned to her as her own ship, and as the flagship of the Owl Dragon Fourth Legion Fleet Group.
Only, with this banquet in view, it had been put off a couple of days.
But now she felt she could not wait another minute or second.
This was her beloved, the beloved she would never part from her whole life long:
her little dragon!
At this moment the others at the banquet were full of praise for this interstellar battleship too, and had a new understanding of the Owl Dragon Empire's terrifying strength.
"Don't move; sit here properly." Zhao Chen saw that Lilith seemed about to go and do something, and pressed her hand down.
"I'm pregnant, yes, but I don't break at a touch," Lilith said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"There are only a few days left before your due date. If you hadn't insisted on coming, Charlotte and I attending this banquet would have been enough," Zhao Chen said gravely, looking at Lilith.
Lilith sighed. "The affairs of the Empire aren't just a matter of military strength. Strong military strength matters, of course, but the powers within the Empire need consolidating as well. This time, having called these people together here, each of them naturally needs to be seen and talked to. To win the hearts of the people, Your Majesty the Emperor."
Zhao Chen knew these things; he could understand these moves too, only before he had not much liked taking part in them.
So most of the time she had handled them in Zhao Chen's place.
"This time I'll do it. I'll do as you say, and you sit here like a good girl and don't go anywhere!" Zhao Chen charged Lilith again and again, then rose himself.
"Wait," Lilith said, calling Zhao Chen back once more.
Zhao Chen turned his head.
Lilith tossed Zhao Chen a mini earpiece and said teasingly, "So many people: how many of them do you know? Even if you've met them, do you know what to talk to them about? Put this on; I'll coach you from here."
Zhao Chen understood without a word and put the earpiece in his ear, then leaned close to Lilith's ear. "It's good to have a housekeeper like you."
Then Zhao Chen's lips touched Lilith's cheek, light as a dragonfly skimming water.
Lilith, a succubus though she was, actually flushed a little in the cheeks,
and glared after Zhao Chen, who had slipped away once he had finished teasing her.