Chapter 332 The Necessity of Sacrifice

Chapter 332 The Necessity of Sacrifice

Life in the Dvrakian Consortium was more peaceful than most civilizations within the galaxy. They were not only in Alfheim Space that was, for the most part less dangerous than other sectors due to the strict system of vassalage that kept a sense of law and order in the region.

lightsnοvεl But they were also next-door neighbors with the Germanic Star-Empire. The GSE had a reputation of being an incredibly warlike nation, whose soldiers were brutally efficient in battle, and were prone to disregard life in pursuit of victory, both their own, and especially that of the enemy. In the entire galaxy, perhaps only Germanic space was free from organized crime and interstellar piracy.

The benefits of being the neighbor of a such a frightening civilization was that nobody in their right mind would start shit on the borders of such a violent nation. The downside was one never really knew when the GSE wished to expand its borders, and at whose expense that would be.

Because of this, the relationship between the Germanic Star-Empire and the Dvrakian consortium was a difficult one. On the one hand, the Dvrakians were grateful for the peace that they were able to enjoy, which was in thanks to being in proximity to such a violent and warlike people.

But on the other hand, they did not appreciate the blatant xenophobia and outright rude behavior of the Germanic Star-Empire. But Erich was different, at least as far as S'aleth was concerned. She had expected him to be hard-nosed, serious, and ill-mannered like her father had always warned her that his people were.

Instead, Erich displayed a level of politeness that, while welcome, was wholly unexpected. He even had the ability to crack jokes at his people's expense. In a way, he was charming, at least to S'aleth. But hidden behind this politeness, and playfulness, was a look that S'aleth thought was strange.

She could see in the man's eyes, and not his expression that there was something haunting inside. And now that she knew that he had ten plus years of combat experience behind him, she could guess that he had seen some horrific things. This content has its origins in n0v£lbin★

Things that a bottle of wine and some soothing music could not even begin to mend. Though Erich talked as if his time in the military was just a part of life, from S'aleth's perspective, it was unusual, as her people had not been to war in over a century, and their military existed solely to defend their borders.

This was an obviously scripted statement that Erich had stated for two purposes. One because currently he was a diplomat of the Empire, which meant that anything he said to S'aleth would be reported to her father after this dinner date was over. And two, sometimes a man needed to cling to a mantra, no matter how false it was, to help him cope with the sacrifices he had made in life.

Erich had of course long sense come to terms with what he had given up in his past life to obtain his place in the universe... But things were different now... The timeline had been reset. Comrades who he had lost decades prior were still alive and well. While relationships he had tarnished had yet to be forged or ruined. Grudges that Erich still held from his previous life had yet to come into existence.

It was a brave new world, and Erich now had the ability to take a different path. And yet.... He no longer had the ability to be selfish. The fate of the entire galaxy was at stake. In eighty years, the Naraku would invade the Galaxy and devour everything and everyone.

Erich had enough experience as both a soldier and a dictator to know that sacrifice was a necessary strategy when it came to the game of survival. There may come a time when he will once more have to forsake his comrades and lovers for the greater good of the galaxy, and that was the thought that haunted Erich.

He had been given a second chance at life, a second chance at love, and yet... What if the time came where for the survival of his people, and all the other living beings in the galaxy, he needed to toss that second chance away?

In truth, Erich did not know the answer... But one thing was certain: while he was thinking about these things, S'aleth had come to a misunderstanding of her own. She believed the reason that Erich had said these things was not because he genuinely believed them, because it was obvious that he didn't.

But because he was being closely watched. And thus, any intentions she had of getting closer to him during this dinner date vanished in that moment as she responded with a throwaway statement.

"Is that so?"