He opened his mouth, a venomous retort resting on the tip of his tongue. Yet, his gaze instinctively flicked downward as he bent over to scoop up the pouch from the deck.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the fabric, he felt its staggering weight. His brow furrowed in confusion. Undoing the drawstring, he peeked inside, and his entire body froze.
His mouth remained open, but all the vitriol he had prepared was instantly choked back into his mouth. His eyes widened as he stared at the staggering fortune nestled within the ordinary pouch.
"Where did a mere commoner get this much wealth?" he finally squeezed out, his voice turning sharp and defensive as he desperately tried to salvage his crumbling dignity.
Turning away from Aisha, he raised the bag for the entire cabin to see, shouting, "Has anyone had their money stolen?! Is anyone missing a pouch?!"
It was a complete bluff. He only wanted to find a scapegoat to regain his lost face.
However, against all odds, someone actually answered his call.
A passenger sitting near the back suddenly patted down his coat, his expression morphing into surprise. "Wait--mine is gone."
The middle-aged man’s face instantly lit up as if he had just won a grand prize. "There! She is a thief!"
He whipped around, pointing a trembling, accusatory finger at Aisha. "Guards! Arrest her immediately! She has stolen from a passenger!"
Aisha merely looked at him, her eyes completely devoid of warmth.
In her mind, she was already calculating exactly how many ways she could ruthlessly rearrange that arrogant face of his into a pig’s head before anyone in this cabin could even dream of stopping her.
The kind old man tried to step in once more to defuse the situation. He turned to the passenger who claimed to have lost his money, pleading, "Sir, are you certain it was this specific pouch? Could you have simply misplaced your money elsewhere?"
The passenger hesitated for a moment. He glanced at the wealthy, middle-aged man, and then chose to remain entirely silent. It was blindingly obvious that he didn’t want to contradict someone of noble status and invite unnecessary trouble upon himself.
He couldn’t just tell everyone that he had indeed lost his money. But he realized it was something he had used to buy a toy for his son and had completely forgotten about it.
The middle-aged man wasn’t finished. He snatched the pouch open, roughly pulling the electronic ticket stub nestled inside. "Look at this! It’s an admission ticket for the cheapest tier! A wretched girl who bought the lowest toll, yet she happens to be carrying a pouch of overflowing money?"
He straightened his back, looking thoroughly pleased with his own cleverness. "Who knows what kind of insidious plot she’s planning once she infiltrates the Association. She will probably steal something the moment no one is looking!"
Aisha remained silent, a cold numbness settling over her.
This was already the second time she was falsely accused of stealing since coming to this world. Haa...
Just then, her terminal buzzed against her wrist.
She glanced down and unlocked the screen under her sleeve. It was an unregistered number.
[Are you already at the Association?]
Even without a name attached, she knew exactly who it was.
[Not yet. Still on the ship.]
The reply came back instantly. [Why didn’t you just use the Teleportation Arrays?]
Before she could type an answer, the middle-aged man’s voice rose again, screaming at the top of his lungs. "She’s on her terminal! Hurry, take it away from her! She’s probably got a whole group working with her and is contacting them right now!"
Hearing his shouts, several more passengers turned to stare with looks of disgust. Two guards stationed by the entrance immediately started walking over with large strides.
More messages came in on her device, but she didn’t even bother reading them.
Men like this middle-aged probably ruined more lives with their mouths than most criminals managed with their hands. How many ordinary people had he made suffer over something as small as a stain on his shoes?
The first guard reached her side. He was a young man, his eyes flickering toward the middle-aged man as if he were already calculating a reward for pleasing a noble.
"Terminal," he said coldly, holding out his hand. "
Her eyes glinted with cold light. But an idea suddenly appeared in her mind.
Without a word, she handed the terminal over. However, as she passed the device into his hand, her fingers deliberately brushed against the screen. It looked like a complete accident--yet it connected the incoming call.
A holographic projection immediately sprang up from the screen, revealing a handsome face.
"Did something happen?" Zeke’s voice came through the speaker, sounding entirely even and gentle.
Except he wasn’t looking at Aisha at all.
His deep gaze landed squarely on the young guard now holding the device, taking in the official Association uniform stretching across his chest.
Seeing a completely strange guard’s face staring back at him on his private line, Zeke’s calm expression froze for a moment of confusion.
On the other side of the screen, the young guard’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
His legs went completely soft, and he nearly dropped the expensive terminal right onto the floorboards.
"A—Admiral?!"
***
At the same time, the young guard’s panicked voice was transmitted directly into a grand meeting room filled with high-ranking officials of the Association.
A heavy silence instantly descended upon the room. The various powerhouses under Zeke’s direct order glanced over in complete confusion and shock. Their gazes locked onto the holographic projection, wondering exactly who reckless idiot was.
To think someone would dare to scream so disrespectfully before their Admiral during an official report!
Were they just courting death?
Most importantly, a wave of curiosity arose in everyone’s hearts.
The Association was currently holding a top-level conference regarding the various reports across the empire. This was an incredibly important meeting where even the slightest distraction could be heavily punished.
Why on earth was their cold and aloof Admiral actually answering a private call right now?
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