Chapter 327: Who’s This Man.

Kael froze, and for a moment, he wondered whether he’d heard her correctly. Then he slowly raised his head.

"What?"

Nora looked at him calmly.

"I said you can have the Prime Ore, Great One."

Kael stared at her, his mouth opening slightly, then closing, then opening again.

...What?

He was genuinely speechless.

Is she dumb or something?

The thought surfaced in his mind before he could stop it. Of course, he didn’t say it aloud. But seriously, what was wrong with this woman?

Even if she didn’t fully grasp the Spirit Mine’s capabilities, she should at least understand that it was incredibly valuable. After all, she’d been carrying it around for years, using it to search for the person her mother had instructed her to find. It wasn’t some random stone she’d picked up off the roadside, it was a treasure directly tied to the very existence of her race. And yet here she was, willing to hand it over just like that?

Just how blindly does she trust this prophecy?

Kael couldn’t help feeling that Nora’s faith in her mother had reached an almost unreasonable level. There was a difference between trusting someone’s judgment and abandoning one’s own sense of caution entirely. And from Kael’s perspective, Nora was dangerously close to crossing that line.

However...

His gaze drifted back to the Prime Ore. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t tempted. In fact, after learning what the Spirit Mine could do, he was extremely tempted.

And considering his circumstances, he had a feeling the Spirit Mine might be particularly compatible with him. After all, the Prime Ore had reacted to his presence. More specifically, it had begun reacting while he was supplying Earth Energy to the Spectre X Nano Armor.

Kael strongly suspected the two events were connected. It must have reacted to my Earth Energy, at least, that was the most reasonable explanation he could come up with. And if that was the case, then perhaps the Spirit Mine would benefit from his energy specifically.

If the Spirit Mine genuinely required nurturing, then wouldn’t energy originating from something like a developing planet be particularly well suited for the task?

Kael couldn’t say for certain, he didn’t know the exact conditions required to properly nurture a Spirit Mine. But considering how strongly it had reacted to him, he felt there was a good chance his Earth Energy could play a meaningful role. And if that turned out to be true, obtaining the Spirit Mine would be an enormous help.

His interest deepened, and for a moment, he genuinely considered accepting Nora’s offer. After all, she was willingly giving it to him. From a purely practical standpoint, refusing such a valuable treasure would seem rather foolish.

However, Kael wasn’t the kind of person who could completely ignore the circumstances surrounding an offer like this. And that was precisely where the problem lay. If he accepted it, it would come bundled with more responsibilities than he was ready for, he already knew exactly what Nora wanted, she’d made that much perfectly clear.

So accepting the Prime Ore would naturally make it far harder for him to turn down Nora’s request afterward. Even if she insisted the treasure was simply a gift, Kael would still feel as though he’d accepted something of enormous value without offering anything meaningful in return.

And that wasn’t something he was particularly comfortable with.

He wasn’t a saint. He’d never pretended to be one. If he encountered an enemy carrying valuable treasures, he certainly wouldn’t hesitate to claim them after defeating that enemy. And if a favorable opportunity presented itself, he wasn’t going to turn it down simply because someone else might consider his actions selfish.

But that didn’t mean he was completely heartless, either.

There was a difference between taking spoils from a defeated enemy and accepting the sacred treasure of an almost extinct race from someone who had placed her hopes in him. Especially when that person was offering it because she genuinely believed he would help save what little remained of her people.

Kael sighed inwardly. This is troublesome. So before making a decision like this, he needed to understand exactly what he’d be getting himself involved in. At the very least, he needed more information about the civilization responsible for destroying the Automatons, their strength, their reach, and most importantly, whether helping Nora might eventually put his own family in danger.

Kael wasn’t going to gamble with the safety of the people he cared about simply because someone had dangled an extraordinary treasure in front of him.

No matter how tempting that treasure might be.

Maybe I should ask Athom what he thinks...

He was just about to direct another question toward the mysterious being when—

BANG!

The office door suddenly slammed open.

Kael blinked. "Hm?"

The unexpected noise cut through his thoughts. Nora also turned toward the entrance, and standing in the doorway was a woman.

The moment Kael saw her, his eyebrows rose.

Huh?

For a brief moment, he genuinely wondered if he was seeing double. The newcomer looked almost exactly like Nora. However, despite their nearly identical appearances, this new woman carried noticeably less maturity about her. Her posture was less restrained, and there was a youthful, restless energy to her that made her seem considerably more impulsive by comparison.

And judging from her expression, she was currently in a terrible mood. Her brows were tightly furrowed, her eyes burning with barely contained anger.

The moment she stepped into the office, her gaze immediately landed on the open compartment in Nora’s chest. More specifically, on the Prime Ore resting inside it. Her expression shifted at once.

For a brief moment, she looked genuinely stunned. Then the anger on her face flared even hotter.

"Sister!"

Her voice rang out through the office. Kael glanced between the two women.

Sister?

So this was likely the younger sister Nora had mentioned earlier.

Zora. The other surviving Automaton.

Kael studied her with mild curiosity.

However, Zora didn’t even spare him a glance at first, her attention remained locked entirely on Nora. More specifically, on the fact that her sister had apparently taken out one of the most precious treasures their entire race still possessed.

And judging from the furious look twisting her face, she clearly wasn’t happy about it in the slightest.

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

Nora’s expression shifted slightly. "Zora..."

But Zora wasn’t finished. Her gaze finally swung toward Kael, raking him up and down, her eyes narrowing with obvious suspicion. Then she pointed directly at him.

"And who’s this man?!"