"Uh… this…" The Azure Governor glanced at Zhao Chen, at a sudden loss for how to handle the matter.
Wasn't this boy a mere baron? That Northstar Academy and the Su family had been willing to back him was one thing. But now, as if Governor Chu of Chu River popping up weren't enough, even the Empire's little Princess's household guard fleet had turned up? This boy couldn't be playing the pig to swallow the elephant[1], could he!
"Cough, cough… relay word to the Princess's guard fleet: Zhao Chen is right here in the domed restaurant of our starport. Might I ask what arrangements are required?" the Azure Governor said.
Soon a reply came back from the other side.
Have Baron Zhao Chen wait where he is. They'll be there shortly.
Shortly?
And shortly it truly was — for no sooner had those words fallen than, off to one side of Governor Chu of Chu River's fleet, there appeared an interstellar fleet even more "resplendent with gold." Set aside this fleet's actual combat power for the moment; its paint scheme alone was the very picture of extravagance. A two-tone livery of gold and white, and on the hulls, besides, a bronze royal crest. This was the mark of a royal fleet — signifying that, though no member of the royal house had come, it was as good as their coming in person.
It, too, numbered 300 warships in all; its loadout was, of course, nothing so terrifying as Governor Chu's fleet. The flagship was a T3 warship, a third of the fleet were T3 warships, and the rest were all T2s. That T3 flagship glided slowly into a berth, while the other ships of the fleet hovered outside the starport, just as Governor Chu's fleet did.
Through this whole process Governor Chu said nothing at all, for all the world like a bystander.
The Azure Governor, for his part, looked to Zhao Chen with a smile. "So Zhao Chen has a connection to Her Highness the Princess — why not say so sooner?"
I didn't know I had a connection to Her Highness the Princess either, Zhao Chen thought, wearing a face of pure innocence and bafflement.
Because of the Starlight Empire Emperor's protectiveness of the little Princess, next to no images of her could be found in the online records. People knew only that a person of this station existed; how old she was, what she looked like, whether fat or thin, beautiful or plain — not a soul knew.
Wait…
A Princess?
All at once Zhao Chen thought of his elder sister. He'd long heard that she served in the Princess's household guard fleet, that she was highly relied upon — that she might even hold the post of a ship's captain. But even a captaincy or the like couldn't possibly bear on the Princess, surely? A legion-grade royal fleet had, in captains alone, 3,000 of them. Could it be that his sister's real standing in the Princess's guard fleet far outstripped anything he'd imagined?
That, Zhao Chen couldn't be sure of — for he hadn't sat down for a proper talk with his sister in years. The last time they'd met in the flesh seemed to have been three years ago, a mere few hours' time. She'd come in a rush and left in a rush.
Just now, faced with the Azure Governor's teasing, Zhao Chen could only smile and hold his tongue — for he too was unsure just what the purpose of this Princess's guard fleet's arrival might be.
And while these several were guessing at the guard fleet's purpose in coming — at just what it was they wanted with Zhao Chen — the starport itself had, one might say, boiled over.
The sight of a royal fleet appearing outside the starport had, after all, been seen by a great many people; one told 10, 10 told 100, and word soon spread far and wide. A few of the more curious even came out to the concourse beyond the berth where that T3 royal warship had docked, halting to gaze at the vessel now settled into place — the two academies' teachers and students among them.
Soon the warship's hatch gangway lowered, and a squad of young women soldiers in platinum-and-white women's-cut uniforms came down — every one of them tall and willowy, fine of feature, beauties without question, one in ten thousand. In the midst of this squad, moreover, stood a woman officer, holding in both hands a crystal emblem bearing the Starlight Empire royal insignia, advancing under the squad's escort.
"Heavens above! That's a Bestowal Crystal!" one of the teachers among the two academies' people cried out in shock.
"A Bestowal Crystal? You mean the fabled Bestowal Crystal by which His Majesty confers a title in his own person!" The students around were astonished beyond measure, gazing with envy at that crystal emblem.
Imperial bestowals generally came in two kinds. One was a direct material grant — money, treasures, and the like. The other was the bestowal of a noble title. And the bestowal of a title, in turn, came about in two ways. One: your merits had accumulated to a certain degree, or perhaps your connections had reached the right places; then the Empire's personnel-appointments department would submit a promotion list to His Majesty, and once His Majesty had confirmed it and signed, the persons on the list could receive their advancement — a baron raised to viscount, a viscount to count, and so on. This was the more conventional route of ennoblement.
The other was the "Bestowal Crystal." When someone had rendered great and signal service, His Majesty would personally draft a bestowal, then dispatch a dedicated Imperial fleet to deliver this "Bestowal Crystal" into the hands of the one to be honored. The weight it carried was far greater than the former, conventional promotion. Such recipients were, more often than not, people held in high regard by His Majesty — it meant your name had already left its mark with the Emperor, and most could look forward to a meteoric rise. And to convey a "Bestowal Crystal" by way of a royal fleet was the very highest form of all!
"Wait — every one of them a woman soldier… in platinum-and-white uniforms… this is the little Princess's household guard fleet!" a teacher cried out again.
The news shook everyone around in an instant. That a royal fleet should deliver a "Bestowal Crystal" was already astonishing enough. And now it was actually the little Princess's guard fleet? Just who was this, to enjoy such treatment?
This squad of women soldiers walked out of the berth and made straight for the domed restaurant. Onlookers lined the way, but everyone, of their own accord, opened a path. And when they saw the squad board the elevator up to the domed restaurant—
Among the two academies' people, a startling thought took shape. Heading to the domed restaurant, at a time like this? The one to be honored could only be a single person.
In the minds of very nearly all the two academies' people, that name surfaced.
It couldn't be — him!
The elevator reached the domed restaurant in a flash. Every guest within had long since made ready, for they too had seen the royal fleet appear earlier. At the same time, the canopy-screen over the central booth had already come down.
Zhao Chen and the others walked to the most conspicuous spot. The woman officer bearing the "Bestowal Crystal" let her gaze fall on Zhao Chen, and walked straight up before him.
"A Bestowal Crystal, of all things!" In the crowd off to the side, the Feng brothers — Feng Dawei and Feng Xiaowei — both wore looks of envy and jealousy; even Feng Dawei, who never let his feelings show, gazed at the young man with something like envy.
"Baron Zhao Chen of the Owl Dragon Star System, come forward to receive your bestowal." The woman officer's light, clear voice echoed through the whole domed restaurant.
Zhao Chen stepped forward and, following the etiquette he'd learned from the books at the academy, knelt on one knee.