"Ah?!"
"My king!"
The instant Rodus, King of the Gafa people, landed, Zora, previously dazed and confused, snapped to her senses. She dropped to her knees without hesitation, prostrating herself at his feet, not caring in the least whether her disheveled burgundy hair still met the auction staff's dress code.
"What did you say?"
Rodus's sudden appearance gave Lothar the perfect excuse to shift the topic, openly and without guilt.
Lothar hated showing emotions in front of people he knew.
Absolutely despised it.
Of course, "people he knew" didn't include his adoptive father, Thanos.
Giving Zora a planetary resource card had been a spur-of-the-moment whim, but now it seemed clear the newly arrived King of Gafa wasn't going to acknowledge the gesture.
"I believe someone would've told you upon your arrival, destruction of any estate property is strictly forbidden, yes?"
Each manor constructed within the Cosmic Auction House grounds was outfitted with extravagant luxuries, and Gafa's opulence—as one of the most advanced planets in the universe, was on full display here.
But more than anything, it was about face.
The dignity of a planetary monarch.
With Gafa's grand event about to commence, major power players, or their proxies, from across the cosmos were already assembling. Under such circumstances, whether for the sake of his dignity… or for something else entirely, like an Infinity Stone, Rodus had all the reason he needed.
Even if it sounded tenuous to others, for Rodus, it was reason enough.
"Is that so?"
Lothar's golden-blonde hair slowly deepened into jet black. He stepped toward Zora, still groveling and not daring to rise without permission, then bent down and plucked the planetary resource card from her hand.
"We're leaving."
"Uh... yes, right away, Prince Lothar!"
Clutching his staff, The Other had yet to come down from his emotional high. He followed behind Lothar with a dumb, blissful grin, just as he always had, trailing him step for step.
As they passed by Rodus—
"I thought you were going to fight him."
Hela, who had watched everything unfold, gazed at Lothar's departing figure, disappointment tinging her voice.
She had been hoping to see just how powerful her temporary partner really was.
"There'll be a chance."
Rodus's deep, rich voice remained as intoxicating as ever. "But not now."
"You're letting him off without compensation?"
"It's not time yet."
Rodus glanced off into the distance, at something or someone, before his form slowly faded from view.
"…Eh?"
Still trembling, Zora remained prostrate for a long while, waiting in vain for her king's response. Eventually, she dared to look up, only to find herself utterly alone amid the desolate surroundings.
...
"Jennifer! That's him, he's the one!"
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
"That thing in his hand, it was one of the legendary Infinity Stones!!!"
Inside the hidden base of the Gafa Resistance, a man gesticulated wildly, describing to Jennifer, still clad in her iconic red dress, the jaw-dropping moment when Lothar had restored life and flesh from mere death.
As a scholar of cosmic mythology from the Tuskari tribe, Guki was certain: the stone in Lothar's possession was the very treasure their people had been seeking for countless millennia.
"With him on our side, we can defeat Rodus!"
"We can save our people!"
"But if he's a VIP at the Cosmic Auction House," Jennifer replied coolly, "how are we supposed to win him over?"
Unlike the excited Guki, Jennifer's thoughts were far more cautious.
"He's already fallen out with Rodus, I saw it myself!" Guki's excitement only grew. "Some kind of dispute over reparations, I think. I didn't catch the details."
"In any case, this Lothar guy is planning to leave Gafa because of it. Jennifer, if we don't act now, once he's gone, we'll lose our only chance."
Time was short. The lure of the Infinity Stone was immense. The fate of her people hung in the balance.
Three seconds later, Jennifer made her decision:
Follow him.
The temptation of the Infinity Stone was just too powerful.
Her mentor had once told her that, even with perfect preparation, her current power wouldn't guarantee a win against Rodus.
Unless… she found one of the Infinity Stones spoken of in cosmic legend.
Even just one.
But the question remained—
What bargaining chip could she offer this man, the one who already possessed not one, but two Infinity Stones?
Jennifer's gaze drifted to the flower resting on the other side of the hall, the one he'd given her before their passionate night together.
She had been deeply moved. Which is why, after their night of indulgence, she had chosen to leave him.
She couldn't drag down the man she loved.
Better to return to him one day, as Gafa's new ruler, or never return at all.
"…Where is he now?"
No matter what, she had to try.
...
By the time Lothar and The Other reached the landing platform, they were greeted by an unexpected sight:
His sleek, custom-designed starship, gone.
"Woz is triangulating the signal—"
"No need," Lothar interrupted, crouching to pick up a small crystal chip lying at the center of the platform.
"Woz is decoding—"
"…Decoding complete."
A glowing azure map flared to life before them. The marked destination: a grand, lavishly ornate castle, where his missing ship was now parked.
"Well then…"
With a flick of his fingers, Lothar crushed the chip into dust and strode toward the location indicated by Woz.
The moment he opened the towering gates, his ship was the first thing that caught his eye, its distinct design impossible to miss.
And standing beside it, clad once again in red, Jennifer was already waiting for him.
"Jennifer?"
Recognizing the face he'd spent half the night studying, Lothar spoke her name instinctively.
"So, I guess that saves me the trouble of introducing myself?"
Jennifer was clearly surprised that he knew her name.
She doubted her reputation had reached as far as the Centauri galaxy*.
Most likely, he'd heard of her from Rodus, after all, Lothar was a VIP.
"Do you know the price of stealing from me?"
Lothar narrowed his eyes. Invisible waves of energy pulsed from beneath his feet.
"I'm sorry. Forgive me… this was the only way I could meet with you," Jennifer said with genuine regret.
Right now, she couldn't afford to show her face openly on the streets of Gafa.
"Then apologize with your life."
Unmoved, Lothar raised his right hand. A swirling mass of energy coalesced in his palm, aimed squarely at Jennifer.
"I came to negotiate."
"I know you have two Infinity Stones… so, I wonder, are you interested in collecting a third?"
Jennifer's eyes held no fear.
"A third one?"
"Yes. The Soul Stone."
-----
T/N: It is Centauri and not Centaurian. I apologized for the mistakes in the previous chapters.
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