A Chemist's Interstellar Saga
Chapter 252: Getting Arix Back

Chapter 252: Getting Arix Back

Seeing Elio’s nearly fainting expression, Drexel remembered his own reaction when he first found out. He had nearly grabbed a weapon and stormed the Empire of Sacred Moonlight himself. So, he fully understood what Elio was going through right now.

But this was a deeply personal matter involving his sister, and Drexel couldn’t reveal too much. He awkwardly rubbed his nose and muttered, "They’re in love. What could we do about it?"

"Love my foot! Drexel, I’m realizing just how utterly useless you are! Couldn’t you have done something to sabotage this?" Elio snapped, clearly frustrated.

"Sabotage?" Drexel looked at Elio in horror. "I’m not some kind of villain or a meddling side character—why would I want to wreck my sister’s future?"

"If you don’t do something soon, it’ll be too late! Or do you actually plan to let your sister marry into the Empire?" Elio’s face twisted in anguish, like this was more his problem than anyone else’s.

This wasn’t something that could wait. If they were already this open about their relationship today, Elio thought, then Arix would probably be pregnant the next time they met!

Drexel was speechless. His family had accepted this long ago, so it was too late to change anything anyway...

Of course, Drexel kept that to himself; the last thing he wanted was to push Elio completely over the edge!

Drexel hesitated for what felt like forever before finally blurting out, "Elio, just hear me out. Stop stressing over this—it’s already a done deal. The only way to stop it now is if you overthrow your father’s government and become the president of the Alliance."

He meant it as a joke, a way to tell Elio to just let it go. But instead of calming down, Elio’s eyes suddenly lit up like he’d just had the most brilliant idea.

"Yeah! Why don’t I just overthrow Dad and become president? Then I can stop our precious Arix from being married off to the Empire! Hold on, let me think... Does my dad have any skeletons in his closet?" Elio said, quickly pulling out his opticomputer and scrolling through his father’s records.

’Oh great, the dutiful son is about to "kill" his own father with his intense filial piety!’ Drexel facepalmed, utterly speechless at how things had escalated.

As Elio’s mad plan began to take shape, Drexel sighed and hesitated for a moment before deciding to type out the real reason behind Arix’s engagement. He sent the message over to Elio, hoping it would stop him from making things worse.

Elio received the message and shot Drexel a confused look before opening it. As he read through it, his face gradually turned from determined to completely stunned. Finally, he looked up at Drexel, his voice full of disbelief. "Is this for real?"

Drexel rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Why would I lie to you? If it wasn’t for this, do you think the Kering family would’ve agreed to something like this?"

Elio was so shocked by the truth that he slumped onto the nearest couch, utterly defeated. All he could think was one thing: ’Arix is gone, Arix is gone, Arix is gone...’

The other members of the Alliance mecha squad, noticing Elio’s reaction, started exchanging curious glances.

Slowly, their eyes turned toward Drexel, clearly itching to know what was going on.

Drexel was at a loss for words. "Why is everyone looking at me? If you’re curious, maybe you should be asking the folks across the room!"

Drexel, though at a loss for words, knew he had no choice but to accept the situation. So, he spent some time fine-tuning a message on the opticomputer.

After a bit of editing, he sent a heavily censored version of the explanation to his teammates.

When the guys read through the filtered message, they got the gist of it. But their faces still wore that sour look. It wasn’t surprising—they were frustrated that something precious from their homeland had been taken away.

Meanwhile, as the guys were stewing in their disappointment, the girls had their attention focused on Cassian.

Cirilla, especially, was thrilled, exclaiming, "So, it’s true, you two are really together!"

She and her somewhat silly brother had already picked up on the connection between Cassian and Arix, so this news wasn’t exactly a shock.

Unlike Cirilla, who had that smug "I knew it" expression, Cassian took a second to place her.

Though her brother could be a bit of a handful, Cassian remembered that Cirilla had always been kind to Arix. So, with a polite smile, he said, "Yes, Arix and I have been together for a while now. Your name’s Cirilla, right? Thanks for looking after Arix."

Cirilla waved off the thanks, saying, "No need! Arix is like a sister to me, so it’s just natural. Honestly, it’s hard to say who was taking care of whom."

Her straightforwardness got a laugh out of everyone, and thanks to Cirilla breaking the ice, the rest of the Alliance loosened up and started peppering Cassian with questions, which he answered politely.

The friendly vibe caught the attention of other teams. Some started to pay close attention, while others watched quietly from the sidelines.

"Captain, looks like the Alliance Mecha squad and the Werewolf Mecha squad might join forces in this competition. Should we be ready for that?" a member of Eden’s Mecha team whispered to his captain.

Blaze, sipping on a glass of grape juice, responded with a laid-back smile, "Sure, the leader of the Werewolf Mecha squad has a good rapport with the Alliance, but that doesn’t mean his whole team is on the same page."

His smile grew as his gaze settled on one of the Werewolf Mecha squad members, his eyes sharp and calculating.

On the other side, within the Empire of Sacred Moonlight, the owner of those sharp eyes spoke in a taunting tone, "As a leader, he’s off mingling with the Alliance Mecha squad instead of doing his job. Someone like that isn’t fit to be our captain!"

Kares’s voice dripped with sarcasm, clearly aiming to stir the pot. He expected his comment to get a reaction, but the other members of the Werewolf Mecha squad didn’t even bother to acknowledge him.

When his words were met with silence, Kares’s expression darkened. He shot a glare at the pureblood merman, signaling for backup.

The pureblood merman, who was busy enjoying his food, shivered under Kares’s stare. Though he hadn’t caught much of what Kares said, he knew from experience that agreeing was his safest move. So, he quickly nodded and added, "Oh, yes, exactly."

His spineless reply earned him a collective eye roll from the rest of the Werewolf Mecha squad, who silently decided to pretend both Kares and the merman didn’t exist.

The mermen couldn’t care less about the drama brewing between the Alliance and Werewolf squads.

To them, all this plotting and scheming was just a waste of energy. They figured their time was better spent charming beautiful women and thinking about future generations.

Confident in their strength, they didn’t see the point in getting tangled up in complicated tactics.

On the flip side, the Kraiton Empire’s team wasn’t nearly as relaxed. Instead of focusing on the upcoming competition, they were secretly fretting over Arix.

"Captain, we’ve got a situation! There’s some pretty boy sitting next to Arix, and it looks like they’re engaged," Liron reported, clearly stressed out. Their main goal—besides winning, of course—was to lure Arix into joining the Kraiton Empire.

And what’s the best way to win someone over? Romance, naturally!

If they could pull it off, it would mean a major promotion for whoever succeeded and a huge win for their nation. But with Arix already having a fiance, their grand plan seemed to be falling apart before it even started.

"Oh, I see. And then?" The man who responded had a face more beautiful than most women, his laid-back demeanor making him seem entirely unthreatening.

"What do you mean, ’and then’! Captain, come on, get your head in the game! They’re not married yet, so there’s still a shot. With a bit of effort, you can break up any couple!" Liron was fully convinced that once his captain made a move, Arix wouldn’t stand a chance.

"Okay, fine. Maybe next time," Branson replied casually. He yawned, cradling his equally lazy Psychic Incarnation, and settled in for a nap on the couch.

Liron just stared, speechless.

’How did I end up with such a useless captain?’ As Branson drifted off, Liron couldn’t help but feel like this whole squad was hopeless without him.