Lord of The Red Planet

The black armor covering his body slowly moved toward Rian's palm. The armor writhed, then formed a constantly shifting sphere, hovering above his hand.

Rian stored the sticky, Venom-like black sphere in his inventory. He then took out a set of clothes: a long-sleeved white shirt, black trousers, luxurious-looking black office shoes, and a leather belt.

Rian turned to Merlin. "I'm going to change quickly. Wait here," he said.

Merlin nodded in understanding, then bowed his body in respect.

Rian walked past Merlin and jumped down into the narrow alley where they had been. He looked left and right, then quickly activated a Barrier spell that blocked the view and access of others.

After that, he hurriedly took off his clothes. Although this outfit was also modern, its design was too fantasy-like and very conspicuous. He decided to change into a white shirt paired with black trousers. Besides looking neat and fitting the background of his new identity as Arata Leon, this outfit was also very simple and comfortable.

Rian tossed his old clothes into his inventory. "Having an inventory is really helpful," he muttered with a smile.

Inventory, Gate Magic… When combined, he instantly got a business idea that could help Avanheim's finances!

Rian quickly finished dressing, then walked to the wall and leaned against it. a wide, slightly savage smile spread across his face.

Why didn't I think of this before? He almost burst out laughing. Logistics… import tariffs… taxes. This is the global supply chain, and the entire economic system of this world is built on the concept of 'distance' and 'national borders'.

And I… he thought, his hands unable to stop trembling, I have Gate Magic. I can eliminate 'distance' and 'borders' at will.

His mind quickly filled with various plans. I could buy a whole container truck of the latest iPhone model directly from the factory in Shenzhen, China. Then, I open a Gate spell to a warehouse I own in New York, USA. And sell them at a price slightly below the market.

No shipping costs, no customs duties, no middlemen, no troublesome administrative processes. One hundred percent profit. And this practice could be applied not just to iPhones, but to a variety of goods, for example, semiconductors from Taiwan, luxury cars from Germany, or pharmaceuticals from Switzerland.

"I could be a god-tier version of Amazon Prime," he muttered with a capitalist's smile on his face.

He couldn't help but feel proud of himself for thinking of such a genius idea. This was no longer about robbing or extorting. This was an exploitation of the global system on an unprecedented scale. This was an easy but profitable way to build wealth, and the profits would be enough to fund the World Conquest Plan.

Rian nodded to himself. He felt this idea was brilliant. I'll talk to Emma about this later. She'll definitely love it.

Although Avanheim was rich, this wealth would one day run out if there was no income. Moreover, the maintenance of Felius Castle itself was not free. It required Gold Coins every month for the castle to operate properly.

Ever since he found out they were on Mars, Rian had ordered Emma to shut down some of the less important features to reduce operational costs. This was the reason he had ordered Yamada to establish a company, to help Avanheim's finances.

Fortunately, Felius Castle had a recycling feature that could turn objects into Avalon Gold Coins, at an equivalent value, of course. You couldn't turn a stone into gold. Although back in the game some naughty players had tried to do it using magic or skills possessed by alchemists, and of course, the result was a permanent ban from the developers.

After thinking about that, Rian leaped back up to the roof where Merlin was.

Rian walked toward Merlin. "Let's go…"

"I want to see the world we're going to conquer up close." His gaze fell on the city view, full of neon lights.

Merlin smiled faintly. "With pleasure, My Lord."

They leaped from one rooftop to another, then descended from a building's roof in a quiet area to avoid attention. He and Merlin walked out of the alley and joined the crowd of people walking on the sidewalk.

Rian felt a light tap on his shoulder. Instantly, he and Merlin turned in unison.

In a split second, Rian caught the faint glint of a yellow magic circle forming on Merlin's palm, ready to be unleashed.

Rian gave a sharp signal with his eyes. Don't.

Merlin, understanding the command in an instant, immediately relaxed his hand. The magic circle vanished as if it had never been there.

The person who had tapped them seemed completely unaware of the deadly exchange of signals that had just occurred.

He was a young European man with black hair, wearing silver square-framed glasses and a smile that was a little too wide.

He shoved a small, furry microphone toward Rian. "Excuse me! I'm a content creator who interviews pedestrians in Tokyo. May I ask you a few questions?" he asked with a feigned enthusiasm.

Rian observed the man for a moment, then put on a friendly smile he had practiced. "Of course, go ahead."

"First, are you a native Japanese? Your face looks like it, but also like a foreigner's."

"I'm of mixed heritage. My father is German," Rian replied in a calm tone, consistent with the Arata Leon identity Merlin had created.

"Wow, cool! Your clothes look expensive too. Can I guess? Must be millions of yen, right? What do you do for a living?" the content creator asked, his eyes sparkling, as if he had already found some great content.

Rian resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Millions of yen? This shirt is woven from the silk thread of a Fantasy Insect that can withstand magic attacks up to Seventh-Sequence Magic. Its price could buy this entire block, he thought.

"I work in investment," Rian answered briefly, his tone remaining flat.

"Must be successful, huh! Well then, second question…." The man leaned in, his index finger pointing toward Rian's eyes.

"Are those pupils real?"

Hearing the question, his eyebrows raised slightly. "Why do you ask?"

The man was silent for a moment to compose his words. "Because I've never seen anyone with sky-blue eyes as beautiful as yours. Honestly, not even Europeans have pupils that blue and beautiful."

Hearing the answer, Rian smiled faintly. Of course. I designed these pupils myself when creating the character Arthur Leonhart. This isn't the result of natural evolution, so it's only natural you wouldn't find it in any human.

Its abilities aren't much, besides super-sharp vision that allowed me to see the dirty sides of Tokyo from a distance earlier.

Rian answered, a faint, unreadable smile, a mix of pride and nostalgia, on his lips. "They're natural."

"Wow! You'd definitely make the list of people with the most unique pupils!" the content creator exclaimed, sounding amazed.

"Last question…." The man leaned in closer, his voice lowered slightly. He winked. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

A moment of silence. The smile on Rian's face tensed slightly.

A girlfriend? His mind drifted to Emma and Asuka, to their obsessive gazes. I'd never even held hands with a girl other than my sister before coming here. And now… the situation is far more complicated than just 'girlfriend'. He could feel a subtle tremor of amusement from Merlin beside him.

Merlin coughed softly, hiding his smile.

"I don't know if our relationship can be called 'girlfriend' or not." Thinking about Emma's behavior toward him all this time, could that be called a girlfriend?

The content creator immediately grew excited. "Oh, drama! The audience loves drama! In that case, have you guys ever… you know… done 'it'?" he asked with a meaningful grin, winking.

That's when the atmosphere changed.

The smile on Merlin's face vanished, replaced by a cold, empty expression. Rian felt a surge of killing intent so strong from his side, it was enough to make the air around them feel frozen.

Damn it!

Rian acted immediately. He laughed awkwardly, a little too loudly, and threw an arm around Merlin's shoulders tightly. "Haha, sorry, it seems my friend here has had a little too much sake! He often gets sentimental when he's drunk. I should probably get him home before he starts crying."

Rian began to drag Merlin away, whose body was stiff with restrained anger.

The content creator watched them go with a confused look.

"Weirdos," he muttered, then turned to his cameraman.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Maybe," the cameraman replied with a shrug. "Not everyone likes being asked about their sex life on camera."

"Ah, true. I need to re-evaluate my questions," the content creator lamented with a sigh.

…

In an alley a few blocks away, Rian finally let go of Merlin.

SLAP!

Merlin immediately fell to his knees on the dirty asphalt, his head bowed. "I apologize, Lord Arthur. I acted presumptuously. I couldn't control myself when that insect insulted your relationship."

"Hey, get your head up! People are looking!" Rian whispered frantically, seeing a few pedestrians giving them strange looks.

The scene of a handsome man kneeling before another man in the middle of an alley was a sight that drew too much attention. Rian felt his face heat up with embarrassment and quickly pulled Merlin to his feet. "I told you, don't kneel in public!"

Rian and Merlin walked down the streets of Minato. Here, the air felt different. No longer the damp smell of an alley or the chaotic hustle and bustle of Shibuya. Here, the air was clean, tinged with the aroma of expensive coffee from cafes with open terraces and the faint perfume of women in designer clothes walking past them.

The buildings around them weren't dull concrete, but sleek towers of glass and steel, reflecting the sea of city neon lights in a modern blend of colors. There was no graffiti on the walls, no trash in the corners of the streets. Everything felt orderly, polished, and very, very expensive.

Rian saw his reflection in a glass building. The image of his current self and his former self overlapped. He quickly turned his face away.

They stopped on a pedestrian bridge, looking at the stream of cars flowing below like a river of light. Across the street, from the window of a restaurant on an upper floor of a building, he could see the silhouette of a couple laughing, their heads close together over a candlelit table. Farther on, a small family—father, mother, and a young daughter—walked hand in hand, the child pointing at something with excitement.

The smile on Rian's face faded slightly. For a moment, his gaze became vacant. He saw his sister, Ersila, in the little girl's laughter. He saw his parents in the walking couple. A familiar pang of pain pierced his chest—a longing that now felt like an uncrossable chasm.

Merlin, standing half a step behind him, noticed how his master's shoulders tensed slightly as he watched the family. He didn't ask. He just followed his master's gaze down to the small, street-lit sidewalk, where a child's laughter could be heard faintly, even from this height.

"They don't know what's coming," Merlin said softly, his voice more like a whisper of the wind than a statement. "They live their precious little lives in blissful ignorance. How pitiful." A faint smile filled with wisdom, or perhaps just pity, formed on his lips.

"Ignorance is not bliss, Merlin," Rian said, his voice now flat again, devoid of emotion, as sharp as a shard of glass. "It is simply foolishness."

"They just haven't realized yet," he continued, "that all of this…." He spread his hand, encompassing the entire city view before him. "…will soon have a new owner."