Bond spent a considerable amount of time with Samaret.

Before he left, Matthew—the federation’s renowned geneticist—personally led his team in upgrading Bond’s Genetic Bangle to the level of a low-grade mid-tier world-class secret treasure.[1]

Within the Gallant Federation, Matthew was unquestionably an expert in the field of genetics. Many of the federation’s most respected genetic scholars considered themselves his students.

Among ordinary federal citizens, however, Matthew was widely believed to have died long ago. Official library records listed his final publication as a paper from seventy thousand years ago, with nothing recorded after that.

The federation’s secrecy regarding Matthew was, of course, for his protection.

And he was not the only one. Within the National Science Center, Bond encountered several other living relics of the federation.

Throughout the long history of the Magus Civilization, there appeared to have been deliberate efforts to eliminate the Gallant Federation’s key scientists.

As a result, long before the Clash of Civilizations erupted, the federation had already begun carefully shielding and concealing its most important researchers.

After leaving the National Science Center, Bond did not immediately return to the frontlines.

Jemma, the silver-haired elderly who led the federation’s Special Operations Division, had approved a period of leave for him.

Moreover, having recently been exposed to some of the federation’s highest-level classified information, Bond was temporarily prohibited from requesting combat assignments or heading to the frontier.

So what now?

Bond suddenly felt at a loss for what to do.

He first visited the orphanage where he had grown up.

This welfare institution operated branch facilities across multiple star domains within the Gallant Federation. Many citizens who could not afford to raise their children sent them there.

After more than two millennia of war with the Magus Civilization and with the grim situation at the frontlines, the orphanage where Bond had grown up now seemed even busier than in his childhood.

Bond donated all of his savings to the orphanage.

The assets of a Rank Five operative were considerable. In truth, he had little use for money. The military always provided his equipment during missions.

After spending some time at the orphanage, Bond decided to visit a few old friends and catch up.

They were mostly fellow agents from his department or military personnel he had worked with before.

Even during wartime, when everyone was busy, there were always a few who found themselves as idle as he was.

Ursula Anders was the first to come to mind—a blonde agent with a voluptuous figure, and someone he had shared more than a few pleasant memories with.

Then there was Danielle Bianca, a feisty lady who often wore her hair in a boyish cut. She had once dragged Bond into quite a bit of trouble.

Thinking of these former comrades lifted his spirits somewhat.

He wondered how they were doing now. Hopefully, they had not fallen in the war.

Among them, he also thought of Charlie Robert, who had left a particularly deep impression on him during the subspace battles.

Bond had heard that after leaving the subspace, Charlie had emptied his entire savings and even pledged his general’s rank as collateral to salvage his wrecked and ruined Deadly Wanderer.

He wondered how Charlie had been lately. The mobile suit pilot had once mentioned that his home was in a galaxy known as Lumiere—and Bond was not far from it now.

With that thought, Bond retrieved the capsule ship he carried in his inventory.

When it came to solo exploration across the Astral Realm, the Gallant Federation was ahead of the Magus Civilization.

In Magus World, only law-wielding powerhouses could freely traverse the sea of stars. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Here in the Gallant Federation, however, even low-ranking beings could explore the cosmos with the aid of precise star charts and advanced navigation technology.

***

Before Sein realized it, twenty-one years had passed since he returned to Magus World.

All these years, he never once stopped his pursuit of the truth.

Although he claimed he had returned to recuperate, the truth was that Sein had never truly rested.

From that perspective, the knights of Magus World lived far more carefree lives.

Many knights who returned from the frontlines would spend their leave indulging in pleasures of the flesh and enjoying life to the fullest.

Sein, however, had done little over the years besides conduct experiments and occasionally relax with Yuri and the others.

Mages and knights had very different values. In Sein’s eyes, he simply could not understand wasting time chasing fleeting pleasures rather than eternal truths.

That day, after completing his experiments, Sein received a report from House Grantt.

What had once been a weak family with only two or three ranked knights had now grown into Ashenreach’s foremost knight house.

House Grantt alone now boasted nearly three hundred ranked knights, not even counting those from allied families connected through marriage and shared bloodlines.

Sein felt fortunate to have been born into this house.

All the basic potions he crafted for practice were supplied internally to House Grantt.

No matter how low-grade they were, they had still been produced by a law-wielding mage.

Beyond that, Sein also applied his research in human physiology, bloodline studies, and genetics to periodically strengthen House Grantt’s members.

Whether the house would produce a Rank Four knight anytime soon remained uncertain.

Julius possessed decent talent and reasonable aptitude, but advancing to Rank Four was by no means guaranteed.

The report mainly detailed the results of a body-tempering training regimen Sein had provided several years earlier.

He had integrated his mastery of body-tempering techniques into the development plans for House Grantt’s low-ranking knights.

Tracking the growth metrics of those below Rank Three also served as practical validation for his own research.

The final data left Sein thoroughly satisfied. The report also mentioned that a prodigy had recently emerged within the family.

“Oh? An eighteen-year-old Rank One knight? That’s indeed rare,” Sein murmured in surprise as he continued reading the report within the crystal ball in his hand.

***

After dealing with his immediate matters, Aurelia, the Goddess of Wealth, appeared before Sein to report on Ashenreach’s recent financial status.

Sein was now extremely wealthy.

How wealthy?

Well, according to Aurelia’s report, his liquid magicoin reserves alone amounted to nearly 120 million.

And that did not even include the rare magic ingredients and prized specimen collections in his possession.

Whether it was the technological relic fragments he still possessed or the Rank Six Apocalypse World creature specimen he had captured on the subspace battlefield, either would fetch an enormous sum if put up for sale.

Still, he had no intention of selling the specimen. It was part of his personal collection.

As for the remaining secret treasure fragments, Sein had not decided what to do with them yet.

Treasure fragments of that caliber had more use than being sold. Keeping them in reserve was not a bad idea either.

“Oh, prepare me fifty million as a contingency fund,” Sein instructed Aurelia. “I may need to acquire two more space fortresses.”

1. Translator’s Note: An artifact is ranked by tiers, then grade. Tier represents the overall quality, while grade represents the quality within that tier. This means a high-grade low-tier artifact is inferior to a low-grade mid-tier artifact. ☜