"We're from Planet Blue. We had just arrived when we saw you in danger, so we decided to help," I said.

"I came from Gliese," said Old Du.

"I know you're a Gliesen. It's obvious from your appearance," said the prince.

"You've met Gliesens before?" Old Du asked.

"More than that. I know Gliesens well," replied the prince.

Old Du was about to ask more when the prince said, "Lidu is a chaotic place. Why did you come?"

"We're wanted by the league so we came here for shelter," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Wanted," muttered the prince, seemingly recalling something.

'Looks like this prince might know something,' I thought.

"You must be Major Zhang Xingxing. The other person must be Li Canyue of Jupiter II?" asked the prince suddenly.

"Yes. I'm Major Zhang Xingxing. This is Li Canyue," Xingxing introduced as she pointed at me.

"Excellent! Canyue, I wish to find a time to discuss with you about the five-dimensional properties of Jupiter II," exclaimed the prince in excitement.

I couldn't help but feel somewhat smug when the prince mentioned my deeds at Jupiter II. It would seem like my work on Jupiter II had earned me a little bit of fame in the universe after all.

"That's not an issue. But Prince Toruse, as a noble, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Sigh. That's a sad story," said Toruse with a sigh.

A clamor suddenly broke out on the street outside. The officers seemed to have started searching the buildings in this area.

"There is no entry leading to this building. Don't worry," said the prince.

"Prince, where had you seen Gliesens before?" asked Old Du solemnly.

"About three months ago, a fleet from the Interstellar League suddenly arrived at Planet Akko of Canis Major. The fleet was led by a Gliesen called Jingan," said the prince.

"Jingan? I know him. Wasn't he sent to tail Jupiter II?" asked Old Du.

"Yes. Jingan entered Akko's territory with the excuse of pursuing Jupiter II," said the prince.

"Based on our laws, Jingan is only allowed to conduct the pursuit in space and cannot land on any planets with an active government," said Old Du.

Pensive, Prince Toruse said, "That's true, and the Kingdom of Akko is the Divine Empire's vassal. According to our laws, we're not allowed to admit foreign troops into our land, either. However, my father, King Xido, was filled with admiration when he saw the fleet's advanced technology. Thus, he welcomed the captain passionately.

"I made a great effort in objecting to their docking, but I was reprimanded by Royal Father. On the second day, the principal of the Imperial College suddenly visited. I was extremely nervous because I believed that our act of receiving a foreign army had been exposed.

"However, Principal Sosse seemed to have come for Jingan as well. He had arrived hastily and had immediately requested to meet the captain. When I attended to Royal Father, I caught a glimpse of the principal handing a document to the captain."

"I told Royal Father immediately, but my brother, Arude, jumped out and claimed that I was inciting a conflict between the Kingdom of Akko, the Divine Empire, and the Interstellar League. My father, as the king of a small planet, clearly did not dare to offend two powerful nations. Thus, he immediately had me put under house arrest. A few days later, an even bigger fleet appeared. The captain was someone called Angela."

"Captain Angela? She had also gone to Akko?" Zhang Xingxing exclaimed.

"Yes, she had come from Sirius, and she was the one who brought news of your defection and exploration of Jupiter II," said the prince.

"Weren't you under house arrest? How did you get to meet Captain Angela?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"I did not see her. One of my loyal guards managed to infiltrate the king's guards. He was the one who told me about her," said the prince.

"Why did Captain Angela go to Akko?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"She sought an alliance with us. A week after her arrival, news of Principal Sosse's defection spread. The empire sent a fleet to pursue him with all they had. However, Principal Sosse was placed under the Interstellar League's protection," said the prince.

"Alliance? An alliance between the Interstellar League and Akko? I thought the league claimed that for the 100 years after the Invasion of Blue, they would not take part in any war," Old Du exclaimed loudly.

"Hehe, the Gliesen ruling class is not as pure as you, Old Du. Those slogans are only meant for those who would think of resisting their rule," said Zhang Bao'er with a sneer.

"Yes," the prince said. "I was also worried that the alliance would lead to a war with the empire. Sosse is already a wanted criminal, but there is no need for Akko to get involved in the mess. I disregarded my guard's advice and rushed out while under house arrest. I went looking for Royal Father and advised him against an act that would lead to war.

"At that time, my brother, Arude, came out yet again. He accused me of having made promises to the Divine Empire that would be fulfilled after I rose to the throne. He claimed that I did not wish to offend the Divine Empire due to selfish reasons.

"Because I had violated the house arrest and even tried overturning King Xido's decision, Royal Father raged and stripped me of my position as a prince. Of course, my brother's many accusations did not help either. I was then imprisoned.

"Before long, the imperial army arrived with Emperor Fille IV's decree. We were commanded to hand over Principal Sosse in three days. Otherwise, they would attack. With war drawing near, I thought of escaping the prison to plead with Emperor Fille IV for leniency so that we could avoid war.

"Under the help of my guard, who was also in the king's guard, I managed to escape the prison and reach the empire's territory on a little spaceship. Since I did not have the chance to return to my palace, I did not have on me the golden pass that would grant me an audience with the emperor. Thus, I was intercepted by the imperial guards at the empire's outer fringe.

"I requested an audience with the emperor, but at that time, my brother started spreading news of my defection. He even blamed me as the culprit for the alliance with the Interstellar League. Before knowing the truth, the empire decided to temporarily detain me on Lidu," finished Prince Toruse.

"If the detainment was only temporary, why did Fando from the pit try to get you killed?" I asked.

"There is a rule on Lidu. Through pit fighting, one can be excused from hard labor," said the prince.

"What kind of hard labor?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"On Lidu, any prisoner, regardless of whether one is guilty or not, will be subjected to hard labor at the Light Energy Plant on the surface. It's a terrifying place. Only machines and prisoners work there," replied the prince.

"Light Energy Plant? That's probably the building we saw while on the surface," said Zhang Bao'er.

"I can't fight in the pit, nor am I willing to fight. However, my brother bribed the governor and had me sent to a pit fight in order to kill me," said Prince Toruse.

"That Arude is too cruel," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Yes, he is. The night before the fight, an Akkon came to rescue me. He helped me escape," said the prince.

"Someone helped you? Who?" I asked.

"His name is Fanin, a wanted criminal from Akko. He had been on the run for over ten years. After hiding me here, he told me that war had not broken out, so I should remain calm. He also promised to deliver food to me at a fixed interval," said the prince.

"Where is that Fanin, then?" I asked.

"A week ago, he did not appear at the time for food delivery. I waited for three days before leaving due to hunger. Then, I was captured by the patrol. As for what happened next, you all saw it," said the prince.

"We are all exiles from our homeland. Don't worry, prince. We'll help you," promised Zhang Xingxing.

The prince nodded gratefully. Even at times like this, his profound blue eyes were still filled with worry for his kingdom.

Dodo, who had been listening silently, suddenly asked, "Respected prince of Akko, may I ask you a question?" 

"It's fine. You're an android, right? I saw both Jingan and Angela with your people following them as well," said the prince.

"Thank you, prince. I want to ask about the Divine Empire. When did it appear? It is not in our historical records," said Dodo.

"The Divine Empire does not have a long history. It is only about 300 years old. It was founded by Emperor Fille I," said the prince.

"Fille I? What kind of a person was he? I have never heard of him," asked Dodo.

"The emperor comes from Planet Eternal. Many years ago, the Eternals had come here from an alien system and driven off the indigenous population," said the prince.

"Indigenous population? Are you referring to the Brightlings? A life form resembling fish people?" asked Dodo.

"Yes. The details of these indigenous life forms are recorded in ancient history. They have the body of a fish, the face of a human, and the lips of a fish," said the prince, suddenly noticing that Titan and Amethyst fitted his description exactly.

I could see a look of astonishment on the prince's face.

"Are you from the Bright race? No, that's not right. According to history books, this race had long gone extinct. Also, they have no legs," said the prince.

"Yes, we are from the Bright race. Us Brightlings are still around. We have been hiding on Sirius. The one without legs is our prophet, Nommo," replied Titan.

"This is too inconceivable. A lost race has reappeared. The Royal Academy's library can be updated yet again," said the prince.

"Let's talk about Emperor Fille," Dodo brought the prince back to the actual topic.

"The Eternals are a barbaric race. They obtained an energy source from somewhere unknown, and with that energy source, they were able to conquer a small portion of the Orion Constellation," said the prince.

"They stole our homeland and slaughtered our race!" said Titan hatefully.

"Yes. Because they were too barbaric, their development had always been slow. That lasted until 300 years ago when Emperor Fille I appeared. Fille I was the commander-in-chief of their War Department, someone with a grand and ambitious vision. Under his leadership, the Eternals extended their territory far and wide. Due to his glorious military achievements, the army worships him like a god.

"Finally, during a parliament session 300 years ago, while the conservatives and radicals were electing a new leader, Fille I placed the entire upper echelon of the planet under his control with the help of the army.

"Fille I believed that the parliament was an obstacle to the nation's growth. Thus, he demanded to abolish the parliament and replace it with a monarchy. Everything had happened too suddenly. All the parliament members were under arrest. To protect their benefits before the powerful army, they decided to compromise. Thus, the Divine Empire was born, with Fille I taking the position of emperor.

"To placate the nobility, the parliament was kept, but the emperor was given veto power. With imperial power at hand, Fille I held nothing back and started a period of rapid expansion, conquering a large part of the Orion Constellation and small parts of the nearby constellations. Just as the emperor was about to continue his grand ambitions, he was shot dead by a defected soldier at close range during an army inspection," said Toruse.

"The emperor was assassinated? Who did it?" I asked.

"The assassin immediately blew himself apart after the assassination. That person was a complete unknown in all databases, so the emperor's death became an unsolved mystery," said the prince.

"Who became the new emperor?" Dodo asked.

"Fille II, who was ten years old at the time, inherited the throne. Both Fille II and Fille III were rather weak-willed, so they did not have any noteworthy military achievements to their names. Fille IV changed everything," said the prince.

"Fille IV, is he the current emperor?" Dodo asked.

"Yes. Fille IV is someone as ambitious and wise as his ancestor Fille I. Since his coronation, he has conquered three star systems and expanded the empire's territory. He is a great ruler," said the prince.

Suddenly, Dondon, who was keeping watch, sounded the alarm.